Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Editing.
It was time to edit my 'The Conversation' piece. This was a different experience to edit from the first film, because I was less happy than my last footage because of the bad sound quality.
I had to record Jade's voiceover, and it took some work to get the sound to all be of the same level, because the diegetic sound was quite loud and then the voiceover was quiet, so it sounded wrong.
I started off with a title saying the conversation, because I wanted a clear beginning and ending.
I didn't use any other background diegetic sound because I wanted a sense of isolation and realism.
I had to record Jade's voiceover, and it took some work to get the sound to all be of the same level, because the diegetic sound was quite loud and then the voiceover was quiet, so it sounded wrong.
I started off with a title saying the conversation, because I wanted a clear beginning and ending.
I didn't use any other background diegetic sound because I wanted a sense of isolation and realism.
Filming.
Today I began filming 'The Conversation.'
This proved to be a stressful experience because I had never recorded sound, and there were a lot of interfering factors such as people walking, traffic and wind. So even though the shots looked ok, the sound was not that good because it was hard to make the protagonists be heard.
It was also my first time actually using people in it, in the other film I made it was with props only, and a title sequence so this was a lot different.
It was difficult because I had a script for my actors, and had to give them a line each to say and then pretty much cut and let them look at the script again so that they would get it right, as you can imagine they were a lot of outtakes!!!
I was saying 3, 2, 1 as I filmed to give them time to compose themselves and remember lines.
I used a range of shots; an over the shoulder shot of them talking, as the main protagonist is talking about a lake, you could see a body of water past them, and a wide shot of Holden walking and Horowitz catching up to him.
After I filmed my film, I also acted in Jade's.
This proved to be a stressful experience because I had never recorded sound, and there were a lot of interfering factors such as people walking, traffic and wind. So even though the shots looked ok, the sound was not that good because it was hard to make the protagonists be heard.
It was also my first time actually using people in it, in the other film I made it was with props only, and a title sequence so this was a lot different.
It was difficult because I had a script for my actors, and had to give them a line each to say and then pretty much cut and let them look at the script again so that they would get it right, as you can imagine they were a lot of outtakes!!!
I was saying 3, 2, 1 as I filmed to give them time to compose themselves and remember lines.
I used a range of shots; an over the shoulder shot of them talking, as the main protagonist is talking about a lake, you could see a body of water past them, and a wide shot of Holden walking and Horowitz catching up to him.
After I filmed my film, I also acted in Jade's.
Recce Notes.
Before I planned to film 'The Conversation' I did a recce of the location that I wanted to use.
Pros;
Pros;
- It is a nice location, spacious and isolated.
Cons;
- Because I'm actually recording sound, the main road nearby may be a problem.
- The park may be busy, people may disrupt filming or sound quality.
- The weather may not be on our side.
Script.
* Screen is black *
HOLDEN
What made it worse, it was so quiet and lonesome out, even though it was a
Saturday night.
EXT: 7pm. Saturday night, wood area.
[Low angle shot of Holden’s feet, walking past the camera. Long shots of his surroundings to show his isolation.]
HOLDEN
You can hear it for miles. It makes you feel so lonesome and depressed.
[Close ups of Holden zipping up his coat and putting his hands in his pockets, then wide shot of him walking, then someone catching up to him and stopping him to talk.]
HOROWITZ
Holden? Where’ve you been?!
HOLDEN
Hey, Horowitz.
[He suddenly looks deep in thought]
You ever pass by the lagoon in the park? Where the ducks are, you know?
HOROWITZ
The what?
HOLDEN
Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and
all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any
chance?
HOROWITZ
[curiously]
Y’know, I haven’t seen you at school so much lately.
HOLDEN
[Distracted, looking off in other direction]
What, so do you think that
someone comes around in a truck and takes them away?
HOROWITZ
You know, rumour has it that you got kicked out, thoughts?
HOLDEN
[Distractedly]
Or, wait
[Turns to look at him]
don’t they like, fly south or something?
HOLDEN
[Voice over]
He was a very impatient type, once he gets something in
head that’s it, always yapping on about something or other. He wasn’t
a bad guy though.
HOROWITZ
[Annoyed]
How the hell should I know? How the hell should I know a stupid thing like that?!
HOLDEN
Well, don’t get mad about it.
HOROWITZ
[Irritated] Who’s mad? No one’s getting mad.
