The choice of place amongst the films we watched during the final presentations made me think about my own choice of place for our film. What was it about my approach to the film, or for that matter anyone else’s approach, that made setting so much different from one film to another?
Joel, Josh T., Ed, and Cynthia:
This film was very interesting in that it was about four different ways that Berlin had influenced them. It began with Ed, and his desire to find a design for a tattoo that symbolized his travels here in Berlin. The setting was well chosen because the only thing that ever really stood out in his film was any circumstance in which a rose compass was present. Everything else was arbitrary, therefore the listener only focused in on what the narrator (Jason) was saying. Through this, you knew what was going through Ed’s mind. He was more concentrated on a personal experience of Berlin than a touristy one.
We then moved to Josh’s part. Here we see a person that is experiencing Berlin through the memory of those oppressed in previous generations. He walks through areas that contain reminders of the Holocaust. The setting here was well chosen because most of the scenes are of Josh looking at a reminder of the past from behind a fence, which he states in the beginning is like memory. Though he can sympathize, he will never be able to empathise.
Cynthia’s part is very representative of her struggle to find a topic for her film. Though she never truly found one particular thing that struck her as worthy of a film, she demonstrated a Berlin that only one who experienced it for it what it was could do. Berlin is a city, one with a unique culture and landscape, and you don’t have to be a tourist to appreciate the setting or a local to appreciate the culture. Cynthia, being in between these two people genres, shows her perception of Berlin. The setting is full of iconic Berlin, but in her film they take on their own role almost. Brandenburg gate is a place that she can sit down and think at, the Karl Marx statue is a symbol of her frustration toward someone who has written a noteworthy piece (which her character is struggling to perform), etc. Cynthia interacts with Berlin on a personal level rather than acting like a local who may take it for granted or a tourist who only looks at it in awe.
Finally, Joel takes on the task of creating a sonata through parts of Berlin that he feels represents the components of this musical piece. In the beginning, the camera is lost in which the setting is very ambiguous disorienting. As the film moves on though, the viewer begins to gain a sense of place.
Kerry, Chris, Kelly, Chris:
My take on this film through the interaction of its setting and theme was of one that demonstrated East Berlin taking on the incoming flux of westernization. In this film, there are clear icons of eastern Berlin, in which Kerry takes on the role of an easterner (…I think). And in light of a Western film, she “shapes” up, looks into the horizon, and rides west through the tourist crowd and bus at the Brandenburg Gate, symbolizing her in an east – west dual.
Nathan, Jon, Jesse, Jessica:
This film did very well what I did not, though tried. Here they took an aspect of Berlin’s culture that transcended east/west, rich/poor, German/foreigner, etc. Their filming of ping pong hotspots throughout Berlin was in a manner that no distinction could be made of where they were in Berlin (that is of course unless you knew the club prior). With their Berlin map at the end that showed all the places where they visited with red dots, you really felt a sense of a unified Berlin.
I reflect on my choice of place and realize that I was showing Berlin through a person interested in architecture and its representations. The streets I chose to pan were of streets with interesting buildings. The swing scene with Josh and Kelly showed a troubled past, even if I didn’t bring it up through dialogue. The backdrop was meant to accentuate what was occurring in the story. So rhetorically I ask again, what made my setting so much different from the others?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Week 11
Editing has been the most time consuming part of creating this film. Luckily, I had a good idea of my sequence before I shot so I was able to put together my rough cut within a single day. Much of my footage is very aesthetic and I would like to use it all, but much of it I had to cut out in order to demonstrate the parts of Berlin that would represent our film. This and being time conscious created a very difficult session of film “try-outs.” Josh has been very helpful in teaching me the basics to film editing. It is fun to turn your footage into a sequence that turns out how you want Berlin to look through your own memory and imagination so that others can see how you see.
It is fun to watch the main character and his friend-in-arms in the movie Good-Bye Lenin!. Alex is attempting to create a setting for his mom, just out of a coma, that is exactly like GDR Berlin. I am creating a setting for viewers that is a representation of Berlin. The details he incorporates though subtly create a GDR as he wished it would be, one that he would have liked to remember. I altering the setting to demonstrate that of Berlin which I found interesting and want to remember when I watch this film years from now. By taking footage of events in the now westernized east Berlin, his friend is able to edit them into a sequence that looks like it is actually from the old GDR times. It is amazing what you can do through editing for a film.
Pictures are fun and relatively easy if you keep it simple, but sound has been a trip. Beats must match. Tone must match the simultaneous part of the film. The timing of the music must match your previously chosen timing for the film. Noise from the camera may compete with the sound you want. Music must be used to liven dull-periods, but picking the song is a task. Bringing the levels down and up in order to take away power and allow for other aspects of the film to prevail. Editing has been frustrating, but fun, and a skill I will continue to enjoy in the future.
I now have a final draft for my voice over:
[Image 1]:
Close-up of layers of paint on the edge of a chipped away spot on the Mauer Park wall with a following slow zoom out
[Voice-over 1]:
How do we create a film that takes place in Berlin, one that allows the city’s different layers to be revealed? How can we film place in a way that also allows the story and setting to intertwine and complement one another? How can we use the external world as a backdrop to evoke the internal world? In asking these questions, we present ourselves with the challenge of defining a context for our characters and story through its setting--in other words, the challenge of creating place.
[Image 2]:
Shots of Brandenburg Gate, Siegesäule, and Fernsehturm
[Voice-over 2]:
There are many icons of Berlin, such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Siegesäule, or the Fernsehturm. Each of them might be used to create a contextual backdrop for the story, but might not portray the more subtle aspects of place that really interest us.
[Image 3]:
Down spiral city pan from Reichstag
[Voice-over 3]:
Therefore, it seems important to explore some everyday locations in Berlin and examine these surroundings more closely, to find meaning in them as they relate to our experience of the city.
