gillianfrancesca

[gillianfrancesca]

MINISAGA FOUR - THE HIDDEN PAST OF NUMBER 171

There was love here once. Light, laughter, life. 

Pretty hand-sewn floral curtains. A homemade baby’s mobile of felt animals.

There was no tragedy, no lives cut short. 

This is a tale instead of a deep, slow, sadness - the sadness that comes from the uncomfortable, inescapable truth: life goes on.

[gillianfrancesca]

MINISAGA THREE - DANCE PONY DANCE

Edgar squinted through the blue-tint at the children’s cynical smirks. 

He was too old for this.

“Mum! Can I have the iPad? This is boring.”

Right then. Edgar pivoted on his hooves, tail lifted, and deposited a pile of steaming horse-shit into the little wretch’s lap.

Boring, eh?

[gillianfrancesca]

MINISAGA TWO - DISAPPEARED

“And… look! There’s us!”

She followed his finger down the yellowed page.

Their names. A date.

‘Disappeared.’

 “Liza! We travelled through time. We escaped!”

Liza clutched her cup tightly as Henri listed the horrors they’d left behind.

He didn’t list the people.

“Hungry, Liza? Waiter! What is this “soupwich”, please?”

[gillianfrancesca]

MINISAGA ONE - TREASURE HUNT

Her hands fossicked through the earth fruitlessly.

“Bollocks!”

In retrospect, throwing it out of the window had been disproportionately dramatic.

Her fingertips found something small, hard, round.

Footsteps crunched behind her.

“Darling, I’m sorry-“

“Shh”. She stood and turned.

 Gently she blew the dirt off the diamond. She smiled.

“Yes.”

[gillianfrancesca]

Blog Task Four - editing, the third stage of writing

The edit room is a place of laughter, tears, elation, frustration, tedium, thrills and more often than not a lot of rather vulgar language. You have nearly as much control over a story during the editing process as you do while writing or while on set; that can be really scary. It’s very easy to lose perspective and make huge last-minute decisions that change your story dramatically. After watching the same sequences over and over again, you lose sight of what’s good and what’s not.

The last film I made went through 27 title changes - this time I built it into the shot, which meant one less thing to dither over!

I’ve learned that I’m the kind of editor who needs to hear lots of opinions during the process. I don’t necessarily take all those opinions on board; just hearing them can be enough to restore my perspective and thus my confidence in decisions that I’ m making. During the editing of Apple Juice I had excruciating moments of not knowing what to do next, feeling totally overwhelmed - all I needed was someone to say "This bit's great, this bit's rubbish" and I had direction again.

I think that editing films you’ve written and directed yourself is a hugely different task to editing someone else’s story. When you know your own original vision, you can edit to match that as closely as possible. This can be a blessing or a curse. For me I think it’s kind of like blinkers on a horse; I’m so attached to my story that I don’t often see all the other possibilities available to me in the edit. I’m working on it!

An example of fantastic editing in film is this scene from Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient, edited by Walter Murch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWgOjuLg5oY

The legendary Murch won two Academy Awards for the film, for best film editing and best sound engineering. The beginning of the scene is narrated by the future Almásy; the whole film is told this way, as we jump back and forward in time from 1939 to 1945, where Almásy lays dying.  

In this scene the Count Almásy (Ralph Fiennes) is very nearly hit by a plane flown by the cuckolded Geoffrey Clifton (Colin Firth), in a moment reminiscent of the famous crop duster scene in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. It is revealed that Geoffrey’s wife Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas) was also in the plane - and she, unlike Geoffrey, is alive, though gravely wounded. 

The sense of foreboding at the beginning of the scene is built using picture and sound - the nail biting sound of the approaching plane, Almásy’s ominous voiceover, the closeup of the unhinged Clifton cut with the wide of the unwitting Almásy. 

Sound is so powerful here - we hear Katherine’s soft moans before we see her, and the painful realisation on Almásy’s face. Music creeps into the scene as the two come together, and in one long and heart-wrenching take we watch him pull her shattered body from the plane. The music sweeps as we watch him carry her up the cliff in a beautifully constructed shot that is like a classic painting; the scene then becomes intimate as the two talk - and we build to the climax: Katherine tells Almásy “I’ve always loved you” and the music swells to a crescendo as Almásy weeps. We cut to a dramatic wide that shows us just how far they have to go, and the hopelessness of their situation. 

