Module Links

Dissertation: http://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/dissertation

Minor: http://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/level%206+minor%20

Professional Practice: https://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/level%206+professional%20practice

Final Major Project

My Name is John: http://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/level%206+my%20name%20is%20john

Hope: http://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/level%206+afterlife

DJW Talent LTD

Today me and Janice went down to Stockton to discuss possible opportunities with DJW Acting School. There were another two filmmakers there (and one that joined a bit later on) so I gave out business cards and networked. It wasn't quite clear what was being asked of us, and today was mostly speculating what could be done. There are two groups; a youth and adult, all of which have come up with pitches and performed pieces of them. Whether all of these can all be filmed or not is tricky, but I assume this exercise was just for us to see their acting ability. Dan (leader) was mostly after experience for everyone for in front of camera, especially for those going into contracts with CBBC with no camera experience under their belt. 

Janice came up with a good idea called Dear Brain which is essentially a ten second hot seat acting about anything they like, which could be like what they pitched. A day could be dedicated to this and a good way to start them off. I think everyone seemed to skim over this idea and wanted a mockumentary type film done. This is great but I'm not sure it would look very professional and showcase their talent. It was then discussed to have an in house production team, making regular films and maybe include some teaching like terms on set, etc. This would be very beneficial for everyone, but getting a hold of money for kit (they seem to want their own to keep) and to cover our time might be an issue (fundraising seemed to be their go to, but I'm not sure how much they could raise).

Dan sent out a long email the day after which really cleared everything up and was a lot more organised. It looks like Dan is leaning more towards an in house production team but is open from what happens after that and what to film. We need to come up with a cost for equipment, as well as wages for our time, so they know how much to fundraise. However it makes a bit of sense to see how much they can fundraise and we scavenge equipment from that. I'll still come up with a sum of the minimum we need. There is also a part of the email to come up with what to film, so it makes sense if Janice fills that part out and I do the sums of the equipment. I also need to see what wages the other filmmakers are going to put. I was thinking around £50 a day to cover expenses and our time. But if the other guys put £100 and they get it, I will be devastated! It's a good part time job but I would need another one to support me financially, especially if this is a once a week/irregular thing.

Newcastle Graduates

Today I went to the end of year show/performance of the Newcastle University screenwriting graduates. Their script were being performed by five actors and was great to watch. A lot of them were very serious but the two comedies stood out to me and were hilarious. I gave out a few business cards and asked a few to send me some scripts (excerpts were only acted out) so filming them could be an option. I also know someone who does regular shows for them and might be good if I can get professional pictures and videos done for her and others.

Massive big thank yous to everyone who took part and came along to the northern stage script readings on friday!! Im am so immensely proud of all pals and super glad that people enjoyed 'Gentlemen Creatures', my supernatural geordie werewolf adventure series!! 🐺🍺 Thank you everyone for your support, i am so greatful.

A post shared by Melody js (@melodygroovysproates) on May 28, 2018 at 4:41am PDT

AJ Productions

Took on a last minute camera operating job/experience yesterday for a Panto video. I arrived in plenty of good time so I could meet everyone and set up. However, on the morning I was told that they were bringing their own camera operator. So I was demoted to runner and general helping out. Set up all the lights and camera in good time for the tech/sound guy and camera guy to turn up. 

Lee quickly showed me the settings on these lights to keep it one colour

I'm still not entirely sure what each one does but I got a warm tinge on them to stay

The tech guy wanted to put up photography lights for close up lighting. I struggled here as I have never used or put up any photography lights before but he was happy to show me how and we got it done very quickly. It was a bit like putting up a tent.

Everyone started to filter in that point and it went quite smoothly; the script was just stolen Tim Vine jokes! From here I was mostly handing the camera operator lenses and showed him how to get different settings up. 

Probably the best photo of the day!

They also got a quick 'Q and A' video in the Celestial Encounters set. Norman walked in at this point who was very keen and wanted pictures of them using the set (hope he doesn't mind they drank the fake rum!)

I was mostly eating biscuits at this point and being canned laughter. Next the cast did a photoshoot and the crew went home. I started moving equipment and backing up footage so they could grab it next time they're down (they didn't have anything to store it on!) 

Overall, a good shoot. Was done in good time and quite well organised! I also gave out a few business cards if they ever wanted me again for any projects!

