We watched the opening clip from Lift to the Scaffold, directed by Louis Malle in 1958. The film was the first 'French new wave' film, this meant the movies featured unprecedented methods of expression, such as long tracking shots. Many of the French New Wave films were produced on tight budgets; often shot in a friend's apartment or yard, using the director's friends as the cast and crew. Directors were also forced to improvise with equipment (for example, using a pram for tracking shots). Louis Malle asked Miles Davis, a well known Jazz musician, to watch the film and then play what he thought would go well with the scenes. This worked very well and in some places to the opening scene contra punctual sound occurs.
The first shot is a extreme close up of a woman's eyes, this questions the audience by wondering who she is talking to on the phone and why she is saying it. The shot then cuts to a man and his reply's to the woman on the phone, which then draws back to see the establishing shot of him in a building and she is in a phone box. The props used in the film, a gun, glove and rope all represent crime, meanwhile the audience is still wondering what is going to happen and who he is going to shoot. Whilst this is happening fforeshadowing occurs as the employee is sharpening pencils, you see her do this before the murder is happening and during it as it blocks out the gun shot so she doesn't suspect anything.
A long take of the boss is used to show how much power the boss has over the man with the man with the gun and even when he draws out the gun he still shows he isn't scared, again showing he is a powerful character so the employee with the gun must have a lot of confidence to shoot him. As the tension between the boss and the employee with the gun builds up you can here the music in the background increasing which gives off the impression that as he pays attention, so do the audience.
After this scene it cuts back to the woman who is waiting, the scene completely uses artificial light and none of the people around her or driving are actors, which makes the film more life like as it captures peoples real reactions. As she stands up to walk down the street pathetic fallacy of the thunder crashing is used to show how angry she is. Instead of a tracking shot being used for the scene, the director improvised and used a pram.
Opening clip from Lift to the Scaffold
The first shot is a extreme close up of a woman's eyes, this questions the audience by wondering who she is talking to on the phone and why she is saying it. The shot then cuts to a man and his reply's to the woman on the phone, which then draws back to see the establishing shot of him in a building and she is in a phone box. The props used in the film, a gun, glove and rope all represent crime, meanwhile the audience is still wondering what is going to happen and who he is going to shoot. Whilst this is happening fforeshadowing occurs as the employee is sharpening pencils, you see her do this before the murder is happening and during it as it blocks out the gun shot so she doesn't suspect anything.
A long take of the boss is used to show how much power the boss has over the man with the man with the gun and even when he draws out the gun he still shows he isn't scared, again showing he is a powerful character so the employee with the gun must have a lot of confidence to shoot him. As the tension between the boss and the employee with the gun builds up you can here the music in the background increasing which gives off the impression that as he pays attention, so do the audience.
After this scene it cuts back to the woman who is waiting, the scene completely uses artificial light and none of the people around her or driving are actors, which makes the film more life like as it captures peoples real reactions. As she stands up to walk down the street pathetic fallacy of the thunder crashing is used to show how angry she is. Instead of a tracking shot being used for the scene, the director improvised and used a pram.
Opening clip from Lift to the Scaffold
No comments:
Post a Comment