Films that deal with grieving:
Beginners - The film is structured as a series of interconnected flashbacks. Following the death of his father Hal, Oliver reflects on their relationship following the death of Oliver's mother, Georgia. Shortly after her death, Hal came out to his son and began exploring life as an openly gay man. He becomes active in the gay community, finds love and becomes more honest with himself and with his son. As a result, Oliver and Hal become closer during this time. Shortly after Hal's death, Oliver meets Anna, a French actress, at a party. Inspired by his father's attitude towards the end of his life and their relationship, Oliver decides to pursue a romance with her.
Three Colors: Blue - is the story of Julie who loses her husband, an acclaimed composer and her young daughter in a car accident. The film's theme of liberty is manifested in Julie's attempt to start life anew, free of personal commitments, belongings, grief or love. She intends to numb herself by withdrawing from the world and living completely independently, anonymously and in solitude in the Parisian metropolis.
Welcome to the Rileys - James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo have spent years mourning the tragic loss of their 15-year old daughter. They cope in their own ways. He sleeps with a waitress, and she never leaves the house under any circumstance. But when Doug (Gandolfini) travels to New Orleans for a trade show and lands himself in the life of a very young, runaway girl named Mallory (Kristen Stewart) who spends time stripping and turning tricks to maintain her meager, dirty existence. Doug takes Mallory under his wing. He helps her clean up her house, attempts to give her a direction in life, all while telling his wife that he just can’t come home. This prompts his wife to leave the house and come to New Orleans, where she and Doug spend time weaving themselves into Mallory’s life, finding only more trouble as they get more and more involved.
Charlie St Cloud - Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron) is a young man overcome by grief at the death of his younger brother, who takes a job as caretaker of the cemetery in which his brother Sam is buried. Charlie has a special bond with Sam, he meets him every night to play catch and to talk. Then, a girl comes into Charlie’s life and he must choose between keeping a promise he made to Sam, or going after the girl he loves.
Rabbit Hole - Becca and Howie Corbett are a happily married couple whose perfect world is forever changed when their young son, Danny, is killed by a car. Becca, an executive-turned-stay-at-home mother, tries to redefine her existence in a surreal landscape of well-meaning family and friends. Painful, poignant, and often funny, Becca's experiences lead her to find solace in a mysterious relationship with a troubled young comic-book artist, Jason - the teenage driver of the car that killed Danny. Becca's fixation with Jason pulls her away from memories of Danny, while Howie immerses himself in the past, seeking refuge in outsiders who offer him something Becca is unable to give. The Corbetts, both adrift, make surprising and dangerous choices as they choose a path that will determine their fate.
Short films that deal with grieving:
Margo Lily - A couple is determined to plant a tree in the middle of winter following the loss of their child
Grape Soda - A short film about life, death, and the glue that holds the broken pieces in between.
To Build a Home - Comprised of two parts, To Build a Home firstly chronicles the last hours of a dying woman (Julia Ford), as her dedicated and faithful partner (Peter Mullan) cares and comforts for his love in her final moments. In the second part of the short, we see Mullan’s broken shell of a man, coming to terms with the loss of his beloved and struggling to face his future without the woman he loves. It’s an emotional journey full of feeling and atmosphere with a story that will resonate with anyone who has experienced the passing of a loved one.
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Colour
Colour in Visual Storytelling:
Colour is one of the most important tools for a DOP and not merely because you can do beautiful things with it. For more fundamentally is its power as a communications tool. Colour affects the viewer in the same way that music or dance does: it reaches people at a gut emotional level. For this reason, it can be a powerful tool in creating visual subtext.
There are three aspects of colour that we must understand as cinematographers:
- Basic colour theory
- Controlling colour in the camera and in lighting
- Visual story telling
There is a subtle use of colour as a visual cue for the location. When Neo and Morpheous talk inside the Matrix – there’s a sickly green cast to everything – reminiscent of the old green monochrome computer monitors. When out of the Matrix, the colours are more natural.
