Final Idea - "We all have our moments"

This is just a quick post discussing a possible change in direction of my project.

Where before I was looking at making a short series of 5, two minute length segments featuring a developed storyline revealed in short snippets, filmed in various locations and edited together, I have been thinking about my core reasons for choosing the gangster theme and furthermore, the representation of mental illness on the whole.

I may adapt my idea somewhat to a shorter piece, aiming for 5 minutes, being an artistic montage of face to camera interviews to try and represent the fragile state of mind of a 'split personality' type illness. I want to play around with camera techniques, the lighting and various editing techniques to explore what I have already learnt and showcase my talents. I still want to incorporate humour into the piece and to try and push that mental illness doesn't make you less of a human being, and we all have our moments.

Mental Health is something that is personally very close to me, having known of people being effected by it whether personally or through association with friends and family members. My piece aims to not only raise awareness but to depict often misconstrued representations of mental illness in the media today and to combat them substantially.

Test Stills

 


 These stills were to practice with my chosen 70D Canon camera, and test out the cameras exposure and lighting functions. The clarity of the image is the high quality I would love to have within my project seeing as it will make the film aesthetically pleasing.
Looking at the light, I love the silhouetted nature of the dreamcatcher, and would love to replicate this within my project by using the main character as the silhouette. This would create a strong long lasting impression on the audience, creating connotations of mystery, confusion and a strong stylistic influence, typical of the gangster genre. I decided to take some test footage of a rotating dream-catcher which I may incorporate into my final piece due to the stylistic nature of the shot and also the 'dream' connotations as well as the silhouette.

   I used the flash setting on the camera to see how drastically the exposure changed and ruined the shadowy exterior from my university room. I love the glistening on the pane and from the rain and think it includes drama to my project. However the exposure on the window pane makes the pale blues accentuate sadness and loss. I won't be using the flash when filming as it will wash out my actors and scenes.

Looking at the stabilisation of the camera pre-editing, this blur effect was really interesting and creates a confusing atmosphere to the piece.  I especially like the blurred uncertainty that this shutter effect encourages and could have a similar effect on my target demographic. 

 Looking at not only the layering of focus,  but also the mise-en-scene, on top of the  general warm colours in my room, I  thought this luckily to be  good solid  location in which to film, due to the access  to it, the desk and chair needed for my  scenes and also the natural/dimmed  lighting which I am able to control. 

Pictured here is the aforementioned desk of which I would tidy up to suit the gangster theme and to tighten up the mise-en-scene. Obviously I don't want to depict a girls room so would remove some items which don't fit in with the genre or character I am trying to create.

The angular edges in my room are of importance due to the difficulty of filming in one room only and to enable the development of plot within my piece. Although having the idea of filming himself chatting about his job/losing his mind through short structured scenes which look like manic episodes could become integral to the plot and project if I choose to change direction.

This picture on the right was of a grim day in November 2015 where I filmed outside for a few seconds just to get the feel for provoking emotion through the weather and moreover the absence of colour within this shot. The cold hard outlines of the window frame are bold and look like prison bars which could strongly represent the characters imprisonment in his mind. Looking at exposure on my cousins face when doing some practice test stills, i quite like the dark looming nature form poor or lower exposure. The cool tones underlay the dark secrets I wish to incorporate within my project. It isn't as strong as the silhouette effect I also admire, and is less effective, so could be used for some filler with still the same high quality consistency throughout my project.

This dreamcatcher shot is one of my favourites, purely for the glimmer of hope represented from the reflection of sunlight through the pan and then through the fibres of the dream-catcher. Due to the connotations of spirits and good dreams, this is a positive feature I plan to incorporate within my project where possible, possibly with the dream-catcher turning in the sunlight.

  

Looking at the differing exposure settings on the camera, changing the ISO and shutter settings to see the effect it had on a lychee as a still life. Having a slower shutter setting made the blur obvious and created a lower quality image which I don't want to include within my project. With flash, although it gave a more detailed exposure to the image, it overexposed the subject and you lost the whole detail of the background over the foreground. Similarly, with automatic lighting settings, the lychee was significantly underexposed and therefore little to nothing was visible. Looking at these features was extremely important so that I could understand the capabilities of my camera.

Location Choices

Looking at location choices I am thinking to remodel my University house and use the various rooms to create the perfect setting. Using my existing props saves on travel expenses as well as saves on purchasing furniture or props. The fact I have a desk and chair in my room, means that I can film the early study scenes in my room.
In terms of outside the house, I plan to use the local area. The plot revolves around the inner workings of the main characters mind, and therefore I don't want to journey too far afield from the problem at hand which is his mental state. This is where my artistic license comes in to effect as I want to show a lot by not showing enough through my film, with some strange montages mixed in.

