'Thoughts that Burn' – Surrealist Film Evaluation
In Thoughts that Burn, we attempted many different ideas in terms of the content and the themes in order to use the Surrealist genre to the fullest extent. In some ways, our film does follow some of the general conventions of many of the surrealist films we researched, but our film does do some things that take a different route to many of these films, whether that be a positive or negative thing. One thing we wanted to make sure we could do when making the film was the lack of an easily observable narrative in the film. To do this, when planning out the film, we tried to come up with concepts first, rather than the overall message of the piece. We felt that what sticks in people's minds when watching a surrealist film is particular images (for example the cutting of the eye in Un Chien Andalou) rather than a definitive narrative. Like many surrealist films do, we wanted it to be the job of the spectator to create their own interpretation rather than making one definitive one, so we made sure to prioritise elements of the film rather than creating a specific message. In terms of technical aspects, our initial aim was also to fulfil the usual conventions of many surrealist films such as L'Age D'or which would often use quite fast cuts to continue this feeling of discomfort originally created by this images. Our finished product didn't necessarily contain the fast cuts we were going for. In fact, over time, we decided to challenge some of the conventions by making some shots intentionally last a longer time period, slightly due to change up the style a little bit, but also to create some discomfort for the spectator (as the increased length is quite unconventional). While the quick cuts can also have the same effect, we wanted to try something different and so, in the filming and editing process, we made this decision, making the film feel a bit slower but hopefully still keeping that disconcerting feeling. The music and sound of the film also fits into the usual surrealist style, with the usage of white noise similar to that of Lynch's Eraserhead as well as emulating the style of silent surrealist films like Un Chien Andalou (as well as emphasising that odd reaction from the spectators – they come to expect a sound effect). From various audience research and our own opinions, the scenes most conventional in terms of the surrealist scene are the blender scene and the moment with the elephant. The former, uses quicker editing, as well as the presence of gore and violence which can be found in plenty of surrealist films (particularly from my own research in Lynch's The Alphabet and L'Age D'or) to create both a shocking scene for the spectator (a reaction which seems to have come through in most spectator reactions to the film) as well as something that fits into and shows influence from past surrealist works. The latter uses the idea of seemingly random imagery to not only disconcert the audience but also work as a cornerstone for interpretations if the spectator wishes. The idea of some form of animal being used to surprise the audience was always planned from the beginning but the choice of the elephant stemmed from our own personal ideas of the film being about memory. The ideal cut of the film made sure the elephant was incorporated into the environment rather than stock footage to allow for that jarring switch between the familiar and the foreign found in many surrealist films such as Microwaveable and Fresh Guacamole. However, as mentioned before, we definitely took some different direction from each of these films. The cinematographic style is definitely slightly more modern, using far more long shots than in earlier surrealist films. This decision came partly due to the practicality of shots and the lack of experience of Harry Veale, the lead actor in the film but also as we still wanted this sense of distance created for the spectator from the protagonist. We still wanted them to feel alienated in the presence of him as a character, and we tried to make this separation of character and audience increase as the film went on, using more long shots. The switch to greyscale towards the final shots of the film slightly contributes to this but also creates this feeling of discomfort and the unknown that many surrealist films also contain. Another of the primary differences here is that we did have a narrative structure in mind when creating this film. There was a planned chronology to each of the scenes in the film and there is a sense of a cause-and-effect to each of the actions that take place. While there is the presence of flashbacks, these still do follow a clear sense of chronology, which can be seen as different to some films such as Un Chien Andalou or The Alphabet, neither of which have a clear sense of chronology or cause-and-effect and any examples of causation do not generally make much sense, unlike in our film. This could be seen as a failure of the film in terms of its surrealist style but it can also be shown again as a conflict between the familiar and the foreign, combining the normal human idea of memory with the shocking, violent imagery that is not usually found in life. In terms of this, our film is definitely more edging towards the more modern development of the surrealist style, having more in common with Lynch's works than Bunuel's in terms of the usage of the images and their place within the real world and really showing the conflict between the real and the unreal throughout our film. In some ways, our film strictly follows the idea of the surrealist style with its seemingly unrelated and random images that seek to confuse and unsettle the spectators but also the film challenges at points, applying a more modern conventional chronology and evidence of cause-and-effect which likens it more to traditional narrative structures. Our film was planned with many different ideas in mind to meet an overall vision and in many ways, we were successful, but in some ways, there are elements throughout our film that do not fit that overall vision. In terms of the successes of the film in meeting our original overall vision, the overall narrative of the film was certainly achieved with each scene playing out (in terms of its events) exactly as we planned. Throughout the filming and editing process, there was