Everyday Media

An everyday blog about media by everyday blogger Louise Alice Wilson.

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Who’s That Lady?

How to shoot a script for dummies:

If you ever need to shoot a script just call “1800-who’s-that-weird-lady-in-the-background?”

This was meant to be a post about how to shoot a script, because that was technically what this class was about, but I’m definitely much more interested in that weird AF lady in the background. She was the best (because she’s given us this solid gold footage), but also the worst (because she ignored me trying to shoo her out of the frame) (but I’m actually the worst, because I should have had enough foresight to realise, “hey, this is some good ****”).

I was originally going to edit together a string of shot reverse shots as an example of how we intended to complete this exercise, then discuss it. However, after reviewing the footage and remembering the weird lady in the background I realised that it was actually more poignant and revealing to display this excerpt as it’s own unedited stand alone piece – that which reveals a moment in time. Giving insight into our learning process and the hurdles/joys of filmmaking.

This is the annoying part where I talk you through the video you’ve just watched: I like how this video begins as ‘sound’ is being called, making it obvious that we’re only privy to this unfurling scene because someone pushed the record button. As the scene moves along the visuals are also  introduced as we hear ‘video’ being called – and we get to watch the scene slowly play out. We then see this woman enter frame, which no one seems aware of except the director, who then waits til she leaves to call action. Then as the clicker snaps down, the elevator doors open almost instantaneously after.  The scene plays out and the visuals end, but we get to keep hearing the scene until someone eventually presses the record button once more, disabling us from being privy to this scene for any longer.

I had a few major epiphanies after watching this video. The first being the realisation that when your ‘filming’ something or planning to film something your often so caught up in what you ~ should ~ be doing. That you fail to notice the much more interesting things that are unfolding in front of you. This not only disables you from being truly creative, but inhibits the work from being as interesting as it could possibly be. My second epiphany was that you can create a much more interesting scene by having multiple actions occurring in the same scene at once. And you can also relate these seperate actions by timing each action, to work well with another in the frame, suggesting some kind of relationship between the two. My third epiphany was that drawing attention to how highly constructed filmmaking is, can be extremely interesting and it doesn’t necessarily destroy the audiences relationship to the onscreen action, but can actually deepen it.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

 

Shot Reverse Shot

Sussing out that ‘shot-reverse-shot’:

Learning how to create a shot-reverse-shot is – I guess – super important, considering it’s utilised in (most likely) every film you’ve ever seen. Not only would it have been utilised in every film you’ve ever seen, but it’s probably been utilised a butt load in every film you’ve ever seen. The reason that the shot-reverse-shot is so prevalent in mainstream filmmaking is because it’s one of the easiest ways to establish the location of characters and their relationships to the objects and people around them.

I’m sure there is an art to creating a smooth shot reverse shot, that feels ‘real’ and ‘natural’ but what most surprised me about this exercise is how easy it was to create shot-reverse-shots that smoothly went together. When you shoot an exercise like this you think, “omg how am I gonna piece this **** together”. Then you get to the edit suite, bang the clips side by side and voila, your scene actually seems to makes sense. This was a pretty major revelation to me, but keeps in line with what Paul’s been speaking about since day one; which is that filmmaking is more a process of getting things done, rather than some mythical creative endeavour, only achieved by those who are truly gifted.

My second major revelation was how amazing of an actor I am, I was honestly just truly blown away by my own performance. Especially that killer death scene at the end and my ability at maintaining ‘dead eyes’ throughout that dramatic pan. If you ever need an actor?

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

 

Blog Post: Week 8

Blog Post for Week 8

This week in class we worked on lighting as you can see in the example above. We essentially attempted to create a three point lighting setup that lit up both me and Rosie. However due to equipment constraints we only had two lights to work with.

Originally we had one key light on the left hand side to light both me and Rosie and then we had one light behind to backlight us, using light from the room as fill. However, because me and Rosie we’re standing so far apart we ended up using the two lights as seperate key lights for each of us. The reason we were standing so far apart is because we were also attempting to master focus racking whilst panning. This clip doesn’t show an example of the panning, but rather a shoddy kind of zoom out, to capture both of us within the frame.

