CAMERA WORKSHOP 4: ON LOCATION

This time we went outside and had to deal with the new pressures of midday sunlight and changing weather conditions.

I focussed on filming and didn't do audio, but Coleen who did do audio had a few issues with wind noise which I will take into account for future shoots.

I have been very keen to have a try at using the dolly and track. I was allowed to do that today and it was interesting to see the outcome. The tracks we had were plastic and therefore were not ideal for outdoor conditions. I did encounter many issues with bumps and shakes, which are clearly visible in my shoot.

The main thing I have wanted to try to get right for a long time is the Dolly zoom or 'Vertigo shot' (Because of Alfred Hitchcock's film from 1958). This is a shot were using a dolly track moving the camera forward while zooming out (or vice versa).

Here are a couple of examples:

                                                                   Jaws Dolly Zoom

Goodfellas Dolly zoom (the opposite direction)

The other problem I faced was the glaring sunlight and therefore I had to constantly adjust the apperture, as well as trying to get the focus in such bright light.

Having partially overcome the wall of these issues I thought I would film a clip of Coleen walking through the car park and into the woods. However after a few takes we did one where she skipped and I thought that it was a better action for my clip.

So with a thriller and mystery theme to it I set out to create something using the skills I have gained through the last 3 workshops.

Here is the final product:

Apmulsinat (Confuse) from Alexander Barker on Vimeo.


The soundtrack is 'La Corsa (2nd version)' by Luis Bacalov.
I got the soundtrack idea from Quentin Tarantino's 'Django Unchained' from this scene:

CAMERA WORKSHOP 3

Working from a 1 page script to create a short clip with dialogue between two people.

Only allowed to use exactly 4 different shots:

• 2 close ups on the two characters
• 1 wider master shot
• and a shot of our choice

My alternative shot was a shot of 1 guy waiting impatiently and the other guy turning up late to be ushered into a building by the other guy.

Here is the edited clip:

Support Group Conversation from Alexander Barker on Vimeo.

Overall I am pretty pleased with what I managed linking the shots fairly well although I have realised that there was colour change on the close up of tim on the right. This is an error on my part as I believe I did not white balance that shot correctly and therefore it jeopardises the rest of the edit.

I also realise there is a very loud laugh in the background for the first wide shot of the two sitting down. I did actually adjust the channel volume just after it so as to seem as the group stopped talking between themselves when Plamen (the leader of the support group) sits down. This was my intention while filming, but I don't know if the laugh effects it or aids it.

However I will learn from this and aim in future not to do the same.

'71 (2014)

Newly released thriller/action film about a young man behind enemy lines

Rating:      4.3 out of 5

Directed by: Yann Demange

Cinematography by: Tat Radcliffe

A really gripping well paced tense and exciting thriller about a young private in the British Army, who gets trapped in Belfast during the Troubles in Ireland in 1971.

I did like this film, but at the same time there were points in it that were slightly cringe worthy and typical of any action film. Namely the boy who is trying to become a man and join the gang of fighters against the brits. He is given the task of shooting the main character and as luck would have it compassion takes over and it all ends happily ever after. 

The most appealing and brilliant aspects of this film were the camera movement, acting, editing and sound. All these things come together to provide suspense and even hints towards the horror genre in there. 

Jack O'Connell as he did in the recent 'Starred Up' gets a lot of screen time and is very much the main focus as an individual in a hostile environment. Even the scenes where he spends time with his regiment are very focussed on him, I don't think a single member of main unit of soldiers gets a line apart from a bit of shouting. 

Jack O'Connell in '71

Jack O'Connell in Starred Up

REVIEWING: FIRST SCREENPLAY DRAFT

My first ever attempt at writing a screenplay

I have to say that it is a process that fluctuates from periods of joy to periods of extreme low and distress. Looking back I wrote my first 3 pages in an evening, but after that it went downhill. The overall problem I had with the story is that it was not enough content to fill a 10 minute script. I have always had the general ideas, with a solid beginning and end but the issue has been filling in the gaps. 

However I have somehow managed it and been able to fill in the gaps with the help of a new minor character.

New minor character: OLD MAN (Name not given)

Mysterious old man sitting on a bench in the clearing, with life lessons for the unassuming YOUNG MAN.

  

I believe it is ok for a first try and I feel that I wrapped it up ending it well and true, but I am sure I will find out when we get our scripts back.  

