The room itself seems to become a character in itself, bathed in warm yellows and reds, and envelopes the characters into it's own separate, cut-off world with it's strange paintings and collected nick-nacks. The song playing sings of wanting to get into someones head, which can relate to the two characters trying to understand the other, faced with ambiguity at every turn.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Chevalier
Today in class we watched 'Hotel Chevalier' (dir. Wes Anderson), a companion short film to 'The Darjeeling Limited'. This piece stars Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as an on-again-off-again couple who meet again in the eponymous hotel.
Being given the theme of 'dislocation', it's important to see how this piece relates to the theme and vice versa. Gathering on what you see in the film, it is clear to see that Schwartzman's character is dislocated from a 'normal' life. He is a wealthy man who has been living in an extremely luxurious and expensive hotel room, even going as far as getting his hair cut by a random barber in the hotel lobby. He has detached and dislocated himself from all contact with the outside world, and even initially treats his girlfriend as an intruder over the phone.
The room itself seems to become a character in itself, bathed in warm yellows and reds, and envelopes the characters into it's own separate, cut-off world with it's strange paintings and collected nick-nacks. The song playing sings of wanting to get into someones head, which can relate to the two characters trying to understand the other, faced with ambiguity at every turn.
The room itself seems to become a character in itself, bathed in warm yellows and reds, and envelopes the characters into it's own separate, cut-off world with it's strange paintings and collected nick-nacks. The song playing sings of wanting to get into someones head, which can relate to the two characters trying to understand the other, faced with ambiguity at every turn.
Evil little girls.
Even at early stages like this I spend hours on end looking for reference images for either characters or locations. Right now I'm focusing on my leading lady and for inspiration I'm looking at pictures of the archetypal 'demented little girl'. More to come on this and other characters.
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India Stoker (Stoker, 2013)   |
Genre?
I'm struggling to think of a specific genre for this piece, it'll probably become considerably more clear when I start to pen the script. Considering the genre and content of the previous films I mentioned, I'm tentatively describing this piece as a Gothic Drama with Horror elements.
Of course, with big words like 'Gothic' and 'Horror' there comes a lot of expectation and responsibility. You need to find a suitable location that captures the mood. Costume and styling are essential too.
Gothic drama goes back through the centuries when the word 'Gothic' wasn't a word to describe how someone dresses themselves. Masters of Gothic include Edgar Allen Poe, famed for his dark and twisted tales, while not all fantastical, were written with such lush and vivid imagery. Lovecraft is another who is known for his gothic creations, having birthed iconic fantastical monsters that are popular among fans to this day.
However, these writers aren't part of the driving influence, although I will undoubtedly go to them to draw inspiration. A massive influence is novel 'Jane Eyre', by Charlotte Bronte. The novel follows a lowly governess who, after a rough childhood and even more rough education, comes to work at the dark and mysterious Thornfield Hall, bathed in mist in the middle of the Moors. The gothic aspects of the novel all stem from the location (a character in itself), and the cornucopia of secrets it hides, and it's master, the mysterious and bad tempered Mr Rochester. The story is adored by many and the secret that drives poor Jane from Thornfield still shocks readers.
Jane Eyre has taught me about the importance of location. Location can be a character in a lot of cases (e.g. Titanic, Psycho etc.), and for me this is something to seriously consider and research.
Of course, with big words like 'Gothic' and 'Horror' there comes a lot of expectation and responsibility. You need to find a suitable location that captures the mood. Costume and styling are essential too.
Gothic drama goes back through the centuries when the word 'Gothic' wasn't a word to describe how someone dresses themselves. Masters of Gothic include Edgar Allen Poe, famed for his dark and twisted tales, while not all fantastical, were written with such lush and vivid imagery. Lovecraft is another who is known for his gothic creations, having birthed iconic fantastical monsters that are popular among fans to this day.
However, these writers aren't part of the driving influence, although I will undoubtedly go to them to draw inspiration. A massive influence is novel 'Jane Eyre', by Charlotte Bronte. The novel follows a lowly governess who, after a rough childhood and even more rough education, comes to work at the dark and mysterious Thornfield Hall, bathed in mist in the middle of the Moors. The gothic aspects of the novel all stem from the location (a character in itself), and the cornucopia of secrets it hides, and it's master, the mysterious and bad tempered Mr Rochester. The story is adored by many and the secret that drives poor Jane from Thornfield still shocks readers.
