Visually Translating Dreams

I've recorded my dreams in journals since I was a little kid and have worked my way up to a basic skill of lucid dreaming. As a universally human element, I think it's important to notice how filmmakers interpret dreams visually. And it's tricky. What filmmakers must do is literally explore the visual unconscious of a fictional character. At first that might seem easy-dreams don't make sense on the surface, they're pure fantasy and they're unrestricted. However, a dream sequence should never be put in a film, unless it's meant to explain something important about the plot and the character-which means the screenwriter, director, DP, production designer, wardrobe and editor are all responsible for figuring out how to psychoanalyze their characters with props, pacing, design and atmosphere.

There are basically 2 different ways in which films have tried to visually establish dreams. Christopher Nolan's brain child Inception is grounded in the concept of realism. Yes, there are scenes which call attention to the fantasy world, however for the most part, it's based on the fact that the mind creates a realistic world in which things seem normal. As Cobb says in the film, it's after awakening that we realize something seemed strange-and that's what the film capitalizes on.



After multiple viewings, I realized this scene takes place in a dream-
but no blatant visuals establish this.

The film's fantasy elements appear when attention is called to the dream, or when a character manipulates the world in a lucid state. In order to depict this, the film had to avoid overtly fantastical visuals and stay in a believable environment until the dream itself was an important element. Because of this, most of the film could be taken out of context as a simple crime thriller. Most shots are tangible in the sense that people are running around in buildings, sitting in cafes and in comprehensible environments which state "this could be the waking world"- in a few scenes there aren't any visual cues which tells the audience the characters are dreaming, which is how dreams can be at times. 

The Science of Sleep by Michel Gondry takes the absolute opposite approach of Inception-however in a completely different style of film. The audience sees the utter ridiculousness the sleeping mind can cook up at times. A dream can be illogical in all ways, but the dreamer simply drifts by as if nothing is strange. Gondry's indie film uses in-camera tricks, stop-motion animation and amazing production design to create worlds that are, in my opinion, the most convincing at achieving the bizarrity of the the dream world. Meanwhile, the character explains his troubles and fears through the crazy visuals. He doesn't exactly have a goal like the characters in Inception, but his psychological state is explored in the chaos of the subconsious because he doesn't control it. (This theme of lack of control also appears in Inception when the protagonist Cobb begins to lose control over the dream and a freight train crashes through the world, and his wife and children continuously appear).

In THIS film, there's no question whether this is waking or sleeping life.

It's interesting to note the philosophy of both directors. If they can do it in-camera, without special effects, they will. Both Nolan and Gondry believe strongly in the importance of realism and the fact that the audience responds on a stronger emotional level to real props, real places as opposed to computer generated objects. Obviously when necessary CGI is a fantastic tool to create the sense of the fantastical, but both directors don't abuse the tool or use it as a shortcut.

                           

A bridge film between the two dream styles is The Good Night (2007) directed by Jake Paltrow, in which a man sees a woman in his dreams and discovers she's a real person in the waking world and becomes obsessed with her. However, he spends his nights lucid dreaming about her continuously-consiously entering dreams to be with her in his wild fantasies where she controls him. In this film, both the strangeness of the dream world is mixed with the sense of reality. The environments could for the most part exists, but the events which take place in the dreams are definitely fantasy. He balances between recognition that he indeed is dreaming and not knowing, but the film is not a topsy-turvy dramedy like The Science of Sleep, nor an edgy crime-thriller like Inception. It is a simple drama of a lonely man, trying to escape reality. I recommend it simply to see the interesting, grounded way lucid dreaming is discussed.

Tenebrism in Film

Doing research on Road to Perdition (2002 dir. Sam Mendes), one of my top 3 favourite films, I realized how well legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall created that inky tenebrism throughout the film. Before, I had only associated the film with the American Realist work of Edward Hopper because I knew he was a direct inspiration. But upon another viewing, I realized there was much more to it than just that and I now understand more about the reason he received the Oscar for Best Cinematography for his final film.

