Script Development

For My Name is John, I am the script editor since I pitched the film and already have a few basic ideas I can share with the main screenwriter (which is their main credit so they will be uploading each draft to the VLE). The first draft the screenwriter produced was a little dark for my liking and had some ethical issues (LO1), so I edited it to include a few more jokes (with permission from the screenwriter) and some scene reordering so the narrative was clear and made sense. We have been very collaborative and think it ran rather smoothly. We sent it to the main chat and people seemed to like the second draft, so I sent it to John as time is off the essence. 

The next step for the script that I do as director is make a shooting script. I have never made one before and is one of the requirements in the module handbook. So I did some research into the difference and this is what a shooting script should contain or be;

• Written for a director- more of a production document. 
• Camera direction
• Title shots and credits
• Scene numbers
• Props in capital letters
• Title page is more detailed- title, written by, contact, subsequent writers, producer contact info, draft or revision dates

I have used Celtx and it was hard to format the title page (I think I have done it to the best of my ability). I will upload it to the VLE group.

--------------------------------

FOLDEN, T. The Dialogue Architect. https://tonyfolden.wordpress.com/2015/02/23/spec-script-vs-shooting-script-whats-the-difference/ (05.01.2018)

MAYES, T. 5 Key Differences Between Spec and Shooting Scripts. http://scriptwrecked.com/2009/11/20/5-key-differences-between-spec-and-shooting-scripts/ (05.01.2018)

RILEY, C. The Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style. Michael Wise Productions, 2004. p.p.131-137

Genre Research/Visual Influences

Mockumentaries, unlike documentaries, are self aware and are 'mocking' the documentary genre. Things are exaggerated like camera mistakes, acting... Some of them have narrators or interviewers to further exaggerate this. 

I have made a list of different mockumentaries to look at, but I will explore three in detail that I think fit the film best. They are all TV series' as I couldn't find any suitable films (there are a lot but don't quite fit the theme or feel of My Name is John and to get inspiration from). 

The co-director also suggested to look at Trailer Park Boys and how they accidentally get the boom in shot, the camera falls, etc. It is a good idea and we have one scene where the camera drops to the floor as the interviewer has a bowling ball dropped on their toe. 

People Like Us (1999-2001)

Originally a radio series, turned into a two series TV programme. The below clip is from the episode "The Actor". There's interviews and behind the scenes footage, and is one of the main inspirations when I pitched My Name is John. There is a narration, but I chose to go with an interviewer instead as it seemed more typical for the script and I could include more questions to hint at him being a magician. 

It's also all handheld which is kind of what I was after, but to have the interviews on a tripod so they looked more professional and 'set up'. They use cutaways particularly well too, using them but also making it seem like there's still only one camera. We are going to try to do this in the edit. Not perfect zooms in are also used to make it seem like the action is improvised. 
 



Parks and Recreation (2009-2015)

The things I'm taking as inspiration from Parks and Rec is mostly the camerawork. It's exactly how I pictured the interviews (on a tripod) and also the whip pans and crash zooms of the action. However, I only want one camera, and Parks and Rec clearly uses two, if not more. 

Life's Too Short (2011-2013)

Warwick's character is very similar to John with his asides to camera, it also has the tripod for interviews. The pans are less dramatic compared to Parks and Rec but I kind of want a bit of chaotic whip pans as it's all so improv and there's a lot going on. There isn't a lot of handheld shots, with the interviews and cutaways being on tripods (which we will be doing) and the handheld is done very well (not too shaky, always in focus). However, ours will dip in and out of focus and zoom quite a bit to add to the busy improv side of the film.

Module Checklist

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and critical understanding: Your work demonstrates a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of creative film and moving image production, including theoretical, technical, ethical and professional contexts (LO1) 
• Research, problem-solving and communication: Evidence of intellectual enquiry and complex problem-solving, supported by appropriate research, analysis and communication (LO2) 
• Evaluation and personal development: Evidence of your ability to critically evaluate your progress and make independent judgements, demonstrating effective organisation, planning and time-management (LO3) 
• Professional practice and employability: Evidence of your ability to develop and sustain your individual and collaborative practice and to meet the needs of potential employers (LO4) 
• Communication and presentation: Evidence of your ability to communicate and present your ideas and solutions in a range of formats appropriate to the context of both specialist and non-specialist audiences, including potential employers in the film and moving image industries (LO5)

My Name is John

Producer

• Pre-production
• Production meetings
• Script approval
• Call sheets
• Crew casting
• Set
• Location recces
• Risk assessments 
• Budgets 
• Auditions
• Marketing 
• Rights approval 
• Fund raising 

I don't think I can upload anything for the script approval as 1) I'm the script editor and 2) there's nothing else I could possibly upload.

