March 25, 2009

Yesterday
Ashley posted the film locations and our available dates on facebook (below):

I know I sent one just now but Raph didn't get it so I've got him on FB and this is for all of us to to reply to!
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Filming
27 Friday night
28 Saturday night
31 Tuesday night (not too sure about this one yet)
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Night Filming locations!
We've got all the locations we're going to film at for the night scenes - Bernice knows where to go! It's somewhere in Happy Valley... (Alleys, Streets, Underpass)
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Day Filming Locations
We've kinda got this covered but not entirely finalized but here's the list :)
Busy mall - Times Square (we're gonna need a handheld for this too since we can't actually film in the mall and we'll have to... run through it)
Buildings - Bern's dad's office! Eastern Harbor Center, Quarry Bay
Corridors - Bern's dad's office! Eastern Harbor Center, Quarry Bay
Cubicles - Happy Valley Library toilet - we could do this the same day we film the night scenes in Happy Valley since... yea they're both in the same place
Stairwell - Bern's dad's office! Eastern Harbor Center, Quarry Bay
Car park - This is the indoor and outdoor one. Bern knows where to go... it's somewhere in North Point.
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Equipment List
HD CameraHandheld (?)
Boom Mike
Boom Pole
Dolly...?
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Costumes
Adrian: Big black hoodie, Black Pants, Crutches (!!!!)
Bernice: We'll talk about this online
Ashley: ditto that

I think we are quite organized and we kept in contact whenever we have ideas and changes to make.

Class
We looked at our previous projects today and critiqued on others' roles. As I am the cameraperson in my previous group, I looked at the camera work of other groups and commented on the cinematography of each production.

Firstly, it was Natalia, I thought the cameraperson (Louise) applied some basic rules such as rule of thirds and medium shots, however, in terms of taking risks, she could have done better if she considered the lighting as to achieve a film noir effect. Instead of the actor/actress' back facing the light, they should face towards the light. It would have been better if they edited the saturation if the location did not provide the source of lights they want. As for the sounds, it was somewhat distracting as there were some problems with the white balance. The attempt to create tension between the two people could have been better if the pulse of the heart sound effect was not too sudden and comical.

I thought Strategem had some interesting camera shots. However, the camera was a little shaky unintentionally. I thought the car's surface did not capture the camera's reflection which was quite good. Maybe using dutch angles or varied shots could add more film noir effects.

As for Pulse, I thought some of the shots were nicely done, such as the close-up of the phone hanging up. I thought the light source coming from the computer screen's blaring was interesting, however, it would have been better if they did not turn off all the lights. As using a flashlight was a little too obvious. Creating light contrasts can help create better visual effects.

I thought The Broken Beautiful (our film) was quite good. I was very happy and proud of our group as we worked very well together and was very committed individually. We all took on our roles and worked hard to achieve our goal. However, I thought Jeff's comment on how the editor and cameraperson could have communicated more so that the continuity of the shots could be more fluid.

I was reflective today as an IB learner, as I reflected on my previous projects and how I can improve in terms of camera work and communication.