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Since we only had a single class today, we continued planning and discussing our film we have to create this coming friday. We were very enthusiastic when it came to brainstorming. We looked at the photos Andy and Henry took this weekend while on location hunt. I find the photos appropriate and it enhances the mood of our film. We decided to go to the locations shown in the photos. Andy and I continued working on the storyboard while Henry and Medora discussed sounds and the script. We decided we will look at Film Noir examples so we will have a better idea on the angles and shots they use in the genre. We managed to come up with a lot of ideas and symbols. I thought that if Andy crouches in one of the shot, and filming from a low angle, it will show that the "femme fatale" is on its way to overpower the protagonist. We also discussed how Andy should make the dialogue darker and say each line slower to make the audience dwell on the voiceover. We thrived to be risk-takers, thinkers,communicators and open-minded during this class as we provide suggestions and accept opinions other group members came up with. I am very excited to be shooting this on friday and we will film this at night on Ventris Road, Happy Valley. (the photo below is taken by Henry on Ventris Road)
We got back into our groups and we started discussing our next step. As Henry already wrote the script ("A Broken Beautiful" is the name of the script), we swiftly moved on to planning and storyboard. Firstly, we talked about the suitable mood and characteristics Andy(Andy's playing himself) and Eva (Medora's part) should possess. We thought that Andy should be drunk and helpless, while Eva should be sexy yet subtle (someone who does not look cheap). We planned to film in a dark place to foreshadow something "bad" is going to happen. When Andy and Medora rehearsed the script once, we thought of different ideas and how to convey each sentence. Henry explained how what he had in mind for his script and we all provided opinions. The script was great and I thought it fitted "Film Noir's" characteristics. Then we discussed how we should use the HD camera so the quality of the film could be better. It also has many other functions so we can create and play with more effects, enhancing the success of the film. As my roll in this project is cameraperson, I thought it was a very good suggestion from Henry to use the HD camera. We looked at the manual and discussed how to create different kinds of effects, such as focus and blurs. Afterwards, Medora and Henry discussed the scripts and sounds while Andy and I worked together for the storyboard. Andy and I came up with all kinds of ideas and as it was his first time taking film, I explained the names of different angles to him. We drew a few pages of the storyboard this class and accomplished quite a lot already. I proposed to go to Happy Valley as it is safe and full of dark alleys. They will be scouting this weekend for locations. Afterwards, we had a basic plan on what we will do on the day we film.In this double lesson, we strived to be communicators and risk-takers. We explored ideas and different possibilities for our film. We worked well as a group and I find it very enjoyable working with my fellow group members.
In today's class, we reviewed what we learnt last class which was "Continuity Editing". After looking at the different key techniques(e.g. Point of View Cutting, Directional continuity) listed in the PowerPoint, I thought I have to be more familiar with them as I will have to use the techniques throughout the course. In order to exercise our new found knowledge, we looked at an example, a movie - "Momento". We counted how many cuts there were in that very short scene and there were 22 cuts. It was a lot which made me realize the effort required to create a movie. I thought the cuts did not make the movie seem too out of focus and they were appropriate for the mood in the movie. Next, we looked at another part of "Momento", this time we had to identify the key techniques used. We spotted out Directional continuity, Match on action, and Point of View cutting. I thought they were all used nicely and contributes to the flow of the movie. In this small task, we strived to be "Thinkers" as we apply what we have learnt earlier to recognize what was required to be found in the task. After the revision on Continuity editing, we looked at a new unit - FILM NOIR. As I have learnt about a small part of it last year, I have always found Film Noir a very interesting and significant part of Hollywood filmmaking, therefore, I was very excited when I found out we were to learn about this genre. We explored themes found in this genre and they usually possess similiar characteristics. They have a protagonist, an antagonist (usually Femme Fatale), and the Good Woman. The protagonist appears to be a "hero" who is in control in the beginning of the plot, however, there is the Femme Fatale, who seduces the protagonist, creating conflicts and violence in the protagonist's world. Most importantly, the film brings out the message that "things are not what they seem". In Film Noir, there are two categories, External and Internal. The External is the setting, such as dark streets, haunts, to depict the mood of the scene. As for Internal, it involves the disturbance of the protagonist's mind. The cinematography of the genre also has a unique style. It has many night scenes and they