Meeting

8th November 2012

  Today, Myself and Fraser met to go over our final idea for our film and sort out paperwork such as storyboards... needed for tuesday's shoot.
  We have decided to shoot the Point-of-View sequence needed within the film from 9:30am-2pm on Tuesday 13th November. It will be shot in an outdoor location in Killamarsh, the countryside setting for the majority of the piece.
  In the meeting, Me and Fraser initially went through the P.O.V sequence from Hitchcock's 'Vertigo', as we both felt that this needed to be our inspiration for this element of the film. From this, we came up with the following storyboards (drawn by Fraser):

  As well as this, we discussed how we plan to incorporate the element of 'Colour' within our film. We have decided that the each character will wear an extract of red in their costume. The male character will wear red socks and the female red tights for example. I thought of this idea as I think that it will unify the two characters despite living in different locations. The colour red is also used in relation to romance and symbolises 'love'. Therefore, on second thoughts, maybe a nice final shot would show both these items of costume?

Costume:

Lucy:

• Heeled Boots
• Dress
• Leather Jacket
• Red Tights
• Hat/Gloves/Scarf

We chose this clothing for Lucy (the female character) as we wanted to highlight the fact that she is a city girl that doesn't belong in the country - Demonstrated through the heels and dress obviously being an impractical outfit.

James:

• Wellies/Boots
• Big Jacket
• Jeans
• Red Socks
• Hat/Gloves/Scarf

James is a male character that lives in the country and is used to walking through fields on a daily basis with his dog. We wanted to show a strong sense of warm clothing in both the characters, such as hats, gloves...etc, because the film will be set throughout a whole day, we didn't want it to seem as though James was walking his dog for a massive amount of time - In turn, the colder the weather the earlier the nights...

  The red socks will be displayed particularly when James sits on the hill eating lunch with his dog as he bends his knees in front of his body.

  After our discussion, Me and Fraser met with Jimmy to go through the date and time of filming, as well as costume needed. I also went through the general story with him and plan to send him the script as soon as possible so he can get a feel of the film. He seemed very happy with our idea!

  Towards the end of the meeting, Clarice met with us to go through what we had done. We then wrote a list of the aspects we are each going to do:

Myself:

• Script
• Storyboard Scenes 3 and 4
• Shot List
• Parashoot/Call Sheet...

Fraser:

• Storyboard Scenes 5 and 6
• Book Equipment out

Clarice:

• Storyboard Scenes 1 and 2
• Schedule

The Equipment we will be using on the day (and booking out 12/11/12) are:

• Sony Z1
• Tape
• Tripod
• Marantz
• Rifle Mic
• DSLR (for production photos)

   

Actors

  When it comes to actors, it is often hard to find ones that are free at the same time as us. However, I have managed to find us a male actor. His name is Jimmy Paterson and will be meeting with us at 12pm on 08/11 to go through a script and storyboard. We plan to film the Point-of-View sequence on 13/11/12.
  Fraser has found our actress. Her name is Missy Van Schaick. We are yet to organise a time to meet up with her. However, both the actor and actress know each other and this will hopefully work in our favour as they will be comfortable working together.

Recce

We have decided to film the countryside sequences in Killamarsh - where Clarice lives. Because she knows the area well, she has done a recce and provided us with a series of shots of the location:

I think that this location will work well in our piece. A bonus is that Clarice will be able to provide a house for us to shoot in within it. We all plan to do a Recce of the countryside we plan to film as soon as possible.

Group Meeting

27th October 2012

  Today, Me, Fraser and Clarice met to discuss ideas for the filmed exercise. Initially, we talked through each of the elements and different ways in which they could be created. For example, the long take could be displayed through a stalking sequence.

