Film Project 2 Reflection

Introduction:

Last time I chose to film a narrative film. After the experience, I feel like I still got lots of skills to learn. Besides, a brilliant script is a necessary element of a great narrative film. Because this is the final production for this course, we prefer to produce a great work by using the skills and knowledge we learned before. Thus, I choose to do things, which is more familiar to me, such as suspense film and horror film. Based on the research I did in assignment 3, I found that the style of French impressionism is quite attractive to me. I enjoy the way it tells the story. Every image shares the mood. Moreover, the fast cut it used in the film perfectly show the tension with the rhythm of the music. I do a continuing research on the film called Ménilmontant to get more inspiration before we start the shooting.

Pre-production:

 

• Scriptwriting

In the beginning, we are suffering from the scriptwriting. Even we get couples of ideas, we cannot organize them as a story. There are always some parts that don’t make sense. Hopefully, I was reminded that I have performed a poem at the drama class in the foundation. The story is perfectly suitable for our pursuit. I search the form of the script, transform the poem into a script, and add my own ideas to rewrite the story. Then I upload it on Google Drive and we revise it over and over again to get the final script. The limitation of the space is also a factor that we change the script.

• Visit the shooting site

In order to have a more efficient filming process, we have visited the shooting place before the final filming. Firstly, we check some important shots and effects of our film. We use the camera to try various angles in outdoor and indoor. We used to plan to show the peaceful mood by showing some details. For example, we try to use a stable shot to show the wind blows the curtain. However, because of the limitation of the winder structure, we cannot achieve this effect. Thus, we have to change the script. Besides, we also want to show the raining outside. We use the water pistol to aim to the window. Both the sound and the effect look well. However, we cannot film it well on camera. We have to cancel this shot and just use the soundtrack. In addition, the space of the showers is too small. Filming the actor with a camera in the showers is impossible. Thus, we also cancel this shot. After checking the shooting places and the requirement of shots, we also check things we need to prepare, such as a tower, bathrobe, dresses, and bedsheet. Another thing is counting the time of the way to the shooting place to plan the timetable for shooting days.

• Search for potential actors

 

Searching suitable actors is really not an easy work. I have posted the requirement of actors and the information about our films for more than one week before our real shooting on Starnow. I receive about 30 application. However, a large number of applications don’t mean we can find the suitable actor. Our filming time is at night. As a result, many of them are not free at that time. Another reason is may because there are no-pay roles. Besides, I find there are more female actors than male actors on Starnow. Another significant thing is that I am supposed to connect with actors early. We have revised the script over and over again. Hense, the final script is done so late. I was planning to contact with actors after we get the final version of the script. I am afraid to be thought of as unprofessional. Therefore, some of them have already had a work at that time and we lose the chance to choose more actors. Next time, I should connect with actors to match the time first then discuss the script. I think the main problem is because we don’t have a schedule for the production, which is necessary to lead the producing process. I will do it every time in the future.

Production:

• Communicate with actors

Communicating with actors is also a necessary part to get a great film. Like Arthur mentioned before that we are not supposed to completely tell actors what to do. We should discuss the script with them and maybe revise them. The actor of the mother role is Monika, who seems like a professional actor. She is good at performing and she tells us her opinion about the script. Then we revise it together to get the script, which can please all of us. As a result, all of us enjoy the filming time.

• Filming

For the shooting at the time, we try couples different effects to get a better film production, such as the thunder and fog.

Thunder

Thunder may be the most complicated one to achieve. It asks at least 6 people at the same time. Two hold reflectors, two hold lights, one hold the camera and one hold the flashlight. We set different levels of the thunder. Therefore, we use the flashlights as the beginning, after 3 times turn on and off, we use the formal light as the strong thunder to show the change. Hopefully, it looks pretty cool in the end.

