Please write constructive comments/reviews of the films you saw. It can be just those you loved the most or intrigued you the most.

Budgerigar

It was clear that every detail was technically and creatively thought out in Budgerigar, from the crisp focus of the images to the lighting. The settings were aesthetically pleasing, the dining room sequence playing out in front of the artistic mountain looking background – I mean who even has a dining room like that. The acting by both the main boys was perfect, with the brother capturing his annoyingness perfectly. Directing the choice of shots was made well with such shots as the close up of the brother eating the chicken wing eliciting the exact grossness required from the audience. The juxtaposition of lighting from the real well lit dining room of reality, to the darkly lit table of the main character’s thoughts was achieved really well.

My only criticism would be to make the title a bit more understandable for the audience, the first time I watched the film I thought what does that mean, and the director explained to me it was to do with how budgies are obsessed with their reflection, like the main character. For example, there’s a moment where the main character is in the midst of confusion outside and perhaps there could have a budgie outside, and a shot of it in its cage looking in the mirror. However I’m sure if the audience is intrigued enough they will go search it themselves and work out the link, and that’s probably better as you’ve given them stimulus to think about your film after they’ve left the theater.

MILK

Loved Milk. The whole concept was brilliant and the point is it’s not a complex story it’s just a guy that has to get to the Milk bar before it closes. Therefore what the story is driven on is character, and the group did a great job in casting to get a main character with his every move having the potential to be comedic. The film was full of little creative choices that added to the finished product, like the change of screen to have black blocking similar to an action film when the main guy is given the ultimatum of the shop closing and the chase down the alley way on the scooter was genius. Because it’s not a long film the little moments have to have resonance, and they did, like when the main guy is on the scooter and the jogger passes him with the choice of music adding an overall pace and a playful quality to the film. The only constructive comment I can give is that perhaps the title credits were a couple of seconds too long, I understand the comedic reference being achieved but I remember looking away from the screen at something and then looking back and was like wow they’re still on.

Cursed

Really smart concept to have a guy who can only rap to talk. The rapping part kept authentic and had some really funny parts, and appropriated how different rap is to normal speech. I liked that the whole scene took place in the house environment which helped with the comedy of the piece, but felt it ended a bit awkwardly with the main character on the phone while he sat in the kitchen; perhaps he could have gone to check the mail box or something to get into a different space where he could have received the phone call.

THE HOLE

The beginning of the film in black and white created an art house aesthetic. The main character was great, and the costume of him in swim trunks on the beach was good comedy. The concept was awesome, and the ending was really well tied off with another hole being dug to capture another potential love interest.

Granny Theft Auto

Being in the same class as the Granny Theft Auto group I kind of watched the whole process of the production as it unfolded and have to say the whole film turned out great. The casting was perfect, with the Italian Nonna old enough to get confused by the cars, but also young enough to allow her to have this authority over the other characters and the screen. The three male actors articulated their rascal, ill-behaved boy characters greatly with a fair amount of language but also in the mannerisms they conducted themselves with. The comparison between cars scene juxtaposing the boys car to the Italian Nonna’s car was well done, and that pan from the boys car to the Nonna’s with the realisation of what’s happened was aided with the sticker with ‘I love Italy’ on the back. Sometimes the audio from characters gets a bit hard to hear with the surrounding noise taking prime, but this is a minute criticism that could be excused with, “its flour for the pasta!”

The Chase

Having seen the rough cut of The Chase, I couldn’t help but think of the alternative ending when viewing the film in the theater. In the rough cut ending we see the man approach the girl to give her the necklace she dropped before she started to be ‘chased’. The group had a big decision on whether to make the film end on the girl getting the necklace to realise it was a misunderstanding, or to finish in the crucial moment when the man spots her and leave the ending ambiguous. At the time I believed the ambiguous ending was the way to go, as the drama build up calls for something more than a misunderstanding, however watching the film in the theater I wonder whether having the ending of the shown film then showing the title and credits, and then the original ending of the man giving the girl the necklace would have been an option. That way the audience assumes the end of the film and has the credits to think about what happened, but the final scene shows how majority of the time fear is built up in our minds when there is in fact no danger. 

