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Critical Reflection FN2

Later Anna

Role - Director and Writer

For me this film was something quite special, the process of making it especially. I wrote the script after being inspired by the location it was shot in. After seeing the stunning lecturer with its huge windows that would provide a stunning natural light as well receiving the task of shooting on campus, I knew what I wanted to create. After brainstorming independently and with my crew I got them on board with the idea of romantic conflict drama and we began the pre-production. Before anything went ahead I sorted out getting access to the lecturer hall. After a few emails back and forth between myself and Zoe we managed to secure two filming days there. The rest of pre-production consisted of writing the screenplay, going over mood boards with Max, planning the extras which consisted of making a very large group chat and convincing half the film course to help out. The directing aspect of this film however I felt was my biggest contribution. I found this is where I really managed to portray what I wanted to create to my crew, cast and extras.

The feedback of our film was mixed. We received pointers on aspects that I was annoyingly aware of and wished I could of changed pre-crit. We did receive positive feedback about the scale of the project which I appreciate considering the time put into this aspect, location and extras etc. The feedback that resonated with me the most was the idea of prioritising certain aspects of the film - such as the length of the introduction compared the length of the conflict. I think the feedback was somewhat brutally honest which is useful and fair. I found I struggled to see the light in the feedback as the negatives kept centre in my mind. Davids appraisal of the panning down shot of the raising hand was small win for myself as I had this shot in my head before I even wrote the script.

I found the class feedback to be useful especially in the brain storming phase of the film, along with the editing classes being informative in terms of keeping the idea of how I wanted it edited in mind.

I find the films strongest points to be the leading actors chemistry, the location, the extras and the cinematography. I think what let the film down was the prioritising of certain clips over others and overall the lack of revisions on the edit.

I think in terms of post production and production we all worked very well together as a crew. Bouncing off one another throughout and keeping each other on track. In post I felt communication suffered, perhaps due to the Easter break and everyone being located away from each other.

I enjoyed seeing my classmates films due to the sheer differences between them all. I found that it was interesting to see the creations of the films from people I knew at only a classmate level as well those who I was close too. For me it's almost like getting to know someone better without even talking to them. An interesting aspect of the shoot was seeing 'Helpline' a film created by Ariel Homossany's group. Having been on set for both shooting days as an assistant and sitting in on Ariel editing the project, it was interesting to see it come together from an outside perspective.

Overall I see 'Later Anna' as a learning experience. I feel a hint of disappointment in the film not quite achieving the vision I had in my mind but a pride in myself for putting my all into it. I am very much inspired by the feedback and excited to go back over and edit the film myself to try achieve the films true potential.

#filmnarrative2

POST PRODUCTION - LATER ANNA

Post Production fell primarily into the hands of the DOP and editor Max Brodback. There were many aspects of the film throughout post that I found came together nicely such as the colour grade.

However, due to a lack of time I didn't get to effectively look over the film and come back with new revisions. As a result of this there where still issues within the film that I wanted to change but couldn't. This for me was the biggest lesson throughout the whole of shooting. Despite the pre-production and production running efficiently a rushed workflow in post-production took away from the previous hard work.

#filmnarrative2

DAY TWO - SHOOT DAY - FN2 - LATER ANNA

The second day of filming was in my opinion the most enjoyable. The fact we had the core dialogue between Anna and Mr. Hardy allowed for us to use this day to capture the creative aspects of the film. We focused on the opening and closing of the film as well as capturing the extras fully.

Unlike the previous shooting day where my focus was solely on the crew and actors this time I had to direct a set of around 30. I enjoyed the challenge and found that the day went smoothly.

The crew worked very streamlined, having learnt from our first day of shooting we hit the ground running and managed to capture everything we needed.

BTS Photography by Kieran Craig.

#filmnarrative2

DAY ONE - SHOOT DAY - FN2 - 'LATER ANNA'

The first day of filming was productive as well a tremendous learning experience.

The plan for Monday was to shoot the medium and CU shots of the core dialogue between characters Anna and James. Then on Wednesday, we planned on shooting the wide opening and closing shots and any other shots involving the extras.

Due to this being my first time directing anything that involves more than just myself and one actor, I found there was much to learn on the day. I discovered quickly that I was able to direct the actor of James clearer than I could with the actor playing Anna. This could be because I have worked with the actor playing James on previous productions and therefore have better communication with him. However, I did not let this stop me from directing Anna. I changed the way I approached directing her until I found a way that clicked in terms of communication. I found that when I was more expressive in exactly where I wanted certain shifts in her tone, we got the ball rolling. From there both actors were able to snap off one another and the shots came out just as I envisioned them in my mind.

