Le Nouvelle Vague

Ive decided that reach my learner outcomes for my current brief I need to research other types and styles of film that I am not familiar with, so firstly I am looking at Le Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave Cinema), a type of film that was established in the 1950's and 1960's.  There were several key directors that assosicated themselves with Nouvelle Vague, such as;Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy. (http://www.newwavefilm.com/new-wave-cinema-guide/nouvelle-vague-where-to-start.shtml)

French New Wave Cinema was an artistic movement whose influence on film has been as successfully moving as surrealism or cubism on painting.  Many of the directors knew little about production of film but had a key understanding of the theory and history behind film.  In the early days of French New Wave cinema the majority of the directors worked on low budgets. This meant that they could improvise the schedules and kinds of materials that they wanted to use in there films, which I feel is reminiscent to independent film today.  From this came a number of key codes and conventions that were used in the majority of French New Wave Films, The conventions are as followed:

Jump cuts: a non-naturalistic edit, usually a section of a continuous shot that is removed unexpectedly, illogically

Shooting on location

Natural lighting

Improvised dialogue and plotting

Direct sound recording

Long takes

(http://www.greencine.com/static/primers/fnwave1.jsp)

At the time these conventions were unheard of, compared to nowerdays where they are used a lot in cinema, but in the 1950's they were groundbraking ways of creating films.

Why has Le Nouvelle Vague been so important to modern day cinema?  Without French New Wave cinema it would be very clear that we wouldnt have the great directors such as Martin Scorsese, or we would, but they wouldnt have gone on to directed such great films as they do.  It was the groundbraking techniques used to created new ways of telling stories, that allowed the direcotrs to convey complex ideas, but at the same time still keep the films emotionally enagaging.  The direcors part of the movement didnt need mainstream studios or high end budgets.  By emphasizing the personal and artistic vision of film over its worth as a commercial product, the Nouvelle Vague set an example that inspired others across the world to follow.  In every sense they were classed as the first independant film directors.

Although it is not offical, the following film is amongst the earliest Nouvelle Vague films. Le beau Serge (1958) directed by Claude Chabrol.