  Different genre ideas included:

• Comedy
• Drama
• Thriller
• Romance
• Horror

  It is imperative that we are all happy with the genre that we choose, along with the overall concept. We each pitched different ideas and came to a conclusion. We decided that our film would consist of three characters. A man, his girlfriend and his dog. As we came up with a storyline, we put together a series of ideas of shots that could go with each of the four elements required in the film. Here is what we came up with:

  The plot of the film goes as follows:

Scene 1 

A man lies asleep in his bed as the light from sunrise streams through the crack in his bedroom curtains. He is awoken to his dog licking his face. Inevitably, he jolts up in his bed and wipes his face on the quilt surrounding him. He strokes the dogs head to show no hard feelings, laughs to himself and stumbles to the bathroom. He has breakfast and sees the excitement on his dogs face as he sits beside him, hoping for any left overs. He looks out the window and then back at his dog. He grabs the lead, fastens it to his dog and makes his way out of the house, almost dragged by the force of his enthusiastic dog. As he closes the door behind him, his girlfriends name appears on his phone (which is left on the kitchen table) as it rings and buzzes in the foreground.

Scene 2

The man's girlfriend is stood in the city centre looking at her watch. She takes her phone from her pocket, removes her gloves and dials his number again. Repeatedly, the man's phone sits still on the table, flashing with the girls name on the screen. The girl leaves an answer-phone message and hangs up. She looks annoyed and fed up.

Scene 3

Meanwhile, the man is happy. Walking his dog along what looks like a never-ending stretch of countryside. After a while, the man looks at his watch and then proceeds to take a packed lunch from his rucksack. He sits on a hill with his dog admiring the view as they share a sandwich.

Scene 4

The girl is looking impatient and decides to go and find him. She's a city girl, born and bread and is out of her comfort-zone where her boyfriend lives in the country, however she wants to go and give him a piece of her mind. She keeps phoning him on her way to his house but keeps getting his answering machine as it remains on his kitchen table.

Scene 5

Unaware of the chaos in the city, the man continues to walk his dog. His girlfriend has now made her way to his village after stumbling through muddy paths and a series of brambles. She sits on a bench outside his house and waits for him after knocking on his door numerous times.

Scene 6

Just as it begins to get dark, the man and his dog return from their day together, tired and muddy, however he still has a big smile on his face. However, as he sees his girlfriend on the bench, he forms a confused expression as to why she is there. The girl immediately stands up and begins to shout at the boy and explain how long she was waiting and how they were supposed to meet up. The man carefully explains to her that they had planned to meet up tomorrow and she has got her days mixed up. They were to meet tomorrow as she should have been at work all of today. He laughs, looks her up and down and asks her where she's been. He puts his arms around her and they follow his dog as he leaps into the house.

I think that this storyline allows a variety of options to create different versions of each element and decide which works best. I also think that the light-hearted storyline can be highlighted with a warm-coloured tint.

The Four Elements

 25/10/2012

   As part of  our film, we need to include 4 Elements. These are:

• "Use of colour as a narrative and symbolic element"
• "Lighting change as a narrative device - at least two examples (Interior and Exterior)"
• "A Sequence Shot"
• "A point-of-view sequence which privileges the 'none-active' viewer" 

  In todays session, we covered two of the elements needed for our film: Point of view and a Sequence shot:

The Long Take

1.

  The long take often demonstrates a realistic quality to film, especially if there is natural lighting and a lack of score. I think it can go one of two ways, either engross the audience into the film or assist them to lose interest, depending on how well it is done. A good example of the use of long take within film would be in Michael Haneke's 'Hidden', Gus Van Sant's 'Elephant', much of Béla Tarr's work and especially 'Russian Ark' by Aleksandr Sokurov which is shot in one continuous take.

  In todays session, we watched some of these examples.   The scene we were shown from 'Elephant', demonstrated a minimalist opening shot that was evidently taken using a steadicam. It was relatively unsettling as the audience is unable to identify whom the protagonist is. 

  From watching this extract, we established that there can be many technical problems when filming a long take. Particularly, if the scene includes a tracking shot of the camera going from indoors to outdoors, as the only one aperture can be used. Therefore, in 'Elephant', there was an example where this caused quite a bright glare in the lens from the light outside.

