Deconstructing a scene that is produced with a professional crew, cast and a budget to cater for effective production value, seems simple compared with deconstructing a short scene that I produced in my lounge room. With an objective view I can make assumptions and criticisms on professionally produced scenes. As the director of the ‘Dance Scene’ I can speculate subjectively, on my intentions and how they were reflected through the cinematography and overall reception of the scene.

As an audience member I struggled to watch the scene without bias. My relationship with the actors and my knowledge of the overall process of filming causes my judgement to be altered. Robin watched the final film in class. His initial reaction was to laugh at the awkwardness and tension between the characters. This immediate reaction reinforced my desired intention for the scene.

Robin’s advice to us, that has been reinforced the entire semester so far, has been to focus on pace and to give our characters and shots time to be established. This has resonated with me. Approaching this task, I wanted to experiment with capturing the action using long and drawn out shots. The filming of this scene was quite organic. There was minimal preparation on a technical level. Preparation was put into determining character objectives, pace and overall intention.

Colourful party lights were placed to set the stage for the audience. Simultaneously the lights and the sound scape reveal a ‘party scene’. These elements allow the audience to make an instant connection to a ‘party’, enabling the omission of dialogue. The lights are placed strategically over the background and over lapping the female character. The lights give depth to the shots as well as emphasise the irony between the two characters. They flash all over the screen contrasting the static movements of the characters. This effect heightens the tension between the characters as they remain bored by the chaos.

The opening panning (by a rotating cheese board) shot of the feet introduces the two characters. The presentation of the shoes reveal the two very different characters and their proximity towards one another. The wide shot further develops their proximity, revealing the awkwardness of their relationship. The boy watches the girl as she seems disinterested. This is not a realistic interpretation of a traditional ‘dance scene’. The boy intensely watching the girl is over exaggerated. It mimics a comedy ‘skit’ where the boy is destined for failure but tries anyway. The close up of the girl reinforces to the audience that she is not interested in the boy at all. This close up heightens the humour when the boy asks her to dance, regardless of her gestures and body language.

The choice of shots was between a tilt from the boys hand up to his face and an eye level mid shot of the boy looking down to the girl. The tilted shot was chosen as the pace is slow and the angle, although not a Point of View, diminishes the character of the boy. The camera looks up to the boy, identifying his personal strength to offer this girl a dance.

The dialogue, asking the girl to dance, was not necessary and could have been omitted. The characters body language was enough to indicate that the girl was deterred by the boy.

Cutting back to the wide shot at the end of the scene reinforces the humour. It would not have been as effective if the scene finished on a different angle. The wide shot at the end was the ‘punch line’ for the scene, essentially finishing where they started.

Reflection:

Reflecting on this production has allowed me to identify strengths and weaknesses that I have in the process of production. I worked well under pressure, therefore, I will allow myself to work under strict time constraints. I don’t want to spend too much time over working a scene. I want to be completely organised. This scene worked because, as a director, I knew exactly what I wanted – I knew my intentions and my character objectives. I will thoroughly establish these elements for my upcoming scenes.

Over the past week I have had a few epiphanies and realisations. Our task over the weekend was to produce a scene based on a script of choice. I chose the dance scene where a boy offers a girl to dance and she refuses.

My planning, as proposed in the previous blog post, was to shoot this in a beautiful garden setting. My timing fell through on this day, but I had a contingency plan. I shot the scene a few nights later. I decided that trying to shoot a party outside and to attempt to make it look like night time, or even shoot it at nighttime was going to be difficult. Lighting was always going to be an issue. The shoot overall took around about 1 hour to shoot and half an hour to edit. I shot the scene in a living room and shut the blinds to make it look as though it was nighttime. I was under time constraints as I had to leave for basketball. I work well under pressure so I didn’t mind this constraint.

Working with non experienced actors, I found that I had to give them visual points/cues. Their facial expressions came naturally. Their relationship together in real life resulted in them finding it hard to compose themselves and they would break out laughing during takes. This didn’t matter, it only increased the tension in the used takes. I found some colourful, flashing party lights and used these to elude to the theme of a party. I didn’t need to cover beyond the action of what we were seeing. Everything else, including the very generic sound design, helped to convey this.

