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s0022548a2 · 6 years

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Post. Evaluation

Producing The Recollection of Yesterday, I was not only influenced by Hal Ashby’s directing style but the stranger, less ‘palatable’ narratives that his films, more often than not, contain. My short film, it could be said, is a product of prosumerism, having studied Harold and Maude, The Last Detail and Being There closely, as well as continually being influenced by films and directors, even subconsciously, such as my first year studies.

Looking back at my film, shot lists and other pre-production processes, analysing micro and macro concepts became clearer. I set out to make a film that touched on topics such as art, memory loss and love, wanting to establish an unusual narrative in a technologically simple way.

Below is my directors commentary addressing the use of cinematography, mise en scene, sound and editing in comparison to my creative investigation and how they present meaning in the film.

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Influences from previous learning (section a)

Also looking at previous studies from the course, I feel influenced by some of the global cinema films that I have looked at, for example Ayoade’s Submarine, which falls post-modernism style, including flashback, narration and fourth wall breaks, two off which are included in my film

leading on from style comes genre, here I could compare Good Bye Lenin! With my short as like Good Bye Lenin, my short could be categorized as a romance, but both films don’t necessary explore romantic or sexual romance. Good Bye Lenin addresses the love between son and mother and even Christiane’s love for East Germany, my film explores the love that Hugo has for the strangers he sees every day, his love for the world. Both are unconventional romance films.

Influences from previous learning (section b)

Style over substance- my film breaks the conventions set by the decades of blockbuster influence, as it has more substance over style, if you think about it my film is a small independent film, trying to tackle some of the wider issues, instead of producing a film purely for commercial success, although Hal Ashby’s film were typically a product of the bigger production companies, he himself as a director strived for style over money and for experience and staying true to the script/ original plot. Recent technologies have allowed me to film on a DCLR, reflecting on a recent case study, Tangerine, a film filmed entirely on an iPhone. I feel I am reflecting not only the improvement of accessibility of technology for independent film, but also the hand held camera movement. Learning about 21st digital tech as part of the module meant that I understood piracy, copyright and the use of the Internet. Which, in reality, helped produce the student film. I attempted to respect copyright laws as well as make my film more personal or authentic, by using an original soundtrack produced by my friend.

Comparison with creative investigation (macro concepts)

Throughout the course representation has been a prominent element of research, in helping understand films and filmmakers, in my focal films, I looked at the representation of class but also noted the representation of love in Harold and Maude as well as teenagers. In Being There, the representation of people who others see as unnormal as well as class and in The Last Detail, of friendship. In the Recollection of Yesterday, I took inspiration from several of these representational ideas, realising that teenager would be the easiest to represent with accuracy and understanding, myself and my actors all being teenagers ourselves. In Post. A Initial ideas I noted how I wanted my protagonist to have Chance’s situation (protagonist of Being There) and Harold’s personality. Now, my character lacks the darker characteristics that Harold possesses but wanted their unusualness to be similar.

Applying theory to my outcome.

Researching psychoanalysis theory which was first laid out by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century, I realised it could perhaps be applied to my short, The Recollection of Yesterday, in helping distinguish subconscious patterns in my characters, most specifically the protagonist, especially because it is a relatively meaningful narrative and development of character relies upon sub conscious emotions. Freud’s theory explained that a personality was split into three different elements, one names the id is driven by basic human needs, and acts in accordance on instinctual qualities. If applied to my film, it could be argued that protagonist Hugo’s id is powered by the natural instinct to avoid loneliness, which in Hugo’s case is always a possibility with his condition (memory loss.)

The next element that apparently makes up our personality is the ego, which drives to achieve the id’s need, this is when the drawings come in, and as this is the protagonist defence mechanism, another feature to Freud’s theory. He draws in order to avoid being lonely, and also to remember the positives in life. Finally is the superego, which is driven by morality, higher thoughts and, unlike the id part of the personality, acts in accordance with what is seen to be socially acceptable. This part I’m not in complete agreement with this part of the theory, as Hugo doesn’t always conform to what is ‘socially acceptable,’ is drawing strangers seen as socially acceptable? Having an unusual narrative, it is difficult to categorise using theory especially since I did not have previous experience with applying theory. Hugo’s superego is unconventional, perhaps because this judgement of what is right and wrong is not one hundred percent clear, because of his condition (memory loss.)

Further links to my creative investigation

In my creative investigation, i commented, about Ashby’s films, ‘there is a balanced mix of romance, humour and sense of surrealism. Now i believe this links to my short film comfortably, there is an unconventional between Hugo and his world, humour in his quirks and surrealism in the modern approach to themes, as well as the use of inter-textual sounds and fourth wall breaks.