‘Sliced’

To re-work an addiction through the everyday and mundane product of bread was really smart, by doing this it allowed the audience’s pre-existing knowledge of that spongey white bread (I’m sure many of us remember squishing with our hands at school lunch) as an innocent ideal, to be contrasted in the hands of an obsessed main character. In doing this the group achieved an alternative approach to the well covered issue of addiction. The scene where the  main characters in the alleyway with his little glad bag of white bread was great, with the dark costume and lighting adding to the ideal he is doing something wrong. The scene where he goes to visit his mum was good to show his isolation in the midst of obsession, and how he was pushing the ones he loved away in the process, but I just found the shot a little awkward. Thought the scrunched up bread packet slowly unraveling at the end to metaphorically show the slow takeover of bread on the characters life was clever.

Coffee & Pi

Really cute film that achieved it’s aesthetic through little mathematical comments on screen and music that mimics the steps and pacing of solving a maths equation. The moment where the main character flies the paper airplane towards the table for the male waiter to pick it up was great, adding some good comedic breadth in the midst of the main character’s confusion of the maths equation and plight for the girl. The end was kind of predictable, but that just could be because I’ve watched way too many relationship movies, but in saying that I don’t think another ending would have surpassed.

Shelter

One element that influences the reception context of a film is the audience that surrounds the individual, and this was a big impact for me in Shelter as I didn’t get why everyone was laughing when the guy had the gun until I realised it was a vacuum cleaner wand. The fact that people were laughing made me search for what they were laughing at in the film, and honestly I would not have noticed otherwise, but what it did do was make me appreciate the creativeness of the group. They also did a great job with confining the filming into that small room achieving a vast array of camera shots and angles in the process.

Most applications reserve keyboard shortcuts for the functions that are used most often. It is really good to learn all of these as it will speed up your editing and additionally alert you to functions that the software developers and other users find important. (You can learn much about the software by looking at keyboard shortcuts).

Find the keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Premiere and note two or more functions that you’ve never used before that may be invaluable to editing.

Above lists some of the shortcuts for functions used most often in Adobe Premiere. Aside form these one shortcut I found really useful was one Paul noted in the lecture of dragging sound under a different shot by holding down the option key making it an L cut. This will save my search for the ‘split audio from track’ or similar option that would most likely be hidden in some menu that is untraceable even with the aid of a help tool.

And secondly, though I already knew about using ‘i’ and ‘o’ to indicate the ‘in’ and ‘out’ for the clip I did’t realise it could be added to the sequence by simply pressing ‘,’ . The comma seems like an unusual choice of shortcut key so if I hand’t been enlightened at the lecture there is a high chance I never would have known about it and spent great amounts of time dragging from the clip to sequence and most likely accidentally clicking something along the way.

Shortcut screenshots sourced from http://helpx.adobe.com/en/premiere-pro/using/default-keyboard-shortcuts-cc.html

In this clip screened in the lecture from the Coen brothers ‘Blood Simple‘ describe what is happening in terms of the edits specifically in terms of the audio and video. Also name the different kinds of audio you can hear. 

The clip from the Coen Brother’s ‘Blood Simple’ was shown in the lecture to aid the idea that vision and sound do not necessarily have to be cut to what happens but to what continues the music and sound flow. When watching the clip you start to notice how the camera will cut away from the person talking and to the person listening, through this sound adds continuity and has the ability to convince the viewer they have seen the character’s mouths move. In the clip the vision and sound are no longer cut at the same point, this is something the lecture emphasised as editing vision is independent of sound and can be dragged under different shots.