I am considering changing my plot from a contrived 5 series 2 minute shorts to a montage 5 minute piece with wider artistic licence. This would enable me to work on the editing process more and to encourage my filming style as well as be free with my filming creation. This has been born from making simpler boring locations slightly more interesting where possible through editing, effects and style in order inspire some artistic life within my piece. I feel most pieces I have created so far have been so restricted by the brief that this piece would enable me to represent mental illness, and the gangster lifestyle in a different and innovative way.

Supervisors

My two potential supervisors were Lizzie Sykes and Tamsyn Dent. I was attracted to these two as my main choices due to Lizzie's skill in making confusing concepts and stories understandable within media pieces, and Tamsyn, although being a newer member of the course, as she has an interesting theoretical knowledge as to how to include and apply theory to work. Furthermore she is extremely interested in my case study essay which looks at the representation of hierarchy in TV sitcoms, namely 'Peep Show' that I studied for it, furthermore this is a similar concept featured within my short series.

Email:

Hi Lizzie,

I know we have to email and decide who our supervisor is going to be before Christmas and so thought I would approach you as a potential supervisor. 

The outline of my project is as follows:

- A series of five 2 minute episodes portrayed in an 'online series' or 'webisode' style. 

My project is based upon the gangster theme/genre, representing mental health (through split personality), and with aspects of black comedy or 'oddball' lines. 

The plot develops through classic disequilibrium (Todorovs theory) of which gets ultimately gets resolved. 

Logline: A webisodical black comedy focusing on an infamous gangster who risks everything to open the heart of his operations, exposing paranoia, personal betrayal and an unstoppable force.

Please let me know if you are interested in being the supervisor for this short series.

Kind regards, 

Catherine 



After finding that Lizzie wasn't the best choice for my project, I wasn't sure who to approach r.e. my project, and so was happy to be allocated Mik Parsons as my supervisor.

Filming Style Research

Looking at the use of camera in TV shows and Films in order to make it relevant to my product, I singled out 'Peep Show' of which I have already analysed and used in my Case Study essay. To follow the theme of first person camera, I felt that as I now have a theoretical and visual understanding of what I want to produce due to my essay, that I can also include the thesis of which I developed in order to represent my story to its full potential. I definitely will aim to include a representation of women which relates to my research, and is shown through the use of camera.

      

 The use of first person camera is a personal method of representing someone's life in Peep Show. As long as there is a person passing in the street or someone sat in a café looking out, their eyes can be used as a camera. The style is similar to that of CCTV and gives the impression that the characters are being constantly watched.

This also aids the use of camera when filming as a shaky framed shot can be stabilised in editing, however it also gives a more realistic effect. Ideally I would use a GoPro camera, but these are much out my price range. Due to the first person interaction style I am opting for, the slight shake of the camera would be relevant to the moving of the persons head or facial expression, therefore must be carefully considered when filming.

Complications - When filming and recording speech for my project, I must ensure, the audio matches the characters face as the camera changes between faces of the actors in a scene. If I fail to do this, I have found ways of which I could overcome this challenge, by having a steady shot until the person has finished talking. This could drag the piece out too long, and so when it comes to post production I will have to see what it feels like. I will have to film some filler shots, such as nods, blank faces as if listening and general casual expressions of discomfort/natural responses in conversation. To make this as genuine as possible, I may leave the camera filming whilst giving directions to the actor(s) and seeing what response is gathered, as all footage is useful when it comes to editing the piece together. Similarly, I could simply use the exact audio filmed so it syncs to the faces of the characters, or use audio from when first person camera is looking at something other than the speaking character to avoid sync mishaps.

Continuity - if the camera shifts from looking at one character to the other, when the camera switches sides in the 180 degree rule, the characters head has to then be facing the way they were last talking. When I come to storyboard this shortly, I will definitely make sure that I have taken into account continuity issues as this could substantially lower my professional standard of film and final product.


       

This second clip is an example of how extremely effective a scene can be using first camera filming, however also how hard it can be. The pros of this 'party' situation are that there are plenty of potential eyes to use as the camera. This gives the film-makers a free reign of where the camera angle is going to be, and therefore makes the scene more interesting and comfortable to watch. However, the eyes can only be used if attention is brought to the centre of the scenes conversation, which character Mark does. This utilizes the number of camera points in the room and creates an effective first person camera effect.