little need to change the events of the film for location reasons or practicality reasons. The usage of a carefully planned screenplay did help this to go through, as well as working out shooting locations far in advance of the actual filming days. As well as this, in terms of the film's aim as a surrealist film, the film has seemed to cause shocked reactions from some spectators, most noticeably in the blender sequence. While planning the film, there was an initial dilemma in terms of creating a scene that would be interpretable and not just gratuitous violence, yet would shock the audience. The final choices made in the film did create some mild shocked responses from the audience so in that sense the atmosphere of the film certainly came through successfully. On a more technical level, the cinematography of the film was certainly very successful, with certain shots such as the longer shots on the road, creating a very deep depth of field, which worked marvellously along with the environment as well as creating an unsettling feeling, almost showing an exposure to the world that the protagonist has at this point as well as emphasising the loneliness and gravity of his situation. Overall, the way we used the environment and the mis-en-scene around us alongside the cinematography to help create a certain tonal atmosphere to the film was extremely successful in the final product. The final concept that certainly went very succesfully throughout the film is the editing in terms of duration choices, the overall pace and the overall fluid nature of the more technical aspects. While in two of the three cuts, there are certainly issues with the technical editing, but on the final cut screened, the editing was extremely well done which improved the feeling of the film as well as emphasising the aspect of the surreal. While there were certainly many successes throughout the development of the film both technically and narratively, there were also some things that did not go as planned. One such unsuccessful element of the overall development of the film was a lack of very deep planning. While there was some done in order to get the overall concept and narrative of the film off the ground, the technicalities of each scene were certainly not planned out to the same extent. Due to this lack of planning, there are some continuity issues throughout shots, as many ideas were slightly improvised in terms of the practicality of it. This means that the experience created by the film is slightly reduced, taking the spectator out of the film. Another aspect that we didn't think went particularly successfully was our casting process and actors eventually chosen. A more thorough casting process (perhaps involving a proper audition process) would have certainly helped with this. One example of these issues showed with the acting in the classroom scene in which the actor playing the bully character didn't particularly come across with the attitude we were going for (appearing angry rather than mocking, which was not particularly the intended tone). In hindsight, some roles could have been swapped around and performances directed a bit more closely to ensure the characters appeared slightly believable. Personally, there were also issues in terms of the actual extent to which the film fell under the surrealist style. While we certainly used some aspects such as the random imagery and the shocking, violent sequences, the film certainly could have done more technically with the idea to add to this base work. The job of making someone feel genuinely uncomfortable while watching the film was certainly a difficult one and we certainly did not succeed in that area. The film could have done with more explicitly surrealist sequences in order to meet this criteria. Finally, one of the other primary issues personally with the film is the chosen music which doesn't really feel to flow that well with the edit, creating an unintended sense of jarring transitions between each parts in the score. The score fades away in the wake of some of the imagery, which is a shame as it feels like the score can really contribute to that aforementioned feeling of shock that can be felt through the surrealist style. The construction in the representation of social groups in our film could give some interesting ideas. Firstly, we have the scene in the classroom, which brings in a few ideas of the education system. The idea here in the planning stage was to make sure the protagonist is only remembering negative memories in his life, forgetting all about any of the positives. The setting of the classroom was used to help do this. School is meant to be a place for education in a secure and friendly environment, but in our film, this is presented at a complete contrast, with the bully character verbally and physically harassing the protagonist, with no clear sign of education or teaching taking place in the scene. Through this, we wanted to highlight both the negative aspects of school life that can and do take place to many but also to show this contrast: school is meant to be a positive place but the protagonist purely imagines it as a place where the verbal abuse from his parents continues, creating this nightmare as the spectator is taken through these corrupted memories. Linking to this, the presentation of parents in the film is again very negative but, yet again, this is deliberate, creating a contrast between the traditional role of parenthood and the way our protagonist saw his own childhood. We wanted this particular sequence in the film to take place as his parents are going through some form of marital issues, eventually leading to divorce. However, the protagonist does not remember the previous times when his parents were caring and did perform their roles, but instead, only the negative. As his life flashes through his eyes, he only remembers the miseries of life, and we wanted to structure the portrayal of these strong memories of childhood and heavily corrupt them to help this. Apart from this, however, there was very little consideration in terms of precise social group representations, instead, we wanted to really focus on our protagonist and his personal memory of institutions and traditionally happy childhood figures and strongly corrupt this to show the corruption in perception his own mind is also doing. In