Director

• Script development and storyboards 
• Production Log
• Shooting script
• Shot lists
• Mood boards 
• Genre research 
• Casting
• Edit supervision
• Rehearsals

Afterlife

DoP

• Storyboards 
• Location recces 
• Lighting design plans 
• Mood boards 
• Colour grade design
• Equipment needs
• Final format development
• Research
• Production diary

Producer

• Pre-production
• Production meetings
• Script approval ? 
• Call sheets
• Crew casting 
• Set
• Location recces
• Risk assessments
• Budgets 
• Auditions (N/A)
• Marketing 
• Rights approval *
• Fund raising 

No auditions required for Afterlife as we already have a strong and reliable cast from previous productions

* - need to blog
+ - upload to VLE
? - need to research

Final Major Project - Pitch

Today we pitched for our final production module. I pitched an idea as well as job roles for if my project does not get picked. My idea was a mockumenraty 10 minute film about a person named John and his journey to giving up his addiction. It's revealed that he is a magician. I know a local magician and also comedian that I maybe able to get on board (see below for video and where the idea stemmed from).

I was very surprised my project got chosen, and also the amount of job roles I have somehow acquired. It's a challenge, but I can see why they are like this. I am producing, directing and assistant screenwriter for My Name is John, and cinematographer and co-producer for Out of the Light. Cinematography is my strongest point and will require weird camera shots which I look forward to researching and learning. Directing will be a challenge as I have no preconceptions of the role, but the project maybe more imaginative because of this. We are also a step closer to bigger crews with the addition to visual effects and second camera operator roles which should be interesting to explore.

I am very happy with my crew and I have a co producer and director. The co producer will look for locations and talk to people, and I will be doing paperwork. The co director is there as I have little experience with directing and don't feel very confident. They will also be looking at techniques and warm ups with the actors as it links to their Minor Project (as well as give opinions on shot lists, etc). I have worked well with the DoP and sound/editor before for Digital Production.

After the idea was chosen, some concerns arose such as ethics and trying not to make it derisive. I will be working with the screenwriter to try and avoid this, but it is still early days. Hoping for the script to be wrote over Christmas, secure people and locations to the project, look at camera work and possible test shots we may want to try out when we get back and also a feel for the film for post-production. 

MAHER SARAH Final Major Pitch from Sarah Maher

Photoshop

With Minor out of the way, I am focusing on getting the wedding photos edited. A lot of them were quite noisy so I looked into how to get rid of it and it was life changing. Since I took pictures in RAW format it was a lot easier too. The CR2 menu comes up automatically on photoshop so it was quite easy exploring through the options and the "noise reduction" tool.

Before

After

There's also a few lights that are over exposed, some sadly too far gone where it just darkens the white. Some I could save such as this one below. The phone was very overexposed, so I used the Adjustment Brush and made a new correction and brought the exposure down.

Less overexposed

I also experimented with the spot healing tool for a spot someone had, but most importantly on this picture. It's not very flattering at first so I was hoping this button would smooth out the bones. After time it did! And I am very happy with the results.

Before

After

Instructional Video Final Version

Final version of my instructional video (didn't have time to put credits on it, so I've just put them in the description. I'll probably come back to it later and make some)

Presentation Evaluation

Today we presented our Minor projects in front of the other levels (but we were watching a live stream next door). It was a bit of a weird set up with some technical dificulties (and two being shown in the studio, so they couldn't be shown live). 

The presentation went well, I think I finished slightly early, but I said quite a lot (maybe a bit too fast!). The props also looked good in the studio as an exhibition, I feel this was an original and innovative way to present. I went in the day before to make sure everything was set up and working, and also on the day for any last minute preps (had to buy some pegs for the gels so it was a good thing I went in the day before!) I’m very glad it worked out and looked good. I did want some audience participation and for people to pick out their favourite prop, the strongest emotional one, and if they look and feel different compared to how I filmed them. I only got a few responses, but I guess from the silence that people agreed with what I said in the presentation.

