The Grandfather - Evaluation

Having studied film for 2 years; I have come to the conclusion that film is both an art form and an industry. For my final project having been influenced by the critical study of experimental and alternative film, I wanted to create a piece of film which reflected my understanding of film as an art form. Film is about making meaning, but the meaning created can be either intended by the director or negotiated by the spectator, depending on the frames of reference. As such, when creating my film, I chose to produce a piece of work with an intended meaning, in my case this film represents and exploration of loneliness. The method I chose to do this through was by focusing on film as a metaphor, for intended issues around humanity. The message I want to put across with this film, is that life is lonely and colourless, till the day we die and all are achievements are in the past when we are inevitably going to pass on. This I feel can be portrayed by the fact an elderly man is the only focus in the film; it is edited into black and white. The audience I intended for this film is both genders of about 21+ with a passion for Art Cinema, the audience I viewed this in front of we’re 18+ with a passion for film and there thoughts were that the shot composition in coherence with the black and white effect reinforced the metaphorical theme of loneliness and aging.

When I first started this project, I was a little sceptical as to how Art Cinema and Avant Garde would work out for me. Before the film, I had never really taken an interest in any other films other than the mainstream Hollywood brand, however, using film as a form of expression is something that really appealed to me when I had to choose a genre. During the research and planning phase of the project I came across many films and directors that all had different, unusual and beautiful ways of expressing themselves and their own ideologies (for example, Brunel was a big influence with his deep yet humours beliefs on what a film is “Sometimes, watching a movie is a bit like being raped.”) and I started to understand more that Art Cinema isn’t just about the images on screen, it’s about the message they portray and understanding this then gave me a better understanding of my film and allowed me to do it well and the way I wanted it to be.

Something I believe is particularly strong in this film is the image composition. The use of close-ups and wide angle shots of objects that enhance the films objective (e.g. the plant pots/ the flowers/ the golf trophies etc.) is a good example of how I used the camera to create a piece of art. Another strength within my film is the use of the smoking analogy. Although it may appear that there are a lot of shots of the man smoking, this can be seen as a constant reminder of death and the slow dying process we all go through. The soundtrack, I also feel, is a particular strong point in the film. I feel that Clare de Lune by Debussy, although is supposedly a happy, up-lifting song, it does have a sadder side to it and depending on the use of shots and images, this can be exposed. This I believe was achieved in the film and the use of soundtrack really helped to enhance the emotions in the film as a whole.

If I were to do this project again, something I would do differently is, at some points, use steadier and more professional camera work, there are some shots were the camera would stall or shake and although it isn’t entirely noticeable, it does lessen the effect in the movie and in effect ruin the illusion the film creates.

Overall, I am extremely pleased with my work in this project, considering before the pre-production stage of the process I knew only a limited amount of information about Art Cinema and Avant Garde film. Brunel’s belief on what film is really inspired my project and the thoughts and ideologies of the other experimental and art cinema directors have helped a great deal in the pre-production, production and post-production sides of the project and I now understand why a picture is worth a thousand words.

The Grandfather

The Grandfather - Animatic

This is the animatic for my film short "The Grandfather".

Storyboard for original idea - "The Birthday"

This is a short storyboard for the original idea I had for my film coursework.

Although I only used one of these images, I changed the name of the film and the idea of "a day in the life of" wasn't used, the cinematic technique of using no dialogue, editted in black and white and editted in slow motion was still my main priority.

A2 Film Coursework - Aims & Contexts

The audience I intend for this film is both genders of ages 21+ with a passion for film and Art Cinema.

I feel that this particular film would fall under many genres. However, it is primarily Art Cinema with a hint of experimental. It can also be considered Avante-garde cinema for it's use of cinematic form outside the codes and conventions of mainstream cinema.

My influences for this film comes from experimental cinema and experimental directors. One of my influences is Martin Scorsese's, "The Big Shave".

Although my project is hardly in the style of this film, it's aim, to put across a message to the spectator, which is the opinion of the director, is something I wish to achieve in my film short. Also, "The Big Shave" can be seen as a metaphorical film, where the actions/images being showed are/can be seen as a metaphor for a particular part of society/life, which is what I am aiming for in my film.

Another influence is the experimental style of Brunel. Although his film images where extremely experimental (and shocking at times), they also made the spectator think, which is what I want from my project.
Something that inspired me to make this film is Brunel's view on cinema:

"Movies have a hypnotic power too. Just watch people leaving a cinema, they're usually silent, their heads droop, they have that absent minded look on their faces, unlike audiences at plays, bullfights and sports events, where they show much more energy and animation. This kind of cinematographic hypnosis is no doubt due to the darkness of the theatre and the rapid changing scenes, lights and camera movements, which weaken the spectator's critical intelligence and exercise over him a kind of fascination. Sometimes, watching a movie is a bit like being raped."

Key Words

• Art Cinema: Director has exercised a high degree of control over the film making, this is a form of personal expression.

• Avante-garde cinema: The practise of innovative and inventive use of cinematic form, outside the codes and conventions of mainstream film-making. It is essentially non-narrative in structure and often intellectual in context.