This was also due to my DOP, Max Brodbeck being very intuitive in capturing my vision through the camera. Despite this being the first time working together I find we were able to share a thought process quite quickly well still challenging and refining each other’s ideas. My two other crew members on the shoot worked incredibly well with one another and with the rest of the crew. With Lewis Norton in control of sound as the boom operator, he was able to quickly set up and give efficient feedback. Producer Robbie Anderson kept the set in check in terms of time and kept everything on track well also writing up the camera report and sound report with Lewis.

Altogether I felt the day was a success, with us capturing the shots needed this allowed us to really make the most of the coming Wednesday where our creativity will really be able to come out.

#filmnarrative2

PRE PRODUCTION - SCREENPLAY CREATION AND GROUP MEETING - FN2 - LATER ANNA

My group and I are very much on track for our shoot days of the 21th and the 23rd of March.

We have completed all pre-production and submitted all the materials needed to be approved to shoot. We have permission to shoot in our first location pick which is going to make a massive difference to the cinematography of the film. Both of the two main actors have been given there scripts and a date for a rehearsal between to two is now being planned for next week.

I undertook the task of writing the screenplay for our FN2 film, ‘Later Anna’. I found this to be an intriguing task. This was one of my first attempts at writing a screenplay and I found it to quite interesting seeing the process of creating the completely raw element of a film. I found it not being any longer than three minutes a challenge. But I feel that we will be able to get the story across in a smooth and dramatic manner even with the time constraint.

After running through the script with Ariel Homossany who will be playing the lecturer, James Hardy. I feel confident in his abilities to portray the character and am looking forward to how the two leads will spark off one another.

My group will be meeting on the coming tuesday to go over final plans, draw up a final storyboard with my DOP Max Brodbeck and finalize any small changes we want making to the script.

Producer Robbie Anderson has made swift work of the pre-production planning and sound recordist Lewis Norton has hit me with some interesting ideas on how he plans to record audio of the film.

#filmnarrative2

Representing the Real - Class Notes

Need to address the central conflict, answer the question in a human way.

Don’t fall into the temptation of falling into the most obvious conflict. – apart from him just owning a music shop and being passionate about music look at the potential financial struggles involved and why choose music? Is it an escape?

Should be a clear human connection and have emotion that will click with everyone in some way.

Don’t have the documentary be just a list of facts about the person.

Potential Pitches

Tommy’s shop isn’t just a way for him to make money it is what keeps him happy in his life, a source of happiness for him that is portrayed through his connection he has with his customers.

Am not sure tommy would stop working in his shop if he was making no money from it. For the past 35 years he has been selling vinyl’, CDs etc. Once he spent two years looking for a record that a client asked for. Doesn’t know a life outside of his music shop, he fears what happens if he stops running it in terms of his mentality.

#representingthereal

Representing the Real - Research

Before my group and I can begin filming the documentary we spent the week researching different aspects of our film. I focused on looking at the past life of Tommy Robertson AKA The Madhat Man DJ and the owner of the fascinating music shop, Backtracks Music. I explored the new articles that have been written about Tommy, all showcasing what he is like as a character. From him searching for two years for a vinyl that was requested to give to a customer to helping start a movement on tackling waste in hotels. The range of articles about him show both his good character and his passion for music that we want to try express in the documentary.

#representingthereal

Representing the Real (Meeting Two)

During the second meeting with the group, which took place over an online call, we discussed where we were up to and the plans for the coming weeks.

Before this second meeting after some discussion on our group chat we decided it would be best if we all didn’t go in to talk to him as that could be quite overwhelming and that it would be easier if Ben (Director) and Aisling (Producer) went in and spoke to him about the project on there own.

After discussing what he said to them during this call, which was that he was very intrigued and liked them to come back with more information once they have discussed it with us, we came up with the pitch we wanted to give to him.

We decided we wanted to focus on his passion for music, looking at what caused him to start this unique shop, how its still running after 35 years, and what he thinks the future holds for him in this world of advanced technologies. We want to have a focus on nostalgia as well as looking at the rapidly changing present and future.

We are willing to change this if we feel there is different path we should go down, or if he wants to focus on another specific aspect of his life. But that is our current main theme.

We have planned to meet again to discuss research after our first in person tutorial with Joe Li.

#representingthereal

Representing the Real - Idea Exploration (Meeting One)

After the first meeting with my group where we discussed are thoughts about the project over coffee we decided to investigate a potential lead for a short documentary, looking at a man running an incredible music shop.

We spoke to him and looked around the shop but did not mention a the idea of shooting a documentary about him yet. We thought it would be best that he saw our faces first and that we could look around the shop and get a feel of him as an individual.

After this we decided as a group that this was the route we wanted to go down and agreed to meet up later in week with more ideas about the project.

