Reflection Of Learning and Knowledge Skills

In doing this critical research assessment, I have used learning and knowledge skills that I have used in the past but I have also learned some new knowledge skills in terms of pre-production process in historical films mainly.

In terms of costume design, I have learned that the best places to look for historical clothing are through old photographs (or paintings if I decided to make a medieval film), archive footage, clothes from that era and also books about costume design and also about that era. I have also learned to try to make the costumes as accurate as possible including buttons and fabric, and, to only use zips and Velcro in period dramas for quick and easy access during scenes that would require taking costumes on and off.

For hair and make-up, I have learned that research into how make-up and hair was styled in the era being portrayed, using photographs, books and financial documents from that time which may have expenses for make-up and hair on it to help you to determine how the make-up and hair are supposed to look like to get an authentic feel.

For setting and location, I have learned that you don’t have to be in the country your film is set to make it look like the place, like with the White Queen being filmed in Bruges but based in medieval England. It’s about set styling and camera angles that will help to convey the time and place that which the film is placed because most locations will have materials which were not invented yet in your film and using various camera angles such as close-ups and mid-shots, it helps to cover it up.

In terms of accuracy with real life, I have learned to keep as close to the truth but that most people use fiction to create needed drama in their film and that so long as I don’t use too much fiction in the film, it won’t create unneeded controversy.

My blog has helped to enhance my pre-production skills in research into films that I will do in the future so that I am able to get the desired film through how the characters are dressed, how they act when it comes to morals, society and culture because that helps with my learning skills in directing to learn about the attitudes in certain eras in time, so that I can direct the actors on how to act and react to various lines and scenes. Also looking into locations has helped me to open my mind creatively to other locations when going onto recces in future.

Overall I have learned to use different platforms and research materials to find sufficient evidence to back up my research in videos, podcasts, websites, books, interviews, surveys and photographs. This will give me an accurate guideline to go by to secure the authenticity of the film and to be able to give an accurate account of events.

Critical Reflection/Evaluation Of Research Methodology

For my research methodology, I decided to keep all my information in the form of a blog as I felt I could bring more information to my research rather than in the form of an essay, where I would feel more constricted to a word count. I constructed my research into each section I wanted to study, which were costume design, hair and makeup, setting/location, culture, morals and society, and, accuracy with real events. I then broke them down into the three case studies I had chosen, which were Hitchcock (film 2012), Pan Am (TV Series 2011/12) and The White Queen (TV Series 2013). I chose these case studies because I was very familiar with all of them, and, I also wanted to research films and TV shows in eras which I am interested in how they were made and where they were made, and I felt that 1960’s America and the 15^th Century England were very familiar to me as I have studied them in the past and very much enjoyed learning about them eras.

For costume design and hair and makeup, I had learned from online interviews with each of the costume designers on my case study film and TV shows, that they had used archives, books and clothing from them eras to help create accurate replicas of clothing. In Pan Am, they paid very close attention to the uniforms to create an exact replica of a Pan Am uniform, which showed the accuracy and authenticity that went into the design. In Hitchcock, most of the clothing that would need to be historically accurate and authentic would be the costumes from Psycho, and Julie Weiss used archive footage, photos, clothing and books to make sure it was as authentic as possible but she had margin for error and freedom with the colour as most people know Psycho as black and white film. In The White Queen, it is shown that the costume designers did make the costumes as authentic and accurate as possible, but there was controversy with zips and certain designs that are not historically correct but have been justified for the timing in the show and also the sex appeal of the male characters as the costumes for the men are not correct as they are wearing long tunics and boots. So in terms of costume, it is historically correct barring devices which would make scenes where clothes would need to be taken off easier to film, colour of clothes and style of male clothes for sex appeal and attracting audiences for it.

For setting/location, I learned from pictures online that locations were used in different countries to give a feel of historical accuracy due to the development of the countries intended. So in The White Queen, places in and around Bruges were used to look like medieval England and Wales, which give the show an authentic feel of being in the 15^th Century. For Pan Am, all filming was done in New York, primarily in the Brooklyn Navy Yard which showed hardly any authenticity of the foreign countries shown in the series. In Hitchcock, most of the filming was in California, where some of the locations were not accurate and other houses, streets, restaurants and cinemas were used to be portrayed as somewhere else. In order to show the accuracy of location I used photographs to show my research into the location.

Some of the most important posts in my blog were the last three about the accuracy with real-life events, because it shows what parts of the film and TV shows are true and what are fiction to help bring drama and jeopardy to the scenario. In Hitchcock, most of the film is historically correct barring Alma and Alfred’s relationship being strained and also that Hitchcock did not scare Janet Leigh in the shower scene and had violent impulses. In The White Queen, there is disagreement over the Princes in the Tower so I have not been able to get a definitive answer on that, but the show did use one of the scenarios that could have happened, so I was able to get a good answer that The White Queen is very much historically correct. In Pan Am, the show is based on true stories about trips stewardesses had and also about Pan Am stewardesses being CIA operatives during the Cold War.

Overall, I feel as though my research methodology showed substantial evidence about whether or not Hitchcock, Pan Am and The White Queen are historically correct based on costume, setting, morals, hair and makeup and accuracy with real events.