The colour here works in more than one way:
1) As a basic device to make sure the audience isn’t confused. In a movie where some scenes cut back and forth dozens of times between characters inside the Matrix and characters in the “real world,” there absolutely needs to be an understood signal to clearly place the audience.
2) The colour palette works on an emotional level. By setting up Neo’s normal existence as a sickly green, we understand the freshness that the real world offers.
From the same year we can compare that to this opening scene from Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty”:
When American Beauty is critiqued, the colour red and its symbolism is always brought up. The way Ball uses it, it refers to a concept: the life force, which, by nature, tries to defy the suppressiveness of suburban life. That's why, the first time we meet Annette Bening, she's cutting red roses. She's cutting the life force. For Kevin Spacey, the life force which suburbia can't repress is sex. And so, in his fantasies, Mena Suvari, his object of lust, floats on a bed of red rose petals, or soaks in a tub covered in roses. In their final, near-sexual encounter, a vase of red roses is evident.
However, something to notice is that red isn't the only colour shown during the film. In fact Red, White and Blue are all extremely prominent and clever composed throughout.
These are the colours of the American flag and are seen prominently around the Burnham home. They symbolise that the Burnham family are living the "American Dream'.
Compare those bold primary colour scheme to the earthy tones of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film Amelie.
Jeunet uses a rich warm palette of Greens, yellows and reds – a signature colour palette of his that gives his films a sort of grotesque yet magical warmth to them. Blue is used sparingly, and when it is it’s a bold contrast to the established earthy tones.
These three films, coming out just a few years apart, represent just a small part of of the creative use of colour filmmakers employed coming out of the 1990s and into the new millennium.
Colour Palettes:
Below is a visual digital scrapbook of colour palettes from famous films that i can use as reference when searching for visual style and colour of my own to create an identity for the film i will be working on.
The importance of the colour palette:
To pick out a very common example of a director who has built up his own "style" when it comes to colour palettes it's good to examine Wes Anderson. Just by watching a single frame of ‘The Great Budapest Hotel’ you can tell that it’s a Wes Anderson movie. This is because of its symmetrical compositions, saturated colour pallet and typically 70’s styling. "Wes Anderson's colour palettes are integral to his cinematic ‘world-building’. His eye for art direction and fantastic attention to detail creates the appropriate space and tone for his characters to exist in – and for the viewer to lose themselves in. They ultimately become their own visual language, the way character themes are elaborated in cinematic scores, allowing an immersive visual experience whether the sound is on or not." Every film has its own way of telling its story. The colour palette helps the director to enhance the emotional aspect of the film and helps viewers to respond to it. The role of a colour palette starts from the visual interpretation of the script that makes the film look real to taking on a subtle character of its own. The mood or the feeling created by the colour palette stays with the viewer even after the film has ended. Choosing the colour palette for the film begins from the preproduction stage with the production designer, director and the art department and then the minds of cinematographer and the colourist takes place. These minds decide on how the set are going to be, the costume design, lights, how the film will read its colours, the effect and overall feeling of the film.
Colour is one of the most important tools for a DOP and not merely because you can do beautiful things with it. For more fundamentally is its power as a communications tool. Colour affects the viewer in the same way that music or dance does: it reaches people at a gut emotional level. For this reason, it can be a powerful tool in creating visual subtext.
There are three aspects of colour that we must understand as cinematographers:
- Basic colour theory
- Controlling colour in the camera and in lighting
- Visual story telling
To understand how colour can be used as an intrinsic filming tool it is good to examine films where colour has been used for more than just it's beauty. Take for instance, the 1999 film, “The Matrix” – directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski.
There is a subtle use of colour as a visual cue for the location. When Neo and Morpheous talk inside the Matrix – there’s a sickly green cast to everything – reminiscent of the old green monochrome computer monitors. When out of the Matrix, the colours are more natural.
The colour here works in more than one way:
1) As a basic device to make sure the audience isn’t confused. In a movie where some scenes cut back and forth dozens of times between characters inside the Matrix and characters in the “real world,” there absolutely needs to be an understood signal to clearly place the audience.
2) The colour palette works on an emotional level. By setting up Neo’s normal existence as a sickly green, we understand the freshness that the real world offers.
