1. The Dogme ’95 film manifesto “The Vow of Chastity” provides a set of specific rules and guidelines for making films. What do you think about the idea of having set rules for making films? Do these rules merely create constraints or do these constraints provide creative possibilities? Why do you think that Dogme ’95 was eventually abandoned by its founders?2. Dogme ’95 was a reaction to “over-produced” Hollywood films that in addition to using continuity editing also extensively used post-production techniques to “polish” films. Do you think that Dancer in the Dark might be “under-produced”? If so, which elements of the film might be improved either during filming or in post production?3. Dancer in the Dark was filmed in color and black & white, with the musical scenes shot in color (with stable cameras) and the rest of the film shot in black & white (with hand-held) cameras. Why do you think the director chose to film these different types of scenes in this manner? Do you think the musical scenes advance the film’s narrative or are they a distraction? Why do you think so?4. One of the main goals of Dogme ’95 was the democratization of cinema. Today, the technology to make a film is much more accessible (and even professional directors are making feature length films with smartphones). Do you agree the the Dogme ’95 spirit that virtually anyone can make a film? Justify your response.and write two peer reviews about those:1.”1. I think the vow of chastity puts limits on the films they can make. There are too many specific rules that the directors have to follow for anything to be super creative. I think Dogme 95 was abandoned because there wasn’t a lot of room for creativity and what they were producing was probably starting to look overproduced and all the same. 2. Yes I think the film is a little under produced. Everything is trying so hard to be different from overproduced films that is kind of looks bad. This was even after Dogme 95 and you can still see some of the vows present. It is a bit too different, to improve maybe they could have used more stable camera movements and have a smoother story.3. The musical scenes appear to be a distraction more than something to advance the narrative. She is going blind and when she is at the musical everything is vibrant and she is having the time of her life. It provides a contrast to her everyday life and really shows how much she loves being apart of musicals. 4. Yes I agree that anyone can make a film since the technology is everywhere, but that doesn’t mean it will be a good film. In order to really create a meaningful and engaging film you have to be creative and dedicated to what you are doing. Audiences notice movies that are exceptional. It also takes training and practice to learn of all of these filming techniques.”2.” I think having a set of specific rules can be both helpful and harmful to film producers. In some instances, it restricts what can be done cinematically. In other cases, it could create a lot of room for creativity and cinematic advances. I think the founders eventually abandoned Dogme ’95 due to the lack of ability to expand on their projects. After a while, I’m sure the content of their films would tend to get slightly repetitive.I think Dancer in the Dark is slightly under-produced. To fix this, they could have used more continuity editing in post-production to give it a smoother feel. Although the film was already very focused on music, I think non-diegetic music could have been added in post-production in some scenes to give it a little more tone, especially in the beginning when there wasn’t much singing yet.I think the director chose to shoot these scenes with different techniques to provide contrast between the musical and non-musical scenes. If all the scenes were shot with handheld cameras, the film would adhere to the vows of chastity too much, which was contrary to what the director wanted for this film. I think the musical components of Dancer in the Dark help to advance the narrative. Selma loves musicals and starring in one plays a huge part in the narrative, especially how it helps in getting her arrested. Also, her childhood love of musicals and Oldrich Novy is significant to the plot, because she lies about him being her father and he later testifies which leads to her receiving the death penalty.Yes, I agree with the Dogme ’95 idea that basically anyone can make a film. With continuously advancing technology, almost everyone has a smartphone. Also, all iPhones automatically have a video editing app, iMovie, installed on the device. With these apps so accessible, anyone can create a film. Although these videos are not technically considered films, this idea can kind of be shown through YouTube. Many people have started making short videos and “films” and uploading them to YouTube. For example, one of my friends’ little brother likes to film and short “movies” on his phone and put them on YouTube. Even though the videos he creates are only about 5-10 minutes and get close to no views, he is technically still creating a film, so this would fit into the Dogme ’95 idea that anyone can make a film. “