I've always been attracted to images with stark contrast. Bold images which use harsh lighting and shadows to form the figure are extremely theatrical and attractive to me and when I discovered the term "chiaroscuro" I was obsessed. That's one of the many reasons I'm interested in film noir; the mixture of realistic settings with the exaggerated lighting of the German expressionists is a unique convention, not afraid of over-stylizing. What I found so interesting about the tenebrists is just how dramatic their images were. They were the original theatrical storytellers because the lighting was so striking and high contrast-a valuable predecessor to the visual art of filmmaking. Some of the artists "rationalized" the intense darkness because they painted a single candle as illumination in the image, such as George de la Tour, whereas Caravaggio tended to use dramatic lighting from an unknown and unnatural-looking source. This makes sense because many of his scenes were based on religious events and the unknown source of light could be spiritual. So for funsies I've compiled some lovely tenebristic shots from various films as well as paintings from the Renaissance.

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

                    

 

In order, the images are from 300, Godfather Part II, Seven, Assassination of Jesse James, and Road to Perdition. The Paintings are Georges de la Tour's St. Joseph, Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus and Gerrit van Honthorst's De koppelaarster.

Business Time

I finally made my own business cards! I've never had one before and wanted it to be bold-different from the boring templates they have online, so designed it to look like the title card of an early 1940s film. Any noir fans should recognize the style.

In case anyone cares about the design, the vignette/gradient light for the background is essential to that 1940s feel-which was designed in photoshop. A drop shadow on the text, along with a combination of large, overbearing font next to tiny font (for the more unimportant words) is a good start. Combine that with some type of legible script font for the details and you're good to go! I'm definitely a fan of the tall deco-esque fonts, so I chose that for the main credits. And no matter what, I can't help but wonder what type of fit Patrick Bateman would be going through right now if he saw this-would he hack me to pieces with an axe for being unorthodox?

Right, er, 73 is good enough.

So the last month got increasing crazy in terms of busy schedule, so I fell drastically behind. But considering that I really did watch 73 flicks I haven't seen, I'm fairly pleased! I'll list everything I wrote down, but I'm sure there are a few I left out anyway.

49. Notorious Betty Page                                                       62. Butterfield 8

50. Before Sunrise                                                                 63. Tales from Earthsea

51. The Hours                                                                        64. Biutiful

52. Cedar Rapids                                                                   65. Priceless

53. Importance of Being Earnest                                           66. Wet Hot American Summer

54. Sabrina (1995)                                                                  67. Call Northside 77

55. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2                         68. High Sierra

56. Cowboys & Aliens                                                            69. Joe's Apartment

57. Oscar & Lucinda                                                              70. Our Idiot Brother

58. Volver                                                                              71. King of the Underworld

59. The Hit (1984)                                                                   72. Muriel's Wedding

60. Captain America                                                              73. The Big Combo

61. Malena                                                                               

Of this list, a few stood out. I finished off with a few film noirs, which were all really good. The Big Combo's photography by the legendary John Alton was amazing and a movie I haven't been able to get my hands on until now. I recommend it for any noir fan! Joe's Apartment isn't the greatest of films, but it's use of good CGI for quirky cockroaches, with a 90s MTV flair on the Pee-Wee Herman show, it's an interesting flick. The Hit starring Terrence Stamp, John Hurt and Tim Roth is a road neo-noir with stunning use of color and framing. It still holds up today as edgy and fresh. If I'm in the mood I might make entire post about it. It was everything I love in a film, with a bizarre ending to top it all off. And of course Biutiful was a unique film that combined gritty, street-underworld of Barcelona with the occasional surreal mind-trip of a man whose health is deteriorating. Watch them!