The lighting in this clip could almost be described as an extreme style of ‘split lighting’. Where you split the face into two equal halves, with one side being in light and the other in shadow. Often split lighting would be done with a less bright fill, adding some light to the shadowed side of the face, but since we were one light down we had to make do. I think it looks pretty cool, because it’s super dramatic. However, you’d be limited with the number of practical ways that you could utilise it.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

Blog Post: Week 7

Blog Post for Week 7

This week in class we attempted to get more comfortable with focus pulling. First off we got into small groups then we took our camera’s out and found a spot to shoot.  We then applied a piece of tape to the side of the focus ring and began to mark the tape with specific focus lengths, depending on where our actors were standing. I thought i’d look further into focus pulling so decided to analyse the use of it within a film. Below is a clip from The Young Victoria (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2009).

Within a four and  a half minute segment this film utilises numerous focus pulls.

 

Focus Pull #1 – 0:01

The first focus pull is used to exaggerate the number of glasses on the table, which is also seeks to exaggerate, the opulence of this party and the wealth of it’s attendees. The focus pull is quite beautiful, first we see the first glass in focus, then it switches to the second, skips a glass, switches to the third, then skips through a bunch more hitting specific glasses as me move through the entire row.

Focus Pull #2 – 0:11

The second focus pull switches between capturing an item of food on the table, to switching focus to the host of the party: King William. Directing the viewers attention to who William is looking at. Indeed it is a concerned face, as he stares at his niece (Queen Victoria) as she looks as astutely back at him.

Focus Pull #3 – 0:26

The third focus pull allows us to detect which person Lord Melbourne looks at, as he speaks to Victoria, also informing us also as to who he is speaking about.

Focus Pull #4 – 01:25

The fourth focus pull, pulls us away from Lord Melbourne and Victoria’s conversation, to the other side of the table where the Duchess of Sutherland and the Duke of Wellington begin to gossip about them.

Focus Pull #5 – 02:04

The fifth focus pull is used to intensify the King William’s feelings on confusion as he looks around the room, focusing on the orchestra in the back and then switching to a bright candelabra over head.

Focus Pull #6 – 2:13

The sixth focus pull allows us to see who King William is signalling at to turn off the music. This constant use of focus pulls to change focus on specific characters makes the audience feel as if there attention is constantly being darted around this room. Create an overall sense of complexity to the interactions and goings on of tonights event and simultaneously Victorian Society in the 1800’s.

Focus Pull #7 – 3:48

The seventh focus pull once again switches between two characters: Victoria and Queen Adelaide, tracking alongside King William’s conversation. We first focus on the woman who he is talking about and then switch focus to his wife, as she attempts to stop him from speaking, as he is beginning to embarrass himself.

Focus Pull #8 – 4:15

This focus pull almost brings us back full circle as we switch from attendees of the dinner, to the Duchess of Sutherland and the Duke of Wellington as they once again gossip about what is going on.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

Blog Post: Week 6

Blog Post for Week 6

This week during class we were asked to compile a series of images that inspire us. I decided to make it more specific by picking a bunch of images that inspired me specifically for the shoot we have coming up.

For our upcoming shoot the main themes are:

  • Shooting at Night
  • Suburbia
  • Australiana
  • Vintage Vibes (More specifically 70’s Australia)
  • Surrealism

The images below are shots that relate specifically to our themes and could be used as inspiration or guiding material as to how to include or utilise these various themes within our own shoot.

 

Angel Olsen – Shut Up & Kiss Me (Music Video)

This image of Angel Olsen ticks all of our theme boxes.

Shot at night – check. This shot seems to utilise some kind of large white light, plus the locations streetlights to create a blanketing of white light over the whole scene.

Suburbia – check. There’s something about blanket white lights that just scream suburbia, maybe its their association with Coles and 7-Eleven.