[He walks faster; his body language shows his irritated feelings, Holden stops for a moment and then speeds up to catch up to him.]
HOLDEN
[Voice over]
I stopped having the conversation with him then, if he
was going to be so damn touchy about it. But he started it up again
himself.
HOROWITZ
[Sounding stressed, as if he was talking to someone younger]
Look, if you lived in that lake, Mother Nature’d take care of you,
right? Wouldn’t she? You don’t just think they die do you?
HOLDEN
No, but…..
HOROWITZ
You’re goddamn right they don’t.
HOLDEN
[Voice over]
And just like that, he was off. Like a bat out of hell, he was
about the touchiest guy I ever met. Everything you said he got mad about.
[Camera fades out with voice over, again showing his internal isolation.]
Character Profiles.
Name: Holden Caulfield.
Gender: Male.
Age: 16.
Appearance: Average looking, brown hair, tall, thin, wearing jeans and a checked shirt.
Employment: School.
Hobbies: Reading.
Traits: Extremely judgmental, everything is ‘phony’ and he criticizes and philosophizes about everyone and everything.
Strengths: He has a brilliant imagination, and an insight into the world not many people would look around him and consider where the ducks would go when the weather is cold.
Weaknesses: He is not great socially, he has difficulty understanding conversations, and social hints such as when to answer specific questions.
Likes: Books and thinking about unusual things.
Dislikes: People who he has not met before, and people he thinks are ‘phony.’
Name: Horowitz.
Gender: Male.
Age: 19.
Appearance: Taller than Holden, looks physically tougher, more intimidating.
Employment: School.
Hobbies: He is into sports, on the school lacrosse team.
Traits: He is a lot more aggressive than Holden, and becomes agitated very quickly when he doesn’t get the answers he wants about not seeing him at school.
Strengths: He is good at intimidating people to get information from people.
Weaknesses: He loses his temper quite frequently.
Likes: He likes to socialise with people, and is not a hermit.
Dislikes: He does not like it when people don’t listen to him, like Holden.
Elements of drama.
Elements of drama;
Ä Situations- what is the story? Surrounding the main protagonist of The Catcher In The Rye, Holden Caulfield. He is walking around, in his isolation and I am going to translate that through shots of his surroundings and how he acts in the conversation he has.
Ä Roles- who is involved? Holden Caulfield and his former classmate before his expulsion Horowitz.
Ä Responsibilities- how do the characters feel about each other? Holden has a tense relationship with everybody in his life at the moment because of his recent expulsion from his school; he doesn’t want any one to know and so he is being secretive and wants to talk about other things, in this case, when Horowitz asks him about not seeing him at school in a while. He is more interested in asking strange questions, which gives of a more pronounced view of isolation within Holden because he in socially incapable of answering the question, which ends up with Horowitz becoming infuriated and leaving, with Holden still trapped in his pensive state.
Ä Place- where is the setting? The film is going to be set in a woodland, this is because although I considered trying to show isolation in a crowded place, I thought it would be a lot more visually pleasing in an isolated place, where is alone both physically and metaphorically.
Basic Idea.
Basic Idea;
Ä Blank screen- main protagonist Holden talking, using an extract from the book.
Ä Low angle shot of his feet walking past the camera, and then a close up of him zipping up his coat and putting his hands in his pocket and walking off.
Ä Wide shot of someone catching up to him and trying to talk to Holden about being kicked out of Pencey Prep.
Ä For the dialogue, use slightly altered quotes from the actual conversation between Holden and Horowitz.
Ä Ends with Horowitz quoting from the book about Mother Nature, then leaving, then it fades to black with Holden talking again.
Reasearch 'The Conversation'
Primary Research: The book I am taking inspiration from is ‘The Catcher in The Rye’ written by J.D. Salinger and was published in 1951. I am going to be basing the one-minute film off a few specific pages in the book, pages 74-77. This will be focusing on the characters of main protagonist Holden Caulfield and Horowitz, potentially Phoebe Caulfield. I wanted to use this book because I always liked the conversations in it, they often include themes such as alienation and identity and I thought it would be interesting to try to project some of that on screen.
Secondary Research: I did quite a lot of background reading and internet research on Salinger so I could get a better feel of his influences and how his writing process for the book developed- such as how a play for the book was nearly developed in a collaboration with Ernest Hemingway. In preparation for writing the script and starting to plan the shots I would be using I also read the book, and wrote out the pages I knew I wanted to use for it, highlighting quotes I thought I would want to be used, this is mainly dialogue spoken between two characters.
