Screenplay

Synopsis

Essay First Draft

In a 1969 interview, Stanley Kubrick said that ‘‘where each viewer brings his own emotions and perceptions to bear on the subject matter, a certain degree of ambiguity is valuable because it allows the audience to ‘fill in’ the visual experience themselves.’’ In regards to this, how does the spectator theory influence Stanley Kubrick as an auteur?

In a interview with Joe Gelmis about his film ‘’2001: A Space Odyssey’’, he states that ‘ambiguity is valuable because it allows the audience to ‘fill in’ the visual experience themselves.’ [1] This quote reveals Kubrick’s interest in giving his audience agency into his films. In a review of ‘A Clockwork Orange, Tim Brayton said ‘’His mode here is primarily diagnostic: we observe without taking part, either by rejoicing in the nastiness of it all or recoiling at the obscenity.’’ [2] Brayton is reinforcing Kubrick’s aim to make the audience part of the viewing experience, by his own position as the spectator. By considering these two quotes, this essay will answer my question of how the spectator theory influenced Stanley Kubrick as a director and to what extent it was prominent in all his films, if his status as a ‘’auteur’’ of film is justified.

The six films I will be looking at are Kubrick’s films from 1968 onwards,

2001: A Space Odyssey- an epic sci-fi film about space, technology and humanity

A Clockwork Orange-  Kubrick’s most controversial film, Alex, a young sociopath obsessed with classical music is arrested for murder and is reconditioned by the government so he can no longer commit violence.

Barry Lyndon- a period film chronicling the rise and fall of Redmond Barry, an Irish peasant in the 18^th century who slowly ascends to wealth and royalty.

The Shining- modern day horror film about a family who spend the winter looking after the haunted Overlook hotel. However the ghosts drive the father insane and he attempts to kill his wife and child.

Full Metal Jacket- Vietnam War film. It follows the protagonist Joker, a pacifist and war photographer through basic training and the Tet offensive.

Eyes Wide Shut- a man finds his marriage, his family and his own life in danger after attending a secretive masked ball orgy.

Reviewers critically acclaim nearly all these films with the exception of Eyes Wide Shut. [3] Kubrick’s rarely stuck to one genre with his films, with Barry Lyndon being a period film set in the 18^th century, The Shining a modern day horror film and Full Metal Jacket, a war film about Vietnam. His versatility and effectiveness in filmmaking meant he could execute each genre of film seamlessly.  My secondary texts will consist of reviews of his films, spectatorship theorists like Baudry, Metz and Mulvey and audience perceptions of his films through websites like IMDB.

In order to answer my question of whether the spectator theory is prominent in Stanley Kubrick’s works, I will have three research questions to help me discover it.

My first research question is ‘’Can Stanley Kubrick’s title as an auteur be justified?’’ An auteur is defined as a director who has complete creative control over a film so that the end product is his ‘vision.’ This could be certainly said about Kubrick’s later films where he had very little interuptance from Hollywood producers during the production of his films. His eye for perfectionism meant that the studios allowed him as much time as he wanted to make a film, Eyes Wide Shut took 2 years of filming to make.

My second research question is ‘’Is the theory of spectatorship influential in all of Stanley Kubrick’s films or is it specific to certain films?’’ The theme of spectatorship in Kubrick films is apparent. In A Clockwork Orange, we are forced into watching horrific acts of rape and violence during the film as the spectator, a direct parallel with Alex’s Ludovico technique, where he is forced to watch violent images in order to make him averse to violence. However can the theory of spectatorship be applied to less apparent films of Kubrick like Barry Lyndon and The Shining?

My final research question is  ‘’How has the audience reception and reaction changed to Stanley Kubrick’s films?’’

It is noticeable during Kubrick’s lifetime that his films when they initially came out were not well received, The Shining was given a Golden Razzy nomination for worst picture and criticised for being not scary enough. However, if we come to the present time now, numerous film critics and audience members have put The Shining on their top 10 horror movies lists or even their best films of all time lists. It is curious to see how reaction has changed over time and could it be due to the spectator theory of the audience building their own narrative construct and interpretation of the film?

