Wednesday, 9 February 2011
Sunday, 6 February 2011
Story Progression 3
Act One:
It's dusk and the focus of the scene is on a circus tent. Spotlights are positioned all around it, waving back and forth, until they suddenly switch off with only the lights from the rides glowing faintly in the background. Moments later bright flashes of blue light emerge from within the tent, filtering out through the entrance and gaps between the tent and ground. The flashes stop and the spotlights come back on.
Inside the tent, a performance is taking place, the scene being viewed from within the audience in the bleachers who are waiting eagerly for what is about to happen next. Focusing in more on the performance there is a clown dressed as a mad scientist standing in a laboratory set, addressing the audience. Next to him, are two fishbowls with a ring between them. Inside one of the fishbowls is a clownfish. The clown has just pretended to make his partner, the clownfish, a genius through the apparent use of science (the fancy light show), making him capable of performing tricks, having told the audience previously that the fish could not do so beforehand. The clown turns away from the audience and moves to light the ring in between the fishbowls. Once the ring it lit, the audience waits patiently for the fish to perform his trick, however the fish has other plans. Instead, feeling the clown is getting the credit for the fish being a genius and the performance, the fish refuses to make the jump which inevitably makes the clown look bad. The audience isn't impressed, some of them making it clear with boo's and tomatoes.
Act Two:
Annoyed, the clown circles the set and then lowers himself so he is staring into the fish's eyes. After an exchange in looks the clown gestures his annoyance whilst the fish simply responds by splashing water in his face. The clown picks up the fishbowl and shakes it, trying to force the fish to do the jump. However the clown soon realises he is still in the middle of the performance, and places the fishbowl back on the table. The clown, now without an act, faces the audience and begins to perform his usual clown tricks which unfortunately start the fail in his angry and panicked state. The clown makes balloon animals that keep bursting or deflating, he squirts members of the audience with his fake flower much to their annoyance. The clown even tries driving around in a tiny car but to no avail. The audience doesn't find his tricks or gags funny and more people join the booing and tomato throwing.
Pleased with what he has caused so far, the clownfish decides it's time to add the finishing touches to the clown's embarrassing performance by up-staging him. In one effortless attempt the clownfish jumps out of the water, through the ring of fire and into the neighbouring bowl. The audience who by now are paying more attention to the fish, applaud him for his trick. The clown, now realising the fish has made the jump, moves in to take a bow for the performance. The clownfish, knowing that the clown would do something like this, doesn't stop there though.
Act There:
In an attempt to make the performance go out with a bang (and not in the good way) the clownfish goes for another jump, only this time he purposely knocks over the ring of fire causing the set to catch on fire. The audience look in horror as the fire starts and spreads, some gasping and yelping. The fire spreads more rapidly and the audience begin to panic and move. By this point the clown has realised the applause has stopped and people are running away. He turns to find the set is on fire and is greatly alarmed. Meanwhile the clownfish floats in his bowl content with his masterpiece. Grabbing the nearest fire extinguisher, the clown attempts to put out the fire, for it to start blowing bubbles everywhere. The clown looks at the label on the side and notices it says 'do not use in case of fire'.
Outside the audience is running as the tent goes up in a quick burst of flames, turning it into ash. The flame puts itself out, leaving an burnt tent in its wake. The tent ashes then disintegrate revealing a blackened clown and the clownfish, sitting amongst the ashes. The clown looks down at the clownfish who is swimming around, very satisfied that his revenge has been fulfilled and bearing a cheeky grin. Seeing this, the clown faints and falls backwards as the scene fades.
It's dusk and the focus of the scene is on a circus tent. Spotlights are positioned all around it, waving back and forth, until they suddenly switch off with only the lights from the rides glowing faintly in the background. Moments later bright flashes of blue light emerge from within the tent, filtering out through the entrance and gaps between the tent and ground. The flashes stop and the spotlights come back on.
