German Expressionism Investigation

1.

1. Nosferatu

2. 

3. June 3, 1922

4. F. W. Murnau

5. Nosferatu has the strange angular movements of Shreck as Orlok that you see in expressionism frequently. This is expressionistic acting that is not so much non-naturalistic as non-human. In addition, the backdrops are reminiscent of the twisted abodes of other expressionist films, and are unconventional. There is very little set dressing and very little intentional stylization of backdrops. Murnau's wanted to demonstrate how the real world could be evocative of certain emotional vistas. So, he inverted the colors of the forest to make it appear spectral and he sped up the Count's carriage to make it fast and jerky. The website said, "For Murnau, the world itself is a chilling and terrifying place. It does not need artificially stylized painted backdrops to achieve this effect." This implies that Nosferatu was a dark film, and sort of a horror movie, which is also characteristic of German expressionism. 

6. Werner Herzog remade it in 1979 and called it Nosferatu the Vampyre

2.

1. Metropolis

2.




3. March 13, 1927

4. Fritz Lang

5. Metropolis had some of the most complex set and architectural techniques of its time. They were very elaborate and took a lot to pull off. It also was one of the first films to include a lot of extra actors in the film. There are a lot of rapid camera movements and cuts that give the film a chaotic, and kind of crazy feel to it. This is something seen often in German Expressionism that was kind of sparked by this film. In addition this film was focused on delving into socio-political issues like class, lust, and advancing technology.

6. There were no specific films mentioned, but Metropolis was said to have had an influence over Tim Burton's Batman movies, probably with the cityscapes, and Metropolis' influence can be seen in a lot of popular art.

3.

1. Pandora's Box

2.


3. December 1, 1929

4. Georg Wilhelm Pabst

5. Pandora's box can be seen as different from other and earlier forms of German expressionism, but it illustrates the central message of German expressionism, which is that realism should not be taken as a given. The film is more realistic by today's standards than most German expressionist films, but there are still many elements of German expressionism in it; for example, the message sent appeals more to the middle or lower class. It picks at society and teaches the viewer about the world around them. Also, the main character, Lulu, is definitely anti-heroic, as she kills a man and flees from her job. She is not saving anyone. 

Twilight Zone Chase Scene

• Reflect- Refer to your notes and answer how camera movements are used. What is the effect the movements have on the viewer?

I wanted to create a sort of chaotic and old fashioned feeling throughout the entire video, which is why I speeded almost all of our clips up, and used various cuts and camera movements to create that feeling and create more drama. We have two panning shots at the beginning and at the end that both give a new feeling to the scene overall. At the beginning, it changes the feeling of the shot by going from myself, who thinks they had a good show, and pans to Helena, who completely hated it to the point that she chases me and tried to kill me. This completely changes the mood of the video, taking it from kind of light to completely dark, even if it is slightly funny. Our dolly shot at the end is probably my favorite shot because even though the dolly didn't quite cooperate with us, it created a really cool and dramatic shot that showed the horror on my face, slowed the tempo of the film down a little and allowed for a gut punching (literally) ending. Our tilt shot at the end also slowed the scene down, and added a sense of confusion to the video. It was used to add drama and make the viewer feel a sense of urgency and horror at the end, and I put it there because it tied the film all together, and I wanted that create that sense of confusion and horror at the end, and add some humor by showing my face after i'd been stabbed. Our tracking shot basically moves with me and Helena, and created a stressful mood, added tension to the pursuit, showed where we were going, and sped the film up a little.

• How do filmmakers use Camera Angles to enhance their work?

The biggest way that camera angles help to enhance filmmakers' work is adding variety to a scene. If a film maker just used one angle for an entire scene, it would get quite boring, especially if it was a chase scene like we have been studying. They use camera angles to give different perspectives and create different moods in a film, kind of like camera movements do as well. For example, our canting scenes at the end create a lot of confusion and add to the chaos of the scene overall. I put them near the very end because that is the feeling I wanted the viewer to take from the video. Filmmakers use canting to show confusion a give a kind of urgent feel to the scene. In addition, we had multiple long shots in our film that gave a wider perspective on what was going on. In a long shot, more of the setting is shown, so it really shows you where the characters are and what is happening in the scene. In contrast, close-up scenes bring you more intimately into a scene and a character. It allows you to see the character's emotion, which in turn could set a new mood to a scene. Also, a point of view shot allows the viewer to actually step into the shoes of the character and see what they're seeing. Camera angles create different moods and add variety to a film that without it would make it be a very boring piece of work.

• Discuss successes & recommendations (if you were to complete the project again)

I really like the story that we created. I think it was funny and light, and our scene, like chase scenes in general, allowed for a chaotic tone, which I really like. I like how I edited the film a lot because we did have some shots that were shaky and a little unprofessionally done, which I know is not something we want in this project; however, the way I edited the film kind of hid that, and made those messy shots work within the film. I sped everything up almost like an old silent film, and added a very chaotic, messy and dark soundtrack that really doesn't sound great and is kind of confusing, but it's the feeling I wanted to draw from the film. I added little snippets of Helena talking as flashbacks throughout the film to almost make it expressionist or avant garde, add more chaos, and also to get smoother transitions and to speed up the tempo of the film a bit. What I would do over is definitely those shots that were shaky or blurry, and I want to film in more locations and have some more shots to work with. There is a lot in here that needed improvement, but I think I did a good job masking these flaws in my final product above.