Assignment 6- Final Project- "Benevolence"

So it was time for the final project and things got real. I was extremely excited but equally scared. We had to develop and produce a film (no longer than 5 minutes) based one of the 250 word stories written for Storytelling for the screen. In this film we had to reach these requirements:

• Tell a story with a clear beginning, middle and end;
• Portray distinct characters who change in some way;
• Involve action which brings about character change;
• Show your ability to work in continuity style;
• Develop a miss-en-scene appropriate to the subject;
• Employ a creative and appropriate use of diegetic sound; and,
• Use titles and credits clearly and effectively

Before and fore most, we all talked through each of our stories and decided on which was best and simplest - the most achievable. We therefore picked James' short story, "The Good Buried Within your Heart" Very shortly after choosing a story to work on, we settled on what roles we would be taking:

• Pierre Joseph - Producer
• Joel Macklin - Director/Director of photography
• James Mahon - Script writer/Editor
• Eddis Ozcelik - Recce/Lighting
• Miguel Fonseca - Sound/Set design

I had always planned to nominated myself as scriptwriter but I felt it was only fair that, James would work on his story. Soon after the synopsis were sorted, as was the script, schedule and locations. We went into the first tutorial meeting hoping we had done enough. However, hoping we had done way more! Eddie was completely brutally honest with us, which I appreciate deeply. He really made us think about everything. We spent the rest of the day doing work with each other as a group. It was then when things really started to fall into place. We discussed things like professionals and always gave our opinions. The only problem i really had was with the story. Although it was a brilliant and realistic script, I felt that the story was too grand and too much of a sensitive subject to tell in just 5 minutes including credit time. That was just my opinion and the script maintained the same.

When we went into the rough cut tutorial, we were well prepared and had already finished the beginning and ending scenes. We were praised for our work so far but also received little criticism. Helena was also impressed with the sound plan I had made for the film.

We filmed the beginning and ending sequences very rapidly. It was the first time working with the actors who played Akan and Akan's father. It was really great finally getting to work. I was a little annoyed because the boom mic was not the best and was making a weird humming noise. This however, was not noticed at all during editing. 

We were going to have a long Christmas break, and so we were planning to do most of the filming during that time. However, we were taken by surprise when we found out that the loan store was going to close the day after we found out. We then spoke to Helen who was also unaware that this was happening, and she helped us by speaking to the people that worked at the loan store. This clearly messed with our scheduling and things had to be done very quickly. 

We then shot the main part the following day. We were all under lots of stress but were able to work properly. It was an eventful, long day, but we managed to get everything done, It was important that we did so, because these parts were crucial for he film. Personally, I found it enjoyable but also very hard, as I had to record the sound, watch sound levels on the zoom mic as well as writing down a sound report. In terms of set design I made sure the flat looked appropriate for the type of characters they were and what it said about them.

So that was the big part done, but we had to meet up for one more day after the new year to get some pick up shots and also another dialogue scene. I had to make sure that the set was identical to previous shooting and that when I really pulled out my guns for detail! Because this was during the christmas, break I was a little put down because I had no Boom nor zoom microphones to work with, and so I was afraid that sound for this one last dialogue scene would be horrible. Luckily for us, James had gotten a microphone for Christmas. I was most chuffed because of this. After that day, we had wrapped. 

I was glad that we had completed filming, but days later the whole team met up for the editing. We decided that we would all sit in with James. For this I gave him the sound plan I had created in pre-production, and assisted him but getting the sounds, and downloading some when needed. 

Finally the film was complete. You can see "Benevolence" by clicking the link Below:

"Benevolence"

On the 15th January 2013, the whole of the film class met up for a screening of all the finished products. I wasn't too confident going in there because I am always very critical of my own work. However, we mainly received good reviews and and very minimal criticism. 

I now do believe that our project was a massive success. I can only thank my group for being such great team workers and keeping morales up, even when we were faced with a bad situation. I am truly pleased with our work and feel as though we have achieved plenty!  

Directing

In this session we began with a short introduction to the zoom microphone, which I had already worked with before. However in this session we learnt more about the actual settings and the professional handling of it. Also, how to connect the boom to the zoom and how this is great to keep track of sound levels.

Shortly after, the class was divided into two groups, and given the same script. Each group had a character to look into and decide how they would direct it from the characters perspective.

Once finished both group came together and discussed their methods and a little storyboard was made on the white board of how the piece would work combined.

Following that, both groups became one sole group, and all were given a role for the this mini productions to give us a look at what a real set was like. Once again I was doing sound, but this was i wanted to get better experience as I am also doing sound on my groups final project. We also learnt the right terminology to use on set and what to say when. This was such a good lesson, and to finally be able to work with a big group was just amazing.

Ideas

This workshop focussed mainly on the development of ideas. Helen talked through loads of different ways in which we can develop ideas, especially if in doubt. 

these are the ways in which an idea may develop:

• recurring themes
• looking through other work
• always noting down a though that you think may be a good idea
• adaptation

The class were also asked to share a one line synopsis of the 250 story we had to write for storytelling for the screen. We were then asked to pass this over to someone else and let them expand on the story or see how they would tackle it. It was actually great to see what someone else would do with my ideas. This helped me because as an artist I tend to be very cautious as I become very conscious about my own work or start to believe its not a great idea when in reality I haven't even bothered to expand it. This has given me a little more confident. Was really kind of therapeutic.  

Producing

We had already learnt who the main man in a production was and how important the producer is. In this workshop however, we looked deeper into the producing side of the production and the roles of the producer.