  Another problem with using long take is that there is often only enough budget to do the take so many times, therefore putting a lot of pressure on the cast and crew. If the choice of the final shot is either one with  technical issue or bad performance from the actor, the performance is usually more important.

  The scene we were shown from 'Elephant', demonstrated a minimalist opening shot that was evidently taken using a stedicam. It was relatively unsettling as the audience is unable to identify whom the protagonist is.

Point-of-View

2.

  Point-of-view in film can be portrayed in three different ways. These are:

• First person - Where the audience "see events through the eyes of a character"3. The issue of this is that we do not see their actions or facial expressions to provide us with their reaction - Speech is the only indicator.
• Third Person - "Presents the action as seen by an ideal observer". 3.
• Omniscient - To establish this point of view, narration or voice over is often needed.

  An example of Point-of-View that we were shown in the session, was in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Vertigo'. Within the restaurant scene, we see Scottie as he follows Madeline. Both direct and indirect Point-of-View is displayed in the various shots. It allows the audience to wonder whether Scottie is watching her or not, particularly where his eyes turn away when she looks at him, although we still see her.

Here is a list of the shots used within this scene:

1. Establishing Shot of restaurant
2. Mid/Long shot of Scottie looking at Madeline
3. Scottie's Point-of-View looking at Madeline
4. Shot 2 Repeated
5. Shot 3 Repeated
6. Shot 2 Repeated - But instead a Mid Shot of Scottie glancing down/looking away
7. Tracking shot of Madeline walking towards Scottie and stopping behind him
8. Close-Up of Scottie glancing up at Madeline
9. Point-of-View of Scottie/Mid Shot of girl
10. Shot 7 Repeated - But this time Scottie is looking away
11. Shot 8 Repeated - But a Close-Up
12. Close up of Scottie following Madeline with his eyes
13. Scottie's Point-of-View of Madeline walking away
14. Shot 11 Repeated

  This Point-of-View sequence has given us a lot of ideas for our own film. I particularly liked the over the shoulder shots in this sequence and think that this element will fit in well in our piece.

  I plan to use aspects of the films watched in this session to influence my film. I have learnt a lot about how to film a long take well and how important it is to set the aperture right. The element of Point-of-View has also taught me features that I didn't know, especially that there were three different types. I would like to explore all of these within my film and then use the one that I think works best.

References

1.  http://www.google.com/imgres?q=elephant+gus+van+sant&hl=en&client=safari&sa=X&tbo=d&rls=en&biw=1280&bih=680&tbm=isch&tbnid=7KlFKVcwTBKzoM:&imgrefurl=http://www.diagonalthoughts.com/%3Fp%3D1194&docid=71CyklOWwbTO4M&imgurl=http://www.diagonalthoughts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/elephant-van-sant.jpg&w=400&h=226&ei=juqaUPa5JImy0QXq7YDQDA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=294&sig=117828630293561111691&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=229&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:0,i:121&tx=74&ty=96

2. http://www.google.com/imgres?q=vertigo+hitchcock+restaurant&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1280&bih=680&tbm=isch&tbnid=mwQssSBNwwtV8M:&imgrefurl=http://buddypuddle.blogspot.com/2010/04/vertigo-1958.html&docid=fo2jpkBtbtvynM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC8ga2uSYoKYAZ-nWzzO6WwNCOtRmiA06xZ6lG5MD6UHBqKiWYbBfNSOH4gA0o3wln5qZoWU9nTroQ0J6apvWnTjZmOcB_h3tio0E3AARt5m50kMru_nXZOSwIi8WfBMtGXryjqsFJrNFf/s1600/vertigo11.jpg&w=900&h=608&ei=huuaUPfeG8HK0QXYi4CYDw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=593&sig=117828630293561111691&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=221&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0,i:77&tx=130&ty=104

3. Katz, Steven D (1991)        Film Directing Shot by Shot visualising from Concept to Screen          Focal Press          p.267

          

          

No Country For Old Men Exercise

18th October 2012

  In this session, the aim was to set up a scene from No Country for Old Men. Initially, we watched the original extract of the film in order to articulate the mood, tone and style of the piece. This helped us later on when it came to controlling the lighting.

