Component 1a: Hollywood Auteur Essay

“The Hollywood machine has always crushed individuality in filmmaking”, compare the extent to which the films you have studied display auteur individuality

Casablanca, the 1942 Michael Curtiz film, is a product of the time of its release and the Hollywood studio system at the time. The supposed ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood consisted of heroic characters, lavish sets and attractive actors, lit so they could look their best. Casablanca perhaps represents this era of film making the best as it uses all of the conventional film making techniques that films of the era were known for. The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn, was made in a changing landscape of filmmaking, specifically for Hollywood. Its realistic dialogue and explicitly violent scenes have made it revolutionary and a good indicator for the change in the way Hollywood films were produced. The film is about a group of criminals robbing banks and gas stations across many states in America. The film was a product of the contexts in which it was produced, as many sequences created and were influenced by change and innovation. No longer were the films’ production controlled by the studio, directors could gain auteur individuality.

From the 1930s to the 1940s, studios employed a business model in which the whole production of a film is controlled. Specific theatre chains could only show films by the studios that owned them. Meaning it was vertically integrated; creating a monopoly. This allowed for very little to be shown from outside of America, as they were all owned by Hollywood studios. Warner Brothers was not exempt from this; so much so, they developed a ‘house style’, like many other studios. Warner Brothers’ house style was mostly considered ‘big-screen realism’. Early on they created many gangster films and crime dramas. This was mainly because they resonated with ordinary people suffering financial troubles in Depression-era America. This developed their house style: typically set in urban locations, fast paced structure with characters and storylines that were never sentimental. This allowed for very little individuality at the time; the only individuality would be the difference between the eight studios.

Oppositely, Arthur Penn took a lot of inspiration from French New Wave cinema. As movie theatres were no longer allowed to be owned by the studios, this allowed for much more individuality to enter into US theatres and were seen more by people in America. French new wave films were being created from an artistic and ambitious standpoint opposed to a standpoint that is to earn money, like Casablanca. This allowed for more individuality to enter, as people took inspiration from French new wave films, which were creatively controlled by the director as opposed to the studio.

The difference between the two eras of Hollywood can be seen in the introductions of the two protagonists. Humphrey Bogart’s Rick is introduced using precise movements from both the camera and the actor and heavily sticking to the genre conventions of the time. He is seen smoking a cigarette, while the camera pulls back. This was very similar to other ‘hero introductory sequences’ at the time. Bonnie and Clyde’s introductions are very unique when compared to Casablanca and other films of the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood. Bonnie is first seen naked, and Clyde is first seen, rather unheroically, stealing a car. The way Rick’s introduction is ‘glorious’ while Bonnie and Clyde’s is uneventful shows the shift in how Hollywood studios were not as controlling anymore, and allowed for more individuality in Hollywood filmmaking.

An example of a direct influence of French New Wave cinema on Bonnie and Clyde is the scene where Bonnie visits her mother and family in an abandoned area to hide from the world. In this scene long focal lengths are used to capture the gathering, with the camera being positioned away from the crowd. This allows the actors to be more improvisational with their movement as the increased focal length means the camera only needs to pan, rather than being moved entirely. This uses the idea of ‘cinema verite’, which is to capture things as they happen with little editing techniques and camera movement to distract the viewer from reality. In this scene, filters are used on the lenses to make the highlights bloom, creating a dreamlike effect. This was quite unconventional for the time, especially when compared to Casablanca. For example, a scene like this in Casablanca, when we flashback to Rick and Ilsa in Paris, it is shot like the rest of the film. Whereas in Bonnie and Clyde, this moment of escape looks separate from the rest of the film. A more individual and auteur approach is taken to this scene in Bonnie and Clyde, showing how the Hollywood machine was now crushing less individuality. One of the main influences French new wave cinema had over Bonnie and Clyde was shooting on location. French films often shot on location making the setting of the film feel realistic giving it depth. Shooting on location can be seen when Bonnie wants to see her mother, but can’t because she is a wanted criminal, so she runs off from the gang into a large cornfield. Arthur Penn chose to shoot on location here as it shows off the expansive landscape of the American south and to achieve a sense of realism that wouldn’t work as well if they had shot on a set. One shot shows Clyde running after her while craning up to show the expansive land. This both shows the realism of the location while also taking inspiration from the camera movement of western films.

Although independence increased over time, in the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’ it was very difficult to take an auteur approach to a film.  ‘New Hollywood’ showed studios losing creative control and directors gaining creative control over their projects. Films like Bonnie and Clyde were now being made without the need to fit into the house style of a studio; where directors were free to experiment with unexplored styles and unseen characters, unlike Casablanca, which used character conventions and the house style of the studio.