Further Showreel Updates

I've marked this one separate to the others as this was done after Professional Practice hand in. I haven't put this on my website yet either for the same reason. This is more of an edited showreel for Degree Show as I thought I better include Hope footage. I also quickly colour corrected the eye shot as it was raw footage not used in the final cut, but I really liked the shot.

Final Thoughts

My Name is John is done! I'm happy with how it looks, there is some discussion about blurring a few faces in the self help group which could be tried out before Vue and might solve the issue we had with extras (and we had to grab students!). 

There's some discussion about making the entirety of Hope for the Vue show and festivals, however I'm not sure how available I will be with Castle Pin coming up. I would love to help out where I can though! I think at least we need to make the scenes link up a bit better, and try and make better transitions especially between the bedroom and animation scenes. Hopefully we will be able to get back in contact with Armarni too with material we could display for our Degree Show. 

MNIJ - Marketing and Festivals

For marketing My Name is John, I'm creating a Facebook page. John Archer is quite famous so will acquire quite a few likes. I'm also a member of a few fanpages I can post the page on. I'm also savvy in Twitter and Instagram so will probably make accounts on these too. Obviously the film is already made, but I could still make a fund raising page for festivals and post updates from them.

I have got the script and the film lined up to submit into festivals and made a quick list on FilmFreeway of ones that have drawn my attention (9 on the list at the moment and script submitted to 1 festival (East Anglican Film Festival)). I have mostly been looking at comedy and student film festivals. These ones looked particularly interesting;

The Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival (https://filmfreeway.com/TheCharlieChaplinComedyFilmFestival)

Submissions: June 1st [free]
Location: Ireland
Specifications: Up to 30 minutes. Two categories we are eligible for.
Awards: Award for each of the 4 categories
Festival Date: August 23rd-26th

London-Worldwide Comedy Short Film Festival (https://filmfreeway.com/WorldwideComedyShortFilmFestival-London)

Submissions: May 21st ($8 Student or UK Comedy Award)
Location: London
Specifications: 2-10 minutes
Awards: Awards for 14 categories 
Festival Date: September 21st

MNIJ - Rights Approval and Ethics

When writing the script for My Name is John we had a few ethical problems from the start as the mocumentary genre can be seen as derisive and making a film about self help groups can be a bit tricky. When I got the first draft back, it was a bit darker than I would have liked and was very problematic. There was also a few ideas of having innuendos. I intended it to be a funny and light hearted comedy for all ages and festivals (plus John would not be up for that!), so with permission, I tweaked it a bit and inserted more subtle jokes and received more positive feedback. John also really liked the script from what I've heard which is awesome and it's fantastic he was so on board and willing. 

While writing the script, I used the name Julie as it's the name of John's wife and intended the part to be for her. However she wasn't up for it so I asked John if I should change it but he was okay with keeping it in.

For editing, sound and music are always a concern for copyright. We used royalty free music twice and double checked all the legal bits. We didn't use any sound effects so that was one less thing to worry about. 

Hope - Marketing and Festivals

For marketing Hope, I predict we will be making a Facebook page like Cirque last year (plus Twitter and Instagram), which I need to talk to the director and main producer about. There were talks about making a comic book with Armarni's drawings and storyboards but not a lot of news on this lately which is a shame.

Even though I'm not managing the FilmFreeway page for Hope, I'm sending the director links to festivals that look interesting and could be entered for. Here are two I've pointed out (I've seen and sent about 4);

The Final Girls present We Are the Weirdos (https://filmfreeway.com/TheFinalGirls)

Submissions: June 30th [free]
Location: ??? UK somewhere
Specifications: Must be directed by female identifying filmmaker. Shorts up to 25 minutes. 
Awards: ???
Festival Date: October 25th-November 4th

Screentest: The National Student Film Festival (https://filmfreeway.com/Screentest)

Submissions: August 31st [free]
Location: London
Specifications: Made by students, max 20 minutes
Awards: Trophy. 1 general entry.
Festival Date: October 19th-21st

Hope - Rights Approval and Ethics

This post will cover any rights approval or ethics I can see in the film even though I'm only the DOP and co-producer. The script involves a car crash and some possible upsetting scenes (with a few swear words). The scene of the swear words is just voice over and if necessary we have a clean version of the ADR. Apart from that I don't see any huge issues with the film and give it a 12 rating which should be appropriate for festivals and is no worse than Cirque last year.

