– For me the substantial blog post would work best if i wrote out all the things I learned and developed over the semester as a sort of final method of working.

– I will probably include videos (or screenshots) that I analysed as well as my final piece to help reflect upon my semester.

I actually started filming my final scene investigation without thinking about writing up any of my thought processes setting up etc.

My first shoot was down near the beach and I had to organise with my friend to go down with him to his beach house with the other actor. I had to work around them as they had other commitments and work.

I wrote a list down of all the equipment i needed for the weekend and used the general outline of my film idea for costumes, props etc. Even if I wasn’t really planning on using them, they always could have been a source of inspiration or serendipitous.

The script was just there and i showed it to the actors however let them know that their input would be valid I encouraged it. Alot however had been planned to be thought of on the day due to the size of the room restrictions and weather restrictions etc.

I’m not the biggest fan of analysis, as I usually take in a lot more of the scene as a visual understanding and find it hard to put all of it into words but I will write down for this particular piece what I feel and think and like.

Link

This scene has a combination of both steady shots and hand-held used in conjunction with each other. It connects quite seamlessly which is really nice, knowing that they work together without jarring the audience too much. I really like this scene as it is almost a sort of montage without building up or down to certain point in time. It, like most of the movie, is used to create a certain emotion. The soundtrack is the main emphasis in the scene, with sound bites from what you can see flowing in and out of the soundtrack, with others remaining quite silent. In particularly the scenes that have no subjects in them.

The steady-cam shots work awesome for the slow ‘motion in’ towards an object. The use of blank option juxtaposed with the characters makes you think about what it is trying to say. As a majority of the shots are from a low angle, I like to see it as the ‘first-time experiences’ that the young boy is having. The feel of the curtains, the reflection of the mirror and the textures of his surroundings. Even without the use of dialogue, the scene says a lot. All the shots look as though they are shot on a wide angle lens, which helps capture more of the environment and is quite standard for the cinematic experience.

There are quite a few medium close-ups where the camera is constantly moving, however slight it might be. This is cut with both close-up’s and other medium shots from other angles, The soundscape doesn’t drastically change with the cuts which maintains flow much like the shots. This has made me think more about the scene I want to film, maybe I won’t have any dialogue and just use camera movements and angles to tell the story.

Mood scene: I’m not sure how the dialogue works, but at least this gives the idea more structure.

For the rest of the semester I plan to undertake a few investigation for an idea of a scene that I have with the goal of achieving one final piece that I am happy with. I plan on keeping the script as basic as possible with only essential information relating to the scene in my head. Instead, providing the actors with mood pieces to read and reflect upon before acting hoping to provoke some sort of movement / improvisation / aesthetic for the piece. I will obviously provide them with something that will set a feel that I want to achieve, I got this idea after hearing that Mallick often provided his actors sometimes only with written pieces of information for them to read before a scene in order them to act a certain way. Which I like, as I think the spontaneity is something that I can work well with for a final edit. The scene I have devised helps to include all the technical and storyline aspects I want to address with my influences of Fincher and Mallick in mind. Here are three main points that I want to follow which will help me achieve a final piece –

– Use technical restraints formulated in order to create a final cohesive piece that looks consistent and that I am happy with.

– Undertake 1 or 2 practical tests in order to prepare for a final scene that will hopefully create an ending point.

– Rely heavily on spontaneity and serendipity for something that feels more natural

Today I just practiced some camera movements and colour corrections. I got a really good using a film LUT, changing exposures and a little of contrast! Ignore the Doo Wop classic, I didn’t really have any music or sound but it came our looking really nice. I used a aperture of 2.8 for the whole thing which helps as it has a consistently nice depth of field.

Link

I have come closer to deciding what I want to achieve and how I want to go about it. This might come out really weird and not thought into very much, which is kinda true but i just want to get the idea into writing. The idea of two people being in Limbo allows for some experimental elements, namely the supernatural floating part and a possible mini-montage. The scene will consist of two male characters in a plain room, there won’t be any introduction that they will be in limbo, one character will be quite stressed wanting really bad to leave, the other will be questioning / observing him. A simple dynamic that will hopefully allowing me to go nuts. I also want to include a Fincher element into it as well, possibly gore and blood, but i will have to wait and see. I practiced some camera movements today (Which I will upload on Friday) in my house and achieved a really nice correction using FCP Moving the Dark Exposure bar down and Light one slightly up. As well as using KDX as the final colour. Slight update of my thoughts and ramblings.

When I think back to the reason why I actually go to watch films, the reasoning behind my passion for the visual medium became clear. I always had a love for the visual spectacle of the films I went to. Notably the Harry Potter series, seeing something that you wouldn’t be able to experience in any other instance is something pretty special. The story is also important, and I like how directors like Malick use the visual experience as a tool for this.

• Pure Cinema – how camera and footage evoke emotion (not sure if that’s what pure cinema is? Double check that Tom)
• Want it to be influenced by others but have something new.  (Malick, Fincher)
• Filmed in one location over one day – Use friends as actors
• Need basic story with or without dialogue.
• Interested in the idea of having older sounding audio contrasted with newer footage.
• Small Production team

• Terrance Malick

Reasons why I chose these

• I want it to look good
• The reason why I go to films like them is for the cinematic experience.
• As I am only shooting  1 scene for this project I want to technically challenge myself, special effects etc.

• Terrance Malick uses landscape to define what are essentially philosophical and ethical issues and moves from tiny peripheral detail to epic perspective within a single shot” . (McCann 2007: 77).The spiritual and religious thematic in The Tree of Life.

• I’m not so much into philosophy however I like how he keeps a coherent style in the film, same with say Fincher and the Zodiac keeping the style consistent with the 50’s era. I would like pay homage to this somehow, whether I set my scene in a certain time period, or create a new one up etc.
• Im interested in the supernatural, which doesn’t have too much relation to the either Fincher or Malick. I do like their interest in the mental state of their characters which include supernatural elements. So this may form the basis of what I actually film.

• Technical Restraints
  • Consistent Aperture Exposure
  • Always work with back lights
  • Try only work with natural light (the exception being lights in rooms etc.)
  • Combination of steady, hand-held and tripod shots
  • iso below 400
  • Shutter speed double of FPS. — 24 fps = 50 —- 60 fps = 125

Epiphany

Just do everything heaps and you’ll have heaps to work with.

Reflection

This week we worked on a scene that was filmed on the staircase in building 5. It was a good experience to work with other groups and people and see how they work since discussing the working methods that we all now need to devise. It went well I was an actor so I didn’t have much input in the filming of it which i am fine with cause i know what it’s like to have 100 people telling you things while you are trying to workout a scene. I think technically we could have changed the exposure or iso so that it wasn’t so grainy but that’s only because i’m more of tech perfectionist. In terms of the shots, we were a bit restricted for space which we didn’t realise till we got the camera and tripod in the area. I think that definitely needs to be addressed for my personal project before I get into it on the day.