Not The Perfect Cheesecake/Conclusion

My export turned out a bit off center which is annoying (but at least it's in sync, it wasn't the first time I exported!) but I don't have time to change it, so I will just have to live with it. I also don't have time to cut out some of the pauses so it's about 20 seconds over my 5 minutes (I'm sure this is fine). The Kinetic Typography is also not perfect (as covered before, the end transitions don't match the start ones). Some of the visuals do not match the voice over (such as the bunny) which could not be fixed as I didn't know the shadows on the bunny would not work. The survey is also not perfect, and some of them disagree with my original aims, so I can use this as part of my Primary research in my presentation and say what went wrong and how I could improve it. 

Overall, my research is probably the strongest part of the module, with an essay to back up what I have learnt. I have put a lot of effort into the module, so it's a shame some things did not work and I didn't have time to correct them (e.g. the off center render). 

Future Benefits

My Minor project can be relevant to any project as it focuses on props, lighting, camera. I have a more fine tuned and perfectionist mind set when it comes to mise-en-scene (I'm literally analysing every scene in a film now. My current favourite is this one from Baby Driver) which will help in the industry if I decide to get a job in the art department or as a cinematographer as I can see what works in frame, how to compose it and the science and history behind it. I have developed my skills in the Black Magic cameras in time for Final Major and also helped out on some projects (which also included the Black Magic) to include in my showreel, which will be useful in the industry and one of the most important things for a job. I also did an essay to further enhance my terminology and a mindset to spot mise en scene and how to improve it. A lot of work went into my Minor and the research and I hope it shows. 

I have also enhanced my editing skills, especially on After Effects and Davinci, which will be useful if I decide to edit as a job, and hopefully edit a Final Major (in a perfect world, I'd love to camera and edit). I'd like to look at Premiere Pro as it can also be used in the industry (will probably do this in my own time during Christmas and as part of my professional studies). 

After Effects

I like to think I have mastered After Effects after my Minor. I have done a full blog post focused on Kinetic Typography as that was one of my main features of the video (blog post is here). I have also made shapes and grids, and cried over rendering errors. I will talk about each in this blog post.

The kinetic typography took about 5 days to complete and 292 layers of text. I spent way too much time on this which I regret, and even more time trying to export it. I've had every error message under the sun; no disk space, no special characters, and just plain "error". 

Same Beth

My After Effects experience has been mostly negative and time consuming and doesn't look very impressive (could have probably done the normal writing in less than a day on movie maker or powerpoint). I'm also a bit angry that the beginning transitions are different to the end (that comes up word by word). I spent a lot of time on it and I wanted it to be perfect, but I will just have to live with it, as I am not rendering it again this close to the deadline. 

I made my own rule of thirds grid in After Effects too, which was essentially drawing and duplicating lines with the pen tool. I also added pictures of colour wheels and historians (royalty free!) and made sure they were of a high quality and made the backgrounds transparent on photoshop (which is fairly straightforward using the lasso tool). 

Davinci Edit

Today I have been focusing on colour correcting, boosting the audio and replacing the shaky bunny videos with still images, which I have done on Davinci. I didn't want to use a lot of editing software as I don't have time to export each one for the job it's designed to do (and I don't want to loose image quality). I have only used Davinci once before (briefly) for my Visual Culture. I asked Google and Jamie for some of the basics of adding nodes and also how to take a screengrab to match up the colours.

Right click on main image, then take still.

I also had to split my clips up as I imported my whole edit (it didn't like my typography edit for some reason, so I just used the one without, then I will export the After Effects one again) to colour correct each scene. It wasn't hugely time consuming and was a bit of a relief after the huge errors I've had with After Effects. I still need to cut out some of the pauses, but I will probably do that after the presentation, if I have time (got to prioritise!) 

When I was colour correcting the blue shirt/green banana, the colours kind of blended together, so I used parallel nodes to isolate the colours of the blue shirt (and bring out the blue) and the skin colour (and make it more pink). 

Parallel nodes

Tutorial Minutes

Just a quick update where I am. Finished a main edit (and some of the typography) which I have shown to my tutor in my tutorial today. I know it's not perfect, and just basically said to look at colour correcting, stabilisation of the bunny and suitcase shots and to keep updating my blog (which I essentially already knew, just wanted to focus on getting something exported to show!) Looking at future benefits was one thing that was mentioned and didn't occur to me, so I will make a blog post on that and also include it in my presentation. I also voiced my concerns about the bunny section and doing my narration first but I think I edited around it well. 

Survey Results

As part of my Learners Agreement, I suggested doing a survey of my film and if it had succeeded in what I have tried to portray looking at the different principles. Most have succeeded. I will go through each question in detail. I've had 12 responses (would have liked more) but I can work with it since each question is important and detailed enough.

