In this week, we have further learned how to apply the script to the actual film making. If a group of people are engaged in a passionate debate on the set, they are probably discussing screen direction. Although it is not a function of what camera you use, screen direction is a subject of daily concern. It seems that everyone wants to rewrite the rules of film. Actually, they aren’t really ruling of film, but the observed phenomena of human perception. Through the group discussion of excercise4, I found that we all have different perspectives for a script, for the stories and dialogues that haven’t formed into scenes yet, we have thousands way of expression, but we must choose to grasp the key points, highlight the priority of the characters in different situations. We shared our thoughts and image of each shot, and drew the floor plan to help understanding.

We have shared and communicated our work for excersice3 on class, I found this time shooting was quite easier than the first time. Before starting the work, I drew a floor plan for the scene, which gave me a probable image of the whole scene, and I ask for someone else to act this scene, therefore I can focus on shotting. Although, there are still huge room for improvement. For the environment choosing, I didn’t find a proporate place which strictly matches the environment in the script, so I tried to ignore some details or find some similar substitutes without affecting the plot. However, Robin mentioned me that the character in the last scene back to the place in the beginning looks inconsistent, and the backgrounder music that I chose is inappropriate will makes me pay more attention on the next shooting work. Continuity in filming is very important. I also try to use some shooting techniques to make the character story and the scene more closely related.

I missed a class in this week, Robin sent me a email summarized the class which helps me to catch up. According to Robin’s email, i get to know that this class was a practical exercise around deconstruction of a scene. After reading Timothy Barnard’s short book “Decoupage”, i learned that ‘decoupage’ is a word from french, it’s like ‘coverage’ in English. Decoupage was a relatively niche concept in France in the early days. At that time, there was a rich oral work culture surrounding movies, but it was not passed on to us in the text. At the basic level, decoupage is a sub-shot script or continuity. It is the final written and visualized text in the script creation process. The decoupage cuts the script in the form of narrative to create a detailed filming plan, including camera settings and actors, the scene and the lens change. Conceptually, “cutting” is performed during the shooting process. The editing process is called “montage” in French. literally, it is “collection”, “joining” or “sticking together”. Montage is a means to connect the split lens group. It can be seen from this that montage is a means of linking the shots taken by the camera in accordance with the logic of life, the author’s perspective and the aesthetic principles. Of course, film montage is mainly realized through the re-creation of directors, photographers and editors. Therefore, tailoring is different from editing (montage). Editing is the process of achieving tailoring. Paper cutting is a pre-plan or vision of the entire fragmentation or segmentation process (as Bunuel said). This is a conceptual process; a plan; a method. The actual process may be preserved, or it may be used as evidence in the notes (sketches, plot synopsis, shot list, floor plan) left behind, or our memories of actual cooperation with actors or photography departments or actors or working on-site.

Reference

Barnard, Tim 2014, Découpage, Caboose, Montréal.Section 1, pages 3 & 4. Section 2, pages 4 & 5. <https://primo-direct-apac.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=RMIT_ALMA11136955960001341&context=L&vid=RMITU&search_scope=Books_articles_and_more&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US>

In this week, we reviewed our work for exercise2. There are many immature aspects in my work in this shooting exercise. Because of the shortage of actors, I have to participate in the shooting process by myself, so I have no way to control the angle, movement and coverage of the camera. I fixed the camera with a tripod and chose a suitable angle to shoot the entire video. The biggest limitation of this approach is that there is only my face in the picture, and the other character always faces away from the camera. For the next shooting, I will shoot the scene in different ways to show the story completely. We watched some clips on class which express the use of different scene in filmmaking. The clip from ‘Night Train’ left me a deep impression. The scene is set in a narrow train carriage. The first shot is from outside the train window to a woman’s head sticking out of the window to blow a wind. The interesting thing is that when the woman returns to the carriage, her facing to the camera treats it as a mirror makes the lens language more interesting, and gives the audience a sense of immersion. This creative shooting technique leaves unlimited imagination space for the audience, and we can also apply it to actual shooting contact.

