New Wave - Film Evaluation

Evaluation and Health & Safety

My new wave sequence was constructed of an array of shots that I had captured in various locations, structured in the form of a montage. By doing this, I have given the viewer the ability to derive meaning from the film based on their own interpretation. I felt that this was a key theme surrounding a majority of the New Wave texts that I had looked at for my contextual study. In terms of concept, this style provides a loose narrative which makes the film easy to follow, but not too conventionally organised.  

When conducting on location shoots, I was sure to consider the practical elements of health and safety. I ensured that all of my equipment was correctly put away when not in use and whilst shooting, I had to be sure that both myself and my apparatus were not obstructions which could lead to potential physical harm for pedestrians or those around me.

When assembling the footage together, I wanted to make sure that the rough trademark of new wave editing was made apparent, therefore I was not too careful in selecting where to cut the shots. With long takes, I transformed them into a series of jump cuts, adding a sense of discontinuity.

Similarly, I was sure to keep a consistent flow throughout the sequence, by maintaining the choppy editing style. I also incorporated elements that were featured in the New Wave, such as having the subject look directly at the camera, ultimately breaking the fourth wall and acting as a reminder to the audience that they are simply watching a film. This was commonly demonstrated in French new wave films, shedding new light onto the world of cinema and transforming film making from the conventions of classic, large scale productions.

I also experimented with the use of colour, taking inspiration from Daisies (1966) and the creative use of filters used within the iconic nightclub scene. Shifting between exotic hues adds a sense of the unconventional as well as enhancing the surreal essence of the film. In addition to this, colour has the potential to influence the audiences feelings towards what they view on screen, as each shade holds personal connotations, hence every viewer may develop varying interpretations.

'Daisies' (1966)

However, I did not want to make the effect so drastic within my own film, so I altered the colour levels slightly, just enough to add a slight tint to each shot. I did so with purpose, although the effect was predominantly done for aesthetic purposes, I ensured that the colour complimented the tone of the shot, in order to enhance the focus of it. For example, for a location shot of a secluded area of Digbeth, I added a cold filter, to represent the solitude felt when present there.

 Overall, I found that I was able to manage my time effectively; by documenting my planning for each shoot, I was able to express the developments in my ideas and then elicit them in a practical sense. Such as altering the fundamental concept so that it was not too heavily based around a narrative, as this would not have been true to the nature of new wave. Most new wave productions emitted a sense of spontaneity in terms of their content and I wanted to be as authentic as possible when making my film, hence created a montage of scenes which were loosely connected, so that the viewer is able to derive their own interpretation of events.

 As a result, I was able to produce a new wave montage sequence that combined various elements displayed by the movement. I felt that this project particularly allowed me to explore and strengthen my editing skills, as there was a vast amount of footage to sift through and implement into a sequence. In addition, the fact that I edited to audio and a poem also stretched my ability to edit in time.