  We split into two separate groups and began to set up the scene. It was hard for us to do this due to limited time and space. We shot the sequence in three different angles before the end of he session. We used 3-point lighting to give the images more mood, and set quite a dim light upon the subjects.  We cast a soft shadow on their faces to also highlight the tone.
  Three shots that we gained using a Sony Z1 included:

• Two-Shot
• Close - Up of Carla Jean
• Close - Up of Chigurh

  In order to have a more professional approach to filming the sequence, we were given a hand out on recording the shot and slating. From this I have learnt:

• A new slate is used whenever the camera is moved
• The Camera Assistant is in charge of the clapperboard (which needs to fully in the frame)
• Only the Director calls 'Action' and 'Cut'
• A new take is a new shot with the camera in the same position
• "Second Sticks" is called by the camera assistant if the clapper needs doing again
• The board needs to be readable (this is checked by the camera operator and needs to be told to the camera assistant if not)
• The basic procedure goes as follows:

AD: "Run Camera"
Camera Operator: Presses Record, "Camera running up". After 5 Seconds. "Speed"
Camera Assistant: States Shot e.g "Shot 2, Take 1"
Camera Operator: Checks Board, tells assistant "Mark it"
Camera Assistant: Claps the board and clears from set
Camera Operator: Re-frames and focuses if need be, when done calls "Set"
Director: Action
Actors: Wait 5 or so seconds before starting
Director: Stays close to camera
Cinematographer: Watches on monitor
Continuity: Stays close to camera
AD: Watches on monitor if can
Art Director:Watches on monitor if can
Director: "Cut"
Actors: Stay in position until cut is called

This is not a definitive set of rules but is the usual process for filmmaking.

St. Paul's Tower Shoot

  Before filming St. Paul's Tower from two different angles, I created a storyboard for each in order to make it easier to create the shot I wanted. I filmed using a Canon 550d DSLR and used a tripod as light conditions were poor. The day of filming was very foggy which also altered the original intended shots. However, I think that this gave a nice effect, especially in the first film. I chose to keep them simple and therefore chose to cut out the sound so I could focus purely on the picture:

1.

Because of the poor quality of the video when uploaded, here is a screen shot:

I shot this piece of footage from a set of steps behind the train station. This provided me with a nice view of sheffield skyline and presented a lovely image of the contrasting buildings in the city. It demonstrates both old and new architecture and I like the way in which the moving traffic in the foreground gives the shot depth despite the camera remaining still. As I have already stated, the lighting conditions were poor, however I have worked with the camera to the best of my ability to portray a nice image. I used a shutter speed of 00'05" and an aperture of f.7.1 when filming this shot.

2.

Because of the poor quality of the video when uploaded, here is a screen shot:

For this shot, I wanted to film the tower from an interesting angle. In one aspect, I think I have succeeded, as the movement of people in the foreground of the left third of the shot create an interesting film. However, on the other hand, I feel that the bushes and railing in front of the building distract from St. Paul's Tower itself. I think an interesting element within this footage is the hooded figure that walks to the left of the shot. This could work in a film showing his journey. The original shot was fairly dark and I think that I could have set the aperture a bit wider to allow more light, however I have altered this a little in post. I used an aperture of f.6.3. Overall, I think that too many elements of this shot distract from the intended subject, and maybe a better shot would have been from directly beneath the building, looking directly up. A downside of this would be that it could appear silhouetted if the sky is too bright behind it.

I did film a panning version of the first shot displayed, however I think it seemed too shaky when viewing it back. I need to practice these kind of shots as I think they can work well in film, especially in an element such as a long take.