Screenplay

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Unconventional Auteur: Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

Director Arthur Penn was heavily influenced by global cinema, as foreign films were, at the time, the most revolutionary in terms of filmmaking. Arthur Penn mostly took inspiration from French New Wave cinema, which was starting to be shown more in the US as the big studios were no longer allowed to own movie theatres. French new wave films were being created from an artistic and ambitious standpoint opposed to a standpoint that is to earn money, like Casablanca. Penn was influenced by French new wave directors such as Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard, who were directors that went against conventional filmmaking. Their revolutionary techniques of unconventional camera movement/angles and jump-cutting so heavily influenced Penn to an extent that deems him to not be an ‘auteur’.

Bonnie and Clyde is about a group of criminals robbing banks and gas stations across multiple states in the American south. One scene that shows the influences over Penn are the opening credits. Real photos that were taken during the great depression flash on the screen. This grounds the audience in the reality of the time and setting of this film. A notable difference between this film’s opening and the opening of Casablanca’s was that Casablanca opens with a roaring and grand non-diegetic composed score, whereas Bonnie and Clyde is completely silent. This makes it less inviting for the audience, more accurately reflecting the tone of the film. Hard cuts are used to transition from one photograph to another, opposed to a dissolve, which is what Casablanca used. Dissolves create a smoother transition between each of the images, so hard cuts are used here to create a purposefully jarring and uneasy feeling for the audience. Penn uses techniques of subverting the expectations of the audience within this sequence similar to the French new wave filmmaker Truffaut did, with his 1959 film The 400 Blows.

Arthur Penn also took a lot of inspiration from French New Wave cinema, which was starting to be shown more in the US as the big studios were no longer allowed to own movie theatres. French new wave films were being created from an artistic and ambitious standpoint opposed to a standpoint that is to earn money, like Casablanca. One of the main influences French new wave cinema had over Bonnie and Clyde was shooting on location. French films often shot on location making the setting of the film feel realistic giving it depth. Shooting on location can be seen when Bonnie wants to see her mother, but can’t because she is a wanted criminal, so she runs off from the gang into a large cornfield. Arthur Penn chose to shoot on location here as it shows off the expansive landscape of the American south and to achieve a sense of realism that wouldn’t work as well if they had shot on a set. One shot shows Clyde running after her while craning up to show the expansive land. This both shows the realism of the location while also taking inspiration from the camera movement of western films.

Another sequence that shows how Penn was influenced is the scene where Bonnie visits her mother and family in an abandoned area to hide from the world. In this scene long focal lengths are used to capture the gathering, with the camera being positioned away from the crowd. This allows the actors to be more improvisational with their movement as the increased focal length means the camera only needs to pan, rather than being moved entirely. This uses the idea of ‘cinema verite’, which is to capture things as they happen with little editing techniques and camera movement to distract the viewer from reality.

Bonnie and Clyde was a product of a fast-changing industry, in which studios were losing creative control and directors were gaining creative control over their projects. Films like this were now being made without the need to fit into the house style of a studio; where directors were free to experiment with unexplored styles and unseen characters. Penn was able to use unconventional styles in a Hollywood film.

New Hollywood: Bonnie And Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

The 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, directed by Arthur Penn, was made in a changing landscape of filmmaking, specifically for Hollywood. Its realistic dialogue and explicitly violent scenes have made it revolutionary and a good indicator for the change in the way Hollywood films were produced. The film is about a group of criminals robbing banks and gas stations across many states in America. The film was a product of the contexts in which it was produced, as many sequences created and were influenced by change and innovation.

For example, the opening sequence of the film introduces the audience to one of our min protagonists, Bonnie Parker. The opening is almost entirely accomplished in one shot, using multiple complex compositions. The shot opens with an extreme close-up of Bonnie’s lips, while she applies lipstick. This then dollies into a medium shot as she makes her way over to the mirror while racking focus because of the change in distance between the camera and the actor. The camera then dollies forward to her reflection in the mirror. The camera movement is quite rough and, as it is one shot, it helps to make the character feel more real, as there is no cut to distract the viewer. This naturalistic way of shooting a scene was a result of this ‘new age’ for Hollywood. The cinematography takes on an improvisational tone as the budgets of films were lower and because it makes the film feel like it’s based in reality, not rehearsed multiple times to find perfection. This is why more zoom lenses were used instead of primes. primes do not allow the director of photography to zoom in the lens, whereas zoom lenses do; which is more helpful for lower budget productions where time and money are of the essence. This also allows the actors to improvise more freely with their movement as the cinematographer could just zoom in rather than having to move the whole camera as they didn’t know what character movement was going to occur. When compared to Casablanca, this is very different, as every movement was thought out and rehearsed down to the tiniest detail, Bonnie and Clyde takes a more spontaneous and realistic approach that makes the characters feel less stiff.