The whole experience has made me think about the possibility of writing because I feel like I have a lot of ideas, but it is a matter of being able to put them into screenplay form.

Cidade de Deus (2002) (City of God)

A Brazilian film about Gangs in a favela directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund

Rating: 5 out of 5

Directed by: Fernando Meirelles

Co-Directed by: Katia Lund

Cinematography by: Cesar Charlone

The book that the film is based on

Ever since watching Amelie (2001) the French film during the this summer I have begun to appreciate that there is a whole other world out there of wonderful foreign cinema that is just waiting to be watched.  The only difference obviously is the language barrier, however City of God is translated incredibly well in the subtitles and is very easy to follow.


Based on a novel of the same name this film tells the tale of 'Rocket' who at the beginning of the film is trapped in a seemingly inescapable crossfire. His voice is the narration setting up the individual peoples stories throughout his life in the City of God.
I thought the film was astonishing.

The first thing that struck me was the cinematography by 'Cesar Charlone', which considering the amount of different interlinking stories and time periods, was really well executed.
The whole thing was nicely rounded at ended really well.

The Opening scene that leads to a flashback

The original opening shot starts the story, but it is all  flashback until right at the end when the story goes past that point. It doesn't leaving me wanting any more than the film has given in the story, characters or cinematography.

With the cinematography I love the sped up 360 degree shots especially the one in the opening. The lighting is also used in an interesting innovative way, there is a scene where the Tender Trio are being chased and 2 escape into some woods. The lighting in this scene is so unusual and different, but I love it. Certain parts of the wood are highlighted like a spotlight covering the area, which makes it purposefully difficult to follow to see who is who. 

Even thought there is a language barrier for me I found the film brilliant and the characters so understandable and intriguing. 

AUDIO WORKSHOP: RODE MIC

TESTS

Using the Rode mic, testing sound levels and how to balance it between background and enough sound to clearly hear the speaker.

1. Using softie to record a person getting interviewed at a distance of around 4-6 feet
2. Same distance from mic, but adjusted trimming levels
3. Then testing distances and how that effects the using wombat (wind shield)

This is a clip I cut together of the different attempts we did:

Audio Workshop Testing from Alexander Barker on Vimeo.

CAMERA WORKSHOP 2: COVERAGE

The Chair

• Focus of the afternoon session was to get coverage
• Making sure you don't miss out on shots for a piece of film
• Using just a chair and a person to sit on it

Using the Sony EX 1

6 different types of shots of a person walking to a chair, swivelling on their feet and sitting down.

This is the result of cutting them together into one short clip:

THE CHAIR

The Chair from Alexander Barker on Vimeo.

CAMERA WORKSHOP 1

Sony Digital Cameras

Getting to grips with two industry standard cameras experimenting with white balance, focus/depth of field, tripods, aperture, shutter and general manoeuvrability.

The ability to react quickly knowing how to adjust a shot in a pressure situation was a key part of the day.


Sony EX 1

• More versatile focus
• More expensive of the two
• Has more range in zoom
• Heavier
• My preferred camera of the two 

This camera was used in 'Neill Blomkamp's' first feature film 'District 9':

Sony PMW 100

• Smaller and lighter
• Less versatility with the focus
• Good for working with green screen
• More ideal for when doing still shoot

Me Using the PMW 100

THE MEETING - Location

Final Locations Decision

• Clearing in the woods: 

Main Location

Recurring point throughout

• Office:

The start and end point

• Street:

Small Recurring appearance

3 different individual still camera shots

• Suburban Housing area:

1 scene at the beginning (getting out the car and getting frustrated)

• Car:

Small scene at beginning to portray the long journey taken by the YOUNG MAN

     

The Meeting - THEME

I just came to a conclusion on my overall theme for my story.


NEVER MISS YOUR FIRST OPPORTUNITY YOU MAY NEVER GET IT AGAIN.


I thought this encompasses my story well and also reminds myself of something I do far too often.

CHARACTERS - The Meeting

Character Profiles

Young man

• Strives to be different
• Introvert 
• Creative
• Boring city job
• Uses photography as a means for escape
• Impatient
• Enjoys following many sports especially football, but does not do them himself

Young Woman/Chloe

• Spontaneous
• Eccentric
• but still quite introverted
• also has boring city job
• does many things photography is a hobby that keeps cropping up in her life, and she is just getting back into it

Deciding on a pitch? - The Meeting

PITCH

It took me a while to come to the right decision on the pitch I wanted for this story. I know that this is good practice for industry norm, so I have tried to think this through and come up with the pitch that I think clearly advertises my idea.

