This is the visual exercise that me and Kirsty did together. Below is the section for the play “A Taste of Honey” that we based these shots on. We wanted to focus on the relationship between Jo and her mother, Helen. Neither of us focuses on camera or cinematography but we tried our best to make dynamic shots that reflect their relationship but also give full coverage of the scene. The first one is Jo entering the kitchen when Helen is cooking over the hob. This introduces the characters and opens the scene. The middle shots are shot, reverse shot of them talking while standing in the kitchen. They are over the shoulder shots which would give good coverage of the scene. The last one is a wide of both characters standing together. They are facing each other and this shot shows their dynamic together. It also gives coverage to see the whole scene play out.
My idea for “A Taste of Honey” adaptation is based off the scene when Geoffrey first comes into Jo’s house. She learns about his sexuality and is very keen to know more, asking very invasive personal questions. She acts totally inappropriately when Geoffrey is obviously uncomfortable talking about his sexuality. My idea is to have a similar dynamic but looking at modern “fag hags”. This phrase is about heterosexual women that send a lot of their time around gay men as they are seen as a safer option to hang around with. They will often call them their “GBF” (gay best friend) and go to gay bars and drag shows. The gay male is seen only for their sexuality and these women can act very inappropriately around them. The idea for the film to be about a young man (early 20s, student) in a gay bar obviously looking to find someone. A young women (late teens, student) comes up to him asking if he is gay and is he would be her gay best friend. She is obviously very drunk and won’t leave him alone. She starts asking very inappropriate questions, especially when he catches the eye of another man who checks him out and sends him a drink. I haven’t spent that much time developing this idea. I am working with Kirsty on this project to make the teaser films so we are going to meet and discuss our ideas together.
The first week of this module we watched “A Taste of Honey” (1961). We are adapting this play into a short film for this module. I hadn’t heard of the play before so didn’t have any idea what to suspect. The film is black and white and quite slow. Overall I thought the film was okay. It was a bit boring in sections but it deals with interesting themes and the characters are complex. I think it will be interesting to adapt as we will be able to pick and chose what aspects of the film we are most interested in.
MacDougall discusses in this extract how films cannot accurately represent memories. They are simply recording how we convey what we remember and not how we experience the memory. He also discusses how the films will convey a very different message depending on who is viewing it. By focusing on memories in a film it only exaggerates the flaws in our memories e.g it being selective and ideological. Objects are also not accurate in representing memories. They are not the same as they were in the past. A photograph of an object is more accurate as it has the context of the things around it. Objects can only spark a memory. Photographs can be used in the same way however they are being confused with actual memories. Interviews are being linked with newsreel and photographs as if they are the memories of the speaker. Images can influence how we think about the past and we now think photographically instead of visually. We remember film/photographs of the event instead of the actual event which results in it being more powerful and consistent as we can experience it even if we weren’t there. These images can be very useful in constructing and preserving the past. MacDougall argues that the distinction between photographs and people’s photographic memories is not made clear enough meaning archives are not being used critically.
I agree with MacDougall that films cannot accurately show memories. We cannot represent an event well based purely off people recounting it, especially if it was a long time ago and we certainly cannot recreate the experience of that person’s memories. Photographs can be useful to spark a memory but cannot represent the whole memory, only a tiny part of it. I agree with him that it does change how we think of the past. It is not a good film practice to link an interview with newsreel/footage as it automatically makes the viewer think that the footage is accurate of the speaker's memory whereas they are not the same thing. However, it can be useful to illustrate what the speaker is talking about. Overall, I agree that films cannot represent memories completely and photos/film are not accurate either.
