Me, Myself and I- Pitches

With us completing our last project which was a loc/doc production where we reconstructed a scene from a film (Stephen King's IT), we have no moved on to our next project which is titled 'Me, Myself and I'. This project is focusing on who we are and expressing ourselves in a short 3 minute film, it wants to include any past video clips of us as children if we have any. We are also incorporating our 16mm project in this as well so it's good to plan and prepare for that when in pre-production. This week we were pitching our ideas for our Me, Myself and I's to our course leaders so they can approve or improve on our ideas.

My pitch focused on using a technique that interested me that was used in films such as Alfred Hitchcock's Rope and more recently Birdman, this is the technique of making the film look like one long shot, but really it's multiple long shots edited together so perfectly it appears to be one. This idea seems to be a challenge and thats why I want to experiment and work with this technique so I can try something new from what I've already done. The film is going to be shot as a POV shot from my body and have me walking around going through my day or going through past moments in my life. All/most of the dialogue spoke will be coming from me who will appear on screen as either a visual representation of my mind or the person I'd like to be but I'm holding back. So it's me talking to the POV me trying to explain and more or less thinking out loud to myself. The reaction from my tutor and the group seemed positive and they all seemed intrigued to see how it would work out. I was very nervous when giving this pitch even though it wasn't my first time but I think I'm starting to ease into speaking and pitching in front of the whole class.

Production Skills- 16mm Lenses

This week in Production Skills we carried on from last weeks session of looking at the 16mm cameras, we started to look at the different lenses for the cameras and the different capabilities of each lens. The first thing we talked about was lens mounts and the two different Arri mounts, the first been the Arri Standard and the second the Arri PL. The PL mount is incompatible for older Arri mount lenses but the standard can be a bit weak in strength and ability. The two main different types of lenses are 'Prime Lens' and 'Variable Lens', the prime lens can't adjust the focal length but as a better F Stop and the variable lens is more commonly known as a zoom lens.  

When detaching lenses from the camera you need to press in the buttons on the side and twist to remove the lens, make sure not to touch the lens on the glass as it can damage and ruin shots as well as the lens. The lenses can range from 10mm-100mm, the ones we have available are the super wide 10mm, 16mm, 24mm, 25mm and a 300mm. They all fall into different categories with around 12mm been wide, around 25mm been standard and finally around 50mm been telephoto. We then studied some documents online that mentioned 'Angle of View' but only had the numbers for 30mm, the list was 24mm = 84°, 50mm = 47 ° and 100mm = 18°. We then looked at 'Aperture' which is Iris Control, this determines how much light comes in and controls the depth of field. When adjusting for light, it's good to remember that 1.4 means more light and 16 (The highest it can go) means no light, you can get a better idea of much light there is by using a light meter. For the light meters our course provides you need to switch it on and change it to film mode, make sure it's set at 25 and that the ISO is at 250 before taking a reading. When focusing the camera and lens by eye, you need to focus through the eye piece, start by locking on the eye piece and looking for the grid that appears on and at the bottom of the lens, adjust the eye piece so the grid is in focus. 

This was all the areas we focused on during this lesson on 16mm lenses, which gave us more information on the options we have when it comes to filming on film.     

Scriptwriting- Hot Seating

This weeks scriptwriting lesson focused on hot seating, this is a technique that we all have to use and go through to help develop our characters for our scripts. It's where someone sits in the middle of the room and is asked questions by the rest of the group, the person than answers these questions as his character would and it helps you quickly figure out new things about your character, maybe even somethings that you would never of thought to add to your character before. We started making our way around the group in this session. About 5 or 6 were hot seated in this session and the rest will follow in the next sessions.

I think seen it happen first hand helps you see the benefit of hot seating, while someone is been hot seated another takes notes down for them so they can check the notes for any new information that may be important to the development of their character. I think of the people who were hot seated this week, they all finished with new information or description of their character that they will now be able to use in their scripts.

Location/Drama- Editing and Finishing

With all our filming been completed before christmas, all that was left was to start and finish editing the final reconstruction and the documentary of the reconstruction. Editor for 'IT' is Jacob who started looking at the editing software and experimenting with it before christmas so he could have the skills he needed for when it comes to editing the final piece. Chloe is the editor of the documentary and has a clear vision of how she intends to chronicle the steps taken to complete the reconstruction.

Both started some early work to the edits before we broke up for christmas with the spare time we had from filming early, I completed my camera shots list which is similar to an edit list and offered any assistance or advice that Chloe might need while editing. When we returned from christmas both Jacob and Chloe were fully focused on finishing their edits and spent many hours in the edit suites with their headphones on. They both completed their edits on the first week we returned from christmas and exported them for viewing. I then began work on updating my blog and writing my critical evaluation for the assignment. The deadline date is January 12th at 12:00pm so it was crucial for me to have my critical evaluation completed and spell checked before this date. I managed to complete it the day before and submitted it on the night of January 11th. My overall thoughts on the assignment are positive as I think we all managed to complete the assignment successfully and all learn mistakes which we can turn into improvements on future productions.