Australiana – not a specific check, but it does feature the Americanised version of this – Americana. The oak trees, the wide roads, the 80’s Merc, the large blocks.

Vintage vibes – check. Old school car, sparkly wig, 3/4 flares.

Surrealism – somewhat check. Music videos always seem to feel somewhat surreal. I guess thats because the rules of that world are often quite different to the ‘real world’. The obscureness of this shot, lends itself to ideas of surrealism. Her sitting on that car, the random truck behind, the sparkly wig. The logic isn’t directly obvious.

 

Arcade Fire – Sprawl II (Music Video)

Shot at night – Check. This shot also utilises blanket white lights to caste a bright white light over the whole scene, as well as utilising the tennis courts spotlights.

Suburbia – check. Nothing more suburban and family orientated than a tennis court, field and a bike.

Australiana – check. This is an American video clip, but tennis courts can read as being super Australian, as sport is a massive part of our identity and youth culture.

Vintage vibes – somewhat check. Tennis courts and sports in general are often seen and pitched as being vintage. I think it’s that association with a time gone by, youth and nostalgia.

Surrealism – check. Pink avant grade dress, random dancing in the rain. Like Wuthering Heights but the more modern, depressed version.

 

Julia Jacklin – Leadlight (Music Video)

Shot at night – nope.

Suburbia – big check. Nothing more suburban than a local high school that exists purely in shades of vintage brown.

Australiana – big check. Julia Jacklin is quite literally the queen of Aus-core and all of her videos revolve around exploring a uniquely Australian aesthetic.

Vintage vibes – big check. I assume this local high school has barely changed since it was built in the 60’s. It’s quite reminiscent of the place we’ll be shooting: The Thornbury Bowls Club.

Surrealism – somewhat check. Julia Jacklin’s videos often featuring her dancing through nostalgia places, like she’s walking through a dream, or exploring a memory. That in itself feels surreal, or at least toys with some surrealist notions.

 

Julia Jacklin – Pool Party (Music Video)

Shot at night – nope.

Suburbia – mos def. Julia Jacklin grew up in the Blue Mountains and she seems to shoot all of her videos there. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was her own house, or the house of a relative. This house screams 1970’s Australian suburbia.

Australiana – big check. Definitely, see above.

Vintage vibes – big check. Definitely, see above. Plus, she’s wearing a plaid skirt and calf length white socks!

Surrealism – Somewhat check. See above.

 

Lorde – Green Light (Music Video)

Shot at night – Yup. Though it’s not evident in this shot, this music video was shot at night and makes great use of the gilded city streets and neon lights that appear post 6pm. I love the lighting setup of this shot. The front room lit with a green light, like a fluorescent bulb but to the extreme. And the back lit with some kind of blue light. These two colours bounce off of each other and Lorde’s pink dress, to create an interesting interplay of colour.

Suburbia – this is most definitely urban, it’s shot in Los Angeles to be exact. Even though this music video has an urban setting I do feel that the way that it explores the setting is very similar to the other videos. You have this character walking around somewhat lonely streets bathed in light. Inciting feels of nostalgia, exploring themes of youth and the effect of space on actions.

Australiana – nope. Though that dude in the background does look pretty janky.

Vintage vibes – nope. This video feels more timeless than vintage, like a clip that could be from the 70’s or from the 2010’s.

Surrealism – not really. This video feels more real than some of the others. There’s something about a large city that lends itself to feeling more real than the suburbs. Like the suburbs could be a dream or a delusion, but a city is large and bustling and linked in to everything else that it must represent reality.

 

Lorn – Acid Rain (Music Video)

Shot at night – yup. This shot, similar to the one above, features a girl dancing around at night, bathed in neon lights, streetlights and headlights.

Suburbia – yes? Some kind of 50’s America kind of suburbia, where cheerleaders would be hanging out at the local diner.

Australiana – not at all.

