Shooting Day THREE - The Wrap Up

Today turned out to be the longest day, and we probably should have scheduled in another day - but since we were dependent on our actors, and when they were available to shoot, we had to get all the footage on this day. 
By now, we all had found our roles on set, even though we changed them around. Laura was great at keeping track with the camera log sheets and making sure that we had the right tale slates; Ben was a great audio man; and all of us always made sure to swap directing, filming and so on. 
The scenes with Hank and Roslyn together took the longest to shoot, as dialogues require not only one person to act and react, but they also need to connect and know their lines so they can interact. Since Mrs Robson (as Mrs Esper) had no experience with acting or play, she was quite nervous at the beginning and had trouble remembering the lines. But the better she got to know the routine and her co-actor Luis (as Hank), the shots we filmed became really good. We also realized that it was helping if as fewer people were standing around and trying to "help", the better it worked. We had a lot of fun filming as well, and I hope that our actors, too, enjoyed the day. We tried to make them feel as comfortable as possible, and luckily had lots of drinks, chocolates and other snacks to offer, to keep the energy up and take little breaks in between. 
As soon as all scenes with Mrs Esper were done, we needed to hurry to shoot our final scenes with Hank and the students as they were supposed to be outside and we were running out of daylight. We had to change some locations slightly so that the setting sun was not visible on camera. It helped to change some of the settings and white balance the camera several times in order to have enough light. We were not able to use the red heads as that would have seemed even more fake on screen. Luckily those scenes worked out well, and we were all relieved when we were able to say "CUT" for the last time, and wrap it up. As a thank you we had some presents for our actors and helpers such as movie tickets, and pralines. 
All in all, it worked out great and I am really happy with how effectively and creative our group worked together. Everybody was making sure that we did not forget about some shots, or different angles, and that the post production group had enough material to work with. I am very excited to see the end product of this short film! 


I learned a lot during this hands-on project. Although I am not sure if I ever become a producer or director, it was very interesting and challenging to learn about those positions in the filmmaking industry. When watching some Hollywood productions now, I appreciate the organizational work as well as the shooting way more, and I also envy them for being able to shoot with several cameras at the same time, and a budget to back them up... I enjoyed the organizational part the most and tried to always be on top of things and inform the other group members of what we had to do and who will be responsible for the different things. I am happy how well it worked out in the end - we overcame some obstacles, but still enjoyed the process.  

Shooting Day TWO

We faced quite a few challenges along the way, but today everything seemed to fall into place. We got access to an office that we could use the next day, and were also allowed in the same tute room for a few hours in the morning to finish off the "classroom" scenes. We reshot some scenes because when replaying our material from our first shooting day, we realized that some of the shots were out of focus or did not apply the rule of thirds. 

Other problems we needed to consider: 

- What time does the clock show? We tried to not have the clock in the shots we did when the time was "wrong"

- We needed to cover or take off any Griffith Uni signs that were visible in the frame

- When setting up the classroom scenes again, we needed to make sure that everything was at the same spot, so that the postproduction team could cut together different shots

While we were shooting we had some more ideas for some scenes, thus changing the script or shooting list along the way. This allowed us to be a bit creative and also make some scenes easier. We cut out a few shots as well, as we realized that they were unnecessary. For example, the scene were two school boys talk about a former petition in order to chose a school mascot, we first thought about leaving the scene out, but then decided to still shoot it in 'interview style', but left out the posters, as it would be unrealistic that they have them at  that moment. 

All in all, it was a long and successful day. We all were very happy with our main actor who played Hank - he was very concentrated and quickly found his way into the role.

Shooting Day ONE

We have our actors! Thanks to my friend Luis (who will be our Hank), and Jacquelin's mum (who will be our Roslyn), we have that weight off our shoulders.. Since both of their schedules need to be met, we had to postpone our other shooting days, but since we had planned in enough time that is manageable. It also gives us enough time to book the rooms, and find an office where we can shoot the scenes with Roslyn.

After some trouble of how to book the equipment in order to have it with us for an early start, we all made it on time at 8am - and the shooting began. We started with the establishing scenes and were very lucky with the weather. Blue skies, not too sunny yet and our chosen spot was in a nice, natural light. Everybody in the group contributed with ideas, props and preparation, and some snacks to keep us energized. 

We quickly discovered the importance that everybody has to stick to their defined roles, e.g. camera man, director, or audio. At the beginning we all kind of tried to do everything at once, but then found our responsibilities within the team.

