Theoretical Approaches - research

Avant Garde Cinema

Avant-garde films are often iconoclastic, mocking conventional morality and traditional values; the filmmaker's intense interest in eccentricities and extremes may shock for the viewers.

Avant-garde film makers want to trial with original ideas, forms, techniques, and expressions--and are frequently said to be "ahead of their times." Avant-garde films are branded by an elevated degree of experimentation--whether it is in manipulation in narrative resources, in highly stylized optical representation, or in fundamental departures from the norms or conventions present at the time, avant-garde film is forever a means of expression for the filmmaker’s expression. We as a group took this on board and decided to subvert the original idea of a real narrative but instead change common values and use a dog costume instead of a real dog.

Early Soviet Cinema

Feature-length agitation films in 1918-21 were important in the development of the film industry. Innovation in Russian filmmaking was expressed particularly in the work of Eisenstein. The "Battleship Potemkin" was noteworthy for its innovative montage and metaphorical quality of its film language. We decided not use this in the music video production as when experimenting with a montage effect we felt it did not suit it correctly, due to it looking to mixed up.

Surrealism

"Un Chien andalou begins with a title card reading "Once upon a time …" followed by a shot of a man (played by Buñuel) sharpening a razor blade. After briefly looking at the moon, he then slices a woman's eyeball with the razor."

Surrealist filmmakers explored new techniques to create their dreamlike films. These techniques included:

Dream narratives: in which the film’s script is not bound by reason. Juxtaposition: placing images next to each other that do not go together. Montage: a film segment using rapid visual editing (underarm hair becomes a sea urchin in Un Chien Andalou). Jump cuts: a cut in film editing where the middle section of a continuous shot is removed, and the beginning and end of the shot are then joined together, breaking continuity. Distortion: alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a familiar visual image (as produced by fish-eye lenses).

German Expressionism

Many of the features which tend to often be included a dark shading and large contrast between light, unconventional gaunt set designs, dream like lack of clarity and peculiar characters. Examples of German Expressionism can be seen in such films, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Metropolis by Fritz Lang. We liked the idea of using big contrasts between light and dark as we felt it helped to add a dream like effect to the character it self.