I was on a lot of shoots so for simplicity I'll tackle them each individually:
Ada
I had a kind of odd-jobs runner role on this film, and I actually really enjoy that kind of thing for the breadth it allows you to exercise. It involved things as diverse as being an occasional (and admittedly poor) sound consultant, focus pulling and adjusting lights which were too far away. It was fun and useful as a get-in to the Urban Endings process.
Murray
I think Murray was one of the few people who put their DOP as anything other than camera op. Chris was DOP and camera assist, leaving me as camera op and I did enjoy it. I learned a lot about the 5D over the two days and even learned how to use a new type of track.
Ray had nothing nice to say about the Spyder track but I think we had a good go with it. I researched it beforehand so I wouldn't be going in clueless but it still took a bit of getting used to. The advantages are pretty obvious - easier to transport (though harder to carry: I can comfortably carry two lengths of Key West track but the Spyder tubes are horrendously awkward) and it's possible to get curvy track very easily. It's not as smooth and not being able to be on the dolly is pretty annoying.
There were a few interesting challenges on Murray's shoot including his proclivity for super-shallow depth of field (the one where the actress's lips are in focus but her cheeks aren't is particularly cool) and we certainly used a good variety of kit.
Meg
I'm no sound recordist to be perfectly blunt. I'm too short and have too little upper body strength. I did try my best for Meg but I'll be the first to admit that my best wasn't terribly impressive. I think the best way forward on this is to acknowledge that it's not my area of talent and leave it quietly alone.
Amelie
First of all, the catering was brilliant. I especially enjoyed the coconut cake. It's so good to be on a shoot with good food.
Anyway.
I was split over the two days, first a focus puller and then the 1st AD - both jobs I really like.
As a focus puller I think I did a good job, it's something I think I have a bit of knack for and with practice could get good at. There were a few moments were I was really chuffed with what I'd done - a particular shot which had a very shallow depth and pulled seamlessly from a jug to where the water was going to fall to hands and looked absolutely lovely. That kind of thing is deeply satisfying.
My 1st AD day was a very tough set of circumstances: two animals on set, exteriors with a forecast for rain and a very long shot list. Given that, I'm not surprised we ran on a bit, and it was definitely worth it to get the shot. The time was needed for stuff like the endless shots of the bastarding cat, who was the biggest diva on set: unco-operative and moody. By comparison the chick was a cakewalk.
I was sorry when the decision to shoot the exteriors in the gloomy morning backfired - for fear that conditions would deteriorate I decided to shoot in the less-than-ideal overcast morning and then in the afternoon it was gloriously sunny. It was the right decision at the time - it would have been disastrous to reverse the order and have to shoot outside in the rain - but it was a shame to miss out on the sun like that.
Sam
The day after my own shoot was the toughest day - two films back to back. I was a bit tired from the day before, given that I'd directed my own and then gone with Chris for a recce in the evening but we pressed on.
I was 1st AD and I'm glad I was there because it was a challenging shoot, timewise. We even ended up deciding to add a second day because there just wasn't enough time to complete the shoot (in two locations) and finish on time for Chris's to commence. It's a good thing we did because there was no way we could have done it in the time we had, there were too many complications with the location (it was a pretty long trek from where we were parked to the location, and we had to contend with members of the public, some of whom were helpful and others who were complete bastards.
I did all my 1stly duties and also acted as a bit of a third, and a bit of a runner, making the aforementioned trek to the van to get things and standing out of shot to politely ask if people would wait for a few minutes while we got our shots. For the wider shots this sometimes necessitated the use of mobiles. There was not much we could do with cars appearing in shot but it was a frustration.
These are the kinds of situations where I wish we had the scope to do things like close roads but we coped and were finished on time for...
Chris
I think this may be the shoot I'm proudest of. I was the only one I DOPed and from what I've seen of the rushes it looks really nice.
Part of that is undeniably that the location was well chosen - it's a compelling mixture of twisted, rusted metal and shabby concrete against the backdrop of the Clyde and some of its most beautiful riverside architecture. The actors were also well cast - both of them very photogenic and interesting to watch.
Still, I'll take some of the credit.
It was incredibly useful to have some time in advance to break out the Artemis and talk to Chris about what we wanted. We were able to hash out line issues and lens sizes the night before and so on the day it was just a case of storming through.
We did have to contend with the issue of the light which was lovely but quickly fading, which required a lot of attention to the use of filters - we couldn't just leave them in otherwise the shots would get progressively darker, but they were essential to get the sky in. I think I succeeded with that but I need to have a deeper look at the rushes.
It was also a very fun shoot - great people and a chippy in the back of a van. Outstanding.
And that was my Urban Endings adventure. I'll pop in the obligatory - I really love film making - here because, well, it's true. It was a mental week and a bit and I did get horrendously ill afterwards (just in time for the edit! yay!) but it was awesome.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Urban endings: the shoot
In the run up to shooting my UE I felt a tad unprepared, mentally, since it was slap bang in the middle of constant shooting on others and I ended having to do my last minute prep during the lunch break on Amelie's shoot. It worked out fine but I do prefer to have some time to get my drecting head on and really immerse myself in the process.
Over-all I would say that I was very happy with my shoot. I had a great crew, great actors (my decision to devote most of my budget to get a good actress payed off) and good locations. Why I don't say "great" is that in my recce of the first location (BoConcept, the furniture shop) I hadn't quite factored everything in.
It looked perfect and the staff were super helpful, but the sound was very problematic. For one, there was the phone, then there were the staff who hung out only a few meters away, chatting, then there's Sauchiehall St and its ubiquitous traffic noises. I definitely learned a lesson from this: do consider sound when choosing a location! I'm not sure I'd have changed locations, though, because I really really liked the look (not to mention seeing about a hundred things I'd like to buy) and in the end the sound issues were not too major.
The other big thing which, upon reflection, could have been better, was that I definitely needed polarising filters. It was an oversight and while I think the shot (through a glass window) still works it looks like a shot which needed a polariser.
I think the strength of my film is the performances. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I'm glad for going for quite a modest set up in terms of length and the complexity of the cinematography (the shots were very straight forward so I could focus my attention on the actors) and I think the story is carried by their performances.
Although the shot list was quite simple (two shot, single, single, close up, close up) I was really impressed with Chris's lighting. I pretty much just turned around for a minute and then it was all sorted and exactly what I'd wanted. I love moments like those!
So all in all it was very successful, and I think the finished film works. I wasn't tired at the end of it, which was good because I had two films to do the next day!
Over-all I would say that I was very happy with my shoot. I had a great crew, great actors (my decision to devote most of my budget to get a good actress payed off) and good locations. Why I don't say "great" is that in my recce of the first location (BoConcept, the furniture shop) I hadn't quite factored everything in.
It looked perfect and the staff were super helpful, but the sound was very problematic. For one, there was the phone, then there were the staff who hung out only a few meters away, chatting, then there's Sauchiehall St and its ubiquitous traffic noises. I definitely learned a lesson from this: do consider sound when choosing a location! I'm not sure I'd have changed locations, though, because I really really liked the look (not to mention seeing about a hundred things I'd like to buy) and in the end the sound issues were not too major.
The other big thing which, upon reflection, could have been better, was that I definitely needed polarising filters. It was an oversight and while I think the shot (through a glass window) still works it looks like a shot which needed a polariser.
I think the strength of my film is the performances. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I'm glad for going for quite a modest set up in terms of length and the complexity of the cinematography (the shots were very straight forward so I could focus my attention on the actors) and I think the story is carried by their performances.
Although the shot list was quite simple (two shot, single, single, close up, close up) I was really impressed with Chris's lighting. I pretty much just turned around for a minute and then it was all sorted and exactly what I'd wanted. I love moments like those!
So all in all it was very successful, and I think the finished film works. I wasn't tired at the end of it, which was good because I had two films to do the next day!
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Urban Endings: the pre-production
So, I've been rather remiss in my blogging about Urban Endings. My best defence is that I've been busy working on it.
My script poses several production challenges:
First, it requires a high quality of actor. While it is true of any film that you want the best actors possible, I would say that mine, which depends so much on the emotion of the characters, and contains little to no action, it is especially vital. And good actors, they don't come cheap. Well, they do, but it's harder.
I actually wrote the script with one actor in mind - my advanced higher drama class happened to produce two successful RSAMD applicants and one very talented actor. And this was a class of three. We're good friends and I know it'll be great to work with him again.
For the other part, the mother, I had to do some casting work. I knew it would be tricky - good, older actors willing to work for a nominal fee are hard to find, far harder than student age ones. I have, however, secured an actress called Margaret Fraser who I think will be very good.
So far, then success!