From the same year we can compare that to this opening scene from Sam Mendes’ “American Beauty”:
When American Beauty is critiqued, the colour red and its symbolism is always brought up. The way Ball uses it, it refers to a concept: the life force, which, by nature, tries to defy the suppressiveness of suburban life. That's why, the first time we meet Annette Bening, she's cutting red roses. She's cutting the life force. For Kevin Spacey, the life force which suburbia can't repress is sex. And so, in his fantasies, Mena Suvari, his object of lust, floats on a bed of red rose petals, or soaks in a tub covered in roses. In their final, near-sexual encounter, a vase of red roses is evident.
However, something to notice is that red isn't the only colour shown during the film. In fact Red, White and Blue are all extremely prominent and clever composed throughout.
These are the colours of the American flag and are seen prominently around the Burnham home. They symbolise that the Burnham family are living the "American Dream'.
Compare those bold primary colour scheme to the earthy tones of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film Amelie.
Jeunet uses a rich warm palette of Greens, yellows and reds – a signature colour palette of his that gives his films a sort of grotesque yet magical warmth to them. Blue is used sparingly, and when it is it’s a bold contrast to the established earthy tones.
These three films, coming out just a few years apart, represent just a small part of of the creative use of colour filmmakers employed coming out of the 1990s and into the new millennium.
Colour Palettes:
Below is a visual digital scrapbook of colour palettes from famous films that i can use as reference when searching for visual style and colour of my own to create an identity for the film i will be working on.
The importance of the colour palette:
To pick out a very common example of a director who has built up his own "style" when it comes to colour palettes it's good to examine Wes Anderson. Just by watching a single frame of ‘The Great Budapest Hotel’ you can tell that it’s a Wes Anderson movie. This is because of its symmetrical compositions, saturated colour pallet and typically 70’s styling. "Wes Anderson's colour palettes are integral to his cinematic ‘world-building’. His eye for art direction and fantastic attention to detail creates the appropriate space and tone for his characters to exist in – and for the viewer to lose themselves in. They ultimately become their own visual language, the way character themes are elaborated in cinematic scores, allowing an immersive visual experience whether the sound is on or not." Every film has its own way of telling its story. The colour palette helps the director to enhance the emotional aspect of the film and helps viewers to respond to it. The role of a colour palette starts from the visual interpretation of the script that makes the film look real to taking on a subtle character of its own. The mood or the feeling created by the colour palette stays with the viewer even after the film has ended. Choosing the colour palette for the film begins from the preproduction stage with the production designer, director and the art department and then the minds of cinematographer and the colourist takes place. These minds decide on how the set are going to be, the costume design, lights, how the film will read its colours, the effect and overall feeling of the film.
Director of Photography Preparation
Many of the extracts below have been taken from Paul Wheeler - Practical Cinematography as a very useful resource of information for cinematography.
The DP’s Preparation Research:
“While it is the DP’s job to interpret the script and the director’s vision of that script, it is an immense help if you can base your imagined pictures on reality - it brings a greater believability to the finished film.”
“Making up your own scrapbooks is an excellent way to accumulate images and enables you to add pictures from newspapers and magazines to your collection.”
“When i am stuck for an image to work from, just flicking through a couple of scrapbooks will as often as not start my mind off down an interesting path - not necessarily from a particular picture, but somehow to randomness fires up ideas and unlocks my visual imagination.”
Preparing for the shoot:
Recces - The recce, the English colloquial abbreviation for reconnoitre (location scouting) comes in two parts:
1) Recceing with the director and/or location manager some time prior to principal photography is usually productive and enjoyable
2) The technical recce, which usually occurs just a week or two before the shoot commences, where the DP has to finalise all the technical requirements, is usually straightforward hard work. Recceing with the director and other department heads is a most creative process. It is the time, if you haven't worked together before, to get to know each other and understand each other’s visualisation of the film.