“The Importance of Elsewhere” by Philip Larkin
This reading is a poem about the theme of home. It is a very short poem, only three paragraphs and twelve lines in total. The poem starts with the writer conveys how he feels different in Ireland than when he is at home. He feels alone and isolated as it is unfamiliar but can accept that he won't feel at home here. He then goes on to describe what it is like in Ireland. This section is very descriptive and visual. He describes the landscape but also the smells and sounds of Ireland. This makes him feel as if he does not belong there. The last paragraph of the poem discusses his home back in England. He feels at home there because he knows it. I really like the writing style of this poem, especially the way he describes Ireland. It is easy to picture and reminds me of when I was in Ireland. The feelings he describes are very relatable and a feeling I think most people would have had when they are away from home. Some of the lines in the poem I struggled to completely understand what the writer meant. The poem sparked new ideas for our documentary film that I previously hadn't thought about.
“Ignorance” by Milan Kundera
This is a short extract about nostalgia focusing on Odysseus. The passage begins by discussing in a lot of depth the origins of the word “nostalgia”. He explores the word in different languages and it’s different meanings and interpretations. Nostalgia can mean a longing for ones home and a sadness caused by not being able to return there but it can also be the ignorance of not being able to know what is going on at home. The author later discusses Odysseus and his nostalgia for his home. He wants to return home so desperately that he would give up his luxuries life on Calypso's Island. This extract finishes by explaining how memories must be shared and recollected with people so they do not fade. I think this is a very lovely piece of writing that made me think a lot about my own memories and nostalgia. I love how the origin of the word is discussed in such depth and made me question how I use the word. The example used of Odysseus is very interesting.
“Remembrance of Things Past 1” by Marcel Proust
This reading is an extract from Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust. In this extract, he is remembering a childhood memory. The author starts by describing what he remembers of a place he visited as a boy and how in his mind it only exists in a very particular place and time. He explains the Celtic belief that when someone dies their soul is trapped in an inanimate object until they can be released by someone recognising them. Proust compares this to how our memories of the past are out fo reach and it is futile to try and hold onto them. He thinks memories should be left in the past and we should focus on the present/future as it is less painful. The main part of this extract discusses the moment when a cup of tea sparks memories of Combray for him. He recognises the taste of the madeleine dipped in tea and has an intense reaction to it but cannot place the feeling. He has to try really hard to remember and eventually recalls his aunt giving him it when he was a boy. This whole memory that was completely forgotten suddenly sprang forward from a cup of tea and sparked him remembering all about Combray. It is very interesting how Proust discusses how smell and taste can bring forward memories, previously lost. This is something I would love to explore in my own documentary and think it is a very interesting concept. I love the style that Proust writes in. I think it is very poetic however can be a little hard to completely understand at some points. I really like how he goes into so much detail about his reaction to the cup of tea.
“Herzog on Herzog” ed. By Paul Cronin
This reading is an interview with the filmmaker of “The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner” which was a documentary we watched this week. My response to this film is also posted on this blog. It was very interesting being able to learn about behind the scenes of the film and the filmmaker’s process of making the film. He describes filmmaking as a very physical thing. He is very passionate about it and says his need to make films is as great as the need to breathe. This passion is very inspiring as a young filmmaker. He was a ski jumper as a child and considers Steiner to be the best ski jumpers in his generation which is why he chose him as the focus for the documentary. Herzog explains some of the difficulties he had when filming such as he was unclear of the direction of the film and wasn't sure what to do with all the footage he had. He also struggled to get Steiner to open up in camera but eventually, he had one pivotal moment when he became closer to Steiner. He used five cameramen with special slow-motion cameras to film the documentary. They were very hard to use and you had to be very precise with them. A particularly hard part to get was Steiner to tell the raven story as it was very emotional and uncomfortable for him to discuss. He compares filmmaking to ski jumping and says there is no one to help you once you have started and you have to overcome the fear to see it to the end. He also goes into great detail about his process on set and the way he makes his films. I found this part very interesting. It was very intriguing to see how he went about directing his films and his very hands-on physical approach.
