My Personal Journey Through Cinema

Everybody has a favourite film - even people who aren't really into the movies or the world of film, but, whether they realise it or not, a film will influence and have an impact on their daily lives. As a child, one is extremely susceptible and open to persuasion, and perhaps the opinions and the knowledge that one obtains of the world is supported and often increased through watching the media and film.  

Film has the power to bring change and persuade the viewer both consciously and sub-consciously, in that one's personality and way of thinking can develop and change by the relations one builds with a character or engaging themselves in a situation; therefore one's interaction with film enables the mind to expand through a source of entertainment and knowledge.

Personally I enjoy watching films, and they often linger in my mind whilst I ponder at the way in which the characters interact with each other, or wonder at the depth within the script, or research the equipment used and which famous director did this and that. For me, film is not one subject. I don't just think about the technical side, or the creative side, or the visionary side. It's an extremely broad subject, and I find myself able to appreciate every aspect.

‘I want you to make a film. It can be 1-2 minutes long, titled 'My Personal Journey through Cinema'. I want you to tell us what things got you interested in film or television in the first place, and what it is that drives you to want to study it’.

For this assignment in particular I found it difficult to explain my personal journey through cinema. I have so many likes and dislikes, and the journey is so long and to some may seem insignificant, but to me it is only the beginning. At first I wrote about what films I liked, and what drew me into the world film. However, when it came to creating the film I admit that I found the prospect of having to relay all this to a camera rather intimidating. So instead I searched for an alternative way to convey my journey, and after a while decided to navigate my course through the use of film titles, and taking the word journey as a literal one on the road.

The film begins with a short introduction, and presents a point of view on the importance of film, and the relevance it has in the world today. The film then goes on to describe what film means to me personally and why I have chosen to study it. Occasionally there is a moment when the image directly relates to the narration: 'On Stranger Tides' is accompanied by footage of the sea, and 'Murder on the Orient Express' by a train. The film match-cuts several times throughout, and the direction of the car flows fluidly rather than disorientating the viewer to the point where they don't understand what is going on.  The music used to accompany the film is by Marcel Pequel called 'August', which is one of twelve classical pieces on an album by the composer: 

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Marcel_Pequel/12_Months/Marcel_Pequel__The_12_Months__08

 

  A narration is placed over the video, which is automated because of the following reason:

"I myself have never been good with words. I am not courageous".

This narration is accompanied by the title of the film being mentioned using the specific film poster font (no copyright infringement intended), which supports and ultimately follows the journey of someone who is trying to find their voice through film.

Here is the finished film: http://vimeo.com/84320412