This is good as this is what I wanted to portray! I asked the respondents why and most of them said it "takes up most of the frame". I've also created emotions of intrigue with people wanting to know what's inside. A few people said that the actor was more important as the suitcase wouldn't be picked up without it and the hand must be there for a reason.

The next four questions were about the doll. 1st breaking the rule of thirds, 2nd going with the rule of thirds, 3rd from a low angle, and 4th from a high angle. I asked about their emotions and to look at the framing. Most people were creeped out by all four. A few eagled eyed respondents noticed the framing on the 1st was off, but most people felt like the doll was following them from this angle. One person noticed the red lighting making them more on edge. 

Most people liked the 2nd one better but didn't say why. A few said it was due to the framing making it look nicer (but the doll was still creepy) and the shadow adds to it and one person even said it looks more important (which is what I was aiming for in the 3rd one, not this one).

No one was really impressed with the 3rd one and even felt like it was less creepy. I did get a few good quotes though;

"It wants to be played with now! It wants to play with my mind!!!" 

"You’re creeping me out."

"It's like she's trying to reach out to you in this one, which is an uncertainty of whether that's a good thing or bad."

For the 4th and final doll image, most people found this to be the creepiest (which is kind of against what I was going for, this angle should make the doll more inferior). I can tell one respondent is familiar with camera angles with this quote;

"Because of the camera angle I feel this makes the doll look evil as it's as if it is staring straight at the viewer into their eyes"

Now the green and blue combo. I was hoping to create unease with this one, and most people did feel a bit uneasy (and a bit confused too).

"The banana just doesn’t look right and this shot makes me slightly uncomfortable"

Most people were more concerned about how unripe the banana was (it was very unripe, Beth couldn't even peel it properly)

"Professional compsition but that banana ain’t ripe yet girl"

"Green bananas are nasty."

One person seemed to like the colours! 

"seems bright and earthy with the colour palette"

People felt more satisfied with the red combo (again not really what I was going for, I was hoping they would all blend in with each other, but one person said this happens more with the previous picture). Most people were looking at a possible meaning behind the red colour and lighting. One made me laugh;

"The red tones remind me of love, and they look like they love that apple."

Most people said that the shadow on the face was annoying which was a fault on my end. Totally didn't notice or realise it would make so many people on edge. The rest of the video is fine, so must just be how Beth is facing. Should have chosen a different screenshot.

Finally the bunny. This one I was concerned about as I couldn't generate the shadows on the background as I would have hoped. I wanted it to look evil, but I personally didn't think it does. Most people agree. However it is very tight.

Overall most of my shots did conform to the Principles. There are some that go against it too, which will be interesting to present and suggest why. 

Presentation Worries

I have quite a few worries about the presentation next week. The main one being how I will present mine in the studio when the live stream will be set up (presumably) in the seminar room. I will have to ask the lecturers about this either tomorrow or Friday. I can always present it in the seminar room not a problem. I am also quite behind on editing (was hoping to get everything done today) and I still need to colour correct and do my typography (and maybe cut it down as it goes slightly over the 5 minute mark). 

I've focused mainly on research this week which I will use in my presentation, but I feel like I should do a lot more. However, with time restrictions, I cannot. If the deadline was a bit later, I feel like I could have gone more in depth with my study. I've also had little time to complete my survey as promised in my Learners Agreement. I've had 11 respondents but the survey was quite in depth and I can use the answers (will cover this on a different blog post). 

How Films Tell Stories Through Mise-en-scène

This blog posts links to my Minor as I will be focusing on props and cinematography, and also exploring more in depth how films give emotional responses through Mise-en-scène. I feel like this will enhance my filmmaking decisions as well as my Minor presentation as it can back up my points and also explore topics I have covered.



Consumerism is a huge theme explored in Fight Club. Jack is chasing the American Dream; a white collar job and expensive furnature. However, he cannot achieve happiness. The reoccuring motif's of Starbucks cups suggest the capitalist culture and it effecting Jack's life. The above scene, he realises that he is a consumerist as he's after a "dining set that defines me" and is emasculated "we used to read pornography, now we read the Ikea catalogue". The slow pan and the writing exaggerates how bad his 'addiction' to consumerist culture is and how he wants to fit in. This also links to the 90s 'New Man' where men were becoming more paternal feminised.



The first few minutes of the above scene is rich in mise-en-scène to create tension and fear. The centre piece of the scene is an oversized table full with brightly coloured food. Ofelia lives where food is rationed so it must be torture for her to resist, then she gives in and eats the grapes. There is a close up of Ofelia, closing her eyes back with pleasure showing her captivated by the taste and lost in the moment to the action unfolding behind her. The red colours in the food (grapes, meat…) on the table is symbolic. In this case, red represents blood and danger. 