Editing the film.
It took me the most part of a full day to edit the entire one minute film. I started off establishing the location and the props, and added a lot of close ups of the dolls. I loved the way that the colour palette of the film turned out; the location was dull and crisp and the props are bright and in your face. I started off with this shot;
My favorite shot from the film was one when I spun the doll from a branch and used a birds eye view to show it from the top, I though it was really interesting and unique and came out great.
I only showed the main protagonist for a extremely short amount of time, and this was only a shot of the hand taking the head out of the jar because I wanted a constant air of mystery to be present in my film to make the audience to feel suspense and want to know more.
I used bright shots and darker shots, to make it look a bit disorientating and dizzying, because that reflects the protagonist and I want the audience to feel that too.
And I used titles in Finnish because I used a lot of Finnish horror techniques, and wanted mystery again. The title means 'Real Horrorshow' in Finnish which I really liked.
For sound I used the American Horror Story theme because I loved the creepiness of it, and the suspense and thought it would work best.
My favorite shot from the film was one when I spun the doll from a branch and used a birds eye view to show it from the top, I though it was really interesting and unique and came out great.
I only showed the main protagonist for a extremely short amount of time, and this was only a shot of the hand taking the head out of the jar because I wanted a constant air of mystery to be present in my film to make the audience to feel suspense and want to know more.
I used bright shots and darker shots, to make it look a bit disorientating and dizzying, because that reflects the protagonist and I want the audience to feel that too.
And I used titles in Finnish because I used a lot of Finnish horror techniques, and wanted mystery again. The title means 'Real Horrorshow' in Finnish which I really liked.
For sound I used the American Horror Story theme because I loved the creepiness of it, and the suspense and thought it would work best.
Production; Filming.
Today we planned to film. I took Jade and Chelsea for help in carrying the equipment, and because it was my first time filming properly I thought Jade could help me in figuring out the more complicated side of filming.
Everything went smoothly, but as we went through the shot list we realised that we could make it one minute just by exploring the narrative of these dolls.
The weather managed to stay fine which was amazing, because the slightest bit of rain would have been disastrous because it was an EXT location.
At first when we filmed I was worried that I wouldn't have enough footage, but looking back I had more than enough.
Everything went smoothly, but as we went through the shot list we realised that we could make it one minute just by exploring the narrative of these dolls.
The weather managed to stay fine which was amazing, because the slightest bit of rain would have been disastrous because it was an EXT location.
At first when we filmed I was worried that I wouldn't have enough footage, but looking back I had more than enough.
Production: Making props.
A few days before I planned to film I enlisted the help of Jade and we got a few supplies to begin making the dolls for my film.
We started by cutting off the hair and colouring in the roots and then put the body parts around them and stuck pins in them, etc.
This was the end result, I'm quite happy with the outcome.
We started by cutting off the hair and colouring in the roots and then put the body parts around them and stuck pins in them, etc.
This was the end result, I'm quite happy with the outcome.
Recce Notes.
Before I went to conduct the first shoot, I did a recce of my location to see what it would be like to shoot it.
Pros;
Pros;
- It has the potential to look creepy, which is the image I want to show for my film.
- It looks isolated.
- It is a woodland area, so could be anywhere in the world really, it is mysterious and doesn't give too much away about the exact location.
Cons;
- It is a fair way from college, and means a trek through woodland areas to get to it with equipment.
- I need people to come help me carry equipment because of the location.
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Storyboard draft.
This is the basis for the storyboard for my one minute film. I am going to conduct a practice shoot tomorrow, and see how it flows together when I edit it to create narrative. And then I will know what does and doesn't work and then can plan a reshoot to make it better.
0"
1"
2 Shot zooming in on a picture being thrown into a fire and burning, close up on the faces in picture.
3"
4"
5 Quick cut away, camera quickly cuts to the left.
6"
7"
8 Shot of doll hanging from tree, slowly start swinging from the branch, cut to close up of face.
9"
10 First actor name shows on screen.
11"
12 Shot starts dark, then a lamp out of shot turns on, showing jar.
13"
14"
15"
16 Shot of tray with bloody knife.
17"
18 Close up of blood dripping off scalpel.
19"
20 Actor name.
21 Close up of label on jar.
22"
23"
24 Shot of protagonist (over the shoulder) stabbing and ripping photograph.
25"
26"
27"
28 On the floor shot of glass smashing on floor.
29"
30 Actor name.
31Picture burning in fire, sped up.