[Image 4]:
Cross-dissolves of various street tracking/pan shots throughout the city
[Voice-over 4]:
In a sense, we are playing with time and space in order to achieve our goals of conveying the city of Berlin as we experienced it. Most peoples’ lives become somewhat restricted to certain areas within the city, but ours happen to have been broadened as a result of wanting to explore our new and unfamiliar surroundings. The setting for our story will attempt to encompass all of Berlin, thus location sequences may be geographically awkward to those familiar with Berlin. That is, the camera and characters will seem to jump around the city, in the spirit of creative geography. The idea is not to confuse viewers who already know Berlin, but rather to use architecture, site significance, and atmosphere to create a sense of place. Our choice of locations will be guided by the richness of their associations, in which these associations will create a juxtaposition of two different layers of time – that of Berlin and this brief relationship between our two main characters.
[Image 5]:
Shots of Engeldamm bombed church and its adjacent playground followed by close-up of swing set cross-dissolving into Josh and Kelly swinging cross-dissolving into empty swings swinging
[Voice-over 5]:
Take, for example, a relatively abandoned church that was bombed in 1942--a time that is mostly forgotten or repressed by Germans. A neglected playground stands in the shadows. Stirring up memories of one’s past may cause disturbances.
[Image 6]:
Pan of modern architecture buildings near Potsdamer Platz followed by shot of the Staatsbibliothek with a close-up of bullet holes
[Voice-over 6]:
As we begin to understand the Berlin of our generation, the so-called “Generation Berlin,” we learn that many people our age feel disconnected to Germany’s bitter past. Where modern architecture may capture the interest of our German protagonist, she may be inattentive to older buildings and their significance. An old central library, riddled with bullet holes, might serve to develop this character not as she confronts the past, but rather as she prepares for the future.
[Image 7]:
Older man stops right along western side of Berlin Mauer bricks to observe construction taking place right where the wall used to be on Bernauer Strasse
[Voice-over 7]:
Some members of the Generation Berlin live their day-to-day lives unmoved by reminders of the German past that previous generations may not be able to pass by without reflection. What happens when the resonance of a particular location begins to fade over time?
[Image 8]:
Shots of Humboldt University and cranes
[Voice-over 8]:
This new generation has been associated with the idea that, “Berlin will never have an identity, because it is always striving to become.” How can we demonstrate this idea, this disconnection from the past? For example, would a backdrop of a university or a construction site evoke the future - this striving to become?
[Image 9]:
Shot exploring a stairwell in the graffiti courtyard on Oranienburger Strasse
[Voice-over 9]:
Similarly, could we enhance a discussion of our characters’ different interests and talents by means of backdrop? We might decide upon this backdrop by searching our own memories for things we found striking throughout our exploration of the city, and maybe even through memories of attempting to involve ourselves in what we found.
Image 10]:
Josh playing an instrumental fence door (literally) followed by a tracking pan of Josh and Kelly walking along a graffiti wall in the same courtyard on Oranienburger Strasse
[Voice-over 10]:
(none)
[Image 11]:
Shots of cultural hubs such as cafés, markets, parks, etc.
[Voice-over 11]:
Images of other locations may function differently, evoking the cultural level of exchange between the two characters rather than their personal relationship. Culture hubs of Berlin, where locals and foreigners mix and spend time, create an image of Berlin that transcends any perceived divisions across the city. Emphasizing such culture hubs, which are prevalent throughout Berlin, would mean that no one area of the city would be privileged over another. Repeated returns to such generic settings, at different locations throughout the city, might even enhance the sense of a unified Berlin.
[Image 12]:
Tracking pan of Berlin followed by shot of Schönhauser corner location
[Voice-over 12]:
We use backdrop to create our own city, that is, our own perspective of Berlin based on our memories and experiences. This technique allows us to help the audience get to know our German character and vicariously experience this cross-national relationship through the film. The German scriptwriter, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, visited our class and was questioned as to why he chose Schönhauser corner as a setting for his movie. He simply stated that it was the most obvious place to shoot. It was a cultural center, aesthetically pleasing, and not covered by rubble like other places in the city. Most important, he said, the setting wouldn’t overpower the story.
[Image 13]:
Shot of the filming of the meeting scene in Tiergarten
[Voice-over 13]:
With this in mind, we reevaluate the settings of our bookend scenes that we had originally chosen. The meeting scene takes place in a garden, of which its former use as a hunting ground is evident in the sculptures that our American character passes by. In addition, we see the Siegesäule, erected to mark Germany’s unification in 1871. Do these frames of reference conjure up other, unintended implications? Are they too strong for the scene?
[Image 14]:
Bench in a neighborhood park off of Karl-Marx Allee with a Soviet-style building in background
[Voice-over 14]:
An alternative park bench setting would be a quiet, non-touristy, neighborhood location in which background architecture may subtly represent Berlin. Here our character could in fact be just outside her apartment, where an American tourist could more realistically be lost.
[Image 15]:
Shot of filming at Brandenburg Gate followed by alternative angle at same location that juxtaposes construction with the gate
[Voice-over 15]:
Again, is our use of Brandenburg Gate for the departure scene too strong--a touristic cliché--along the lines of a kissing scene at Venice’s St. Mark’s square? If we were to change the angle of a given shot, in order to juxtapose the city of old with the city of becoming, would the audience even notice? A location such as the Brandenburg Gate will have different meanings for different people. Centuries ago, it was a place of arrival and departure--the city’s royal gateway. By contrast, a few decades ago, it was literally a dead-end. Today, it’s a tourist destination. In our story, would its associated meanings overpower the scene, or would the characters hold their own? We might want to consider an alternative location.
[Image 16]:
Us disappearing down into a U-bahn station
[Voice-over 16]:
In contemporary Berlin, the U-bahn would be a much more likely point of departure. The U bahn is a part of Berlin that we have used everyday and will be engrained into our memory, of which any particular sound or resemblance will spark association. This part of Berlin will also most likely be the location of our last memory in Berlin.
