Assignment #2 Hyperlinks

• Refection
• Deconstruction
• Colour Grade

CLIP 1

Before colour grade

Horror-like colour grade:

I aimed to present this clip as if is were from a horror scene. By dropping the temperature, increasing the contrast, adding shadow, dropping the whites and increasing the blacks, it gave a sense that this was shot later in the day. I also added a faded film effect to add grittiness.

Dream-like colour grade:

I increased the vibrancy by adding more saturation, boosting the whites and adding more temperature. With those colour grading choices and by adding a harsh vignette, this creates a dream like or flash back effect.

Summer/ Hot weather colour grade:

By increasing the temperature, adding a reddish tint, increasing the highlights and by bringing up the red RGB curves, I was able to make this clip warmer and hopefully present it as if it depicted a hot day

CLIP 2:

Before colour grade

Vintage colour grade:

As an attempted to try and recreate a vintage film effect with this clip, I slightly increased the temperature and red RGB curves, added a pinkish tint, increased the whites, decreased the blacks and added a faded film effect. I also decreased the vibrancy and increased the saturation and finally sharpened the image slightly to accentuate any naturally occurring grain.

Noir colour grade:

A very questionable attempt to create a noir style colour grade by fully decreasing the saturation to remove all colours, decreasing the whites, slighting increasing the blacks and contrast to make the darker parts richer, increasing the vibrancy to bring more light into the overall picture and finally adding a vignette to add a classic noir like feel.

Cinematic colour grade:

Lowered temperature, slight green tint (matrix inspired), boosting of whites and the decreasing of highlights to create an epic/action-like aesthetic.

CLIP 3:

Before colour grade

Warm colour grade:

In colour wheels and match tab, I added more orange to the highlights to increase temperature in the clip.

Cool colour grade:

In colour wheels and match tab, I added blues to the highlights and shadows to create a cool and gloomy grade.

Green dull grade:

I was able to create a gritty dull feel, by decreasing the vibrancy and increasing green in the mid-tones In colour wheels and match tab.

Napoleon Dynamite (2004) – Rex Kwon Do Scene

This film may not be a cinematic masterpiece. However, it is on my list of all time favourite films due to its quirkiness, acting, comedic timing, costume and style. I first saw ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ when I was about 10 or 11. Still to this day, this film never fails to make me laugh. The very amusing ‘Rex Kwon Do’ scene from this film is one of my favourites, because in two and a half minutes, it displays the type of quirkiness and awkward comedy that makes this film what it is. From the very beginning of this scene, the intricate comedy is shown by shot construction, sound and editing. It begins by Napoleon walking into frame holding a casserole dish. Where we hear the calming sound of birds in the background and the random grunt of a llama, followed by the introduction of Kip, who is putting on a pair of black and pink inline skates. For me the randomness of this beginning is very entertaining, because the possibilities it sets up. It doesn’t tell much, but it keeps the audience scratching their heads in bewilderment. 

Kip looks up and says to Napoleon “it’d be nice if you could pull me into town”. The shot stays on Kip for a moment, there’s a moment of silence and we expect to hear a response from Napoleon. Instead the scene then cuts straight to Kip holding a rope tied to a bike ridden by Napoleon, which is pulling Kip along. The imagery of this scene is remarkable, coupled with the elevator style music that plays, as the two are shown to be very casual, while riding through a quiet neighbourhood and looking quite odd. For me, this very simple transition of a hard cut to the following image was hilariously remarkable. Everything about it was spot on, and I’m sure it did what it was meant to and received many laughs from audiences. 

Following this image, there is another hard cut and the music stops abruptly. The next image appears. We are introduced to martial arts guru, Rex, who is leading a class to advertise his “eight week program”. This scene’s brilliant display of costume and aesthetic, highlights the 3 main bodies in the scene with the use of costume and colour. Seen is Kip and Napoleon in sky blue, Rex in his famous all american attire and the rest of the class in dull grey colours which accentuates the 3 main roles.

This section is the bulk of the scene. I have seen this part more times that I can count. However, with further analysis I was able to pinpoint what makes this scene hilarious. The simplicity of this scene sees minimal camera movement. With a few tracking shots and mainly stationary mid and close ups, the awkwardness of the scene is increased because of the simplicity. The main element which carries the comedic essence, is the use of minimal sound, and extended silence. With the only sounds being those that come out of action, room tone and other diegetic sounds.

#8 FIRST FILM EDITS (The Book)

Surprisingly, this was the first time that I have shot, acted and edited something to this level. Though a basic exercise, each role took a level of proficiency and were more complex when done in conjunction with each other. Overall this was a rather simple exercise that allowed me to gain more experience in shot construction and edit of my own shot decisions. Compared to the Lenny exercise, this felt like I had more control over my editing decisions as I knew the psychology behind each shot. The editing process was very considered when designing my shot list and ideas. However, this exercise did contain an element of collaboration. As this was a group exercise, planning was needed before commencement of the project. As my group and I had previously completed the same exercise in project  #7, we were provided with feedback on the particular edit we produced. It was in our interest to improve on the previous product. In the next incarnation of our edit, we were advised to reshoot and focus on improving the establishment of location. This exercise was based on a script that was based in a singular location. It was our mission to be able to convey the shots constructed by a fellow group member and myself as clear representations of the same locations, even if that wasn’t the case. This took a great level of planning as we were not in the same location. We had to be able to communicate the layouts of our individuale abodes via Zoom. This was by no means easy. It was important that we understood each other’s house layout so our edit makes sense. We were able to produce a product that made visible sense. With the use of an establishing shot at the beginning coupled with a ‘J-cut’, I think we were able to quickly convey the environment. Though I have some previous knowledge of the importance of establishing location, I was pleasantly surprised how much of a difference it makes in the conveyance of a story.

#9 ANIMATICS (Yaw – Animatic V1)

At first I struggled to see the importance and need for this exercise. However, this lack of understanding was because I viewed this exercise through the lens of the previous edit that I had completed. I originally thought the simplicity of the #8 edits didn’t require such planning, as it was not a big production with much complexity. Though, when I began this exercise I quickly realised the importance of such task. I understood that realistically, the animatic process would not be extremely crucial in the pre-production of something as basic as the #8 edits. However, I realised that the purpose of this exercise was to give us an introduction to such processes. I enjoyed this exercise when I saw how this animatic process relates to the production of edits. It allowed me to really put thought into shot construction. As a personal evaluation, It’d be honest to say that I am in need of some improvement when it comes to shot construction. Looking back I could have executed this exercise a little better, if I allowed more thought behind each shot.  

Another element to this process I enjoyed, was the collation of sound to accompany the stills. It was an enjoyable experience to be able to build an organic sound collection that I can now add to my own personal foley library. Through this I found out that I really enjoy recreating sounds for film. 

In conclusion, the animatic process is something that I will use in the future when creating bigger projects that require very considered approaches to shot allocation. This also allows for less time used on set to decide on particular shots, which ultimately helps the efficiency of productions. I’ve learnt over the first half of this studio that efficiency is a very important element to production. These skills, processes and learnt knowledge are very useful tools to apply to further developments.