Another challenge is that the design vision I had for it is quite pricey to achieve. I made myself a mood board and it was all Mise Van Der Rohe modernism (I blame my architect sister) - hard to achieve on a budget. However, I decided to go down a slightly unconventional route and ask the people at BoConcept, the coolest furniture shop in Glasgow, if I could use one of their display areas. They have very kindly agreed and we'll see how this goes.
I also found a great little cafe on Ingram St which fulfilled the criteria I needed it to - glass windows, not too busy an area, smart looking interior. I was also chuffed that in assessing whether it would work I got to exercise my Artemis app - I could tell whether the camera would be too close/far.
Again, success!
The other big challenge I have is the little matter of the pill props. There are numerous ways of getting round that, including the rather awful idea of carving a stick of chalk, but I needed to find one which would
a) pose no danger to the actors
b) look right
After several tests I have decided to empty out capsules. I have still to decide whether to fill them with sugar (it depends on whether the weight change is visible) but it makes the most sense, being safe and still looking real.
I'm looking forward to getting all these off the ground - it's certainly a big project to be making 13 individual films! Part of me is craving a break after grads but there'll be plenty of time for that during summer and before then I'll get to be camera op, DOP, sound recordist, director, producer and editor. Fantastic.
My script poses several production challenges:
First, it requires a high quality of actor. While it is true of any film that you want the best actors possible, I would say that mine, which depends so much on the emotion of the characters, and contains little to no action, it is especially vital. And good actors, they don't come cheap. Well, they do, but it's harder.
I actually wrote the script with one actor in mind - my advanced higher drama class happened to produce two successful RSAMD applicants and one very talented actor. And this was a class of three. We're good friends and I know it'll be great to work with him again.
For the other part, the mother, I had to do some casting work. I knew it would be tricky - good, older actors willing to work for a nominal fee are hard to find, far harder than student age ones. I have, however, secured an actress called Margaret Fraser who I think will be very good.
So far, then success!
Another challenge is that the design vision I had for it is quite pricey to achieve. I made myself a mood board and it was all Mise Van Der Rohe modernism (I blame my architect sister) - hard to achieve on a budget. However, I decided to go down a slightly unconventional route and ask the people at BoConcept, the coolest furniture shop in Glasgow, if I could use one of their display areas. They have very kindly agreed and we'll see how this goes.
I also found a great little cafe on Ingram St which fulfilled the criteria I needed it to - glass windows, not too busy an area, smart looking interior. I was also chuffed that in assessing whether it would work I got to exercise my Artemis app - I could tell whether the camera would be too close/far.
Again, success!
The other big challenge I have is the little matter of the pill props. There are numerous ways of getting round that, including the rather awful idea of carving a stick of chalk, but I needed to find one which would
a) pose no danger to the actors
b) look right
After several tests I have decided to empty out capsules. I have still to decide whether to fill them with sugar (it depends on whether the weight change is visible) but it makes the most sense, being safe and still looking real.
I'm looking forward to getting all these off the ground - it's certainly a big project to be making 13 individual films! Part of me is craving a break after grads but there'll be plenty of time for that during summer and before then I'll get to be camera op, DOP, sound recordist, director, producer and editor. Fantastic.
Filming log: My First Spellbook
In a way it was quite reminiscent of last year to be working with Murdo on a production. I was production assistant on his second year film, "Broken Bubbles" and in many ways it was good preparation for "My First Spellbook".
A large portion of my job was prop procurement (in the pre-production anyway) and I have to admit, I enjoy taking a wodge of petty cash and being told to spend it. The biggest challenge was getting furniture, and in this area Meg (production assistant on Taxidermist) definitely outshone me. I'll definitely keep in mind the place where she bought it, sounds like a great resource. I did have to deal with the slight challenge of getting Hallowe'en-esque decorations in the middle of May. I got some funny looks for that, I can tell you. Still, between Alicia in first year, a joke shop and our brilliant art department we managed rather well.
The phase I enjoyed the most was definitely when I transitioned into being the 2nd AD. Partly that was because I could enjoy a slightly more leisurely day (I woke up every day with a phonecall from the crew pick up, needing to field some problem or other) and partly because, you know, I think AD work really suits me.
The only thing I didn't like about being the 2nd was that I was so far from the action. I'd write up these call sheets and movement orders and then hear back about what was happening. It's like organising a party and forgetting to invite yourself. It's hardly as if I was needed, I just really love being on set.
That brings me to my favourite day: the day I stepped in as 1st AD: our 1st, Sean, was ill and it fell to me.
I really, really enjoyed myself. It's like being given a set of interesting and important problem solving problems laced with people management. Brilliant.
I did well, too. Everyone was happy (well, happy enough, as far as I could tell) and we finished ahead of time.
The next two days I was 3rd, along with Julia. Because of the nature of our set up we had very little to do for most of the day though that was amply made up for after 3. I did help out with the tarantula event, escorting Ginger and her owner through the school and generally keeping it on the down low.
After three: the two hours of doom. I have to wonder how primary school teachers manage because children are... insane. I'm used to working with kids, but they tend to be older and to have chosen to be there. These kids were press ganged and at times difficult to marshal. My biggest test was the last set of shots on Friday when it was getting late, they wanted to go home and we needed them to be at their most docile.
Oh dear.
The result was that the crew got to hear my teacher/sergeant major voice. Apparently it was hilarious, but it was also very effective. Through a mixture of praise, authority and the invocation of the head teacher we got them to do what they needed to. Eventually. They marched up the stairs, not too fast, not too slow, and they didn't looking into the camera. Or few enough of them did that it can be cut around.
It was a great film to work on and I feel really invested in it, having been there from so early on. I can't wait to see it, I'm sure it'll be great! And I'm really glad to have established for myself the way I want to get into the industry.
I also have a theory: child working hours have nothing to do with how long children can work. It's how long adults can work with them. I went home far more tired on Friday than I did after any 12 hour Taxidermist day.
A large portion of my job was prop procurement (in the pre-production anyway) and I have to admit, I enjoy taking a wodge of petty cash and being told to spend it. The biggest challenge was getting furniture, and in this area Meg (production assistant on Taxidermist) definitely outshone me. I'll definitely keep in mind the place where she bought it, sounds like a great resource. I did have to deal with the slight challenge of getting Hallowe'en-esque decorations in the middle of May. I got some funny looks for that, I can tell you. Still, between Alicia in first year, a joke shop and our brilliant art department we managed rather well.
The phase I enjoyed the most was definitely when I transitioned into being the 2nd AD. Partly that was because I could enjoy a slightly more leisurely day (I woke up every day with a phonecall from the crew pick up, needing to field some problem or other) and partly because, you know, I think AD work really suits me.
The only thing I didn't like about being the 2nd was that I was so far from the action. I'd write up these call sheets and movement orders and then hear back about what was happening. It's like organising a party and forgetting to invite yourself. It's hardly as if I was needed, I just really love being on set.
That brings me to my favourite day: the day I stepped in as 1st AD: our 1st, Sean, was ill and it fell to me.
I really, really enjoyed myself. It's like being given a set of interesting and important problem solving problems laced with people management. Brilliant.
I did well, too. Everyone was happy (well, happy enough, as far as I could tell) and we finished ahead of time.
The next two days I was 3rd, along with Julia. Because of the nature of our set up we had very little to do for most of the day though that was amply made up for after 3. I did help out with the tarantula event, escorting Ginger and her owner through the school and generally keeping it on the down low.
After three: the two hours of doom. I have to wonder how primary school teachers manage because children are... insane. I'm used to working with kids, but they tend to be older and to have chosen to be there. These kids were press ganged and at times difficult to marshal. My biggest test was the last set of shots on Friday when it was getting late, they wanted to go home and we needed them to be at their most docile.
Oh dear.
The result was that the crew got to hear my teacher/sergeant major voice. Apparently it was hilarious, but it was also very effective. Through a mixture of praise, authority and the invocation of the head teacher we got them to do what they needed to. Eventually. They marched up the stairs, not too fast, not too slow, and they didn't looking into the camera. Or few enough of them did that it can be cut around.
It was a great film to work on and I feel really invested in it, having been there from so early on. I can't wait to see it, I'm sure it'll be great! And I'm really glad to have established for myself the way I want to get into the industry.
I also have a theory: child working hours have nothing to do with how long children can work. It's how long adults can work with them. I went home far more tired on Friday than I did after any 12 hour Taxidermist day.
Film Log: The Taxidermist
I say this every other blog but god, I really love making films. If I can do this and manage to pay my rent and bills, I'll be very happy.