I had only planned two or three shots. I hadn’t planned anymore than that. I really enjoyed improvising and manipulating the camera around the action. I will use this technique in my scenes towards the end of semester. While I am still establishing myself as a cinematographer, I am loving just exploring and improvising through the scenes. I am learning first hand the practical reasons why some shots work better than others. There is only so much learning to be explored in a text book. It isn’t until you pick up a camera and finally realise, ‘yes, the lower angle shot does make the character look more dominant,’ that your learning actually sinks in.

I was happy with the overall result of the scene. I thought the timing of it was quite funny. Robin mentioned that it should be more obscure. I understand where he is coming from, although the purpose of the scene was to evoke a humorous emotional response. I do believe that I achieved this. I want the scene to entertain the audience and make them relate to perhaps a time when they were alone at a party and were awkwardly approached by someone that they were avoiding. We don’t need to know who these characters are or why they’re here, the clip is too short for the audience to consider this. The audience accepts the social situation for what it is.

We presented our oral presentations this week in front of some academics. I am usually very confident speaking in front of people, but for some reason anxiety got the better of me. I am confident with the direction of my idea and the feedback was very helpful. They have given me some valuable points to consider and I will apply this in my Method of Working.

April 24th, 2015.

New trail of thought…

I will shoot one of the scenes using traditional conventions from the thriller genre and I will shoot the other scene using my own subjective influences. These will be a good comparison. The second scene will give me the breadth to explore various styles of shooting. It will be interesting to see whether the first shoot will incorporate many cliches from the thriller genre.

The second shoot will help to shape me as a director/cinematographer. I will endeavour to create something that is unique and innovative. I am yet to determine how I will approach the second scene as I will be drawing from my own personal growth and development as a filmmaker. The first scene will occur naturally as I will be mimicking styles and techniques from an established genre.

I am interested to see how my task progresses from here. I want to work quite organically on set. I don’t feel as though I could sit down and write a full shot list, mapping out both of the shoots. I haven’t established my own set of skills at a high enough level to know exactly how I will cover the scene. I need to do more research in order to generate ideas of shots, coverage and style. This will be my next step.

I have begun to develop my pre production documentation for the filming of my scenes. Today we presented our idea proposals. I was given very effective feedback. Rachel Wilson noted that i was focusing too much on my intended ’emotional response’ from the audience. As an experiment/investigation, the results of this is too ambiguous. She proposed the idea that I change my focus to genre conventions instead. I believe that changing this would give me clarity when creating the two scenes. I think I have been walking the line of this concept but have considered it entirely. Being individual scenes it is difficult and impractical to assume that the audience will respond emotionally to the scene. I should have clarified in my presentation that I wasn’t referring to the emotion of ‘sadness’. I was referring to any emotional response. For example the first scene may elicit a response of empathy and the second fear. I believe that my intentions would be far more clear if I directed the scenes into traditional genre conventions.

The first scene will reflect conventions of the romantic genre and the second will reflect conventions of the thriller genre. I will use the quick fast shots and the cooler hues (colour temperature) for the thriller genre and tracking, wider shots, with warmer hues for the romantic genre.

I will begin my research into scenes that reflect these genres. My investigation will be directed towards comparing the colour tones, shot types, editing style and lighting set ups.

New Location!

Next week when I am back in Melbourne, I am going to take photos of a new location that I believe will compensate for both of the scenes direction. My brother lives in an apartment in Alphington that is located along the Yarra River. There are beautiful walking tracks near there. Depending on the time of day, they can be quiet. I will also begin sourcing a script/script ideas. There will be no dialogue. The sound will be ambience and non diegetic sound.

What am I interested in?

I am interested in how the camera can evoke a particular response from the audience.

I believe camera coverage does more than just reveal the plot and character interactions. I aspire to one day become a Film Director and in order to pursue this path I need to have in-depth practical experience with camera coverage

I watch scenes from movies and always think…

• Why did they choose those shots?
• How could they have shot it in a completely different way and how would this have impacted on the production?

What am I going to do?

In order to develop a grasp on camera coverage, I am going to produce two short scenes. I will write one script and shoot the camera coverage twice. I will set guidelines and constraints in order to keep the focus entirely on my overall intentions and detract from other areas that I may begin to dip into.

FOCUS

My focus for this task is the camera coverage. I am not focusing on the sound design, lighting or editing. Yes, these will bring up the value of the scenes but they are not my main focus.

The script will be quite simple.

 

For example:

A girl walks down an alleyway (regardless of acting style), I shoot this scene with a fast pace, quick static shots revealing her anxious behavior. Close up shots of her gestures, facial expressions, aspects of the location that look eerie.

