Alex Media House

This last reading covers the advantages and the various aspects of using a single master shot, this kind of shot is a long singular take where the actors can move freely and have dialogues in real time where they can react to the lines as soon as they are delivered or even before they are.

These techniques have many advantages and have a real impact on the shooting process of the film as well as impacting the film itself, when we were able to have physical classes, we had the opportunity to try something similar with a class exercise we did when we were tasked to shoot a scene in one take.

Reflecting on that exercise, I can understand how a scene of this kind would work, be of many uses, but can also see how sometimes it could be difficult to pool off. Theoretically, a film and its scenes should do the best to capture the viewer’s attention with every shot so that it does not feel boring or heavy, but this is a difficult thing to achieve all the time. Nonetheless, it does not mean that a master shot cannot create interest, the movements of the actors, their performance, and their position shifting in the shot, all these factors can contribute to forming a dynamic scene so that the viewer does not even notice the lack of different shots.

This is when, in my opinion, all the aforementioned readings in the previous reflections come to play a very important role. To generate attention in a scene with a single master shot, the background has to be coherent and also engaging and complex, so that the viewer does not get bored of the area with time and as for the actors, they should have the liberty to move around in a not boring and rehearsed way, but in a manner that makes unpredictable what will happen and where they will go.

Another provided reading I would like to reflect upon, is The Wisdom of the Unrehearsed Scene, these pages ask the question of why some directors spend a long time rehearsing a scene, getting more and more specific as the production goes along between meetings with the actors and more rehearsals.

In the reading, we also see how different directors have diverse methods of “ rehearsing” or preparing the actors for the scene making me realise that there is no one set way to organise and prepare a scene but there are other ways that might be more efficient depending on the resources and actors cast.

In the reading, it is stated that preparing the actors too strictly before shooting can be counterproductive. For instance, giving more freedom to the actors allows them to act more freely and use their skills as they see fit giving them the power to modify the script to suit them better.

Personally, I agree with these statements. An actor should be free to feel the character they are going to play and how they may react to events happening in the script. In my personal experience when shooting a short film last year, it resulted in giving liberty to the actors without forcing them in a single direction. The characters of the short film were facing some emotional distress and the actors beautifully recreated those emotions with the freedom they had. Of course, in some instances though, the actors were guided so that they could reflect the vision we had for the film so to allow there to be consistency between the characters in different scenes.

 

During these weeks of online classes, we were given some prompts and readings to reflect upon. These readings covered a variety of subjects useful to develop my knowledge of filmmaking. In the reading, The Background Action is it emphasised how essential building a scene is. The Director and the DP are tasked to find the best shot composition and to put a lot of care in the background and what story that element narrates.

The Background can be a powerful tool in filmmaking, it can be simple or complex depending on the scene. Backgrounds have to follow certain rules to be believable, they should feel authentic, should be a feature that enhances the scene but not take all the focus of the viewer away from the characters. The role of staging and directing the background is given to the assistant director that should take account of the actions the actors will make in the scene as well as the camera movement that follows them.

To make backgrounds even more accurate, the directors can decide to bring on set an expert who could help make the scene more realistic. This individual gives suggestions to the assistant director and the crew sharing knowledge you may not possess.

Another essential aspect of backgrounds and character movements is continuity matching. This aspect is important for the coherence of the scene and for the viewer to make sense of what happens in the narrative. Matching the direction in which actors look relative to the camera and the eye lines of the actors are also things to take notice of. The viewer who notices a discrepancy between these factors experiences a break in their suspension of disbelief and will notice the discrepancy through the rest of the movie.

Alessandro Pinizzotto s3695359

-Descriptive and Analytical Writing:

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/03/20/descriptive-analytical-writing-the-scene-in-cinema/

-Reflections:

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/alessandro-pinizzotto/2020/03/20/reflective-writing-the-scene-in-cinema/

Alessandro Pinizzotto s3695359

Descriptive & Analytical Writing 

 

Scenes in cinema can deliver very different emotions depending on how the scene is shot and edited together. Drama films are especially good at delivering emotions to the viewer, dramas can come in different shapes and forms and the scene from one such movie I want to analyse if from the film Logan (2017).

This film talks about tree main protagonist running from the government on a road trip-kind film, during their escape they stumble upon nice people that offer them dinner, the way the scene is tackled is very simplistic, yet effective. The compositions of the camera show the dynamics between all the characters around the table between the three members of the family, Logan, Laura (the child) and Professor Xavier especially when the child misbehaves showing the reactions of Logan and Lura. you can see they are close and have a father and daughter-like relationship in the shot showing this connection.

A simplistic atmosphere with no music and moody lighting emphasise how morbid is the world this comic book story is taking place in but at the same time, the cinematography makes you notice, with a pan of the outsides, how darker and colder the world outside breather from the constant chase and action this movie provides.