#representingthereal

Film Narrative One - Initial Plan

Film Narrative One Tag Line – Set in a large lecture hall, the short shows an interaction between a lecturer and his student, revealing their intense history through a heated debate.

Lecturer Character Biography – A smooth-talking figure with charismatic charm and a clever sense of humour. He is young and highly educated. He enjoys teaching his class and being the centre of attention. He enjoys friendly banter with his students, enjoying the idea of being the ‘cool’ lecturer. Yet he has a deeper aggression that comes with being belittled or disrespected. He has a line, and once that’s broken, his humorous character switches to toxic rage very quickly. He is specifically close with one of his female students, having had a questionable past with her. He is not used to rejection, and he is used to getting what he wants due to his charm and good looks, so when he does not, it is another trigger for that suppressed anger.

Female Student Biography – (Rough name for convenience: ANNA) A confident student always happy to speak up and share her voice. She has a teasing, flirtatious personality. She is intelligent and enjoys challenging her lecturer.

Rough Synopsis

We open with a wide shot of a lecturer hall full of chatter amongst the students. We cut to the students, then to the empty front of the hall and then back to the students as the lecturer walks through the doors with a confident stride. He makes a small joke about this class being his favourite to teach as their always early. The joke receives a cheerful laugh from the students. We cut to a side profile shot of Anna watching him as he walks in and makes his way to the front of the hall. We jump forward to the lecturer discussing a paused scene from the movie Call Me by Your Name. He discusses the power dynamic between the two main love interests in the film. We cut to a hand being raised from Anna. The lecturer smirks, thanking her for raising her hand this time and asks her to share her thoughts. She goes on to dismiss his idea of how their relationship works. They are making intense eye contact through the exchange. They go back and forth until Anna makes a remark that crosses the lecturer’s mental line of flirty/friendly to disrespectful. The lecturer begins to lose the cheeky smile that has been on his face since the start of the conversation. Irritated, he asks her to stop. She continues to press with her comments, comparing herself and him to the two love interests. At this point, the lecturer slams his fist on the desk, shocking Anna, the rest of the class and himself. There is silence, besides a cough from one student and the sound of another writing notes on the argument that just unfolded. Keeping his head down, the lecturer tells her to leave. She stands up with sass, exclaiming that he never usually wants her to leave. He looks at her with rage in his eyes as she walks out of the class. He lets go of the table that he has been gripping since the interaction became aggressive and lets out a shallow breath. With the same tone as his initial introduction, he tries to make a joke about the situation, receiving a few awkward laughs, a very different response to his initial joke. The camera stays on the lecturer for a while, moving in closer as he processes what just happened as the camera pulls in, it shifts around him. Now seeing the students from his perspective, the lecturer drops his head, and we cut to black.

#filmnarrative2

Representing the Real

Exercise One - Short film Analysis

Looking at ‘Same but Different’ firstly there is a well rounded story developed within this short doc/film. We learn that these two best friends are going through a change in there relationship as one transitions into a women. There is a clear focus on the care these two people have for one another and the determination to keep their friendship alive. We can see the research put into the project through the topics discussed by the two that give clear amount of detail to there friendship. Both characters are represented as there own individuals whose lives have been made better by the others company, well also showing the humanity of both, seen through their emotional struggles throughout this transition. The filmmaker does not have a voice in this short but we can see its clear the message she was trying to get across, that real friendship prevails all challenges. I think the film is structured well with background information given, if i was the creator of said film I would of liked to include perhaps more information of the origin of there friendship and maybe have a verbal comment from a third party such as Byron's wife discussing the friendship of the two, of course this may of not been possible.

Rating 7.5/10

Director - Louise Leitch

Looking next at the abstract short by Luke Fowler titled ‘Lester’ we take a look at a unique home through a very free handheld camera. There lacked a clear focus in the short, but this seemed to be the intended approach, showcasing more the location in general then any specific item. I found the filmmaking to be quite personal, as if almost the resident picked up a camera and strolled around the apartment themselves. I would say the pleasant score of a cello adds depth to the short and without this the film would of struggled to entertain a viewer. I also did enjoy the warmth given by the tones of the 16mm film but found the short didn't really do much for me.

Rating 4/10

Director Luke Fowler

‘Portrait of GA’ was the next short i watched and found there was some quite pleasurable about the abstract film. We do not learn a lot about Ga yet we almost don't need to. This does not seem to be the goal of the short, it is not trying to dissect the life of this women, instead it is just showing the pleasures she has in life. The personal connection between the filmmaker and character is very clear, with this intimacy visible in the relaxed and free manner of Ga could possibly be something only seen by her daughter before this portrait was made. The cinematography of the short was very pleasant, with a very human style of filming, as if we were looking through Margaret Taits eyes as she watched her mother.