Anyway, that bit over with, here is my reflection on working on The Taxidermist:
I loved the script when I read it. It was sweet without being saccharine, gory but funny, and I could just picture it
It has been an exciting time all round - every day this week I've been driven deep into the mountains where there's no signal, no internet, and worked at learning a job I've seen but never done.The lack of communication was excellent for our focus but it was always a bit overwhelming to check my emails on the journey back and find that the world outside was moving on.
I heard great things about Amélie's skills as a clapper loader so I wanted to try not to be a let down but I will be the first to admit that I've made mistakes as I went. None dramatic but still annoying: messing up slate numbers, ignorance of things like how to do an end board properly, dropping things, prioritising things wrong. Lots of stupid stuff like that; stuff that slows filming down and makes it that bit more annoying for everyone. For that, I'm sorry.
I think I learned my job better as the week wore on, though. By Friday, even without Dilara there to help (and she was invaluable) things ran really smoothly - batteries when batteries were needed, always a spare card, notes kept detailed and accurate, monitor where it needed to be. It's a bit tragic that this only happened on the last day but next time hopefully I'll get right back into it.
As far as I could tell the clapper/loader is all about keeping on top of things: I had to know where things were and be able to get them quickly. I'm quite good at spinning plates once I understand what needs to happen.
I loved working with the third years and with the RED (it's a beautiful instrument). Galina was even kind enough to teach me a bit of RED, and let me practice my focus pulling (I'm not that bad at it, though more practice is definitely in order). Very excited to get my mitts on it properly and discover the layers and layers of complexity within.
I don't really think I can take responsibility for how beautiful it will end up looking (and I'm pretty certain it will be) but I'm still very glad to have been there.
It's scary to think that next year it'll be us doing out grads. Eep!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch
Anyway, that bit over with, here is my reflection on working on The Taxidermist:
I loved the script when I read it. It was sweet without being saccharine, gory but funny, and I could just picture it
It has been an exciting time all round - every day this week I've been driven deep into the mountains where there's no signal, no internet, and worked at learning a job I've seen but never done.The lack of communication was excellent for our focus but it was always a bit overwhelming to check my emails on the journey back and find that the world outside was moving on.
I heard great things about Amélie's skills as a clapper loader so I wanted to try not to be a let down but I will be the first to admit that I've made mistakes as I went. None dramatic but still annoying: messing up slate numbers, ignorance of things like how to do an end board properly, dropping things, prioritising things wrong. Lots of stupid stuff like that; stuff that slows filming down and makes it that bit more annoying for everyone. For that, I'm sorry.
I think I learned my job better as the week wore on, though. By Friday, even without Dilara there to help (and she was invaluable) things ran really smoothly - batteries when batteries were needed, always a spare card, notes kept detailed and accurate, monitor where it needed to be. It's a bit tragic that this only happened on the last day but next time hopefully I'll get right back into it.
As far as I could tell the clapper/loader is all about keeping on top of things: I had to know where things were and be able to get them quickly. I'm quite good at spinning plates once I understand what needs to happen.
I loved working with the third years and with the RED (it's a beautiful instrument). Galina was even kind enough to teach me a bit of RED, and let me practice my focus pulling (I'm not that bad at it, though more practice is definitely in order). Very excited to get my mitts on it properly and discover the layers and layers of complexity within.
I don't really think I can take responsibility for how beautiful it will end up looking (and I'm pretty certain it will be) but I'm still very glad to have been there.
It's scary to think that next year it'll be us doing out grads. Eep!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPod touch
Friday, 6 May 2011
A child, a tarantula and a musical number walk into a bar...
I'm pretty sure that if you wanted to devise a script as a production challenge it would look a lot like My First Spellbook. Children, dangerous (and creepy) animals, a musical number, fire, special effects, multicam days and a huge amount of make-up.
This is the challenge I have helped to face as production assistant and then 2nd AD and it's been quite a task.
My main role in the run up to shooting was helping out with the art department, buying and sourcing the many props we needed. I also scurried about helping with auditions and on one day, cleaning a location.
Now that shooting is under way my role is more administrative, though there's still some scurry work - today I helped our cast find their way around the academy as we balanced music recordings and costume fittings. Mostly, though, I am just working on the coming days and the paperwork required.
This has led me to be rather confused about what day it is - my mind is constantly a few days ahead, thinking what will need to be done then and mixing me up about the present. Still, I think I've managed a fair approximation of mental balance.
And so, I sit at my desk (in the new and rather lovely production office) sending emails, making phonecalls and wrestling frustratedly with the bloody Windows OS. I really do hate it - I can barely work with it, if my laptop weren't so frail I'd bring it in and work from there.
Things I have learned:
I enjoy ADing a lot, but I'd rather be on set, it feels much more connected. As it is I only get told what's going on if there's a problem, I won't be there for the triumphs and the moments when it all comes together. No one calls the 2nd AD to say, "we just did a great shot! It worked perfectly!", it's always "the van was late and then the boiler exploded and three crew members have gone to hospital".
This is the challenge I have helped to face as production assistant and then 2nd AD and it's been quite a task.
My main role in the run up to shooting was helping out with the art department, buying and sourcing the many props we needed. I also scurried about helping with auditions and on one day, cleaning a location.
Now that shooting is under way my role is more administrative, though there's still some scurry work - today I helped our cast find their way around the academy as we balanced music recordings and costume fittings. Mostly, though, I am just working on the coming days and the paperwork required.
This has led me to be rather confused about what day it is - my mind is constantly a few days ahead, thinking what will need to be done then and mixing me up about the present. Still, I think I've managed a fair approximation of mental balance.
And so, I sit at my desk (in the new and rather lovely production office) sending emails, making phonecalls and wrestling frustratedly with the bloody Windows OS. I really do hate it - I can barely work with it, if my laptop weren't so frail I'd bring it in and work from there.
Things I have learned:
- how the entertainment license thing works
- when someone is cut, or their role reduced, it probably isn't anything personal - it's a decision you make in the production office for horrid practical reasons like the number of people you can fit in a car
- there is an occult shop in glasgow, but it shuts on the sabbath
- the best joke shop in glasgow - tam sheppards on Queen St.
- finding hallowe'en decorations in may - rather difficult
- house candles are no longer sold in normal places, it's all tea lights all the time! luckily there was a big morrisons next to one location and I popped in and bought them there
- call sheets are pains
- but they're also the perfect organisational tool
- Word is the devil's own word processor
- I'll say it again - how did people produce before the mobile phone? I don't think I've ever made/received as many calls as the last two weeks
- probably more but my brain is currently mush from poring over endless, fiendishly complex movement orders
I enjoy ADing a lot, but I'd rather be on set, it feels much more connected. As it is I only get told what's going on if there's a problem, I won't be there for the triumphs and the moments when it all comes together. No one calls the 2nd AD to say, "we just did a great shot! It worked perfectly!", it's always "the van was late and then the boiler exploded and three crew members have gone to hospital".
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Summative Statement
This year in studying cinema has really been about broadening our horizons, I think. Abbreviated though it was by Delhi, we've gone into many specialisms and spanned continents.
A large thrust of our teaching this year has been working towards our analytical essays, which meant in depth teaching about cinematography, editing, sound design and production and the analysis thereof. Unfortunately I was off for some of these classes but I caught up with the materials of Moodle and learned a lot by reading the reflective blogs of my classmates.
These subjects are all fertile areas of interest and I would have quite liked to do all of them (in particular I would have loved to analyse Romeo and Juliet's editing in the prologue, it's one of the most electrifying pieces of editing I know of) but I chose to do genre theory, probably the most academic of the possible areas of study. I analysed Inception, I film I loved and wouldn't object to watching many times over (I already had, as a matter of fact) and which I had already been considering in relation to genre, since I wanted to understand where it belonged.
Researching the essay was challenging in that I found very little on the web or in the libraries of the RSAMD or Glasgow University about genre theory particularly relating to heist movies. I had to build most of my analysis from comparison with other heist films and de-constructing their tropes and features. I feel I did well with my essay, I'm not even sick of the sight of Inception (which I'm glad of, it's a film I love and to ruin it with analysis would be sad, and only too possible).
In terms of history we covered the atypical, out of Hollywood movements in filmmaking.
Close to home, we learned about the British New Wave, far less famous than La Nouvelle Vague in France but in it's own way, just as influential. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner was interesting technically, with its sophisticated editing and poetic cinematography but it also stood up as an engaging and enjoyable story.
It allowed me to revisit some films, such as 400 Blows, which I had seen but not properly appreciated before. In the case of The Lives of Others, it let me enjoy a film again, having loved it the first time round. For me, it perfectly shows how a film can be exciting, meaningful and gut wrenchingly moving. The ending, in its beautiful simplicity, ("its for me") makes me cry buckets.