To construct this scene mid-shots and closeups are heavily use to give a spotlight to the characters reactions, as well as pans outside the house reminding us of the danger out there. The mise en scene shows a house lived in and full of memories of the family inhabiting it and succeeds at giving an atmosphere of warmth, Laura, the child, is shown how a family works and how this kind of relationship can bring joy and happiness.

Overall this scene in my opinion, with the use of mostly diegetic lighting and what could seem like simplistic shots, successfully delivers all the characters emotions and atmosphere it needs to give the viewer all the emotions and immersion possible.

Alessandro Pinizzotto s3695359

REFLECTION WEEK 1

 

In Class#1 we immediately started exercising and working with cameras. Our first exercise w\consisted in reproducing a drama scene of a film we never saw before, this gave us full creative control on how we wanted to shoot the scene without actually recording.

For this exercise, we used Sony EX cameras and we were divided into groups of 4 or 5 and looked around the building for a place to practice our camera and actors movements and went back to class to show our peers what we came up with.

My group and I were assigned a script by a Japanese, our script was called “Henry’s Living Room” and we had the limitation of having to shoot the scene in one take. Initially, we were confused on what the scene was about and what the plot of the film could be, we imagined it was a survivor movie (which was completely wrong) and began to choose who would operate the camera, who would direct, and who were the actors. I was selected as the camera operator and we started exercising what movements the camera and the actors should make to make the scene as interesting as possible. 

 

In Class#2 that week we also experimented with focus, depth of field and exposure trying to find the best way to put in focus our subjects and testing out the different focal lengths. This exercise helped with getting familiar with the camera’s focus settings and try out how the depth of field influences the image, to emphasise that we walked behind the main actor in full focus in a corridor to add depth to the image.

 

In my opinion, these exercises were quite useful to learn and get used to putting more care in the shots we take, keeping in mind that a shot does not have to be only aesthetically pleasing, but should also serve the narrative and the conveying of emotions.

In my future projects, I plan to keep what we learned in class in mind and be sure to think carefully where the actors are in relation to the camera and how sometimes a single shot can say so much more and be more dynamic than having a multitude of shots in the same scene.

 

REFLECTION WEEK 2

 

Class #3 was an interesting one because we tackled something I never had first-hand experience with focus pulling. It was interesting to talk about and discuss the role of a focus puller. We learned how it is a crucial thing to keep track of the level of focus you have to switch through using a piece of sticky tape around the focus ring.

The mise en scene is a very important aspect of filmmaking; it creates the space where the actors will move and can tell a story of its own. In this class, we also did a little scene where some students were assigned roles of a crew and had to do their job to shoot the scene correctly and efficiently, a scene as stated by Tom Reilly, a scene is simply what happens between the words action and scene. Besides the room’s technical issues we managed to perform the exercise and have a satisfying take.

During this exercise, I learned how to perform focus pulling and how to correctly make the actors understand where they have to stop placing marks with tape on the floor or other surfaces as long as they are out of shot.

In the future, I plan to use this exercise to be able to not rely too heavily on autofocus to have a more precise focus for my films and videos. This class also helped me make clearer what the roles in a crew are and how they can work better together with the actors to be more effective.

Sadly there was not another class that week but with David and Neville Kurniawan, we worked on a lighting experiment where we tried to chive the best lighting to light a model face.

 

REFLECTION WEEK 3

 

Sadly we were not able to have classes this week, but we still had chances to learn something useful and important thanks to the readings provided and in PART 1 of said readings, we explored even more what a director’s role is.

 Directors tend to have a style, something that distinguishes them from all the rest and be recognisable from their work, we analysed a few scenes from films by Kubrick and Linsey Anderson where one uses a predominance of fixed shots, while the other uses mainly camera movements.

What I gained from the PART 2 was the importance of having a floor plan and shot list, these tools help planning the scene you are about to shoot more thoroughly and visualise the camera movements you want to make.

It is sad that with the current situation we do not know when we will have a normal class again so we will have to stick with online classes for now, not having a chance to do practical exercises in a team with my classmates. Because of this I find struggling to find concrete things to reflect upon but hopefully, I will be able to learn new and useful things regardless and get the chance to work on some projects and use all the significant thins learned in these few weeks. I also hope this class will give me more knowledge about filmmaking, camera operating, directing through practical exercises and scene analysis.

 

REVIEW DOCUMENT (Dot points)

Trevor Saves the Universe

• The way the player is directed in this Video Game is very humours and fits with the overall story and characters in a way that I personally find charming and really entertaining. Sometimes the viewer can be annoyed by constant hand-holding, but I think this game solves the issue pretty well.
• Making something such as 360 VR Video Game gives opportunities of immersion as never seen before giving the viewer control of the adventure while guiding him at the same time.

              Minecraft Earth

• This AR game combines the virtual world and real-world together giving the possibility to the people to build virtual buildings in the real world. Giving the player a way to interact with the real world through these means is something that always appealed to me and this game showed me how important it is to actively engage the viewer.
• This makes me want to experiment with this technique and fuse it with storytelling. Maybe making a detective story where you are asked to find virtual clues in the real world.

Disney Movies 360

• There is something very fascinating about living the most important scenes of your favourite films as if you were there.
• I would like to make something that like these shorts, transport you in a place so far from reality, making you live in a world of magic and mystery.

 

 

360 FILMMAKING TIPS (Dot points)

• Location scouting and scene construction are crucial to make the 360 scene interesting.
• Make sure the viewer looks at what you want them to look at. It’s important to find creative solutions to guide the persons focus maybe with sounds or visual ques.
• Pay attention to the lighting and making sure everything is visible.
• Experiment with a different point of views to make the scene interesting.
• Always use the maximum resolution available (4K if possible), anything lower than 1080p will result in a blurry or out of focus image.
• Use the maximum frame rate available to make the experience as smooth as possible for the viewer.
• It is advised to use more than one camera since by using the before mentioned settings, the Samsung camera can run in severe overheating that will result in the camera shutting itself off for a while.
• Always have a charger for the camera with you, trust me.
• Use as less cuts as possible otherwise the viewer could experience confusion jumping rapidly from a place to another.
• Same could happen also if the camera moves to much.
• 360 video making is still at its beginnings, so don’t be afraid to try out any ideas you may have and see if it works.

PREPRODUCTION (100 words)

The preproduction part was probably the most stimulating part. It was not easy to come up with a good idea for a VR project, after going through some ruff ideas we decided to settle on a story that would cover bullying and its effects on both the victim and the bully. There were many faces in our preproduction that included things like scriptwriting, sketching, scene constructions and auditions. To make sure we would get the perfect lighting for our scenes we visited the shooting locations (my apartment as well as Trent’s). In a 360 video making sure you have the perfect lighting is crucial since you are not able to use things like light stands and other artificial lighting.

 

TEST SCREENINGS REFLECTION (100 words).

Thanks to the test screenings we noticed some of the things we had to refine for our 360 short film. One of these things was the way we stitched the two different 360 scenes in one. During our experiments, we weren’t able to stitch the two images properly together having them resulting a bit flat and distorted. Thanks to more experimentation we were able to get the effect we desired. Thanks to our peers and our tutor Alan we also changed the way comments appeared on the screen to make them ore visually appealing. Showing our prototype to everyone really helped improving our work and thanks to this I learned how important it is to show your work to others, collect their feedback, and use it to improve your work.

 

FINAL 200-300 WORD REFLECTION (on the finished work and the process of making it. Try to draw out lessons and analyse things in relation to our studio focus, rather than merely describing what you did)

The final product my group and I came up with is the result of a lot of planning and work. Being the first time we ever made a 360 short film, we were not sure what would work and what instead would have not been ideal. Preproduction was crucial to make the best film we could so we carefully planned everything we could. First, we had to came up with a feature that would make our 360 film stand out, so I came up with a prototype idea which consisted in making two different videos and stitch them together in one, making it possible to see two different locations and characters at the same time.

To make sure we had the best actors possible we decided to put an ad on the website Star Now and made them participate in an audition. All the actors were amazing, and it was difficult to pick between them but in the end, we settled on the ones who in our opinion were the best ones. This is something I never did before in my group assignments, and until now I did not realise how crucial this aspect is. Choosing the correct actors and making sure they are fit for the part makes the film way closer to how you envisioned it and raises the quality of the final product exponentially.

XR WORK:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WP1V3JUMDJ2IB-oXeAeOkHJhjD97wSql?usp=sharing

The process of shooting this video was quite fun because we had to think about ways to make a music video engaging in 360. Our group came up with n idea to make the video look like a stop motion video using a lot of cuts to deliver this effect. When I tried to edit the video though, fo some reason it wouldn’t appear 360 and the video wouldn’t stitch together, so I tried putting it in premiere and export it as aVR Video while doing a rough cut of the edit, but this was not enough to solve the issue, even though the video may appear 360, it is actually just a distorted frame made to look like a 360 video.

Pitching an idea for an XR work was a stimulating but also quite challenging experience since I never had the opportunity to plan a project in this field. Our group came up with various group ideas, for example, we had in mind to plan an exhibition on Star Wars were visitors would have the opportunity to interact in digital landscapes with various scenes of the films. However, the group settled on pitching a VR game where the player would assume the role of a Lighthouse, leading the boats in the sea to safety, dodging obstacles such as rocks and natural disasters. The project was quite interesting and if had the chance to be developed, the game could potentially be very fun.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jtEetCWbkhZJi33ARSvf7BeSU8xY7gILlQZqJxO3OXk/edit?usp=sharing

This was the very first super unpolished cut of the idea we are thinking to realize for our groups’ final assignment. The idea was to make a short about an old man suffering from PTSD in 360 where the man would experience hallucinations which make him believed he is still at war and that soldiers are attacking him in his own house. Thanks to this exercise we realized the challenges and problems we may face when we will make our final version of the short film and gave us the opportunity to explore some ideas we had and how they might work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo9LBV3dZw8&feature=youtu.be