Arthur Penn also took a lot of inspiration from French New Wave cinema, which was starting to be shown more in the US as the big studios were no longer allowed to own movie theatres. French new wave films were being created from an artistic and ambitious standpoint opposed to a standpoint that is to earn money, like Casablanca. One of the main influences French new wave cinema had over Bonnie and Clyde was shooting on location. French films often shot on location making the setting of the film feel realistic giving it depth. In addition to its more realistic look, it was also a lot cheaper; which is a need for lower budget films like Bonnie and Clyde. This especially helped for Bonnie and Clyde as the film is set in loads of different locations, a constantly changing environment, across multiple states, so shooting on location would have been much cheaper than building sets each time the criminal gang moves.

Shooting on location can be seen when Bonnie wants to see her mother, but can’t because she is a wanted criminal, so she runs off from the gang into a large cornfield. Arthur Penn chose to shoot on location here as it shows off the expansive landscape of the American south and to achieve a sense of realism that wouldn’t work as well if they had shot on a set. One shot shows Clyde running after her while craning up to show the expansive land. This both shows the realism of the location while also taking inspiration from the camera movement of western films.

Bonnie and Clyde was a product of a fast-changing industry, in which studios were losing creative control and directors were gaining creative control over their projects. Films like this were now being made without the need to fit into the house style of a studio; where directors were free to experiment with unexplored styles and unseen characters.

Bonnie And Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)

Bonnie and Clyde is set in the 1930s and follows the story of Bonnie Parker, played by Fay Dunaway, and Clyde Barrow, played by Warren Beatty. The film shows their first meeting and their various following adventures in crime. Along the way they befriend a gas station attendant, C.W. Moss, and are joined by Clyde’s brother and his wife, Buck and Blanche. However the group does not get along very well; Bonnie and Blanche dislike each other from their first meeting, which escalates as time goes on. Towards the end of the film, the danger increases as law enforcement becomes more determined to catch the criminal gang. One night, Buck is shot in the head and Blanche in the eyes; after a narrow escape Buck dies and Blanche turns blind and is captured by the police. Bonnie, Clyde and C.W. Moss hide out at Moss’ father’s house. Blanche gives up the identity of Moss, and his father makes a deal with the law enforcement to have lenience on the boys sentence in exchange for setting a trap on the outlaws. Bonnie and Clyde are then later killed by police unloading about 130 rounds of bullets at them.

This film was influenced by the French New Wave, inspired by those films’ use of choppy editing, rapid shifts in tone and more of an improvisational/realistic feeling to it. Something that was quite tabooed in Hollywood was handheld camera movement, which is often used throughout this film. This both shows the influence of the French New Wave and represents the characters’ emotional state more effectively.

I really liked this film. I found the characters very lovable, mainly Bonnie and Clyde, and really liked the films use of golden hour cinematography (shooting at sunset), which this film often used. This was very beautiful and helped the audience to feel the warmth and dryness of the American south. Also, its high contrast lighting, especially during night scenes, was fairly unseen in previous Hollywood films.

Camera Tests

Before shooting, I wanted to do a camera test to decide definitely on which aspect ratio to chose, as well as to see if the lens choice is the best for this story.

So, I shot one using a 2.39:1 aspect ratio and one using a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. See aspect ratio tests below.

2.39:1

1.85:1

After seeing both, I decided that I want to use a widescreen aspect ratio when presenting my short film. I think it suits the film aesthetically the best.

Also, this camera test showed how incredible these lenses look. The blooming from the light on the left is absolutely beautiful and exactly what I wanted for this film. I didn’t end up using the tights over the rear of the lens as I thought the amount of blooming was suitable without them.

I wanted to see how the lens would work when shooting an extreme closeup. The fall off into the out of focus areas is nice and gradual. Also, in the first frame, there is some really stunning flaring coming from the top of the frame. Things like these are exactly what I pictured for this film.

I also wanted to see the texture of the lens, specifically the bokeh. I think the bokeh you achieve with this lens is beautifully sharp around the edges and works well with its transparency, especially when overlapping.

