The 10 rules.

Dogme film have very strong characteristic, because they have to follow the "rules" that set up by two Dogme directors - Lars von Trier & Thomas Vinterberg.

Perhaps you are thinking that "Why they want set up the rules for filming?"
Well, besides from Lars von Trier & Thomas Vinterberg, there are another two more directors which is Kristian Levring & Soren Kragh-Jacobsen. They were commercial director before they step into film director.

They decided to make at least one film without any excess (no lights, no music, no titles, no effect);just story and actors. So, just to let them can more focus on this "way", they have to follow the 10 rules.

The 10 rules:

1. Shooting or filming must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in.
(Meaning that, if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found. The prop must be initially there but not add into the shooting location. Besides, choose an interesting location with a lot of available and natural light.)
French New Wave had already used this rule: the directors within this movement usually produced their movies on location, not in the studio (e.g. François Truffaut's Jules at Jim, 1962).

2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa.
(It means music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot or filmed. You are able to hire actors that are also musicians or singers so that no need add any additional music and you probably can’t afford to get the rights for anything.)
This is a rare technique in the cinematographic language. Traditionally, classical cinematographic narrative relied heavily on sound editing during the post-production to make the sound match the video. It also used non-diagetic sound (especially music) as a tool, crucial for conveying the messages in the narrative. So in one sense we can say that the restriction on non-diagetic sound in the movie was indeed pioneered by Dogme. But maybe we should not overemphasize the importance of this rule: a new rule can not automatically be classified as an innovation. Rather, we have to think if this rule is contributing to conveying the reality, which, according to the Manifesto is practically the ultimate purpose of Dogme 95.

3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
(Meaning that the film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting or filming must take place where the film takes place.)
Hand-held camera is usually considered one of the most important trademarks of Dogme movies, but was it Dogme 95 that introduced the hand-held camera to the cinema for the first time? The answer is “No.” According to Stevenson76 the American Underground director John Cassavetes "virtually pioneered the technique of the shaky hand-held camera" in films like Shadows (1960).

4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable.
(Meaning that if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)
Dogme has rejected black and white cinema based on the idea that the movie has to show the reality and the real colours can not be manipulated in any way. According to Jerslev77 "Dogme 95 may be regarded a set of semiotic procedures aimed at the toning down of visuality as re-presentation in favour of a kind of visual presentation." Besides, rejection of black and white technique was also rooted in the Dogme principle that the director has to refrain from personal taste and aesthetics: black and white movie, which is traditionally considered aesthetic and artistic, could not be compatible with Dogme principles.

5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
Dogme rejected optical work and filters for exactly the same reasons as white and black movie: optical work and filters create illusions, while Dogme strives to show the reality and reject individual aesthetics. We could say that the combination of the forth and fifth rules creates a kind of innovation not because these techniques were invented (or rather rejected) for the first time in the movie history, but because it was the first time that they were rejected by a set of rules, developed specifically for a new cinematographic movement.


6. The film must not contain superficial action.
(Scene or props like murders, weapons, and so on must not occur.)
Obviously, Dogme founders are not inventing anything new when they are saying that the film should not contain superficial action such as murders, weapons, etc. Throughout the history of cinema generations of directors have tried to oppose the flood of superficiality in cinema through making intellectual, aesthetic, serious movies, emphasizing the human emotions, life situations, deep action, etc. In addition, Dogme principles encourage improvised acting because of the idea that the movie should show the reality, something that is really going on at the place where the cameraman is shooting. However, it's not Dogme 95 that introduced improvised acting to cinema. Other avant-garde movements, such as the American Underground often used improvisation techniques in movies.

7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden.
(That is to say that the film story takes place here and now.)
This rule basically means that the action in the Dogme films takes place in the present tense, flashbacks are forbidden, and the movie should not contain ruptures in temporal linearity. As most of the previous rules, this one also relates directly to the notion of reality. We can consider this aspect of Dogme an innovation, because by rejecting temporal and geographical alienation Dogme movies become concentrated on the "reality" or the action that takes place among actors "here and now" and it adds a lot to the feeling of realism. Festen would be a perfect example: the whole movie literarily takes place "here and now"- the feeling is so real that the viewer almost turns into one of the guests, attending the family celebration at a hotel. The whole action takes place at the same location during just a few hours; this undoubtedly enhances the feeling of realism in the movie.

8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
(such as horror, science fiction and other genres are also not allowed.)
For the first time in the history of cinema a group of directors officially, in a written form rejects genre movies! Is it an innovation? We doubt so: even the directors, who founded the Dogme concept, admit that it's not possible to reject genre, because every movie is a genre movie to some extent. Thomas Vinterberg mentions: "I thought a lot about this genre Rule. And I found it a bad Rule, actually. Because it's very difficult to avoid genre. And somehow it's not very creative, because it's unspecific... not being able to make a genre, or not being allowed to have 'taste' is, in a way, impossible. "

9. The film format or final picture must be transferred to Academy 35mm film. Academy 35mm film is an aspect ratio of 4:3, which is not widescreen.
(Originally, the requirement was that the film had to be filmed on Academy 35mm film, but the rule was relaxed to allow low-budget productions.)
Although Dogme films must be in 35mm format, some Dogme films, such as the Idiots, were produced in video format. Later on Dogme brothers agreed that this requirement would be applied only to distribution. We consider that it's not relevant to talk about the innovative aspect of this particular rule, taken separately.

End Credits - Idiots

10. End The director must not be credited.
(In other words, you won’t be able to add titles to your finished film, so you’ll need to find a smart way to shoot titles and credits, for example in Idiots, they make the end credit by writing chalk on the floor, while Julien Donkey-Boy, they make the end credit by typing on a paper and shoot with hand held camera.)
This rule also comes from the Dogme principle that aesthetics of individual director is not acceptable. A movie has to show the reality, not the ideas of an individual director, so the director's name should not appear in the credits. However, downplaying the role of director is not a Dogme invention, the same tendency characterized e.g. both the "Direct Cinema" in the United States and the French Cinema Verite." But if the director is not important and his name should not be mentioned, than why do we still have their presence in the movies? e.g. we can hear Lars von Trier's voice during the interviews with actors in Idiots and we can see Thomas Vinterberg in the role of taxi driver in Festen. Again, if the director should not be credited, then why did Thomas Vinterberg go to Cannes Festival to receive the Special Prize for the Celebration?


Furthermore, they set these rules is not a proscription against Hollywood or the special effects. And also, from the rules they had set, they want to emphasis on purity in the formation of the film and places a focus on the actual story and the performances of the actors.
They also believes that, due to the lack of production, audiences/viewers will more concerned with the narrative and mood.

Last but not least, on the film idiots by Lars von Trier, the movie seem to break on of the Dogme rules:
Which is having film music appears.
But later on in an interview, Lars von Trier explained that the source of the music (the harmonica player) was located behind the camera while shooting.

So, the sound is always recorded with the image, however is tricky to achieve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3xHVvcezY&feature=youtu.be