Auteur Theory P.1

What is auteur theory? How did it first develop in France?

Auteur theory refers to the idea that a film directly reflects the creative vision of the director. In other words, the director is the author of a film. Therefore, the film's quality is ultimately in the hards of the director. Even in the early eras of cinema, France held an important role in the film industry. With the introduction of sound into film, musical films that adapted theater rose in popularity. Once the world war kicked in, many filmmaker fled France, while those who stayed were only able to make escapist films under strict German control. During this era, the ban of British and American cinema allowed the French films to prosper. Though French cinema grew in popularity, the industry lacked a creative output for aspiring filmmakers at the time.

Kurosawa's Advice

What are the key pieces of device that Kurosawa gives beginning directors? What does he have to say about writing?

Kurosawa advises that aspiring directors should write screenplays. Through screenplays, the importance of structure of a film can be learned. However, he noticed that these directors are not following his advice, saying that the writing process is too dull. To this, he argues that one must be able to endure the dull tasks in order to achieve greatness. Once writing becomes second nature, writing will be easier. The resilience to obtain that state is what makes or brakes the writer. He emphasizes the importance of patience; young people, in according to Kurosawa, tend to rush to the end.

Guillermo Del Toro on Directing

What are the key pieces of advice that Guillermo del Toro gives beginning directors? How can this apply to your career?

He emphasizes that people tend to over complicate the  concept of directing when in reality, directing can be done with any kind of audio-visual device. Anyone can be a director of their film. They do not need a large crew or an expensive set in order to direct. "It is always better to answer through your work" if there is something in the media that you do not enjoy, he says. By directing your own film, you can create something that you believe to be better than the flaw you saw on the big screen. It is a more fascinating and active method than complaining about another director's film. A director needs to have the resilience towards the countless rejections they will face in the future. 

Whats the Point of a Director?

What can a director bring to a film? What do choices have to do with directing? Give a few examples

A director can bring about a certain mood to a scene that contributes to the overall story in an artistic manner. The director's choice can convey a message to the audience about the character's motivations or emotional state. The director has camera movement, blocking, lighting, and anything on screen at their disposal. For example, overcranking or undercranking the camera can have different appeals that have different impacts on the audience. It all depends on the directing, whether or not the average script will become a masterpiece of kill the mood.

Directing as a Career

What training or skills do directors need? How can you begin your career toward becoming a director?

According Richard Walter, directors need "an ability to work supportively and nurturingly with actors." Though the director must give clear instructions, it is equally important for them to give them space to allow them to create their own character. The director may be the dead of the production, but they should be considered a collaborator that keeps the crew together. Shooting something everyday is a great place to start. By creating something everyday, skills of storytelling are bound to improve. Displaying these works on social media may be an output for the work that was created. Watching films critically may also help develop "a strong viewing sense of cinematic history."

Directing Crash Course

What does the director do? What are their responsibilities on a film?

The director coordinates with the cast and crew in order to communicate the story of the film. A director is not supposed to demand a specific character out of the actor. Instead, they should be able to give a "safe space" where the characters are able to explore who their characters are and how they would act in the situation. However, this does not mean that the director can give vague idea to the actor. As a result, the actor must give clear instructions but while also giving giving them space to contribute their own skill as an actor. 

The Role of the Director

Think about what you know and what questions you have about the role of a director in film.

Write two paragraphs about the following:

1. What do you know about a directors role on a film?

2. What questions do you have about the directors role on a film?

The director coordinates with the cast and crew in order to create their desired vision of the film. Directors are all different in their approach; some would rather work with the cast and keep the camera direction to the cinematographer while others will have specific directions for the cinematographer. They also work closely with the art director and the sound mixer, playing a key role from beginning to end.

Questions: What are some techniques to effectively direct actors? How does the director manage to coordinate with everyone on set to create their vision?

Wrapping Cinematography

Explain in detail three key things that you have learned during the scope o this unit. What are two things you still have questions about? What are two suggestions you have to improve the unit overall?

Overall, I learned the different effects of lighting setups. For example, there are multiple types of diffusion that all create a different look on the subject. Through the multitude of grip blog questions, I have learned the use for many different variations of equipment. There are different clamps for different uses and any lighting setup is possible with the correct equipment and the correct use. The cinematography unit also taught me the importance of color in a film. Color can not only create a different mood in the scene, but it can also have a symbolic meaning behind it. I still have questions about how to create an effective set that is realistic for the scene. I also would like to learn the different movements that are possible with a gimbal. This unit could be improved by going through the slideshow faster. I believe that fact that it dragged on for a very long time made me lose focus on some of the topics. Though the unit was made effective through the assignments, I believe there should have a been one more small project assigned instead of some of the assignments.

Practical Lights

What is a practical light? How is it used differently than regular film production lights? What is Bradford's advice in using them for film?