Vintage vibes – Yes. That 50’s diner and cheerleader outfit says it all. This clip is certainly playing with nostalgia as well as old school archetypes.

Surrealism – Yes. I’m pretty sure the premise of this film clip is that this cheerleader crashed into that pole and is imagining this entire scene while she sits unconscious inside the crashed car. The whole film clip feels like Michael Jackson’s – Thriller, but reimagined with a female lead and a 50’s time stamp.

 

Sticky Fingers – Gold SNAFU (Music Video)

Shot at night – hell no. Shot during the afternoon with no UV filter and totally blown out images.

Suburbia – The Sydney version of it.

Australiana – Yup. Who else has an influx of these 70s’ 80s’? 90s’? concrete box structures, that we decide to use as shops.

Vintage vibes – For sure. The whole video has a 70s’ vibe to it. With characters wearing matching caramel two piece suits and silver aviator reading glasses.

Surrealism – Nope.

 

Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better (Music Video)

Shot at night – nope.

Suburbia – potentially? There’s something about high schools that always feel suburban. Unless we’re talking about one of those New York City high schools…

Australiana – nope.

Vintage vibes – Yup. Cheerleaders in colourful outfits always feels a little vintage.

Surrealism – Yes. This shot is not surrealist at all, but later there are shots of giant monkey hands reaching down and scooping people up, which is pretty trippy.

 

The Knife – Pass This On (Music Video)

Shot at night – Yes.

Suburbia – Some kind of strange European version of it.

Australiana – Nope. But those wood panels wouldn’t look out of place at a 70s’ RSL.

Vintage vibes – Somewhat. This clip feels like it’s been set in the modern day, but is happening in a space that is vintage.

Surrealism – Somewhat. This singer trips me out, she feels like she’s somewhat metaphysical.

 

Yall – Hundred Miles (Music Video)

Shot at night – Yes. And they make masterful use of this rooftop basketball court, with the dilapidated buildings in the background.

Suburbia – Yes, but he Barcelionian version of it.

Australiana – Nope.

Vintage vibes – not really. But these girls do feel a little ‘Virgin Suicides’ with their long hair and matching tennis outfits.

Surrealism – not really. Why does people dancing always feel a little surreal though? Is everyday life that restrictive.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

Blog Post: Week 5

Blog Post for Week 5

This week we completed a lighting exercise where we had to make use of lighting present within the natural environment. Soon we’ll begin shooting our own projects, so i’m keen to investigate lighting further in preparation for that. Thats why i’ve decided to search through Film-grab.com to find some lighting setups that I really like, and perhaps take inspiration from.

 

The Sorcerers (Michael Reeves, 1967): 

In this shot it looks like they’ve used a three point lighting setup to light this character, utilising three differently coloured spots. The backlight looks like a deep red colour, whilst the fill is a green colour and the key light is a deep magenta. The use of these three lights adds a great amount of depth to the characters face, whilst accentuating her wrinkles and eye bags with their strikingly hard light. The three colours however obvious they seem upon initial viewing, meld seamlessly into normality after a good few seconds spent staring at this image. This woman strikes me as an interesting mix of frightening, curiosity inducing and mournful. Overall it’s a really interesting lighting setup that i’d be keen to imitate one day.

 

Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell, 2012):

This lighting setup seems relatively simple but who knows? It seems like they’ve used a large soft white light to light the room and used a white spot with barn doors to create a directional light that hits Jennifer Lawrence directly, highlighting her in this relatively flat image and scene. The flatness of this scene is the most impactful thing about it. I’m sure they could have used multiple lighting setups to light the staircase, room and doorway to add more dimension and interest. But the flatness works well to dull the room and add weight to how Lawrence’s character is feeling in this drab environment.

 

Prison (Ingmar Bergman, 1949):

The soft focus on this characters face is interrupted by the clarity of her eyes also highlighted by a directional spotlight. Nowadays such an obvious effect may be considered gaudy but it’s highly effective. The spot does well to direct the viewers eye to look directly into that of the characters and to distort the rest of her face into a shadowy mass. In this scene we get a sense of the characters soul, hidden behind the eyes, disconnected from the physical body as we stare into her depths. I’d love to sneak this into a shot and hopefully get away with it.