It is my dream to one day construct a scene as beautiful and emotionally affecting as this one. The whole film is this brilliant - if you haven’t seen it I strongly recommend doing so!

[gillianfrancesca]

Blog Task Three - Imagination on the Screen

“BRUCE BOGTROTTER!”. At the tender age of seven, these words sent chills down my spine. Danny Devito’s 1996 realisation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book Matilda captured my imagination so completely, and this scene in particular has forevermore cemented itself in my mind.

The grotesque horror of something that is usually so good, such a treat - chocolate cake - being turned into something sickening and scary is absolutely masterful.

The camerawork in this scene is the opposite of subtle. There is bold audience manipulation at play here - from the moment we quickly pan into an upward shot of the terrifying Miss Trunchbull brandishing her horsewhip, we know things aren’t going to be good for Bruce. After seeing Bruce quivering in an audience full of agitated school children, we are then treated to a crash zoom ending in an ECU of Trunchbull’s face as she coos the petrifying line “Will little Brucey come up here please?” 

The scene, though in a children’s movie, is dark and menacing, and the lighting truly reflects that, shrouding Trunchbull and the unfortunate Bruce in darkness much of the time, sometimes forcing them into to chilling silhouette. 

Mis-en-scene plays such a huge role in this scene in its simple perfection - the black curtains, the gloomy hall, the dull colours of the children’s clothing, striking props like the whip and the knife. 

We feel ill as Bruce eats the cake, helped by uncomfortable closeups of Bruce and shots of the horrified children in the audience.  

Then comes the moment that turns this scene from macabre to glorious. Matilda, seeing Bruce isn’t going to make it, stands up in an act of defiance against Trunchbull and offers her support. “Come on Brucey, you can do it!” Enraging Trunchbull, the other children follow, and the music swells triumphantly as Bruce uses the support of his friends to finish the monstrous cake.

Of course, they don’t remain triumphant for long. This scene, however, remains as triumphant a piece of cinematic storytelling to me as it did the day I watched it when I was seven. The use of images and light and sound to tell a story that has stuck in my memory both visually and emotionally is something that I can only, and do, aspire to.

You can watch the scene in pretty dodgy quality here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVWOQwZENBg, or treat yourself and find an DVD of the whole, wonderful thing! 

[gillianfrancesca]

Blog Task Two - pick a DP, any DP

A cinematographer’s job is to use light and lenses to create a world. Using their imaginations, artistry and technical expertise, they are responsible for giving a film an authentic and consistent character and atmosphere.

                               Andrew Dunn on set of "Endless Love"

British cinematographer Andrew Dunn is responsible for the wonderfully tangible and detailed cinematic worlds of films such as The History Boys, Hitch, Precious, Mrs Henderson Presents, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Crazy Stupid Love and Lee Daniels’ The Butler. 

           A still from The History Boys, one of my all-time favourite films

Dunn’s approach to cinematography is very people-focussed: he sees himself as a translator between actors and audience. This very much resonates with me and my style of filmmaking - people interest me more than just about anything else I can capture with a lens. In an interview with ComingSoon.net, Dunn stated:

“I'm there to translate what (the actors) are doing to the audience through a camera. It's not about me. It's about them and the therefore the camera is there to serve and try to see through into the soul, essentially.”

This iconic scene from Perks of Being a Wallflower is a beautiful snapshot of the tone and themes of the film. The lighting in this scene really pushes the audience to the edge of reality, lending it an almost magical air, something I’m hoping to find in my own way in my major film this year:

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPH1I1-SUp4

Showing Dunn’s dexterity as a cinematographer, this very different scene from Crazy, Stupid Love is bright, colourful and very funny. The manipulation of natural light in the scene is something I will also be trying to achieve, as is the use of angles for best comic and story effect.

               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFrWPOftuMs

Dunn is a huge advocate for shooting on film as apposed to digital, and convinced producer Steve Carell to shoot Crazy, Stupid Love on film rather than digitally. Dunn said to American Cinematographer magazine: 

"I'm ready, willing and able to try different things all the time, but we tested the various cameras they were thinking of against a film camera with Eterna 500T and 250D and they realized film was the best way to go. We shot 3-perf so the magazine could last longer and that helped give Steve the freedom he was concerned about. And the film still helped bring a deeper, richer and more textured feel to the film's look.”