Hope also has a lot of scenes paying homage, rather than 'plagerising', to other shows or films, such as the void scene with Stranger Things and Poltergeist. However, this is an original story with our own shots and ideas put into it (as discussed in another blog post). 

There are a few found effects in the film (plus one song we have clearance for as we used it in Cirque) which have been double checked to make sure we can use them and are royalty free.

Hope - Poster

My main poster submission is for My Name is John as I have no solid ideas for Hope. It would be cool to have a poster a bit like Crimson Peak so I had a bit of an experiment today on Photoshop and well... it doesn't look great!

http://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/at-the-movies-crimson-peak-is-horror-able/

At least I tried

So then I had an idea. The film is heavily based on Poltergeist and the TV scene so why not just copy the poster? 

http://smokinggunpr.co.uk/2015/11/great-design-examples-13-terrifyingly-good-horror-movie-posters/

I identified the fonts used using whatfontis.com. I had a bit of trouble outlining the film title font, so I followed the instructions on this website, which involved highlighting the text, making a new layer and then doing the stroke for it (as for some reason it doesn't work directly on the text). 

I'm too late to hand this in for Professional Practice, but my main submission is the My Name is John poster, plus I'm pretty sure FMP only requires a poster handin.

Hope - Colour Grade Designs

Between me, the director and the colourist, we have already discussed the main colours of the film with various mood boards which are blues and purples. We also have a few shots that need colour grading from day to night. I work well with the colourist/editor suggesting what works well and ideas for the film, when the 180 degree rule was broken and we were both on the same page.

The Wetherspoons scene is quite warm in colours, mostly reds from the Mother's clothing. The black room blues from the static. The cellar purple. The car crash quite dark, not a whole lot of colours apart from street lighting and emergency lights (blues of these to be boosted in post), and hospital scenes will be clean looking with the red of the blood and bruises on Hope standing out. 

Hope - Day 7

Today is our last scheduled shoot for Hope and it's the big car crash scene. We have the studio, car and equipment booked and are also doing some hospital ADR beforehand. We had the Mother, Father, a Doctor and two nurses (exclusive cameo from me). Most of it was improv so there was plenty to edit with to fill out the scene. It went very smoothly and we now have two great actors under our belts for future productions (Martin the Dad and Ethan the Doctor). 

We waited quite a while after that for the car to arrive. But when our last actor arrived, there was no sign, so we had to improvise. So we got another car. It's slightly different to the one in the Wetherspoons scene but we might just get away with it as the only shot of it that's used is in a puddle and most of it is obscured. Needs must. This was an essential scene to get for hand in or the film just wouldn't make sense. First, we got a shot of the Mother smoking in the car outside (it was raining so we had to keep wiping it!) and got it dropping on the floor. This was all done in slow mo and looked great. This went quite smoothly once we knew roughly where the cigarette was going to fall (we were worried the wind would blow it away but we were safe).

Then we moved the car inside the studio to do the driving at night. I preferred this a lot more than filming inside a moving car so we got Hope's close ups again as they were quite wobbly last time. The only huge problem was lighting. We had a lot of studio lights on and took us a while to get a balance and not light up the black studio screen behind. We were debating whether to use green screen but opted out because in the other car shots, it was mostly black outside and having green screen in might throw the whole film off. We also had one studio LED on a stand high up for extra lighting for outside shots like the door handle and Hope getting inside. For the travelling shots, we had two small LED lights. One to light the scene and one moving one to act like moving street lights. This was really effective in the end and a great arm workout.

For the emergency lights, we ran into a lot of bother. For the tests, we used red heads and waved gels in front of it. But we didn't have them on set, plus there was not a lot of room and would have been way too powerful. So we put gels on the small LED lights. The red one worked fine but the blue one was very weak. I suggested doubling it up which worked a bit better but still quite weak compared to the red one but better than it was. Hopefully it can be boosted in post.

The shoot finished a bit over schedule, but it's done! I can't wait to see the slow motion back, I wish I got some of the Mother in the crash in slow motion too but we didn't have a whole lot of time. But what we did get and had a quick look at looked fantastic.

