As a brief introduction, the opening scene I produced for this assignment is meant for a dark comedy depicting a student’s struggles in the job market.
What were you trying to achieve in terms of critically communicating about Framing in Film and explain the method in which the editing process was used to attempt this?
Cagle (2007) cite cinematography as a crucial part of film that reviewers attribute to “lending an air of realism”. Through my shot composition, I aimed to capture this realism for the topic. I wanted to emphasise the small and cramped room the student lived and worked in, which also worked as a metaphor for how “trapped” the student feels in this situation. I utilised medium shots with visible walls to convey this information to the viewers. As the room this was shot in is essentially just a rectangle, incorporating two shots from both ends of the room was a quick way to establish the space the scene was taking place in. With regards to the shot of the bathroom, filming through a doorway, with the wall obscuring half the shot, further achieved the cramped feeling of the room. Outside of establishing space, I also utilised close-ups frequently in crucial moments to emphasise the student’s emotions and feelings in a particular moment, such as disbelief and frustration.
As for editing, I utilised longer uninterrupted shots at the start to emphasise the mundanity of the scene and how the character is slowly getting ready for the day. During the internship application montage, there were more cuts to emphasise the amount of work the character is doing, and to subconsciously hint that more time passes despite the shorter real time length. During this montage, I used similar shots repeatedly to emphasise the repetitiveness of the process the character is going through. The scene ends as it begins, with slower cuts to focus on the character’s frustration with the lack of reward.
Babbar (2024) note the importance of sound design in filmmaking, pointing out its ability to create mood, atmosphere and emotion in films. Similarly, I used audio as the primary way to achieve comedic effect with contrast. The scene starts slow, with constant background noise to emphasise its mundanity. It then changes in mood to a more exciting and upbeat song with lyrics, portraying the characters initial enthusiasm which is quickly contrasted with their growing exhaustion of the process. The music abruptly cuts to the character receiving bad news and abruptly starts again when they physically and verbally express their anger.
How did your preproduction/production/post production process go and what would you do differently/improve next time?
I was light-handed on the pre-production of this scene. I wrote down the general themes, tone, and story of the scene, as well as the shots I was intending to film, however during production I soon realised that I would not be able to follow my initial vision due to certain complications. These complications included the gear I was working with (I was simply using my phone propped up on various objects as my camera), as well as the space I was working in (cramped, hard to move around, not much space to set up shots).
During production, as I tried to follow my initial shot list, I quickly realised that some shots were not feasible, which led to me entirely refilming my footage, and I had to get creative and work around these constraints. I gave up on filming on low light settings because of the noise, and experimented with a variety of shots to make my footage look more interesting.
For post-production, I worked on audio and colour grading. In terms of audio, I largely stuck to a royalty free background noise, as the actual background noise recorded varied too much from shot to shot, making it jarring. I also used my own condenser mic to rerecord dialogue after the fact, so the audio was clearer and more intelligible. For colour grading, I tried to make every shot as cohesive as possible, to emphasise that all events were taking place in the same space, as to not take the viewer out of their experience.
In the future, I believe that I should pay more mind to lighting, not only by using better and more varied gear to increase my ability to capture footage in varying light conditions, but also by taking the existing conditions in mind, such as the time of day and existing lighting in the space. Working with a camera and tripod should give me more options in terms of shot composition, so I can make the film more visually appealing.
Your reflection should also include commentary on what you thought the most and least successful parts of your Prestige Cinema Opening Scene were, and why so?
Ahemad (2024) lists the portrayal of cultural norms and values as well as the reflection of political climate and ideologies as one of the aspects attributed to the golden age of cinema. I believe that I was largely successful in this part, as I was writing about the shared experience of difficulties in the job market that many are facing right now, aided by the experiences I am currently going through. Through the openings comedic take of the experience and my framing of the scene, I believe I accurately depicted the feelings of the experience, while also making it light-hearted enough as to not be too pessimistic about a situation many audiences might relate to.
I also believe that my editing helped significantly improve the quality of my product. I believe I chose an excellent song to contrast the characters mood, which allowed me to express a comedic tone more easily. Many of the other choices in editing that I outlined previously, such as the use of repetitive shots and quick succession of cuts, had the intended effect of simultaneously putting you in the mood of the character and emphasising the scenes comedic tone.
I believe my least successful parts of the opening scene was the shot quality and composition. Not only am I an amateur in terms of shot composition, I was utilising poor gear on top of that, which I believe led to a rough and potentially half-hearted product.
Overall, while I am decently satisfied with what I accomplished given my restraints, I have much more to improve on and I am aiming to increase the quality of my next film. To achieve this, I will have to keep the failures and complications of this project in mind during pre-production, so filming can progress as moothly as possible. I will also have to experiment with more gear and a variety of spaces, if I am to achieve higher quality shots that can be called “cinematic”
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References
Ahemad, I.(2024). Shadows and Light: Exploring the Legacy of Golden Age Cinema, The Seybold Report, 19 (1): 854-862
Babbar, I. (2024). Evolution of Cinema, International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 6(1): 1-4
Cagle, C.(2007). Two Modes of Prestige Film, Screen, 48(3): 291–311
Pre- and Post-Production Proof
Adobe Premiere Pro Timeline
Pre-Production Planning
Weekly Blogs (Week 1-3)