Jane Eyre has taught me about the importance of location. Location can be a character in a lot of cases (e.g. Titanic, Psycho etc.), and for me this is something to seriously consider and research.
A very good place to start.
Willkommen! Welcome!
This is the second blog I have made for this course, having just finished working on my blog dedicated to my Documentary unit. Out with the old and in with the new! With the closing of one unit, comes the opening of a brand new one, going from documentary to our end-of-year piece. Like our documentary, we have been given a theme to keep in mind when writing our screenplays and to incorporate into our work. That theme is 'Dislocation'.
Dislocation (for me at least) can be interpreted in many ways, which is what I'm really loving about this theme so far. For this I'm trying to stay as far away from literal interpretations of the word, opting for a more psychological approach. Physical dislocation could be that you're somewhere you don't want to be, or that you've dislocated a limb (something we've been warned against). Psychological dislocation could relate to depression or anxiety, or just feeling different from others.
Since being given the theme, I've been stuck on the idea of a dysfunctional family. This idea has been in my head for a good while now, having watched several interesting films that feature a dysfunctional family. There are a number of films that stick out for me, personally.
The film, Director Park's (Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) first English language feature which drew much attention. Park is known for contrasting grim subject matter with extreme beauty and visual flare, with immaculate framing and stunning colours. Visually, this is the kind of film I DREAM of making.
The story is very similar to Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt', but focusing a lot more on the central female character of India, whose growth and coming-of-age overarch all of the events that take place. I can relate the theme of Dislocation to India in a number of ways. India is a loner at school, she is constantly harassed by the other students, so she is dislocated socially. When at home, India's Mother treats her like a borderline unholy demon, having previously only been close to her Father.
Other dislocations include her sexuality, being initially a non-sexual character and harnessing her sexuality with the arrival of Uncle Charlie, and her 'unconventional' interests (India is a skilled hunter having been trained with a rifle by her Father from a young age). India's emotions seem to be dislocated too, having little-to-no empathy for any other character in the film or what happens to them. She does what she pleases as if she's in her own separate reality with its own rules.
There will be more on this analysis, as India and the overall film have inspired me greatly. More to come on the other films mentioned too!
This is the second blog I have made for this course, having just finished working on my blog dedicated to my Documentary unit. Out with the old and in with the new! With the closing of one unit, comes the opening of a brand new one, going from documentary to our end-of-year piece. Like our documentary, we have been given a theme to keep in mind when writing our screenplays and to incorporate into our work. That theme is 'Dislocation'.
Dislocation (for me at least) can be interpreted in many ways, which is what I'm really loving about this theme so far. For this I'm trying to stay as far away from literal interpretations of the word, opting for a more psychological approach. Physical dislocation could be that you're somewhere you don't want to be, or that you've dislocated a limb (something we've been warned against). Psychological dislocation could relate to depression or anxiety, or just feeling different from others.
Since being given the theme, I've been stuck on the idea of a dysfunctional family. This idea has been in my head for a good while now, having watched several interesting films that feature a dysfunctional family. There are a number of films that stick out for me, personally.
- Stoker (dir. Park Chan-Wook)
- The Birds (dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
- The Royal Tenenbaums (dir. Wes Anderson)
The film, Director Park's (Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) first English language feature which drew much attention. Park is known for contrasting grim subject matter with extreme beauty and visual flare, with immaculate framing and stunning colours. Visually, this is the kind of film I DREAM of making.
The story is very similar to Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt', but focusing a lot more on the central female character of India, whose growth and coming-of-age overarch all of the events that take place. I can relate the theme of Dislocation to India in a number of ways. India is a loner at school, she is constantly harassed by the other students, so she is dislocated socially. When at home, India's Mother treats her like a borderline unholy demon, having previously only been close to her Father.
Other dislocations include her sexuality, being initially a non-sexual character and harnessing her sexuality with the arrival of Uncle Charlie, and her 'unconventional' interests (India is a skilled hunter having been trained with a rifle by her Father from a young age). India's emotions seem to be dislocated too, having little-to-no empathy for any other character in the film or what happens to them. She does what she pleases as if she's in her own separate reality with its own rules.
There will be more on this analysis, as India and the overall film have inspired me greatly. More to come on the other films mentioned too!
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