Weekly reflection

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/xinyuwu/2021/03/19/w1-reflection/

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/xinyuwu/2021/03/19/w2-reflction/

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/xinyuwu/2021/03/19/w3-reflection/

Description and Analysis of Film Scene

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/xinyuwu/2021/03/19/description-and-…is-of-film-scene/

The 180- degree rule is a critical concept in cinematography that ensures proper camera coverage of characters in a scene. According to the rule, when a camera is positioned on one side of the horizontal line, it preserves the left/right relationship to bring consistency to the viewers. The 180-degree rule has been used to ensure proper camera sitting and coverage of characters in the 1:05:12—1:06:47 scene in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.

The 180-degree rule facilitates taking single shots from a fixed camera position. The position creates a zone to help monitor characters’ movement. In the scene, before the Goblet through the professor chooses those who will participate in the championship; viewers are shown the set through a fixed camera view. Even though the camera zooms in, it does so from a single view (Kaaba, 2016, 01). This shows everyone in the set, from the students to Alastor Moody and Igor Karkaroff as well as the professor.

One of the concepts in the 180-degree rule calls for attention to the eye line. According to this rule, it is vital that when cutting between single shots in a scene, especially when it is a dialogue, the characters appear as if they face the camera. The character on the right faces the camera –left while the other character on the left faces the camera-right. The result is the eye line will match as it is the requirement. In the scene, Alastor Moody and Igor Karkaroff face off in a debate of whether Harry Potter could have manipulated his way into the championship. The face-off demonstrates how the eye-line matches such that when the professor joins the argument, the viewer can quickly tell the position of each character.

Another element to consider in the 180-degree rule is the focal length, which influences the size and angle of coverage in a scene. When the professor comes in between Alastor and Igor, the camera immediately cuts and then widens the view. It allows the viewer to see where everyone else in the scene is positioned. When the professor moves, every other person moves, thus reorienting the viewer on the actors’ new position in the end.

It is worth noting that the camera setting can break the 180-degree rule. This is achieved by moving the camera to cross the line while through the shot in the middle. However, the rule is broken without disorienting the audience to signal that there has been an emotional shift in the scene. For example, when Harry Potter, against all the traditions, has been selected to compete and join other competitors, the camera shot goes uninterrupted and crosses the line to show him walk through the students who shout that he is a cheat.

In conclusion, the 180 rule has been applied in the scene to ensure proper sitting of the camera and coverage of the characters. It facilitates single shots from a fixed position and creates attention for the eye line and focal length.

Reference

Kaaba. (2016, Dec 24). Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (Harry Picked from The Goblet) 4K [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8szpId3oWlE

For this week, we watched some movie clips about character dialogues. For close-ups of characters in conversation, the cameras are usually placed on the same side of the horizontal line, so that the audience will not be confusing with the characters, because the character always face to one direction during the conversation, if the camera across that line, the position that characters show in the scene will totally switch side, that makes the viewers confusing. This is called the 180 degree rule. This method is practical for shooting scenes with a small number of people, normally no more than three people. However, we also watched some examples that did not refer to this rule. It is used in scenes where many people appear. Cameras are distributed in all corners of the room to shoot people. Multiple angles, this also works, and will not make the viewer feel uncomfortable or confused. For the assignment1, I chose Harry Potter as a case to analyze, this is one of my favorite movies. Its setting, filters, and story background are all very beautiful. It is an irreplaceable work in my mind. In the process of revisiting this movie recently, I began to pay more attention to the setting of the scene, the method of shooting and other technical elements than the plot. I noticed this scene after just finished learning the 180 degree rule, there were scenes that violated this rule, so I analyzed it as a case.

For this week, we watched few clips shot in a similar environment, there are different filming techniques for those scenes. I watched Two chapters from Tom Reilly’s book “The Big Picture” (2009). Tom Reilly is a well-known assistant director in America. In the chapter ‘what is shot, anyway’, he explains that a ‘shot’ is filmed in a single camera setup, it can be an insert only, an establishing shot or as complex as a moving master. The director’s grasp of the shot is important. A motion shot that takes more than ten minutes may only be shown in the screen for one second, but a single action may require more space to show. For a single long shot, the movement and position of the camera are also particularly important. The details will be enlarged at this time. The lighting, actors, scenes, and props are all regarded as complicated at this time. In another chapter ‘Blocking is overlooked and undervalued’, he strengthens the importance of ‘blocking’. Blocking is the process of choreographing a scene, the blocking determines the position of the actor, how to move and convey the script, which is a planned fusion of the setting environment and the actor itself. These blockings have a dramatic impact on the rhythm and timing of the film. The author cites Woody as a case. Woody is a director with rich experience and ideas. He uses special effects to eliminate the randomness of the scene. The director needs to be very confident in the composition of the shot and understand how a single scene is in the movie. Play a role instead of entrusting the set to the actors. The scenes we watched in class were all shot in the prison. The difference is that the background of one scene is on the prison’s square, and all the prisoners appear in the scene. The background of another scene is the character’s own cell. Although the main character is the same, but there is a huge difference in the light, camera position and coverage of these two scenes. Both scenes have a fragment about office conversations, the difference is that the positions of the characters have changed to reflect different relationships. 