When we came into class on Monday, instead of doing the module introduction, about 5 of us went to a production design seminar by Mark Leese that was being held for the fourth years. Mark Leese is a production designer currently working in the industry that has worked on “This is England” and “The Cry’. We read a page long exert from the script “Anna Weiss” by Mike Cullen. Two people read out the script then we all discussed how we would go about designing the space. It was very interesting to see how everyone had interpreted the script slightly differently and how we all would have designed something different. Mike went into lots of detail about every single aspect of the script that would have to be developed and designed from set to props to costume. We then watched the first 10 minutes of “Se7en” and he went through each little bit describing the design that had gone into creating it and why they would have chosen to do it like that. He gave lots of useful advice such as pay attention to every little detail as every choice will have an effect on the audience and everything has to be believable and suit the character and environment. He talked a lot about the industry and how it works in terms of the art department. He also gave a couple suggestions about ways to make it into the industry and get trainee jobs. I think this seminar was incredibly useful. It was so interesting being able to talk to someone that works in the industry and knows so much about production design. As I want to specialise in production design I think it was invaluable being actually taught how to do it and I would love for more things like that to be incorporated into the course. Before this seminar, no one had really told us how to go about doing production design.
My initial idea for this project was to look at tiny houses and houseboats. I wanted to focus on a couple characters and find out how they make these places home and why they have chosen to live there.
During my research for this, I discovered the Social Bite Homeless Tiny House Community that opened in 2018. This is a charity run project that gives homeless people small scale houses for free. There is also a community centre and support for these people to give them a chance to get back on their feet. There are cooking lessons, counselling, sports facilities, support in finding employment and long term housing and aftercare once they have left. There are up to 20 people living in this community at one time living in 2 bedroom tiny houses that are 3.4 meters wide and up to 7 meters long called “NestHouses”.
For my film I would like to speak to the people living in these houses, discover their stories and their plans for the future. I would like it to be an uplifting documentary about people being given the chance to turn their lives around. I would also interview the founders of the project and the other staff/volunteers that work there to discover more about the project as a whole.
I have emailed the two founders of the project and I am just waiting for a response.
Documentary - “The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner” Response
This documentary is about a ski jumper called Steiner. The film follows him competing in events and eventually winning them. It consists of interviews with him, narration from the filmmaker and footage taken from the televising of the events.
The soundtrack to this film is mostly music. It is very emotional music and really adds to the atmosphere of the film. It is slow and dreamy but creates an uplifting mood. The footage of crashes in the film is very graphic and intense. This makes the audience's reaction much stronger. Repetition is used heavily throughout the film. This adds a lot of emphases, especially to the crash sequences. The brutality and harshness of the sport are really shown in these sequences.
The interviews with Steiner are very personal. The camera zooms in, close to his face which makes it very intimate. He also discusses very personal things such as his childhood and the expectations of him. These interviews are emotional and show his passion.
The filmmaker inserts himself into the film. He does the narration and is on screen for a large part of the film. The events unfold as they are filmed instead of looking back on them. The filmmaker is discovering it as it happens. He uses dramatic language such as “certain death” to increase the stakes. A lot of the film is made up of found footage. It is footage that they have taken from the televised footage of the events. This meant that they didn't have to film it themselves and could focus on filming behind the scenes of the events which is more personal. There is lots of tension and anticipation built up throughout the film for his jumps which are very slow and silent. The ending of the film is happy and triumphant as Steiner has won the competition but it has a bittersweet note as he is also angry at the organisation.
I am quite confused about the title of the film. It is called “The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner” however Steiner is not a woodcarver but a ski jumper. It is also translated slightly differently. In the title of the video, it says “Woodcarver” however in the actual film the title says “Sculptor”. I enjoyed this film despite it being a little bit slow in places. I think it was uplifting and inspiring. I felt like I learnt a lot about something I had previously no knowledge of. The style of the documentary is very interesting and I like how the filmmaker inserted himself in the film.