 

Love (William Eubank, 2011):

Supposedly Stanley Kubrick paved the way for ‘Practical Lighting’, which is the utilisation of lighting visible within the frame to light the scene. William Eubank makes great use of practical lighting in this shot, casting a soft glow over the entire room. Presumably there is another, or perhaps multiple soft lights that are also helping to light the characters face. I also really love the green caste over the entire frame, but presumably this was an effect done in post. I must experiment with this.

 

Paul (Greg Mottola, 2011):

Lawrence Sher also makes great use of practical lighting in this scene; to caste an ominous glow around his two lead characters. The daggy headlights are great also, I just wish this shot was framed differently. Stacking them right in front of the truck (or whatever it is behind them) makes the image look messy, especially with so much blank space on the left hand side of the screen. Maybe if the truck had been more to the right hand side of the frame, leaving  a smaller amount of ‘talking space’ on the left hand side of the frame. These characters are also lit front on by some kind of soft light.

Chloe (Atom Egoyan, 2009):

I’m a big fan of mirrors in film and this shot utilises this antique mirror well. We get a dirty over the shoulder shot of Chloe as she looks at herself. Her face lit on the right hand side by a soft white light, exposing half her face and leaving the left hand side in shadow. Cleverly the de-silvered parts of the mirror also caste various black shadows over Chloe and the frame itself. Chloe is also backlit by a soft light, allowing the back of her head to still look bright and blonde within the left hand side of the frame. The bokeh lights in the background adds dimension and intrigue to this shot. I looked up the cinematographer and of course it’s Paul Sarossy ‘Canada’s most prolific and awarded cinematographer’.

 

New Nightmare (Wes Craven, 1994):

Mark Irwin makes great use of a hard white light to turn Freddy Krueger into a black silhouette. Utilising that hard light he creates ominous black shadows streaking out from each of his fingers, reminiscent of the blades he has on his left hand. There are also some practical lights viewable in the frame lighting the crowd of people. Assumedly they were also lit with a seperate light.

 

Closer (Mike Nichols, 2004):

This scene is visually one of my favourite in all of cinema history, is that bad? I dunno. Many others love this shot also, as i’ve seen it recreated by multiple artists. The lighting setup seems relatively simple. Natalie Portman is lit via a simple three-point lighting setup. With a white light for the back and fill light and the key light is pink. Clive Owen seems to be getting some of the spill from Natalie’s pink key light, then his back is also sit with another white light. Then the wall behind them is also separately lit.

 

Deep End (Jerzy Skolimowski, 1970):

Relatively simply lit, using a soft white light to illuminate the right hand side of the characters face and the window in front it. The soft lighting makes this shot and the character look somewhat dreamy. Though I mist admit that I’m more into this shot because of it’s composition than the use of lighting. Having those bright red and green buttons, out of focus, on the right hand side of the frame add interest and intrigue to this shot.

 

A Nightmare on Elm Street 4- The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988):

Another great use of three-point lighting and coloured gels. This character is front lit with a green-ish light, the key light is purple and she is backlight/almost side lit by a pink light. The neon colours add dimension to the image and make it a lot more visually interesting. Horrors are a great genre to push the use of coloured lights, as it seems to fit in with that ‘world’ easily. And adds to the sickening but enjoyable vibe of the overall film.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

Scene Analysis. Donnie Darko.

 

The scene I chose to analyse is the ‘head over heels scene’ from Donnie Darko (Richard Kelly, 2001). I chose to just analyse the first 1 minute and 4 seconds of this scene, as the entire scene is far too long to analyse in under 1000 words.

This scene is accompanied by the classic ‘Head Over Heels’ song by the 80’s British New Wave band Tears for Fears. This song is both era appropriate, as the film is set in 1988 and metaphorically appropriate, as the scene begins ‘head over heels’ with the camera titled on it’s right hand side, showing the back of an American school bus.