The fact that Ofelia’s dress was once a bright, luxurious green in the previous scenes suggests a happy, innocent and enchanting character. However, in this scene, it looks more dull and ragged suggesting trauma and possibly a change in character. 

Piled high in the creature’s lair is his collection of 'memento mori'. It consists of children’s shoes, they are small and poignant; the murder of the innocents is very symbolic, and creates anxiety for Ofelia’s fate, also shown in the paintings of the slaughtering of children. 

The hour glass is constantly cross cut to, with an incremental zoom; a constant reminder that time is running out. 

I've done an essay on this as there was just so much to talk about an analyse, which can be found on my Moodle page.



Costumes and colour are the defining factors in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, with lots of mise-en-scène similar to a video game. For example, the prestigious vegan ex is dressed in white to show extravagance, who also wears a big 3 on his chest. Each ex has a number, apart from Scott who was seen earlier wearing a shirt saying "zero". Ramona is unpredictable, shown in her changing hair colours. Her hair is green in the above clip, symbolising Scott's jealousy (and is also mirrored in Scott's green shirt). Her hair could also symbolise each act of the film; pink when she and Scott aren't dating, blue when they are, and green for the resolution. Scott also wears a pink undershirt when he first meats Ramona (who has pink hair) which could signify he has feelings for her but does not want to expose them. When Scott and Knives drift apart, Scott's costume dulls down and also has a patch with an "X" on it, suggesting he could become her "ex" soon. Overall, the costumes are iconically 90s, as well as pixelated swords and writing that pops up (similar to the Fight Club scene) to mirror video games. 

References
Most of the above is from my own knowledge of mise-en-scène. 

Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Edgar Wright, 2010)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFHzD2w-meE (07.11.17)

An Introduction to Mise-en-scène

https://09couplandw.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/mise-en-scene/

Mise-en-scène is a French term that originated in the theater, meaning “placing on stage" or what is present during the scene. In film, this refers to not only staging, but includes the arrangement of everything that appears in the shot, such as actors, lighting, décor, props, costume. The frame and camerawork are also considered part of this. The director is in charge of deciding what goes where, when, and how, but filmmakers without a professional production designer do many people's jobs and don't do one well.

Mise-en-scène can be narrowed down to these general aspects; setting, props, costume, lighting, make-up and performance. But for some it has a broader significance, and is used to refer to everything which appears in the frame of a finished film (such as cinematography and special effects). I will be focusing on the latter definition for my Minor (minus the special effects). 

Mise-en-scène is one way of producing meanings (a cinematic code) in films which can be straightforward or complex, depending on the intentions and skill of the director (also known as the 'mettur-en-scène').

Sources Referenced http://www.elementsofcinema.com/directing/mise-en-scene-in-films/
http://shohawk.com/mise-en-scene/
NELMES, J. (2012) Introduction to Film Studies Routledge, London.

Wedding Photography

Yesterday I did my first every professional photography gig. I was extremely nervous as I've heard that wedding photography is the worst and I still feel like I'm lacking in the photography field. But hey, they found my facebook page and liked my pictures, so I must have been doing something right. I took a few nice pictures of decorations and the dresses and then accidently formatted the card somehow (no idea how, they were there one minute and gone the next. It's even harder to do as it says "are you sure you want to format it?"). Luckily it wasn't of the ceremony. 

I switched to video for the most important shots as I didn't want to miss them, e.g. the kiss, the first dance. So I will screenshot from them, and maybe make a montage. The rooms were also very dark (I did take a LED light which I used at some moments, but not when taking pictures of the guests as I thought it was too intrusive, as my brief was "casual shots"). So I'm a bit worried about noise, hopefully I'll be able to fix and make them look acceptable in post. It will also be my first time experimenting in photoshop (I shot in RAW so I should have good data to work with). 

I got paid £70 (plus a £10 tip) and possibly some more later when I deliver the finished pictures, which will go towards investing in the business, such as new lenses and business cards. 

Prop - Filming

Today was a bit of a bumpy ride. It took a while to get out of the seminar to film and set up. I was hoping to get everything done on the morning and in a few hours (which I did) as I had thorough plans and shot lists. I asked Jamie to film the behind the scenes stuff which were very important to the video, and Beth to model for a few of the shots. I'm greatful they gave up a few hours to help me out. It ran quite smoothly on a whole (apart from a bulb on a red head going off as soon as I wanted to film the three point lighting set up). 