Inside the tent, a performance is taking place, the scene being viewed from within the audience in the bleachers who are waiting eagerly for what is about to happen next. Focusing in more on the performance there is a clown dressed as a mad scientist standing in a laboratory set, addressing the audience. Next to him, are two fishbowls with a ring between them. Inside one of the fishbowls is a clownfish. The clown has just pretended to make his partner, the clownfish, a genius through the apparent use of science (the fancy light show), making him capable of performing tricks, having told the audience previously that the fish could not do so beforehand. The clown turns away from the audience and moves to light the ring in between the fishbowls. Once the ring it lit, the audience waits patiently for the fish to perform his trick, however the fish has other plans. Instead, feeling the clown is getting the credit for the fish being a genius and the performance, the fish refuses to make the jump which inevitably makes the clown look bad. The audience isn't impressed, some of them making it clear with boo's and tomatoes.
Act Two:
Annoyed, the clown circles the set and then lowers himself so he is staring into the fish's eyes. After an exchange in looks the clown gestures his annoyance whilst the fish simply responds by splashing water in his face. The clown picks up the fishbowl and shakes it, trying to force the fish to do the jump. However the clown soon realises he is still in the middle of the performance, and places the fishbowl back on the table. The clown, now without an act, faces the audience and begins to perform his usual clown tricks which unfortunately start the fail in his angry and panicked state. The clown makes balloon animals that keep bursting or deflating, he squirts members of the audience with his fake flower much to their annoyance. The clown even tries driving around in a tiny car but to no avail. The audience doesn't find his tricks or gags funny and more people join the booing and tomato throwing.
Pleased with what he has caused so far, the clownfish decides it's time to add the finishing touches to the clown's embarrassing performance by up-staging him. In one effortless attempt the clownfish jumps out of the water, through the ring of fire and into the neighbouring bowl. The audience who by now are paying more attention to the fish, applaud him for his trick. The clown, now realising the fish has made the jump, moves in to take a bow for the performance. The clownfish, knowing that the clown would do something like this, doesn't stop there though.
Act There:
In an attempt to make the performance go out with a bang (and not in the good way) the clownfish goes for another jump, only this time he purposely knocks over the ring of fire causing the set to catch on fire. The audience look in horror as the fire starts and spreads, some gasping and yelping. The fire spreads more rapidly and the audience begin to panic and move. By this point the clown has realised the applause has stopped and people are running away. He turns to find the set is on fire and is greatly alarmed. Meanwhile the clownfish floats in his bowl content with his masterpiece. Grabbing the nearest fire extinguisher, the clown attempts to put out the fire, for it to start blowing bubbles everywhere. The clown looks at the label on the side and notices it says 'do not use in case of fire'.
Outside the audience is running as the tent goes up in a quick burst of flames, turning it into ash. The flame puts itself out, leaving an burnt tent in its wake. The tent ashes then disintegrate revealing a blackened clown and the clownfish, sitting amongst the ashes. The clown looks down at the clownfish who is swimming around, very satisfied that his revenge has been fulfilled and bearing a cheeky grin. Seeing this, the clown faints and falls backwards as the scene fades.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Story Progression 2
After the chat with Andriana, Kayleigh and Daniel, I created a new idea for my clown, fishbowl and laboratory story:
The scene starts outside a big top tent when suddenly all the lights go out. From inside the tent a strange flashing can be seen flickering on and off through the tent entrance. The scene then goes inside the tent, looking down on a performance from the bleachers. Focusing in more on the performance it becomes clear that a laboratory set is being used by a clown who is pretending to be a mad scientist. He has just pretended to make his partner, a clownfish none the less, a genius and capable of performing tricks having told the audience previously that the fish could not do so beforehand. However when the fish is meant to do his trick of jumping through a ring of fire, he refuses because the clown would get all the credit for the performance, making the clown look bad. The audience sits unimpressed. Panicking, the clown starts to do the typical clown tricks such as making balloon animals, squirting people with his fake flower and cycling around on a small tricycle. The clownfish, seeing the audience is still unamused and wanting to show the clown up, performs his trick. The clown notices and tries to take credit for it. However the clownfish, knowing this would happen, does the trick again only to purposely knock the ring of fire over. The audience looks in horror while the clown is still bowing. As the fire spreads, the audience screams and runs for their lives, which catches the attention of the clown who then realises there is a fire. the clown tries to put it out with a fire extinguisher only to realise it's a prop. The scene then moves outside as the tent goes up in a quick burst of flames and puts itself out. The tent, now ash, disintegrates revealing a blackened clown holding the fishbowl with the clownfish inside, sitting in the middle of the ashes. The fish swims around in a satisfied manner and smiling whilst the clown falls back.