Hope - Final Format Development

A lot of creative choices for the final export are required for any project like frame rates and aspect ratios. It's mostly a camera, editor and directive decision so we all worked and communicated together to find what is best for the project.

The camera settings are the easy bit as they are what I'm overseeing. The main camera frame rate and timeline settings are 24fps and in 2k Pro Res HQ (with a few exceptions of slow motion clips which are in 90fps). Export should be as close to these as possible. The director decided against black bars. Aspect ratio will be the default 1.78:1 as it's the most commonly used. 

MNIJ - Edit Supervision

My Name is John has been in post production for a while now. We finished filming late January/early February and it's been lying around since which is a shame; one of the reasons we filmed early was to get it all done and edited and not to worry about it since. At the moment, there are a few fine tweaks to do before deadline (I am panicking a bit as this could have been sorted weeks ago).

Anyways, this post is covering edit decisions and working with the editor. Most of the script is quite self explanatory but I brief the editor as much as I can. They let me watch something when they want opinions and we discuss. Sometimes online or in production meetings, I jot down good points and send them in the group chat for the editor to have an experiment with. It's coming along so far and they understand the feel of the film well such as choosing music that fits. There are a few things at the moment that are essential but small before exporting; adding an ouch when the ball falls on the interviewers foot, apostrophes in the name tags and the cast/crew credits. 

Update 11.05.18: Officially exported and done! Got a small inhale when the ball hits the interviewers foot and it makes the world a difference so I'm glad I kept pestering for it. 

Hope - Day 6

Tonight we filmed Hope coming out the house and driving around in the car. We didn't do any of the car exterior shots due to continuity (we can do these on Day 7*). The first bit went well, but we were a bit behind schedule (we finished roughly at 11pm, estimated wrap was 10). We also got a helping hand to hold the LED lights as a street light. 

The nect shots were of Hope in the car and general street lighting. I get travel sick quite easily so this shoot was a challenge, I had to put the camera down a few times as looking through a viewfinder does not help! I think I did well considering and got some pretty looking shots. We managed to catch a police car and ambulance too which could be used.

* Don't forget the slow mo cigarette and Hope getting into the car

Castle Pin

Managed to secure a paid job for a promotional video for a company called Castle Pin. Basically they set up QR codes in buildings to see when things were last monitored and when they are due for an update, particularly useful for fire doors. 

This originally started out as taking a few pictures for the website but I suggested a promotional video to further explain what they do and have a broader reach. The company is quite independent at the moment with only a few clients, but hopefully with better marketing, it will kick off the ground. 

Had to reschedule the shoot for another week (which is typically the week of Degree Show! Managed to get Vue and the Opening Night free but can't attent my rotors sadly!)

DERIGGED!

The Dark Room is officially derigged (RIP). There's a few bits of sellotape on the floor still as they're being a bit stubborn but we are coming back tomorrow to get the last of it up with those scraper things you get.

Hope - Day 5

Today we planned to do the car shots and a few dark room and cellar pick ups. However we didn't have any word from the person we need the car from and also the second camera, so we decided to cancel (and hopefully rearrange for another day, we are working on it and actor availability UPDATE rescheduled for Tuesday 8th). This will also give us more time to plan exactly what we need. 

Instead, we focused on more pick up shots as the editor had trouble cutting into action, so we got a few pick ups of Hope walking into scene. Also a few new actions as it's scripted that Hope flinches with the defibrillator in real life.

The XCU of the eye from yesterday was not quite close enough, so we used the 100mm macro lens from photography to get it even closer and it looks fantastic. 

We had some behind the scenes footage from Ethan today too. I quickly took the best of and uploaded it to YouTube but I will be editing it properly and to music later.

MNIJ - Wetherspoons Pick Up Shots

Went to get a few more pick up shots today for the Wetherspoons scene following advice from the panel we had in, and to make the scene a bit quicker. We took about 6 different shots so there's plenty to work with including a pint being pulled, bottles and various pictures. I looked up copyright for bottle labels and it looks very complected so we turned them around and made sure the beer taps were out of focus.