Picture by Jamie

The only major issue I had was the shadows on the bunny didn't quite work, so the voice over seems a bit weird and overreacting to a bunny. My survey results also suffered for it as it doesn't generate the emotion I wanted. I will still include it in my final video, I just need to say it didn't work because I did voice over first, and what I have just mentioned above. A bit of an inconvenience. I've just had to put all the footage of the bunny that looks vaguely scary at that point instead.

Editing/First Draft

Just noticed as I was editing that I didn't pull focus on the suitcase shot (basically because I was short on time and didn't check the script, but also because the movement happened a bit fast and I wasn't sure how to frame it). So I've had to cut that out. This probably could have been avoided if I did my narration after filming the props, but I couldn't do that due to equipment and studio availability (and also deadlines). 

I'm also panicking as I can't find the clip of the voice actor talking about rule of thirds which is very important! I know we did it on the day, but I don't know where the clip has disappeared to. *UPDATE* I found it. Crisis averted. I also need to put the grids on this part of the video.

The bulk/first edit is not officially done. It's 5 minutes 30 seconds so it might be a little too long. I can take the gaps out later, at this point, I was focusing on getting the best audio takes together with some visuals. I also need to look at colour correction (especially for the blackmagic footage) at one point. There are a lot of gaps at the moment, which I will hopefully fill with titles made in After Effects (research for this will be on another post). 

Voice Over - Filming

Today was the narrator shoot for my Minor instructional video. I got the equipment out, set up and tested on the morning (first time I have used the Zoom!) and got the actor in on the afternoon. The Zoom was fairly easy to get the hang of and straight forward, but all my clips went into like 20 different folders which was a bit of a pain. I also had to move rooma halfway through as I could hear people in the edit suite/base room being very loud even though I said to stop (people were also editing sound in there, so I dread to think how they were managing). I ended up moving into the Gallery (there were still some heavy footed people outside for a few takes and an annoying hum, but it was much better). 

My original set up in the client suite. The gallery set up was very similar.

Ideally, I would have liked to film the visuals first, then the narration, but due to equipment and actor availability (and deadlines fast approaching) I had to do it the other way around, which lead to some problems, including lines being cut and visuals not working. I will talk about this more in my concluding post and evaluation.

To-Do List/Schedule

To-Do List (for my Minor)

• Research (and upload to Moodle) (could I do more? No time)
• Record narration (forgot to record Google voice!)
• Shot list for filming props
• Film props
• Edit main bulk of film 
• Survey Upload results
• Look at Do kinetic typography in After Effects Export typography
• Colour correct
• Boost audio
• Replace doll video with images
• Set up presentation

Schedule (mostly so I know what I'm doing these next weeks)

Tuesday 31st October: Guest speaker morning, setting up Beth's minor afternoon

Wednesday 1st November: Filming Beth's minor

Thursday 2nd November: Guest speaker morning, voice over afternoon

Friday 3rd November: Hutch lecture?, minor filming

Saturday 4th November: photography for wedding (PRINT BUSINESS CARDS!)

Sunday 5th November: Dissertation and Editing

Monday 6th November: Filming Beth's minor, (maybe editing), Alyson tutorial on the night

Tuesday 7th - Friday 10th November: Editing

Saturday 11th-Monday 13th November: Away

Tuesday 14th November: Alyson tutorial, presentation final prep

Thursday 16th November: Set up studio for presentation afternoon

Kinetic Typography

There are a lot of gaps in my main edit video which I will either fill with stock footage if it is an example, or I will fill it with text from the audio. I am looking into moving text titles, called 'kinetic typography' in After Effects. I have never used it before and it took me about an hour to type in a word, and it crashed while exporting. Hopefully (time permitting, I'm focusing on the bulk edit at the moment), I can look at this further next week and actually export something without the computer crashing.

References



06.11.17 - I have experimented a bit more and this video is very long winded, so I have done a basic sync up. I had a quick look at the animations but I'm unsure if they are needed and looks like they will take up a lot of my time (which I do not have). I think I'll do another basic edit of everything like this, and if I have time, animate them where relevant. 

I've learnt a few shortcuts how to sync the words up (it did take me 2 hours to figure it out though).

A possible pointless step looking at paths and masks. Might come back to this later.

This is what I have done today. Doesn't look like much, but I'm hoping the rest will be quicker. I have installed After Effects at home too so I can have even more time. 