Another problem turned out to be our "classroom". We were not able to book a tute room during uni hours, so we tried to find a room that was free for at least a couple of hours. Unfortunately we had to leave the room before we finished the scenes in that location, which puts more pressure on our future shooting days. 

 

Week 10: We need to get started!

It was good to receive feedback on our previous assignments in order to judge whether we are on the right track. 
The production schedule helped a lot to put into perspective how much time we need. I think we did a good job at dividing the production according to the characters involved as well as the locations that we need to shoot at. 
We decided to shoot all the scenes where we would not need any of our characters that are played by friends on the first day. That assured us a whole day of getting more routine on set and also to see if our time frames were realistic. All of us from 58percentforeign will play a small (or bigger) role in the production, but our main characters are yet to be found... 

Week 9: On Set Routine

This week we got a great overview of what to do and think of on set. I printed out a check-list which we will use when shooting or film. 

Pre-Shooting

RECON the location

DRESS the set

SET lights

TEST setups (mark or photograph setups) & WHITE BALANCE camera

RUN audio & TEST levels

CALL actors

REHEARSE scene with camera (DOUBLE CHECK setups, lighting & audio)

On Set Rountine

QUIET on set

CALL (DIRECTOR): "Camera"

CALL (CAMERA): "Rolling"

HEAD SLATE shot (!)

CALL (DIRECTOR): "And Action"

RUN scene

CALL (DIRECTOR): "Cut"

TAIL SLATE shot (!)

CALL (CAMERA): "Clear"

We also talked about how to direct non-actors, and I think it was good to remember that we will have only non-actors on set, which might make the production a bit harder and we have to consider more time in order to rehearse the scenes more often etc. 

Setting up a scene and shooting it from different angles, in short, going through the whole process of shooting one shot/scene, really helped to get a feeling for how long things take and what to think of. 

When we revisited the video material the following week, we could see how easily many mistakes can be prevented (making sure the head/tail slot is visible, turn on the sound, don't leave stuff lying around that doesn't belong in the frame of the shot like waterbottles etc.) 

Our group was also facing a few problems regarding our actors. We "lost" our main character, Hank, as he suddenly decided that it would be too much time that he needed to invest and with other responsibilities he did not want to commit to our project. 

But I am sure we can still find suitable characters for our missing roles. 

Week 8: Audio

The elements of a soundtrack: 
1) Narration / Voice Over: from a character, Voice of God
2) Music
3) Sound effects: Location sounds, Edit sound in afterwards
4) Dialogue: Record on location (90% of the time, Audio is recorded on location), or A.D.R (misses atmosphere, sounds easily fake)


We are using so called shotgun microphones which are not picking up too much noise from around them. That means we have to make sure to always point the microphone / boom pole at the sound we are trying to record and make sure that no unwanted noises are audible (always use the headphones etc.!)

Week 7: Lighting

This week was very interesting and important as we learned how to set up the lights on a set. I realized that this part of the process takes more time than I would have thought, and we need to plan accordingly once we start shooting. 

Steps to consider: 

1) Turn off the lights available on location, and change the light bulbs to higher wattage ones

2) Always follow your natural light source if there is one (e.g. window, visible lamp etc.)

3) Remember the "three point set up" (Key Light, Fill Light, Back/Hair Light) 

Especially when filming a dialogue, it is important to get a natural looking light on the characters, so that they neither look too bright (no shade on their face), nor too dark (half of the face is a shade, so that one eye can hardly be seen). Also the shades that the lights create behind the characters or other objects have to be eliminated, which can be a challenge in a small location. 

Due to those lessons we decided as a group to think over the locations for our production in order to either use natural light as much as possible and to use rooms that make it easy to set up lights. 

Week 5: Get to know the Camera

There was no lecture this week, but we had the chance to get used to the cameras by filming a few things, in and outside. We realized how important it is to always white balance the camera before every shot. Whenever we did not do it properly, we found the image to be slightly grainy or off color. 

In our group, we also continued our assignments and worked on our script - we had to change a fair bit in order to take out the large number of characters as well as shortening it. Cassie had a great idea to change the scenes that take place in an assembly hall full of students to an audio announcement. That way we only needed a few students and their reactions and our main character could say his speech through an announcement speaker.  We also tried to figure out, who our characters could be and what props we will need. 

Anticipatory Camera and DoF in "lock, stock & two smoking barrels""

Week 4: Anticipatory Camera and DoF in "lock, stock & two smoking barrels" 

The movie works a lot with different camera angles and plays with light and depth of field. A lot of scenes take place in bars, where the camera focuses on the actors, but the viewer still knows where the action takes place since bottles of drinks, bar tables and stools or the bar itself is visible blurry in the background. 
During conversations the anticipatory camera turns to the next character to speak, before he raises his voice. 