Fog

Fog is a pretty interesting thing to do when we shooting. There are two different way to use the fog machine. Different purposes have different results. On the one hand, it can be used to make the light look softer. To achieve this effect, we need to use the fan to blow the fog equally in the air. On the other hand, we can show the original fog in the image to create a fantasy mood to audiences. For this one, we don’t need a fan anymore. Besides, the flashlight looks fantastic when it goes through the fog. I can buy an atmosphere light next time to make it look better.

Lighting Techniques

Before we start to set the light, we look for the motivation of the light first. It can be the light going through the window or a lamp. Normally, we don’t use the ceiling lamp. The direction and the color just look strange. After we find the motivation for lights, we use two lights to set the place. One is for the backlight, and one is for the front light. For sure, we don’t use the front light directly because it looks too sharp and bright. Normally, we use the softbox and the reflector to get the light on characters face. To get the contour of bright and dark on character’s face, we will adjust the direction of the light all the time until we find the line. The process is not easy but the result is great.

Post-production:

Editing: audio track and transition are two significant part for the suspense film. Thus, I have searched the Lydna tutorial online to learn the skills of it.

Cutting vs. using transitions

• The most common transition is a cross dissolve
• Transitions soften the transition between cuts, make it more natural
• Usually best to use hard cuts, and use transitions sparingly
• Cross-dissolves can suggest leaps in time and/or space
• It can be used to cut to the flashback
• Fading to black suggests the end of something important
• Wipes are a bold choice for transitions. (especially in Vlogs or color grading tutorials) It is supposed to be used for a bigger jump in time or space.
• The ‘rules’ about using transitions are pretty established.
• Audiences won’t notice some small mistakes if the story is great.

Soundtrack

• ArtList is a music licensing site for 290$ a year. We can get a blanket license to all the songs on the website. Both commercial use and personal use are available and unlimited. We can download music as many as we want.
• The soundtrack is a significant part to create the mood and reinforce it to the audience. We have watched the final cut of our film project 2 without music, it just looks terrible. However, when we put the sound effects in, it looks enjoyable. It is better if we add a couple of music/sound-effects together as a combination to make the sound more interesting and abundant. Then, the only thing we need to do is match the rhythm of the music with the film, adjust the volume and done.

• Here is the method we use to find the music:
  • Firstly, confirm the genre and the integral mood of the story.
  • Then find the main role who leads the scene. Different characters have different feelings even in the same scene.
  • After all these things done, type the keyword in and search it in the music library, such as SoundCloud, Youtube audio library, and ArtList.

Reflection:

This course is the hardest and the most substantial one I have in RMIT. We learn a bunch of skills of the filmmaking. James always says that get into the production process and try something new. Thus, I jump out of our own “comfortable living circle” and learn something new. I start to research some film theories to learn more styles of filming, begin to try some lighting practice and get used to doing it in each shooting and add various film effects in the shooting practice to achieve a cooler result. Check all blogs I wrote, all Youtube tutorials I watched, and these works I have done in this semester. I can tell that I learn a lot and I enjoy it.

Files & Links:

Music & Soundtrack license: Creator_License_Order681891-1fh9le7

Clips: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1tlINfjTYEdu7WoAziOqu7l51Ura1t7Ok

Place scouting: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17ls9mwZVmWxfrcdd-0wyo-qCIEiGTuxR

Exhibition (include posters):

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_9l2uZRrP6JXxoRxGasFMXHHmybYCSEg

Reference:

Cinecom.net 2017, How to find the right music for your film | Cinecom.net, Youtube, 9 July, Cinecom.net, viewed 13 October 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P79iVpkaEw>.

Chad Perkins 2018, Creating a Short Film, streaming video, Lynda, California, viewed 16 October 2018, <https://www.lynda.com/Premiere-Pro-tutorials/Editing-dialog/129026/789213-4.html?autoplay=true>.

Film Riot 2017, Find Music for your Project with Artist!, Youtube, 1 May, American, viewed 16 October 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APTf1HwzRR4>.