Director Margaret Tait

Rating 7/10

Finally there is ‘The Pigeon Seduction’ which focuses on on the unique topic of Doo flying. We learn about the sport from the character of James, a self proclaimed pigeon man. The film has the clear focus of trying to understand the cultural of owning and flying pigeons. James is represented as someone with much love for the hobby and his passion is clearly depicted in the short. We see the voice of one of the filmmakers chatting with James, trying to understand further the hobby. The cinematography was simple and nothing extraordinary but it got the measure across of what the life of a pigeon man looks like. If i were to shoot this short I would stick with a handheld camera but allow for larger variety of shots. showcasing James home as a whole and the pub that the pigeons are sold in.

Director Lisa Peterson and Nicky Spears

Rating 7.8/10

#representingthereal

Prisoners Recreation - Post Production + Final Thoughts

Post-Production The film's editing was in the hands of Ariel who nailed the colour grading and cuts of the scene. Despite an error with the editing software, which delayed us slightly, we were happy with our outcome. Final Thoughts Overall, I felt this scene recreation was an example of teamwork and not throwing in the towel. We were determined to have a scene we would be proud of, and I am happy to say I am. I think the crew learnt a lot of lessons from this shoot. The main one for me is always checking the contents of the gear borrowed as soon as it is acquired to avoid any further complications down the line. To conclude my written analysis of our scene recreation, my team handled the task with skill and determination, and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.

Prisoners Recreation - Shoot Day

On shoot day we had a few challenges to overcome. After a slip up with the equipment rental shooting times had to be pushed back slightly, meaning less daylight to shoot with. This meant Ariel and I had to get set up as quickly as possible. This consisted of parking the car in the location and setting up lighting equipment, bounce pads, tripods, and sound. We realized a crucial component was missing from our Black Magic case during this set up. The batteries. After a quick brainstorm we realized, we would have to shoot with Ariels Sony A7iii as this could shoot 4K in full frame. Once set-up was complete, we began to shoot. Everyone’s hands besides the actors were holding either reflectors, bounce pads or water bottles with holes poked into the top which acted as our ‘rain’. After a smooth performance by our actors and scan through of the scene and shot list we were happy that we had accurately captured the scene and called a wrap on set.

Prisoners Recreation - Pre Production

The task of recreating this scene from Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Prisoners’ was not an essay challenge, but most likely neither was shooting the real scene. The crew and i discussed shooting a scene from the film as a joke at first, and it wasn’t until we broke down the confrontation scene between detective Loki and Keller Dover in Loki’s car that we decided it would be possible to recreate something from Villeneuve’s thriller.

The first step was for myself and fellow DOP, Ariel Homossany, to break down the scene’s lighting. I noticed that the lighting was simple yet powerful, with intense shadows coming into play and the primary light source being natural light. We figured out that we could shoot the scene with the correct manipulation of daylight and a LED panels.

The following steps in pre-production was writing up a kit list after i discussed what we will need with director Joe Matheson and producer Kyle Craig. We then booked the equipment and sourced the props and clothing needed.

Short Fiction Film - Lighting Contribution

Junior Messenger (2021)

Lighting throughout this short like most content in cinema is crucial to add to the storyline. The very famous orange and teal colour palette which contrasts each other beautifully gives a dramatic feel to the short. With the key orange light proving coverage of the actor face and the blue/teal backlight provides the highlights. The decision for the short to be shot in dark adds to the intensity of the scene and helps build the impression on the amount of strain that the doctor is going through as she works through the night. The lighting is a change from the sterile bright lighting that typically associated with hospitals. Overall the hard light used adds to the storyline of general exhaustion and the matches the emotional tone of the whole short.

Director - Azeem Bhati

DOP - Miguel Carmenes

Rating - 6/10

Cinematography - Theory and Practice (Pages 260-270)

Lightening is a core fundamental when it comes to cinematography, and it is something I believe I will constantly learn about. Due to the large number of techniques, styles and information there is out there and the fact new methods of lighting are created constantly. These pages focus on the elements of lighting, breaking down terms I have heard in passing in detail, such as ‘shape’. Light for me is how you paint the picture you are trying to express to the viewer, so these detailed descriptions of its contents are crucial.

Cinematography - Theory and Practice (Pages 30-40 Summary)

These pages focus on the importance of lens choice. Exploring all the different aspects of choosing a lens and what comes from this choice. Focusing on the effects that different aspects of a lens have. The contents of these pages have solidified my knowledge of lens further as well as introducing me to new ideas, such as the complexity of shifting focus during a scene and the effect this can have. As of course the viewers attention is on what is in focus, so your decision here can make or break a shot. To conclude these pages made me think more about the importance of lens choice and all the different creative choices that come with it.

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