Hope - Day 4

Due to a few communication errors, I had to rearrange the dates on the risk assessments so we are now doing the black room and hospital scenes today and the cellar and car crash tomorrow. I also put on a way too late unit call as I didn't realise we were putting down bin bags all over the floor to blacken it out. I also used a new piece of equipment called the quick release plate. It attatches to the tripod and can essentially take it of the tripod easily to shoot handheld then back on for tripod shots. It was great and I'm not sure where it's been all my life.

Photo Credit Janice Lee

For lighting, there are two LED lights on the left hand side and one overhead. Tillie comes out of the dark and into the light, and it's not too bright or too dark. The light of the TV also worked well. We started filming at about 5 and finished at 6:30. We decided to grab the hospital close ups too while we still have a hospital bed set upstairs which took a bit longer as we needed a few extra bits of equipment. Roughly finished at 8. We have left the studio as is for now if we need any pick up shots tomorrow, but we will need to dismantle it on Wednesday.

Hope Update

Production for Hope has slowed down more than I would have liked. Communication was very quiet and I was worried I would have to step up as main producer and finish the film (or join what we have together to make a coherent piece) after our production meeting on Friday. Even more worrying we haven't received a completed script so even if I were to take over, I had no idea what scenes there were and what they contained.

It would have been ideal to film over Easter like we did for Cirque last year but we couldn't. Would have been even better to film more before we broke up or get straight back into it after Easter and book equipment for when we get back. 

But we now have a plan of action and communication has fired back up. I have booked out the studio Monday 30th for the car crash* and hospital shots, and Tuesday 1st for the cellar scene reshoots and the dark room. Since it's unrealistic to get the whole film finished in time, the director has picked the most important scenes and ones that can make the film still work. I'm a bit upset that the workshop scene has been cut as I was really looking forward to lighting and storyboarding the set. Maybe, if we get ahead with scheduling, we could film it. But we should be focusing on the main scenes, prioritising, and giving the editor plenty of time if there is anything else we need.

There are also some concerns of the Wetherspoons scene. The establishing shot is quite wobbly. My bad, I was camera op here. We did to multiple tests to see which worked best and did multiple takes but it wasn't enough. The jib was too big and clunky to bring too. The actor also drinks the wine very slowly. There must be a way to edit around this if we can't get any reshoots. At the moment, we have to prioritise and get new things to make the current scenes we have flow and into one film and come back for reshoots later.

*note to self don't forget dropping the cigarette in slow mo here

Hope - Equipment Needs

Hope is a fairly safe production for camera equipment with more drastic equipment needed for set dressing (the black room, light prop, etc). A jib would have been ideal for the Wetherspoons opening shot but there just wasn't enough room. This was the opening and probably the most ambitious to get right.

The main equipment used was the Blackmagic Mini Ursas (for high quality footage), tripod, slider and the studio LEDs (sometimes the small ones for inside a car). We were more experimental with frame rates and sets than the equipment. We also had Hutch's lighting kit. We only used LED lights for the film as they are easier to control and give off a much more softer lighting. Sometimes we also don't have great electricity in locations like the soundstages and the cellar, so the portable studio ones would be ideal.

Last Updates

I feel like I have got to the point where I think my website and materials are perfectly balanced. Putting anything in at this time just throws it out of place and is erroneous. I would have liked to put testimonials in but I don't have any/haven't received any and would have to make a whole new page as I have just the right amount of content on each at the moment. I have added in more information about the cameras I have used as well as dates so people can see my most recent projects and projects that are coming up (so they know I am still active), and also changed one of the projects to include work experience I have had with Maxy Bianco as it sounds more professional. I have also included mentoring in my About Me as well as keeping up with professionalism in the future (people often ask in interviews where do you see yourself in the future).

Letterheads

I have made some letterheads to add to my self promotion documents. Letterheads are a lot more professional and clients can see contact details at a glance. These can be useful not just for sending letters, but for minute meetings, legal notices or just general communication (https://www.minutemanpress.co.za/news/uses-of-letterheads-8/). 

Screengrab of my current website for reference/synergy

Vistaprint has a default one that goes with my business card however I really don't like it. It's not obvious that I'm a cinematographer and it's very plain.

Contact details go at the bottom but have censored them for privacy

Next one I found was a bit too posh. Couldn't read the writing and the lens was a bit too colourful. My website it quire straightforward.

Next one matches the colour and shapes of my website a bit more but again, it's not obvious that I'm a cinematographer.