The feedback that we received for Fully Clothed was overall mostly positive. They thought our storytelling was very good and the film was funny and enjoyable. They had a few issues with the sound levels as Zoe thought that they took you out of the film. They also all agreed that the final pub end credit scene should have been cut entirely from the film as it ruined the world that had been created. I didn’t receive a huge amount of feedback that was specific to production design. I talked a little bit about my motivation for the costume choice. As I discussed with Emma I wanted costumes that would look really uncomfortable to wear soaking wet in the shower. This mainly applied to the big jumper that the girl wore. Zoe really liked the choice of the jumper and thought it worked very well with the characters and in the film. Olivia thought this motivation was very good and was a nice choice for the film. She also liked how they looked comfortable and casual; as if they are comfortable enough around each other to not dress up. I also talked about the set design that I did and how I made the living room look homely and cosy.
Looking back at the film I am very happy with how it turned out. I like the storytelling and agree that it is funny and interesting. I think post production could have used some more time to neaten things up and ensure all the sound levels were good. There are a lot of production design things that I did that were cut from the final film during the edit. For example in the pub scene, I had put a lot of effort into enure all the cast had bright colourful socks and had got a shoe rack for the entrance. None of this was seen in the final cut which was a shame. Many of the details in the set design in the flat were lost too because of the framing. I think most of the production design I did comes across well though and adds to the storytelling of the film. It helps create the world for these characters and adds to the atmosphere of the film.
Waiting on a Friend
We got very good feedback for this film. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. They thought the style was very strong and the sound was amazing. They had mixed feelings about the montage and the book ends structure but overall they thought the storytelling was very good. My costume decisions got questioned quite a bit by everyone. They thought that he looked too posh and smart to look like an outsider. He looked sharp and nice which makes it seem unlikely that he wouldn’t have friends. This was partially down to the casting choice but mostly because of my costume choices. The camel jacket was really hated by everyone and they thought it didn't fit at all. A loner wouldn’t wear a jacket like that. Olivia thought he looked like a child dressed in his dad clothes because Richard looks quite young. The fact that we were filming in an obvious student flat made this stand out even more as he was dressed too well to suit the flat. Catriona thought he should look more dishevelled to make it more immediately obvious that he is an outcast.
Sigrid got lots of good feedback. Claire really liked it and asked how I made it so I explained that I spray painted it then added the lights. Zoe said I did a very good job with it and overall everyone seemed to think it was good. Olivia liked how it was slightly rustic so it looked like Matthew couldn’t afford the top of the line technology but in this world everyone had them. It also fits better with the student flat.
Fully clothed was also filmed over 2 days. The first day of filming was on the 13th of November in the flat location and the second day was on the 14th of November in the pub location.
There were no costume changes on the day of filming so my job was quite easy on set. I got the actors into costume at the start of the day and ensured they were wearing the right thing at the right time. The costumes at the end of the day got soaking wet as they were filming in the shower so I took them home and dried them as we needed them again the next day. The pub scene didn't have costume changes either so that was quite easy for me. I did have to bring lots of colourful socks for the cast and extras.
I started the first filming day at the flat by dressing the living room. I wanted it to look much cosier than it did so I put lots of cushions and blankets on the sofas and covered the walls with posters. I also set the table to look like the two were watching a film together with wine and crisps. I did a little bit of reorganising of the furniture in the room to make it look smaller and so filming was easier. I did this by moving all the furniture closer into the centre of the room. I had to go back and neaten the sofas etc. once some scenes were filmed for consistency between shots. I also set up the bathroom by taking away the things that didn’t fit the blue colour scheme, neatening everything up and adding in some of my own things like blue towels and rubber ducks. I did a little set dressing at the pub on the day. I set up the table we were filming at with glasses and beer mats.
My secondary role for Film Genre was production designer for “Fully Clothed”. I started by having a production meeting with Emma, the director to get a sense of her vision for the film. She told me about the colour scheme that she had planned (Blue for the bathroom and warm orange and reds for the living room) and what she required. I then create these mood boards based off what we had discussed and the ideas I had for the film. My main job for this film was set design as the costume requirements were quite basic.
