Reflective Analysis

For my A2 film coursework, I decided to write a screenplay based on short film. It centres around a protagonist, Ezra and an antagonist, Sven. The first part seems like a mystery but encorporates the martial arts genre.

My storyline was inspired by Jo Nesbo's scandinavian novels as I envisioned what they would look like look if they were eventually filmed. One theme I was particularly interested in stretching was European crime, so I set the scenes in Germany. The motifs of the Berlin setting and the fox were inspired by my favourite film 'Hanna'. The fox was a symbol from the Grimm's Fairytale as it foreshadows the fact that Ezra will be seriously hurt, but will survive. The Grimm's fairytales are also prominent in Hanna. Some of the shots in Scenes 1,2 and 3 are taken from 'New Wave' cinema, I wanted mundane tasks to juxtapose with the eventual climax of the rising action. This creates a nice balance for the audience as it isn't throwing them straight into the action but starting them off comfortable to eventually explode into the climax. The short scenes in the exposition are showing everyday life but the moment Ezra is trapped in the car wreckage, the tone of the script changes. I emphasised this to show the dangerous possibilities of life; anything can happen in a second. This was inspired by the French film La Haine.

The characters of Ezra and Sven are binary opposites, one is good, one is bad. This turbulent relationship is highlighted when Sven tries to torture Ezra twice in the hospital and the car crash without actually killing him. Ezra represents Redemption whereas Sven represents Injustice, 'There is a way to be good again'. This is a theme in one of my A2 subject films, Fight Club, as The Narrator wishes to be everything Tyler is even though he is corrupt. The idea of their 'brotherhood' being disrupted for a foolish, thoughtless action may be relatable to the audience. Another inspiration was Clive Owen and Vincent Cassel's characters in Derailed, another inspiration for scene 9. The fighting in Scene 9 was meant to be reminiscent of the Indonesian film 'The Raid'. The fighting descriptions are realistic, so the audience are more likely to become involved if they're given visuals which they can better respond to. I think the fight scene in particular worked particularly well and would be constructed for a cinema audience and not an on-demand movie that goes straight to TV, however due to the general narrative, I think it would work better as an art house/film festival movie. Director's that would bring it the screen well would be David Fincher, Joe Wright and Dennis Gansel. The narrative followed the structure of David Fincher's 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' in which the audience had to work out the mystery for themselves. Elements of the fighting in the penultimate scene were inspired by the TV show 24 not only because the fighting is dramatic but also more realistic and gritty.

If I could change an element of the screenplay it would be to make it a short extract of what the screenplay would be and not a whole short film. I had a few problems such as too much dialogue and spelling the narrative out, a convention of typical Hollywood movies and not Foreign independent dramas. The clues had to be spelled out in the visuals, this was something that appeared more difficult as I went on. The short mundane scenes in 1,2,3 and 4 are also there to dupe the reader into thinking that a small clue will be left to progress the mystery, however there was not. Most of the mystery derives from the car crash and the fight scene. It's possible that the reader feels unsettled by the rising action and therefore receives the film as an indie flick. All the scenes are conventions of independent dramas and the male antagonist fits the stereotypical family man archetype who must save his family and himself etc. This can be seen as a convention of Hollywood cinema but to intertwine them both would unsettle the audience more as there is no sense of consistency. My target audience would be predominantly 23-30 male and females in an A,B socio economic demographic.

In the mise-en-scene in Scene 1 and 8 there is a lot of derelict language to explain how dark and dingy the settings are, I set the film in Berlin, Germany because it's not only my favourite place but a highly used setting in foreign dramas. The setting adds to the 'unsettling' feel as it's not a paradise. The wife, Cara is described as having red nails and lips to show a more sexual side. Ezra has a seductive wife which he loses, this causes him to react more to the antagonists threats. Another mise-en-scene element running throughout was the constant use of green and emerald to show an illness, a sickness that links to the derelict settings and language. The fox on the sofa had the contrast of ginger and green, just like Marissa Wiegler in the last scene of Hanna where she is also bleeding and wounded. The short bouts of dialogue gave the film a 'New Wave' feel as the actions speak louder than the words. The dialogue itself is specific to the genre, there is a jargon used for the crime aspects in Scene 7, this not only makes the dialogue more subject specific but allows the reader to know exactly what kind of film they're watching. The name was originally going to be 'Ash Tree Lane', the lane where Ezra finds the wounded fox but I later changed it to 'Traces Of A Fox's Kill' from the Snow Child story in the novel The Bloody Chamber, another inspiration of mine. 