32"
33"
35Close up of hands sticking pins into straw doll.
35"
36"
37 Birds eyes shot of doll spinning in tree.
38 Close up of dolls face out of focus, and background behind her.
39"
40 Actor name.
41 Crane shot of hand taking lid off jar and putting hand inside.
42
43
44
45
46 Close up of lighter flicking on and burning bottom of photograph.
47
48 Technical names.
49
50 Panning shot of jars on shelf.
51
52
53 Actor name.
54 Hand taking out object from jar.
55
56Montage of around three of the shots flicking back on the screen.
57
58
59 Television Show name.
60 ''
0"
1"
2 Shot zooming in on a picture being thrown into a fire and burning, close up on the faces in picture.
3"
4"
5 Quick cut away, camera quickly cuts to the left.
6"
7"
8 Shot of doll hanging from tree, slowly start swinging from the branch, cut to close up of face.
9"
10 First actor name shows on screen.
11"
12 Shot starts dark, then a lamp out of shot turns on, showing jar.
13"
14"
15"
16 Shot of tray with bloody knife.
17"
18 Close up of blood dripping off scalpel.
19"
20 Actor name.
21 Close up of label on jar.
22"
23"
24 Shot of protagonist (over the shoulder) stabbing and ripping photograph.
25"
26"
27"
28 On the floor shot of glass smashing on floor.
29"
30 Actor name.
31Picture burning in fire, sped up.
32"
33"
35Close up of hands sticking pins into straw doll.
35"
36"
37 Birds eyes shot of doll spinning in tree.
38 Close up of dolls face out of focus, and background behind her.
39"
40 Actor name.
41 Crane shot of hand taking lid off jar and putting hand inside.
42
43
44
45
46 Close up of lighter flicking on and burning bottom of photograph.
47
48 Technical names.
49
50 Panning shot of jars on shelf.
51
52
53 Actor name.
54 Hand taking out object from jar.
55
56Montage of around three of the shots flicking back on the screen.
57
58
59 Television Show name.
60 ''
Camera tutorial and test shoot.
Today I had a lesson on how to properly use the cameras and how to edit because of my background in only theoretical practices I was lacking practical knowledge. And so I went out and experimented with a few main shots; wide shots, zoom in/out, panning, tilting and so on, also trying to work out focusing and other necessary things I could not afford to learn on a day where I actually had to get something done.
The shoot itself went fine, I think I got a few interesting shots and I enjoyed editing it, and making it look how I wanted it to .
My main problems with it, and I did not see this at the time, is that my editing was baggy, there was time for my audience to get bored and not stay engaged with it. I needed to shorten it, and to also not make it jump straight in and leave abruptly, instead show a nice fade in and out so also give it establishment and exposition.
I feel that when I conduct my filming and editing for real next time, I will be a lot more prepared and less likely to make these mistakes because I am now aware of them and therefore will put things into place to avoid doing them again.
The shoot itself went fine, I think I got a few interesting shots and I enjoyed editing it, and making it look how I wanted it to .
My main problems with it, and I did not see this at the time, is that my editing was baggy, there was time for my audience to get bored and not stay engaged with it. I needed to shorten it, and to also not make it jump straight in and leave abruptly, instead show a nice fade in and out so also give it establishment and exposition.
I feel that when I conduct my filming and editing for real next time, I will be a lot more prepared and less likely to make these mistakes because I am now aware of them and therefore will put things into place to avoid doing them again.
Developing ideas for one minute film.
Today we had got the brief for the new assessment, and it was to create a one minute film. We had no other restrictions, and this was both a blessing and a curse. At first thought I thought it would be a lot easier, in my naivety I considered one minutes to be an incredibly short space of time and thought it would be a lot easier than it turned out to be. I did not however, consider how much has got to go on for it to have any kind of narrative structure. I also heard a few people making their pitch, and the people that had been told they couldn't do it, I tried to figure out why that had happened and came up with a few reasons; they hadn't planned and therefore hadn't thought of the feasibility, and were being too ambitious.