are usually exaggerated, the dutch angles suggest disorientation. Film Noir has significant iconography such as telephones, newspapers, water and alcohol, this presents the city or atmosphere as dangerous. The general principles of this genre is that the protagonist is not as in control as he thought he could be, and it usually has a meaningless ending which causes the audience to feel a kind of depression. The plot structure is very cliche as the films which belong to this genre usually has a set up of the protagonist being in control of the situation, then drawn to the femme fatale, thus, leads to a defeat in the end. We were shown an example of film noir. It demonstrates first-person narration and the dialogue happened in a dark room which is dusty and closed blinds. I thought the woman's sitting position also suggested seduction to the protagonist, therefore, foreshadows the protagonist's fail to control himself. Next, we looked at a part of another movie example, "Heat", with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. I thought the dialogue was fantastic and it shows ambiguity. The shots in the small part suggest that each of the characters are isolated because only one of the characters appear in each shot. Then we were shown another example, "Internal Affairs". I thought the clear skies daylight setting created a contrast with the "dark" characters, which created a very interesting dimension. The dialogue was simple yet there was ambiguity again. Both examples' characters were cop and robber which created tension. After some shot discussions, we were introduced to our next task. We have to create a 3-5 minutes film which involves two-people dialogue and apply the unerstanding of Film Noir and its characteristics, continuity editing, planning and pre-production skills, time management and collaboration as a team. I was with Medora, Henry and Andy. We assigned roles immediately, Henry is the writer, I took up the role as Cameraperson, Medora is Sound Director and Andy is the Editor. Firstly, we discussed the plot. Henry suggested since Medora and I are twins, it will be interesting if we evolve our "identities". However, as it will be difficult to show a "manipulative" woman antagonist, and a good woman, we decided to change the theme to just protagonist (male) and antagonist (female). As we only had 10 minutes, we did not have time to continue our discussion. However, the writer will have a basic summary next class so the other members of the group will be able to visualize or plan what their next goal is. In today's session, I strived to be a "Thinker" when I think about the skillls I have learnt; a "Communicator" when I was involved in discussions within my group; "Open-minded" to new ideas within the group. It was a useful class and the knowledge I have gained today is important for the course later.
We started with something new today and we learnt about the importance of “Continuity Editing” in order to create a better film. I thought it was very interesting and it got me thinking more about angles and shots. After watching some examples of the shots, I had a clearer understanding of how to edit films. I thought the information was very useful as it will help us with our tasks later in this course.
After the introduction to editing, we had a new task. We had to pick one script from four given to us. Going back to our old groups, Medora, Louise, Ashley and I decided to use Script 4. We retrieved our equipment – camera, headphones, microphone and tripod. Then we decided to film on the edge of sixth floor new building near the railings where there is natural lighting and space. Louise was A and Medora was B. But before we filmed them with dialogue, we filmed Medora walking towards the edge of sixth floor. It was an over-the-shoulder shot. Afterwards, we filmed Louise walking towards Medora, however this is a close-up of her, so we had to make sure the tripod was leveled and the shots were smooth. Due to the stiffness of the tripod, we had a little difficulty making a pan shot as it was not smooth. But Ashley and I decided to hold on to the tripod so that the shot can be created. Afterwards, we did a match on action cut when Louise was walking towards Medora. When she approaches Medora, we filmed 180 degree rule of her hand on Medora’s shoulder, making sure we caught Medora’s shocked expression. Then we had another close-up of her hand on Medora’s shoulder. We decided to have varieties of shots to allow us to edit our film from a selection of angles and shots.
For the dialogue, we made Louise sound concerned when she said “What are you looking at?” But Medora seemed shocked to see her and her sudden change of facial expression made her look as if she was angry. Then Louise puzzled, asked, “Who was that?” and Medora said coldly, “My sister”. After this short dialogue, Medora walked away. When Medora said her 1st line, we used “full front”, so Medora was facing the camera when she said her line, showing Louise’s point of view. Then Louise said her 22nd line, we filmed Medora looking at the window and out of it, as if to let the audience know what she was looking at. When she left, we filmed Louise from the back and out of the window and down to the road, showing that she looked at what Medora was looking at beforehand. As we have to finish editing by next class, we will have to work on our own to create the film. We will have to learn to have good time management in order to finish the work efficiently.