The scene starts outside a big top tent when suddenly all the lights go out. From inside the tent a strange flashing can be seen flickering on and off through the tent entrance. The scene then goes inside the tent, looking down on a performance from the bleachers. Focusing in more on the performance it becomes clear that a laboratory set is being used by a clown who is pretending to be a mad scientist. He has just pretended to make his partner, a clownfish none the less, a genius and capable of performing tricks having told the audience previously that the fish could not do so beforehand. However when the fish is meant to do his trick of jumping through a ring of fire, he refuses because the clown would get all the credit for the performance, making the clown look bad. The audience sits unimpressed. Panicking, the clown starts to do the typical clown tricks such as making balloon animals, squirting people with his fake flower and cycling around on a small tricycle. The clownfish, seeing the audience is still unamused and wanting to show the clown up, performs his trick. The clown notices and tries to take credit for it. However the clownfish, knowing this would happen, does the trick again only to purposely knock the ring of fire over. The audience looks in horror while the clown is still bowing. As the fire spreads, the audience screams and runs for their lives, which catches the attention of the clown who then realises there is a fire. the clown tries to put it out with a fire extinguisher only to realise it's a prop. The scene then moves outside as the tent goes up in a quick burst of flames and puts itself out. The tent, now ash, disintegrates revealing a blackened clown holding the fishbowl with the clownfish inside, sitting in the middle of the ashes. The fish swims around in a satisfied manner and smiling whilst the clown falls back.
Story Collaboration
With Friday's morning Maya class cancelled, it gave the perfect opportunity to discuss and create new ideas for a story and with help from Andriana, Kayleigh and Daniel we came up with some interesting ideas.
As a short summary:
- From the previous idea involving the scientist, we thought what if the clown was acting as a scientist as part of his performance in a circus.
- Involvement of a fish and some sort of stunt or trick that goes horribly wrong.
- What sort of trick?
- Comedy or tragedy?
In line with these ideas of a performance going wrong Andriana also recommended watching the Pixar short 'Presto'.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Initial Story Collaboration
Collaborating ideas with Andriana over Facebook.
Me:
Me:
first up is the clinically depressed clown who's being treated in a lab because his goldfish died but I couldn't see this idea going very far
second idea was to go with something a little sci-fi sinister and have the clown a test subject about to be fused with a fish to turn him into a clown-fish and to end the scene it would have this hybrid swimming monotonously round in a goldfish bowl. All of which would be in a lab of course
Andriana:
u know clown fish do exist right>
they are the ones like nemo
Me:
oh yea i know that, (side note: great film) but i was thinking more of a simple fish with clown features likes its red nose and face paint
Andriana:
that sounds cool..so what will the story be behind it? I mean it's a one minute animation which means the story needs to be capturing for the audience. what i mean is that ur 3 components should have a purpose in the story..not just be there
Me:
well i was thinking that the clown could be a rather failed clown, no-one finds him funny etc, and so he was selected because he wouldn't be missed and no-one would notice
Andriana:
oohh... a sad story then?
Me:
sort of, yea. That is where another idea comes in in which the clown has to perform for survival for the mad scientist whos conducting the experiment. And the prop he is given is ironically the goldfish bowl the clown will end up in.
Andriana:
nice..what if the clown was sent to a laboratory to become more funny but ends up turning a goldfish?
just a quick thought...
oohh!! and it will turn out he performs a lot better when being a goldfish!!
totally random..
whoops that was turning into a goldfish*
Me:
indeed random but I like it only thing is the time restraint.