Last one was my original business card design. Even though this was a bit plain as a business card, it works well as a letterhead. It also matches my website; the shapes, the colour, and it's also obvious my work includes cameras.

Photoshop Practice

Enhancing some of my photoshop skills by fixing old photographs. Also did a leaflet design as a small job from my brother which I am quite proud of. I had to change the date on an existing poster with the same font and colours. Quite straightforwards, I used a website called Fontspring which came up with loads of similar fonts so I downloaded a few. Also used a simple colour picker. Came out with this.

Left is the original, right is mine

I also started experimenting with repairing and recolouring old photographs. I found one in an album which was discoloured from being in a frame and had a stripe of original colour on it. First, I had to repair the stripe so I used the 'stamp' tool and picked a colour and essentially coloured it in. 

After that, I used the Photoshop 'auto colour' tool which brought it back to its original colour. I tried to recolour black and white photos but this was very time consuming (the auto colour tool didn't work as there was no colour information whatsoever). I might come back to this later. But now at least I can say I can repair old and discoloured photos!

My friend sent me one of his very damaged pictures so I experimented on one and it turned out very well. I might start this up as a business on Fiverr.

Mostly just used the stamp tool for this one, I used content aware for some of the bigger bits. It was quite time consuming hence why I should start it as a business, so I can put more effort into it.

Press Pack

I had intended to do a press pack of all the work I have completed in Professional Practice as it's just nice to have and physically hand in. However, I did some research and found out that press packs are usually just for films (https://www.raindance.org/7-essentials-for-a-press-kit/). In some festivals like Sundance, it is a must to have a press pack when marketing a film as potential distributers can see what it is about at a glance. Even though it isn't really suitable for the FMP I am producing, I can suggest it to the producer of Cirque and possibly Hope when it is finished filming so we have an idea where to market.

Work Experience

Just a quick post to say to check out the 'Extra' tab/label to see experience I have either been a part of from CCAD or gathered on my own accord (http://sarahmaherfilmblog.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/extra), which all hit LO3 for Professional Practice. The most notable one for Professional Practice is the wedding photography job I got from my Facebook cinematography page. This was all independently sought, organised and a paid position, and it went quite well and the clients were very happy. It was also good to see if this was where I wanted to go with my career and is still an option. Even though I am cinematography based, occasional photography is still great and also something I'm hugely interested in. A few more notable experiences are being on ITV News, behind the scenes photographer in Onion Man (achieved with the help of Janice and letting me on set) and helping out in Echoes of Silence/some BTS. 

Cirque du Muerte from last year also received an RTS regional award which I have included in all my social media and paperwork (CV, etc). 

Sadly haven't heard anything back from Media City (yet!). I have also submitted into The Network in Edinburgh so hoping to hear from them when the deadline has passed. 

Trailers

For Newcastle Film Festival, we had a choice of making a trailer for the film. This would be good for marketing as well as another box to tick on the application form. So I did a quick edit, luckily I knew the film well and what shots look good. With a bit of help from the director for artistic vision, we came up with this.

Cirque du Muerte - Trailer from Janice Lee on Vimeo.

The director liked this so much they requested a one of Onion Man (which I am 10x prouder of). Again had a few creative outputs as I didn't know the film as well, but it looks very cool. I think I have found my calling haha! Also had to alter the aspect ratio as the footage at the moment had the film peaking through in the back. I edited both trailers in Premiere Pro mostly for ease as I have it at home and also on all of the Uni computers. Basically made an adjustment layer and changed a few of the settings. Learnt a new skill!

MNIJ - Shot Choices

While creating storyboards and shot choices for My Name is John, I looked at how other comedies use shots to their advantage and make the film a lot funnier. One of my favourite shots in the film is when John cracks a joke in the self help group and we pan to the other characters reaction (unamused faces). It's tense and you feel the space between them. The juxtaposition of both is a great technique for comedy but the pan is even better. If we just cut to the faces, it wouldn't have the same impact. 



The handheld camera in comedy that just makes everything more natural and funny, it also makes the viewer more involved in the action and like we are following them on their journey. 

Throughout the film, looking closely at the house scene, I wanted mostly medium close ups. The hand movements as well as facial reactions also add to each other and generate more comedy. 



