rchapmanmajorone2018

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Final Film

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Reflective Statement

I have attempted to illustrate the problems that exist currently within mainstream cinema due to the male dominated industry. In addition to this I have discovered my own personal challenges that I faced whilst attempting to make a film which identifies and challenges its own political state. This has been illustrated by deconstructing the scenes within the film to open up the technical and physical methods which were used to create the film. This is an attempt to declare honesty and openness to its audience.

By presenting the film in a DIY/independent cinematic style the audience is consistently reminded of the method and process of the film making rather than just the finished product. This draws the audiences attention to the structure and concept. This is why it’s important for the special effects to be apparent and non-flawless and for the cuts to be jarring enough to the eye to consistently bring the audience out of the narrative. Enabling them to look at the wider picture of the process and conceptualisation of the film.

All of the sound has been created specifically for purpose in post to give an encompassing sense of a surreal space to the audience. This suggests the film takes place in a conceptual space rather than using sound from location which is an objective sense of sound instead of an experimental view of the events tailored specifically for effect.

Whilst making this film I have taken many twists and turns with the concept which ultimately has resulted in a slightly confused outcome with the message of the film. The original concept of the man with the camera for a head was to symbolise the view point of the male gaze. However, as I began to bring the film into reality I realised the Doctor with the camera for a head was in fact my personal gaze. In the end it became the structure of the film that mimicked and parodied the male gaze. I did this by adhering to certain traits of conventional mainstream cinema i.e. the cinematic soundtrack, the genre traits of horror, the widescreen aspect ratio, the saturated color grading, the sexualization and glamorisation of the nurse, the objectification/generalization of the patient subjects in the film.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Comparison view of a special effects composite

The Nurse in the film plays a different role from any of the other characters in the film. The character Nurse is used as an implement of deconstruction within the film. There is no point in which the nurse shares the same physical space as anybody in the film apart from the doctor. She enters the red curtained bathroom in the first shot of the film. Also a shot which straight away indicated the presence of a set in that you can see the light stand through the door. This is some subtle foreshadowing to the end of the film when the doctor passes through the red curtain into the bathroom and in turn the narrative follows and the set is eventually exposed completely. This is something which is hinted at throughout the film with the super imposed presence of the nurse on screen.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Deconstruction of the set

I have attempted to illustrate the problems that exist currently within film making due to the male dominated industry. In addition to this I have discovered my own personal challenges that were faced whilst attempting to make a film which denies and rebels against its own situation of generic being. This has been illustrated by deconstructing the scenes within the film to open up the technical and physical methods which were used to create the film in an attempt to declare complete honesty and openness to its audience. By doing so in a  DIY/independent cinematic style the audience is occasionally reminded of the method and process of the film making rather than just the finished product, drawing attention to the structure and message. This is why it is so important that the special effects are very apparent and non flawless and that the cuts in the film are so jarring to the eye - this consistently brings the audience out of the narrative of the film and enables them to look at the wider picture of the process and conceptualisation of the film.

The film reaches its climax at the end of the bathroom scene and ends on a crescendo with a complete deconstruction of the set with the final panning shot revealing the studio, the actress drops her character and the film maker is presented in front of the camera for the first time in the whole film just before the end.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Colour grade & SFX comparison screen shots

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Subverting the genre of horror

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Character development

Using the traditional (and out dated) format of the ‘doctor and nurse’ power dynamic, the two characters explore the patriarchal structures which affect and hinder society as a whole - the content of the film lies specifically in how they are corrupt in the way they are portrayed through mainstream cinema and media.

The patient subjects in the film illustrate the groups of people subjected to the discrimination of this traditional sense of societal male dominance. The dichotomy of these two character dynamics represents a position of power and a position of vulnerability.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Audio

All of the sound has been created specifically for purpose in post to give an encompassing sense of a surreal space to the audience. This suggests the film takes place in a conceptual space rather than using sound from location which is an objective sense of sound - instead I aim to induce an experimental view of the events, tailored specifically for tone and effect.

By designing the sound completely separately from the actual live events being filled the audience is completely encapsulated by a creation of the film maker. Everything is specifically designed with purpose which brings the viewer out of their subjective view of the events and are influenced completely by the objective of the narrative.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

The Adult Swim production Too many cooks uses the format of a continuous sit com intro first of all as a joke but as the video progresses the scenes and format of the video is deconstructed to reveal an underlying narrative. This is a comical use of cinematic deconstruction which works well to make the audience question structure of the film and the reliability of the narrative. A lot of the story in this video lies within the structure of the film so it is very necessary that they reveal certain aspects of the production of the film, such as the set and the screen titles.

I also aim to use the deconstruction of cinematic attributes to progress the narrative of the film as well as the audiences understanding of the content and structure of the film. 