The Camera Equipment List:
The camera equipment list will probably be published twice. The line producer or production manager will usually ask the DP early on in the production run-up for a guess, or wish list, of the equipment that will be required as the basic kit in order to get competitive quotes from different suppliers. For professional practice it is good to follow this rule of thumb. Once the supplier has been chose, the recce is over and a basic list can be decided upon, it is vital that you provide this new list as soon as possible. This is so everything can be time organised to arrive when it is needed.
List that would be expected to fill out:
• (Camera)
• (Zoom Lenses)
• (Prime Lenses)
• (Telephoto Prime Lenses)
• (Camera Accessories)
• (Video Assist Accessories)
• (Filters)
• (Grip Equipment)
• (Heads and Legs)
Obviously not all of this would be expected necessarily for a student film shoot, however it provides an outline of what would be expected professionally which i will try to follow as close as i can after seeing the location, as a recce is being organised soon.
Another list that needs to be created is a “Lighting List” but someone else is taking up the role of lighting during our production, so i will be talking with them in order to get this created once they have decided what is needed.
The technical schedule:
This is basically a very accurate daily list of all my requirements for the whole of a film. Before going on a recce, enter ‘Camera: Normal Kit’ and ‘Lighting: Normal Kit’ on all the shoot days to the schedule. Then, enter you days off so that they show on the agenda; this gives you an entry for every day of the whole shooting period. Then, referring to the production’s draft schedule, enter the scene numbers you are going to shoot on all the given dates.
Having prepared your schedule this way as you go round the locations on the technical recce, all you have to enter are the changes from the normal kit. For a small shoot such as the one i will be on, the technical schedule will likely only span over the course of half a week or so and i will be on location everyday, but this is something that i will still be creating to as much detail as possible.
“By producing this kind of technical schedule you make it easy for the office to keep the production on track and you have created a situation whereby you will be bothered far less on the set as things change. Hence, you get more time to do what you really enjoy - shooting the film!”
The DP’s Preparation Research:
“While it is the DP’s job to interpret the script and the director’s vision of that script, it is an immense help if you can base your imagined pictures on reality - it brings a greater believability to the finished film.”
“Making up your own scrapbooks is an excellent way to accumulate images and enables you to add pictures from newspapers and magazines to your collection.”
“When i am stuck for an image to work from, just flicking through a couple of scrapbooks will as often as not start my mind off down an interesting path - not necessarily from a particular picture, but somehow to randomness fires up ideas and unlocks my visual imagination.”
Preparing for the shoot:
Recces - The recce, the English colloquial abbreviation for reconnoitre (location scouting) comes in two parts:
1) Recceing with the director and/or location manager some time prior to principal photography is usually productive and enjoyable
2) The technical recce, which usually occurs just a week or two before the shoot commences, where the DP has to finalise all the technical requirements, is usually straightforward hard work. Recceing with the director and other department heads is a most creative process. It is the time, if you haven't worked together before, to get to know each other and understand each other’s visualisation of the film.
The Camera Equipment List:
The camera equipment list will probably be published twice. The line producer or production manager will usually ask the DP early on in the production run-up for a guess, or wish list, of the equipment that will be required as the basic kit in order to get competitive quotes from different suppliers. For professional practice it is good to follow this rule of thumb. Once the supplier has been chose, the recce is over and a basic list can be decided upon, it is vital that you provide this new list as soon as possible. This is so everything can be time organised to arrive when it is needed.
List that would be expected to fill out:
• (Camera)
• (Zoom Lenses)
• (Prime Lenses)
• (Telephoto Prime Lenses)
• (Camera Accessories)
• (Video Assist Accessories)
• (Filters)
• (Grip Equipment)
• (Heads and Legs)
Obviously not all of this would be expected necessarily for a student film shoot, however it provides an outline of what would be expected professionally which i will try to follow as close as i can after seeing the location, as a recce is being organised soon.
Another list that needs to be created is a “Lighting List” but someone else is taking up the role of lighting during our production, so i will be talking with them in order to get this created once they have decided what is needed.