On the other hand, a con of having a party scene is that due to the higher volume of eyes, they aren't personally linked to the character and therefore hold interest for a shorter period of time, meaning that the camera will have to change more frequently. This then has a knock on effect with continuity and sound in order to sync them successfully to fit in with the scene as a whole. Continuity wise, it is simpler to control by having the character move his position whilst he is being watched, and then cut to his point of view in order to mask any room changes made by characters. Background continuity is also an issue due to the number of people who are now required to do exactly the same movement for a number of takes. Practically impossible!



ANALYSE: 

Modern RPG such as Halo (cut-scenes), Doom (film), Blair Witch Project (film), Cloverfield (film)

Marketing

This post is purely to understand how I would market my product, and how this could potentially shape my idea and the development of my project.


Potential distribution companies 

                    -

Small English TV production studios

                    - CPL Productions - although more based around panel shows on TV, both are series based, and so I plan to study the links between each episode in order to further my understanding of how series work and plots develop.


4OD (exclusive to online) -

                    - Due to their other similar releases such as Green Wing, which is a series topical comedy show set in a hospital, and can be found online in the archive section, this proves Channel 4's online community to be popular in order to store shows from 10 years ago. Similarly the BBC have a number of short series, spin-offs from popular English TV shows such as 'Sherlock' and 'Dr Who'.

The term 'webisodes' stands for episodes of which have been released on the web, normally as a side or spin-off to the main tv show. 



Print/Online Marketing

- mock up of poster using stills/footage stills
- online advert distributed through YouTube/social media channels
- popularity of target audience 18-30 are high users of social media.
- analysis of colours related to theme and genre
- conventions of posters theme and genre - analysis








Looking into film companies, I would definitely use a niche, independent cinema type company to back my film as it is an independent type film, filmed in a specific style for a variety of audiences, similar to Legend. 

Advanced Specialist Production Skills: Summary

Editing Refresher


- close cut editing
- layering sound over image
- choosing the best footage for cuts
- lowering audio levels (pic in grad folder)
- how to introduce a documentary style piece
- how to do a quick rough edit
- keyboard shortcuts
- removing audio from footage and vice versa
- the importance of atmosphere throughout for continuity
- title tags of interviewees - how to fade in and fade out a title tag

- only problem with refresher so far was that it is hard to define specific editing techniques based on everyones' individual projects, and so we had to use an old piece of footage we had come across in first year editing which was an interview/news style programme.

This still is from the editing workshop which I used to differentiate the specific panels that are used when editing such as the 'Source' panel and the 'timeline'. Having not owned my own editing software, I feel that editing will be a challenge for me to overcome due to the lack of practising time I have compared to others. On the timeline, the footage we selected from the 'In/Out' function in the source panel I moved over to the timeline and using the cut tool, separated the specific clips in which needed to be edited. We did a number of techniques including rectifying overexposure, colour grading (using fast colour corrector tool), keyframes, stabilisation, exporting singular frames to photoshop, and motion tracking. 

When exporting singular frames, we looked specifically at using the first frame of the edited clip in order to line up the image exactly where the footage starts. This enables us to avoid overlap from the unedited and under/overexposed image, as well as making the process of motion tracking more precise.

When colour grading the scene, the Sony VG20 which was used, alters the light exposure mid film, which makes the shot develop from blue through to orangey tones. To alter this, we used the colour corrector of which the pipette tool was used to single out a more equal skin tone for the scene. This was then masked using a cross fade transition which slowly enabled the 'magnitude of the colour to decrease from e.g. 27.8 to 0.00 over the transition (found in the effects control panel).

In terms of finding and using effects, when stabilising shaky shots, the effect 'warp stabiliser' was incredibly useful. It stabilizes the shot but zooming in the frame slightly so that it can hold four points of interest at a more stable rate than the unzoomed edit. We also discovered that if you cut the clip in half after doing this, there is a slight jump where the zoom adjusts itself where it is unedited. This can be rectified by either using another clip or using a cross fade transition to make the jump less obvious.

Editing Workshop Slideshow

Advanced Script

- logline - developing with the aid of a third year scriptwriter (find in script post)
- understanding the stages of writing a script, from logline, first paragraph, to beat sheet, to a one page developed piece.
- elevator pitch (upload slides from presentation of ideas)
- character development
- how to include all detail into such a short period of time
- how to adapt an idea based on the output/final product
- formatting a script professionally (need some work on this)