I also commented in my evaluation that, my focal film, Harold and Maude, although produced at a time that studios encouraged unusual narratives, the film was still met with controversy. Although, understandably on a much smaller scale, my films narrative was met with questions, not through difficulty of understanding the plot, but because the protagonist had an unconventional way of showing happiness. I was met with comments such as ‘is he a creep?’ because he drew strangers. But Ashby just embraced these kind of remarks, and never let them effect the narrative or how the narrative was perceived by audiences. Further, i really wanted to portray Hugo as innocent, hence the actions such as skipping and my choice of actor. Similar to Peter Sellers interpretation of his character Chance in Being There, who commented “I think it’s Jerzy Kosiński’s comment on power and corruption and the triumph of the innocent man.”

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s0022548a2 · 6 years

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Post L. Final edit following feedback

After considering the audience feedback i received on my previous final draft, i decided further editing was necessary, as after all, the audience need to understand the narrative and concept, and they picked up on some elements that need improving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utUeLkm7QJs

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Following my previous edit a few changes have been made, reflecting on my audience feedback.Firstly the title of the film was placed at the beginning of the film as well as at the end credits, this was a recommendation from a piece of audience feedback, however by having two titles beginning and end, it almost has another meaning. reflecting the memory loss, and the circular narrative that the protagonists lives by as he sees, forgets and then remembers.

The sound of this film was a challenge, and i think if i had the opportunity to re-make the film, my approach to sound would be the biggest difference. I’d perhaps include less dialogue, or especially no dialogue on a moving bus,without a proper mic to pick up the right sound. In this edit, i attempted to make final adjustments involving ambient sounds surrounding the dialogue, and hopefully a difference can be noticed around the denouement and the art gallery scene. I also added, finally, the soundtrack produced by Jan Van Beem, was added, synchronizing with the record player.

The Cafe scene has had its issues continuously, edits i have made here, include colour, colour grading being something that i am entirely new to, and felt my first attempt on this scene, although was effective, was different from one shot to another, so for this edit, i tried to make it more consistent.

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s0022548a2 · 6 years

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Post. K Audience Feedback

my latest edit i showed to a group of people and asked for feedback, as well as receiving visual feedback, such as laughter when shown the bus scene, and then understanding at the denouement of the film. i wanted some constructive critism so i could improve my final draft even further.

After receiving visual and verbal feedback, i have started in my final draft, the finished edit, after the people have spoken. See Post L. Final edit following feedback, to see how i used the feedback to improve my film.

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s0022548a2 · 6 years

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Post. J Final Edit preceding feedback

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This edit is almost the finished product, but i wanted to wait upon the audience to fine tune the final draft.

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s0022548a2 · 6 years

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Post. I Second Edit

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In the second edit i began adding sound, following on from my first draft, which only included the sound with the clips, the first edit was inconsistent and the clips and sound was not cut properly, a lot of “actions” and other directions could still be heard. In this edit music is added, although not the soundtrack by Jan Van Beem, the introductory music, and synchronized these with the record player. Clips were cut more precisely.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post.H Editing and First Draft

I knew editing this film would prove more a challenge than my first year, as because I was using dialogue, in edit I needed to perfectly pair the audio recorded on the mic with the video audio and visuals.

Sifting through all my audio, deleting anything unusable, I then paired this with the clip on the time line, zooming in and eventually, when i am completely happy with the positioning of sound, I will create a compound clip of the audio and suitable clip, so it doesn’t get disturbed.

After the initial edit I wasn’t completely happy with the flow of the film, so decided to take things a section at a time, creating a new project to edit separately on. Here, for, example, i felt the scene was too jumpy, so intertwined to clip to achieve the effect of Hugo (protagonist) looking down at the book, and then back up at the woman. I then pasted this improved version back into the main project.

Here is an example of the edit saving my film... I didn’t notice that in one of my most important shots, I had gotten the boom mic in shot (a lot.) However, i edited the clip by cropping out the mic and enlarging the clip to fill the frame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tblHMrEH0fo

This is my first draft of my short, it is relatively lengthy so yet more cutting is necessary to keep audience interest and prevent the film becoming repetitive an boring. Although I am yet to add non diegetic sound like my soundtrack I am already happy with how the sound is working, after pairing the dialogue audio from the mic with the clip it was clear and understandable. However after remembering feedback from my first year film, I know the sound can differ dramatically from listening from the computer through head phones and screening it on a larger screen through speakers. After doing this i will have a better idea on if my sound works well.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post G. Shooting and Editing Schedule

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post F. Screen Tests

Hugo is obviously the main character, so the actor playing him needs to be expressive, especially as the part has more characterisation communicated through body language and facial expression than dialogue.

Sebastian Gryzlo

Seb fits the style and look of Hugo almost perfectly, tall, slim, dark hair, quirky style, so he simply needed to be able to act well, and suit the personality i have imagined and wrote for Hugo.