The technical schedule:
This is basically a very accurate daily list of all my requirements for the whole of a film. Before going on a recce, enter ‘Camera: Normal Kit’ and ‘Lighting: Normal Kit’ on all the shoot days to the schedule. Then, enter you days off so that they show on the agenda; this gives you an entry for every day of the whole shooting period. Then, referring to the production’s draft schedule, enter the scene numbers you are going to shoot on all the given dates.
Having prepared your schedule this way as you go round the locations on the technical recce, all you have to enter are the changes from the normal kit. For a small shoot such as the one i will be on, the technical schedule will likely only span over the course of half a week or so and i will be on location everyday, but this is something that i will still be creating to as much detail as possible.
“By producing this kind of technical schedule you make it easy for the office to keep the production on track and you have created a situation whereby you will be bothered far less on the set as things change. Hence, you get more time to do what you really enjoy - shooting the film!”
Saturday, 8 November 2014
Group meeting - Decision to pursue See you Soon
Group Meeting Notes:
As a group we sat and talked about the films which could be pursued and a decision was made to go forward with See you Soon. Though it needed much development, currently it was the most realistic film which had been proposed.
The first matter of business would be designating roles amongst our group which we could follow for pre production and execute in the actual production itself.
My role was assigned as Director of Photography.
With initial discussion this means i will be undertaking the following tasks and researching into these
• Framing and Camera Movement
• Responsible for Visual Style and Composition as a whole
• Technical Camera/Lens knowledge and Operation of the camera
Notes on what is next:
- First draft of script comes in on the 26th of October.
- Pre visualisation on the 31st of October.
Notes on tasks i must complete:
1) Research films that deal with grievance, visually.
2) Study five films, look out for their framing and how they approach the topic of grievance.
3) How will the camera interact with the subject?
4) Technical aspects of the C300.
As a group we sat and talked about the films which could be pursued and a decision was made to go forward with See you Soon. Though it needed much development, currently it was the most realistic film which had been proposed.
The first matter of business would be designating roles amongst our group which we could follow for pre production and execute in the actual production itself.
My role was assigned as Director of Photography.
With initial discussion this means i will be undertaking the following tasks and researching into these
• Framing and Camera Movement
• Responsible for Visual Style and Composition as a whole
• Technical Camera/Lens knowledge and Operation of the camera
• Creation of Storyboard / Shot list
• Colour Grading
Notes on what is next:
- First draft of script comes in on the 26th of October.
- Pre visualisation on the 31st of October.
Notes on tasks i must complete:
1) Research films that deal with grievance, visually.
2) Study five films, look out for their framing and how they approach the topic of grievance.
3) How will the camera interact with the subject?
4) Technical aspects of the C300.
Tutorial for EFA and result of this
Critique of Efa
Once i had presented my idea for Efa i had the chance to have some initial critique from Kathleen and Rosie, and then the following week, a tutorial with Nigel. Here is a summary of general review and how i could move forward and things to consider.
Consider the sensitivity of the subject. Get first hand experience.
The main point raised was that i needed to take into account the sensitivity of this subject as there will be audience members with mothers, grandmothers and loved ones in nursing homes so i cannot approach it lightly, also there will be those with experience of a family member or friend with memory problems. If i do not research this properly i could end up upsetting viewers not portraying accurately the reality of these subjects
For this reason it was discussed that in order to take this idea and story further i would need to get first hand experience, i.e. volunteer at a care/nursing home for a period of time to understand what it really is like as at the moment i have no real idea, only what i have seen and heard from people and films. To make this a true and real film i cannot recycle what is shown on other films. Getting this first hand experience also helps with really developing what i have, i may find an actual person to base the story on, looking at their personality and physical traits.
Consider the complexity and of the film
Another point that was made that for this type of film and story it is something more that 3rd Year film students would make for their grad film and this may not really be achievable for DFSA. I did realise that it was quite ambitious for that reason and so there could be adjustments from locations to the actually story that could be simplified to create a more achievable film.
Films to watch for inspiration and development:
Armour - The retired piano players and teachers Georges and Anne live in a comfortable apartment in Paris. Their daughter Eva is a musician in tour through Europe. One day, Anne has a stroke that paralyses her right side, and Georges nurses his wife and promises that he will send her neither to a hospital nor to a nursing home. Soon Anne's life deteriorates and her mental and physical capabilities decline very fast leading Georges to take a tragic decision.