[Image 17]:
Wall graveyard, Shot of couple walking down path in the moat along Engledamm where Berlin Mauer used to be followed by shot of fireworks at Fernsehturn to close out
[Voice-over 17]:
We’re fortunate to have had the opportunity to film in this saved city, where so many other filmmakers did not have the same freedoms to film as they wished. We can take pleasure in the moment during a walk along a place that was once off-limits. Our film though, will capture that moment and preserve it as a memory containing the Berlin that we experienced through our eyes. It is important that through creating a sense of place, we convey the sense of Berlin that we have come to know and will always remember.
It is fun to watch the main character and his friend-in-arms in the movie Good-Bye Lenin!. Alex is attempting to create a setting for his mom, just out of a coma, that is exactly like GDR Berlin. I am creating a setting for viewers that is a representation of Berlin. The details he incorporates though subtly create a GDR as he wished it would be, one that he would have liked to remember. I altering the setting to demonstrate that of Berlin which I found interesting and want to remember when I watch this film years from now. By taking footage of events in the now westernized east Berlin, his friend is able to edit them into a sequence that looks like it is actually from the old GDR times. It is amazing what you can do through editing for a film.
Pictures are fun and relatively easy if you keep it simple, but sound has been a trip. Beats must match. Tone must match the simultaneous part of the film. The timing of the music must match your previously chosen timing for the film. Noise from the camera may compete with the sound you want. Music must be used to liven dull-periods, but picking the song is a task. Bringing the levels down and up in order to take away power and allow for other aspects of the film to prevail. Editing has been frustrating, but fun, and a skill I will continue to enjoy in the future.
I now have a final draft for my voice over:
[Image 1]:
Close-up of layers of paint on the edge of a chipped away spot on the Mauer Park wall with a following slow zoom out
[Voice-over 1]:
How do we create a film that takes place in Berlin, one that allows the city’s different layers to be revealed? How can we film place in a way that also allows the story and setting to intertwine and complement one another? How can we use the external world as a backdrop to evoke the internal world? In asking these questions, we present ourselves with the challenge of defining a context for our characters and story through its setting--in other words, the challenge of creating place.
[Image 2]:
Shots of Brandenburg Gate, Siegesäule, and Fernsehturm
[Voice-over 2]:
There are many icons of Berlin, such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Siegesäule, or the Fernsehturm. Each of them might be used to create a contextual backdrop for the story, but might not portray the more subtle aspects of place that really interest us.
[Image 3]:
Down spiral city pan from Reichstag
[Voice-over 3]:
Therefore, it seems important to explore some everyday locations in Berlin and examine these surroundings more closely, to find meaning in them as they relate to our experience of the city.
[Image 4]:
Cross-dissolves of various street tracking/pan shots throughout the city
[Voice-over 4]:
In a sense, we are playing with time and space in order to achieve our goals of conveying the city of Berlin as we experienced it. Most peoples’ lives become somewhat restricted to certain areas within the city, but ours happen to have been broadened as a result of wanting to explore our new and unfamiliar surroundings. The setting for our story will attempt to encompass all of Berlin, thus location sequences may be geographically awkward to those familiar with Berlin. That is, the camera and characters will seem to jump around the city, in the spirit of creative geography. The idea is not to confuse viewers who already know Berlin, but rather to use architecture, site significance, and atmosphere to create a sense of place. Our choice of locations will be guided by the richness of their associations, in which these associations will create a juxtaposition of two different layers of time – that of Berlin and this brief relationship between our two main characters.
[Image 5]:
Shots of Engeldamm bombed church and its adjacent playground followed by close-up of swing set cross-dissolving into Josh and Kelly swinging cross-dissolving into empty swings swinging
[Voice-over 5]:
Take, for example, a relatively abandoned church that was bombed in 1942--a time that is mostly forgotten or repressed by Germans. A neglected playground stands in the shadows. Stirring up memories of one’s past may cause disturbances.
[Image 6]:
Pan of modern architecture buildings near Potsdamer Platz followed by shot of the Staatsbibliothek with a close-up of bullet holes
[Voice-over 6]:
As we begin to understand the Berlin of our generation, the so-called “Generation Berlin,” we learn that many people our age feel disconnected to Germany’s bitter past. Where modern architecture may capture the interest of our German protagonist, she may be inattentive to older buildings and their significance. An old central library, riddled with bullet holes, might serve to develop this character not as she confronts the past, but rather as she prepares for the future.
[Image 7]:
Older man stops right along western side of Berlin Mauer bricks to observe construction taking place right where the wall used to be on Bernauer Strasse
[Voice-over 7]:
Some members of the Generation Berlin live their day-to-day lives unmoved by reminders of the German past that previous generations may not be able to pass by without reflection. What happens when the resonance of a particular location begins to fade over time?
[Image 8]:
Shots of Humboldt University and cranes
[Voice-over 8]:
This new generation has been associated with the idea that, “Berlin will never have an identity, because it is always striving to become.” How can we demonstrate this idea, this disconnection from the past? For example, would a backdrop of a university or a construction site evoke the future - this striving to become?
[Image 9]:
Shot exploring a stairwell in the graffiti courtyard on Oranienburger Strasse
[Voice-over 9]:
Similarly, could we enhance a discussion of our characters’ different interests and talents by means of backdrop? We might decide upon this backdrop by searching our own memories for things we found striking throughout our exploration of the city, and maybe even through memories of attempting to involve ourselves in what we found.
Image 10]:
Josh playing an instrumental fence door (literally) followed by a tracking pan of Josh and Kelly walking along a graffiti wall in the same courtyard on Oranienburger Strasse
[Voice-over 10]:
(none)
[Image 11]:
Shots of cultural hubs such as cafés, markets, parks, etc.
[Voice-over 11]:
Images of other locations may function differently, evoking the cultural level of exchange between the two characters rather than their personal relationship. Culture hubs of Berlin, where locals and foreigners mix and spend time, create an image of Berlin that transcends any perceived divisions across the city. Emphasizing such culture hubs, which are prevalent throughout Berlin, would mean that no one area of the city would be privileged over another. Repeated returns to such generic settings, at different locations throughout the city, might even enhance the sense of a unified Berlin.