In the clip you firstly hear the sound of the dead fish hitting the table with the base sound of crickets and cicadas which continue throughout the scene almost to form a constructed heartbeat. We then hear the lighter snapping shut and placed down on the table, the dialogue between characters then begins, the chair squeaks as the Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) sits down and the forklift can be heard moving around as background noise. The Private (M. Emmet Walsh) then hands him an envelope and we hear it opening and the paper on paper effect as a picture is slid out. We then hear the pencil slide the fish across the table and the heavy breathing and swallowing by Julian as he expresses his discomfort. Julian then stands and we hear his footsteps as walks to the bathroom, the door is pushed open and the distant sound of vomiting and the toilet flushing, footsteps and then tap opening and water rushing as he washes his hands is heard. We then focus back on the Private as he butts out his cigarette and then a fly sounds as it circles around his head. Then the clicking of the combination lock on the safe and the safe door opening, Julian then places down of stack of money on the table and the chair squeaks again as he sits. We hear him swallow as he drinks and the sound of glass being slammed down. The sliding paper as Julians foot pushes the paperwork and money across the table, as the Private reaches into his pocket we identify the clicking of revolver which he then uses to shoot Julian. The Private then places the gun on the ground and we hear it slide and hit nearby objects as he violently kicks it away. The money then rustles as the Private tries to shove it into his pockets, and the adjusting of clothing as he fixes his hat. His footsteps are then heard as he walks away and the door closes shut. The ceiling fan then increases volume as it transitions the next scene.

The best example from this clip to demonstrate the ideas raised in the lecture is the part where Julian is in the bathroom being sick while the Private waits in the adjoining room. It is not necessary for the audience to see Julian as sound demonstrates what’s happening in the bathroom – we hear him vomit, the toilet flushing and then the squeaking of the tap handles and gush of water – from this the audience can construct what is happening and put this into context for his return to the scene.

Consider Sandra’s lecture “Directing Actors” and describe at least a couple of points that you took away from it (even if you’re not the director).

Casting

Firstly, cast well, take your time and don’t say yes to the first person you remotely feel good about. Give them a scene to do and watch them act as dialogue often makes the best auditions as they allow you to hear them speak and think the thoughts of the character.

Rehearsal Period

Keep the rehearsal period brief and don’t get over entangled with all the other technical aspects of the film. Actors need to think about what’s on the page and you should influence them in a way that they think they think it – the way you talk to actors should make them think from the inside out. Ask them a lot of questions, for example what do you think the story is about?

If you don’t have a dialogue heavy script, use the camera and try to do the scene as it would be done on location. Dialogue gives actors movement and more action, so if you don’t have this you’re better off physically doing the scene and getting the aesthetic of how it would be shot.

Production Side

Find a way in which to cut scenes in order to decide what can go come 6pm at night and you run out of time, therefore have B-scenes. To have something opposed to nothing is really important.

If you’re shooting out of order, playback emotion for actors will keep continuity. Experienced actors will have their head around where they are emotionally in a scene, but it can help to constantly walk around with a script and note how an actor acted scenes before the scene you’re about to shoot, how did they exit that scene? Have those transitions in place to help you remember when shooting out of sequence. Two questions to ask yourself: A. What was the camera doing, how did we shoot the scene? and B. What emotion was the actor feeling?

Actors on set

The director shouldn’t talk extensively to actors on set, that should be done in rehearsal, on the day it’s about everything else. As a director the best way to interact with actors is with honesty. You need to be delicate and articulate things simply, for example ‘I just need you to be a little happier’ – it’s about saying the right words but not too many words. Actors sense when the director isn’t happy, most of the time it isn’t their fault but simply not as the director envisioned and it is you who will have to change the approach.

Costume/Production Design

It’s the little things that help the film look better. Put your effort into lighting the scene and identifying the elements that make it look aesthetically pleasing. If you have to merge scenes think about how to incorporate the essence of one scene into another.

Actor/Director and Director/Camera

Relationships are the most important on set. Even though the camera dominates the set the director needs to be able to split the focus, it helps if you get the actors to do work beforehand so your attention can be put towards other priorities on the day.