Andriana:
yeah i kinda have the same problem too..
i keep thinking the animation wil only last for a minute but i really want to make my story longer..
but you don't have to show everything in the story
that's what editing is for
u can cut scenes but then again connect them in a certain way
Me:
You have a good point there.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Story Progression 1
Act One:
The clown wakes up, dazed and confused. He struggles to his feet as his vision slowly becomes clearer and he can see where he is. The clown finds himself in a small, in which there are no windows or apparent doors, however one of the walls is made of clear plastic with small holes in it. The clown, approaches the clear wall only to retreat as lights start flashing and shadows of horrific creatures flicker on the walls outside of his small room. He approaches the clear wall again, this time being very cautious, and looks around. He finds that his room is within a laboratory, and at one of the tables is a dwarf like man, with unkept white hair and a particularly dulled lab coat, presumably a scientist. The clown sees the scientist is working on something and as he turns around, the scientist reveals that he is holding a disturbingly deformed creature. From what he can see, the clown can make out parts of a large spider and with several additional humanoid limbs. In horror the clown lets out a loud gasp, drawing the attention of the scientist. The scientist walks over to another table with a small cage and places his new 'pet' inside, and then walks up to the clowns room, grabbing a bag on the way. The clown and scientist exchange looks, before the scientist presents the bag which has a fish inside. He then points to a blackboard depicting a pictographic sum of a clown and a fish becoming a 'clownfish'. The clown, horrified by the revelation, decides he has to escape.
Act Two:
Before the scientist can leave the clown to suffer in torment before his operation, the clown decides to barter with the scientist. If the clown can make the scientist laugh, then he will be free to leave and the scientist won't do his experiment. The scientist ponders on this for a few moments, looking back and forth between the clown and his 'pet' collection. Eventually the scientist agrees but under one condition, the clown has the use a prop, which the scientist will choose for him. Out of cruelty and in hopes the prop choice will scare the clown into failing, the scientist chooses a fishbowl. The clown looks at the fishbowl with some unease but he continues none the less. The clown at first pretends to be an astronaut and jumps from a table pretending he is weightless, only to purposely fall. He looks up at the scientist who is not amused. Discouraged the clown continues still by pulling faces from behind the fishbowl, making him appear distorted and funny. The scientist still remains unamused. The clown, now getting slightly frantic, starts to think hard about what else he could do with the fishbowl. That's when an idea hits him.
Act Three:
The clown fills the bowl with water and places it next to one of the tables. The clown then jumps on the table, lifts his arms up and begins to bend his knees. He quickly looks out of the corner of his eye to see the scientist who is slumped on the other table out of boredom. Panicked and feeling this is his only chance at freedom, the clown jumps forward and dives into the fishbowl, displacing the water, smashing the fishbowl and any chance he had a escape. The scientist is red in the face and furious with the clown for breaking the fish bowl. With the scientist closing in on him, the clown curls up in ball and lets out a yelps and screams before the scene flashes to several hours later. The scientist, cupping his latest creation, drops it into a repaired fishbowl, revealing the fate of the clown (and fish).
The clown wakes up, dazed and confused. He struggles to his feet as his vision slowly becomes clearer and he can see where he is. The clown finds himself in a small, in which there are no windows or apparent doors, however one of the walls is made of clear plastic with small holes in it. The clown, approaches the clear wall only to retreat as lights start flashing and shadows of horrific creatures flicker on the walls outside of his small room. He approaches the clear wall again, this time being very cautious, and looks around. He finds that his room is within a laboratory, and at one of the tables is a dwarf like man, with unkept white hair and a particularly dulled lab coat, presumably a scientist. The clown sees the scientist is working on something and as he turns around, the scientist reveals that he is holding a disturbingly deformed creature. From what he can see, the clown can make out parts of a large spider and with several additional humanoid limbs. In horror the clown lets out a loud gasp, drawing the attention of the scientist. The scientist walks over to another table with a small cage and places his new 'pet' inside, and then walks up to the clowns room, grabbing a bag on the way. The clown and scientist exchange looks, before the scientist presents the bag which has a fish inside. He then points to a blackboard depicting a pictographic sum of a clown and a fish becoming a 'clownfish'. The clown, horrified by the revelation, decides he has to escape.