Location Scout

For the protagonist’s house I will use my house as it is where I live and will allow me to shoot whenever I want; so I will not need to use a shooting schedule to adhere to the owner’s whereabouts. I will have unlimited time and resources. For the opening if the film I will be using my bedroom for Evelyn’s bedroom. Both day and night.

Here is the location of the birthday party near the beginning of the film, and the following conversation between her and her best friend Johnathan.

I will use a different part of my house for the older version of Evelyn’s house. See below.

The abandoned building that represents the main theme of the short film will be this one. I decided to include this abandoned building in my screenplay because of this building. I always really liked the look of it, also how it is surrounded by modern day suburban houses. The juxtaposition helps to push the metaphor further.

For the funeral scene, I will use my back garden. While my back garden does not look anything like a graveyard, I will use cinematography to shoot it as if it were. I will use a low angle shot and a fake gravestone prop out of focus in the foreground of the frame. The location I will shoot in will mainly just need to be outside, it will not really be shown.

At one point we see Evelyn working in an office. I will use a room in my house for this location. I will decorate it using desks and desktop monitors. I will use a soft focus so that the surroundings look more like an office and not a room in a house. The grey painted walls will help to show the dull and mundane existence she is experiencing.

Equipment/camera/lens research

The camera I will be using is the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. This is because it produces a high quality image with high dynamic range. High dynamic range is something I’ve never been able to shoot with before, so I’m looking forward to being able to shoot without the highlights being completely washed out or the overall image being underexposed. It also has the ability to shoot in RAW, which means I will have much more control over the colour grading process, and it will be able to retain much more detail in the highlights and shadows.

In addition to this, I decided to get the Canon FD prime lenses as they fitted the aesthetic of the film perfectly. I ended up getting a 50mm lens and an 28mm lens. The 28mm lens is quite fast, opening up to 1.9 f-stop, which will be brilliant for low light shooting, which I’ve struggled with in the past. The 50mm lens will probably be used more for shooting intimate conversations, as they will make the characters feel closer together.

I also will be using tights on the rear of the lens to get even more blooming in the highlights to achieve the dreamlike and vintage look.

I don’t mind what type of lights I use to shoot this film with. I think I will use a lot of natural light; but, I will also use a few LED lights, as they are most functional, and occasionally a tungsten light. I think the texture of the light from the tungsten is better than the LEDs, but because it’s tungsten it gets quite hot. So, when possible I will use tungsten, but when it becomes a safety hazard I will use LEDs. I will occasionally mix them to create different lighting set-ups, as I only have one tungsten lights and two LEDs.

Research into Cinematography

I think for this film I want to use a lot of soft and natural light. This is because of the dreamy but also realistic look I want the film to have. I want to achieve a ‘heightened realism’ look in my cinematography, meaning that I don’t want it to have a specifically unrealistic look.

I will be taking inspiration from such films as Synecdoche New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) and the cinematography of Hoyte Van Hoytema, mainly the films Her (Spike Jonze, 2013) and Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014).

I am taking inspiration from Synecdoche New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008) because it is similar in tone to what I want my film to have. Also, I’m going to inspiration from Synecdoche New York‘s change in lighting when reflecting tone. At first it is brighter using a slight teal and orange look, but as his outlook on life, and as his life decays, it shifts to using more cold grey tones.

I am taking inspiration from Hoytema’s cinematography as he is my favourite cinematographer and his style of cinematography is beautiful and I think would work well with this film. I think the naturalistic camera movement and cinematographic style of Her and Interstellar work really well. I think Her and Interstellar‘s use of a shallow depth of field is really stunning and focuses the audience on the characters, which is something I would like to do in my film.

I am going to shoot the film in a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, because I believe it suits the film the best. The only other aspect ratio I think this film could be is 1.85:1, but I don’t think that would work very well with the film. Wider than 2.39:1 is too wide and any less than 1.85:1 is too narrow, I think. So, I’ve decided 2.39:1 is the best for my film and its story.

I want the main lighting style in this film to be quite soft. I want to use this film as an opportunity to use a three-point lighting set-up; using a key light, a fill light (I might not use this one that much though, as I like a slightly higher contrast look when lighting someone), and a backlight.

Also, I really like the blooming in the highlights in Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. They achieved this by stretching tights over the rear of the lens, in between the lens and body of the camera.

This creates a more dreamlike and vintage look to the image. See examples below.

Research into Storyboarding Conventions

Storyboards consist of multiple pictures, usually hand drawn, but occasionally photographed. Then underneath, or to the side, a description of the type of shot and camera movement if necessary. Sometimes a description of what is happening in the scene is included. Below is an example of the storyboards from Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017), and a less conventional looking storyboard from Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010).

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