I then shoot the scene again but use tracking shots that are wider and distance the audience from the character. She still looks anxious, but perhaps the second scene provides the perspective of the perpetrator and the first provides the perspective from the girl. This is the beginning of my investigation.

Constraints

• One script shot in two different ways.
• One version is to be filmed using static shots and a narrow depth-of-field.
• The second version is to be filmed using tracks with a wider depth-of-field.
• The script will be developed using the inspiration from the chosen location.
• 1 or 2 actors
• Lighting? Undecided as to whether a constraint relies upon natural lighting. I would prefer to light the scene myself, although I don’t want to detract from the purpose of the task.
• I will manipulate my K (Kelvin) temperature. I want to investigate how the color temperature can influence a scene. I want to do this through the cinematography and not post production editing.
• I will not color correct either scene. The final edited cut will be using the raw footage.

How will I analyze my results?

 

I will write a report comparing and contrasting both of the scenes. Questions that I will be asking are;

• What story does each scene portray through the use of the camera?
• How do they differ? Are they similar?
• Which scene evokes a greater emotional response from the audience?
• Which approach is more professional?
• How could they be improved, technically?
• Was this task effective/useful?
• Were there extraneous variables or obstacles that I had to overcome on set that had an impact on the final product?
• Did I meet my contention?

 

My desired outcome with this exercise is to have further developed a style as a cinematographer. I wish to have a better understanding of my approach to productions and my working style.

I have further investigated these terms in order to gain a thorough understanding of their interaction within films. I have a very base knowledge of these terms. Mise en scene refers to every independent element within a scene. This can be from hair, costume and make up to the colour of the wall paper. Everything that the set designers place in front of the camera has a purpose – to aid in the story telling process. When the audience is watching the introduction of a character in their home, the audience doesn’t have to wait for the character to speak to establish what type of person they are. The set dressings within the home reveal to the audience who this person is. It is like cutting the corners. Photos on the wall reveal whether this person has a family, what their values are. The clothes and make up that they wear indicate in what field they might work and what socio economic status they stand in. Film consumer enthusiasts are more knowledgable than what we give them credit for. They have greater recognition for character stereotypes and the connections that are commonly seen in films. Of course there are variances with culture and other artefacts. Generally there is an overall understanding amongst the audience of the traditional archetype characters, locations and settings. Colour plays a huge role in mise en scene, as it eludes to the mood of a scene. Cooler and darker hues relate to isolation, eeriness or danger. Warmer hues within a home may relate to a feeling of comfort. Subconsciously audiences are absorbing all of the cues that the filmmaker place in order to evoke a desired response. These stereotypes and cues have been present since the beginning of cinema and although, colour, historical values and other variables have changed, the semiotics of mise en scene haven’t.

Through my research I have been established a deeper understanding of mise en scene [Corrigan T, White, P: The Film Experience 2012]. I have learnt that not only does mise on scene relate to the external surroundings of the story but also to the internal thoughts and feelings of the character. With the omission of dialogue and through not only the acting by also the mise en scene, the audience can identify with a character. For example, in ‘Marie Antoinette’, the film makers place Kirsten Dunst within a ‘Medium Close Up’ in front of a floral, scenic asymmetrical wall paper. This image reflects the characters inner turmoil and discontent. The Mise en scene also relates to the blocking of characters and their position within the frame. This is relevant within the film ‘Metropolis’ (1927) where the men line up in linear formation all wearing grey jackets. This is eluding to the progression of society and how the future of man will lose their true individuality and identity. Use of space within the frame is also very important. Within the film ‘Brokeback Mountain’ the location and environment are a reflection of the characters exploration of sexuality and intimacy. The mountains are visually depicted as over baring, which may mirror how their wives or society view them. The wide-open spaces imitate the characters journey and the expansion of their individual discoveries.

Decoupage – “…the definitive form of the scenario,…” [Abel, R. French Film Theory and Critism 1988]. This can also refer to the arrangement of shots and the design of the film. It can also be redefined as “…the overarching organisation of montage” [Bordwell, D. On the History of Film Style 1997]. Through my research I have gathered information on Decoupage. Decoupage refers to the final form of the script after the Director has annotated his notes referring to every detail that needs to be identified. It is the narrative breakdown of shots and sequences that is formed before production. This document is handed to the crew for their use on set. [Manchel, F. An Analytical Bibliography 1990]. Researching this topic has led me to a few dead ends. Decoupage basically refers to the ‘shot breakdown’ of a scene.