Tuesday 23rd September 2014

Non filmed sequence

A synopsis- overview of the scene

A script for the non filmed sequence

A treatment- a written storyboard how the scene will be shot- present shot- link it to Kubrick

A recce report- locations- who it belongs to- how does it fit- camera shot- 

Evidence of casting considerations- who will you use in your scene- need someone u will use and someone u won't use- arrows across face- 

Layouts for 20 key frame stills- describe each layout

A risk assessment

Homework for next lesson 2 weeks

Finish synopsis

Screenplay 5-10 pages

All of them started to an extent

1000 words essay draft

Screenplay divided into scenes- new time period or location- new scene

Slug line- INT EXT DAY NIGHT 

Scene direction 

Character cue

Actor direction

Dialogue

No camera shots or angles

Initial First Essay Plan

In a 1969 interview, Stanley Kubrick said that ''Where each viewer brings

his own emotions and perceptions to bear on the subject matter, a certain

degree of ambiguity is valuable because it allows the audience to 'fill in' the visual 

experience themselves. In regards to this, how does the spectator theory

influence Stanley Kubrick as a auteur.

In a interview in 1969, talking to Joe Gelmis about his film '2001: A Space Odyssey', he says that 'ambiguity is valuable because it allows the audience to 'fill in' the visual experience themselves.' [1]

Using this quote, we get a insight into how Kubrick constructs his films, the 'subject matter'. Does he use his audience as a recurring construct for his films, which impacts them stylistically and thematically or is his use of audience a singular construct designed specifically for select films to create a message designed for that film. This would form the core of my research.

Key Primary and Secondary Texts 

The primary texts I will be studying in this research are six of Stanley Kubrick's films which

are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut. My secondary texts will be a mixture of initial critical reception and later critical reception of his films, articles and essays on Kubrick and the spectator theory, analysis of the primary texts and IMDB reviews to show a modern day reaction to Kubrick's films.

Hypothesis

I feel that all of Kubrick's films contain the theory of spectatorship and influencing the audience as a construct to some degree, particularly A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket. However, it remains to be seen if the rest of his films follow  the theory of spectatorship so evidently as the former two. Therefore my two hypothesis are

1- Do all Stanley Kubrick's films have aspects of spectator theory in them as a construct?

OR

2- Is the use of spectator theory in Stanley Kubrick's films specific for certain films to separate them and add significant meaning for them?

[1] 'An Interview With Stanley Kubrick (1969) Joe Gelmis, The Film Director As A Superstar

Essay Plan related to Mark Scheme

. An introduction explaining the focus of the candidates reseach (200 words)
Lots of references are explained in details from reviews, critics and theorists
Creativity in my approach- use of stills quotes font and structure
Write in proper good english
Use correct film terminology

. A description of the key texts both primary and secondary (films and studies based on films) (200 words)
Awesome analysis of films
Use and apply the theories of critics to the films analysed.
Write in proper good english

. The aims of research- details of what the candidate is seeking to find out in the form of a series of research questions (200 words)
Use and apply the theories of critics to the films analysed.
Write in proper good english.
Lots of references are explained in detail from reviews critics and theorists.

. A discussion of ideas, texts, and secondary research in light of the candidate's aims- Paragraphs seperated into resarch questions sub headings (600-800 words per sub heading -3-4 research questions
Awesome analysis of films
Lots of references are explained in detail from reviews critics and theorists
Use and apply the theories of critics to the films analysed.
Creativity in my approach- use of stills quotes font and structure
Write in proper good english
Use correct film terminology.

. Conclusions- a clear statement of what the candidate has discovered in response to their aims
Conclude and evaluate findings well in all paragraphs
Awesome analysis of films
Use correct film terminology

. Bibliography and filmography
Use correct film terminology.

Student Friendly Markscheme

Level 4

32-40 Marks

There is evidence of a excellent level of research into film topics. You will have to do it on your own with little help from teacher.

. Excellent analysis of the films you are looking at, showing understanding through looking at them closely.

. Understanding the context of the films and how it relates to the film.

. Excellent understanding of theorists. Explaining and understanding the theories well and confidently.

. Excellent presentation skills, carefully planned and creatively.

. Excellent ability to come to conclusions

. Excellent evaluation of your coursework.

. Make sure all your work is spelt correctly and structured properly with no errors.

. Excellent referencing of the source materials, making sure all your references are detailed with correct publishers.

. Excellent use of terminology, making sure it is correct.