terms of the audience feedback, we received some responses that were quite interesting. Most people agreed that the film was successful in its aim to be surrealist and as a film overall with every person asked giving the film at least a four out of five. The scenes which seemed to garner the most positive feedback was the blender idea as well as the elephant which both confused and shocked spectators and certainly has the most surrealist film to it. Some elements of the cinematography, particularly that on the road, received praise from most audience feedback, as well as the editing techniques that were used. Despite our reservations, the performances of all the cast got very positive feedback for the most part. Some people did take note of some of the more amateur elements of Harry's performance but that was to be expected with such a lack of experience. From most people's feedback, we also discovered and reinforced our own ideas in a surrealist film of the images being more important than a complete and perfect narrative as those scenes are far more striking to the spectators. Some spectators did argue that the film didn't have a point to it that it was trying to make and this is possibly fair – perhaps some form of point could have been highlighted at the end with some grand image to sum it up (as with L'Age D'Or's final scene's scathing attack on Christianity), just to illustrate to the spectators something we want to say about the themes of the film. As well as this, some people argued that some scenes came across as relatively misjudged in terms of tone, and this again, could be to do with some of the lack of exact planning that took place and the ideas that were improvised during filming certainly do not land as well. Therefore, overall from our audience feedback, I have garnered an increased sense of the importance of exact planning as well as perhaps improved casting of the film. However, the necessity for strong images that will stay in the audience's mind is also something that I should continue to do in future films, creating something that will really resonate with a spectator. In the process of making this film, I also learnt a lot about the production process, in terms of planning, writing, filming and editing a film such as this. The absolute necessity for detailed planning was illustrated to me, as I feel the film could have been improved with a complete storyboard and a more accurate shot list in order to help with not just the continuity errors but also just the overall flow of the film: it should feel meticulously planned and choreographed in terms of the blocking of the characters in terms of their movement throughout a shot as well as the transition into the next shot being far more carefully considered than we perhaps did. As well as this, the importance of auditions for casting also showed itself to be incredibly important. Once we had started filming, it would have been a struggle to change actors, and it does feel like some of our casting was a little misjudged, with some performances not coming off the way we wanted them to. During the planning stage, we also really ignored a distinct style to add to our film that can be found in many other surrealist short films such as Fresh Guacamole or The Alphabet. I didn't really feel like our film felt that different and I found an increased importance in terms of developing our own style instead of just filming and coming up with shot ideas as we went along. In terms of the time constraints of filming, we did struggle a little bit, having to come back for another few hours than we had planned and this was for numerous reasons: partly due to an incorrect estimation of how busy the filming location would be and the number of takes each shot would take. However, we finished editing quickly and efficiently and our planning stage also didn't take too long. I've learnt not to underestimate how long it will take to film a certain scene as complications are always likely to get in the way so in future I will plan for much longer than I necessarily think I need on face value just to make sure I will have time to get things done. From the film production, I learnt a lot about time management, increased planning and the creation of a distinct style to my films. The previous film I created in a group was The Appointment and I feel I have certainly progressed since then. Firstly, in that film, I was the actor in it and that did restrict the amount of direction I could put into the film but in this, with an cast brought in, it gave me much more scope to be able to direct the film to fit the style I was going for as well as really getting the correct performances out of the actors. Secondly, this film, despite some of its flaws in the planning stage, was planned out far more than The Appointment, which only had a few brief and simple images to help guide the shots we were using. The editing process of that film was also exceedingly messy, with every person involved in the production having a different style they wanted to push (which can of course be an issue when co-directing a film). However, in this film, I felt like as a group we did have a set style and vision with the film and I think it did certainly show in the screenings. In terms of technical competence, I think I have massively progressed from The Appointment, as in that film, shots were relatively uninspired and the editing was extremely basic. However, as a group, we have certainly progressed in that area, trying to bring in more interesting and varied shot types as well as using our editing ability to the best we can (however, I do believe I can progress in terms of my own personal editing ability). Finally, I have certainly progressed in terms of the research and planning that goes into making a film as well as writing my first screenplay to make sure that we knew the exact narrative direction we wanted the film to go. The writing of the screenplay made the film seem far more coherent than The Appointment possibly did and also helped greatly in terms of directing performance, which I also found I had greatly progressed in. The making of this film has greatly increased by ability as a director, screenwriter and editor, and I believe I can use these skills in the making of more films in the future.
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