[Image 12]:
Tracking pan of Berlin followed by shot of Schönhauser corner location
[Voice-over 12]:
We use backdrop to create our own city, that is, our own perspective of Berlin based on our memories and experiences. This technique allows us to help the audience get to know our German character and vicariously experience this cross-national relationship through the film. The German scriptwriter, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, visited our class and was questioned as to why he chose Schönhauser corner as a setting for his movie. He simply stated that it was the most obvious place to shoot. It was a cultural center, aesthetically pleasing, and not covered by rubble like other places in the city. Most important, he said, the setting wouldn’t overpower the story.
[Image 13]:
Shot of the filming of the meeting scene in Tiergarten
[Voice-over 13]:
With this in mind, we reevaluate the settings of our bookend scenes that we had originally chosen. The meeting scene takes place in a garden, of which its former use as a hunting ground is evident in the sculptures that our American character passes by. In addition, we see the Siegesäule, erected to mark Germany’s unification in 1871. Do these frames of reference conjure up other, unintended implications? Are they too strong for the scene?
[Image 14]:
Bench in a neighborhood park off of Karl-Marx Allee with a Soviet-style building in background
[Voice-over 14]:
An alternative park bench setting would be a quiet, non-touristy, neighborhood location in which background architecture may subtly represent Berlin. Here our character could in fact be just outside her apartment, where an American tourist could more realistically be lost.
[Image 15]:
Shot of filming at Brandenburg Gate followed by alternative angle at same location that juxtaposes construction with the gate
[Voice-over 15]:
Again, is our use of Brandenburg Gate for the departure scene too strong--a touristic cliché--along the lines of a kissing scene at Venice’s St. Mark’s square? If we were to change the angle of a given shot, in order to juxtapose the city of old with the city of becoming, would the audience even notice? A location such as the Brandenburg Gate will have different meanings for different people. Centuries ago, it was a place of arrival and departure--the city’s royal gateway. By contrast, a few decades ago, it was literally a dead-end. Today, it’s a tourist destination. In our story, would its associated meanings overpower the scene, or would the characters hold their own? We might want to consider an alternative location.
[Image 16]:
Us disappearing down into a U-bahn station
[Voice-over 16]:
In contemporary Berlin, the U-bahn would be a much more likely point of departure. The U bahn is a part of Berlin that we have used everyday and will be engrained into our memory, of which any particular sound or resemblance will spark association. This part of Berlin will also most likely be the location of our last memory in Berlin.
[Image 17]:
Wall graveyard, Shot of couple walking down path in the moat along Engledamm where Berlin Mauer used to be followed by shot of fireworks at Fernsehturn to close out
[Voice-over 17]:
We’re fortunate to have had the opportunity to film in this saved city, where so many other filmmakers did not have the same freedoms to film as they wished. We can take pleasure in the moment during a walk along a place that was once off-limits. Our film though, will capture that moment and preserve it as a memory containing the Berlin that we experienced through our eyes. It is important that through creating a sense of place, we convey the sense of Berlin that we have come to know and will always remember.
Week 10
Me Boss, You Sneaker was a very different perspective on Berlin, one from an outsider living in, just as we are. We luckily don’t have to face the difficulties that this character does though. The political side of contemporary Berlin was an interesting thing to gain a perspective on. Our film as of yet has dealt more with finding place and portraying our experience of Berlin, rather than objectively demonstrating a part of Berlin’s day-to-day life. Through the readings we learned about a more recent part of Berlin’s history that may be more influential on today’s life than the more common aspects of Berlin’s history that we learn about through classes and books. It is interesting though, from what I’ve heard concerning other groups’ films, that this is not addressed. There isn’t even anything that directly directs the Turkish subculture here. The topic may be a bit out of our ability though since it is new to us. Though, a film on the comparison between Germany’s Turkish population and the US Mexican population would be interesting.
Filming this week has been hectic, tiring, time-consuming, and a blast. It has been very exciting to film with no budget. We have been creative in capturing shots that would be easy to do given production studio equipment (that or we just dealt with the roughness and plan to attribute any fault in our film due to our attempt to portray the film as a picture of someone’s memory). Many of our shots have been all over the city and not necessarily where each other need to shoot. So on a given day we would plan to help out whoever had the best and most complete plan for what they wanted to do. In fact, some of my best shots happen to come from those days anyway. Helping young at Gorlitzer Park landed me a shot of some kids making funny faces into the camera. I hope to be able to use the shot in my film. On a trip to help Kelly film we stopped by the graffiti courtyard on Oranienburgertrasse. Here I filmed Josh on the whim playing a musical fence. This will probably be the most beautiful footage of my part in the film. It truly demonstrates our interaction with what we find striking in Berlin.
Some shots that we have taken have been useful for other parts as well. The shooting, though geared towards individual parts, has really proven to be a group project.
Filming this week has been hectic, tiring, time-consuming, and a blast. It has been very exciting to film with no budget. We have been creative in capturing shots that would be easy to do given production studio equipment (that or we just dealt with the roughness and plan to attribute any fault in our film due to our attempt to portray the film as a picture of someone’s memory). Many of our shots have been all over the city and not necessarily where each other need to shoot. So on a given day we would plan to help out whoever had the best and most complete plan for what they wanted to do. In fact, some of my best shots happen to come from those days anyway. Helping young at Gorlitzer Park landed me a shot of some kids making funny faces into the camera. I hope to be able to use the shot in my film. On a trip to help Kelly film we stopped by the graffiti courtyard on Oranienburgertrasse. Here I filmed Josh on the whim playing a musical fence. This will probably be the most beautiful footage of my part in the film. It truly demonstrates our interaction with what we find striking in Berlin.