Blow Up is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.
In this scene note the choreography of the actors, camera, frame and focus. As covered in the lecture describe the things Antonioni would have have to consider when directing the actors and the camera.

In this scene from Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up we see actors navigate space to develop their relationship and the story. As there are lot of props and location obstacles in the scene, the director would have had to choreograph the actor’s to understand their screen direction.

For example, the ceiling beams that the actors have to duck under, the director chooses to leave the camera angle in the same spot while the actors are half cut off by the beam; capturing the pair in a sanctioned off space and creating an intimate moment.

The camera follows characters when they’re moving and frames them from different angles when stationary. In the shot where the two actors talk between the beam, we see the woman pace back and forth with the camera following her, zooming in as she hits the plastic wall. This develops anxiety and annoyance for the female character. 

Framing in the scene works to frame the characters separately and then together. An example is when the woman has just finished pacing and stands at the plastic screen, the man ducks under the beam and enters the space. It should be noted that whenever there is a shift of characters into space, majority of the time the man enters into the woman’s area, furthering his desire of her. In the final part of the scene the characters are framed separately as the man lights a cigarette and the woman sits not the couch, an expression of the different worlds they live.

Focus works on each actor at a particular time, however there are times where the woman is in focus as she’s closet to the camera and the man resides in the background. When directing the actors and the camera Antonioni would have considered depth of field as influenced by focus, as the actors are moving different distances away from the camera.

Select from one of the readings from week 5, 6 or 7 and describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

Week five’s reading contains extracts from Dušan Makavejev and Martin Scorsese on their unique filmmaking crafts and reasons behind some of their directorial decisions.

“It’s very important to realize that many people believe that the frame contains part of a larger reality. What is important to understand is that in movies there is nothing else – whatever is in the frame is all there is.”

– Dušan Makavejev, Page 114

In this quote Makavejev emphases the importance of the frame; he notes that what’s outside the frame is something we create by the frame – the image creates the fantasy about what is outside. Framing things in means drawing attention to, embracing, taking care, and incorporating something, but whatever you frame out means you’re depriving people of it. Scorsese also points out that what you put in the frame is a major decision, you can’t just put anything as this can make the audience expect something else to happen.

“Similarly, where I place the camera is very often determined by having to relay the right information…

It’s really a matter of the angle, even when you’re moving the camera. It’s important on the level of how much information, how much you want the audience to see, and somehow there’s an emotional thing too.”

– Martin Scorsese, Page 79 

Scorsese views the camera angle as imperative to conveying the right information to the viewer. The camera angle has the ability to decide what you want the audience to see, and importantly what you don’t want them to see. Below is a scene from Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980) which he identifies in the reading as being comprised of only straight cuts. He also says that he tries to keep a normal look in dramatic scenes; they have an effect where you place the camera, the lighting, the look of the film – it’s what’s on the table, in the foreground and background. In this scene we see the strategic placement of the camera to capture the rage of Jake as he uplifts the table to throw everything off it.

Reference

Oumano, E. Film Forum: thirty-five top filmmakers discuss their craft, (p. 78-80, 114-115). New York: St Martin’s Press, 1985.

Lecture 7 Lighting: What was covered? Do you think the content is relevant to your project? And why?

Week seven’s lecture covered the importance of lighting as a reason for the exposure we need for the project, continuity over the whole scene, spatial continuity to make shots match and to providing perspective to control the image in order to superimpose aesthetics. One of the main points the lecture outlined was that lighting is all about decisions and this helps when you know your location and medium.

This knowledge was extremely useful for our projects as it will help us not only light scenes properly, but take advantage of light when we have it and create the proper aesthetic when we don’t; therefore helping create lighting continuity across scenes and plan shooting. Knowing the transiting of the sun will also allow us to plan for the sun to rise in the east and set in the west, therefore adjusting our shots for continuity. In order to be ready for shoot day we should think about the placement of the camera in relation to lighting, manipulate the sequence where you shoot the shots and shoot tests to see how our medium handles situations and responds.