The Befuddled Box of Betty Buttifint - A touching examination of a fractured memory. Janis Pugh's experimental film, made in collaboration with the Central School of Speech and Drama, portrays an elderly woman living within her own confused mind. Using the vivid landscape of her memories, Pugh's film blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and between real memories and symbols of Betty's past. Featuring a lead performance from Illona Linthwaite as a woman struggling to make sense of her life, it is a moving, poetic take on the life, loves and losses of a person whose world is fading away.
Shirin - A short film about a daughter and her father. Both have secrets. Starring Hussina Raja and Bhasker Patel. Written and directed by Stephen Fingleton. Produced by Loreta Zajarskyte.
SHIRIN (full movie) from Stephen Fingleton on Vimeo.
Book to read:
David Mamet – On directing film
Once i had presented my idea for Efa i had the chance to have some initial critique from Kathleen and Rosie, and then the following week, a tutorial with Nigel. Here is a summary of general review and how i could move forward and things to consider.
Consider the sensitivity of the subject. Get first hand experience.
The main point raised was that i needed to take into account the sensitivity of this subject as there will be audience members with mothers, grandmothers and loved ones in nursing homes so i cannot approach it lightly, also there will be those with experience of a family member or friend with memory problems. If i do not research this properly i could end up upsetting viewers not portraying accurately the reality of these subjects
For this reason it was discussed that in order to take this idea and story further i would need to get first hand experience, i.e. volunteer at a care/nursing home for a period of time to understand what it really is like as at the moment i have no real idea, only what i have seen and heard from people and films. To make this a true and real film i cannot recycle what is shown on other films. Getting this first hand experience also helps with really developing what i have, i may find an actual person to base the story on, looking at their personality and physical traits.
Consider the complexity and of the film
Another point that was made that for this type of film and story it is something more that 3rd Year film students would make for their grad film and this may not really be achievable for DFSA. I did realise that it was quite ambitious for that reason and so there could be adjustments from locations to the actually story that could be simplified to create a more achievable film.
Films to watch for inspiration and development:
Armour - The retired piano players and teachers Georges and Anne live in a comfortable apartment in Paris. Their daughter Eva is a musician in tour through Europe. One day, Anne has a stroke that paralyses her right side, and Georges nurses his wife and promises that he will send her neither to a hospital nor to a nursing home. Soon Anne's life deteriorates and her mental and physical capabilities decline very fast leading Georges to take a tragic decision.
The Befuddled Box of Betty Buttifint - A touching examination of a fractured memory. Janis Pugh's experimental film, made in collaboration with the Central School of Speech and Drama, portrays an elderly woman living within her own confused mind. Using the vivid landscape of her memories, Pugh's film blurs the line between reality and fantasy, and between real memories and symbols of Betty's past. Featuring a lead performance from Illona Linthwaite as a woman struggling to make sense of her life, it is a moving, poetic take on the life, loves and losses of a person whose world is fading away.
Shirin - A short film about a daughter and her father. Both have secrets. Starring Hussina Raja and Bhasker Patel. Written and directed by Stephen Fingleton. Produced by Loreta Zajarskyte.
SHIRIN (full movie) from Stephen Fingleton on Vimeo.
Book to read:
David Mamet – On directing film
Friday, 7 November 2014
Proposal of other films i could work on
Having a group already decided as we worked so well together last year means that we all have to collectively decide, looking at each others proposals, which film would be best to make a reality. We had a day of presentations and from this i was able to see what potential film i could work on if mine were not chosen and also started to have a quick brainstorm about how i would approach these films and how they could benefit my role.
Transit
Transit is a film developed and written by Tamara and Al. I got the chance to read the script that they had been developing and understand the type of film they were proposing. Originally it was set to be an animation but was altered to try and be made into a live action film. It follows the story of a child's imagination with the outside world and how her perspective is not actually far from the truth. It originated from Tamara telling about a story her friend told her when she was younger, the story talked about how her friend (a frequent flyer) thought that when she was traveling by plane as a child, she always imagined that while she was in that plane the whole world was changing around her while she was not noticing (for example, people would change and move around the world like a set).