The first character we are introduced to in this scene is Donnie Darko, who is the main protagonist of the entire film. The viewer watches Donnie Darko open the school bus door, and step down, out of the bus. As soon as Donnie puts his feet on the ground the camera begins to swing ‘right side up’, tilting the frame to the left. As the frame swings right side up it also pulls back, tracking to the left, introducing the viewer to the shots location – Donnie’s high school. This shot then cut’s to the next shot whilst the camera is still tracking to the left, allowing for the sense of momentum from the this shot to transfer to the following one.

The following shot shows Donnie opening the school door (from the inside of the building) and walking inside the building. Originally this shot stands still watching Donnie objectively come through the door, but as Donnie moves inside the camera picks up his character and follows him through the school’s corridor.

As we follow Donnie walking down the corridor we are introduced to his two closest friends who are in the same shot, walking closely behind him. For the entirety of this shot Donnie’s eyes have remained looking at the ground. As soon as Donnie’s eyes raise to look down the corridor, the camera then swings around to reveal to the viewer what Donnie sees – ‘the bad guy’, the film’s key antagonist – walking towards him. Now instead of watching Donnie front on as he moves through the corridor, we are watching the antagonist front on as he walks towards Donnie, pulling a face at him.

The camera now stays with this character as he walks down the hallway, suddenly swinging around again, once he locks eyes with another key character – Kitty Farmer, the main disciplinarian of the school students. The camera rests on Kitty for awhile, then spins around to the right to follow Kitty as she walks down the hallway. As Kitty walks past Gretchen Ross – Donnie’s main love interest, the camera spins to the right to rest on Gretchen as she looks at herself in the mirror. The camera then does an entire 360 degree spin to follow Gretchen as she turns from her locker, to walk back down the hallway.

We follow Gretchen down the hallway until she looks at the bad guy (from earlier) as he now sniffs drugs with one of his mates – another antagonist within the film. The camera then rests on the two ‘bad guys’ until it moves to the right – over their shoulders – to catch the Principal as he walks through the hallway locking eyes on the two ‘bad guys’ doing cocaine. We see his non-plussed reaction, then the camera follows him as he walks down the hallway out back door at the end of the hallway.

Not only is this scene an amazing technical and visual feast, but it also introduces the key characters of the film, suggests their upcoming role in the film and establishes their relationships to each other.

 

Character Introduction in Order of Appearance

First set of Characters Introduced

Character: Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal)
Character Actions: Walks ahead of two friends, keeps head bowed
Character Insights: Independent. Shy. In his own world.
Character Archetype: Main Character/Protagonist

Character: Ronald Fisher (Stuart Stone)
Character Actions: Pat’s Sean on back and jovially chats to him.
Character Insights: More outgoing of the two sidekicks. The two sidekicks have a seperate relationship, to the one they have with Donnie.
Character Archetype: Best Friends of the Main Character/Sidekick

Character: Sean Smith (Gary Lundy)
Character Actions: Patted on back, chats to Ronald.
Character Insights: Less outgoing of the two sidekicks. The two sidekicks have a seperate relationship, to the one they have with Donnie.
Character Archetype: Best Friends of the Main Character/Sidekick

 

Fourth Character Introduced

Character Introduced: Seth Devlin (Alex Greenwald)
Character Actions: Strides down hallway, snarls at Donnie, pushes between Donnie’s two friends, pulls a face at Kitty Farmer.
Character Insights: Aggressive. Has a problem with Donnie. Has a problem with teachers.
Character Archetype: School Bully/Antagonist

 

Fifth Character Introduced

Character Introduced: Kitty Farmer (Beth Grant)
Character Actions: Pulls unimpressed face at Seth. Eyeballs him sternly as he walks off.
Character Props: ‘Attitudinal Beliefs’ book. A self help book that will later appear in the film.
Character Insights: Strict. Uptight. Gullible.
Character Archetype: Uptight Teacher/Main Disciplinarian