The slow mysterious introduction of the antagonist in the film is also an interesting way to present a character to the audience. I plan on doing a similar thing with the Nurse in my film. The Nurse will be consistently present throughout the film but not until the end will it become apparent that she in the the protagonist of the film.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Jordan Peele uses the genre of horror to address matters of injustice within the film industry in a similar way in which I wish to as well. By adopting the genre in which the issue lies itself, the film tackles the issues head on. This is an impressive method of activism which has reached a level of popularity which has made a substantial motion in the industry.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

It has been called out by many people that the the typical horror film formula is inherently sexist, misogynistic and in some cases racially insensitive. 

“Horror films, particularly those about masked men wielding blades and taking out unsuspecting innocents one by one, often have a roster of stereotypical female victims. “The bimbo, the party girl… who is one of the characters who’s going to get slashed and killed right away” is one such type, says film-maker Jenn Wexler. “And then one that’s reading a book so she’s going to be the final girl who survives to the end.”Women often don’t fare well in horror movies, with those who are sexually active implicitly shamed by being killed off quickly. There have been some exceptions over the years – most notably, the Alien films with Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, who isn’t sexualised and is defined by her formidable skills and intelligence – but many feel the genre’s consideration of gender needs improvement.��

In my film I intend to subvert the genre of horror to identify and challenge the problems which it tends to face. It is important to first of all recognise the specifics before I am able to mimic and deconstruct the formulas.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

This is a draft for the music I recorded for the final scene of the film. This bathroom scene will be the most intense part of the film so I have had to mimic this in the soundtrack. The music begins with a low ominous grumbling on to which it progresses with strings and drums which comes together in a classic cinematic style of sound design. 

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

The music in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the all time classics of cinema. The use of the gradually building strings and drums has become common place in mainstream cinema. I aim to mimic this style of classic film scoring in my film to further implement the use of a mainstream cinema format in which I can deconstruct.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

The pixelation of the subjects in the film represents the point of view of the male gaze within film making. By removing the faces and there fore the individuality and identity of each of the subjects on screen the people are presented as objects rather than people which accurately describes the objectification not only women but all minority groups that are misrepresented in films and mainstream media. 

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

Development of Concept

With the previous concept of the film I aimed to acknowledge and challenge the power of the male gaze within the film industry by presenting an overtly male gaze film through the eyes of a protagonist of a traditionally powerful status - the Doctor and this is translated by the doctor literally having a camera for a head. However it has become apparent that the film is not from an overtly male gaze point of view. The gaze of the film has naturally transitioned to the gaze of the film maker - me. Meaning the piece has become a personal gaze film about the political structures of the male gaze. In hind sigh this was inevitably going to happen. Now I must figure out how to address and challenge these patriarchal structures within cinema as well as the challenges in film making that go along with them.

First of all I have decided that pixelating the faces of the patients will work best conceptually - Facial expression and individuality indicates the presence of real people and emotion where as in the context of the male gaze this does not particularly exist i.e. objectification. This is also why the patients remain still and lifeless throughout the film. Their human distinction has been stripped from their bodies and they are essentially objects left vulnerable to the systematic oppression of the hierarchical structures of mainstream cinema format. 

This has also got me thinking that this film does not specifically have to be about the oppression of women due to the male gaze. I could also address the oppression of other minority groups which are subject to oppression, fetishisation and misrepresentation within the film industry.

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Here are some test shots of patients in a location scouted last week. The scenery is very industrial which is great aesthetically but it also represents the rigidity and coldness of the societal structures which this film is in protest too. The patients look very creepy and ominous against the stark background of the industrial docks and they strangely do not look too out of place. This may be down to the time of day which we shot. The dust twilight sky compliments the stark whiteness of the gowns.

These locations also offered a lot of variety in the shapes and patterns I could create within the composition using the position of the patients within frame. The many different levels and angles of the concrete work well for the composition as well as the multitude of different textures within shot.

it works well conceptually presenting the patients in a man made industrial location. It shows that the patients are under some sort of repression rather than being free within nature and the fact that there are no other people in shot gives an un easing tone. 

The patients are wearing extravagant make up in these shots to symbolise the hyper glamorisation/ sexualization of women duet the control of the male gaze over the film media industry. However make up in a lot of cases can bring the sense of liberation in that identity, emotion and individuality can be expressed. For this reason I don't think this works with the current concept and I will re-think on the aesthetics of the film and the concept.

[rchapmanmajorone2018]

These are the hospital gown that the patients will be dressed in. They are the classic tie at the back, white and blue patterned gowns that are indicative of traditional and mainstream cinema/television. I will be shooting outside so I bought them in size XL so the wind will create a nice movement within the shots which will otherwise be static.