Crash zooms are also used in comedies to further exaggerate tension as well as characters reactions, very similar to using panning. 

Fourth wall breaks are used sparingly in comedies. There is one break in MNIJ where the shopkeeper looks at camera like 'what just happened'. A lot of comedies use it to make the audience more included and involved, like the character is talking to them, just further exaggerating the joke.

RTS Awards

Cirque du Muerte (last years live project) has been nominated for a regional RTS award in Yorkshire, in the category of Entertainment/Comedy. So tonight roughly 30 of us went down to support it and the Uni. 

Glad to report that WE WON! CCAD have not won a category before (only craft awards) and we are now shortlisted to be in the national awards down in London. They did play the worst clip of the film though, guess they just picked the most 'comedic' bit. We got certificates and a trophy (hope this will be on a rotor), but we are getting our sound ops name engraved onto it. Sadly the certificates only say 'nominees' too instead of winners. 

It was a very good night and we have had an article on the CCAD website already. (http://hartlepool.ccad.ac.uk/ccad-film-students-win-rts-yorkshire-student-awards-2018/)When we were emailed about this we were told it might go into the papers too!

Hope - Day 3

I have to stop calling the film Afterlife, but I will still tag my posts as Afterlife as I have a lot to go through and change. 

Today I couldn't make it on set. Due to complications giving blood, I couldn't lift anything and was told to rest by the official NHS nurses. Luckily Liam stepped in to lend a hand. I had booked out equipment, risk assessments, etc. and was all organised. I also uploaded storyboards and lighting plans on the VLE. I have heard that it went well, but didn't get all of it done. From the pictures I have seen it looks very dark too which I am a bit concerned about for the colourist. 

Echoes Stand In

Today I was a stand in for the computer voice in Echoes of Silence, as well as just generally helping out. Most of which was trying to work the long LED lights to make it stay constantly on blue. Got there eventually! Found out that my voice was echoing and thought it would be better to ring me from across the room, which still echoed, so I was in a room (which I was grateful for in the end as it was very cold! I know now for Hope that I need more heaters, blankets and hand warmers). I said I was up for it tomorrow but had to be at home, but this was fine as it was just a phone call. However I think the director had a lot more to worry about the next day so it didn't happen. At least I did what I could to get everything set up easier and quicker on the Monday.

Website Fine Tuning

I have reworded a lot of things on my website today to make them sound more professional. I have also deleted the blog on my site as I thought this was too informal and too much work to change this close to deadline (have to prioritise). 

One problem was deciding whether to put the bios in first or third person. I have decided to put the home page and portfolio in third person to make it seem more professional, and my About Me page in first person so people would connect to it more. The About Me page has been reworded quite drastically as I have always been unsure how to word this, so I asked for advice and have a better understanding what to change and focus on, as well as my own judgement when it comes to pronouns and wording things.

I have also made a few fine tweaks to the website to make it look more aligned and aesthetically pleasing.

Freebies/Subscribers

Some things that were suggested to include in our professional package was a subscriber tool, offer some freebies and to add a narration to our showreels. I have decided against the narration of the showreel as mine is mostly visual and I can't really envision or think of anything I could talk about. 

I have added a subscriber tool to my website but can't seem to edit it. So I put a headline above it.

I'm not 100% sold on this idea yet. I will ask for opinions on this feature as well as researching into what professionals do. I will also have to change the email that people receive and carefully word it. I'm not sure how to make a consultation completely free either unless it's like a Skype call or something, or it's fairly local. If someone from like Australia or even London is interested then I might be in trouble. Might need to put this on terms and conditions!

Update 19.03.18: Typically, cinematographer pages do not offer freebies on their websites, their website is more of a big portfolio for just work. I have looked at Nicola Daley's and Suzie Lavelle's websites for research (hitting LO1) and they are all very visual. Mine is more like a business page where I can get jobs from, so I have decided to use the subscriber idea, especially now I have created the email template as I really like it. I have used Wix Shoutout to create an automated email for everyone who subscribes. I made the background similar to the website for synergy. I was also careful about wording the free consultation in case it is hard to travel in the north east on a particular day or distance or whatever. 

Action Plan

Plan 1

Get a reply to my email for work experience at MediaCity (and eventually a job). Haven't figured out logistics of travel yet, so probably will learn to drive, or house share on site, or live in Leeds with my brother as it's a bit closer and transport is often.