It's a pity we couldn't have gone on with the screenings - Kurosawa's films, while challenging, are very interesting and my enjoyment of them would probably be helped by another, more mature, viewing. Equally, Ingmar Bergman is a director I have meant to look at before but haven't gotten round to; I could describe the scene of death playing chess but I have never seen the seventh seal. I suppose this further education will just have to be on our own initiative.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
La Nouvelle Vague
I once heard a joke which played upon the resemblance of vague and vague but I can't remember how it went. I'd rather hoped Andy would make some variation of it during class but alas, no.
400 Blows
I saw 400 Blows a few years ago and I didn't enjoy it that much, to be honest. I couldn't lay a finger on exactly why but it didn't click with c. 15 year old Flick.
19 year old Flick enjoyed it much more. It's a very emotional story and there are just so many lovely touches. The poignant for me is when Antoine falls in love with the writings of Balzac and attempts to honour him by building a shrine, the whole thing going up in smoke.
The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner
I really loved this, it was engrossing and a real window onto a world that has passed. I felt with the characters, and the little touches of humour helped to bring the story along.
I didn't find the ending as glorious as Andy did. This is just because of who I am etc etc - if I were to seek revenge on the institution I certainly wouldn't do it by spoiling my chances of personal success and increasing the likelihood of a long sentence. If I were in a borstal and any good at running I'd win that race for myself because I don't feel that I belong to or represent anyone else. The editing that showed his thought processes was very good though.
400 Blows
I saw 400 Blows a few years ago and I didn't enjoy it that much, to be honest. I couldn't lay a finger on exactly why but it didn't click with c. 15 year old Flick.
19 year old Flick enjoyed it much more. It's a very emotional story and there are just so many lovely touches. The poignant for me is when Antoine falls in love with the writings of Balzac and attempts to honour him by building a shrine, the whole thing going up in smoke.
The Lonliness of the Long Distance Runner
I really loved this, it was engrossing and a real window onto a world that has passed. I felt with the characters, and the little touches of humour helped to bring the story along.
I didn't find the ending as glorious as Andy did. This is just because of who I am etc etc - if I were to seek revenge on the institution I certainly wouldn't do it by spoiling my chances of personal success and increasing the likelihood of a long sentence. If I were in a borstal and any good at running I'd win that race for myself because I don't feel that I belong to or represent anyone else. The editing that showed his thought processes was very good though.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Filming log: Senses of Place
50% of editing is pure creation: the sculpting of raw footage into a story, finding the hidden shape within the block of marble. The other 50% is converting file types into other, slightly different file types. Then there's the underwater iceberg of rendering time (which explains why I blogged so much last week).
My latest editing project was something a little bit unusual, an architectural film about urban development in Dumfries. It came about through my sister and we worked together, each providing our different skills.
I'm still getting to grips with this new-fangled and rather different editing work-flow from the 550 and then add on top of that the most effects heavy, filter heavy and image rich project I've ever cut and my poor mac was quite dizzy. Rendering is so tedious, and sometimes I would have to wait ten minutes just to preview some titles I'd done.
Because of the look we wanted for one part of the image, it had to be filtered as monochrome, contrast adjusted (very slightly, just enough to give it a somewhat hyper real feeling) and something to reduce the shake. Composited with that was an image which was inverted and enough motion mapping and fades to make you cry. Madness.
Now, this probably sounds like some Frankensteinien mess, using everything in the bag except a star wipe. It's really not though, it's very crisp and elegant. Very architectural. And I'm still not over how pretty the 550's image is, guh. The music is also perfect, 150bpm to give a walking pace feel and very delicate. I'm very proud of it, especially since it's going to get a proper audience: it's going to be shown in the Lighthouse this Friday as part of an exhibition for urban redevelopment (I'm less clear on the architectural language actually, I just make films).
My latest editing project was something a little bit unusual, an architectural film about urban development in Dumfries. It came about through my sister and we worked together, each providing our different skills.
I'm still getting to grips with this new-fangled and rather different editing work-flow from the 550 and then add on top of that the most effects heavy, filter heavy and image rich project I've ever cut and my poor mac was quite dizzy. Rendering is so tedious, and sometimes I would have to wait ten minutes just to preview some titles I'd done.
Because of the look we wanted for one part of the image, it had to be filtered as monochrome, contrast adjusted (very slightly, just enough to give it a somewhat hyper real feeling) and something to reduce the shake. Composited with that was an image which was inverted and enough motion mapping and fades to make you cry. Madness.
Now, this probably sounds like some Frankensteinien mess, using everything in the bag except a star wipe. It's really not though, it's very crisp and elegant. Very architectural. And I'm still not over how pretty the 550's image is, guh. The music is also perfect, 150bpm to give a walking pace feel and very delicate. I'm very proud of it, especially since it's going to get a proper audience: it's going to be shown in the Lighthouse this Friday as part of an exhibition for urban redevelopment (I'm less clear on the architectural language actually, I just make films).
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Filming log: The Beach House, aka: PMB walks into a beach house and asks for a pope's robe
Our time with Peter Mackie Burns (aka PMB) was very different to our work with Zam. Zam was very inspirational and abstract (though I think the fundamentals are on their way soon) whereas PMB was very much about the nitty gritty. I missed out on the first few lessons freezing to death on River City but I was there in time to rehearse and shoot the scenes.
Since I had two crew roles, I'll split this into two parts:
First AD, in which I deal with Mr. Tippy-Tappy
My shot at 1st ADing was complicated by several things: the weather meant we had to decamp and rearrange everything and once we were inside we had to contend with filming in a public area. The main problem this posed was when a guest of the hostel decided to surf the web for twenty minutes, spoiling our sound and necessitating a break.
It wasn't a terribly accurate test of my 1st AD potential since we had four hours to shoot a one page scene and it would have taken an act of God to make us go over.
Unfortunately I was struck ill for my second shoot and couldn't make it in.
Directing, in which I test the water
Directing for theatre is something I've always enjoyed, and a role which I fell into naturally; directing for film is a very different process, and I don't think I wholly grasped that before this exercise.
The main difference was that your blocking has to alter for each size of shot. To look natural and well framed, I had to manipulate the distance between my actors unnaturally; instead of finding the right performance I had to find a group of slightly different but not too different good performances.
In the end my scene cut together nicely and it made sense (after the under-covered Home project of last year that was one of the main things I wanted to rectify).
The area it lacked in was really performance. It's certainly not cringe inducing, but it doesn't feel real, the characters aren't actualised. It's a pity, the performances from the rehearsal are ten times better. It's a combination of the actors being inexperienced and me being inexperienced. I could have done more, as PMB put it directed more but there you go, you do you learn. I'm pleased with this as a training exercise.
Bless em, I can't have been the easiest director for Murray and Sam to contend with - I needed a pope's robe we could stain, and then I requested "a girl in a gold bikini". They delivered though, and Murray even got us cream cakes, it was fantastic.
Since I had two crew roles, I'll split this into two parts:
First AD, in which I deal with Mr. Tippy-Tappy
My shot at 1st ADing was complicated by several things: the weather meant we had to decamp and rearrange everything and once we were inside we had to contend with filming in a public area. The main problem this posed was when a guest of the hostel decided to surf the web for twenty minutes, spoiling our sound and necessitating a break.
It wasn't a terribly accurate test of my 1st AD potential since we had four hours to shoot a one page scene and it would have taken an act of God to make us go over.
Unfortunately I was struck ill for my second shoot and couldn't make it in.
Directing, in which I test the water
Directing for theatre is something I've always enjoyed, and a role which I fell into naturally; directing for film is a very different process, and I don't think I wholly grasped that before this exercise.
The main difference was that your blocking has to alter for each size of shot. To look natural and well framed, I had to manipulate the distance between my actors unnaturally; instead of finding the right performance I had to find a group of slightly different but not too different good performances.
In the end my scene cut together nicely and it made sense (after the under-covered Home project of last year that was one of the main things I wanted to rectify).
The area it lacked in was really performance. It's certainly not cringe inducing, but it doesn't feel real, the characters aren't actualised. It's a pity, the performances from the rehearsal are ten times better. It's a combination of the actors being inexperienced and me being inexperienced. I could have done more, as PMB put it directed more but there you go, you do you learn. I'm pleased with this as a training exercise.
Bless em, I can't have been the easiest director for Murray and Sam to contend with - I needed a pope's robe we could stain, and then I requested "a girl in a gold bikini". They delivered though, and Murray even got us cream cakes, it was fantastic.
