Research: Key films

American beauty (1999) (dinner scene) 

I was drawn to this particular scene in the film as it builds up tension throughout the family dinner. Firstly, easy listening, cheerful music is juxtaposed by a heavy door slam and the following tense conversations of the family. Over the course of the meal, the conversation becomes more fast-paced, snappy and voices are raised. As this builds up, Lester Burnam suddenly smashes the plate of asparagus, with such aggression that it shatters. Here, I realised how a very mundane scene, such as eating dinner can be transformed into a dramatic piece, which is more interesting for the viewers. Additionally, the scene sheds us insight into these disturbed characters' mindset, who are dissatisfied and frustrated in their everyday lives.

MY APPLICATION
When writing the dinner scene between Kate and her mother (imaginary) instead of making it a dull sequence, where the pair eat, I wanted to show a lot more, much like the scene in American beauty. My aims were to show the relationship between Kate and her mother, the attributes of these characters, whilst building tension and including an explosive moment. My current ideas are as follows:

• Kate and her mum start eating in silence, they are very careful with their cutlery, trying to make the least noise as possible. This reflects their OCD nature. 
• The mother starts to talk critically towards Kate and her voice and the silent sounds of the cutlery begin to amplify, building tension
• Kate goes to flashback, remembering how her mother never supporting her
•  She comes out of her flashback, her mother's voice is still in her head. 
• The explosive moment finally arrives when Kate smashes a plate against the wall (similar to American Beauty). When the voices don't stop, she stabs her mother (imaginary) with a knife. 

I feel like I have been successful with adapting an ordinary scene, into one that reveals the toxic relationship between Kate and her mother. Like, the American Beauty sequence, I believe I have gradually built up dramatic tension, through an initial calm and quiet atmosphere, to a loud and irritable environment. 

German Expressionism: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) 

The expressionist style within this film is visually appealing to me, as it projects the psychological aspects of the characters onto the set design. The backgrounds are very distorted and out of proportion, the shadows are dominant, and the sets are heavily imprinted with black paint.
What actually appears to be non-realistic is actually a reflection of the inner-workings of the characters.


MY APPLICATION: 

The German expressionist style was highly influential for me, due to the psychological nature of my film. I also aim to project Kate's mind-set through the sets and colours of the film. For example, in my opening sequence, I want to show a horrific circus, with an emphasis on the colour red, to create the threatening atmosphere, reflecting Kate's nervousness. Like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, I also intend to use high contrast lighting for more terrifying scenes.