western film & my film
Setting:
- Western Films:
- The American frontier during end of 19th century, conquest of wilderness (Photo 1), isolated forts or homesteads, saloons and jails, small town main street and edge of civilisation. Mainly have their own rules, they have their own solutions. Settings are usually set in the American colonial era. Although scenes in the wilderness are very iconic in western films, saloons are usually used to put civilisation back into the movie. The saloons are usually filled with music, people drinking booze, playing cards and people socialising.
- My Film:
- To emulate the setting of a western film, my group will do most of our filming off of a hiking trail in Hong Kong, as can be seen in Photo 2. By having the trees and different elements of nature around it helps to create the look as if we were in the wilderness, which many western films are in. Since we can't easily access an Old American West saloon to film in, we are going to recreate the look of a saloon in a classroom at school. We can use actors to make the rooms look crowded like a saloon, have the actors play poker similar to what often occurs in western films, and make the room like dark. These are the two settings that will be featured in our film.
Props:
- Western Films:
- Support props in western films often include hay bales, tumbleweed, lasso ropes, rustic wagons, rocks, cactuses etc.. These support props are small and props that might not be very obvious in western films, but defiantly make a large difference when creating the look of a western film. (Theatre and Movie Props - A Western Theme, DisplayGroup) A prop that is usually used by actors in western films is revolvers, usually most main characters have a revolver. (Photo 3) Furthermore, often characters have flasks with them. Another prop that is used in many western films is horses, they are very iconic and are usually the main way of travelling in western films.
- My Film:
- It is hard for my group is obtain most of the support props, such as cactuses and tumbleweed, but for some of the things, such as the lasso rope, we can buy, or use other objects that look similar to a lasso to use instead. In our film particularly the most important prop is a revolver, it is mentioned in the film many times and is used, so that is essential. Another prop that is mentioned in our film is a flask, (Photo 4) which we have, I think the flask is very iconic to western films are will really help our film look more western. I would love to use props such as horses or cactuses but since they're hard to obtain, we will have to work with what we have, which I think will be enough for our film.
Costume & Makeup:
- Western Films:
- In western films the character's costumes are western, cowboy boots, cowboy hats, etc.. They are usually wearing jeans or leather pants because they are easy to ride horses in. Furthermore, they wear suspenders and button up shirts. They also often tie bandanas around their necks. This is a more casual outfit, a more formal outfit may be a suit, but still wearing the cowboy hat to keep a western look to it. (Photo 5a) For many women characters they are usually wearing dresses and corsets, especially the girls that are found in the saloon. For the men, they usually have a mustache. For makeup, it may be used to make men look more tanned since in the west everyone was, to some extent, tan. This is because they are in a very hot and sunny environment. For women, they usually wear very basic makeup.
- My Film:
- All of our characters are going to be wearing button up shirts, belts and jeans. Furthermore we will wear cowboy hats (Photo 5b) and cowboy boots. We also have bandanas we can use to tie around our necks. All of the characters are wearing casual clothing throughout the film, so we will be in this outfit the whole movie. We may buy fake mustaches to wear, but according to the script none of the characters had mustaches, so we might not do that, but it is definently an option. In our particular film there are no female characters that would be wearing makeup. But, if we did have a women character that needed it we could definently use makeup to help emulating aspects of western films. By using these costumes and maybe some makeup together will defiantly help to make our movie look more western.
Photo 5a Photo 5b
An example of a more formal outfit in a wester film. One of the cowboy hats we will be using in our film.
An example of a more formal outfit in a wester film. One of the cowboy hats we will be using in our film.
Framing & Composition
- Western Films:
- Western films usually include many long and wide shots. These shots are used to show the scenery, and are often used right before a shootout to show who is participating in the shoot out. They are also used when the characters are riding horses. On the other hand, during fights and shootouts there are many iconic close-ups. One of those is an extreme close up on the eyes, (Photo 6), where usually the person will squint their eyes to create the mood of tension. Another iconic shot is a close-up of the character removing their revolver from their belt, again creating a tension and a build up to the actual shootout.
- My Film:
- In our film, many of our shots are wide shots so we can show the setting. We are also using rule of thirds for many of our talking shots. But, we also include the iconic close-ups of the eyes and when the revolver is being taken out. I think these two shots are very important in a shootout scene, not only are they iconic to a western film and will help to emulate my film and a western film, it also is much better than just having a mid shot the entire time. The close-ups make the film more interesting for the audience, allowing them to see more detail and different point of views of what is happening.
Photo 6
The iconic extreme close up of the eyes in a western film.
The iconic extreme close up of the eyes in a western film.
Performance
- Western Films:
- Many main western film characters are hopeless at the start of the film, but gain confidence and encouragement to fix their problems. They are usually very independent and confident. This can be performed by them showing little emotion, never asking for help and being very smooth and swift with their actions. If in a situation of danger they usually do not appear scared, and instead stand confidently. Furthermore, most western film characters speak "cowboy language" saying things in a certain terminology. They usually have very American accents.