Urban Endings: the brief
Just a quick reaction the Urban Endings brief:
I like the idea a lot and while it'll be absolute craziness making thirteen films while also assisting with the grad films it's the kind of craziness I love. We'll be busy and creative and it'll be fantastic. (Ask me how I feel during and I might just make a despairing face.)
My initial idea was developed in the microscopic spaces of time in between lipdub, writing for Richard, the essay for Andy and my own personal out of school project. Phew. However, I think what I've come up with is pretty good and could work well within the brief; I'll see what other people think.
I like the idea a lot and while it'll be absolute craziness making thirteen films while also assisting with the grad films it's the kind of craziness I love. We'll be busy and creative and it'll be fantastic. (Ask me how I feel during and I might just make a despairing face.)
My initial idea was developed in the microscopic spaces of time in between lipdub, writing for Richard, the essay for Andy and my own personal out of school project. Phew. However, I think what I've come up with is pretty good and could work well within the brief; I'll see what other people think.
Lipdub
Lipdub is one of the craziest things I've ever done, it's up there with Delhi.
In fact, Delhi is quite an apt comparison: there was the same freneticism, the same odd displacement as a bunch of filmmakers dance alongside professional musical theatre actors, and the same injury risk. That's how I got out of a hip hop routine.
My own creative input was quite minimal but it was good to watch Murray at work directing and Stephen and David on the camera. TPA maintained their reputation as ridiculously good at their jobs with an amazing stage turnaround, brilliant effects and super cool costumes which they made in virtually no time.
Murray's style reminded me of the silent movie directors from Chaplin, the way he would offer notes and encouragement as we were going (the Rihanna sequence: "He's sexy! sexy!") since there was no sound being recorded. He pushed people pretty hard (we were all knackered by the end) but kept people going with praise and sheer personal energy and I think we'll see the results in the finished product.
In fact, Delhi is quite an apt comparison: there was the same freneticism, the same odd displacement as a bunch of filmmakers dance alongside professional musical theatre actors, and the same injury risk. That's how I got out of a hip hop routine.
My own creative input was quite minimal but it was good to watch Murray at work directing and Stephen and David on the camera. TPA maintained their reputation as ridiculously good at their jobs with an amazing stage turnaround, brilliant effects and super cool costumes which they made in virtually no time.
Murray's style reminded me of the silent movie directors from Chaplin, the way he would offer notes and encouragement as we were going (the Rihanna sequence: "He's sexy! sexy!") since there was no sound being recorded. He pushed people pretty hard (we were all knackered by the end) but kept people going with praise and sheer personal energy and I think we'll see the results in the finished product.
Monday, 14 February 2011
adventures with the 550D, aka: the tortoise and the hare
I am the proud new parent of a Canon 550D, and like any new parent I've experienced some teething pains, so this blog is at least in part to show the rest of you with similar cameras the pitfalls I've found and how to avoid them.
First of all, your card matters. Size wise it will need to be big if you're doing video, especially if you want to shoot at the super shiny 1920x1080 size. What was news to me, though, was that it would have to be "six or above" - in other words, fast enough to process all that video information. I got a 4GB 6 series and a 16GB 10 series, both Sandisks. I went off the advice of a knowledgable seeming bloke in Jessops, who said he wouldn't put his camera in the same room as a Kingston card.
I've been having a lot of fun playing about with its stills capacity, getting to know my lenses and how to work things like appeture and white balance etc. I learned that ISO* is the same as gain for us, and other people call it compensation.
Film wise it's very, very pretty. The video up on stage during lipdub was me, and it bore the increase in size very well.
The biggest stumbling block I encountered was when I went to import all my pretty new files into Final Cut to edit. Like a prize idiot I just copied the files direct from the card via iPhoto (WHY did I think that would work? It's iPhoto for goodness sake!) and then copied the files into my media folder, deleting the originals on the card.
What I found was that FCP ran very slowly, to the point of my footage looking juddery and sticking.
It was only at this point I sought out information about how to deal with this new kind of video ingest and of course I discovered that I had done everything very, very wrong. For details of what to do, check out this great video from Creative Cow, it explains everything.
Luckily for me, all was not lost and I just had to spend ages converting files when I'd far rather be using my time EDITING them.
Aside from the basic learning point about how to import and manage these media files the moral of this story is not to just barge in there all the time, finding out how to do something before you do it can save you headaches and delays later. It's all very Aesop.
*random fact of the day: ISO stands for International Strandards Organisation and used to refer to the light compensation (or gain, to us) of different film stocks back in those prehistoric days when photos were taken on this stuff called film and a computer was a calculator the size of your house.
First of all, your card matters. Size wise it will need to be big if you're doing video, especially if you want to shoot at the super shiny 1920x1080 size. What was news to me, though, was that it would have to be "six or above" - in other words, fast enough to process all that video information. I got a 4GB 6 series and a 16GB 10 series, both Sandisks. I went off the advice of a knowledgable seeming bloke in Jessops, who said he wouldn't put his camera in the same room as a Kingston card.
I've been having a lot of fun playing about with its stills capacity, getting to know my lenses and how to work things like appeture and white balance etc. I learned that ISO* is the same as gain for us, and other people call it compensation.
Film wise it's very, very pretty. The video up on stage during lipdub was me, and it bore the increase in size very well.
The biggest stumbling block I encountered was when I went to import all my pretty new files into Final Cut to edit. Like a prize idiot I just copied the files direct from the card via iPhoto (WHY did I think that would work? It's iPhoto for goodness sake!) and then copied the files into my media folder, deleting the originals on the card.
What I found was that FCP ran very slowly, to the point of my footage looking juddery and sticking.
It was only at this point I sought out information about how to deal with this new kind of video ingest and of course I discovered that I had done everything very, very wrong. For details of what to do, check out this great video from Creative Cow, it explains everything.
Luckily for me, all was not lost and I just had to spend ages converting files when I'd far rather be using my time EDITING them.
Aside from the basic learning point about how to import and manage these media files the moral of this story is not to just barge in there all the time, finding out how to do something before you do it can save you headaches and delays later. It's all very Aesop.
*random fact of the day: ISO stands for International Strandards Organisation and used to refer to the light compensation (or gain, to us) of different film stocks back in those prehistoric days when photos were taken on this stuff called film and a computer was a calculator the size of your house.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Filming Log: Musicville aka "production goblin goes to River City"
There's a point in any demanding shoot where you kind of want to kill everyone, starting with yourself. It's usually near the end, when time is tight, people are tired and things just aren't going to plan. Luckily it's often followed by the point where everything comes together and you love everyone and they're your best friends again.
Musicville was a very tough, very rewarding shoot. The hours were long and the conditions were tough; I certainly wasn't the worst off - I didn't have too far to travel to and from the rendez-vous and unlike the cast, I got to wear a billion layers.
My job varied from day to day, but it could be roughly summed up as a production runner (or "production goblin" if you'd rather, and Murdo did). I looked after cast and crew, moving them around, making the tea etc; I did the calls, informing the entire backlot when we were going for a take; I also did a half dozen other little things that just needed to be done, such as salting the ground and managing the radios.
Possibly my most stressful job was cake wrangling, which involved transporting and caring for a gigantic cake and lighting the candles for takes. That day was, overall, the most stressful. A thick blanket of freezing fog made everyone miserable, the scantily clad actors doubly so, and it also thoroughly messed up our schedule. The cold and the difficulty of that scene (we needed an actor on the cold, wet ground and the cake prop was incredibly awkward) made shooting slow, which caused even more stress. Inbetween set-ups we had to try to prevent the actors from catching hypothermia, which meant bundling them in coats and shoving hot tea at them.
The next day was fantastic, though. We wrapped in good time, the set looked lovely and everyone was happy.
To reflect, I'd say what I learned was how to do things properly. I'm rather fond of the guerrilla, unprofessional style of filmmaking but on a proper set with professional crew, they do things right. I learned that you can't put an actor on a step ladder, legally, but you can put them on stacking wooden boxes. Weird.
I also practiced the ability to put up with awful jobs: I'm now fully qualified to dispose of rotten vegetables and to sweep away the salt I've just put down. It's unpleasant but things like these really are necessary - without it, the film wouldn't work just as much as if the camera operator can't focus.
I think Musicville is going to be a brilliant film, certainly nothing a film school would normally produce, and even though my role was as the lowest of the low I'll be able to see my contribution in the fact that we kept to schedule, the props were where they were meant to be and the actors were kept sweet enough to be able to perform. That matters, and I'm very glad I was able to be on this shoot.
Musicville was a very tough, very rewarding shoot. The hours were long and the conditions were tough; I certainly wasn't the worst off - I didn't have too far to travel to and from the rendez-vous and unlike the cast, I got to wear a billion layers.
