02/04/20
I reached out to two of my tutors for their opinions on a new idea I had concerning having my film in Korean. This idea came to me whilst reflecting on the conclusion of the short academic paper I wrote; it was on a case study about how well themes from eastern cultures translate into western interpretations (which is exactly what I am doing for my short film). I feel that for the themes to make sense in the films context it must be set in South Korea with Korean speakers. Even though at this current time the making of the film is not realistic the indication of the speaking of a foreign language will appear in the script as I will have to show that the language spoken is different from the one I am writing my material in. It will also inform my target audience as foreign films can be quite divisive and alienate a lot of western audiences who are not open to film they can’t immediately understand. I chose to email two of my tutors because one has a general overview of my project to date and conducted the script writing workshop referenced earlier in my log and the other marked my academic paper, meaning he has as much knowledge on the subject, how I view it and the examples as to why changing the language may be a necessary path for me to take. I also wanted two viewpoints on the matter to make sure any objective pitfalls reported by my tutors could be researched and worked around.
Following are the main points and questions lifted from one tutors response:
‘I recommend exploring the expected value of each according to your projected target audience. If your research suggests that English audiences will NOT engage with a foreign language film, perhaps lean towards English dialogue. However, it is certainly worth exploring how much of the East Asian theme(s) will be lost if your characters are all speaking English. Will this have any impact on the soul and message of your film?’
‘It is also fine for you to write the Script in English but to note that the Dialogue will be in Korean if that is your desire. In the example I posted to Moodle for Peaky Blinders you have already seen conventions of using brackets to indicate a translation in language will be required for character dialogue.’ – in reference to script writing workshop
From this advice I have decided to conduct further primary research into how western audiences, particularly people who have an interest in the film industry as that is who I aim to reach with my frequent symbolism and abstract story structures, respond to foreign film. Is it something they would be open to seeing? Are there certain points a foreign film has to hit for westerners to consider it an option? The second part of his research proposal is the subject that I covered in my essay and therefore will not be going too much further into it in this final unit, rather referring to the work I have already done.
Abbie's media projects 