 

Sixth Character Introduced

Character Introduced: Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone)
Character Actions: Checks self in mirror & fixes hair. Looks disapprovingly at Seth and Ricky as they sniff drugs.
Character Insights: Insecure. ‘Good girl’.
Character Archetype: Good Girl/Main Love Interest

 

Fourth Character Reappears & Seventh Character Introduced

Character That Reappears: Seth Devlin (Alex Greenwald)
Character Actions: Openly sniffs drugs given to him by Ricky.
Character Insights: Audacious. Drug User. Rebellious.
Character Archetype: School Bully/Antagonist

Character Introduced: Ricky Danforth (Seth Rogan)
Character Actions: Openly gives Seth drugs, which he sniffs.
Character Insights: Drug user or drug dealer. Rebellious. Ricky’s henchman/sidekick.
Character Archetype: School Bully’s/Antagonist’s Henchman/Sidekick

 

Eighth Character Introduced

Character Introduced: Principal Cole (Seth Rogan)
Character Actions: Uninterestedly looks at Seth & Ricky whilst they sniff drugs. Walks outside.
Character Insights: Weak. Passive.
Character Archetype: Passive Principal

 

Character Relationships as Constructed in this Scene:

 

School Bus       >      Donnie Darko      >       Seth Devlin      >       Kitty Farmer
>       Ronald Fisher
>        Sean Smith

 

Gretchen Ross       >        Seth Devlin         >         Principal Cole
>      Ricky Danforth

* Character relationships are constructed via character interaction or eye contact with each other.

 

Explanation of Relationships:

  1. The school bus has a relationship with Donnie, Ronald and Sean.
  2. Donnie, Ronald and Sean have a relationship with each other.
  3. Ronald and Sean have their own seperate relationship.
  4. Donnie has a relationship with Seth.
  5. Seth has a relationship with Kitty.
  6. Kitty has no relationship with Gretchen, as she doesn’t acknowledge her but rather simply walks past her.
  7. Gretchen has a relationship with Seth & Ricky.
  8. Seth and Ricky have a relationship.
  9. Seth and Ricky have a relationship with Principal Cole.

* It also understated that Donnie has a relationship with every character presented in this scene.

 

This scene is quite remarkable in terms of how much it achieves within a sequence that is essentially only 60 seconds long. Within 60 seconds eight different characters are introduced and distinctly established and at least nine different character relationships are suggested. Not to mention the numerous camera movements utilised and the various ways in which future events are foreshadowed throughout this scene. I loved this scene from the first moment I saw it and I love it even more now after analysing it. I’m not sure if I could ever create a scene like this myself, but it’s a marvellous feat of filmmaking.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

Making The Bed. Exercise.

This video embedded above was made for week two’s homework assignment, which simply required us to make a video of us ‘making the bed’. This was one of those tasks that was easier said than done, I had no idea how to film myself making the bed. The video begins with my lamp randomly switching on – ingenious idea by my partner, pretty tacky, am I right? But it made for a mildly amusing intro and outro shot, so I was like ‘hey, what the hell’.

Throughout this video the camera constantly changes perspectives, jumping back and forth from me, to the bed, me, to the bed. The idea of perspective – what it means, how it should be used, how it can be used seamlessly – is all uncharted territory for me. From the time I began filming this video I was contemplating: what perspective should each shot be? and why should it change?. Ultimately I just ended up changing perspectives/shots based on what was the most visually interesting, but i’m not sure if thats how it should be done and i’m not sure if it really works. I definitely noticed, when I watched my video back, that the shot changes were really obvious, they didn’t flow together seamlessly . I think this is a combination of two things: 1 – the changing of shots/perspectives is unmotivated and 2 – the angle of the shot change is either too minute, or too extreme to allow it to feel natural.

How can I master this? you ask. Practice? Ask Paul? Watch more Antonioni? – These are on my to do list.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

 

Action! Exercise.