Unlike most of the crew, the producer is active throughout the whole production cycle. Literally from beginning to end, starting with, pre-production, through production and finishing with postproduction.

The producer must:

• create a budget for the film
• hire cast and crew
• scheduling
• make sure everyone is on time and doing a good job
• say 'YES' or 'No' to the final product
• legal duties

There are simply too many to list them all on here. But this workshop, I'm sure may have scared some people. All responsibility is on the producer, and responsibility is scary. Eddie done a great job at drilling the producing business into our heads! :D 

Also in this workshop we were given the brief for our 6th and final project. 

Editing

In Editing, David talked to us about some of the rules applied during the editing process along with a task during the workshop.

Whilst continuity is essential, we often still get it wrong. David explained some rules of editing with the help of some movie examples.

180 degree tule

The rules David spoke about were:

• articulation of space: establishing shot > closer shots
• consistency of screen direction
• 180 degree rule
• match of action
• shot/reverse-shot figure
• eye-line match (point)

Then, using what we had learnt, David gave us a task and then sent us out to complete it. We were asked to go out and using 10 still shots that would work in continuity style. I done this task with Neslin, Eddis and Pierre. I think particularly think we did really well and got good feedback from David.

Before the end we were given our fifth assignment. Our first big one. For this assignment we were asked to recreate a scene from a an existing film. It took much thinking to look find one easy enough to do. This time I worked with; Pierre, producer; Joel Director; and Martin, lighting. Finally Joel suggested we did the Phone scene from the film "Memento". I took on the role of sound operator and worked recorded the sound with a zoom mic. That was my first time using it. I do believe I did a good job with it. The film also required a lot of different props that we went shopping for. The location was easy, as Pierre let us know that his room looked similar to the one from the scene.  I think we came out with a great product, mainly because of the group that I had that try to work to a professional standard always. We also had a great response from Helen, but had minor criticism regarding sound being dialogue being too loud and shadows not being hard enough. I couldn't be happier with this project; it sure was great working with these guys, and the completed product was in my opinion great!

Below is a link to the film:

Memento- phone scene recreation

Team working

This session, of all others, was probably my favourite one. In this workshop, as obvious, we had to work in groups.

Firstly, we were given hypothetical scenarios, where in groups of four or five we had to collectively make very harsh decisions. A film crew, capturing a nature documentary were suddenly stuck in an underwater cave. The cave was flooding with water very rapidly, due to a harsh tropical storm. With rescue on the way, we had half an hour to discuss who should be rescued and in what order. Collectively, we had had to make these decisions, but how to decide was a major problem. Subsequently, we were unable to find one way to decide and instead made a decision based on several aspects: age, health condition, pros and cons, experience etc. Of course we all had trouble agreeing on everything but were able to come to a conclusion at the end.

Secondly, we were put into much bigger groups for the planning of a short film with 2 short sequences.

First sequence: People in a hospital waiting room. The point is to build tension.

Second sequence: A man running whilst listening to music. The point was to express energy.

So, in groups, we began by discussing what roles people would want to do. I was given the role of director, I wasn't to comfortable with this, but I knew that in order to improve I would have to put myself in situation that may be uncomfortable for me. As a director I was responsible for the shots that were going to be used. I worked closely with:

• Storyboard artists
• Director of photography
• Location scouts
• Producer

What I love most about this task was, the fact that we were able to work in a bigger group. As a director, I think i did good, but not as good as I wanted. I think that, the way we worked as a group was in fact great as we communicated with each other in a near professional manner and were able to produce this to a this film in 45 minutes. Once finished, we had to present this to Helen and I described the type of shots I was going to use and how with the help of the director of photography. We were praised by Helen for our work. 

Before the session finished, we were given Assignment 4. For this assignment were asked to film and edit, a short non-dialogue film of not more than 10 productions shots of the interaction between 2 characters and the exchange of an item. Again, this was done in groups of 4.

Click the link below for the video we made:

Poloporter

I find this film to be a disaster. We wanted to create something dark but with a funny outcome. The idea was, that this guy could teleport and scared this girl just because he wanted her polos. I say this was disaster because no one assumed a proper role in the production, we were all just throwing ideas and ended up with this horrible piece of work. The music that was put over the film was also horrible. This was a major eye opener for me and an example of what not to do in future productions. 

Sound

This week was the induction workshop for sound. Like any other aspect of film, good sound is vital. In this induction workshop we were taught buy David Heinemann and learnt great skills for sound operating. The equipment wasn’t at all alien to me, but the logistics and tactics on the other hand, were.


The class acquired knowledge on the following:

• how sound is measured (dB- decibells)
• the setting of sound level
• how to operate both, boom and radio microphones in a professional manner (spacial awareness, how to hold the boom)
• how dialogue should be recorded (-20 on average)
• amplitude (for every bit there are 6 dB)
• frequency ( 40KHz- film must/should be this)
• timbre (the way sound is formed)
• how to coordinate with cam (boom in input 1)

At first I was a little taken by all the numbers I was seeing on the board but eventually got the hang of it and made sure I was writing this stuff down.I was already a little familiar with the handling of a a boom microphone, though it was interesting to learn how the radio microphone worked as it was new to me. With great demonstration and explanation by David, I do feel confident in operating sound equipment. 

As per usual, we were given a weekly assignment. For this assignment, we were asked to create a 2 minute documentary style interviews, using both: Radio and boom microphones. Again, this was done in groups.

Click the link below for the video created we created:

Sound test

In the first part of the film we used the boom, and in the second, the radio microphone. We wanted to keep this specific one simple and easy to understand.