My initial thoughts with Transit was that it had quite a likeness to The Truman Show. Everyone has scripted roles in the "real world" and this goes on every day. The girl comes to realise this but is shunned by her mother when she talks about it.
The locations for the film are the most interesting but challenging area. It primarily takes place on a plane, which though quite ambitious for a student film and i did initially challenge as ridiculous, is through the work of our producer Tamara, potentially achievable budget and location wise but it would be very top end budget for what we would want to be doing.
From a cinematography perspective, it gives me a great challenge of working in an unusual environment which would look fantastic on a portfolio, not only do i have the potential to create some stunning visuals that simulate a plane in the sky, from inside and maybe even outside shooting in but i have the chance to show my ability to work in an unusual environment.
Upon research i noticed a lot of films that deal with filming on a plane have two things in common that would not work with transit:
1) There is a disaster eminent
2) The whole plane is used, showing all passengers
For transit we want to focus on just the girl in her seat and her mother, with extras around them giving the impression of a full plane. I would need to be very considerate of how this is achievable, particularly the focus of just one passenger instead of the whole plane.
I found some initial inspiration from the film Red Eye to be a useful reference and can see how lighting is used here to highlight the main character with 6/7 extras surrounding him to give the impression of a full plane. This is something i will look further into.
For the plane set we would be looking into using an aeroplane from a junkyard where old planes are taken when they can no longer be used for flight. As students we have been told we could get a discount on the regular price to rent these out. Things we would need to consider is how we are going to get equipment there and have a recce to see limitations that would arise. I imagine we would struggle with lighting as there will be no power sources nearby, this may mean the requirement of a generator. Lighting is extremely important for a set like this as we are trying to simulate something that is thousands of miles in the sky.
Using a plane from this space would give us the ability to make the whole film look as realistic as possible and selling the effect of flying could be easily achieved with green screen for the windows and I would expect that the best way to achieve motion of flying would be in the editing process to add shake later on. We can cover all elements of a production that challenges everyones skill areas. We would need to be careful as this is a student film that we don't get too carried away with a full scale production that is way out of our ability.
For all the scenes in the plane i feel like the aim would be to concentrate on close shots, mostly focused on the girl and her mother as in a plane you are quite cramped and limited with your space so with the film being quite personal to these two characters instead of all the passengers, keeping all of the shots close and intimate really builds the audiences relationship with the girl and her mother.
I would need to do a lot of research into films that deal with children and particularly their imagination to see how cinematographers create a visual style for these types of films as well as specifically films that deal with flight to understand movements, framing and lighting that works.
For the other scenes outside of the plane that have been suggested such as a taxi driver, people walking on the street, i would imagine these to be quite short shots that only deal with a couple of different angles and once a final script is decided and these extra characters i would find visual references of the spaces, places and people, particularly referring to how the Truman Show deals with the idea of real people being actors.
See you Soon
See you soon is a mother daughter story that was developed by Tamara. This story is somewhat of a tragedy as it deals with the death of a daughter and how the mother grieves for her. Originally it dealt with the mothers death and took place in a funeral hall then then back at the family home where the mother and daughter lived.
See you soon was proposed as a film that incorporates flashbacks with realtime. The effect that inspired this is Shunpo.
SHUNPO from BURAYAN on Vimeo.
Shunpo excellently achieves match cuts to perfection between different environments making a magnificent on screen performance. The framing is an absolute essential part of this short film and will be the big focus as a cinematographer for achieving the flashback match cuts for see you soon. I really enjoy breaking this down frame by frame to see how they achieve some of the angles and shots in a clever way. For example in the scene below the dancer goes from climbing up some stairs, to seemingly putting her head against the wall next to them, but as the camera turns and the woman gets up we realise she is laying down in a different location. This is a brilliant demonstration of match cutting between two locations and is something i would love to be able to make happen in this film.
