The Ways Of Hitchcock

I have just looked at an interesting article on the internet called "10 Things You Didn't Know About Alfred Hitchcock", after Seb encouraged me to look into the way that he deals with his actors. I've gotta say, it sounds like he really cared about what he was making.

The article states that Hitchcock liked to pull off cruel jokes on the actors he worked alongside with. These jokes were often very elaborate and played with their fears, his most famous being when he made a bet with a crew member to spend the night on a scary film set chained to a camera for their salary. Hitchcock also hated working with Jimmy Stewart, blaming him for "Vertigo"s poor performance at the box office.

Having read into his experience, it's time I myself stopped playing safe and polite when working. If an actor gets anything wrong, it's obviously their fault. I will keep pushing and pushing them until the very end, and if they think I am disruptive or invasive then it shouldn't be my problem but theirs.

Actors Group Chat

Here is the group chat that I have on WhatsApp for all of my actors. This is to demonstrate how well I've been keeping up with my actors and how they correspond. They are all eager to get involved and so far have been great, but the only problem is that they are never free all the time which has delayed filming so much.

I had to compromise an awful lot, making my own deadlines for participants and making sure that everything is convenient for all of us at the same time. One role has had to be removed because of availability, but in turn this has only made things better. It will only be a short film after all, so I think adding too many things will make everything seem cluttered.

There is only one male actor who isn't a friend of mine, and claims that he is busy with university work. If he can't make it, I will take one of the roles if possible.

FMP Filming Development

Over the course of this week I have been thinking about refining my script. Tom has overlooked it and told me that it didn't follow the structure that he wanted, The Hero's Journey to be specific, whereas Ian accused the dialogue and acting of being too repetitive.

With their help, the script has been updated and I feel like it's much much stronger than it was before. Tom has taught me the key fundamentals to a main protagonist: they are in some kind of bad point in their life, and are suddenly thrust into this new world that has several tests, allies and enemies. But then there comes the point where they realise their faults and strive to overcome the problem. The beginning and end must be similar but with different emotional values. This is what my script has now become and it feels great; any future projects that I take on will follow this structure if needs to be.

"Fridge" Full Shot Analysis

The opening shot takes place from within the fridge. The door is open revealing the outside world. Everything including the door and the fridge body are angled towards the sky, which provokes a sense of openness and freedom, although the door is shrouded in shadows so it has a brooding atmosphere to it aswell. Mullan has achieved this emphasis through a low angle, as if we are trapped in the fridge and should be finding a way to step out of it.

Another establishing shot is of a window with a pair of curtains partially concealing the dark inside of the house. The curtains make it look very narrowed and secluded, implicating how someone is trying to hide from the outside world.

This sense of seclusion is further emphasised when we are introduced to the woman - one of the two main protagonists as we find out sooner on - who is slouching on a doorstep and just looking out on the world. She doesn't look like she's willing to move from where she's sitting, evident in her body language.

Soon we are introduced to the main child, the one who gets trapped in the fridge. He is running around freely and enjoying himself without a care in the world. As he runs along he follows the camera, placing himself right in our view and showing us how the open world can be a place of joy.

As he runs, the boy ends up at the dark area where the woman is resting. He stares at her for a couple of seconds, and then runs along again. This contrast between the freedom of the boy and the exile of the woman places guilt upon the latter, in which she is not being optimistic or opening herself up to the world.

The two main antagonists - the boys who trap the other one in the fridge - are then introduced to us, flicking burning paper at a tramp. They are introduced from a side point of view, like we are only observing them. This is to try and provoke us towards a new perspective of the outside world, one that isn't friendly at all.

As the tramp wakes up, the two boys' faces take up the entire screen. Both their facial sneers and the burning paper they brandish make them look all the more intimidating, further emphasising that the outside world may not always be friendly.

The main protagonist - a man - soon shows up to tell the boys to leave. Taking up this shot is him in the centre and the two boys in the foreground. It creates a nice depth of field and the low angle makes the protagonist look more bold, indicating that he must somehow overcome this kind of threat.