Practical light is a light source that would naturally occur in a setting that can be used as a part of the lighting setup. Using practical lights increase the reality of a scene and is also convenient for the filmmaker because it is already a part of the set and therefore does not require to be hidden behind the camera. Practical lights also tend to take up less space in this matter. These lights can be used solely or used in combination with film production lights if it helps create the desired look. Bradford advises to put black on any wall that is not shown inside the frame. He specifically focuses on blacking out the ceiling or the floor which is often unseen. This way, it makes it easier to control the light in the scene.

Don't Complicate Lighting

What is Geoff Boyle explaining in the is video? Why is it so important to keep this in mind?

His point is, lighting doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment. When you have the basics down, thousands of variations of lighting set ups can be created with minimum equipment that do not cost much. No matter how big the budget is, creating a similar lighting does not require expensive equipment. Knowing the angle and the properties of light is much more expensive when it comes to cinematography. As long as one has a firm understanding of atmosphere, quality of light, and the effect of different flags can be just as effective as any other.

Horror Lighting Tutorial

What are three key techniques that these filmmakers created tension with their lighting in this scene? How did they use lighitng effectively?

Illuminating the victim's face is important in making the audience associate themselves with the character. In that way, they will be able to feel a similar sense of horror that the character is feeling. Color can come to use in various ways. For example, using a blue light to demonstrate a cold night can be justas horrifying as using area light to demonstrate intense fear. Any extreme colors that doesn't appear in the natural world is effective for a horror film. Underexposing footage can also be effective in giving the audience minimum information so that they can fill in the blank for themselves.

Horror Lighting

What are the historical, aesthetic and psychological reasons for lighting from beorror films?

Up lighting distorts the human face, creating shadows around the eyes. Light from below does not occur in the natural world, and also symbolizes light coming from hell and is therefore scary to the audience. The light from below is symbolic of this emotion over the course of film history and so it is natural for people to associate this kind of lighting style with horror. Often times, fear comes from association with other elements that are seen as scary in other scenes in life.

Horror Cinematic Lighting Techniques

In a detailed paragraph, answer the following questions:

1. What are they key tips that you learned in this video?
2. What tip do you feel you could put to use in your horror film coming up?

Uplighting creates an uneasy atmosphere because it is a lighting set up that usually cannot be found in everyday life. It is useful to have this as a practical light so it doesn't look abnormal. Spot lighting is effective because it forces the audience to pay attention to one specific location n the shot. The inability to see anything beyond the spot increases the horror. Therefore, it is crucial that the parts of the frame that is not directly lit be pitch black. Highly saturated red and silhouettes can be psychologically distressing as well. Among these techniques, I hope to use the uplighting technique so that I can create a scene that is visually appealing for the audience.

Horror Film Techiniques

In a detailed paragraph, answer the following questions:

1. What are the key tips that you learned in this video?
2. What tip do you feel you could put to use in your horror film coming up?

Story, atmosphere (setting), sound, and are all important aspects of horror. For example, creating an  intriguing story that has a twist at the end keeps the audience on their toes. Creating an unnerving atmosphere throughout makes a jump scares even more effective. Sound design is key in creating hits atmosphere. When there are gaps in the sound, the audience is less likely to be indulged in the story. The video introduced the effectiveness of setting the camera settings to have one stop less light than a typical shoot. Having natural shadows and darkness can increase the realism of the scene.

Steps to Making a Horror Film

In a detailed paragraph, explain how you are using or could use 4 of these 13 steps to help develop your horror film story before you begin shooting.

4. Pick a Location

The location is set in the man's room, where he finds comfort in. Having a home invaded by unknown beings will increase the unease of the situation. 

5. Pick an inciting inincident

The inciting incident, in my case, is when the man hears a doll speak to him. At that point, he will recognize the baby's name, but he will not know where the voice is coming from.

10. Pick the confrontation

The scene where the doll kills the man in the world outside the room can be considered the confrontation. The man is no longer able to avoid the doll due to his size in comparison to the doll.

12. Pick the right music

Though I have not yet found the right music, I want the background to have a ticking noise that increases its frequency slowly. Hopefully, it will increase the heart rate of the audience, physically changing the emotional reaction of the audience.

Short History of Horror Films P.2

Why do you think that horror films happen in cycles? In your opinion what is it about horror films that makes this happen?

Horror films follow a cycle because of the change in the audience's perception of what they consider scary. For example, during the war era, people would fear science and the potential for an atomic war. As war erupts again and again, the audience will fear such events again and again. Returning back to old styles of cinema and recreating them has always been popular among filmmakers. The horror film is especially prominent in this factor because it specifically targets the fear factor of the audience. Fear is often an emotion that unites people, as it speaks to their strong natural instinct.