Aims and Context

• Mystery/Psychological 

• Script

• Linear Structure 

• 21+ Male and Female audience. Premiered as Art house/Film Festival

• key stylistic elements of sequence (cinematography, editing etc)

The 'Reflective Analysis' should be approx 1,000 words 

It should include/discuss: 

• How successful the work was produced in terms of meeting its aims and context. Themes, issues, style and music should be assessed in terms of appealing to its target audience. (Refer to key films and filmmakers/screenwriters whilst also highlighting and defining your intended means of exhibition - arthouse/mainstream/film festivals etc)
• How well you utilised certain styles, techniques and methods of production in your work. What was successful, less successful and/or unsuccessful in your intended aims (refer to your aims and context: be critical of your own work). 
• Give a critical account of exactly what your role was in the process and discuss; difficulties encountered in production (technical or group dynamics). Assess your own abilities; strengths/weaknesses. Refer to elements that you have altered to meet its aims.
• A discussion of what you have learnt about the filmmaking process and the difficulties that may be encountered by undertaking this practical exercise and a critical reflection of the whole process. 

The supporting written work for this assignment should be detailed, concise and show a good grasp of all elements of the filmmaking/screenwriting process throughout. Your ability to identify styles, techniques and influences on your work should reflect a strong understanding of the chosen form you have worked within. 

Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which mainstream spectators bring to their mainstream film-going. [35]

Discuss some of the ways in which the film or video work you have studied for this topic requires a different kind of spectatorship from that which mainstream spectators bring to their mainstream film-going. [35]
How do experimental  films differ from mainstream?

Experimental films are often easier to understand than mainstream films as there is a lot to discuss and the topics vary much more. In 1929 Luis Bunuel created 'Un Chien Andalou' in which surrealist themes ran wild. I found this film to be disturbing and I started to wonder where ideas, such as the armpit on the mouth, even came from. It seems like a film that reflects social context such as post war drama and religion. One of the male characters actually drags two priests on the ground which can be seen as people dragging religion on the ground because they lost belief in the war. It appears to be a film about escapism and exploring Freud's theory of the unconscious mind and how dreams make no sense. There is clearly an identifiable message within the film whereas compared to Mission Impossible which is aesthetically pleasing but not worth anything more than the typical 'fighting for your life' storyline.

 In films such as Kenneth Anger's 1947 film 'Fireworks' there is much deeper interpretations going on such as illegal homoeroticism. 'It's a dream within a dream. He goes to bed less empty than before'. It was incredibly influential on queer cinema such as mainstream Oscar winner 'Brokeback Mountain'. Through the mise-en-scene, there are flashes of light. Maybe to symbolise that finding his homosexuality is finding the light, and therefore himself. It's violent imagery is a lot more controversial and high brow than a 'popcorn' film. Similar shots are used in 1999 cult film 'Fight Club'. I thought that it was respectively daring but didn't entertain me, it was very realistic as some men do get beaten up for their sexuality. So in this way I think it was making a powerful statement, as this was still a time where homosexuality was classed as a disease in medical books. For a 17 year old, it inspired much more artistic viewings outside The L Word and Queer As Folk.

How useful has a particular critical approach been in gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of your chosen film? 

My chosen film that I have studied for this topic is David Fincher's 1999 film 'Fight Club' which had a number of critical approaches such as Freudian and Post modernism but the critical approach that was most useful to me was this idea of the crisis of masculinity. The films exposition starts with [Jack] the narrator at a self help group for men, all sat in a circle in a gym. As men they should be playing basketball in front of the american flag but instead they are discussing their feelings and massaging each other. The diegetic sound of alarm bells ringing in the background symbolise that what is happening is wrong, it goes against the status quo. Jack suffers from Insomnia, probably as a result of too much TV and a lack of meaning in his life, 'If I didn't cry, I didn't sleep'. He lives his life out of an IKEA catalogue picking out pieces of decorum; something men are stereotypically not meant to do. When his house blows up after meeting Tyler, it is argued that this was the best thing to happen to him. 'It's only when we've lost everything, that we are free to be anything'. Marla (anagram for alarm) flips this idea of a feminine masculine on its head, Jack appears to not be interested in her but his alter ego Tyler is interested in her sexually. A more freudian approach of the id and the ego is applied here. This would make him more masculine because he does not admit his feelings (like women often do) and only desires her sexually. To counteract their growing feminine sides they start a fight club to reclaim their masculinity.