My Theme for COP3 - Proposal Form

For my dissertation I want to expand from my Level 5 essay by narrowing the depth of field down to the persuasion of the shot, how it influences and feeds the viewer an impression of the scene and the characters. Looking into cuts, montages the position of the characters, the position of objects in the shot, the angle and perspective. Possibly look further into this with linking some narrative terms like narrative retardation, where information is purposefully kept from the audience ­ how does the use of cuts and perspective of the shot aid this effect?

In order to inform my initial basis for the dissertation, I want to start with the pioneers of both film and animated features, key figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Georges Melies and Winsor Mccay, researching how they made a iconic scene iconic; what techniques they used and how they could be applied to my Practical. Possibly research into the films of Charlie Chaplin as he was quite a pioneer with the use of using the camera for entertainment purposes during the first and second World War.

I not only want to analyse films but animated features as well. This would help me to inform my practice and my knowledge within the dissertation as to how these shots differ from film when applied into animation. Are some of this shots exaggerated with the change of medium? Does the fact that the medium being set in an animated tone change the shot? With researching into animated features as well, I can look into how the advancement of technology has affected this medium as well as film, research into budget ­ how only recently British Animation has been given a bigger budget for production.

For my Practical I want to create a series of storyboards that show the same scene but each with a different genre/theme and shot to change the narration dramatically. In order to inform my practice I will need to use different types of dry and wet media, such as charcoal and ink, or even something tactile to help enhance the narrative visually with the atmosphere of the scene. The main aim is to ensure that the perspective and angle of each frame works with the set genre/theme of the storyboards, using the media to enhance this effect with the use of shadow and lighting will help to emphasise this to the viewer. For example one of the set of storyboards could be themed around Film Noir in which I could use bold lines and fills of black ink to emphasise this effect further. Possibly adding a singular hue, for example red, that would highlight objects in the visuals, drawing the viewers attention. This would link well to some of the sources of Film that I could analyse, for example the film Sin City/The Spirit uses this Film Noir appeal with the use of the colour red being the only hue within the visuals.

Georges Melies A Trip to the Moon 1902

The Spirit