07.11.17 - I didn't get any further animating it. I also had a quick look at templates online but they were even more complicated! I've found a better video which I will use for the next part of the writing.




08.11.17 - I got a lot further with the above tutorial. However the software on my laptop wouldn't let me play the video and audio track together (which took me a while to figure out). 

Keyframing a bounce

Basically, I just had to keyframe where I wanted the writing to pop up (and I added a little bounce to it). I saved the animation and dropped it on the others. So hopefully it won't take as long for the rest. (I even had to tutorial the best render settings to upload this video). Okay it's taking me a while to do it for the rest so I'm prioritising at the moment. I'll see how much I can get done the next few days and if it's possible to do the whole video like it.



15.11.17. 292 layers later and I'm done. Most of it is very basic, and I only animated the Google voice (to make it stand out). I would have liked to experiment with more transitions but it was very time consuming and I had to prioritise. I feel like I have learnt a lot in After Effects so I will upload a blog post on all the skills I have learnt on it. I have almost the final edit! Just need to colour correct, replace the doll angle shots with images (they are too shakey!), take out some of the pauses and boost the audio levels. I had trouble exporting it, can only find answers on forums that say it is because of accented characters. But it's still coming up. Might have to ask Lee tomorrow if I still can't figure it out. This whole thing has been soooo time consuming. 

*UPDATE* A few various error codes later, I have an exported kinetic typography project! asjhshkj never using after effects again. I've also just noticed that the beginning typography is different to the end (it comes up in chunks rather than word by word). I don't really have time to fix this, I got my Mam to watch it and she didn't notice. However, I do want it perfect. Might do the other things first and come back to it, but part of me wants to do it now. To be honest, I'm not sure why I didn't do them all in chunks. Would have saved me a lot of time.

A whole lotta layers!

Render error

Onion Man - Filming

Today I went to see some of Janice's directorial project being filmed. Basically, some people from Leeds wanted to produce her project. It was a much bigger crew and I learnt a lot. I offered myself as stills photographer on the day for experience with a bigger crew and to see how filming was going. (I also took a few behind the scenes videos for my showreel).

Filming was off to a good start, all the actors arrived in good time, and the location looked fab. The 1st AD was also great at getting everyone on time and not afraid to speak up if we were behind schedule. However, I did feel a bit overwhelmed at times (can't imagine how Janice was feeling). I even got another job role with using the hazer when they needed smoke (however, someone took it at one point. We just alternated between ourselves who was using it. I was too busy taking stills!)

Catering was very nice and cozy, in a shed surrounded by all the actors (definitely needed on this very cold day full of outside shoots). The afternoon, however, was a bit of a slow burner. One of the locations we planned to film then dropped out, so everyone had to think quick and do an alley scene instead. It's a shame because the art department bought loads of vegetables and were making rosettes all morning for the location (the show). I hung out with the art department for most of the afternoon as the alleyway was very small and not a lot of crew could fit. I also found it the least stressful and independent of the departments (I think I know which I want to specialise in now). 

A 'Minor' Setback

(excuse the pun). I've had to put forward shooting (all the risk assessments and booking forms are signed off) more than I would have liked and I can't do any more until I have filmed (e.g. the voice over, script). I am researching, but have chosen this time to focus and get Dissertation done and out of the way. 

I'm also fishing for credits on everyone's Minor, which is good experience and I want to help out my fellow classmates. 

*UPDATE* I have decided to do the script first and do the narration on Thursday as I just won't have time if I wait until after. It's not ideal as I did want to do the visuals and then the script, in case I forget to film anything on the day. But it's all booked and sorted now!

List of Props

This post will cover what props I will be filming and which principle of mise-en-scene it will link to, and how it can give an emotional response. Some of the props might be a bit big to bring to the film studio, so I might not take these.

• Dominance: Suitcase. Guide audience to it through angles and meaning behind them
• Lighting: Pink bunny toy (hairy). Looks innocent at first but with chiaroscuro lighting it's horrifying
• Type of shot: Telephone and person. Look at depth of field and lenses, to shift perceptions.
• Colour: Blue top/green banana, red top/red apple. Colour theory. "Blue and green should never be seen" but actually looks okay in practice. 
• Character placement: Doll. Again make it look scary, but this one is just plain scary. Look at framing here and importance. 

I will also update my Moodle drive with lighting and detailed plans before I film next week.

How-To Video Research

My 3-5 minute film to present at the end of the module will be an instructional video. I felt like this would tie up all the footage of the props together and also show what I have been researching and doing for my Minor well. I looked at previous how-to videos online that tend to do fairly well as research, with a focus on film youtubers and how they present theirs.