One scene starts with an extreme close up on the smoking top of a long gun barrel, while the person holding it as well as the rest of the room visible are extremely out of focus and blurry. Thus, the viewer gets a sense of being the aim as he looks directly into the shooting holes. 


An interesting shot is about one hour into the movie, when the camera is hold closely to venetian blinds on a window. While the blinds are on focus in the beginning of the shot, the focus shifts so that the foreground becomes blurry, so the viewer can only just make out that he is looking through a slot of the blinds, as the characters look out the window secretly to see what is going on on the street (Shallow DoF).
A similar shot is used later in the movie, only that the blinds are broken and covered in blood. The characters who were looking through slots of the blinds from the inside earlier are now approaching the window from outside, to see the mess inside. 


Some scenes are interesting in regard to the use of the Rule of Thirds. Most of the times, the frame is set quite typically, but in some scenes the characters are set extremely wide to the left or right side of the frame, outside the lines of an imaginable "grid" of three by three fields. While only half of the character's face of interest is visible, another object in the shot becomes the centre of interest. It seems like that object is not important at the time but it is later in the movie (e.g. the magazine of the auction of the antique guns). 

Week 4: Basic Camera Management

Week 4: Basic Camera Management: Focus and Exposure


Most important this week was to realize that Auto-Focus and Auto-Exp. is BAD when trying to produce a good movie. When producing our films, we should always use Manual Settings and thus learn about the basic camera functions. 


The Rule of Thirds can be used to put focus on the person or object of interest. It divides the screen into 3x3 fields, and the center of interest should be placed along one of the intersecting lines, the focus does not need to be necessarily in the middle of the screen (as it would be with Auto-Focus). 


Focus in drama, though, is not as important as in real life situations: the camera should never follow the action (like in documentary films), but lead it. This is called the Anticipatory Camera. As the cameraman knows what is going to happen next he can prepare the focus and create the space where the character moves in to. 


The Exposure of a shot is very important, because both, an overexposed or underexposed shot loses any kind of detail, the object of interest becomes blurry and boring. When filming, we will use the Zebra setting in order to control the exposure of our shots. 


With Focus and Exposure we can control the Depth of Field (DoF) of a shot or scene. We can think of our frame in three parts: the foreground, the mid ground and the background. 
Usually in movies we can see a Shallow DoF as it puts a center of interest in focus and highlights different areas of the film. This way, the focus can be shifted from for example the foreground to the background in order to make the audience aware of something. 


In my following entry I will analyse different scenes of a movie in regard to the anticipatory camera and Depth of Field. 

Week 3: Scriptwriters and Filmmakers

Week 3: Scriptwriters and Filmmakers


This week, Markus gave a very interesting lecture about our future as producers or directors and explained the relationship between the different occupations and the scriptwriter. 


Once a script has been written, potential filmmakers read it and have to ask themselves: 
1. Do I like the story? Can I be enthusiastic about it? 
2. How much would it cost? What is my budget? 
Then, the scriptwriter might get the highly anticipated call, saying: "Your script has been chosen!", usually followed by: "You have to change it."


In a nutshell: the script is NOT the film. Scriptwriters have to accept what filmmakers make out of their ideas, which shows the importance of a very precise and detailed script. The more detail the writer adds, the easier it is to understand and convey the movie's meaning. 


Very important to us was to learn, what we can get out of a script, even when being on a low budget when producing our short films. Scripts are usually too long and contain too many locations and actors - we have to ask ourselves: How can we change it to make it work in our circumstances? 


Later in the tute we formed groups and got our scripts. 58percentforeign, 100percentpotential and many ideas - I know we can make a great movie out of HANK!

Shot Composition of a scene in "Into the Wild"

Analysis of a scene in the movie "Into the Wild" by Sean Penn regarding the different shots:

00:16:20

The scene starts with a medium shot (mid shot), showing the parents of the lead character sitting in a restaurant. The camera looks through the restaurant window and some cars mirror in the glass, so the viewer knows, he is still outside. We can see how the lead character and his sister get out of the car.

00:16:23

The next shot shows the lead character and his sister as they walk around the car, the camera is now pointing at them.

00:16:27

The scene now jumps inside. A mid shot reveals tables, which are nicely set for dining, several people sitting at the tables, and a waiter in the background. The viewer knows the scene takes place in a restaurant. The table of the lead character’s parents is in the centre of the shot, we can see his mother getting up and walking closer to the camera (probably towards the entrance of the restaurant).