Seb’s Screen Test

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After Seb’s screen test, I believe that he would be suited to the part of Hugo. His polish accent would bring a new and surprising dimension to the, making Hugo, more exotic and unique. Seb’s kind and lighthearted personality was conveyed solidly through the screen test, perfect for the role. After some direction, his acting was enhanced and I could truly see him playing Hugo, and improving the film through his presence.

After conducting the audition process, Seb stood out as he asked questions about the scene and made suggestion on how his actings could be improved suhc as “could i try this” or “what about if i try it this way.” Seb, as well as being a close friend, will be easy to work with and in his own way, change my film for the better.

Jay Johnson

Jay’s Screen test

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As well as acting opposite Seb in his audition, Jay auditioned for the part of Hugo, he was consistant and took it seriously, he would also be easy to work with as responded to direction well and had a relaxed attitude. However I felt his character did not entirely fit the one I had imagined for Hugo, Hugo needed to be upbeat, slightly niave and innocent, which out of the actors i auditioned Seb suited better.

Will cox

Will’s Screen test

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Will’s style could defiantly be developed to suite that of Hugo. However his acting style was totally different to that off what had been imagined for the protagonist. Filming with Will would be fun, but probably not productive as he seemed to struggle with taking things seriously. He also seemed to be uncomfortable in front of the camera, something that could hinder the film and the filming process. Compared to Seb he took direction less well and i would not want to make him uncomfortable, especially since most scenes are shot in public areas.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post E. Recce Report

Living Room // Scenes 1 and 4

This is where Hugo’s personality is most established, his music taste and his living quarters, old fashioned, artsy, clean. This is also where it is revealed Hugo’s memory loss problem, so an important setting for establishing character. Because it is indoors I will be able to control sound and lighting, making it an easy location for filming. However, the setting needs to be just right to establish Hugo’s character and his situation. Props such as a record player and coffee table need to be obtained and situated.

Cafe // Scene 2

The Zoo Cafe, Hull

Bus // Scenes 3 and 6

Filming on a bus means showing the audience Hugo in one of the most public places possible, placing the protagonist in this situation, the audience will anticipate how he reacts, but Hugo is comfortable. By choosing a bus i can demonstrate the relationship with strangers in a more intimate environment, and it also sets up his encounter with the female stranger whom ties the together at the end (see Post. C Screenplay.)

The location of the interior of a bus may pose the most difficult to film on, as the buses movements are unpredictable, with other aspects such as lighting and weather contributing to the difficulty of filming on a public moving vehicle. However one benefiting factor is that I get a bus too and from college, meaning i have a set location that i can plan my shooting around, i will also know the people on the bus so will be able to comfortably ask for their permission to feature in the film as well as being able to time the journey and the available shooting times almost exactly. Although, all this considered, filming too or from college, more likely from, the lighting will be a problem, as it begins to get dark as we leave. This scene will be easiest and most effective with natural light so will have research daylight times around the time of shooting and plan this scene accordingly, it may simply mean I shoot in the morning on the way to college.

Park // Scenes 5 and 8

Although this location doesn’t feature a huge amount in the film it is still important. It plays the setting of a rather humorous encounter with another stranger, it will also be where i demonstrate the link to my focal scene from Harold and Maude demonstrating cinematography and character placement like Harold in the scene. It is also one of only two out door locations, important for creating contrast with Hugo's regular environments and contrasting in lighting and colour, another similarity with Harold and Maude.

This location shouldn't pose too many lighting issues, as will be shot with natural light and hopefully both scenes at the same time in the day, to eliminate any possible continuity errors such as shadows etc. However with filming outdoors sound issues may arise, for example if the weather is windy. To combat this i will schedule the shoot around the weather forecast. Also there is no dialogue in this scene, no needed diagetic sound, music will be playing over this scene so if any sounds need to be erased in post production it will not be noticeable.

Art Gallery// Scene 7

Art is perhaps the most important motif in the film, it what defines Hugo to the audience and his coping mechanism in dealing with memory loss. This location not only brings together the film, i feel, but also seems to play tribute to the Ashby’s and their appreciation of the arts, such as in Maude’s caravan or the art in the streets in Being There. Hugo speaks to a stranger in this location not about his drawing but simply repeats dialogue originally said by Maude in my focal film. The gallery is a public place so permission will have to be obtained to film there but having filmed in a similar museum previously with no problem, I anticipate ease of filming in the gallery, although I will check beforehand to. The lighting in the gallery is satisfactory for filming in, as is the sound, the atmosphere of gallery being conveyed.

Street // Scene 9

This is the scene that will frame and explain the entire film, the final scene, so the acting in the scene needs to be perfect, so i will schedule in extra shooting time for retakes and any needed changes to the layout of the scene. For this scene two streets are in consideration, The High street in Eastrington or Bricknel Avenue near Wyke college. Both would be filmed in natural light, both would have to be planned because of weather, sound issues. The High Street is quiet, easy to film in, but perhaps too quiet to establish the ‘street’ atmosphere attended, although bringing in extras may solve that problem. Bricknel Avenue may be too busy for a comfortable shooting day, especially for the actors.