- My Film:
- Since I am acting in our film, to help become more similar to a western film character, if I were one of the other characters I would put on a very American accent, and will show little emotion. But, I am playing Dolores, who is very emotional because she is concerned for her partner's safety. So, I will keep the American accent, but will add some emotion to help provoke emotion from the audience as well. If I were to be in the shootout scene of my film, I would have to keep in mind that events like shootouts are events that I do not usually do or experience on an everyday basis, but my character grew up in an environment where actions like this were typical. I will have to keep this in mind. I will have to be deft with my actions, like my character would be.
Note: Citation for all photos located in bibliography.
Importance of Each Aspect:
Setting:
Not having the correct setting in any film is very confusing. For example, if we filmed our film in the middle of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, it wouldn't fit the western film genre well since it is supposed to look like the Old American West, which doesn't look like Causeway Bay. The setting is one of the most important aspects to a film, if you don't have the right setting it can really negatively affect your film.
Props:
Props in general help to give a description of a character, for example, if a character has a revolver, you can tell that this person may be a gunfighter, or at least has experience using a gun. Furthermore, without the props, it would be very hard to tell the story easily. The actors would have to work very hard, and it wouldn't be very convincing. These props are vital to make it look western, which is trying to look similar to the Old American West. In the Old American West they used these objects, so by adding the props it is more convincing.
Costume & Makeup:
Costume and makeup is very important in western films because it helps for people to recognise it is a western movie. Furthermore, since western movies are set in the Old American West, they help it to seem more like it is set in the Old American West. This is because these costumes were what people wore in the Old American West. Along with the makeup, as mentioned before, make up can be used to make people appear more tan, which people naturally were in the Old American West. Overall, the make up and costumes of western films all help to make it look as similar as possible to the Old American West.
Framing & Composition:
As mentioned above in the framing & composition section, having the same camera angle the entire film can be very boring. It can start to bore the audience if the entire film is shot the same way, versus showing different angles and views. It helps to show more detail of the scene and emphasise certain areas. Furthermore, with composition, it is very important because certain composition are more interesting and better than others. For example, when there is a conversation between two people, it usually better when you use rule of thirds, rather than placing the character anywhere. By placing the character in your shot using rule of thirds it is more pleasing to the eye.
Performance:
The actions of the actors definently largely affect the film. This is mainly where the emotion comes through, which is very important for films. The actors have to portray those emotions so that the audience can feel them. The director can help to direct and help the actors with ways to improve, but the actors must bring out those emotions. If the actor is just one emotion the entire time and it doesn't fit the film, it can ruin it entirely. There are many emotions that are specific to a typical western character, but it is very specific to your film and your character.
Setting:
Not having the correct setting in any film is very confusing. For example, if we filmed our film in the middle of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, it wouldn't fit the western film genre well since it is supposed to look like the Old American West, which doesn't look like Causeway Bay. The setting is one of the most important aspects to a film, if you don't have the right setting it can really negatively affect your film.
Props:
Props in general help to give a description of a character, for example, if a character has a revolver, you can tell that this person may be a gunfighter, or at least has experience using a gun. Furthermore, without the props, it would be very hard to tell the story easily. The actors would have to work very hard, and it wouldn't be very convincing. These props are vital to make it look western, which is trying to look similar to the Old American West. In the Old American West they used these objects, so by adding the props it is more convincing.
Costume & Makeup:
Costume and makeup is very important in western films because it helps for people to recognise it is a western movie. Furthermore, since western movies are set in the Old American West, they help it to seem more like it is set in the Old American West. This is because these costumes were what people wore in the Old American West. Along with the makeup, as mentioned before, make up can be used to make people appear more tan, which people naturally were in the Old American West. Overall, the make up and costumes of western films all help to make it look as similar as possible to the Old American West.
Framing & Composition:
As mentioned above in the framing & composition section, having the same camera angle the entire film can be very boring. It can start to bore the audience if the entire film is shot the same way, versus showing different angles and views. It helps to show more detail of the scene and emphasise certain areas. Furthermore, with composition, it is very important because certain composition are more interesting and better than others. For example, when there is a conversation between two people, it usually better when you use rule of thirds, rather than placing the character anywhere. By placing the character in your shot using rule of thirds it is more pleasing to the eye.
Performance:
The actions of the actors definently largely affect the film. This is mainly where the emotion comes through, which is very important for films. The actors have to portray those emotions so that the audience can feel them. The director can help to direct and help the actors with ways to improve, but the actors must bring out those emotions. If the actor is just one emotion the entire time and it doesn't fit the film, it can ruin it entirely. There are many emotions that are specific to a typical western character, but it is very specific to your film and your character.