Reference 

Chapter 4 ‘What is a shot, anyway?’ 2009 in Reilly, Tom, The big picture : filmmaking lessons from a life on the set, Thomas Dunne Books: St. Martin’s Press, New York, pp. 16-18. 

Chapter 23 ‘Blocking is overlooked and undervalued’ 2009 in Reilly, Tom, The big picture :
filmmaking lessons from a life on the set, Thomas Dunne Books: St. Martin’s
Press, New York, pp. 93-97. 

For the first week of this studio, we talked about ourselves and some general introduction about this studio. For the past semester, I have learnt a lot about film making and photograph taking, for example, documentary production, audio production, photography and other disciplines. I have always been very interested in visual art. I want to record my own life in video and share it with everyone, so I want to delve into more expressions about scenes, stories, and characters. I’m fascinated by capturing scenes and moment, that’s why I chose this studio. 

I am not yet proficient in the lens language of film and television works. Sometimes some shots can confuse people and misunderstand the director’s intentions. In this semester, I’d wish to learn more about cinema scene, learn more camera setting and apply those skills on my own video works. Mastering film craft is an art, there’s still long way to go for me.  

In this week’s class, we discussed about what does director do in making a movie, it is quite interesting for me, Because I never seriously thought about the specific work the director did in directing a movie before. I realize that the director needs to analyze the script to find a suitable way of expression, need to guide the position, angle and light of the camera, and the director needs to screen actors and so on. The director is like the highest commander of the military. The quality of a film and television work is largely determined by the director’s quality and accomplishment; the style of a film and television work often reflects the director’s artistic style and character, and can better reflect the director’s artistic style and personality. The director’s values ​​about things. And we analyzed the camera sitting and coverage of some film fragments,  although i have learned relevant knowledge before, it has deepened my impression once again.

Reflection part 1

For the assignment 4 “Sounds of 2020”, our group’s topic is Hope, this is a broad topic which confused me at first, there’s a lot of thing we want to be changed or want to achieve in this year. Mention to 2020, this is an unusual year, I have gone through a lot of hardships like most people. In order to avoid the outbreak in Australia, I just come back to China two weeks ago, although, I have already back to China successfully, I lost “something” in there, which made me despair for a while. Christine says achieving one’s “vocal authority” in a podcast means finding one’s individual authenticity(Mottram, 2017). Instead of make a summary of the whole year, I would like to talk about the specific experience happened on myself, which made me felt deeper and have more desire to talk about.

The “thing” that I left in Australia is my cat, the one has been with me for nearly three years. For me he is no longer a pet, but a closest friend also a family. At first, I planned to take him back to China with me, but the flights which accepted pets were cancelled because of the epidemic, so I have to look for some other ways.

In the process of finding a way for him to returning home, I encountered many setbacks, so I divided my story into four parts with different date and talk about what I have gone through during this time. I think this is a good way for the listeners to catch up with the story, also let them better integrate. In the break point of those time, I used the sound of calendar to make the transaction clearly. Music can make our stories more attractive and immersive, listeners are used to listening to the music to promote the stories(May, 2016). In my episode, I didn’t use a background music to run through the entire audio, I try to make the story ups and downs. I added some music which strong emotion to the part where my mood changed significantly, when I talked about I saw the hope to bring my cat back, the music will be happy and chill, but when I mentioned some cruel reality that made me unable to bring him back, the music is stressful. There is a news report in my audio which happened on a beach, I also added the sounds of ocean wave in there. The sound effects make the story real and vivid, it can attract the listeners’ attention. At the end of my story I narrated how does my cat important to me, and illustrate my wish to reunite with him, I added the sounds of cat meow in that part, which makes the audio warmer and lifelike, it also gives me and the audience a hope, in such a roughest time, life still gives us a lot of good moments, and we should always keep expecting in everyday life.