Some shots that we have taken have been useful for other parts as well. The shooting, though geared towards individual parts, has really proven to be a group project.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Week 9 Filming
After developing a first draft for my script and image sequence I have been able to capture a lot of footage. Now that I know what I need, I have a direction for my filming. Many of my shots deal with tracking shots, and without access to a car it has been interesting thinking up ways to get the tracking shots or create footage that got the point across when tracking was not an option. Certain shots were easy since I was able to catch a bus or S-bahn that allowed me to capture what I intended. Other methods that have proven usable were 180 degree pans of a street from one point, walking with the camera and time-lapsing it, and slowly zooming in down a street. I had also considered using a bicycle, but we didn't have any pegs for the person with the camera to stand on.
Most of my other types of shots were either choreographed scenes are simple stationary shots that may have consisted of some zooming. For the latter, I used the same composition thought process that I would use for a photo. This tends to work well. The choreographed scenes, however, have been much more fun.
Two scenes in particular are interesting to discuss. The first is a scene at a bombed church on Engeldamm with a playground adjacent to it. I never see anybody using the playground, so it struck me as an interesting setting to shoot. I wanted to use this setting as a scene in which the two characters may be discussing something about the past they may be a bit difficult for one to talk about. The initial sequence would create a frame of reference and greater context for where the setting is, that being a church bombed back in WWII with a neglected playground. Interestingly, they choose would choose the swing sets of this playground as the place to discuss this topic. The swing sequence would begin with a motionless shot of the swings. This would symbolize a repressed memory. The image would then cross-dissolve into them swinging on these swings, representing them stirring up the past. Finally, the image would cross-dissolve into the swings swinging without anyone on them. The playground has been disturbed. The first attempt at this has failed since the two swinging shots do not cross-dissolve into each other very well, so I must go back to re-shoot.
The second scene I wanted to choreograph was a representation of us all being lost in Berlin and then meeting Berlin. This would be a variation of the meeting scene where the main character walks back and forth across the Berlin character and then walks up to as for directions. Instead of one person walking across the screen each time, we had one person take each leg. By cross-dissolving these legs we seemingly create a blur of one person that represents the group. The part where we ask for directions would work similarly with a repetitive movement toward the Berlin character. Josh suggested that we do this scene with us all acting and walking backwards. We could then reverse the footage and create an affect that makes the character seem awkwardly lost. So this should be exciting to see the outcome.
During our departure scene at Brandenburg Gate I had decided that a new setting would be needed all together since the set was too powerful and a very unlikely place for two people to part. I did however notice an angle that may be an interesting shot to look at later. This angle, different from our bookend angle, creates a juxtaposition between cranes and the Gate. This could be symbolic of Sitka's "synthetic city" and the Berlin character's disconnection with the past (the past represented by the Gate). This angle could imply that the Gate setting was merely coincidental and they did not even notice that they were underneath it, pointing to disconnection with the past.
Another shot that seems choreographed, but was actually by chance takes place on Bernauer Strasse. Here is where many people died on Barbed Wire Sunday attempting to jump from their apartments to the west. I was filming a construction site taking place right where the wall used to be on Bernauer. There was the bricks on the street and an interesting contrast between the east and west architecture. An older man came up to watch the construction and stood right next to the wall. It proved to be a very strong scene.
Deciding upon specific different locations around the city to create place has been difficult, so I have gone for a more theoretical route instead. I will incorporate ideas from writers such as Sitka to help me present settings that demonstrate the idea, from which if we did actually create the fictional film we could take these ideas into account for particular scenes. Areas such as Potsdamer Platz's modern architecture, old buildings with bullet holes, cafe's, etc., have been places I've been filming for a variety of shots to choose from.
Another problem I've been facing has been deciding upon so locations to demonstrate cultural aspects of Berlin that transcend any perceived division. By showing these I can prevent the ability to discern the section of the city the shot is in, and in affect create a unified city.
Filming has been an exciting new activity that becomes a source of much creativity. I have enjoyed the days filming so far, even if they have been long and tough in the cold weather.
Most of my other types of shots were either choreographed scenes are simple stationary shots that may have consisted of some zooming. For the latter, I used the same composition thought process that I would use for a photo. This tends to work well. The choreographed scenes, however, have been much more fun.
Two scenes in particular are interesting to discuss. The first is a scene at a bombed church on Engeldamm with a playground adjacent to it. I never see anybody using the playground, so it struck me as an interesting setting to shoot. I wanted to use this setting as a scene in which the two characters may be discussing something about the past they may be a bit difficult for one to talk about. The initial sequence would create a frame of reference and greater context for where the setting is, that being a church bombed back in WWII with a neglected playground. Interestingly, they choose would choose the swing sets of this playground as the place to discuss this topic. The swing sequence would begin with a motionless shot of the swings. This would symbolize a repressed memory. The image would then cross-dissolve into them swinging on these swings, representing them stirring up the past. Finally, the image would cross-dissolve into the swings swinging without anyone on them. The playground has been disturbed. The first attempt at this has failed since the two swinging shots do not cross-dissolve into each other very well, so I must go back to re-shoot.
The second scene I wanted to choreograph was a representation of us all being lost in Berlin and then meeting Berlin. This would be a variation of the meeting scene where the main character walks back and forth across the Berlin character and then walks up to as for directions. Instead of one person walking across the screen each time, we had one person take each leg. By cross-dissolving these legs we seemingly create a blur of one person that represents the group. The part where we ask for directions would work similarly with a repetitive movement toward the Berlin character. Josh suggested that we do this scene with us all acting and walking backwards. We could then reverse the footage and create an affect that makes the character seem awkwardly lost. So this should be exciting to see the outcome.
During our departure scene at Brandenburg Gate I had decided that a new setting would be needed all together since the set was too powerful and a very unlikely place for two people to part. I did however notice an angle that may be an interesting shot to look at later. This angle, different from our bookend angle, creates a juxtaposition between cranes and the Gate. This could be symbolic of Sitka's "synthetic city" and the Berlin character's disconnection with the past (the past represented by the Gate). This angle could imply that the Gate setting was merely coincidental and they did not even notice that they were underneath it, pointing to disconnection with the past.