Montage refers to a series or sequence of images. The purpose of montage is to condense time in order for the story to progress through space or time more effectively. It is characterised through editing techniques. Montage is used frequently in feature films as it helps to push the narrative forward. The use of montage can also heighten the emotion and elicit an emotional response from the audience. There are cliches associated with the term ‘Montage’. Filmmakers need to avoid typical montage cliches.

The use of montage can also help identify the relationship between two characters. The camera moves through space from one character in their home to another character in another location. The audience associates these two images to create a third meaning. The images are connected. This technique of montage is called juxtaposition. It is used in multiple ways within all cinema and television broadcast. This technique aids in evoking a desired response from the filmmaker.

My research has been very beneficial. I have a deeper understanding of these terms. Mise en scene is one that resonated with me, hens the overload of research on that topic over the others.

 

I have been brainstorming potential story ideas for my scenes. Using the images that I took of the locations I am gradually finding the inspiration for a story. At this stage I am really fond of the alleyway with the buildings and overgrown vines protruding from them. This location has quite a lot of character. Perhaps I have one girl that is walking through there alone. She feels as though someone is following her. I could shoot this from the perspective of her and from the perspective of the perpetrator. This idea is very cliche and not very innovative. I will begin to incorporate other elements into this idea –

– A twist at the end of the scene.

– She is passing a letter on or some other object that gives the audience something to focus on besides just the character of the girl.

– She meets a friend.

I will use this as a guide to further develop this idea.

This week compiled many elements/objectives and goals. I have explored and researched different aspects of film that will help me to approach my methodology when filming our task for week 6. I investigated the terms mise-en-scene and decoupage. These terms to me are the bread and butter of a film or another broad perspective – the production value. They are characterised by everything we see on screen; the set dressing, colours and hues, make up, props, shot types, and editing. Collectively they become the essence of the style of the filmmaker. The breadth of these terms have inspired further investigation relating to my upcoming scenes. I will apply my knowledge of these terms to my scene by manipulating and exploring colour, shot types and set decoration.

My overall goal and drive in preparing, shooting, reflecting and learning within this course, is to gradually develop my own unique style, methodology and to evolve as a filmmaker. I have found the research and practice very beneficial for reinforcing my skills as a filmmaker.

Our task this week was to break off into small groups and shoot 3 shots where we manipulate/reconstruct the actors within the tighter shots to reveal better light. One of the constraints was that the final Mid Shot had to be shot in a completely different location but still had to match the scene continuity. This exercise was great as it opened doors to the construction of film and how things can be cheated if variables get in the way of a consistent shoot. I really enjoyed working with the girls in our group. One of the girls wasn’t as confident on the camera, so we let her take charge of it and learn along the way. As a group we all problem solved and worked through the task. It was refreshing being in a smaller group.

Method of working:

Our second task for the week is to produce a 30 second piece based on one of the scripts that we’ve previously worked on. I have chosen to produce the ‘dance scene’. I have chosen this scene as it lends itself to creative decision making and is flexible with locations and coverage.

Initial Approach –

There are multiple ways of representing the coverage. I can depict the awkward tension between the characters. This style would mimic the original film. The shots could be well constructed in symmetry, revealing the tension between the characters. I want to try something a little different. I believe the pace has to be quite slow in this scene.

Constraints –

I live two hours from RMIT and I am not coming back into Melbourne until next Wednesday, therefore the scene will be shot at home over the weekend. I have limited equipment – a camera and a tripod. I don’t have lighting equipment and I don’t have sound equipment. All of these constraints are exciting! I really want to focus on the visuals. Aesthetically, I want the images to be dynamic, colourful and interesting. I will omit on location sound recording. I am undecided as to whether I edit post sound into the scene or whether I leave it completely silent. I will most likely add in post sound editing, although this decision will be made in the post production process. I will use non actors to act in the film. I will play the role of Producer, Director, DOP and Editor.

Approach to Producing –

The location that I am hoping to film is private and easy to access. The only considerations that I need to be aware of is the time of day that I shoot. As it will be shot outside, it is weather dependent. I am hoping to shoot the piece tonight at 5pm as the sun is setting. Risky, I know! Otherwise I will shoot it on Sunday at 4pm. I have arranged for two actors to be available this afternoon. If the shoot falls through I have a contingency! Sunday afternoon or Monday.