I was quite enjoy making this podcast, for me, this is not only a mission I need to complete, during the process of doing these, I recalled a lot of good memories that I experienced with my cat.  The content and style of podcast are private in nature, but when the public media discussing the emergence of the podcast as a new medium, they identify it as a converged medium of audio, bringing the active intentions of podcasters and hosts into the public domain(Llinares, Fox, Berry, 2018). While I’m sharing all the difficulties that I have encountered, I wish I can bring some help to those people who have the same worries as me. When I finish recording this audio, I lost my anxiety and full of expectations about reunite with him.

Reference

May M, 2016, ‘Score! Best practices for using music in audio storytelling’, <https://training.npr.org/2016/07/05/score-best-practices-for-using-music-in-audio-storytelling/ >viewed on 19 oct 2020.

Mottram C, 2017, ‘Finding a pitch that resonates: an examination of gender and vocal authority in podcasting’, viewed 19 oct 2020

Llinares, D., Fox, N., & Berry, R. (Eds.), 2018, ‘Podcasting: New Aural Cultures and Digital Media’ viewed on 19 October 2020.

For the assignment 3&4, I got two excellent teammates doing this project together which we are proud of. Although we have encountered many difficulties, especially working during the quarantine, through our persistent efforts and enthusiasm for this assignment, we overcome all the problems and finally completed it well.

When doing the presentation pitch for assignment 3, I wasted a lot of time to preparing it because I was on the way of going back to China. Due to network and regional restrictions, it was hard for me to contact my teammates, I even can’t do the online class normally. I was anxious and desperate about this situation at that time. Fortunately, the teacher and my team members showed their understanding and encouragement, helped me regain my confidence, and I also found a solution to the network restriction problem later, I am quite grateful to them. Although our pitch was not selected as the final one in the end, we are also full of enthusiasm for the work coming next.

This is my first time doing a podcast series, it was a fresh experience to me. When Kyla talked about ‘radio’, she said that she’s not referring to shock jocks and playlists, intercom and chatting, or even driving or having breakfast, but the creativity and sound-rich of a greater field of audio content referred to as ‘documentaries and features’(Brettle, 2016) . We were assigned ‘Hope’ as the theme of our episode, we were confused at first, this is a broad topic which hard to describe. After sharing the ideas on class, I got some suggestions from the classmates and teacher which inspired me. I wanted to make it real and creative, so I decided to tell the story which really happened on myself.

In the division of assignments, I suggested that I could do the final audio summation and editing, I have learnt also while doing the editing. As Peralta says in Natasha’s article, my work is to make sure the words are clear and strong, the music and sound effects won’t distract from what is being said, this is a subtle process. Learn to balance all the audios make them fit together naturally is important for a podcast(Johnson, 2018). Expect combining the audio of everyone, I need to add the real intro, outro and sound effects of the entire podcast which is ‘The yearly check-up’. Music creates textures or moods, it can be emotional, or help to emphasize a story through a particularly part or add structure which signally the end of something and start of something else. Choosing an appropriate music or effect enhance the story and deepen the listening experience without being obvious. (Johnson, 2018).

After finishing the episode making, we uploaded it on Anchor, this is a step to spread and share our story, and it’s also the meaning of doing a podcast. For understanding the podcast phenomenon, we argue that it must be considered from a cross-media perspective where various social media technologies are integrated, through this combination, the affordances of the podcast and audio broadcasting more generally are expanded (Linares, Fox, Berry 2018).

Reference

Brettle, K 2020, ‘Radio is Dead: Long live radio documentaries and features’, The Wheeler Centre, blog post, viewed on 19 October 2020, <https://www.wheelercentre.com/notes/radio-is-dead-long-live-radio-documentaries-and-features>.

Johnson N, 2018, ‘Backstory: The (subtle) art of podcast sound design and why it matters’, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/about/backstory/radio/2018-11-13/the-art-of-podcast-sound-design/10481114>viewed 19 October 2020.

Llinares, D., Fox, N., & Berry, R. (Eds.), 2018, ‘Podcasting: New Aural Cultures and Digital Media’ viewed on 19 October 2020.