Another shot that seems choreographed, but was actually by chance takes place on Bernauer Strasse. Here is where many people died on Barbed Wire Sunday attempting to jump from their apartments to the west. I was filming a construction site taking place right where the wall used to be on Bernauer. There was the bricks on the street and an interesting contrast between the east and west architecture. An older man came up to watch the construction and stood right next to the wall. It proved to be a very strong scene.
Deciding upon specific different locations around the city to create place has been difficult, so I have gone for a more theoretical route instead. I will incorporate ideas from writers such as Sitka to help me present settings that demonstrate the idea, from which if we did actually create the fictional film we could take these ideas into account for particular scenes. Areas such as Potsdamer Platz's modern architecture, old buildings with bullet holes, cafe's, etc., have been places I've been filming for a variety of shots to choose from.
Another problem I've been facing has been deciding upon so locations to demonstrate cultural aspects of Berlin that transcend any perceived division. By showing these I can prevent the ability to discern the section of the city the shot is in, and in affect create a unified city.
Filming has been an exciting new activity that becomes a source of much creativity. I have enjoyed the days filming so far, even if they have been long and tough in the cold weather.
Week 9 Continued
How do we create a film that truly takes place in Berlin, such that the story and setting intertwine in a manner that they are complementary to each other? How can we use the external world as a backdrop to demonstrate the internal world? In asking these questions, we present ourselves with the challenge of defining a context for our characters and story through its setting, or in other words, the challenge of creating place.
There are many symbols of Berlin, such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Siegesäule, or the Fernsehturn, that create a greater context for the story but may not portray the more subtle aspects of context we are striving for. Therefore, it is functional to consider everyday locations in Berlin and examine these surroundings in order to find meaning in them as they relate to aspects of our experiences in and coming to know and understand Berlin.
We are essentially playing with time and space in order to achieve our goals of conveying the city of Berlin as we experienced it. Most peoples’ lives can become fairly localized to a few areas within a city, but ours happen to have been broadened to a larger area as a result of wanting to explore our new and unfamiliar surroundings. The setting for our story will attempt to encompass all of Berlin, thus location sequences may be geographically awkward to those familiar with Berlin. That is, the camera and characters will seem to jump around the city as we utilize geographic creativity. Our purpose in this is not to create confusion, but rather to use architecture, site significance, and atmosphere to create place. Our choice of setting locations are unique in that the meaning of these attributes prevail over the implications of it particular location in the city. In using such techniques, we are paralleling different layers of time, in which aspects of the developing relationship between the characters are drawn in comparison to the more familiar aspect of Berlin’s history.
Take, for example, a relatively abandoned church that was bombed during a time generally repressed by Germans. A neglected playground accompanies it in its shadows. Stirring up or discussing each other’s past may cause disturbances.
As we begin to understand the Berlin of our generation, referred to as “Generation Berlin,” we learn though that they are relatively disconnected to Berlin’s bitter past. Members of this generation may be inattentive to older buildings and their significance. An old central library, riddled with bullet holes, could be used by our Berlin character to prepare for the future rather than to confront the past. Generation Berlin live their day-to-day lives unconcerned with and unaffected by reminders of shameful cruelties of the German past that previous generations may not be able to pass by without reflection. Particular locations of new construction, or crossing a particular street where others had died attempting to cross in the past, may have lost their meaning.
This new generation has constantly been associated with the quote, “Berlin will never have an identity, because it is always striving to become.” Where most people may discuss their ambitions with each other in an arbitrary café setting over coffee, this film may benefit from a backdrop of a university or a construction site as they walk through the city during this particular discussion. Similarly, we have experienced modern Berlin culture by exploring the city via every open door, and maybe even attempting to involve ourselves in what we find.
Some locations may function differently in order to demonstrate aspects of the relationship that pertain to more simple cultural interactions between the two characters rather than to their development. Culture hubs of Berlin, where both locals and foreigners can enjoy themselves, serve the purpose of displaying that of Berlin which transcends any conjectured divisions across the city. By using culture hubs prevalent throughout Berlin, a certain area of the city is prevented from being discerned in the scene, functioning in conveying a unified culture of Berlin. Use of repetitive setting types, but at different locations throughout the city, may play with space to enhance this sense of a unified Berlin.
We use backdrop to create our own city, that is, our own perspective of Berlin based on our memories ad experiences. In response to the question of reason behind choosing Schönhauser corner as a setting for his movie, Wolfgang Kohlhaase simply stated that it was the most obvious place to shoot. It was cultural center, aesthetically pleasing, and not in rubble like most of the city. Most importantly though, was that the setting wasn’t too strong or overpowering for the story.
With this in mind, we are forced to reevaluate the settings of our bookend scenes that we had originally chosen. The meeting scene takes place in a garden, of which its former and prevalent use as a hunting ground is evident in the sculptures that our American character passes by. In addition, we see the Siegesäule, erected in celebration of Germany’s unification. Do these frames of reference put forth unintended implications? Are they too strong for the scene? Also, it seems rather unlikely that a Berlin local would go all the way to the center of Tiergarten for some casual reading. An alternative park bench setting would be a quiet, non-touristy, neighborhood location in which background architecture may subtly represent Berlin.
Again, is our use of Brandenburg Gate for the departure scene too strong, and/or cliché, of a setting? And still yet, even if we were to change the angle in order to juxtapose the construction site cranes with a symbol of the past as a means of suggesting that they simply did not notice being at Brandenburg Gate and that it was merely coincidental? This is a bit far-fetched though, and considering its precise location within the city we now realize that this would not be a considered place of departure in modern day Berlin. Technology has developed means of transportation, such as the U bahn, which is a much more likely point of departure. The U bahn is a part of Berlin that we have used everyday and will be engrained into our memory, of which any particular sound or resemblance will spark association. This part of Berlin will also most likely be the location of our last memory in Berlin.