Halfway to 100... or Probably 90

I started a project this summer of watching 100... or probably 90 films before the 1st of September. The goal being mostly films I'd never seen and have wanted to see, whether it be because of "critical acclaim" or I just missed it when it came out. At the moment I'm at 49, so considering that I'm around 2/3rds of the done with the summer, I probably won't finish with 100. I might even be forgetting to put some on the list, but I'm not sure. This doesn't include movies that I've rewatched in this time (such as Muppet Treasure Island-don't judge, it's amazing). For funsies, I figured I'd list off what I've seen so far. Most are on DVD, some in theatres. And despite how I'd rather forget some of them (i.e. My Sassy Girl) I'll list everything and bow my head in shame. You'll probably notice a pattern of actors, directors and subjects. The biggest theme would definitely be period pieces between the 19th century and mid 20th century and Danish, German and French films. The smallest genre, comedies.

1. Valhalla Rising                                                                    25. Just Go With It                 

2. After the Wedding (Danish)                                                  26. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
3. Coco Before Chanel (French)                                              27. Me & Orson Welles
4. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinksy (French)                             28. I'm Still Here
5. North Face (German)                                                           29. Morituri
6. Angel Eyes                                                                          30. Stalag 17
7. Prague (Danish)                                                                   31. Wings of Desire
8. Katyn (Polish)                                                                      32. The Great Raid 

9. Enemy at the Gates                                                             33. Chaplin

10. When Nietzsche Wept                                                       34. A Film Unfinished

11. I Am Love (Italian)                                                             35. Mr. Death

12. Oceans (techincally French)                                              36. Paper Man

13. La Moustache (French)                                                      37. Pirates of the Caribbean 4

14. White Ribbon (German)                                                    38. Letters from Iwo Jima

15. The Way Back                                                                   39. Flags of Our Fathers

16. Immortal Beloved                                                             40. One Week

17. The Painted Veil                                                               41. The Swimmer

18. My Sassy Girl                                                                    42. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
19. Thor                                                                                  43. Snow Falling on Cedar
20. Super 8                                                                             44. Frank Lloyd Webber (a documantary)
21. The Good German                                                            45. Just Another Love Story (Danish)
22. Tsosti (South African)                                                        46. Fear Me Not (Danish)
23. Sweet November... easily one of the worst movies ever  47. The Adjustment Bureau
24. Hall Pass                                                                           48. Tree of Life

                                                                                               49. The Thin Man

My favorites so far: Valhalla Rising, Immortal Beloved, Morituri, North Face, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Snow Falling on Cedars and Oceans.

Ones to should avoid: Angel Eyes, Sweet November, My Sassy Girl, and The Great Raid-I didn't know a war movie could be so boring.

The Importance of Being Titled*

I am a big fan of title sequences, in which the credits have their own little "short film" to name the top billed contributors of the project, while using visually engaging images to draw in the audience. Although it has virtually nothing to do with the plot itself, the design of the opening credits are incredibly important as they are the first opportunity a film has to capture attention. When a film chooses to make a title sequence, it's meant to summarize the mood of the film before things get rolling. With a carefully selected soundtrack, whether it be music, ambiance, foley or actual plot driven dialogue, the opening credits set the standard for the rest of the film. One of the most obvious examples of a title sequence are the James Bond films, which have a signature song and abstract imagery with silhouettes of naked women (except for Casino Royale). TV shows have more of a tendency to create well designed title sequences, as it's the trademark and cue of the show every week.

Some films start the plot and lay credits over the opening scenes, which in my opinion ignores the potential for a great and fairly unrestricted piece of art and design. On the other hand some filmmakers opt out of opening credits altogether, such as Christopher Nolan's films, which allow the audience to delve right into the plot itself without thinking about credits until the end of the film. If a film chooses to have opening credits at all and acknowledges their importance, they can only help to serve the film itself by creating a distinct and gripping ambience.