Approach to Directing –

As the actors that I have chosen aren’t actors, I will not relay a back story to them. They will respond better to mechanical direction. I have chosen these actors as they will barely have to act at all. The characters I envisage in the scene are reflected through the actors day to day mannerisms. I will give them guidance on set and run them down with the context of the scene. I anticipate that they will fall into character very easily without realising it! I think this is because the script doesn’t evoke particular emotions that some people struggle to replicate. For example, if you tell a non actor to be sad, they fish for sad faces. Sometimes even provoking them to dig into past sad times in their life still won’t work! This scene allows the characters to be dynamic and have a bit of fun with it. They can put a bit of their own personalities into their performance.

Approach to Director of Photography –

I am going to focus on one section of the location. I don’t have the time or equipment to dress an entire backyard to make it look like a ‘party’ so therefore the shots will remain restricted. I will dress one ‘gazebo looking thing’ and place the actors in there. I will experiment with shots before I ask the actors to come onto location. I am still undecided as to whether I should use panning and tilting or keep the shots quite still. I want to experiment with this shoot as the Director of Photography. I want to try a lot of different ways of shooting the scene in order to establish what works and what doesn’t work under the constraints. I want to shoot as much coverage as possible and let the editing do the story telling. Usually I would try to pre plan every shot, but that is what is making this exercise exciting and innovative. I will still plan specific cuts as I am filming to ensure that I don’t miss any shots. Overall my intention is to freely explore the role as DOP and use this exercise to apply my learnt skills to my upcoming scenes. I will reflect on this in next weeks blog.

April 17, 2015 – Location Scouting

On Wednesday after class I went on a hunt for potential locations. The purpose of this task was to help generate ideas for the script. Unfortunately, the building that I was intending on shooting is under construction. Dim times.

Below are some images of the locations that were of immediate interest to me.

 

I really liked some of the locations for their historical look/feel. The buildings are quite desolate. I like the look of the blue stone. In terms of actually shooting in these locations I need to take into consideration…

– Light: Depending on what time of day I shoot, the sun can be quite harsh. In the last photo you can see that the sun is causing too much contrasting light onto the building. These photos were taken at around 3:30pm.

– The first four photos were taken in a busy area near where students were having lunch and relaxing. I may need to consider sound continuity and perhaps look into post sound editing. I will also consider this when writing the script.

– There wasn’t much room for movement within most of these locations. I would be confined to one area of the location. This may contradict my use of the moving camera or it may actually provide a better working environment.

– There was a long ‘alleyway’ type walk through. This looked aesthetically pleasing. It was quite dark and ominous with narrow walk ways and overgrown plants onto the brick walls.

I will sit down and using these images, I will be brainstorm film screenplay ideas. This will be my next task over the weekend.

April 13, 2015

On the weekend I photographed a wedding. I had two cameras and had to match all the settings on both of them so that the photos would flow and look similar. One camera had a big 70-200mm lens and the other had a wider 24-105mm lens. This allowed me to capture closer shots without being invasive and then wider shots of guests and the cars etc… This experience has caused me to consider these variables for my two scenes.

I am considering using my ‘Canon 5D Mark III’ to shoot both scenes. I understand that it is not a ‘cinema’ camera, but it is such a high quality image and I would encourage the opportunity to practice with my camera using video. I would also be able to borrow a couple of different lenses that would change the image incredibly.

I have been considering colour balancing and how I can use that to manipulate the image. Before I shoot both of the scenes I am going to complete a test photo shoot of the location. I will interchange the lenses and take comparison photos. Through trial and error I will choose two contrasting colour temperatures and note down the ‘Kelvin’ (K) figure. I will attempt to make one warmer than the other, with both still retaining a clear white balance. I will experiment with lighting to help manipulate this element. Lighting that I will use may be Red Heads with a filter/diffuser and a simple LED fill light. Depending on the context of the scene I may bring along lamps that I can then use as a light source. All lights will depend on the location and where the light source is coming from, for example if there is a window and what time of day it is.

This coming Wednesday I will investigate potential locations. I will take my camera for a preliminary photo shoot. These photos will be used to refer to when producing the screenplay and determining space and light. A more extensive photo shoot will take place once the idea is more developed. The photos taken from this shoot will mimic shot types from the shot list and will help me to prepare lighting and camera set ups.

Wednesday’s work will be uploaded and reflected on on Wednesday night.