We must find ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to film in this saved city, where so many other filmmakers did not have the same freedoms to film where and what we want that we have enjoyed. We can take pleasure in the moment during a walk along the grave of the structure that symbolized a time of oppression. Our film though, will capture that moment and preserve it throughout time as a memory capsule containing our experiences here in Berlin. It is important that through place that we create in our backdrop, we properly convey the Berlin that we have come to know and will always remember.
There are many symbols of Berlin, such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Siegesäule, or the Fernsehturn, that create a greater context for the story but may not portray the more subtle aspects of context we are striving for. Therefore, it is functional to consider everyday locations in Berlin and examine these surroundings in order to find meaning in them as they relate to aspects of our experiences in and coming to know and understand Berlin.
We are essentially playing with time and space in order to achieve our goals of conveying the city of Berlin as we experienced it. Most peoples’ lives can become fairly localized to a few areas within a city, but ours happen to have been broadened to a larger area as a result of wanting to explore our new and unfamiliar surroundings. The setting for our story will attempt to encompass all of Berlin, thus location sequences may be geographically awkward to those familiar with Berlin. That is, the camera and characters will seem to jump around the city as we utilize geographic creativity. Our purpose in this is not to create confusion, but rather to use architecture, site significance, and atmosphere to create place. Our choice of setting locations are unique in that the meaning of these attributes prevail over the implications of it particular location in the city. In using such techniques, we are paralleling different layers of time, in which aspects of the developing relationship between the characters are drawn in comparison to the more familiar aspect of Berlin’s history.
Take, for example, a relatively abandoned church that was bombed during a time generally repressed by Germans. A neglected playground accompanies it in its shadows. Stirring up or discussing each other’s past may cause disturbances.
As we begin to understand the Berlin of our generation, referred to as “Generation Berlin,” we learn though that they are relatively disconnected to Berlin’s bitter past. Members of this generation may be inattentive to older buildings and their significance. An old central library, riddled with bullet holes, could be used by our Berlin character to prepare for the future rather than to confront the past. Generation Berlin live their day-to-day lives unconcerned with and unaffected by reminders of shameful cruelties of the German past that previous generations may not be able to pass by without reflection. Particular locations of new construction, or crossing a particular street where others had died attempting to cross in the past, may have lost their meaning.
This new generation has constantly been associated with the quote, “Berlin will never have an identity, because it is always striving to become.” Where most people may discuss their ambitions with each other in an arbitrary café setting over coffee, this film may benefit from a backdrop of a university or a construction site as they walk through the city during this particular discussion. Similarly, we have experienced modern Berlin culture by exploring the city via every open door, and maybe even attempting to involve ourselves in what we find.
Some locations may function differently in order to demonstrate aspects of the relationship that pertain to more simple cultural interactions between the two characters rather than to their development. Culture hubs of Berlin, where both locals and foreigners can enjoy themselves, serve the purpose of displaying that of Berlin which transcends any conjectured divisions across the city. By using culture hubs prevalent throughout Berlin, a certain area of the city is prevented from being discerned in the scene, functioning in conveying a unified culture of Berlin. Use of repetitive setting types, but at different locations throughout the city, may play with space to enhance this sense of a unified Berlin.
We use backdrop to create our own city, that is, our own perspective of Berlin based on our memories ad experiences. In response to the question of reason behind choosing Schönhauser corner as a setting for his movie, Wolfgang Kohlhaase simply stated that it was the most obvious place to shoot. It was cultural center, aesthetically pleasing, and not in rubble like most of the city. Most importantly though, was that the setting wasn’t too strong or overpowering for the story.
With this in mind, we are forced to reevaluate the settings of our bookend scenes that we had originally chosen. The meeting scene takes place in a garden, of which its former and prevalent use as a hunting ground is evident in the sculptures that our American character passes by. In addition, we see the Siegesäule, erected in celebration of Germany’s unification. Do these frames of reference put forth unintended implications? Are they too strong for the scene? Also, it seems rather unlikely that a Berlin local would go all the way to the center of Tiergarten for some casual reading. An alternative park bench setting would be a quiet, non-touristy, neighborhood location in which background architecture may subtly represent Berlin.
Again, is our use of Brandenburg Gate for the departure scene too strong, and/or cliché, of a setting? And still yet, even if we were to change the angle in order to juxtapose the construction site cranes with a symbol of the past as a means of suggesting that they simply did not notice being at Brandenburg Gate and that it was merely coincidental? This is a bit far-fetched though, and considering its precise location within the city we now realize that this would not be a considered place of departure in modern day Berlin. Technology has developed means of transportation, such as the U bahn, which is a much more likely point of departure. The U bahn is a part of Berlin that we have used everyday and will be engrained into our memory, of which any particular sound or resemblance will spark association. This part of Berlin will also most likely be the location of our last memory in Berlin.
We must find ourselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to film in this saved city, where so many other filmmakers did not have the same freedoms to film where and what we want that we have enjoyed. We can take pleasure in the moment during a walk along the grave of the structure that symbolized a time of oppression. Our film though, will capture that moment and preserve it throughout time as a memory capsule containing our experiences here in Berlin. It is important that through place that we create in our backdrop, we properly convey the Berlin that we have come to know and will always remember.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Week 9
Since there is no screening or reading this week, I will use the time effectively to develop a rough draft of a film clip sequence for my part of the film and a script for the voice over explanation of the reasoning behind including the different locations in the fictional film. All this will be inserted by the end of Thanksgiving break, so as to allow myself time to piece together some footage and organize my thoughts into a written script.
