To help me actually decide on a genre, I began researching directors and
editors who have successfully integrated both realism and formalism. Truthfully,
no film is entirely realist or entirely formalist, there are elements of both in most
films, so it begs the question as to why I an so fervent in combining them?
I want to juxtapose them to reinforce a conflict.
To get inspiration on how to accomplish this, I'm most interested in the director's
and editor's techniques and their process as opposed to their equipment and software;
of course, I have no budget at all so there would be no rationale for me to attempt
to mimic every aspect of their process. To make a film sensational, step 1 doesn't
have to be buy an 65mm camera. Step 1 should be: What do you want your film to do?
There is a drama that was created in 2005 called "The Tree of Life" by Terrence Malick. From the beginning, engendering the idea for the film with a project in the 70's called Q, Malick wanted a film that would delineate the "origins of life". He attatched a universal and overarching story to a plot revolving around a dysfunctional Texas family (adding unparalleled poignancy and reliability to his project of a suspected 20 years). The movie is a metaphysical representation of the purpose of life and death, and he accomplished this with highly symbolic images and scenes throughout the movie.
The movies centers around the character Jack, focusing particularly on his childhood through what appears to be sequences of memories. One particularly interesting interpretation of the film, expressed by Matt Zoller Seitz in "Your Guide to Terrance Malick's 'Tree of Life'", revolves around the concept that most of the images and sequences the audience sees are all happening in Jack's mind, whether memories or his "imagining of things that happened when he wasn't there." This interpretation has inspired me, making me delve into long periods of stream of consciousness fantasizing plot lines and tropes I can incorporate in my film! My ideas could easily be channeled into a psychological thriller, focusing on the question of reality versus the perceptions of a tortured mind; to me, though, this seems too unrealistic to successful achieve as an amateur.
The manner in which they filmed "Tree of Life" was needless to say unconventional. Malick often improvised on set, shooting scenes out of order of with no affiliation to each other. While I don't really have the time or the resources to go through hundreds of minutes of footage like the editing team on this film, I appreciate the idea that “the film is really built around a lot of little scenes – hundreds of little scenes and moments,” (Billy Webber, initial editor for the film). The team working on the film described their unique filming style as "walking down the garden path...where nothing is locked down, where you don’t know where you’re going, or where the film is taking you." In my mind I associated this to the type of film openings that introduce the main character, conventionally presenting a 2 + 2 situation, where the the basis of the character and the story is given but it leaves the audience with inescapable questions. I believe that if I use this kind of film opening with the inspirations from "Tree of Life" I can create a film that the audience will connect to emotionally.
The other director I focused on was Samuel Mendes, particularly with his work nn his drama "American Beauty". Although I am not particularly a fan of the film itself, and I do not plan on mimicking the execution of his ideas, I did appreciate the overall concept of how he integrated realism and formalism. Mendes appears to switch between the two styles, following the life of a father in a realist manner, portraying his life as such. However, during pivotal moments, Mendes inserts formalist scenes reflecting the situation of a character to reinforce the theme of the film. An example is when the main character, Lester, first sees young Angela and sees an unparalleled beauty withing her. This is the concept of the type of juxtaposition I'd like to incorporate in my film.
Through this research, it seems obvious now that my genre should be drama. Not solely because my two case studies were dramas, but because I came to the realization that I want my film to portray and evoke unrestrained emotions. Dramas overall do this most successful because of their relatable plots, and if I juxtapose formalism and realism distinctly, I can create a meaning that reinforces the theme and the conflict.
Ebiri, B. (2011, October 12). Growing The Tree of Life: Editing Malick's Odyssey. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://ebiri.blogspot.com/2011/10/growing-tree-of-life-editing-malicks.html
Malick, T. (Director). (2011). Tree of Life [Motion picture]. USA: Fox Searchlight.
Mendes, S. (Director). (1999). American Beauty [Motion picture]. USA: DreamWorks.
Seitz, M. Z. (2011, July 7). Your guide to Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://www.salon.com/2011/07/02/watching_tree_of_life/
The Playlist. (2011, July 12). The Lost Projects And Unproduced Screenplays Of Terrence Malick. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the_lost_projects_and_unproduced_screenplays_of_terrence_malick?page=3
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