Links to my creative investigation

My film has quite a few locations, but I wanted to reflect my focal films in at least a couple of them. The location of the art gallery plays tribute to Harold and Maude and Being There as both films show appreciation of art and the finer things, for example Chance’s tenderness and love towards flowers and the garden in Being There. I plan to shoot almost all my film using natural light, replicating the lighting in The Last Detail, my chosen locations making this lighting arrangement easier.

Risk Assessment

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post D. Storyboard

By breaking down scenes into simple visual (and badly drawn) pictures means that filming becomes clearer and any mistakes, continuity errors, or irreverent shots can be sorted before production and filming begins.

Reflecting on my screenplay and completing this story board will help construct a more specific shot list (see below.)

Shot List

Links to my creative investigation

Similarly to linking my screenplay and my initial ideas to my creative investigation and focal films, my shots will hopefully reflect new and initiative ways to film, just like what Ashby achieved during the Hollywood New Wave of cinema.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post C. Screenplay

~This screenplay makes sense to me, the director, which arguably the most important thing. After casting, I will be able to put faces to names, especially the strangers, which to a reader may not be completely clear the differentiation between the strangers the protagonist meets.~

Links to my Creative Investigation

As well as having a direct reference to my focal film Harold and Maude in scene 7, where Hugo quotes Maude: “The earth is my body, my head is in the stars.” There is also the link to the famous and incredibly recognizable soundtrack to the film by Cat Stevens, in this film I have decided to include one song by Stevens as well as have my musical friend Jan compose a score specifically for the film, reflecting how Stevens developed his songs for Ashby’s film. Continuing with sound i have also made a reference to Being There with the inclusion of 2001 A space Odyssey's famous soundtrack. (more details of sound can be found in Initial ideas.)

In scene 2 the male stranger is reading Being Hal Ashby by Nick Dawson,as I saw it fitting as an easter egg but also to pay tribute the wonderful book that helped so much with my creative investigation.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post B. Synopsis

Logline

Hugo, student of 19 years old, whose downfall is that he involuntarily falls in love with strangers, every day, male and female. He is an artist, suffering from short term memory loss, who draws strangers to remember the beauty in the world.

Synopsis

My protagonist is named HUGO; he is a student, studying English Literature at University (York.) His character will fascinate, as he is warm and kind but he is hopelessly romantic, he sees good in everyone and the beauty in everyone. It will be presented as subtle and ‘artsy.’ The people that will be fallen for and drawn, include a young woman on the bus, a young man in a café over a hot chocolate… Hugo is an artist, he sees a piece of art in each person he sees and involuntary fall for them, although this detail is subtle. It is revealed half way through the film, that Hugo suffers from short term memory loss, and draws strangers to remember the beauty in the world, on a day to day basis.

Links to my Creative Investigation

These quotes collected from my creative investigation, are ones that i feel directly help me for producing my own film inspired by Ashby, although mine may not be ‘profoundly’ tragic, it will hold some element that are emotional, or will make the audience empathize with the protagonist. For example, the reveal that Hugo suffers from short term memory loss. I feel my protagonist does try and ‘experience life’s joys first hand.’

“films that depict troubled heroes, question American values and resist closure or resolution, all while pushing elements of style beyond the well-developed norms of classical Hollywood cinema.”

This quote, taken from my creative investigation, sums up the themes and value i wish to communicate through my own film. This quoted describes film during the new Hollywood Era, a period where Ashby had undeniable influence, making him a perfect director to focus on, especially as i knew what i wanted from my film and he encompasses the messages and value i wanted to communicate.

In my film, i really hope to push stylistic elements, especially in comparison to my first year film black dog. Like Ashby, I hope to go beyond the norms of my era as a 17/18 year old filmmaker.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post A. Initial Ideas

Character Profile

*Developed character profile Ideas:

Hugo needed an addition to his character, something that would add depth and further justification for his artistic behavior towards strangers. After research and reflection on my focal films, I decided that my protagonist needed an underlying problem, that in no means defines Hugo but is an addition to his life he cannot avoid, but instead of allowing it to have a negative effect on his life, he embraces it and uses it to channel his creativity. This condition is short term memory loss, something that would effect his life a lot more significantly if he didn't remember places and faces by drawing them, because of this Hugo will no longer dispose of the drawings after each sketch.

Character links to creative investigation

I was inspired by the character of chance from my focal film Being There, Chance is simple and sheltered, naive to the world and the political corruption surrounding him, this isn't the main focal point or motif in the film, it instead makes the picture more innocent. For Hugo, he needed more substance to his character, his condition is not always apparent, like Chance (although it is not proven that Chance has a particular condition, his difference and distance from other people could be interpreted.) I also wanted Harold’s personality (from Harold and Maude) to come through, how he is an outsider but an undoubted individual.