Act Two:
Before the scientist can leave the clown to suffer in torment before his operation, the clown decides to barter with the scientist. If the clown can make the scientist laugh, then he will be free to leave and the scientist won't do his experiment. The scientist ponders on this for a few moments, looking back and forth between the clown and his 'pet' collection. Eventually the scientist agrees but under one condition, the clown has the use a prop, which the scientist will choose for him. Out of cruelty and in hopes the prop choice will scare the clown into failing, the scientist chooses a fishbowl. The clown looks at the fishbowl with some unease but he continues none the less. The clown at first pretends to be an astronaut and jumps from a table pretending he is weightless, only to purposely fall. He looks up at the scientist who is not amused. Discouraged the clown continues still by pulling faces from behind the fishbowl, making him appear distorted and funny. The scientist still remains unamused. The clown, now getting slightly frantic, starts to think hard about what else he could do with the fishbowl. That's when an idea hits him.
Act Three:
The clown fills the bowl with water and places it next to one of the tables. The clown then jumps on the table, lifts his arms up and begins to bend his knees. He quickly looks out of the corner of his eye to see the scientist who is slumped on the other table out of boredom. Panicked and feeling this is his only chance at freedom, the clown jumps forward and dives into the fishbowl, displacing the water, smashing the fishbowl and any chance he had a escape. The scientist is red in the face and furious with the clown for breaking the fish bowl. With the scientist closing in on him, the clown curls up in ball and lets out a yelps and screams before the scene flashes to several hours later. The scientist, cupping his latest creation, drops it into a repaired fishbowl, revealing the fate of the clown (and fish).
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
First Story Ideas
The first story ideas for combining a clown, goldfish bowl and a laboratory.
Idea 1
The clown is sent to a laboratory because he is suffering from depression due to the death of his pet fish. The clown cradles the goldfish bowl and won't let go. He stares into the goldfish bowl and begins to reminisce in his happier (and possibly funnier) days and all the good times he has had with the pet. The memories start to make the clown realise that things will get better and it's not the end of the world which breaks him out of his depressive slump.
Idea 2
Someone is laying on a table in a lab with varies wires and machines hooked up to them. The scene flashes to a clown in a torn costume slumped in a dark ally. The clown was kicked out of the circus for being unfunny and is trying to come up with a way to be funnier. He then has an idea for a stunt that is sure to make people laugh. Returns to the circus and performs stunt in which he dives into a fish bowl. Stunt becomes a success and the clown eventually grows famous. Scene flashes to a court room where the clown is sued for copying the stunt from a TV performer. The clown is back in the dark alley after losing everything. Flashes back to lab where it is revealed the clown is on the lab table. Unidentified people (possibly scientists) are watching his memories through the use of the machines the clown is hooked up.
Idea 3
Clown is kidnapped from circus to be used as a test subject for scientific experiments. In an attempt to gain his freedom the clown proposes that if he can make the scientists laugh then they will let him go free. Scientists agree but if the clown fails they keep him locked up. Clown tries various gags and stunts but nothing works. As a last ditch effort the clown grabs a fish bowl, places the fish inside in a glass of water, and pulls face from behind the fish bowl making himself look funny. Scientists start laughing and the clown uses the chance the slip away out of the door to his freedom.
Idea 1
The clown is sent to a laboratory because he is suffering from depression due to the death of his pet fish. The clown cradles the goldfish bowl and won't let go. He stares into the goldfish bowl and begins to reminisce in his happier (and possibly funnier) days and all the good times he has had with the pet. The memories start to make the clown realise that things will get better and it's not the end of the world which breaks him out of his depressive slump.
Idea 2
Someone is laying on a table in a lab with varies wires and machines hooked up to them. The scene flashes to a clown in a torn costume slumped in a dark ally. The clown was kicked out of the circus for being unfunny and is trying to come up with a way to be funnier. He then has an idea for a stunt that is sure to make people laugh. Returns to the circus and performs stunt in which he dives into a fish bowl. Stunt becomes a success and the clown eventually grows famous. Scene flashes to a court room where the clown is sued for copying the stunt from a TV performer. The clown is back in the dark alley after losing everything. Flashes back to lab where it is revealed the clown is on the lab table. Unidentified people (possibly scientists) are watching his memories through the use of the machines the clown is hooked up.