During the task, we discussed the shots together and we strived to be Communicators and Risk-takers as we collaborated well and took the chance to try new ideas with each other.
After the previous two classes working on the “Recap”, we managed to finish it and export it to the drop box. As it was a single lesson, we watched every group’s version of the “Recap” and I learnt a lot from the short films and sound effects we have created.
Ella, Sarah, Adrian and Catherine
I thought the gritty, documentary feel they shot was quite nicely done and it fitted the topic. The dream-like sequence was also good because it was a little blurred, therefore it was not very sharp. However, they could have reduced the blue from their sad, melancholy scene. For sounds, the emergency sound effect they created could be less straight-forward. From their short film, I learnt that tilting angles can help create a more dreamy effect.
Chris, Henry, Andy and Raphael
As they did not edit it thoroughly, I thought it could have been a lot better. However, I thought the “rule of thirds” shot fitted quite well. The sound effects they have created were good but did not fit their themes. For example, the sounds for time seemed as if it were wedding chimes. I think if they edited the footage, it would have been a lot better.
Elliot, Justin, Xiang Yi, Jing-Ting and Joyce
There could have been more interchange between the shocked, surprised scene and the sad, melancholy scene. Also, it could have been better if the documentary feel was not as similar as the detailed, sharp effect as it did not show much difference. However, it was overall quite good. I thought the theme “work” for sound effects was successfully done. It depicted a noisy work sound effect with keyboards, voices, and writings.
Julien, Hannah, Camille and Jeffrey
The editing was quite good and it has various angles in this short film. I thought the scenes fit the tasks. However, it could have been better if there was more variation in lighting. I thought using the tongues and voices to present the sound themes was very creative as it also fits the themes the group picked.
Our group – Medora, Ashley, Louise and Me
I found the feedback we received was very useful. If we were to do it again, I thought we could have reduced the blueness of the sad, melancholy shot. Also, the harsh encounter could have been approached with a different lighting as it seemed a little too happy. We have accidentally used the wrong footage for "rule of thirds", therefore it was not as good as it could have been. The sound effects of "time" was appropriate and our peers agreed so as well. However, our "work" theme did not fit very well as the sounds were too individual, it could have been better if we overlap the sounds or record the sound in a busier environment. In this class, we strived to be "Principled" learners as we took responsibility for our own actions and we were also "Reflective" of our own film. We now understood our strenghts and limitations in this task, and thus, we will know what to improve later in the course.
Today, we continued with the “Recap Scavenger Hunt” we worked on last class. Our group got together and imported the footage into Final Cut Pro so we could edit our film. We used the fire wire to connect the camera to the computer in order to transfer the film into the computer. We then assigned jobs as we still had two sound recordings to work on. Louise and I took on the Sounds while Ashley and Medora did the editing. As we have to finish it in the double lesson, Louise and I immediately started thinking of ideas to convey the meaning of the three themes we picked for Sounds. They are “work”, “time” and “destruction”. In this case, we were “communicators” in the IB learner profile as we had to collaborate with each other and work effectively in order to reach our goal. After we collected our equipment (the microphone, camera and headphones), we brainstormed different possible sounds for the themes.
Firstly, Louise and I decided to record the sound of a clock ticking. So we decided to go to the library as it is relatively quiet there and there is a clock there. When we recorded the sound, we put the microphone right on top of the clock so we could capture the “tick-tock” sounds. We thought it was quite good so we jumped to our next idea for the theme (time). I used my phone and switched on the alarm clock so we could record the sounds coming from it. We recorded it in the bathroom as there are not any other background noises. We thought if we combine the tick-tock sounds and the alarm clock sound, it represents the theme pretty well. It has continuity in the sound so the audience would know what was going on. We were bouncing ideas everywhere and we had a lot in mind, however, as time limited us, we hurried to the next theme.