When developing my initial ideas i was unsure whether i was going to use a male or female protagonist, so explored both, deciding on a male protagonist as i felt a better connection between narrative and Hugo, i had a better backstory and had someone in mind to play him, I am confident in my decision ~

Sound

Music

Cat Stevens

Cat Stevens produced the whole sound track to my focal film Harold and Maude, so I wish to play homage to this. By putting ‘Don’t be Shy’ or ‘If you want to sing out’ on the record player at the start of my short.

“Don't be shy just let your feelings roll on by Don't wear fear or nobody will know you're there Just lift your head, and let your feelings out instead”

These are some of the main lyrics too ‘Don’t be Shy,’ the lyrics can be easily applied to my narrative, Hugo cannot be afraid or let his memory condition effect his happiness, he is also a great example of ‘letting his feelings roll by” as he often shows emotional feelings to the public.

“You can do what you want The opportunity's on And if you can find a new way You can do it today”

This is lyrics from ‘If you want to sing out’ Hugo takes on opportunities to express himself through art because he cannot without.

Hozier

I have already decided what music will be played over the credits, ‘Someone new’ by Hozier, as this was a song that helped come up with the originals storyline, especially the following lyrics;

“Would things be easier If there was a right way, honey there is no right wayAnd so I fall in love just a little ol' little bit Every day with someone new”

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“Love with every stranger, the stranger the better”

These lyrics helped inspire my film, but I believe it will be to much, to direct, to have it playing as the main soundtrack to the film, over the credits, as a conclusion and summery to the short, will be ideal.

Original Soundtrack by Jan Van Beem

Similar to how Cat Stevens wrote the whole soundtrack to Harold and Maude, my lovely, musical friend Jan has written a score for The Recollection of Yesterday. It is upbeat and follows the atmosphere I wanted to convey in the film, using string also reflects the music by Stevens.

Dialogue

In previous films i have made i have tried to avoid dialogue to retain quality in the short, however i felt this film needed dialogue to reflect my focal films beautiful scripts and language, I will only include dialogue when i deem it necessary to help the plot and establish character, for example in the final scene (see Post C. Screenplay.)

Mise En Scene

Props

Protagonist’s sketchbook and art utensils

The sketchbook is essentially the most important prop in the film as it is what Hugo, the protagonist communicates through and how the audience understands Hugo’s artistic background, as well as understanding his coping mechanism to help deal with the memory loss.

Pencils, pens and paintbrushes can be seen tucked behind Hugo’s ear and in his pockets again portraying his artsy side and the readiness to create art.

Record Player

A short note on the record player in the film. I feel this is an important and notable prop in the film as it is aesthetic and demonstrates the old fashioned setting the protagonist lives in compared to the modern everyday. Through this, the extremely important soundtrack and score will be or appear to be communicated, this will also replicate aspects of two of my focal films, Being There and Harold and Maude, for example Maude plays the piano and the sound continues on throughout the following scenes.

Setting

The settings are relatively simple but should be exceedingly effective in the short as they should help frame Hugo’s personality. The settings will be fully established in the recce report (post ) but briefly; there will be six different settings, the living room which appears to be the most personal to Hugo, the cafe, a bus, a park/ park bench, an art gallery and a quiet street. I intend to use only natural light to film in these locations, perhaps with the exception of the living room which may use lighting to achieve a more ambient setting.

Costume

See character profile

Cinematography and Editing link to creative investigation

I think I will take most influence from Harold and Maude as i love the cinematography in this film, especially from the key scene i selected, Harold’s positioning in the shot will be really interesting to replicate in Hugo’s world. I also intend to use the technique Ashby used to create tension when the doctor walks down the corridor (see post B.)

I think it will be interesting and perhaps surprising to include the editing technique I noted from The Last Detail, the wades and wipes, on one scene in my film will add contrast, initially i imagine this in the Art gallery scenes.

I also love the framing in Being There, filling the camera shot with a building or group of people, i can imagine this in the cafe scene, involving the audience in the atmosphere of the cafe. I really want to portray the influence of Ashby in my film, after studying him intensely for my creative investigation, I have learnt quirks and smaller details that make his films unique and personal, through details in my own film i will hopefully represent Ashby, especially through my protagonist and cinematography.

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post U. Creative investigation Final Draft

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s0022548a2 · 7 years

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Post T. Creative Investigation first Draft

Essay Draft

My hypothesis going into the creative investigation was that director Hal Ashby, was and still is an auteur, investigation this through three subtopics:

Can Hal Ashby be considered an influence during the 70’s New Wave Cinema and beyond?

Ashby considered himself a collaborator, how did collaboration influence his most successful film?

How does Ashby represent class in his films?