00:16:31

Mid shot of the mother at the restaurant entry, which becomes clear through a welcome sign and a woman who seems to be working for the restaurant, awaiting customers to greet and seat them. Both women are shown from behind.

00:16:33

The camera jumps to the front of them, showing their faces in a mid shot. The mother greets her sun and gives him a hug at the centre of the frame, the sister is coming in from the right and the woman from the restaurant is now in the background, smiling politely.

The camera moves closer to mother and son, a close up makes the audience focus on them and their conversation now. They move through the restaurant back to their table where the father is waiting. The camera follows the characters still in close up. The father shakes his son’s hand, although we only see the father’s face and the hair of the lead character.

00:16:46

The camera jumps to the lead’s characters face to reveal his emotions. He is smiling. We also see his mother looking at him proudly. They all sit down at the table. As the shot is still in close up, the father’s back is nearly covering the whole frame for a second.

00:16:52

Several shots from the family at the table are following. First, only the lead character and his parents are shown in a mid shot, as a viewer you feel like that you are sitting at the table right beside them. We can see part of his profile and the parents’ faces. Only when the father addresses his sister, the camera jumps to the girl’s face. She sits next to her brother, whose face is in the right side of the frame. Some following shots put the focus on the characters, showing one after the other, thus revealing the father’s strict look at her and the mother’s emotions (she feels uncomfortable and strokes her forehead with her fingertips as if to calm her down).

00:17:00

The camera jumps back into a mid shot, so we can see the whole family again and a waiter in the background, serving another table. The lead character sits with his back to the frame.

00:17:06

Their conversation gets cut off by a group of baseball fans entering the restaurant. We first hear the noises they make (yelling, cheering), before the camera jumps to them, showing several men running in, wearing baseball caps and a scarf with a team name on it is hold up in the air. The mid shot is only 2 seconds long, but those few icons or symbols (cheering, caps and scarf) are enough to know what is going on.

00:17:08

The camera is on the family again, first on the lead character who smiles slightly and looks maybe a bit jealous, then a close up on the father who looks concerned or angry. The cheering continues so we cannot hear anything else but mumbles. The waitress comes to the table; she is shown in a short close up.

00:17:16

The camera then jumps back into a short mid shot to show the whole family and the waitress while she gives them the menu.

00:17:19

A close up of the mother who is assumingly looking at the cheering crowd, she then turns to her family and starts talking. She has a forced smile on her face, obviously trying to save the situation. The next shot, though, reveals that the father is still unhappy. He is addressing the waitress to make sure that the baseball fans are staying at the bar.

00:17:22

The scene ends with a few mid shots as well as close ups of what is going on in the bar: mid shot of the fans cheering and drinking (“Shot! Shot! Shot!”), close up of a sizzling and flames spitting frying pan in the kitchen, mid shot of the open kitchen with busy chefs inside… The background noises of the crowd continue until the scene ends.

00:17:30

The next scene begins: the background noises fade out and we can see an extreme close up of the mother’s eyes which are looking down on the table and then slowly moving up, looking at something. It is very quiet now. 

Week 2: Shot Listing and Composition

Week 2: Shot Listing and Composition 


Analysis of one scene of a movie: what kind of shots were used? How long is each shot and why? 


This week we talked about the Shot Family and the Composition of a movie. The shot, being the smallest unit of a movie, reveals the language of a film and provides meaning. Every shot serves a purpose, and is important to the whole film. 


Shot compositions can be static (still pictures, fixed images) or dynamic (movement of camera+actors, effect of time). The question for each filmmaker is: when and why would I use a particular shot? 


The basic Shot Family contains the Long and Mid Shot, and the Close Up. While the long shot concentrates on the setting of the movie and is often used as an Establishing Shot, the close up shot focuses on the subject, thus revealing emotions. The mid shot is majorly used in feature movies and TV productions as it gives the audience a "real life" view of the scene. Both, part of the setting and the subject can be seen.


To determine how long a shot should be, one has to consider the familiarity versus complexity of the setting. The more familiar the place or person shown is, the shorter the shot can be (e.g. Sydney Opera). Once places, people and objects have been introduced, shots of those things can be even shorter further into the movie. Depending how many items of interest are in a wide shot, the longer that shot should be. 


In my following entry, I will discuss and analyse one scene of a movie regarding those aspects of screenplay. 

Plot and Screenplay Structure of "27 Dresses"

This week's feature movie I watched is 27 Dresses by Anne Fletcher (2008) (go to website of movie). I focused on the plot as well as the screenplay structure to find out how spot on the techniques and theories, which we discussed in class, were. Below you can find the revised notes I took while watching the movie. 