Plan 2

Get accepted onto The Network in Edinburgh and hopefully gain a job from it.

Plan 3

Move to Leeds and live with my brother for 6 months until I get on my feet. Apply for jobs at the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. 

Plan 4

Stay in the North East and apply for jobs where I can. Noticed ITV usually hire in Gateshead so I can apply for those jobs.

Edinburgh International Film Festival 'The Network'

Got an opportunity emailed to us a few days ago about a scheme from Edinburgh Film Festival called The Network. Basically it's a four day course to try and kick start a job in the film industry. There will be industry professionals there and looks like it will be valuable experience. I tried to find any flaws and I just can't seem to find any. Accommodation is supplied and I could get my travel and food expenses back. The only flaw I can find that I might fall at is that I have to come up with a new TV show idea. I'm more technical savvy than ideas, and I will be extremely unhappy if they pick my idea and want me to organise it all (want experience with the cameras ideally). But hopefully I can change my path and just focus on my technical skills in my CV and three questions that need to be answered alongside it. 

Deadline for this is Friday 27th April so hopefully I can come up with a fleshed out idea by then!

Side note: This also fulfils learning outcome three for Professional Practice by using my skills in this module for potential employers.

Create Write Here

I have helped a classmate creating a facebook group for creatives to share their work to and receive constructive criticism. Hopefully this group will encourage people to collaborate if they like an idea as well as kick start their projects. I mostly offered my knowledge as I admin a few Facebook groups. It hasn't quite kicked off the ground yet but hopefully it will.

CV

Currently focusing on formatting my CV to send to employers as well as the Edinburgh Film Festival 'The Network' (will discuss this in another post). I focused on this website on how to write a CV that is relevant to jobs in the industry. I was in two minds whether to put my experience or skills first. It is suggested and more typical to put skills first, however my experience is impressive and it might grab people's attention if I put BFI and BAFTA first. Having said this, I have decided to keep it typical and put skills first; my experience is still on the first page and is eye catching.

Researching into this (websites such as BBC and Prospects, hitting LO1), CV's are usually only a page long. For creating my CV I used this website as a reference as it seems very professional. But mine is one and a third. The first page is my skills and experience. The second page is mostly a quick bio and my education and can be seen as optional. I have included that I am RTS awards nominated and also have social media experience in my bio. I have also put a link to my showreel at the top of my CV.

I have not included a picture as it is not typical of a CV. I added a splash of blue and some bold letters to the CV to make it a bit different and highlight key words. I also found that referees are usually included in a CV so I just put that they were available on request. Most, if not all, of my CV is based on independent research.

By doing all of this research and making a high quality and well researched CV, I have hit LO2 which is to enhance my individual practice as it could lead to potential employment.

Afterlife - Day 2

Today we filmed the opening sequence to Afterlife in Wetherspoons and originally the Marina. However the director decided for ease as well as aesthetic to keep it all in Wetherspoons (still did the risk assessment for the Marina anyway!) I put a call time for the crew at 1 and for the actor at 3 on the call sheet however the actor turned up incredibly early and we got equipment late. Luckily this was the only bump in our schedule. We also ended up shooting day for night as a few people needed to be headed off at 6pm, which was when sunset was.

We also chose not to bring the red heads and use Hutch's new lighting kit and I'm so tempted to buy one myself. It was so much easier to carry, set up and less dangerous as they do not get hot. However, they do not have batteries and are not portable, so we took a few studio LED lights with us in case we needed them outside in the dark. 

We had two camera ops on set today so I assigned myself to the handheld camera and the second camera op to the safety shots and tripod. I did this as I rehearsed the complected opening shot before and know where I need to pull focus. We both got a lot of great looking shots and plenty of cutaways for the editor to work with. I also tried to make a few edit cues when the mother leaves the pub (e.g. walking into the actor to make it cut to black).

For the outside car shot, we had an issue with delivery drivers and people so we had to find the right time to film and quickly move out the way. The exhaust shot that the director wants didn't work amazingly well and may need some smoke put on in post. 

The shoot went very smoothly, and we finished at 6 (before the estimated wrap). I also feel like we got a lot shot from having two cameras on set.