What inspired me to talk about title sequences was when I sat down last night and watched the Polish film Katyń (2007) by director Andrzej Wajda of the Polish Film School, none of which I knew anything about beforehand. I'd only skimmed the back of the case when I chose to rent it. I've been watching a bunch of foreign films lately and assumed it would be simple, quiet, shot on digital as opposed to film, with a decent story. However when the title sequence opened the movie, I was surprised. It was going to be an amazing film that I'd somehow missed. It's a simple title sequence, but clearly thought out and with a fantastic piece of music composed by Krzysztof Penderecki to set the unsettling, melancholy mood of the film (another of his songs shared in both Katyń and Scorcese's Shutter Island is the ominous Symphony No. 3). If you haven't seen Katyń, watch it.

Here's a collection of films which I think have title sequences with good hooks. I know I'm forgetting some good ones, but my all time favourites are The Fall, Watchmen and although it's not a film, the opening to HBO's Dexter is the best. Name off some awesome ones I missed!

*Special high five points for anyone who can guess what the background image of my title card is from



Before & After: Triumph Des Willens & The True Glory

Two documentaries, two countries and two periods of time tell very different and interesting stories about one central theme: Adolf Hitler's regime.

"Twenty years after the outbreak of the World War, sixteen years after the beginning of German suffering, nineteen months since the start of Germany's rebirth, Adolf Hitler flies to Nuremburg to review his faithful followers." ~Opening statement of Triumph Des Willens

Triumph Des Willens or Triumph of the Will was released in 1935, directed by Leni Riefenstahl is the infamous documentary which followed Hitler through many public events in the 1934 Nazi Party congress, which took place in Nuremburg. Being commissioned by Hitler himself, it was artfully crafted to portray all the splendor of the Nazi party and its leader and remains of the best examples of propaganda on film. Riefenstahl's cinematography alone is an amazing feat, especially for the time. However, it is the way in which she edited shots together, such as the young concentrating Hitler's youth drumming in line, up to the Furher's approving face, which were techniques used to sway the public in believeing in the good of the party. With a constant patriotic orchestra supporting these images, Triumph des Willens shows the world a new side of Germany, proud, strong and full of promise, rising out of the depression caused by World War I.


Riefenstahl's film became world reknown for the

beautiful shots and optimistic content for its country and won many awards in Germany as well as around the world-including the United States. What everyone seemed to lack in regards to this film was foresight. That is of course until second World War began, when Triumph Des Willens was banned by the Allies for being a product of the enemy.



"It is the story of the Nazi defeat on the western front. So far as possible, the editors have made it an account of the really important men in this campaign. I mean the enlisted soldiers, sailors and airmen that fought through every obstacle to victory. Of course to tell the whole story would take years, but the theme would be the same: Teamwork wins wars..." ~ Opening quote of The True Glory, spoken by Eisenhower.

The True Glory was released after the end of the war in 1945 as a collaboration between the British Ministry of Information and United States Office of War Information. Carol Reed, who had yet to direct The Third Man (1949) starring Orson Welles, was given the title of director for this film. However the term "orchestrator" might be more fitting, since it was hundreds of different pieces of documented footage edited together to create a comprehensible account of the Allies' invasion to the Nazi's defeat.

It essentially is the antithesis of Triumph Des Willens, as the footage was not shot for art or propaganda. It was shot by hundreds of different people, on both sides, with the single motive of recording what was happening before them. It therefore lacks the pre-conceived cinematography and quality of Riefenstahl's images. In that regard it is a trust-worthy account of warfare and serves to show the horrorifying results of the Nazi's regime. It ends with the discovery footage of the concentration camps, as people throw hundreds of starved, naked corpses into pits, and footage of cities made of rubble. To depict the information of the Allies' journey, maps segment different significant events on which shadowy swastikas are chased away by the Allies' flags. With added narration of dozens of men and women who tell anecdotes of their war experiences (most likely actors), The True Glory obviously takes a slant towards Ally patriotism. However, it is hardly anything to protest, especially when compared to Hitler's Aryan-idealized, swastika-filled propaganda masterpiece.