Hal Ashby and his films are all to often overlooked in the grand scheme of successful filmmaking history, perhaps because he had a relatively small filmography.

“Ashby did not direct his first film until the age of 40, so the body of his work as a director is relatively small. But the films that he made show a remarkable visual sense of black humour and irony, a consistency of theme and characterization, and an innovative use of music and editing.”

”Indeed, Hal Ashby produced an extraordinary group of films over a short period of time and his status as a pre-eminent director during the 1970s should be acknowledged and the fine films that he made during this period remembered.”[1]

In this essay I am going to investigate how Ashby influenced cinema during the 1970’s, The Hollywood New Wave, and what part his work has played in contemporary directors. Authorship will also be questioned, in terms of how and whom Ashby collaborated (with.) Focusing specifically on my three focal films I will analyse theme, bringing to the forefront of my investigation, the representation of class.

Can Hal Ashby be considered an influence during the 70’s New Wave Cinema and beyond?

From late 1960’s to early 80’s a new generation of filmmakers and their films were emerging, films like, The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde were in the vanguard of American cinema, and it was at this time that Ashby made his mark on cinema history. Ashby’s most successful and inspiring films, including my three focal films, Harold and Maude, Being There and The Last Detail, overlap the 1970’s, the time period were Hollywood focused on more complex, challenging and unique films than previously. Writers and directors alike became more daring with their ideas. Director of an upcoming Hal Ashby documentary commented, “His rise as a director coincided with the brief but glorious period in American cinema when difficult, complex films were actually supported and encouraged by studios.”[2] An example of this from my focal films is undeniably Harold and Maude, Diablo Cody, writer of Juno, understood the unusualness of they storyline and how it was presented; “To see the character of Maude, who was the love interest she was the female lead and she was in her eighties and she sparkled and was presented with such affection.”[3]

Harold and Maude, caused controversy because of the romance between the pair, however Ashby frames this romance as appropriate and something that helped the characters Harold and Maude, discover themselves and a better life. One scene in particular conveys this, the scene in Maude’s caravan, where she sings to Harold, Ashby manages to achieve romance, humour and a sense of surrealism, perhaps making the idea of their relationship more ‘palatable’ for an unsure audience. Mise en Scene is used in the scene to communicate surrealism, a distorted image of Maude is seen through a strange pane of glass, Harold going to her presented as this swirled image, could represent the dream and freedom Harold sees in Maude. This links with my subtopic as Ashby presents the strange story in affectionate and tasteful way as to not cause disturbance in the viewer.

“You can’t imagine a director more perfectly suited to the project: a middle-aged man who’d fully embraced the swinging Sixties, a humanist whose films never shied from the darker side of life, the film’s central characters feel like Ashby’s been split into two different figures. He didn’t write it, but it’s the film we’ll always associate most closely with the director.”[4] This quote from Hal Ashby: A Retrospective, emphasises the reputation Ashby built up as he tackled unconventional films, this quote focuses on Harold and Maude, and although critics often didn’t appreciate his films in their writing; “After all, while Harold and Maude had alienated the majority of critics and cinemagoers, it had also sent out a message that Ashby was an accomplished filmmaker with a light touch willing to take risks and push boundaries.”[5] They attracted the quirkiest and perhaps the best kind of filmmaker, those willing to explore the unknown. The quote also expresses that it was almost as if Ashby put himself in his characters, attributes being shown in Maude as well as Harold, the undeniably contributes to the argument that Ashby was an auteur, the film is associated with the director, and people can see Ashby in the characters. In relation to my hypothesis, that Hal Ashby can be considered an auteur, I feel that his influence on the new wave of cinema is a key factor in recognising his authorship over his films. Film critic Grant, argues that it’s the director that gives a film “any distinctive qualities it may have.” In Harold and Maude, the distinctive qualities are the characters, and although this could be argued that the actors portrayed and presented the characters this way, the director, in the words of films critics, the director teases out the actor’s performance. Now this may not be the case for Ashby but I do know he worked closely with Bud Cort, who plays Harold, mentoring the young actor, preparing him for the role. The previous quote implies that Ashby put himself in the characters, ‘like Ashby’s been split into two figures’ and if the characters are they ‘distinctive quality’ to the film surely this put the director at the heart, personalising the authorship, as Syd Mead said “the director is God.”

Hal Ashby broke directing conventions in his films and his social life, moving from wife to wife almost in synchronisation to his films, he smoked weed, he was a ‘hippie’ and he employed hippies to crew on his films. Signifying the ‘new wave’ of cinema.Aclaimed film critic, Andrew Sarris belived that the second premise of auter theory is the distinguishable personality of t he director as a criterion value. Ashby definalty had personality, this quote from Being Hal Ashby by Nick Dawson shows the extent that Ashby went to do things perosally; “He spent his days meeting actresses and his nights partying with staff from paramount’s Uk office.”[6]

“Hal Ashby personifies, better than any other director, Hollywood’s Film Renaissance of the 1970s: its moral ambivalence and political rage, its stylistic audacity and deeply human voice.” [7] This quote from Darren Hughes, from Senses of Cinema, supports that Ashby was a influence during and after the 70’s film renaissance, it also pin points aspects of his work that directors before hand hadn’t paired when producing a film, my other focal film Being There, circulates around the motif of political debate and corruption, sometimes clearly other more subtlety. It addresses this topic with audacity, portraying the idea that a simple man, protagonist Chance, can have a huge influence and input into the U.S government by simply talking about gardening.