The video embedded above was made for week one’s homework assignment, which simply required us to make a 30 second video of ourselves completing an action. I decided to shoot my everyday ‘makeup routine’, but as you can see from the video below I barely made a dent in that endeavour. It’s seems obvious to me now, but at the time I didn’t realise that shooting a 10 minute process for a 30 second video would indeed be overkill. Only once I sat down to edit did I realise “oh _____, I’ve got waaaaay too much footage” – this was Lesson No.1, don’t overshoot things. It’s much better to shoot only what you need rather than waste time overshooting scenes, as this leaves you with much more footage than you ever required.

The original concept of this video was to focus on my hands as I completed my routine. Drawing attention to the way in which the hands move and behave as they complete various actions. I wanted the video to be less about the makeup, or the end goal (looking ‘better’), and be more about the arbitrary tasks we make our hands do, and how they do it ever so well. I don’t think I adequately achieved this as there are various elements that come into focus other than my hands (such as my face) which detract from that narrative. The video is also quite short which limited my ability to hammer the point home. I think this lack of narrative clarity, was a result of inadequate planning –  which was Lesson No.2. If you haven’t sat down to plan exactly what it is you want to achieve and exactly how you will go about it, your final product will end up being a bit of a mess.

Overall, Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 are related to each other. If you don’t go through adequate pre-production, such as clearly outlining your concept, or storyboarding each shot, you ultimately end up with a muddied concept and shots that aren’t that great. If you want your final product to be ‘pro’, you’ve got to put in the ‘pre-pro’, you know?

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

 

Think Outside The Box, Whilst Inside The Box (Studio)

Think outside the box, whilst inside the box (studio): 

As this studio is about working with constraints, I thought i’d google ‘constraints in filmmaking’ and see what comes up. One of the first links was to a journal article by Heidi Philipsen entitled ‘Constraints in Film Making Processes Offer an Exercise to the Imagination’. Interestingly enough the first sentence of her article states: “I would like filmmakers interested in thinking “outside the box” to recognize that they can benefit from being placed “inside a box.” I wonder if Paul had contemplated this whilst choosing the name for this studio.

Throughout her article Philipsen challenges the notion that creativity is an intangible innate quality, existing within the mind of one source, but rather creativity arises from a multitude of sources. Alike all things shared she suggests that creativity is easier to enhance by changing environmental conditions, rather than encouraging people to ‘think more creatively’. Perceiving creativity in this way allows you to see it as an organisationally influenced phenomenon, rather than a psychological  and individual phenomenon. Which enables you to have more control over creativity and to encourage creativity once being aware of how it can be environmentally enhanced. As Csikzentmihalyi (1996) states “a genuinely creative accomplishment is almost never the result of a sudden insight, a lightbulb flashing on in the dark, but comes after years of hard work”.

Constraints, as Philipsen suggests is one such way to manipulate the environment to enhance creativity. Students who attended The Film School in Denmark, who were forced into working with constraints for their  projects eventually considered constraints to be both useful and inspirational. Such constraints included: making a scene with a specific theme, within a specific deadline and with other specific conditions concerning the use of camera, sound, actors etc. Students stated that these constraints ultimately made them feel secure, inspired and focused and encouraged them to become more experimental as each student wanted to make their own ‘personal film’ and not the same kind of film as each of the other students. As many students stated it would have been much more difficult to make a film WITHOUT constraints than with. For it would have increased both the overwhelming options and the associated anxiety.

I for one, would have to agree. Within my second homework task one of the constraints was ‘no camera movement’. This singular constraint meant I could spend a lot more time thinking about shot construction, rather than whether I would move the camera, and if so how and why it would be done. Ultimately I ended up experimenting more with where to place the camera, e.g. placing the camera on a bed and billowing a sheet over it, or placing the camera under a pillow and have it witness the pillow land directly on it. These kind of shots allow the audience to feel physically close to the actions they are witnessing, and to feel as if they are experiencing it first hand.

 

Until next time,

Louise Alice Wilson

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