My job varied from day to day, but it could be roughly summed up as a production runner (or "production goblin" if you'd rather, and Murdo did). I looked after cast and crew, moving them around, making the tea etc; I did the calls, informing the entire backlot when we were going for a take; I also did a half dozen other little things that just needed to be done, such as salting the ground and managing the radios.
Possibly my most stressful job was cake wrangling, which involved transporting and caring for a gigantic cake and lighting the candles for takes. That day was, overall, the most stressful. A thick blanket of freezing fog made everyone miserable, the scantily clad actors doubly so, and it also thoroughly messed up our schedule. The cold and the difficulty of that scene (we needed an actor on the cold, wet ground and the cake prop was incredibly awkward) made shooting slow, which caused even more stress. Inbetween set-ups we had to try to prevent the actors from catching hypothermia, which meant bundling them in coats and shoving hot tea at them.
The next day was fantastic, though. We wrapped in good time, the set looked lovely and everyone was happy.
To reflect, I'd say what I learned was how to do things properly. I'm rather fond of the guerrilla, unprofessional style of filmmaking but on a proper set with professional crew, they do things right. I learned that you can't put an actor on a step ladder, legally, but you can put them on stacking wooden boxes. Weird.
I also practiced the ability to put up with awful jobs: I'm now fully qualified to dispose of rotten vegetables and to sweep away the salt I've just put down. It's unpleasant but things like these really are necessary - without it, the film wouldn't work just as much as if the camera operator can't focus.
I think Musicville is going to be a brilliant film, certainly nothing a film school would normally produce, and even though my role was as the lowest of the low I'll be able to see my contribution in the fact that we kept to schedule, the props were where they were meant to be and the actors were kept sweet enough to be able to perform. That matters, and I'm very glad I was able to be on this shoot.
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Personal reflection: term 2, week 1
Jeezo, who would have thought I'd have so much to write about only one week in? It was an exciting week so I'll write about the two main things:
Directing workshop with Kenneth Glenaan
Out of nowhere I was asked if I could step in as boom op for this workshop; not one to turn down an opportunity I said yes.
On one side I absorbed a lot about direction through what he was teaching the actors - techniques to raise energy, how to coax a performance out, what looks good on camera and what looks cheesy. He actually trained as an actor which probably gives him an edge; I know I tap into my own experiences acting and being directed (by both geniuses and morons) when I direct.
Also, though, I had a go at boom-op'ing. For some of the scenes it was no more challenging than finding an edge and staying there but one of the scenes we did was exhausting. Any sane sound recordist would have used radio mics but since it was just me and we had neither the skills nor the kit to hand (Graeme was in class) I had to run and dance with the boom, keeping it out of shot but not too far away while the actors and camera moved freely.
Most of the 9 takes I failed at this at one point or another but I'm proud to say that on the last one I kept out - it involved a lot of running, a lot of lifting and the utmost concentration. It also took a moment where I had to explain to Kenny that actually a shorter boom would work better, contrary to his proposition. It's a funny thing - I'm sometimes too concerned with respect and politeness but there are definitely times when one needs to stand one's ground (though I did do it with respect and politeness, obviously).
Principles of directing with Zam Salim
Zam is great. Very engaging, very knowledgable and his classes were fun. The first day we basically just watched films, or at least little bits of films. Aside from anything else it was interesting to see what people picked - some I'd seen before and I enjoyed the repeat, some I'd never seen and would be interested in seeing soon. One I would really like to never see ever. I got to introduce people to In the Mood for Love which is a beautiful film and which got a lot of interest from people wanting to see it.
A lot of what we covered in class was high falutin', pondering stuff - creative vision, the qualities of leadership, one word feelings - but it was also deeply practical. I love the more philosophical end because I do think it makes a difference to the finished product and can make the difference between a well made film and a good film.
It was fun to do some storyboarding on Friday, and rather reassuring to see that while Ridley Scott might draw exquisite boards which look like the development stage of a comic book, directors as great as Martin Scorsese drew crude diagrams.
"Bad storyboards are good storyboards."
And now off I go to do some props sourcing...
Directing workshop with Kenneth Glenaan
Out of nowhere I was asked if I could step in as boom op for this workshop; not one to turn down an opportunity I said yes.
On one side I absorbed a lot about direction through what he was teaching the actors - techniques to raise energy, how to coax a performance out, what looks good on camera and what looks cheesy. He actually trained as an actor which probably gives him an edge; I know I tap into my own experiences acting and being directed (by both geniuses and morons) when I direct.
Also, though, I had a go at boom-op'ing. For some of the scenes it was no more challenging than finding an edge and staying there but one of the scenes we did was exhausting. Any sane sound recordist would have used radio mics but since it was just me and we had neither the skills nor the kit to hand (Graeme was in class) I had to run and dance with the boom, keeping it out of shot but not too far away while the actors and camera moved freely.
Most of the 9 takes I failed at this at one point or another but I'm proud to say that on the last one I kept out - it involved a lot of running, a lot of lifting and the utmost concentration. It also took a moment where I had to explain to Kenny that actually a shorter boom would work better, contrary to his proposition. It's a funny thing - I'm sometimes too concerned with respect and politeness but there are definitely times when one needs to stand one's ground (though I did do it with respect and politeness, obviously).
Principles of directing with Zam Salim
Zam is great. Very engaging, very knowledgable and his classes were fun. The first day we basically just watched films, or at least little bits of films. Aside from anything else it was interesting to see what people picked - some I'd seen before and I enjoyed the repeat, some I'd never seen and would be interested in seeing soon. One I would really like to never see ever. I got to introduce people to In the Mood for Love which is a beautiful film and which got a lot of interest from people wanting to see it.
A lot of what we covered in class was high falutin', pondering stuff - creative vision, the qualities of leadership, one word feelings - but it was also deeply practical. I love the more philosophical end because I do think it makes a difference to the finished product and can make the difference between a well made film and a good film.
It was fun to do some storyboarding on Friday, and rather reassuring to see that while Ridley Scott might draw exquisite boards which look like the development stage of a comic book, directors as great as Martin Scorsese drew crude diagrams.
"Bad storyboards are good storyboards."
And now off I go to do some props sourcing...
Filming log: Behind the Screens
It's a daunting thing, being confronted with a 36 page script. I'm grateful I wasn't one of the actors trying to learn all that dialogue, as it was I was production/continuity/wardrobe and that had its own challenges.
My approach was to take detailed notes of each scene, along with info on script days etc, and to take lots of pictures (thank you iPhone 4). Theoretically nothing could go wrong, and as far as I can tell nothing did; the proof will be in whether Flo, the editor, bangs his head on the desk and bemoans the sudden change in position of a tv remote (or something).
On a little note on continuity, while it's important, I don't think it's the most important thing ever. The people who smugly point out that a prop in the background of The Godfather moves around are missing the point.
I also promised I would sing the praises of Connor our runner. He's applying to DFTV in the very near future and he certainly has a strong work ethic. He was on time, uncomplaining about tasks like "run out and buy some tea lights" and conscientiously asked round the cast and crew for tea and coffee orders. My one criticism would be that he washes up in the most terrifyingly inept way possible, but that's not really relevant.
What I learnt:
"Floozie" can refer to a rather excellent bag you put over a Kino which diffuses the light prettily.
It is possible for a shoot to run on time (well scheduled by Sam and well AD'ed by Murray).
Beware the old 1st AD's technique of lying to the director when you're ahead of schedule. If they find out, when you really are behind schedule it's like the old story of the boy who cried wolf.
I now know how doctors feel when they watch medical programmes: seeing an actor who is a fantastic actor but knows nothing about filming pretend to handle kit is squirm inducing. When you see the film watch out for the part where an XLR is mangled.
Carlo is only 20 years old?? He's brilliant.
I now know how to mark up a board (even if it was Amelie's job and I was just watching).
My approach was to take detailed notes of each scene, along with info on script days etc, and to take lots of pictures (thank you iPhone 4). Theoretically nothing could go wrong, and as far as I can tell nothing did; the proof will be in whether Flo, the editor, bangs his head on the desk and bemoans the sudden change in position of a tv remote (or something).
On a little note on continuity, while it's important, I don't think it's the most important thing ever. The people who smugly point out that a prop in the background of The Godfather moves around are missing the point.
I also promised I would sing the praises of Connor our runner. He's applying to DFTV in the very near future and he certainly has a strong work ethic. He was on time, uncomplaining about tasks like "run out and buy some tea lights" and conscientiously asked round the cast and crew for tea and coffee orders. My one criticism would be that he washes up in the most terrifyingly inept way possible, but that's not really relevant.
What I learnt:
"Floozie" can refer to a rather excellent bag you put over a Kino which diffuses the light prettily.