As the man walks back to where the woman is resting, the boys turn back in retaliation to try and talk him down. The low angle and contrast of shadow and light between them and the background makes them look all the more intimidating and threatening.

The man retaliates back. His white shirt contrasts well with the dark scenery, as if to show that he'll somehow become the hero in a time of darkness. By distancing him though, it shows that he too wants to avoid confrontation and not get hurt.

When the boy gets trapped in the fridge, an insider looks on from their window but doesn't act upon it. The contrast between light and shadow returns, emphasising the cold and bitter nature of the metaphor of the fridge. When the man tries to get help from other people, he has to leap up from the ground up to a nearby window for it. This only makes these people staying indoors look even more distant and how they don't want to put up with any risks or danger themselves.

"Fridge" uses a stunning contrast between light and shadow throughout, and is also great at utilising various camera angles to create the desired emphasis it needs to get across. The black and white cinematography gives it a very poor, run-down feel, emphasising the true terrifying nature of the film and how none of the characters are opening themselves up to the wider world.

Fridge (1995)

This morning Tom showed me a short film made by actor Peter Mullan called "Fridge". It's about a boy who gets trapped in a fridge that's been left outside in a small run-down neighbourhood and two people decide to get involved and try to help him out. Similarly to my idea, it's about stepping in and trying to set things right as opposed to seeking comfort within the space of your home.

I really adored the way that Mullan utilised a fridge to portray isolation and cowardliness. With the exceptions of the two main protagonists who try to help the boy out the fridge, everybody is closing themselves indoors from the chaos of the world until the very end. The opening shot displayed above is from within the fridge: it is hard and metal, but the door is open to emphasise the world out there that needs exploring. Not only are we put into the movie ourselves through this angle but it coincides with the notion of keeping yourself locked indoors and how it has been portrayed as cold and bitter like a fridge would normally be. What a title really needs to do is suggest a running theme that occurs throughout: the titular household appliance here is a metaphor for how keeping yourself locked inside, away from the big wide world, will leave you cold-hearted and miserable. The characters and acting all felt natural and well-executed and the cinematography was epic.

FMP Progress: New Camera

Yesterday I tested a Canon 700D Camera with a Hotshoe Mount Microphone. In comparison to my own camera the frame rate and picture quality felt so much better, like it was an actual professional film; the sound was a lot better aswell because the microphone allowed greater control over my chosen subject. You can see the footage I got here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWzoKPOVVWc. All faces have been attempted to be blurred so as to protect these peoples' identity.

One thing that I have noticed is that the microphone feels so much more focused when there isn't any background noise. Even on -10db, the lowest it could go, there was chatter being picked up from all around the place (even though it wasn't as loud as the subject the microphone was aimed at). Since my film takes place in a commonly-isolated area, this is unlikely to happen, so there's still a good chance that this can work.

FMP Progress: Review Of Progress So Far

My project is about domestic violence and the ways that people respond when it occurs in public. Based on my observations, many people will want to back away from these outbursts and not get involved - they may start filming it and upload it onto the internet. I just can’t help but wonder what goes through the minds of these people. Is it entertaining to watch people getting hurt in real life? My aim is to demonstrate the true terror of these scenarios.

All of my actors are at university or sixth form, so they are normally extremely occupied. This means that they are never free all the time, which will make it hard to reshoot continuously over an allocated period; the acting must be convincing and each scene executed carefully with the emphasis I wish to achieve. As I wait I will rent out a filming camera and microphones from the CLR and test them out.

The first shoot on 18th April was great for me to decide how to improve, students and mentors giving their feedback on how the cinematography and acting could be a lot better. Actors the next time round will need to don mics so that the sounds of their dialogue and actions can be picked up more clearly. And if I don’t have those then a deadcat and Adobe CC should still be able to help.