Idea 3
Clown is kidnapped from circus to be used as a test subject for scientific experiments. In an attempt to gain his freedom the clown proposes that if he can make the scientists laugh then they will let him go free. Scientists agree but if the clown fails they keep him locked up. Clown tries various gags and stunts but nothing works. As a last ditch effort the clown grabs a fish bowl, places the fish inside in a glass of water, and pulls face from behind the fish bowl making himself look funny. Scientists start laughing and the clown uses the chance the slip away out of the door to his freedom.
Film Review: La Jetee
The second film we watched from the ‘The Cutting Edge’ film programme was La Jetee, which was directed by Chris Marker and was released in 1962.
La Jetee tells the story of a man haunted by a death he witnessed as a young boy before the third world war. A review from TimeOut states:
"This classic 'photo-roman' about the power of memory - 'the story of a man marked by an image of his childhood' - begins at Orly airport a few years before WWIII."
This war destroyed Paris and many other places with the survivors living underground. The main character becomes a test subject, with little choice due to being a prisoner which leads him into a time travelling project in which he travels to the future and into the past, as the review from Film4 states:
"Hanich is the man chosen in some indeterminate, post-apocalyptic future to be the guinea pig in a vital scientific experiment. In a number of sessions he travels backwards and forwards in time."
A review by Bosley Crowther for The New York Times in 1969 states:
"...it does get across a vague impression of Frankensteinian meddling with the brain."
The way that the main characters captors play with the mind is unnerving and a unsettling mainly because they are attempting to manipulate the mind into travelling time, something which shouldn't be explored. The apparatus attached to the main character looks similar to that of a hospital heart monitor suggesting perhaps that this future is not to far the present day and that a third world war could be predicted in the years to come.
Bibliography
TimeOut (-) La Jetee.
At: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/77181/la_jetee.html (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Film4 (-) La Jetee.
At: http://www.film4.com/reviews/1962/la-jet-amp-233-e (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Crowther, Bosley (1969) Castles for Two.
At: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D04EFDD113CE53BBC4E52DFB766838C679EDE&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes (Accessed on 02.02.11)
La Jetee tells the story of a man haunted by a death he witnessed as a young boy before the third world war. A review from TimeOut states:
"This classic 'photo-roman' about the power of memory - 'the story of a man marked by an image of his childhood' - begins at Orly airport a few years before WWIII."
This war destroyed Paris and many other places with the survivors living underground. The main character becomes a test subject, with little choice due to being a prisoner which leads him into a time travelling project in which he travels to the future and into the past, as the review from Film4 states:
"Hanich is the man chosen in some indeterminate, post-apocalyptic future to be the guinea pig in a vital scientific experiment. In a number of sessions he travels backwards and forwards in time."
A review by Bosley Crowther for The New York Times in 1969 states:
"...it does get across a vague impression of Frankensteinian meddling with the brain."
The way that the main characters captors play with the mind is unnerving and a unsettling mainly because they are attempting to manipulate the mind into travelling time, something which shouldn't be explored. The apparatus attached to the main character looks similar to that of a hospital heart monitor suggesting perhaps that this future is not to far the present day and that a third world war could be predicted in the years to come.
Bibliography
TimeOut (-) La Jetee.
At: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/77181/la_jetee.html (Accessed on 02.02.11)
At: http://www.film4.com/reviews/1962/la-jet-amp-233-e (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Crowther, Bosley (1969) Castles for Two.
At: http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D04EFDD113CE53BBC4E52DFB766838C679EDE&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Film Review: Rope
The first film we watched from the ‘The Cutting Edge’ film programme was Rope, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in 1948.
Rope is a film about two men who have committed a murder under the impression that they are superior to all of those around them. Throughout the filming of Rope Hitchcock used a single camera for the entire film as Bosley Crowther explains in his 1948 review for The New York Times:
"...Mr. Hitchcock has tried the trick of shooting full-length picture in one set and in one continuous scene. That is to say, he has made his camera a random observer in an elegant suite of rooms in which a murder is being committed just as the picture begins."