I sort of felt like I had been thrown in at the deep end, and was struggling to think of any ideas that I felt confident enough to pitch and back up why I wanted to do them. So I decided to look through all of my inspirations and what I loved about the things I loved to watch, be that in film or television. My first thought was one of my favorite shows, American Horror Story and more specifically, the title sequences. The title sequences have always been my favorite part of the show because every new season there is a new one as it is set in a different time with different protagonists, and as the episodes pan out and you watch the sequence again you can see little clues that add up to solve the main enigmas of the programme. I have also always loved the sinister edge to them, and so I decided to try to recreate something with this guiding me as my main influence.
Link to the Series One Title Sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3VVJb562Y
The next step is to begin to create a shot list, make props and decide what it is going to look like. And also conduct a camera tutorial.
I sort of felt like I had been thrown in at the deep end, and was struggling to think of any ideas that I felt confident enough to pitch and back up why I wanted to do them. So I decided to look through all of my inspirations and what I loved about the things I loved to watch, be that in film or television. My first thought was one of my favorite shows, American Horror Story and more specifically, the title sequences. The title sequences have always been my favorite part of the show because every new season there is a new one as it is set in a different time with different protagonists, and as the episodes pan out and you watch the sequence again you can see little clues that add up to solve the main enigmas of the programme. I have also always loved the sinister edge to them, and so I decided to try to recreate something with this guiding me as my main influence.
Link to the Series One Title Sequence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c3VVJb562Y
The next step is to begin to create a shot list, make props and decide what it is going to look like. And also conduct a camera tutorial.
UCAS Fair + choices + filling out form.
I have had my mind set on going to Manchester Metropolitan University pretty much since I have wanted to go, but when I heard there was a UCAS fair where all of the universities were going to I thought it might be useful because I could investigate back up plans in case this fell through and also speak to the representatives from Man Met.
I managed to do just that and I decided (after considering it a lot) that I was going to apply for three courses in two different universities;
Film and Media Studies at Manchester Metropolitan.
Film making at Manchester Metropolitan.
Film Making at Salford.
At the moment I think I will choose the film and media course, this is because I want to keep as many doors as I can open for me, and the career choices and even things I will be making is so much more varied that it seems to be the safest option for me.
I have also chosen to hopefully go to Man Met for a few reasons; I have a secure, flexible part time job over there which will prove to be extremely helpful as far as living independently is concerned. I also spend a lot of time in Manchester, so that ensures I will know where everything is I need and where I will be going, And I also like the course briefs, and will be able to attend open days.
I also filled out and sent my UCAS form, something which was a stressful experience, and I am glad I had help with my personal statement because I| really struggled to write a comprehensive to the point statement.
I managed to do just that and I decided (after considering it a lot) that I was going to apply for three courses in two different universities;
Film and Media Studies at Manchester Metropolitan.
Film making at Manchester Metropolitan.
Film Making at Salford.
At the moment I think I will choose the film and media course, this is because I want to keep as many doors as I can open for me, and the career choices and even things I will be making is so much more varied that it seems to be the safest option for me.
I have also chosen to hopefully go to Man Met for a few reasons; I have a secure, flexible part time job over there which will prove to be extremely helpful as far as living independently is concerned. I also spend a lot of time in Manchester, so that ensures I will know where everything is I need and where I will be going, And I also like the course briefs, and will be able to attend open days.
I also filled out and sent my UCAS form, something which was a stressful experience, and I am glad I had help with my personal statement because I| really struggled to write a comprehensive to the point statement.
Exhibition night.
After almost a week of being at the church everyday and working to make it look good enough to hang the beautiful pieces of work, it was finally done.
It was amazing to have been there on that first day and to see what it was like, and then seeing all of the people there seeing the work, it was also a good excuse to actually absorb all of the inspiring things on show. The building was set up in the way that from the main room in the middle, you could see a little of what was inside of the other rooms, which enticed you to go in, for example, when you were stood in the middle of the room you could see a film playing which made you go inside to watch it and maybe read about it.
It was amazing to have been there on that first day and to see what it was like, and then seeing all of the people there seeing the work, it was also a good excuse to actually absorb all of the inspiring things on show. The building was set up in the way that from the main room in the middle, you could see a little of what was inside of the other rooms, which enticed you to go in, for example, when you were stood in the middle of the room you could see a film playing which made you go inside to watch it and maybe read about it.
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