Dunn is known for his versatility and open-minded approach to cinematography, something that I admire enormously. He has said:

“I think cinematographers can get typecast into a certain or look or approach to a movie. I try -- perhaps without succeeding sometimes -- to have a lot of different styles. With some experience, you can arrive on a film set and be open to anything. I always try to start a film forgetting everything I ever knew.”

A stunning still from one of Dunn's recent projects, Lee Daniels's "The Butler"

SOURCES

Camerimage Interview: Cinematographer Andrew Dunn - ComingSoon.net

 http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=111937#ixzz2xEF2AqmC 

http://www.questia.com/read/1P3-2443160131/seriously-funny

http://www.icgmagazine.com/wordpress/2014/02/11/just-peachy/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242491/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr11

http://www.popmatters.com/post/166878-under-the-radar-cinematography/

PICTURE SOURCES

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/film/the_history_boys/gallery

http://novelnovice.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/perks-622_perks-sg-0214.jpg

http://popaddled.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/emma-in-crazy-stupid-love-2011-emma-stone-26471431-1920-800.jpg

http://screen-space.squarespace.com/blog/2013/12/14/dismissing-the-butler-thoughts-on-the-hfpa-snub.html?_r=true

[gillianfrancesca]

Blog Task One - allow me to introduce myself

My name is Gillian Crosby and I am an aspiring filmmaker.

When I was four years old I declared to my mother with absolute certainty that I was going to be an actress, author and illustrator, because then "I could write my books and draw the pictures and be in the movie of them." I was a bit of a control freak from an early age, it seems.

                       Me, aged four, contemplating my career options.

Some years later, with equal certainty, I announced I was in fact going to be a film director. The essence of my goal remained the same: I wanted to tell stories. 

Cinema storytelling is unlike any other. Launching an audience into an alternate reality, whether for five minutes, ninety minutes or several hours, is an exceptional opportunity. Truly affecting an audience, changing their thinking or just making them feel takes true talent and passion. 

I was inspired by the life of Amélie Poulain, I was moved by the characters in The Breakfast Club, I was delighted by The History Boys, I was unnerved by Being John Malkovich and I cry with Emma Thompson every single time I watch Love Actually. 

                                             Damn it, Emma.

I want to make films like these, films that people enjoy seeing and then enjoy thinking and talking about afterwards. Films that are joyful, films that assure people that life is wonderful while also exploring the imperfections and difficulties that are part of being human. 

Whether that is as a director, producer, writer or otherwise I have yet to discover. A year of film school has taught me a lot about both myself and the industry, the most important thing being that I have a hell of a lot more to learn.

                                               *     *     *

One of my all-time favourite films is Les Intouchables, written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano. 

Les Intouchables is the story of an unlikely friendship that forms between Philippe, a millionaire rendered quadriplegic by a paragliding accident, and Driss, a young man from the Projects in Paris whose future doesn’t look very bright. Philippe and Driss meet when Driss fronts up to a job interview for the position of Philippe’s new personal carer. He is not qualified and isn’t there to get the job, he just wants proof of attendance so he can get his benefit cheque. To the surprise and horror of those around him, Philippe hires Driss and they both discover that each has a lot to teach the other. 

                              Driss and Philippe in Les Intouchables

I love everything about this film. It’s funny, very funny, but it also has moments of poignancy that stay with you after you’ve finished watching. The acting is superb. The mis-en-scene is exquisite, capturing the contrast between Philippe and Driss’s lives perfectly. The soundtrack is the perfect emotional accompaniment to a very moving story. Ultimately the story itself, and the fact that it is based in truth, is what I love most about this film. I’m not going to tell you what happens, or how it ends, but this story of crossed paths and all the people it involves made me laugh and cry and wish the characters were my friends. 

If I had to pick a favourite scene, though difficult, I would pick the scene of Philippe's birthday, where he gets a chamber orchestra to play through some of his favourite pieces in an attempt to get Driss to appreciate classical music. Driss in turn shares some of his favourite music with Philippe, and from start to finish the scene is exuberant, irreverent and hilarious. 

I don't have a link to the scene and I strongly recommend you watch the whole film, but for a taste you can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34WIbmXkewU