Hitchcock masterfully filmed each scene so that the film itself played as one continuous event. In order to do this he was careful about how he edited the the scenes together, skilfully zooming in on particular objects and zooming out as the reel of footage came to and end and the scene had to end. This made the film feel like on continuous loop but leaves an impression of poor camera use for someone who doesn't understand this as Vincent Canby wrote for The New York Times in his 1984 review:
"Hitchcock was interested in seeing whether he could find a cinematic equivalent to the play, which takes place in the actual length of time of the story. To do this, he decided to shoot it in what would appear to be one long, continuous "take," without cutaways or any other breaks in the action, though in fact there would have to be a disguised break every 10 minutes, which was as much film as the camera could contain."
What adds to this is that the scenery outside the windows slowly changes indicating a shift in time. At the beginning of the film it was a bright afternoon and by the end it is the dead of night. Perhaps the change in time of day indicates the rise in tension that Hitchcock builds up so beautifully.
Hitchcock creates a beautiful atmosphere of suspense in Rope for many reasons rather than a single one. But if one had to drawn out in particular it would have to be the dead mans body in the trunk.
"One of Hitchcock's more experimental films, with the tale of two young gays, keen to prove their intellectual and spiritual superiority, killing a friend and hiding his body in a trunk in order to see whether dinner guests will suspect anything."
What is so brilliant about this particular element is that the main characters could get caught at any moment. they hide the body in near enough plain sight, taunting their guests and suggesting that they want to be caught. And on several occasions they nearly do adding more and more suspense until the horrible deed is finally discovered at the films conclusion.
Bibliography
Crowther, Bosley (1948)
At: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/081748hitch-rope-review.html (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Canby, Vincent (1984)
.
At: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/060384hitch-rope-reflection.html (Accessed on 02.02.11).
TimeOut (-) Rope.
Rope is a film about two men who have committed a murder under the impression that they are superior to all of those around them. Throughout the filming of Rope Hitchcock used a single camera for the entire film as Bosley Crowther explains in his 1948 review for The New York Times:
"...Mr. Hitchcock has tried the trick of shooting full-length picture in one set and in one continuous scene. That is to say, he has made his camera a random observer in an elegant suite of rooms in which a murder is being committed just as the picture begins."
Hitchcock masterfully filmed each scene so that the film itself played as one continuous event. In order to do this he was careful about how he edited the the scenes together, skilfully zooming in on particular objects and zooming out as the reel of footage came to and end and the scene had to end. This made the film feel like on continuous loop but leaves an impression of poor camera use for someone who doesn't understand this as Vincent Canby wrote for The New York Times in his 1984 review:
"Hitchcock was interested in seeing whether he could find a cinematic equivalent to the play, which takes place in the actual length of time of the story. To do this, he decided to shoot it in what would appear to be one long, continuous "take," without cutaways or any other breaks in the action, though in fact there would have to be a disguised break every 10 minutes, which was as much film as the camera could contain."
What adds to this is that the scenery outside the windows slowly changes indicating a shift in time. At the beginning of the film it was a bright afternoon and by the end it is the dead of night. Perhaps the change in time of day indicates the rise in tension that Hitchcock builds up so beautifully.
Hitchcock creates a beautiful atmosphere of suspense in Rope for many reasons rather than a single one. But if one had to drawn out in particular it would have to be the dead mans body in the trunk.
"One of Hitchcock's more experimental films, with the tale of two young gays, keen to prove their intellectual and spiritual superiority, killing a friend and hiding his body in a trunk in order to see whether dinner guests will suspect anything."
What is so brilliant about this particular element is that the main characters could get caught at any moment. they hide the body in near enough plain sight, taunting their guests and suggesting that they want to be caught. And on several occasions they nearly do adding more and more suspense until the horrible deed is finally discovered at the films conclusion.
Bibliography
Crowther, Bosley (1948)
'Rope': An Exercise in Suspense Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
.At: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/081748hitch-rope-review.html (Accessed on 02.02.11)
Canby, Vincent (1984)
'Rope': A Stunt to Behold
.'Rope': A Stunt to Behold
At: http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/060384hitch-rope-reflection.html (Accessed on 02.02.11).
TimeOut (-) Rope.
At: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/76944/rope.html (Accessed on 02.02.11)