BSA 106 (Screen Arts 1) Semester 2 Week 1 : Welcome to Semester Two
This week we were introduced to the new semester and went over the handbook. The big assessment this term will be a presentation we have to give where we look at a director's work and investigate what techniques they use and where they take their inspiration from. This presentation will have a similar format to an essay, but unlike what we did last term this time we won't be limited by three specific film movements, this time the film movements will be determined by the director we choose - that is if they were even inspired by film. Some directors, like the power point example we looked at today that explored the director Adam Elliot, a stop motion filmmaker who took his inspiration more from photography and traditional literature, are inspired by mediums outside of film. This is what I find interesting, how people inspired by other mediums make a film, and how those conventions are translated into their movies.
One recent example I can think of who takes this approach is the director of Women Without Men, Shirin Neshat, who works primarily in photography, something that is reflected in her film. The most prominent part of Women Without Men was the cinematography which would usually adopt the use of stop motion or a lack of camera movement, creating striking images that the audience has the time to appreciate. While I felt the story was lacking and overall the film was too slow, it is undeniable that the cinematography was beautiful. Both the positive and negative elements of the film are a reflection of the director, her talents, skills and personal preferences.
These two images are very similar, showing how Neshat's art style is translated into film. In this shot the camera doesn't move, giving the viewers enough time to appreciate and contemplate the image on screen.
Instead of choosing a director and finding out what their inspirations are, I want to explore how a specific director's inspiration of another medium or proficiency in that field is reflected in the movies they produce. This will require some research before I decide who I am going to do my presentation on.
One recent example I can think of who takes this approach is the director of Women Without Men, Shirin Neshat, who works primarily in photography, something that is reflected in her film. The most prominent part of Women Without Men was the cinematography which would usually adopt the use of stop motion or a lack of camera movement, creating striking images that the audience has the time to appreciate. While I felt the story was lacking and overall the film was too slow, it is undeniable that the cinematography was beautiful. Both the positive and negative elements of the film are a reflection of the director, her talents, skills and personal preferences.
Shot from Women Without Men (2010)
Photograph by Shirin Neshat (2000)
Instead of choosing a director and finding out what their inspirations are, I want to explore how a specific director's inspiration of another medium or proficiency in that field is reflected in the movies they produce. This will require some research before I decide who I am going to do my presentation on.
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