Blog Update - The past week

Last weekend (15th/16th Dec) we managed to begin filming. The crew - Chris, Jon and myself - teamed up with our two actors - Will Hayman and Ollie Iley. We had a perfect day weather-wise for filming the pier scenes. So we headed to the pier in Torquay and rehearsed through each scene respectively before shooting.

With the Sony 5K we shot some excellent footage. The pier was naturally a symmetrical setting, with equal benches on each side descending into the mist of the horizon. Consequently it was vastly cinematic and appropriate for the noir, dated washed-out effect we intend to portray. I brought my Rode microphone to pick up some sound which plugged into the Zoom H1 for recording. Jon recorded the sound, which we will be reviewing in post-production shortly.

I would like the sound to be very much 3-dimensional on the pier, because a spectrum of noises from all directions will create the feel of unease we intend. The pier is right next to a humble little marina, and when the wind blows the sails create an eerie sound which resembles something from a tense scene in Pirates of the Caribbean. I want to pick up this noise and represent it in the distance of our action, so it is possible our original recordings will act as references, before we artificially create the sounds for the pier.

After a successful day of filming, on Tuesday we had our first school lesson since. We began some initial cutting of the footage, simply drafting together rough ideas for the way we want the scenes to look. It was also a perfect time for us to start grading and colouring the footage (some examples of the before and after footage can be seen on my blog). As soon as we bought everything to life, the nature of the Mexican stand-off action we shot meant the sequence luckily resembled something of Boardwalk Empire (which is very much a period drama), which was ideal - meaning our sequence was successfully nostalgic.

So now we must continue to piece together our film. Once we have a silent editing draft, we will begin to introduce sound - both diegetic and non-diegetic - to start crafting what will eventually be our finished, hopefully impressive, project.

Storyboard Animatic

Here is our animatic, detailing the storyboard:

Audience Research

Colour Grading/Correction test

I have filmed a short sequence to demonstrate the techniques we will use to grade and colour correct our footage..

Storyboards

Below are the storyboards I have created and elaborated on. Some areas are not included at this stage as they are too complex to storyboard, and due to the nature of the recurring scenes (flashbacks/alternative scenarios), many scenes are repeated and therefore not re-storyboarded.

Camera Specifications

In terms of camera specifications and camera equipment, we have many of the resources we require at this initial date. The various technical equipment will certainly aid our finished product, and provide the professional touch we feel we deserve, after a thorough session of pre-production. For the shooting itself we will be using..

A Sony 5K will be our base recording device. This camera is highly efficient and delivers effective results through a crisp, clean shot. I myself already have this model, as I often use it for my own, individual extra-curricular film work. An example of the rich depth of field that can be achieved can be seen to the right.

In order to create the rich, professional-looking depth of field in our shots, we require a photographic lens which sits comfortably with the Sony 5K. We will use an 18-55mm lens, which comes with the 5K. This depth of lens is perfect and highly adaptable for a diversity of situations and scenes, whilst delivering a superb shot for post-production. 

As well as the capturing equipment, we need further equipment to assist in camera movement. We will of course be using a tripod for much of the shooting. Even when a dynamic and shaky shot is required, we will artificially create this using a tripod, to control the level of shake. Long shots especially will make use of the static outcome of using a tripod, in order to set a cinematic scene.


We have some further ideas and miscellaneous equipment we wish to make use of in order to 'put the icing on the cake' of a professional sequence. For example, I am considering storyboarding several tracking shots, which would of course require a camera 'dolly', which is effectively a device which shifts the camera along two parallel rails to give a real sense of movement. This will allow us to add to the dynamic theme and emphasise our planning in production.

Name ideas

We are currently in the process of devising a name for our film. We wish to base the title of the film on one of the key themes that occur within the sequence, such as these:

• Reflections
• Flashbacks
• Fighting
• Alternative scenarios

A standard day in the studio!

Camerawork Ideas

As Director of Photography, I have devised several ideas in terms of themes within the camerawork. One idea was to use a mainly handheld and shaky effect throughout, in order to contribute to the manic and fast-paced atmosphere. This effect would also be linked with a short shot duration in terms of editing in order to complete the effect.

This sort of camerawork can be spotted throughout the Bourne trilogy:

Dynamic camerawork is another style of the shooting we intend to use. This renders an exciting atmosphere which conforms with the conventions of our chosen genre. This style can be spotted in a key influence that we have aspired to - in this clip from Run Lola Run demonstrates a similar style, while focusing on the protagonist running:

South Dusk Films film pitch

20/9/12 - Blog Update

In today's lesson we finalised the pitch, adding anything extra we needed, especially on the topics of camerawork and editing.

Blog Update - 18/9/12

Today I researched into shot techniques for our short film - we are at an early stage but it is more efficient if we begin to mentally storyboard the filming techniques.

Illusion - an exploration

Illusion is a short, 3-minute film, which offers an abstract interpretation of the topic of schizophrenia within the mind of a young girl. The film bases itself around a young girl walking through an initially bare forest, whilst a repetitive reverberated loop of a humming voice dominates the soundscape. 

The opening of the film provides an instant sense of unease; before even any form of visuals are visible, the echoed hum dresses a convention of fear, provoking a significant lack of understanding as the further contents of the film. Following, a single title, 'Illusion', blurs out from the screen, emphasises between the contrast of a black frame with white text. 

Illusion's DOP clearly possessed a true confidence in expressing the sense of confusion and fear within the film; especially so within the first few shots: initially we only spot unconventional bodily areas - feet, a hand, a shoulder. In a subtle sense, this intentionally lacks identity, leaving the audience in a state of unease. However, the saturated grading of the shots, which appears to highlight the luscious features of the grass and forest in a bright sense, contrasts with the darkness of the sound and action of the shots.  Perhaps this is a deliberate effect chosen by the director in order to further distort the viewer. 

Illusion's structure appears to lean on two halves - a more upbeat and bright first half, proceeded by a darker, both literally and metaphorically, second half. These halves are cleverly weaved together using a transitional wipe as the camera circles the girl's face and closes in on her hair, before opposing this, rather in a different location: a darker and more autumnal setting of the forest, demonstrated by a dark blue tinted grade and a lack of saturation. Here the focus of the photography seems very much to highlight a prominence of death; the leaves and the bare ground dominate the frames, acting as imagery to symbolise a more serious death - a death of the girl's mind?