Week 8
The screening and reading this week opened a well of ideas for my part in the film. We screened “Lola Rennt,” by Tom Tykwer, which is famous for its fast pace, its main character Lola, and its use of backdrop. The use of backdrop is of particular interest to me. Tykwer stated that since Berlin is always striving to become, there could be many different ways in which someone can experience and view the city. This flexibility allowed him to create his own idea of Berlin and convey that through its setting. The most striking technique he used is the toying with place and time. As noticeable to people aware of Berlin geography, the montages of Lola running are a bit odd. Her routes to her destinations can be a bit indirect and puzzling and she will jump from one spot of the city to another within a split frame. The starting point itself, her home, is more on the eastern side of Berlin in the Kreuzberg/Friedrichshain area, in which she arrives at the Bolle supermarket in Charlottenburg within 20 minutes. All while stopping at her dad’s bank to ask for money, or in the third attempt stopping to win money at a casino. It isn’t possible. Tykwer’s intent, however, was to demonstrate a unified Berlin, where it is difficult to distinguish between east and west on film. This is similar to an aspect that I intend to convey, so the technique is one to note.
Sitka provides further analysis to the backdrop Tykwer decided upon for “Lola Rennt.” To major aspects of the buildings she runs by alludes to Berlin as a “synthetic backdrop” and to Lola as a member of “Generation Berlin.” He defines the synthetic backdrop as one that is being constructed, or that is not fully complete. Lola runs by many buildings with scaffolding and many cranes doing construction work. Once again, a common theme, this symbolizes the city of Berlin as a city still in the process of becoming. Construction may be an interesting detail to attempt to capture in certain scenes throughout our film. The “Generation Berlin” applies to a younger generation that is more disconnected to Berlin’s dreadful past, yet still aware. Unlike the “’68 Generation,” their disagreements with previous generations pertain more to generational differences rather than actions they performed in their past. This is symbolized when Lola runs by buildings of modern architecture, nonreminiscent of architecture from previous eras. Also, it is present when she runs into her father’s bank, one that is seemingly old, and has a common parent-child argument over money. It may be of use to choose some settings within the city that portrays the Berlin character’s generation.
Many ideas are swimming around in my head as to how I can use backdrop to symbolize aspects of the characters, of their relationship, and of their place in Berlin, though I am working on picking out the ideas that will be effective and developing a solid understanding of how they should be captured on film. I have put some thought into our bookend scenes that will be included in the documentary. These scenes are arguably the most important scenes of the movie.
The meeting scene takes place in Tiergarten. The Victory Column is used as a frame of reference. Is the Victory Column too powerful of an image to begin the film? What are the implications of using a park that was historically used as hunting grounds for Berlin’s upper class as the setting for when the American boy meets the German girl? The setting of a park, however, may be interesting in that it is a place where people go for relaxation and a means of getting away from the chaos of the city. Meeting in such a setting may be fitting since it would effectively separate them from crowds. It may be in our interest to scout out alternative park settings that are easily identifiable and not overpowering. Schlossgarten?
The parting scene takes place at Brandenburg Gate. At first we had chosen this with the thought that this used to be a gate to the city. Walking west through it would have been an exit from the city; therefore he would walk away from her to the west as she stood at the gate. This may be a bit overpowering of a location considering the gate’s diverse history. It may be a bit cliché as well, right in line with a kissing scene in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square. On top of all that, it seems a rather unlikely place to say good-bye nowadays. Alternatives could include the American stepping onto an S/U bahn and being taken away, or a bus. The bus could leave from a spot with Brandenburg Gate in the background if the leaving the city aspect of the gate is still desired. The scene is a bit more difficult though and will require more thought and experimentation.
We have began filming locations around the city for scenes throughout the movie and I hope to have a more narrowed down focus of how to create my own idea of Berlin soon.
Sitka provides further analysis to the backdrop Tykwer decided upon for “Lola Rennt.” To major aspects of the buildings she runs by alludes to Berlin as a “synthetic backdrop” and to Lola as a member of “Generation Berlin.” He defines the synthetic backdrop as one that is being constructed, or that is not fully complete. Lola runs by many buildings with scaffolding and many cranes doing construction work. Once again, a common theme, this symbolizes the city of Berlin as a city still in the process of becoming. Construction may be an interesting detail to attempt to capture in certain scenes throughout our film. The “Generation Berlin” applies to a younger generation that is more disconnected to Berlin’s dreadful past, yet still aware. Unlike the “’68 Generation,” their disagreements with previous generations pertain more to generational differences rather than actions they performed in their past. This is symbolized when Lola runs by buildings of modern architecture, nonreminiscent of architecture from previous eras. Also, it is present when she runs into her father’s bank, one that is seemingly old, and has a common parent-child argument over money. It may be of use to choose some settings within the city that portrays the Berlin character’s generation.
Many ideas are swimming around in my head as to how I can use backdrop to symbolize aspects of the characters, of their relationship, and of their place in Berlin, though I am working on picking out the ideas that will be effective and developing a solid understanding of how they should be captured on film. I have put some thought into our bookend scenes that will be included in the documentary. These scenes are arguably the most important scenes of the movie.
The meeting scene takes place in Tiergarten. The Victory Column is used as a frame of reference. Is the Victory Column too powerful of an image to begin the film? What are the implications of using a park that was historically used as hunting grounds for Berlin’s upper class as the setting for when the American boy meets the German girl? The setting of a park, however, may be interesting in that it is a place where people go for relaxation and a means of getting away from the chaos of the city. Meeting in such a setting may be fitting since it would effectively separate them from crowds. It may be in our interest to scout out alternative park settings that are easily identifiable and not overpowering. Schlossgarten?
The parting scene takes place at Brandenburg Gate. At first we had chosen this with the thought that this used to be a gate to the city. Walking west through it would have been an exit from the city; therefore he would walk away from her to the west as she stood at the gate. This may be a bit overpowering of a location considering the gate’s diverse history. It may be a bit cliché as well, right in line with a kissing scene in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square. On top of all that, it seems a rather unlikely place to say good-bye nowadays. Alternatives could include the American stepping onto an S/U bahn and being taken away, or a bus. The bus could leave from a spot with Brandenburg Gate in the background if the leaving the city aspect of the gate is still desired. The scene is a bit more difficult though and will require more thought and experimentation.
We have began filming locations around the city for scenes throughout the movie and I hope to have a more narrowed down focus of how to create my own idea of Berlin soon.
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