Review Of Final Major Project

My project is a film about domestic violence and actively demonstrates how to respond to it when it breaks out in public. The film lasts one minute and fifty seconds, and would be longer had it not been edited down so much. This is good because through support from my tutors my final outcome has developed to a higher standard than at first. The script went through several changes and I was put under severe limitations concerning equipment and actors.

I have continuously kept records of what I’ve done through my blog and sketchbook. My tutors suggested that I watch particular movies and pick apart how they work. Many screenshots were taken and I have analysed them, annotating the structure and cinematography and how they contribute to a certain emphasis. Museum exhibitions and lectures helped me to rewrite the script and decide on really suitable locations and video effects, derived from particular styles and theories.

I have visited all the exhibitions and internet sources in my Harvard referencing, except for one exhibition which was closed at the time of carrying out research. I adored much of what the exhibitions had on offer, the Crime Museum especially, but they were all either too elaborate to possibly incorporate into my film, or just felt irrelevant. Filming commenced and finished later than I anticipated, due to poor teamwork of the actors I managed to recruit. Because they were all university/sixth form students themselves, they were busy with their own things so couldn’t show up all at the same time.

I started with high ambitions, setting up posters around the Ravensbourne building in an attempt to seek out actors and a crew. I pictured my final project being hugely cinematic, like a professional film, with detailed lighting and dynamic camera angles. Only about two or three Rave students responded to my posters, and it turned out I didn’t need a filming crew. Only one student got a part in my film as an actor, the rest of the cast being old friends, and towards reshoots became ill so I had to take his place. The film is supposed to take place at night, but that wasn’t convenient for any of my actors so I had to darken the film during editing.

The most useful information I got were from lectures by my tutors, who provided useful theories on researching and structuring stories. I have been enthusiastic in approaching my tutors so that they can offer any feedback in terms of script, filming and editing. I wanted this project to come out feeling like a high standard piece of film, and by consulting my tutors over again they kept on pushing me forward.

Teamwork is paramount, but in this case it wasn’t efficient enough. Everyone involved, actors and tutors, should’ve played more of an active role in watching over me and supporting me continuously, as opposed to cropping up on a rare basis. My action plan changed drastically because of this; efficiency is vital. As pointed out in my project proposal, I chose Lens Based Media because I’m drawn to Art’s storytelling aspect, and from this pathway I have gained satisfactory information on how to structure stories, develop characters and deliver messages through the visual medium, which will come in handy when proceeding onto the Fda Illustration at UAL. This course has opened me up to the bigger picture and made me feel more optimistic about my future.

FMP Film: Take 3

The third edit has been done. I feel like this is a lot better than the last two because of the video effects, although I feel that the effects are inconsistent in many areas. I'll wait for tutor feedback before finalising anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWQo2rxAdRU&feature=youtu.be

FMP Tom's 2nd Review

The first scream by WOMAN feels too unconvincing. Increase the volume of PROTAGONIST'S footsteps as he runs toward the danger...and add a voice-over of them panting out of breath.

FMP Film: Ian's Review

Ian suggested that I restore the background noise of the street. I have done so and feel that the scenery is a lot more convincing now. Hopefully by Friday - and if Seb is in - I can feel confident that things are going great and get started on video editing, which shouldn't be too hard.

FMP Film: Take 2: Tom's Review

Tom says...

The sound is too loud. This can be simply changed along with reduction of unwanted noise.

FMP Film: Take 2

Well, the second edit has been done, without the sound and video editing. It was Tom who suggested I shorten it down this much, and in all honesty it feels a lot better than it did before: It's straight to the point and has the right frantic pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvDDxL8tFEI&feature=youtu.be

Now I am going to try and find some video tutorials so that I can conceive some convincing echo effects, because as much as my film may not be great, I still want to try my best to achieve an optimum sound quality.

FMP: Seb's Review

I've just shown Seb my first take of my film, and he thought it was really great. There are only two additional shots that I need now which can be done easily, even though he was very critical about the overall structure and how it played out. Structure and Sub-plots are problems that will need severe addressing in the future, and I will try to read "Making A Good Script Great" by Linda Seger (and possibly "Screenplay" by Syd Field; I have assurance from Seb that the former is a lot better). I'd better keep the WhatsApp group chat updated on these new shots...