This one is kind of how not to do comedy. However they do show how to do three point lighting set ups well. It feels scripted with mostly visuals. It also has 1 million views (and is also the go to video for our lecturers) so it must be doing something right. They make it look very simple, with no convoluted words.



Apart from the load of ads in the video, Film Riot do very well on YouTube. Their presenter is frequent in all their videos (apart from some guest speakers) and is very casual and friendly, sometimes funny and sarcastic. 




Every Frame A Painting is one of the most popular Film youtube channels. This one is voice over only and focuses on visuals (which is what I will do). He is very informative and is quite clearly scripted. There's not a lot of humour, but there is a lot of detail. I would have liked this much in mine, but I didn't want to take up half my presentation time on this video. 



This is what came up when I just searched for "editing tutorials". It has nearly 2 million views and is basically a load of screengrabs and a narration. I will be doing something similar but with filmed props rather than screengrabs of the software. I could do this with After Effects if I have time. The narration is informative, casual, but no humour.


Overall, a lot of the videos do not include humour (or include it well) so I will be focusing on this for mine and in the script. Visuals from films tend to do well too (but the films will be my filmed props and some behind the scenes stuff of how to film them). My narration will also be informative, like all of the above. 

Thor: Ragnarok - Review

Well, it's been a while (4 years!!!) since the last Thor film and well, it wasn't great lest be honest. I was excited and nervous going into the cinema but let me tell you, I felt like a proud parent after it. Ragnarok was definitely a step in the right direction for the Thor films and the MCU in general.

Overall there wasn't a lot to analyse shot wise. HOWEVER there was a lot mise-en-scene wise (can this count as minor research?). The planet Sakaar was rich in colours, which is a bit ironic seeing how post-apocalyptic it and the inhabitants are. It also reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games with the Capitol and how there was a rich centre and people dressing expensively when people were dying and malnourished. Colour was definitely the stand out in the film and was used amazingly; even the trash was colourful. All of Hela's scenes were dark with no colours, and felt like this was done on purpose with colour correction. The Willy Wonka reference on Sakaar was also really weird but funny.

https://giant.gfycat.com/GregariousMemorableKoodoo.gif

Now it doesn't look very colourful on here, but it does in the film

I was looking forward to Valkryie but her introduction was horrible in my opinion; not funny at all and cheesy. But I grew to like and relate to the character. Can't wait to see more of her! I also want to know where Sif was in the film (didn't cover what happened in the actual film but there's been plenty of speculation). It was nice to see the rest of the other Warriors 3. I am very glad Jane has gone though. The Doctor Strange cameo was all I could have wanted and more. It was hilarious and made my hyped for Infinity War! All the characters are meeting and it's building up and I'M SO EXCITED! (it was also veryyy convenient that Thor gained his super power before Infinity War- this isn't a spoiler as it was in the trailer). 

https://media.giphy.com/media/3o8dFlRV9seyimVQuk/giphy.gif

The first half an hour of the film felt a bit rushed and fast paced in my opinion. I did like the very start of the film, it just went a bit fast after that. Didn't know where to look and just needed a scene to get my breath back and think about what just happened. The rest of the film was fine after that though. It just felt like they rushed to get Thor to Sakaar then took their time after that.

Now I said colour was the highlight (colour pun?) of the film, but soundtrack was also pretty close. The theme sounds like something that came out of War of the Worlds which I loveeeee (see below for a Spotify embed), and was also VERY happy that Immigrant Song from the trailer also featured in the film (twice, sorry if this counts as spoilers!). 

However, the songs and the humour involved (there was a lot of adult references. So be warned if you bring kids. I heard one kid go to their parents asking what an orgy was, so good luck with that) was very similar to Guardians of the Galaxy. The introduction of Sakaar and other planets was also very similar to this, and maybe even the soundtrack. Personally, I wouldn't say this was a bad point as I love both, but some people might argue that Ragnarok isn't original. But hey, what in the film industry is?

http://78.media.tumblr.com/789e851a0389a92bfa233e5534048088/tumblr_otqrtvEZit1spgwzwo2_500.gif

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I've learnt not to trust Marvel trailers ever again though as there was a lot missing and edited differently (some people picked up the Hela scene in a field vs. a back alley being one). I saw the film in 2D but I might go again for it in 3D IMAX to see the difference. ALSO please bring me more Thor and Loki brotherly love and stories when they were younger. LOVED the small story with the snake.

7/10