“Younger filmmakers like Wes Anderson, Judd Apatow, Noah Baumbach, Alexander Payne, David O. Russell and many more not only absorbed his influence, but vocally championed the director as an important impactor on their work.”[8]

“But watching the film will reveal its influence over modern moviemaking as being much broader (Wes Anderson in particular did some heavy plundering here, borrowing the films center-of-frame compositions, deadpan humour”[9]

After the Hollywood New Wave to contemporary cinema, it is clear, after investigation that Ashby is still a strong influence now, supporting the idea that he is an auter (theory) researching into modern successful filmmakers influence, such as Wes Anderson, Seth Rogan and Cameron Crowe:

“All off those song are so well known, but Hal’s work is so personal, that the songs feel that they were written for Hal’s movie”[10] this quote from Crowe actually addresses Coming Home, another of Ashby’s successful films, but I think it can be applied to Harold and Maude as well, as Cat Stevens produced the whole soundtrack to Harold and Maude. This collaboration is elaborated on further in they next section.

Ashby considered himself a collaborator, how did collaboration influence his most successful film?

Hal Ashby, throughout his career rejected the auteur label, he consistently vocalised his reliance on collaboration and the contributions his cast and crew had on the authorship of his films. He was huge on collaboration, giving young actors and editors such as Bud Cort, Randy Quaid and William A. Sawyer a chance to act and crew on his films. It wasn’t until after Ashby’s death that he was even considered to be an auteur, although this idea may seem to contradict my hypothesis it is understood that collaboration was and still very much is an unavoidable part of filmmaking, even for ‘auteurs.’ The authorship label often follows a director’s death, as was the case with ultimate auteur, Alfred Hitchcock. ”Ashby’s quiet, compassionate and funny humanist dramas, and his gentle approach to directing which endeared him to everyone he worked with, didn’t ever receive its due until years after his death.” [11] Perhaps this recognition came with the ability to truly reflect on his films, on the controversial topics he covered and the short time he made so many successful ones in. Ashby started as an editor working closely with Norman Jewison, and so editing influence continued throughout his directing career, often firing editors and doing the edit himself.In my focal film The Last Detail, especially my key scene, editing has a huge influence on the mood and conveyance of the scene and the acting.

In my focal film key sequence notes I investigated:

“The wipes and fades, makes the scene stand out amongst the rest of the film, the fade between shots show the reaction of the Buddusky, especially when Mulhall is shouting/ speaking to him. These transitions make the scene smooth and continuous, touching on character expression and reaction as well as the surroundings of the train and landscape. Focusing on the transitions at this point, I realise that, although Ashby had influence, this would have been up to the editors to decide on the transitions. Although this doesn’t help with the argument of Ashby being an auteur, it does in fact emphasis the position of character, camera movement and shot type.”

However after my creative investigation and reading Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel by Nick Dawson I now realise that Ashby couldn’t help himself in the edit and almost always helped in the edit, “he again found that he couldn’t stay away from the cutting room. He desperately wanted to be rid of the responsibility but couldn’t trust anybody completely with his film, All the editing was now being done at his house.”[12] This shows that although he did collaborate and put emphasis on this he had influence many of the really important processes that make a film successful, like editing.

One part of the important creative processes that he didn’t really have was the writing and the screenplay, for example on my focal film Being There, Jerzy Kosinski, wrote the original novel, and the adaptation based upon it. In terms of authorship, David Kipen argues that the writer is responsible for creating the world of the movie and is therefore the author. This contrasts my hypothesis, implying that Kosinski is the true auteur of Being There, taking away authorship from Ashby.

Ashby did not build strong or loyal relationships with producers or production companies often arguing and feuding, as Ashby wasn’t in it for the money, Ashby wanted things done his way. “His hands seemed to have been bound creatively by the money guys that he made those later films with — which was a really crippling process for an artist like Hal.”[13] This perhaps prevented Ashby from truly making his authorship mark on his films, for example, Paramount would not approve Harold and Maude unless hal cut a love scene between the two main characters. Ashby has been named an artist many a time, Sarris talked about artistic authorship, and that auteur theory served to gives films value as works of art, Ashby, arguably being an artist makes work of art.

