In today's episode of The Film Podcast, Matthew and Kierston jump into the complex and fascinating world of Utopian and Dystopian fiction. What is the genre exactly? Why does it exist and what purpose does it offer for society and it's consumption of art and culture? Is it possible to have a story be 100% Utopian? What do Utopian and Dystopian worlds do for the audience? In this episode, Matthew and Kiersston talk about these concepts and their implications- using well known examples from the media, and some little known examples you may not have heard from that run through the WILDsound Festival. 

Show Notes

• DEFINITIONS:
  • Dystopian worlds: are worlds where everything is awful. Something has gone wrong be is technology, ecology, or who knows what- but the world is a horrible place that we don’t want to live in. 
  • Utopian Worlds: Are the opposite, everything is great, the world is perfect or at least seems so- more often than not, it’s only perfect on the surface. 
  • Post-Apocalyptic worlds: Are worlds where total disaster has come and gone and the humanity is hanging on by a thread.  
    
    GENERAL EXAMPLE: In modern media- Dystopia:  think 1984. Utopia: Gattaca (I mean that’s totally debatable) and post-apocalyptic: Think Mad Max
    
    Why it is used: these are three types of narrative structures that all serve to do one of two things - 1) Warn humanity about the danger of the path it’s on 2) give hope to humanity of what the future could hold- both for good and bad. But these three subgenera are all under sci-fi and spec-fi film, which is a whole other topic in itself. 

In today's episode, Matthew and Kierston talk about Mise En Scene. Arguably films' most vague term, breaking down what exactly Mise En Scene is, what it encompasses and where it came from is not as easy as it may appear at first glance. Join Matthew and Kierston as they dive, once again,  in the culture, the history and the wonderful world of film. 

Show Notes 

DEFINITION:Mise-en-Scene directly translates to “placed on stage” or “placed in scene”. Essentially, it describes everything placed within the frame of the camera, that creates “the world” of the scene the story is taking place in. Inside the frame, the story takes place, outside of the frame, the rest of the world exists. There is some controversy attached to the term, as it has been considered slightly unclear wether the term is directed at one singular scene, or the look the film as a whole. Some critics call it “films grand undefined term”. But we can break that down a little more

• GENERAL EXAMPLE: Mise-en-scene is, at its most basic, the props, sets, objects, and actors within the frame of the shot. It also encompasses set design, lighting, and to some degree, the sense of space. In the earliest films there were set “decorators” basically doing what “interior decorators” due for homes- but for scenes. 
  
  Why it is used:
  Some films can tell a whole story without using any scenes or set at all- but it is rare. When we tell stories they are usually set inside a world- and that world has to look and feel like rich, full world. What is in that world is Mise-en-scene. 

Welcome to The Film Podcast by WILDsound. WILDsound is a Film Festival, running Audience Feedback Filming sessions in Toronto, L.A, and Montreal, as well as running monthly writing competitions in Screenplays, Features, Spec Scrips, Novels, Poetry and many more. 

On today's Episode, we meet our hosts Matthew Toffolo and Kierston Drier as they break down what exactly a "walk and talk" shot is in film and television- as well as how and why they are used. 

 

SHOW NOTES 

DEFINITION: specifically in regards to film and television, a walk and talk shot is a story device, a narrative technique employed, often by the director to propel action and movement into a scene that would otherwise by dialogue heavy. 

• GENERAL EXAMPLE: You see this used a lot in Procedural shows like medical dramas, crime dramas, law drama, etc. The idea behind this is the actors are talking and sharing whatever information they have to in the scene, but the scene involves them walking through or to something. 
   
• • WHY IS IT USED
    Dialogue heavy scenes are often needed to establish a character backstory (Think that classic scene in a Rom-Com when the Characters have a hear to-to-heart while walking in the park), Explain a situation, or establish major conflict. We want to avoid exposition is most cases of writing, but when we MUST have a scene where exposition is happening, then that dialogue-heavy scene would get pretty boring if the characters were just standing there like talking heads. So a Walk-And-Talk shot does four things: 
    • It creates a sense of Urgency- those characters are getting somewhere!
    • It can link scenes together. Ex: The characters were in the boardroom and they shared important information that will affect them in the next scene when they enter the main office space. 
    • It establishes the lines as more casual (these details must be shared but they are not SO important that the characters have to STOP what they are doing to share it)
    • Psychologically, it establishes visual interest. As moving characters are more interesting to watch that non-moving one. 
      
       

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