M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.
Romain Gavras' latest masterpiece for M.I.A.'s new track, Romain Gavras being the twisted dude behind the video clip for Justice's track stress
his videos (well, at least these two) are filmed and edited to make it seem as though the viewer is watching 'home video' footage of actual events, a style known as cinema verité. it uses a whole bunch of techniques which should be familiar to anyone who's watched funniest home videos or an unedited home videotape: abrupt cuts which jump from one scene to the next, little continuity, sometimes jumbled plot elements and scenes out of place. a whole bunch of movies have been made this way, from the blair witch project to cloverfield and Ruggero Deodato's controversial exploitation film cannibal holocaust.its an interesting editorial choice used largely in order to increase the realism and thus impact of the images being shown; a big-budget-blockbuster-filmed-in-high-definition version of cloverfield might have reduced the mystery and sense of fear we have as viewers of the giant monster, never really given form directly on camera.
this same element of the unknown pervades the blair witch project, the protagonists lost in a dark and forbidding forest, surrounded by a being hostile to their presence who leaves signs of being near them but again, is never fully seen on camera.
i dig this style a lot, but in terms of feature film length productions, i'm yet to see one that really captivates me. i think so far the best applications of it have been Gavras' music videos; this is probably because over a feature film length production, the style becomes unpleasant and jarring to watch, largely due to being accustomed to the slick hollywood production techniques prevalent in most films.
anyway, just another something for you to mull over this week.
later,