Here is the document that I created with all the details of the production design: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qssfgZtW1JAucQCmzcw99svexeBLs0QB7XQ3LY0QIXg/edit
There were only 2 main actors for this film and they only really had one main costume each so I didn't have to do a huge amount of planning for the costume. My main motivation for the costume design that was decided by Emma was I wanted to chose costumes that would look really uncomfortable to wear soaking wet. I chose a big jumper for Laura which I brought myself. The rest of the costume was brought by the actors. I asked them to bring casual clothes that they were comfortable in such as jeans and jumpers. I wanted Chris to look slightly smarter; as if he had made an effort to look nice for the date so he is wearing a shirt.
I had 3 main jobs for the set design for Fully Clothed. The main one was the living room. The room was very bare and I wanted it to look very cosy and warm. I brought lots of pillows and blankets from my flat for the sofas and put lots of posters up on the walls. I chose lots of band and art posters that I thought fitted with the character well. Also put a rug down although this was never actually in shot. I also brought props for the table such as crisps, coasters and wine glasses. I brought lots of fake candles however we decided not to use these as they looked a bit tacky but we did want to use real candles for safety. I also did a little set design for the bathroom. I brought lots of blue toiletries and towels to aid Emma’s colour scheme and to make it look very masculine. The pub already looked very similar to how we wanted so I did little set design for it. I wanted it to look warm and comfortable.
“Waiting on a Friend” was filmed over 2 days. The main block of filming was done in the flat location on 21st November. The office was filmed on 23rd November.
The first day was very busy and was over 12 hours in the end. My role on the day of filming included setting up the rooms that we were filming in and doing the set dressing for them. We were filming in many rooms of the flat and throughout the day I had to dress them as we moved about and equipment was moved out of the way. I didn’t do a huge amount of set dressing in most of the rooms as I was mostly happy with them all. I mostly just tidied and neaten everything up and added in a few wee details. I also had to slightly organise the living space each time so it looked like a different day in the montage shots.
I had many costume changes which took a lot of time and organisation. The montage had over 15 costume changes in total. I laid out the next costume before each scene when they were filming the previous one and ensures that the costume bag was very well organised so I knew where everything was at all times. Some of the shots in some scenes were shot at different times so I had to be very careful to perfectly replicate the costume for continuity. I also had to make sure that the right props were always ready for the next scene.
I had to work closely with our actor Richard to ensure he was in the right costume at the right time and was happy with everything. Before filming I had sent Richard a list of costume items to bring with him such as shirts and ties but I sourced most of the costume from other places as he didn't have as much as I thought he would.
I also worked very closely with Megan, our director. I checked with her that she was happy with each of the costumes. I also had to make sure he was in the right costume for each scene. I mainly checked this with Kirsty, the assistant director who was very on top of what was happening and when.
The filming day in the office was mostly the same kind of thing as the other filming day. I didn’t want to move too much stuff about as it was I working office so I didn’t want people’s work to get messed up. I mainly did the costume changes and ensures his desk was right. I also played an extra in the background of the office scenes.
One of the main jobs I had as Production Designer was to create a small pod-like robot called Sigrid. I needed to make a small robot similar to an Alexa. I began by making a mood board of similar technology to take inspiration from (above). I was given an image of HAL 9000 from Space Odyssey from Callum (DoP) which I used as my starting point.
These are my original ideas for Sigrid that I quickly sketched to show Megan. However, we agreed that the design was a little too similar to the AI robot HAL 9000. It would also be very difficult to actually make and look professional. Megan wasn't sure that the retro design that I had come up with would fit with her vision for the film.
The next idea for how Sigrid would look came from a nail drying pod that Megan owned. I liked the hyper-futuristic look of it and the light it had. However, at the end of the film, Sigrid gets smashed with a baseball bat and Megan didn’t want it to be destroyed. I was going to try to find a similar nail dryer on Amazon or eBay but they ended up being quite expensive or would unable to be shipped in time.