“Cort and Ashby grew close over the production. After filming, says Cort, Paramount took control of the edit from Ashby, so Cort went to a publicity meeting with the studio and told them he’d refuse to promote the film unless they gave control back to a devastated Ashby, which they did.”[14] This opposes the argument that Ashby is an auteur as his collaborator, Cort, had influence over the film and its publicly, it could be argued that Ashby relied on Cort in this situation, Cort holding responsibility for the end result of the film, as if Ashby himself hadn’t had main input on editing, the film may have been totally different, a tale of friendship instead of romance between the unlikely pair, as the production company wanted.

How does Ashby represent class in his films?

The representation of class is a less obvious pattern that appears throughput Ashby’s films, but it is one that I have noticed and through his 1970’s new wave films, the motif is prominent, especially in Harold and Maude and Being There.

Being There is centred around a political motif, it portrays the U.S political system and hierarchy as corrupt and whimsical, as protagonist Chance, moves swiftly and easily up the political ladder by simply talking about gardening, now often these are beautiful metaphors for political movements but mostly the politicians take everything Chance says literally, and putting him at the forefront of the U.S government. By representing these political issues in this film, he also addresses the representation of class, especially by including the contrast of poor and rich and Chances indifference to the split, perhaps conveying Ashby’s own thoughts on the class divide.

After being asked what he thinks Being There is about, Peter Sellers, who plays protagonist, Chance responded “I think it’s Jerzy Kosiński’s comment on power and corruption and the triumph of the innocent man” Actor Peter Sellers had undeniable influence over Being there, perhaps making more people go see it in cinema and that his acting as Chance was labelled ‘his best yet.’ However he also understood the meaning behind the film, a shout of corruption and class, interwoven with humour and metaphors. He also described it as “The triumph of the simple man over power, over wealth, over corruption.”[15] With wealth comes class and through Being There Ashby has managed to present an interwoven message that with higher class comes arrogance and manipulation, but subtly, and not too controversially.

In Harold and Maude, Harold and his mother are upper class, his mother stereotypical, looking down on ‘lower class’ cars and people, whereas Harold breaks the conventions and finds freedom from the class restrictions in the free spirit of Maude, a working class woman who lives in a caravan. An example of this conflict between class could be Harold rebellious and transforming the posh, expensive car that his mother got him into a hearse style, a symbol of death and mourning, completely reversing the original, smart style his mum gave it to him in. This could represent Harold’s rebel against the class conventions that his mother poses upon him.

In conclusion, my hypothesis, that Ashby is an auteur, his been both supported and contradicted. His influence, during the 1970’s is clear, he made unusual films on unusual topics, changing film goers expectations and experiences, his films are art, and with this comes artistic authorship over his films. However Ashby collaborates openly and repeatedly, often working with the same people, such as Nick Jewison, he does manage to retain a distinct styel and pattern in the narratives he represents through the films he makes. Such as the theme of class.

[1] J.A. Davidson, The films and career of Hal Ashby, 1998, http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue08/features/halashby/halashby-nf.htm

[2] A.Scott, Filmmaker Magazine, 26 May 2014, http://filmmakermagazine.com/86085-director-amy-scott-on-her-upcoming-doc-once-i-was-the-hal-ashby-story/

[3] D.Cody, in interview for An Academy salute to Hal Ashby, 20 March 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK5THYZuvXM

[4] O.Lyttelton, The Filmsof Hal Ashby: A Retrospective, may 2011 http://www.indiewire.com/2011/05/the-films-of-hal-ashby-a-retrospective-118773/

[5] N.Dawson, Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, October 2017

[6] N.Dawson, Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, October 2017

[7] D.Hughes, Senses Of Cinema, http://sensesofcinema.com/2004/great-directors/ashby/

[8] O.Lyttelton, The Filmsof Hal Ashby: A Retrospective, may 2011 http://www.indiewire.com/2011/05/the-films-of-hal-ashby-a-retrospective-118773/

[9] O.Lyttelton, The Filmsof Hal Ashby: A Retrospective, may 2011 http://www.indiewire.com/2011/05/the-films-of-hal-ashby-a-retrospective-118773/

[10] C. Crowe, An Academy salute to Hal Ashby, March 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_cdMSh6LJI

[11] O.Lyttelton, The Films of Hal Ashby: A Retrospective, may 2011 http://www.indiewire.com/2011/05/the-films-of-hal-ashby-a-retrospective-118773/

[12] N.Dawson, Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, October 2017

[13] A.Scott, Filmmaker Magazine, 26 May 2014, http://filmmakermagazine.com/86085-director-amy-scott-on-her-upcoming-doc-once-i-was-the-hal-ashby-story/

[14] A.Godfrey, The Guardian, Bud Cort: ‘Harold and Maude was a blessing and a curse,’ July 2014

[15] FilMagicians, Peter Sellers interview about Dr. Strangelove, Pink Panther, Being There & more, April 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x-5_4NBpkQ

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