FMP Progress + Sound Recording Workshop

Last night I managed to film a huge chunk of my film on location and with the actors I needed. You can see what I got here on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yWctbAjJVU. This morning I got some great feedback from students, such as it looked too dark and the white balance/tone didn't feel right. Today's sound workshop conducted by Ian was useful because he showed us how to use professional broadcasting cameras, boom mics and radio mics. I have learnt that this is much better than filming directly from the camera because it reduces wind and noise interference, and when I next reshoot that's what I'm going to be doing.

UEL Offer Holder Day

I had such fun at UEL today and got a really good feel of the place. The Illustration workshop was especially active and I made a collage thing, which was really cool.

FMP Sound Experiments

On Thursday night I went out for a late night walk and decided to stop by the train tracks to film the sound of a train running along them. I have recorded train sounds before but not to a very high standard, and I decided to do it with my camera to see how it responded to sound. I have edited it in various ways through Premiere Pro and Audition and their audio effects and I feel proud of these outcomes. I look forward very much to Ian's sound workshop on Tuesday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg9pMvDnvRc

PhotoShop CC's Stunning Filter Effects

Just been having some fun with PhotoShop's filters. I remember in the Summer of last year testing them all out and seeing what different effects they had, which proved to be really awesome. I've taken my favourite photo from Tuesday and given it a Dark Stroke filter effect. I adore the contrast; it feels really gritty and horrifying like it needs to be.

Just a thought...

It often blows my mind how much can happen in just a single morning.

But then again I hate lying in.

Premiere Pro Special Effects

Premiere Pro is a very impressive tool, although I think when I actually start filming I'll lower the exposure on my camera much more and lower the saturation. It always feels so much better when your film isn't too bogged down in editing.

Further Filming Practice

On the way back from Rave on Monday I decided to carry out a few more filming tests on my personal camera, to see if the settings to create a night-time scene were still up to a high standard. I think I captured the tone very well but the scenery could still be darkened. Hopefully that can be fixed in Premiere Pro.

FMP Revised Storyboards

I had to redraw the storyboards in accordance with the new script. I must say that it feels a lot better now than simply working with what I already had. I'll be able to direct my cast a lot more easily on Monday now. Phew...my hand hurts from all that sketching.

Exploration MARS: Photos

Today was long but fun as I travelled all the way to Lewisham with some fellow Rave students to carry out a photoshoot. Even though we used a cheap camera (mine to be specific) we got some pretty awesome results which hopefully our editor over in the Graphics pathway can modify to a higher standard.

Exploration MARS: One Week Rave Project

In a group of four we have collaborated our ideas together to create something new. Based on my theme of domestic violence and a Graphics student's themes on feminism and discrimination, my group has come up with the idea of abuse towards men, which is not very common but that makes it very interesting to work with. Our final outcomes will be a series of photos, although that is subject to change over time.

FMP: Filming Commences

This afternoon I gathered with all the actors I needed. It turns out that Monday is the only day that they're all free at the same time, and I've got a friend who can supply us with a great location. I cannot start this Monday unfortunately because said friend is having a guest round on the 11th and it wouldn't be great for them. Therefore filming will commence on the 18th, and from there I will constantly carry out that, post-production and lecturer reviews on and on until I am satisfied with my outcome.

Further Sound Editing Practice

Yesterday afternoon I went out for a walk and recorded some train sounds from underneath a bridge. This morning I tried editing out any unwanted sounds such as wind, birds and pedestrians walking along. I don't think they're all that great to be honest, and if I have another chance I may carry out further research before setting off to record outdoor noises. That way I'll have a greater sense of what my surrounding conditions will be like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n25Va7wQp4

FMP Progress: Actors Sorted

Whenever it seems like all hope is lost...

...a fifth and final actor comes along and saves the day! Yeah! Woo!

Now we all just need to meet up somewhere and discuss where would be a great location.

It's Time I Got Serious!

Time is running out!

If there are no other people who are willing to act in my film by Friday 8th April, then I will work with what I have. I have 4 actors already and I think that I can rewrite the script in accordance with this limitation. Here's hoping....