Our next idea was a small thermos flask. It looked like a pod and was a good size for Sigrid. It looked quite a lot like a flask so I had to change it a fair bit before it looked how I wanted it to. The first thing I did was spray it silver with spray paint. Originally I was only going to do a band across it but it ended up looking quite good so decided to make the whole thing silver. I then stuck a string of red fairy lights around the opening of the thermos with duct tape, evenly spaced and sticking out a wee bit. Megan specifically wanted a red light for Sigrid so it would contrast with the rest of the colour scheme and also it would have to connotations of evil. Then I designed and added a logo to the pod. I got help from my friend who does Graphic design to design a simple logo for “Serenity Tech and Co”. I printed them out and stuck one to the top of the pod to cover the thermos logo and one on the side. I covered the rest of the lights that were sticking out with duct tape to make them look like a cable. This is what the final pod looked like:
I am quite happy with how Sigrid turned out. I like how the light makes it look very futuristic and it ended up not looking much like a thermos flask. However there a few elements of it I think could have been improved. The spray paint is a little messy in some areas and the cable could have been wrapped neater so it looked more like a real cable. If I had more time I would have liked to spend more time developing my ideas and sketches.
My main role for Film Genre this trimester was Production Designer for “Waiting on a Friend”.
This is an example of a page from the production design document that I created. Here is a link to the full document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aT3TfL7aG6I9K9OFrCa92G6YZrpqY23R5BkVYv1jyWY/edit?usp=sharing
This document was shared with the whole crew but specifically Ben, the producer and Megan, the director. It details all the production design ideas I had and what I was planning to do for costume and set dressing. I created it so I could easily keep track of everything I had to do and also so I could check that Megan and Ben were happy with what I was doing.
Costume
I decided that Matthew was going to look quite smart. He works a boring office job and is very neat. He is a loner because he is uptight and proper. This was my main motivation for the costume. I wanted to convey this through my costume choices so in most scenes he is wearing typical office clothes e.g shirt and tie. We also decided that his clothes would be quite plain and boring but in the last scene after Sigrid has been destroyed he is in brighter clothes to show that he is slightly happier and outgoing. There are many many scenes in the film which all needed different costumes so I had to do a lot of planning to ensure I had everything that I needed on the day. I also had to be careful with ensuring scenes that were split up had the same costume in each shot. It took a lot of planning before we started filming to get all of the costumes that I needed together. I started by asked Richard, our actor, what he could bring with him. Unfortunately, this was less than I was hoping so I had to do lots of asking around people I know and had to buy a few extra things such as pyjamas and ties. I only spent about £15 in total on production design. Many of the costumes were similar such as shirts and ties as office clothes but all had to look slightly different to show that it is different days.
Set dressing
I created the above mood boards based on the discussions that I had with Megan about what she wanted the set to look like. I also took into account what the flat we were using looked like. I wanted the living room to look quite bare and almost clinical. Matthew is very neat and tidy but cold so I wanted to reflect this in his house. I brought a few blue/grey cushions and pillows for the sofas just to add a bit of detail but apart from that I mainly left the space empty. The other rooms in the house had little set design too as I wanted to keep them fairly plain. In the office, I wanted to create a contrast between Mathews desk and the rest of the office so I designed his desk to be very neat and organised and the rest of the office to be quite cluttered and busy. This was to show his isolation at work.
I decided to study this film for my essay for Film Narrative 1. “Love, Rosie” was directed by Christian Ditter and released in 2014. This film is related to my own script “I do” as the plot lines are similar. My script is about two girls that were best friends in High School but drifted apart and are now reuniting after many years. “Love, Rosie” is the story of two best friends who become separated but eventually meet back up and develop a romance. The scene that I have decided to focus on is from 38:45 to 39:32 in the film. Rosie and Alex are sitting at the beach and he has just found out about Rosie’s baby. They have not seen each other in ages and are catching up. I have chosen this scene as I think it is very interestingly composed and the cinematography really shows the close relationship of Alex and Rosie. The main points that I will be looking at are how the isolation of the characters is conveyed, how the cinematography create this intimate moment and how the scene adds to the rest of the film.
