New Wave film +evaluation

How my New Wave film, I used both a DSLR camera and a phone camera to not only give the film a realistic feel but also make the audience aware that they are watching a film, which was the main idea   and concept for the directors of the New wave movement. At the start I was planning on using a simple narrative with no emphaisis on it and rather focus on the editing however as I started filming I didn't find the idea of placing the camera on a busy street challenging enough nor interesting. However I still liked the idea of filming old buildings, but rather than filming on one location, I decided while I was in Bulgaria, to go in the capital without a map, get lost on purpose and find old buildings and interesting places to film while turning my film into a short story- from catching the plane and going away to building a montage-like story of the travel. I also didn't stick to my idea to use  voiceover throughout, and chose to tell the story through the videos so the viewer would stay active and engaged in the story and wouldn't rely on the narrations.

My aim was to use as many of the editing techniques used in the French new wave cinema as possible, while adapting it to the surroundings I was in while in Bulgaria, mixing the two. I think I achieved that right from the start of my short film using a long shot in a car while there is a casual dialogue in Bulgarian taking place. Rather than using an establishing shot, the camera is seen as being the observer which is similar to the documentary style of Godard, and the dialogue in Bulgarian almost puts a distance between the viewer and the people in the shot. To distance them even further I choose not to show their faces but rather use their conversation as a background.

To further show the influence of the French new wave on my film I used the song Les Champs-Élysées by Joe Dassin, upbeat and popular French song, which people would of connected to France straight away, however I also used colours, to show elements of the style of editing of Goddard like in his film Contempt- for a short sequence the colours change from from red to blue and then back to normal, in tact with the beat of the song.

I wanted to use subtitles when speaking in Bulgarian, however I only used them in parts where I found important, and that the viewer would engage with what they see on the screen. I also included an example of breaking the forth wall, when on one of the clips, a girl turns around and points to a building as the camera pans from her to the building, breaking the conventions of mainstream cinema.

What I would of changed is, next time I'm filming, id make a clear plan ahead of time, research and map the places I need to go to to save time and find different locations, which would support my narrative.