FMP Film: Take 1

This morning I have compiled all the various elements of my film together. I haven't edited anything yet because I'm just trying to test out the composition, which feels pretty good. I'm not that used to acting but all the same I feel like we could've put more effort into our performances. How I do not know; perhaps it was lack of efficient teamwork that I felt was really letting me down, as all of us involved weren't professionals at filming and acting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgGFovXxKxI&feature=youtu.be

Over this week as I was compiling all the film I'd got so far on Tuesday, I experimented with Premiere Pro's various video effects. I'd looked online for video tutorials on how to darken daytime scenes, but they were very technical and didn't really give off the effect that I wanted. My favourite video effect is the ProcAmp, because it gives the film a very strong contrast and darkness, although the Colour Balance should alter the shadows and highlights to look more spooky/nighttime-esque. Today I will see what my tutors think (provided they have the time to look at my progress) so that I can find what works best.

Filming Update

Bad news! One of my actors is ill. My friend is now desperately trying to find another actor to take his place, but if that isn't possible then I will have to stand in myself while another person films.

Mic Practice

Just a quick test to see how well sound is picked up on the settings the CLR showed me. It is pretty good, although a bit silent, but that can be fixed in Premiere Pro and Audition (hopefully).

Filming Commences Again Tonight!!! (Yay!)

I've rented out the Canon 700D again in order to resume filming. The CLR this morning gave me some really good advice and tips when using the Hotshoe Mount Mic, showing me the camera settings and how they relate to the sound. There is a special filter on the 700Ds settings that reduces wind, and tonight (or maybe even today if I get bored) I will test it out and see if they're right.

Note to future self:
Experiment so much more with the equipment supplied to you, especially if they're filming cameras.

Editing & Post Production Screencraft

Because shooting isn't scheduled now to commence again until Monday, I have decided to spend my time in the Study Zone to see if any of the books have any good advice on cinematography, editing and filming in general.

The book that caught my eye was "Editing & Post Production Screencraft" by Declan McGrath, which contains interviews with many film editors as they talk about their own personal experiences. They gave away really useful techniques such as how nowadays a mass audience accepts their POV being constantly shifted around the place. Other interesting facts included how close-ups of faces are fine for TV but not feature film, primarily due to screen sizes. Action scenes need to be made dramatic through the conflict and performance of the actors, and it's a lot better to let the audience make their own mind up on how to view the characters without the need for close-ups. Stories have infinite possibilities and it is the editor who controls these possibilities.

A good warning I came across in this book is that the danger of most films nowadays is that they represent their objects a bit too literally, leading to no ambiguity and no incompleteness. The audience needs to contribute to it being complete, otherwise they won't be drawn in as easily.

Source:
McGrath, Declan (2001) Editing & Post-Production Screencraft, Switzerland: RotoVision

Clockwork Orange Shot Analysis

Stanley Kubrick's "Clockwork Orange" is a film that I heard thrived upon violence and torture, so I thought it would be good to watch and see how Kubrick portrays this negative behaviour. "Clockwork Orange" is now officially one of my favourite movies.

Firstly, I love the way that colour is used. The opening panel which is drenched in red-orange gives off the instant impression that this film is going to be violent, accompanied by eerie music that keeps recurring throughout the film.

The rhythm between light and shadow works spectacularly. Here, the main character of Alex and his friends, out on the street looking for trouble, come across as wanting trouble from the way that their shadows stretch out across the ground in an attempt to dominate the territory. They contrast with the light very well and make Alex look invasive and fearful.

Many of the scenes that involve Alex and his gang causing trouble amongst other people are shot from his POV. It's as if Kubrick wants to put us in Alex's shoes, which we don't really want because we know that he and his gang are bad people. Perhaps this is to indicate that Alex has the potential to change and be good, and put himself in our shoes instead.

This intimidating nature of Alex's is carried out even further when he kneels down and sneers towards the camera. He looks even more invasive here and wants to show us he is the boss of everything, as his friend carries out the raping of a writer's wife.

Kubrick used POV shots to heighten the urgency and terror that Alex was carrying out. It really put us in the movie and demonstrated what he was capable of. Kubrick also uses colour and shading extremely well to further emphasise this feeling of fear and sexual violence.

FMP Acting Update

It feels like a miracle! Pretty soon all of my actors are going to be free for a huge chunk of the last two weeks. Nothing has happened yet so I can only hope and wait...

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.