Throughout this scene the two characters, Alex and Rosie are seen to be totally isolated from the world around them. It is just the two of them in this intimate moment. This feeling of isolation and distance is conveyed in a number of ways. The first is the establishing shots at the beginning and end of the scene. These shots place the character into a setting but also shows how there are hardly anyone around and they are alone. They are on a remote beach, hidden on the top of the dunes. These shots at the beginning and end of the scene introduce us to the moment and concluded it so the film can move onto the next scene. Their isolation is also shown through the use of extreme shallow depth of field. This completely separates them from the background. This also shows how in that moment that are totally separate from the rest of their lives and it is just the two of them. The music and diegetic noise also adds to this atmosphere. You can only hear the gentle noise of the waves and light music. There is no noise of other people.Beginning and end establishing shots.
The reason that the characters are made to be so isolated is that this scene is a very intimate moment between the two characters. They are very close and are discussing deep, personal feelings. The feeling of intimacy is conveyed very clearly in the scene. The characters are placed very closely together so it is clear they are comfortable with each other. All the shot, apart from the establishing ones, are extreme close-ups of the two. This shows the emotions of the characters and adds to the intimate, close feeling. It makes the audience feel as if they are the characters and makes it easier to empathise with their feelings. The shallow depth of field further conveys this feeling as your attention is only drawn to their faces and therefore emphasises the emotion shown. The shots go back and forward between extreme close up of the two characters as they are talking with only some of the dialogue being synced. There are a couple shots that focus instead on the hands of the characters linking which shows their relationship and conveys how close the two are. Close-ups of Alex and Rosie talking and their hands.
In conclusion, I think this scene is incredibly effective in conveying the relationship between the two main characters. Their intimacy in this particular moment is shown through character placement and cinematography such as shallow depth of field and extreme close-ups. This also conveys their isolation from their surroundings. This scene is important to the overall film as it is a turning point in the main character's relationship. They have grown apart and are now trying to come back together but things are very different from when they last saw each other.
This is my film for visual exercise 3 in Workflow and Creative Camera Techniques. The film is about my brother and a few of his friends who built a haunted house for a Halloween event in my town. Filming was quite fun but I had a few challenges with the camera and sound. I quite like how my footage turned out but it took a long time to edit as there was no obvious structure to it. I also struggled with editing the sound together smoothly. I think the final film has a nice atmosphere to it and is interesting to watch.
Brief: Create a 1-minute portrait of an individual in an environment that is important to them. It can be posed or directed for the camera or you can work within a more documentary practice. You should pay particular attention to the quality of lighting. You can work with the existing lighting or supplement it with the basic skills learned in the lighting workshop. Pay particular attention to consistency of lighting from shot to shot.
For this exercise, I decided to film my brother and a couple of his friends that had built a haunted house for a Halloween event in my town. They had spent a few weeks building it so I thought it was fit the brief of an environment that was important to them. I also thought it would make an interesting film that was quite different. My only concern was that it might not fit the brief entirely due to it being a group of people instead of a single individual.
I filmed quite a lot on the night. I mainly filmed them as people were going through the haunted house so it was more natural but for a few shots, I asked them to act specifically for the camera. There were 4 main people acting in the haunted house so I tried to get them all in the film. The haunted house was built in an old big polytunnel and had 3 rooms for people to walk through. Everyone had worked really hard on making it and looked really cool in the end.
I filmed for about 2 hours on and off and managed to get lots of footage. It was very dark in the haunted house so I had to turn the gain up very high on the camera. This made the footage very grainy but I think this adds to the atmosphere in the film. I didn't bring any lights with me as there wasn't space or access to electricity so I filmed a couple shots using the light in my phone to capture the details that would've been lost in the dark. I also didn't bring a tripod due to their being very limited space. The footage is a little shaky but again I think this adds to the atmosphere. One of the main problems I had when filming was that about halfway through I noticed that the mic on the camera was switched off. I managed to film enough footage with sound to use during editing and hopefully it won't be that obvious. Overall I am happy with what I shot and think it will make a visually interesting film.
I like these images as they really capture the nature of these people in an environment that reflects this. The personality of these people is shown through the environment they are in. I want to replicate something similar to this in my own Visual Exercise 3.