“Destruction” was not very difficult for us because we immediately linked it to damage. So we recorded sounds outside the Multi-media lab on the sixth floor. We kicked the railings so it sounded as if something was undergoing a process of “destruction”. Then we hit the rubbish bin as it sounded a like drums and it made loud noises. We were trying to knock everywhere, such as doors, walls…to see whether they sounded loud and “destructive” and violent. In the end, we ended up in the bathroom, this time, we recorded the sounds of stepping on the toilet seat repetitively to make a noisy, disruptive sound. Then we stomped on the ground to sound mad as to help contribute to the theme. We strived to be “Risk-takers” throughout this scene and explored possibilities to express the theme.
For the last theme, Louise and I thought “Work” involves a lot of paperwork, pens and writing. However, we recorded Louise walking back and forth as her school shoes sounded like high heels when walking on the hard floor in the girls’ bathroom. I thought it was a good idea. Then, we took a pile of worksheets, and recorded the sound of paper flipping page after page. We took our ball pens and recorded the sounds of the clicking sounds of them to show people using tools to “work”. Afterwards, Louise wrote on the toilet paper so the writing sound could be processed through the recording. We went back to the classroom and uploaded our footage from the tape in order to edit our sound effects as soon as possible. I thought we were quick when we recorded the sounds as we were careful not to waste time.
Medora and Ashley were still working on the editing on Final Cut Pro. So, Louise and I decided to work on Sounds so we could work efficiently as a group. We had a little trouble importing our film as we rewound our tape a little too much so we had to wait a long time before we could see where our film was. It was some time wasted but we made sure we cut our footage immediately and started to edit it. We thought the sound of the clock was too soft so we will have to adjust the tick-tock sounds. However, I thought we did pretty well for the other sound effects as it was clear and conveyed all three themes. We did not have enough time but we will finish it and export it before the next film class. We strived to be “Reflective” in this situation and we learnt from our footage. As a group, I thought we were cooperative and we made decisions quickly and precisely as to make use of our precious time. But in order to meet the deadlines, I feel we have to be careful with our time management as the topics later may be intense.
It was our first film class today and we were introduced to the basic rules in class. During the course, we will be learning about different kinds of skills but we will be focusing on developing our editing skills and also film analysis. After being briefed on what to expect in this course, we were told to be in groups of four and work together for a “Recap Scavenger Hunt” on some cinematography we have learnt last year in year 10. I was with Medora, Louise, and Ashley. We planned quickly once we retrieved our equipment (camera, tape and tripod) then we started to film what was listed for the task.
Firstly, we filmed a dream-like sequence on “a student typing on the computer”. We adjusted the lighting by pulling up the blinds so the person’s features will be shown clearly on tape. I thought we could have done better by filming from different angles so it will look like a well-thought sequence with continuity. In the same room, but different area, we moved closer to the window so there will be natural light for “A student picks up a piece of paper, looks at it, then scrunches it up into a ball and throws it onto the floor” scene. The sharp, detailed effect was not as smooth as it could have been, however, it was slow enough to show what happened for this scence. Then we moved on to filming “a person is walking up the stairs”, we changed the lighting so it shows tints of blue. I thought it fitted the mood and the blue was appropriate for the “surprised and shocked” mood. When we filmed “two people dialogue”, we filmed it where natural lighting was quite effective for our scene, however, as it was a little windy, perhaps going indoors could have achieved a better footage. We made up our own script and filmed two people dialogue for “180 degrees rule” and I thought it fitted the rule. For “rule of thirds”, we filmed a person (Medora – actress) walking out of the library, I thought it was suitable for this task.
Next, we looked at sound effects, our group started with “work” so we recorded typing sounds. However as we did not have enough time, we will continue next time with the use of Final Cut Pro to create better effects with our footage.
Looking at the IB learner profile, we were mainly “Inquirers” today as we looked at the acquired skills necessary to perform the exercise. I enjoyed this “Recap” today as it refreshed what I have learnt in the previous year. It made me think about what I have to work on and improve throughout this course.