It is possible for a shoot to run on time (well scheduled by Sam and well AD'ed by Murray).
Beware the old 1st AD's technique of lying to the director when you're ahead of schedule. If they find out, when you really are behind schedule it's like the old story of the boy who cried wolf.
I now know how doctors feel when they watch medical programmes: seeing an actor who is a fantastic actor but knows nothing about filming pretend to handle kit is squirm inducing. When you see the film watch out for the part where an XLR is mangled.
Carlo is only 20 years old?? He's brilliant.
I now know how to mark up a board (even if it was Amelie's job and I was just watching).
Saturday, 15 January 2011
Sunday, 9 January 2011
Production Design: The Dark Knight
Have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a Christopher Nolan fan? Only a few hundred times? Ok, well I am, and I love The Dark Knight - I'd say it's one of his best films, only bettered by Memento and Inception.
It's a brilliant action thriller with spectacular set pieces and a dark, contemplative tone which elevates it from your average explosions and car chases movie.
The production design is very much a part of creating that tone. You can see how it differs from prior, camper, adaptations of the Batman comics clearly in one of the most iconic Batman features: the Batsuit. No PVC nipples for this masked crusader, no, his suit is tough and practical. Its design echoes suits of armour and even the cape has a practical application other than looking dramatic on rooftops.
In a similar vein, the Batmobile here is a heavy duty tank which can transform into a totally awesome motorbike. It suits the rugged tone of the film: a batmobile which hugs the Tarmac and is decked out in fins and spoilers would sit uncomfortably here.
Aside from a very brief sojourn on a yacht the film doesn't stray from a near uniform urban landscape of greys and blacks, concrete and glass. The dense skyscrapers of Gotham feel oppressive, hemming the characters in and in scenes like the public funeral, pose a very real threat.
Ironically, the only spot of colour in this shadowy story is the unquestionably mad villain, the Joker. Against the dark backdrop his purple and green suit and his white and red make-up are all the more stark. His madness is shown in his contrast to the world he lives in, and especially against his nemesis, Batman.
Finally, a small design note which is less stylistic, but more of a necessity. As we discovered on a recent shoot (blog to come soon) to make a film about a very rich character is difficult. The design of the film effortlessly convinces you that yes, Bruce Wayne is obscenely rich. His apartment is luxurious and vast, he wears sharp suits and drives fast cars. Until I can command the kind of money Nolan has at his disposal - the man can build buildings with the express intention of blowing them up - I shalln't be making films about billionaires.
It's a brilliant action thriller with spectacular set pieces and a dark, contemplative tone which elevates it from your average explosions and car chases movie.
The production design is very much a part of creating that tone. You can see how it differs from prior, camper, adaptations of the Batman comics clearly in one of the most iconic Batman features: the Batsuit. No PVC nipples for this masked crusader, no, his suit is tough and practical. Its design echoes suits of armour and even the cape has a practical application other than looking dramatic on rooftops.
In a similar vein, the Batmobile here is a heavy duty tank which can transform into a totally awesome motorbike. It suits the rugged tone of the film: a batmobile which hugs the Tarmac and is decked out in fins and spoilers would sit uncomfortably here.
Aside from a very brief sojourn on a yacht the film doesn't stray from a near uniform urban landscape of greys and blacks, concrete and glass. The dense skyscrapers of Gotham feel oppressive, hemming the characters in and in scenes like the public funeral, pose a very real threat.
Ironically, the only spot of colour in this shadowy story is the unquestionably mad villain, the Joker. Against the dark backdrop his purple and green suit and his white and red make-up are all the more stark. His madness is shown in his contrast to the world he lives in, and especially against his nemesis, Batman.
Finally, a small design note which is less stylistic, but more of a necessity. As we discovered on a recent shoot (blog to come soon) to make a film about a very rich character is difficult. The design of the film effortlessly convinces you that yes, Bruce Wayne is obscenely rich. His apartment is luxurious and vast, he wears sharp suits and drives fast cars. Until I can command the kind of money Nolan has at his disposal - the man can build buildings with the express intention of blowing them up - I shalln't be making films about billionaires.
The Searchers (1956)
As I've said before, Westerns aren't really my thing. I find their tropes repetitious and their treatment of women and races other than white Americans, especially in the John Wayne era, is usually horrid.
In some ways The Searchers was as expected: evil Native Americans, disempowered women, with the worst off being the Native American women (I really hated that the bits with the accidental wife Look were intended as comedy). But then the brutality of the Americans is also shown, and Ethan is clearly shown to be an anti-hero, scalping his enemies and shooting retreating enemies in the back. He even wants to kill his niece for the crime of being married to a "Buck" against her will. The result is a message more along the lines of violence begets violence, or more simply: humans are bastards.
Andy said afterwards that he found the John Wayne character's transformation of heart too sudden but I actually thought it was one of the most delicate and masterfully directed moments of the film: the way he lifts the girl perfectly mirrors the scene at the beginning but the point is not hammered home. I would imagine that a modern film would have a brief flashback scene at that point, so that the slower viewers could grasp it but instead you just have this lovely visual echo.
Overall, I loved the direction. The scenery was shot in beautiful style, looking as bleak and inhospitable as could be. The geographical fudges are accomplished seamlessly (for example, in the climactic scene Ethan and Lucy run up a hill in one state and in the next shot they run down a hill hundreds of miles away), giving you a perfect example of the Kuloshov effect. The film is littered with careful visual repetition, like the example I mentioned above, and the iconic silhouette in the doorway.
One criticism I would make would be that the film charts a search lasting for years and despite the considerable running time I really didn't feel that. It could be because none of the actors seemed to age at all, a limitation of make up and effects at the time perhaps? Seasons seemed to flurry past and suddenly we discovered that years had been and gone.
Certainly if western is a genre you love, this must be a Rolls-Royce, embodying all the best of it for your pleasure and delight. For a non-fan like myself it is a refreshingly good example which, while it shalln't convert me, I can enjoy and admire.
In some ways The Searchers was as expected: evil Native Americans, disempowered women, with the worst off being the Native American women (I really hated that the bits with the accidental wife Look were intended as comedy). But then the brutality of the Americans is also shown, and Ethan is clearly shown to be an anti-hero, scalping his enemies and shooting retreating enemies in the back. He even wants to kill his niece for the crime of being married to a "Buck" against her will. The result is a message more along the lines of violence begets violence, or more simply: humans are bastards.
Andy said afterwards that he found the John Wayne character's transformation of heart too sudden but I actually thought it was one of the most delicate and masterfully directed moments of the film: the way he lifts the girl perfectly mirrors the scene at the beginning but the point is not hammered home. I would imagine that a modern film would have a brief flashback scene at that point, so that the slower viewers could grasp it but instead you just have this lovely visual echo.
Overall, I loved the direction. The scenery was shot in beautiful style, looking as bleak and inhospitable as could be. The geographical fudges are accomplished seamlessly (for example, in the climactic scene Ethan and Lucy run up a hill in one state and in the next shot they run down a hill hundreds of miles away), giving you a perfect example of the Kuloshov effect. The film is littered with careful visual repetition, like the example I mentioned above, and the iconic silhouette in the doorway.
One criticism I would make would be that the film charts a search lasting for years and despite the considerable running time I really didn't feel that. It could be because none of the actors seemed to age at all, a limitation of make up and effects at the time perhaps? Seasons seemed to flurry past and suddenly we discovered that years had been and gone.
Certainly if western is a genre you love, this must be a Rolls-Royce, embodying all the best of it for your pleasure and delight. For a non-fan like myself it is a refreshingly good example which, while it shalln't convert me, I can enjoy and admire.
Monday, 3 January 2011
2010 in the movies
It's nearly the end of 2010 and I thought I'd round up my favourite/least favourite films of the year and share this great video montage. I've written about quite a few of them already so I won't bore you and get repetitive. For those who just want the good stuff (ie- the part where I talk about the films which made me want to take every camera on earth to a very deep pit and throw them in just so that no similar monstrosities are ever realised) it's at the end.
Great films
Inception
A Single Man
A Prophet
Mugabe and the White African
Good films
Scott Pilgrim vs The World
Highly quotable and a treasure-trove of geeky fun. Michael Cera does a non-annoying performance (yay!) and the supporting cast are great. I love the way the comic book elements are brought to life visually and auditorily.
Easy A
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this teen comedy of lies and rumours. It was smart, funny and Emma Stone was a very likable character - self aware, not overly angsty and clever. Not a ground breaking film by any means, but very good at what it did.