27 Dresses 


ACT I: Minute 1-30


Lead Character is introduced as 8 year old child and tells about herself → WHO


The first scene is a flashback and the year is blended in: 1986, she is 8. In the movie the lead character is an adult, so it plays in present time, in the United States → WHEN and WHERE


She fixes a wedding dress... It is explained that she can’t wait for her own wedding: next picture is when she is wearing a wedding dress. Soon it becomes clear that this is not her dress → WHAT (search for love) 


Minute 10: while she is dancing on two weddings and putting herself through a lot of stress, the other potential main character is introduced; a handsome young man who is questioning her behaviour and does not agree with her view on love (getting married / weddings are most important / etc.) → STEREOTYPICAL ROMANTIC COMEDY


After driving home in a taxi together, he finds her diary that she forgot. Since he finds her attractive he sends flowers and tries to meet her again.


PLOT POINT 1 → By now, all main characters are introduced and the story takes a turn, when her sister meets the man she secretly loves: her boss. 
Lead characters flaw: always stepping back and not being open for other things. Only focussed on getting married with „the right guy“. Not standing up for herself. 


END OF ACT 1




ACT II: Minute 30-80


Story unfolds. She is jealous of her sister and has to watch her and her boss start a relationship – it breaks her heart.
At the same time the „wedding hater“ keeps trying to have a date with her, but she refuses. 


PINCH → she walks in on them when he proposes to her sister in a restaurant in the most romantic way. Her sister even gets their dead mom’s wedding dress, the one she always wanted to wear. And she has to help them organize the wedding. 


MID-POINT → The two storylines cross each other: the handsome “Wedding-Hater” and her sister know each other, they get introduced and he is actually the writer of the wedding column she collects and is a big fan of. Despite that she does not like him at first, he manages to get her to talk and she starts realizing her flaw: “When is it your turn?” 


PINCH → Kevin (the writer) finds out the “real” story while they are driving through heavy rain in the car, they get into a fight and have a car crash which leaves them stuck together somewhere… They get drunk and talk. And find out that they do have things in common. They start kissing as the night goes on.


PINCH → She finds out about the article and is devastated and breaks up with him before their story even started. 


PLOT POINT 2 → She sees how her sister cut up their mother’s wedding dress to make it more “fashionable” and finally stands up for herself and leaves her selfish sister to herself, threatening to tell the husband to be the truth about her lying about her personality (being vegetarian, outdoorsy, etc.) 


CLIMAX → Lead character lets out her 20 years of depression and ruins her sisters wedding by creating a slide show which reveals all the little secrets. While morally very terrible she finally stands up for herself and DOES something. The handsome writer tries to apologize to her…


END OF ACT II




ACT III – Minute 80-90


RESOLUTION → The two sisters talk openly about everything and realize their mistakes and understand each other and why they took certain actions.
Lead character changes life and cleans out her closet with all the 27 bridesmaid dresses. Then quits her job. When talking to her boss, she confesses her love to him. They kiss, but she does not feel anything. She realizes that she wants to be with Kevin (the writer).


“One Year Later” – Their wedding takes place.


HAPPY ENDING

Week 1: Screenplay Structure

Week 1: Plot and Screenplay Structure

This week we talked about the essential elements of a Plot: 


1) Believable/Sympathetic Lead Character

• Often stereotypes are used
• Actions/Reactions have to be consistent 
• Character needs improvement through course of film (Character Arch)

2) Urgent/Difficult Problem

• Can be personal or global (e.g. Alien Invasion or Lost Love) 

3) Attempts to overcome the problem

• Results in rising "pinches" or plot points and leads to...:

4) Climax/Last Chance

• Character realizes his mistakes and has to either turn it around NOW or face an unhappy ending

5) Resolution 

• Happy/Sad Ending or Open Ending

The Screenplay Structure of a movie can be divided into 3 acts: 

1) The Setup

• Answers the WHO, WHERE+WHEN and WHAT of the movie (context)

2) The Confrontation

• Longest act of the movie, shows the HOW and WHY of the actions, contains of several pinches and the mid point (turning point) of the movie

3) The Resolution

• Often only a few minutes long, shows in time lapse how the rest of the characters lives will be (e.g. jumps directly to wedding and the happily ever after couple) 

This week's blog will be about: 

*Watch a movie of your choice and discuss: Elements of Plot OR Screenplay Structure
*Review short films from SP2 2012 - GOOD / BAD? What could be done better?