Statement Of Intentions

My practical production is going to be a 5 – 8 minuet film based on a song called Whiskey In The Jar. This song was originally a traditional Irish folk song but has been covered by numerous bands including Thin Lizzy and Metallica who performed it as a rock style song. The song Whiskey In The Jar will be played in the background as a narrative device, telling the viewer what is happening in the film. I will try use a variety of different media techniques like filming, editing, and stock frame animation and more to create my production.

My aim is to create a film that is slightly comedic because the song has a slightly humorous vibe about it but it still has a serious element about it because ultimately the song is a love story, which has a disastrous ending. It encompasses all aspects of romance: deceit, trickery and betrayal.

The protagonist of my production is an unnamed man who is a wheeler-dealer of his time. He gets by in life by theft and other unimaginable acts. However he is a loveable character who the viewer can relate too. He is out walking one day when he comes across Captain Farrell, a high-ranking member of the army/police force, it is not clearly stated. He accosts him and then plunders his commodities. After this he takes the spoils back to his girl Jenny who swears to love him forever but then betrays, by running off to Captain Farrell to tell him where his valuables are, leaving our loveable protagonist completely unawares of what is happening. While our man is taking a slumber, Captain Farrell and a band of footmen apprehend him in his crib. He tries to fight back but Jenny has taken his sword, and the ammunition/gun powder has been removed from his pistols. After that it is not clear what happens to our main character but it can be presumed that he survives whatever happens to him and lives on with his life after it however it is made clear that he never gets over his love of Jenny and how she betrayed him.

I have been influenced by both song and film alike in the making of my practical production. These included an 1969 album called Tommy by the British rock band The Who. Tommy was The Who's fourth album and was the fist musical work ever to be given the name a Rock Opera. It tells the story of the life of a deaf, dumb and blind boy called Tommy. It has a strong narrative, much like the song I have chosen to base my practical production on. I was also heavily influenced by Tommy for another reason, because in 1975 a film version of the opera was released and it was based on The Who's album Tommy. This is much like what I am hopefully going to produce in my Practical Production. The Who have had other films made since Tommy, based on other albums. These include Quadrophenia which was a 1979 film based on there 1973 album under the same name. It tells the story of the famous rivalry between the two British subcultures the Mods and Rockers. All of these work and many more have influenced me into the making of my practical production.

Photography Framing

These are a selection of photographs that I have taken. I chose them because they have a wide range of variety among them in there angle, lighting and content.

I picked the first two photographs for a number of reasons. The first one is a low angle and it is interesting because it distorts the perspective of the viewer. It makes the people in it look Brobdingnagian and Hurculean.

The second one has interesting light surrounding the central figure on either side of him.

The next one has an interesting contrast in it. The blue pipe that juts out at an odd angle from the

rest of the the silver pipes. It draws your eye to it.

The photo of the stair case is interesting because of the angle of the camera. It makes the stairs seem dominant over the rest of there surroundings and gargantuan. Also the light shining off the banister makes them seem majestic.
The photo that has been taken through the fence is interesting because it is almost acting as a filter over the setting. Also the men wearing the high visibility jackets stand out from the mainly grey and brown background. It draws your attention to them instead the dull surroundings.
The picture of the corridor is interesting because it gives the impression that the it is longer then it actually is. Also the light reflection of the light down the side walls is symmetrical which has an interesting visual effect.
The last photograph has a flabbergasting contrast in it. The blue pipe that snakes its way up the side of the building is very contrasting. It catches your eye and stands out among the blandly coloured building.
These are all very interesting photographs with very interesting techniques used in them.

Caravaggio, Rembrandt & Vermeer

Caravaggio
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was an Italian artist born in 1571. His most famous work was the decorating of the Contarelli Chapel in San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome with three scenes of the life of Saint Matthew. The Calling of Saint Matthew is noted for its dramatic use of cellar light, streaming in from a source above the action, to illuminate Christ's hand gesture and the other figures in the painting. In 1601, Caravaggio received his second major commission, from Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome for a Conversion of Saint Paul and Crucifixion of Saint Peter. In this a bright shaft of light carries symbolic meaning, indicating the bestowal of Christian faith upon Saul.

Although the use of both realistic types and strong chiaroscuro originated in northern Italian art of the previous century, Caravaggio brought new life and immediacy to these aspects of painting and his been a strong influence on many people and their work's, not just artists.
Director Martin Scorsese has said that he has been strongly influenced by Caravaggio and his work:
"Caravaggio is there in the bar scenes in Mean Streets, where I tried to get a dramatic use of bursts of light." and "What hit me about his work was the extraordinary power of realism."

Caravaggio died in 1610 aged 38, but he is still inspiring people today.


Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in 1606. He was a Dutch painter and is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printamkers in European art. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.

At the age of 22, Rembrandt moved to Leiden and began to get his own students. One of his pupils was the famous artist Gerrit Dou. In 1631 he moved to Amsterdam where he became the most popular portrait painter in Holland. He received numerous commissions for portraits and paintings of religious matters. During this time, Rembrandt's paintings are mostly focused on strong lighting effects. He was influenced by Caravaggio. He also became famous for his landscapes and etchings. Rembrandt painted between fifty and sixty self portraits during his lifetime. Overall he did more than 600 paintings and over 2,000 etchings and drawings.
He died aged 63 in 1669 in Amsterdam.

Vermeer
Johan Vermeer was a Dutch artist born in 1632. Since that time Vermeer's reputation has grown, and he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He is renowned for his use of light in his work.His works include Girl With The Pearl Earing and The Milkmaid.
Often the sparkling pearly highlights in Vermeer's paintings have been linked to possible use of a camera obscura, the primitive lens of which would produced anexaggerated perspective. Such effects can be seen in Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman. Vermeer's interest in optics is also seen in this work by the mirror reflection above the lady at the virginals.
Vermeer died in 1675 at the age of 43.

German Expressionism

Expressionism was a cultural movement that started in Germany in the early

1900's. The aim of it was to be able to express ones self with out having

rules and restrictions to regulate you. German Expressionism encompassed

a wide variety of different media including theatre, architecture, music, art

and cinema/ film. German expressionist film was a part of this creative

movement but German expressionist films were a lot darker and a much

more Gothic style of film then most film of that time period. German

expressionist filmmakers produced very few "feel good films".

In the period of time after World War 1, the German film industry

boomed. However because of the harsh economic times in Germany,

it was difficult for filmmakers to create movies could compete with

film elsewhere in the world, like Hollywood. So German filmmakers

developed there own style which relied heavily on symbolism and

mis en scene and film sets to add atmosphere to the films and thus

German Expressionist film was born.

This is an example of a German Expressionist film called

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

German Expressionist Photography and Set Design Project

Me and some others made a set in the style of a German Expressionist set.

This is what it looked like.

Then we took photo's of it using different lighting techniques on the sets that we made.

As you can see the lighting is key for the sets. It can determine the mood of the scene that is happening in it and can create all different kinds of atmosphere.

Formalism & Realism

Formalism
Formalist film theory is a theory of film study that is focused on the formal, or technical, elements of a film: i.e., the lighting, scoring, sound and set design, use of color, shot composition, and editing. It is a major theory of film study today.

Pans Labyrinth Is An Example Of A Formalist Film:





Reaslism
Realism has become one of the most contested terms in the history of cinema. Realism has been an extremely useful concept for asking questions about the nature of cinematographic images, the relation of film to reality, the credibility of images, and the role cinema plays in the organization and understanding of the world. Realism, at the very least, has been a productive illusion.

Kes Is An Example Of A Realist Film: