Assignment 4 – THE RED CAPE
Working with Paul in his media studio ‘Small Things’ this semester really transformed my way of approaching film-making, as well as my outlook on the creation of film itself. For me personally, I never had an immediate attraction to film-making. I always brushed it off as something I had no interest in or passion towards. However, the issue was that I had never really given it a go and it is with big thanks to Paul that I was able to truly invest myself in creating small projects and find an interest in-between. I specifically enjoyed working on our final assignment, although the process was tiring at times. Creating ‘The Red Cape’ allowed me to learn more about shot construction and how important it can be in regard to creating a beautiful piece of work. Although I enjoyed improving my skill level, it was really working with a team that made the process so pleasant. While group work can be tiring, Paul assured us that making a film is rarely a one-person job. We worked in teams with every “small thing” we created, and it helped us ultimately get to know each other while also collaborating and combing our various skills and talents. I am thankful for the experience I got while working with Paul in this studio and I look forward to progressing my skill further next year in future studios.
The Red Cape, a small clip from an assumedly larger film, works to emphasis the power of visuals and artistry rather than on the dialogue or the script. With the likes of Aaron, Wang, Natalie, Grace and Tierra, we displayed a strong group full of passionate ideas and an awareness to detail. We were motivated by the studio’s prompt that a project can be small AND beautiful. Here outlines our work and progress towards creating our final piece, from the pre-production stage to the final edit.
PRE-PRODUCTION
Storyboarding
(click on the photos to get a closer look!)
In terms of pre-production for our project, I chose to create the storyboard. I knew I wanted to do this because as the producer, I needed to plan out every shot I wanted to construct. The storyboard you see above, however, is only an extremely rough version of what the final shots turned out to be. Yet, like Paul expressed to us in class, your idea of what the shots could be is bound to change many times up until the shoot itself. He even encouraged us to do the storyboard at the actual shoot, but as someone who panics when something isn’t organised properly, I had to have at least a rough idea of each shot. Wang, Aaron and I, after sketching our shots, went out and took photos of what we envisioned. It is here where we also tried to determine what our locations could be.
Locations
As seen above, the locations seen in the storyboard differ a lot from where we eventually chose to film. This is because we struggled greatly with finding a perfect rooftop to work with and showcase the idea we had in our script. We originally picked the a rooftop at RMIT, yet, the railing was too high and annoying to work with. Then, we found a rooftop on top of a carpark, but that soon fell through as we couldn’t get permission without paying a fee. When we thought our luck was running out, we soon enough got permission to use the RMIT carpark rooftop, which ended up being the most perfect location yet. It is also with great thanks to the owner of Party and You who allowed us to film in his costume store.
Tests
After finding our locations, we needed to go forth and create test shoots in order to further establish our shot construction and lighting plan. As you can see, from the first few photos we chose particular shots which ended up being used in the film. The last photo of one of our members Grace was us testing the use of a bounce board. Because the sun was so bright from behind Grace, we needed the sun to try and light up her face to create more dimension. We didn’t want to use lights out with the sun as it seemed unnecessary. In terms of lighting in our final film, I am really happy with how it all came together. In the scene at the car park, the lighting on the “friend” character seems harsh as we forgot to use a filter to make it appear softer. However, in the end, it’s only a minor mistake which didn’t negatively affect the entire project.
This was a test of what would become one of my favourite shots. We originally planned to use a camera dolly to achieve a seamless look, but we ended up having to make do with a trolley we got to carry our equipment. As you can see further along in this clip, the camera stayed still and panned, when instead we decided to run alongside the characters to achieve the shot. This shot isn’t smooth or perfect, even in the final cut it was hard to time Romy’s (the friend character) running with the running of the camera operator. But for me, it is a brilliant part of our film and it emphasises how we wanted to experiment with shots which were out of a comfort zone. Below is what the shot turned out to look like on the day of the shoot. As it appears in the video, we had the tripod held down by weights in order to keep it stable, while someone held on to the camera and the other pushed the trolley.
EDIT STAGE
For some unknown reason, I was so captivated by the costume shop scene. I wanted to perfect it in order to set up the rest of the film to be “perfect” also. I adore the shots we took whilst at this location. Of course the first shot wasn’t used in the final cut as we ended up reshooting a few scenes to establish the location better. This edit too was not chosen as the final edit for the film. This purely because I believed the second edit (seen below) to be more seamless. I particularly like the shot where our actress Nikita turns around and looks at her self in the mirror. I wanted to time that shot perfectly and I believe it worked out. However, unlike the second edit, it seems to be a little more choppy in the way the shots pan out.
Not too different to the first, this second scene focuses more on finding the perfect shots that flow well together. I played around a lot with the audio as the “bell” that goes off at the start when you enter the shop was continuously going off in the background in other shots. I am pleased with how the foley sounds of our superhero looking through the costumes turned out. In both edits I tested colour grades as the costume shop was originally quite dull. Paul encouraged us to make our edits very “contrasty” in order to develop the look of a superhero film. This also meant playing around with bright colours by adding a bit of saturation.
Speaking of colour grades, here is another example of the colour grade effects I chose to implement across my shots. I had to make adjustments to each shot as the exposure differed between scenes, but most of them achieved the same contrasted and saturated look. I love the use of colour in this film, from the costume itself to the red wall and the blue exterior of the stair well. It all worked to achieve a superhero-like aesthetic. In a way, it also makes the film appear more lighthearted, comical and fun.
COLLABORATION
Working with a group has both its highs and its lows; it is inevitable to avoid issues as not every member will agree with each other and so on. Yet, I can confidentially say that working with the group I was placed in was nothing but enjoyable. Group work can’t be avoided in the classroom, it is such as important aspect towards growing as a student and setting ourselves up for the workplace.
As a group, we all differed in our skill level and talent, some of us first years, others second. However, once combining all of our different skills, we were ultimately able to create an amazing project. I would never have been able to create the project we did if I worked alone. While it would be impossible to do so, I am referring more to ideas. Wang, our director, created our script, yet it was a group effort towards fixing it up and improving it. Without the ideas of others in my group, I would have not been able to think up some of the important aspects we included in the film. We all focused on our roles while also putting in effort towards the technical aspects.
I am so proud of myself and my group for what we have created, and I look forward to future collaborations.
FINAL EDIT
Vimeo File:
Mpeg file on Google Drive.
Word Count: 1541