The French New Wave {My Short Film}

For my New Wave Short film, I intended to shoot a variety of footage during my trip in Bristol, in various tourist places which I think I display within my video as it shows a part from everybody's designated tourist attraction combing it with the travel aspect of the trip. Due to this being a cheaply made film it allowed me to be free with the stylistics I chose with my footage, I did this by not following any of the rules during my shoot and making up some of my own techniques on the way. However, I did try to achieve some techniques displayed in films created by I intend to follow the techniques already created Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut.

The techniques I portrayed throughout my work were; different camera angles and shot types, a pan from one setting/subject towards another. My main idea was mainly achieved through post production, this was because I intended to create very choppy footage through the use of jump cuts and small cuts, however I tried not to use jump cuts too much in order to avoid making my footage appear sinister, in order to avoid this I had to be mindful of where I applied the jump cuts. I also added a black and white filter over my footage in order to emphasise the natural lighting as well the sharp contrast between black and white tones within my footage.

The French New Wave is all about making mistakes and inventing new techniques which allows us to think out of the box, this method is all about testing alternative methods, in order to create new ones that still convey the same message as the old. So even though I had a set plan for my New Wave film throughout this journey I didn't stick fully to it, as some of the techniques I planned to use, I didn't manage to include.

I personally think my personal take on the New Wave genre, worked very well as it demonstrated how the main purpose of a New Wave is to have a cheaply made film with many mistakes throughout. I also think my mistakes within the film work to my advantage as it shows change. Towards the end of the film the jump cuts are less choppy than at the start, showing the difference in style. 

If I was to do this again I would have used more techniques related to the New Wave aesthetic instead of sticking to mostly jump cuts and fades; I would use techniques such as altering the frame instead of using a close-up to enhance my own stylistics, as well as trying to create alternative framing, by moving/placing the camera in unusual places and perspectives. 

Here is evidence from my shared One Drive, that I have labelled various footage that was sorted into bins while I was editing this project. Having the actual footage labelled made it easier for me to know what shot type each clip was.