Production Skills- 16mm

This week we had our introduction to the 16mm equipment, we took a look at the two different cameras we have that uses 16mm, the ARRIFLEX and the Bolex. We were showed the correct way to handle the equipment and then how to use the equipment for filming, like all equipment we were told to make sure the equipment works before using it on a shoot. There was also a warning about fingerprints on the lenses that can ruin the look of your film and to use a specific cleaning cloth for the lenses, there is a second cleaning cloth for dust and hairs inside the camera which needs to be cleaned.

We were shown the ARRIFLEX first and taught how to handle and use the camera for filming, we went over certain areas and learned that the image flickers while recording and that shutter angle and shutter speed is the same thing. The battery is attached at the back of the camera and their is only one charger for it, when loading film into the camera you load it in the right side of the compartment and the film will come out the left side. There is a panel that controls the speed which you can adjust but we were told not to mess with the inside mechanics of it as it is difficult to fix and even harder to replace. When preparing the film to be loaded you need to cut across the perforations (Holes on side of film) and load the film in pitch darkness so the film isn't exposed by the light. There is a special blanket/bag cover we can use for this with sleeves so we can handle the film and equipment under it in darkness.

I found out that the difference between 8mm or 16mm and Super 8 and Super 16 is that Super only has one side of perforations with wider area for capturing film and without the Super has two sides of perforations which helps it stay steady with a better grip. Film is normally measured in ft so to make sure I know the measurements I made a quick note that 30.5 metres = 100 ft.

We were next shown the Bolex camera which has many of the same rules as the ARRI but you can use it in seriously low light instead of pitch darkness like the ARRI. The Bolex only uses Super 16mm and has slots for different colour filters for the lens. It's smaller and lighter than the ARRI but in some ways just as complicated to work. No film cameras record sound so you always need separate equipment to capture the sound. Now we've been introduced to the 16mm equipment I'm both nervous and excited to experiment and test it out, it seems like it can be quite a carry on when setting it up and getting it ready for a shoot but will be interesting to see the results that come from it and comparing it too some of our digital work.  

Scriptwriting- Dialogue (Less is More)

This weeks scriptwriting session was centered around dialogue and how to make your dialogue seem more realistic and organic, the phrase Less is More was brought into the discussion (Phrase made popular by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) as an example of how having only a few lines of dialogue in your script can still be impactful and in some cases better than using too much dialogue. We then proceeded to take part in an exercise where we split up into groups of three so we could observe each others conversations and mannerisms, two of us would talk while the third wrote down notes and quotes from the conversations. This was useful to be able to see how conversations can start between two people and how different people can take different roles in the conversation, for example how one can be more into asking questions or how one person could be more of a listener and it's important to identify these roles to make the dialogue flow organically.

We were also able to notice different slang words and tones some people would use that relates to their environment and up bringing, It isn't necessary but can be helpful to research on certain accents and cultures if your writing focuses on them. When I think on strong organic dialogue in films I think of writers like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Richard Linklater, these writers just have so much talent when it comes to dialogue and they make it feel so natural like you're not even watching a film, they have the ability to really make you think the words are those of the characters and not written by someone else. Now I feel like I have a better understanding of how to be more relaxed and more direct with my writing, I really want to experiment with different dialogue for different characters in my script. I have a list of various websites related to scripts and screenplays that I can read through to help me with different aspects of the writing, BBC writers room seems to be a popular website to look out so I hope to look deeper into writing.    

Visual Culture- Essay Question Research

For the end of our visual culture journal we need to include an essay on a given question, there was a list of options for which question you'd like to answer and we chose the best one that interested us the most. The question I chose was "Identify and discuss the creative similarities and differences as you perceive them between studio and independently made films. You may use historical and/or contemporary references as examples." This question stood out to me the most because I felt like it linked to the production and creation of films more than any of the others. I liked the idea of researching both these areas and finding out and understanding the difficulties an independent film would have that a studio wouldn't and vice versa. The essay question requires quite a lot of research and the majority of it needs to be from books so I decided to research and find some books that may be able to help me when I start writing the essay and I'll be able to find them easy.

Independent Film Producing: How to Produce a Low-Budget Feature Film- Paul Battista

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Independent-Film-Producing-Produce-Low-Budget/dp/162153264X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420483455&sr=1-3&keywords=independent+film

The Insiders Guide to Independent Film Distribution- Stacey Parks

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Insiders-Guide-Independent-Film-Distribution/dp/0240817559/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420483455&sr=1-6&keywords=independent+film 

Contemporary American Independent Film: From the Margins to the Mainstream- Christine Holmlund and Justin Wyatt

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Contemporary-American-Independent-Film-Mainstream/dp/0415254876/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1420483455&sr=1-11&keywords=independent+film

These are a few books I've found that while help me answer the essay question and will be good to either look at or purchase to have a better understanding of independent film making, I also need to start looking for books about the studio method of film making so I can make comparisons and see the differences.