Wild Target
Another surprise - I only expected this to be at best mildly amusing, but it turned out to be one of my favourite films of the summer. A very funny black comedy it's about a hitman (Bill Nighy) who falls for his mark (Emily Blunt) and takes on an apprentice (Rupert Grint). It's gentle and quite sweet and has a very happy ending in a way you wouldn't quite expect.
Monsters
I want to blog at length about this soon.
The Social Network
Aside from gazing in wonder at the depth of field (it's miniscule! the focus puller must have some kind of supernatural abilities!) and the effects used to make one actor into two (I genuinely believed the twins were played by twin actors, it was astonishingly well done) I loved the greek feeling of hubris and nemesis, the impending doom created by the clever structure. The thread with the girlfriend which began and ending the film felt forced (and is, apparently, erroneous) and I think we would have understood the theme without it, but that is one niggle in an excellent story of modern genius and greed.
Iron Man 2
Toy Story 3
At least part of the appeal of Toy Story 3 for anyone around my age is the intense nostalgia; I remember when the original came out, and how it spoke to me then. I love how in this superlative sequel it addresses how it's original audience and grown up and moved on, even if if they haven't really. I cried buckets at the ending. The 3D isn't astonishing but the overall quality of the animation is excellent, as one expects from Pixar.
How to Train your Dragon
I am not a Dreamworks fan, generally. I find their animation subpar and their films severely lacking in terms of script. It's surprising, then, that How to Train your Dragon was so thoroughly excellent. The human animation is still slightly dodgy but the story is lovely and the creative vision very strong.
Despicable Me
Another non-Pixar animation which nonetheless astonished me. I only saw this recently, and it was brilliant comedy: I laughed and laughed and laughed. Then I cried a little bit, but then I laughed again.
Films which just didn't work
Legends of the Guardians
The animation is jaw-droppingly gorgeous - you can reach out and stroke the fluffy, perfect owl feathers - and it's one of the few 3D films I've seen which I wouldn't rather see in 2D (the others are Avatar and Up). However. There is no plot. None worth mentioning, anyway - it's a film about owls who have formed a civilisation, need I say more?
Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton is suffering from a serious case of style over substance and when structural coherence isn't your strong point it's lunacy to adapt a book like Alice, which was written not to have a structure but rather to be an exploration of a fantasy world. The visuals are arresting, but at this point in his career hardly surprising, and Johnny Depp gives another "zany" performance which makes me weep to remember when he was a good actor.
Daybreakers
The concept for this is actually very good - vampires are now the majority of the population, but they're running out of humans to eat. The world is well imagined and realised and the cast is very strong. Unfortunately, the plot takes a turn for the disastrous and ends up with the weakest, most ill-considered ending of the year.
Legion
Paul Bettany as a disenchanted Archangel Michael? I'm intrigued. And he uses a machine gun? Mmmm... But wait... there's a whole weird second-coming plot, and the characters are mostly annoying? And the pacing is glacially boring and interspersed with tedious "character building" conversations? I'll pass.
Repo Men
Another interesting premise which is then executed in a bizarre way, and another case of a Jude Law film which failed miserably. Most of the film is actually pretty good, with interesting things to say about private medical care in the USA and Jude Law looking pretty attractive. But then it gets weird, with people barcode-scanning each other's innards. I wish I was kidding.
Films which I hated, nay, LOATHED
The Kids are Alright
I think I am in a minority of precisely one, here, because all the critics on earth apparently adored this tedious, ugly, meandering snooze-fest. I can't imagine why: the characters were universally despicable, the plot predictable and the acting belonged to the school of mumbling, going nowhere "realism". Urgh.
From Paris With Love
As much as The Kids are Alright made me want to lobotomise myself with an icepick, From Paris With Love is infinitely worse. It's racist in ways I thought Hollywood couldn't get away with any more (if you're not a white American you're probably a drug dealer or a corrupt French official) and sexist to boot. Why on earth an actor like Jonathan Rhys Meyers is involved I have no idea but John Travolta's creepy alien gastropod persona suits it perfectly. The problem with this film is not an over-abundence of realism but rather a gaping lack of it. An utterly despicable blot on the landscape of filmmaking.
Personal reflection: term 1
It has been a strange term and now that it's over and I've rested (oh, how I needed a holiday) it's time to reflect:
Certainly Delhi gave the start a strange feeling. Looking back it was very disorientating to go straight from that insanity to work - it wasn't creative work or even particularly self motivated and my head was in the wrong place for a while. I would still have done it given the choice because of all the once-in-a-lifetime etc etc stuff but maybe there would have been a way to keep our dftv heads on more throughout the process.
Into the term proper I feel like I learned a lot.
Technically, we got to grips with new kit and got into some of the finer aspects of filming, talking about lens lengths, depth of field, focus pulling and framing. Altogether i see a pattern of finesse: using Avid, using heavier (ie: smoother) tripods, thinking harder about what kind of lens you want.
Backing that up I did a fair amount of filming outside of class. The project with my sister was an editing challenge, trying to tell a very unconventional narrative based on architecture rather than any kind of character - it took some creative problem solving to find a way to do that. I got to try out doing sound on Murray's film, which was a very interesting challenge and, as I said then, an area I would like to explore further. I'm going to be doing some production work shortly, script supervisor specifically. I expect this will tax my favourite aspect of production: the mental discipline needed to maintain focus and attention to detail.
I also use my accumulating skills every weekend, passing them on in some form or another to the children of dramaworks, camera and performance. I've actually found it to be very rewarding, there's nothing like having to express a concept as simply as possible for revision, except maybe the endless repetition (which also comes included). It's also practice for the power of problem solving: don't actually know how to connect the camera to a TV? You'd better figure it out.
The research project promises to be a very interesting, if demanding, area of study. I'm good at essay writing - I've managed to get 21/20 before - but this is a kind I've never written before and my essay muscles are rusty from disuse. I love my subject - Inception as a heist movie - and I very much look forward to the work that will go into it.
One of the most annoying things when I look back was the fact that my immune system decided to go kaput, and failed me no less than three times during term, and has let me down again over the holidays. I am sick of being sick, it feels awful and wastes so much time. I'm not sure what to do about this, other than give my immune system a good talking to - I'm actually pretty healthy in terms of diet, exercise, not hugging lepers etc.
All in all, actually, I'm looking forward to the next term. We have exciting projects to look forward to, lots of stuff to learn and I have a shiny new camera to get to know (a Canon 550D). I feel rested from my holiday, my first proper one since Easter, and raring to go. Bring it on term 2!
Certainly Delhi gave the start a strange feeling. Looking back it was very disorientating to go straight from that insanity to work - it wasn't creative work or even particularly self motivated and my head was in the wrong place for a while. I would still have done it given the choice because of all the once-in-a-lifetime etc etc stuff but maybe there would have been a way to keep our dftv heads on more throughout the process.
Into the term proper I feel like I learned a lot.
Technically, we got to grips with new kit and got into some of the finer aspects of filming, talking about lens lengths, depth of field, focus pulling and framing. Altogether i see a pattern of finesse: using Avid, using heavier (ie: smoother) tripods, thinking harder about what kind of lens you want.
Backing that up I did a fair amount of filming outside of class. The project with my sister was an editing challenge, trying to tell a very unconventional narrative based on architecture rather than any kind of character - it took some creative problem solving to find a way to do that. I got to try out doing sound on Murray's film, which was a very interesting challenge and, as I said then, an area I would like to explore further. I'm going to be doing some production work shortly, script supervisor specifically. I expect this will tax my favourite aspect of production: the mental discipline needed to maintain focus and attention to detail.
I also use my accumulating skills every weekend, passing them on in some form or another to the children of dramaworks, camera and performance. I've actually found it to be very rewarding, there's nothing like having to express a concept as simply as possible for revision, except maybe the endless repetition (which also comes included). It's also practice for the power of problem solving: don't actually know how to connect the camera to a TV? You'd better figure it out.
The research project promises to be a very interesting, if demanding, area of study. I'm good at essay writing - I've managed to get 21/20 before - but this is a kind I've never written before and my essay muscles are rusty from disuse. I love my subject - Inception as a heist movie - and I very much look forward to the work that will go into it.
One of the most annoying things when I look back was the fact that my immune system decided to go kaput, and failed me no less than three times during term, and has let me down again over the holidays. I am sick of being sick, it feels awful and wastes so much time. I'm not sure what to do about this, other than give my immune system a good talking to - I'm actually pretty healthy in terms of diet, exercise, not hugging lepers etc.
All in all, actually, I'm looking forward to the next term. We have exciting projects to look forward to, lots of stuff to learn and I have a shiny new camera to get to know (a Canon 550D). I feel rested from my holiday, my first proper one since Easter, and raring to go. Bring it on term 2!
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