1st Draft

A man and woman encounter one another through a series of days spent on a riverbank during photographers Golden hour. (21)

2nd Draft

A man and woman encounter one another through a series of days spent indulging in their hobby of photography during the Golden hour. (21)

3rd Draft

A man and woman encounter one another through a series of days photographing in the Golden hour. Is there more of a connection than they know? (27)

I had a radical rethink at this point and scrapped it to start again.

4th Draft

A relationship is slowly formed between two people who have a mutual love for photography. (14) (Far too short) 

5th Draft

A man and a woman who are closer than they think find a common ground in photography during the Golden hour. (21)

Final Draft

A man and woman who are closer than they think, form a relationship through photography when the sun is low in the sky. (23)

Sightseers (2012)

Another unusual direction by Ben Wheatley

Rating: 4 out of 5

Directed by: Ben Wheatley

I decided to watch this film after watching Wheatley's most recent venture 'A Field in England'(2013).

The film which follows a new couple travelling north on a sightseeing trip. From the first scene I immediately noticed an unusual and spontaneous nature to both man and woman in the couple.

They set out leaving Tina's rather aggravated mother behind. The first destination they arrive at is where you begin to see Chris's short temper and they end up killing a man by accident who just so happens to be the guy who Chris was angry at earlier. This flicks a switch in his head and he ends up killing a few people for very minor things. When his partner realises what he is doing (being mad) decides she should do the same as him by brutally killing a bride to be after she snogged Chris.


In the end it is Tina who turns out to be the real mad one, and I think this has a lot to do with her mother who is seen at the start of the film. There is something about her mother that has a hint of a dark past. As a result of how her family is Tina was quite solitary before Chris came along and therefore is a foreigner to things such as camping and socialising.

I'd say its darkly comical that Tina gets the wrong kind of messages from Chris and sees killing people as a way to be in common with him. I actually really liked this film with its ability to make it look like a love story interlaced with modern day mass murder in the countryside.

Much like 'A Field in England' there is heavy emphasis on the eyes and emotions of their faces as well as the dialogue between the two.

It is him who instigates it,

but she who finishes it.

Final Pitch - The Meeting

When the sun is low in the sky

PITCH:

A man and a woman who are closer than they think, form a relationship through photography when the sun is low in the sky.

IDEA FACTS

Genre:

Drama (With a possible hint of Thriller)

Location:

Clearing in the wood/office/car/outside house

Characters:

1. Alfie - Introverted man, hard working office job, very experienced photographer.

2. Chloe - Introverted, eccentric, spontaneous, office job, not very experienced photographer

Goal: 

To use their mutual love of photography to get to know each other.

Problem: 

They are both quite introverted and find it difficult to strike up conversation.

Change:

The realisation that photography is a mutual love and therefore a great way for them to talk to each other.

The Idea:

A man and a woman meet while doing photography. They both have hard working city jobs and this is their form of escape. What they don't realise is that they actually work very close together in the same office.

A Field In England (2013)

From the absolutely weird and frightening mind of Ben Wheatley.

Rating: 3.1 out of 5 (But I'm not really sure as it is such a mad creation)

Directed by: Ben Wheatley
Cinematography by: Laurie Rose

This monochromatic depiction of a group of men in, as the title suggests a field in England, is set during the civil war in the 17th century. These men find themselves together to the side of a battle which is raging in the next field over, they decide that instead the are going to search for an Ale House (or treasure i'm not really sure). The entire 90 minute film is set within the confines of this field. The whole plot is very confusing and has an unusual continuity, there does not seem to be any change in time of day. The thing about it is that it does not settle on one genre. The genre constantly fluctuates between the lines of comedy, drama and horror.

There is one scene all in slow motion where the character Whitehead comes out of a tent with a rope around him and the scariest looking grin on his face:

Words to do with this film:

• Atmospheric
• Bizarre
• crazy
• mad
• Psychedelic
• Freaky
• Drugs
• Vengeance

I don't even know if I would recommend this film to people, it is definitely an experience in artistic film making.
The only reason I put this up was to write it down somewhere and  if you feel you want to see it then do so at the risk of your own sanity.