Daily Archives: April 18, 2016

PB3- First shoot

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I had some set questions for Charlotte like:

“what was your biggest challenge?”

“how would you describe yourself?”

“how have your parents affected your life”

But we ended up have a deeper conversation about her life which sent the interview in a different direction. Initially I chose Charlotte because she is can talk naturally while on film and has good camera presence. I felt like I should have been more prepared to ask questions that guided her answers a bit more. I wanted to get a really brief sweep over who she is, like a profile, so I thought of some word association questions. This why I could get an idea of her psyche without delving too deep while she was just warming up to me.

After going through the footage I’ve realised that i should have kept the questions short and the clips short so its easier to edit. Right now I have an endless pile of long clips that I am excited to go through

On “set” which was her room I quickly noticed the amazing bright bursts of orange everwhere, “how good is this mise on scene” I said, trying to impress her with my film jargon. It looks like orange is going to be the theme of the the film. I chose a day when I knew it would be quite sunny to achieve a nice warm glow. Before shooting I had visited her to scope out the area and decided that her room was ideal as it has a huge window that takes up a wall. Conveniently for me, Charlotte has it decorated with flags that diffuse the light and create a soft glow.

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I found it a lot easier to time the microphone camera and asking a question this time around after the interviewing workshop exercise. Although I did have to tell Charlotte to press record on the mic so that it could sit close to her while I filmed a bit further away. I used a monopod of today’s shoot because:

  1. It’s easier to carry.
  2. I was able to get smoother panning (sort of) shots
  3. It could fit in many places in her room so I could get great angles by awkwardly crouching in the corners between furniture. How professional.

Although I am quite biased as I just want to convince myself that my sad one third of a tripod is useful.

 

 

Sound Exercise

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In pairs we imagined the kinds of sounds would fill an explosive street scene like this.

Figure: screaming, grunting, scuffing metal clashes

ground: crackling of flames, screaming, running, glass shattering, bursts of flame

field: distant panicked voices, sirens, mummering, car breaks,

 

I think it is important to remember that visuals can conjure up sound just like sound can evoke memories and images. In film, when we take away sound it forces us to come up with our own mental soundtrack and that can be very powerful when it used used in film. For example in a war scene when a soldier becomes shellshocked, all we hear is ringing and we fill in our own sounds with the knowledge of what a battle field sounds like.

Wk 7 Lectorial

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Exploring non-narrative has been confusing to me and I am curious to see and make film that follows this style. I still have questions about it like:

How can meaning be conveyed without story?

How do I invest myself in a film without a character, or even sequence of cause and effect?

My favourite film out of the ones we saw was Gap-toothed women (1987).  Gap-teeth have always fascinated me because they are a minor detail yet distinct feature. One of my friends had been gap toothed her whole life, then one day she just became fond of her own flaw; I think it had something to do with the “London-look ads” ahh the power of advertising! I feel a little envious and I don’t even know why.

london book

My eyes were always drawn to the gap instantly after the repetition of similar shapes. Graphic matching was particularly effective in portraying the diversity of women with a similar trait. I had a good laugh at the anecdote about the lady who left unique bite marks on all her snacks.

 

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Frederick Wiseman’s “fly on the wall” approach to capturing human conflict was quite disturbing to me. The lack of cut aways and hand-held following of the camera made me feel like I was trapped in the scene of a woman being choked and all I could do was watch. In comparison to newer hollywood cinema with sharp editing, the lack of interruptions seemed odd and forced me to think about what was happening, rather than relying on direction from structure.

I was interested in his “stick it to the man” attitude to institutions so I went off and watched the clip from Highschool (1968).

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“Hey, you listen, you better come in a gym outfit”

I could feel the tenseness in the room with this scene which felt more like a police interrogation rather than a teacher nagging a kid for the right uniform. I’m glad I didn’t go to school in the 60’s. Wiseman’s erratic use of zooms emphasised the teacher’s growing anger and framed him as the unreasonable one. It’s interesting how he manages to stay in the background while getting into the action, but of course the subjects are aware of the presence of the camera.

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In a more modern context this approach reminds me of trashy reality shows like 16 and Pregnant, Keeping up with the Kardishians and Here come the Habibs. The camera follows in the background as the contestants argue and entertain us and we all seem to forget that they know we are watching.