For the main scenes which take place in the family home i would need to look at the locations proposed and how we would intersect between the two. Research looking into how films cover both past and present, maybe looking into how we can effectively demonstrate the different time zones with lighting.
Phone box film (un-named)
This film is not as developed as the other two but play on a cyclical theme of having a camera rig going round a phonebox where the single actor is playing out a role throughout. Stylistically this is a nice idea and maybe would work well for an experimental piece but it seems for an actual film it is unlikely to have the development to move forward.
Transit
Transit is a film developed and written by Tamara and Al. I got the chance to read the script that they had been developing and understand the type of film they were proposing. Originally it was set to be an animation but was altered to try and be made into a live action film. It follows the story of a child's imagination with the outside world and how her perspective is not actually far from the truth. It originated from Tamara telling about a story her friend told her when she was younger, the story talked about how her friend (a frequent flyer) thought that when she was traveling by plane as a child, she always imagined that while she was in that plane the whole world was changing around her while she was not noticing (for example, people would change and move around the world like a set).
My initial thoughts with Transit was that it had quite a likeness to The Truman Show. Everyone has scripted roles in the "real world" and this goes on every day. The girl comes to realise this but is shunned by her mother when she talks about it.
The locations for the film are the most interesting but challenging area. It primarily takes place on a plane, which though quite ambitious for a student film and i did initially challenge as ridiculous, is through the work of our producer Tamara, potentially achievable budget and location wise but it would be very top end budget for what we would want to be doing.
From a cinematography perspective, it gives me a great challenge of working in an unusual environment which would look fantastic on a portfolio, not only do i have the potential to create some stunning visuals that simulate a plane in the sky, from inside and maybe even outside shooting in but i have the chance to show my ability to work in an unusual environment.
Upon research i noticed a lot of films that deal with filming on a plane have two things in common that would not work with transit:
1) There is a disaster eminent
2) The whole plane is used, showing all passengers
For transit we want to focus on just the girl in her seat and her mother, with extras around them giving the impression of a full plane. I would need to be very considerate of how this is achievable, particularly the focus of just one passenger instead of the whole plane.
I found some initial inspiration from the film Red Eye to be a useful reference and can see how lighting is used here to highlight the main character with 6/7 extras surrounding him to give the impression of a full plane. This is something i will look further into.
Using a plane from this space would give us the ability to make the whole film look as realistic as possible and selling the effect of flying could be easily achieved with green screen for the windows and I would expect that the best way to achieve motion of flying would be in the editing process to add shake later on. We can cover all elements of a production that challenges everyones skill areas. We would need to be careful as this is a student film that we don't get too carried away with a full scale production that is way out of our ability.
For all the scenes in the plane i feel like the aim would be to concentrate on close shots, mostly focused on the girl and her mother as in a plane you are quite cramped and limited with your space so with the film being quite personal to these two characters instead of all the passengers, keeping all of the shots close and intimate really builds the audiences relationship with the girl and her mother.
I would need to do a lot of research into films that deal with children and particularly their imagination to see how cinematographers create a visual style for these types of films as well as specifically films that deal with flight to understand movements, framing and lighting that works.
For the other scenes outside of the plane that have been suggested such as a taxi driver, people walking on the street, i would imagine these to be quite short shots that only deal with a couple of different angles and once a final script is decided and these extra characters i would find visual references of the spaces, places and people, particularly referring to how the Truman Show deals with the idea of real people being actors.
See you Soon
See you soon is a mother daughter story that was developed by Tamara. This story is somewhat of a tragedy as it deals with the death of a daughter and how the mother grieves for her. Originally it dealt with the mothers death and took place in a funeral hall then then back at the family home where the mother and daughter lived.
See you soon was proposed as a film that incorporates flashbacks with realtime. The effect that inspired this is Shunpo.
SHUNPO from BURAYAN on Vimeo.
Shunpo excellently achieves match cuts to perfection between different environments making a magnificent on screen performance. The framing is an absolute essential part of this short film and will be the big focus as a cinematographer for achieving the flashback match cuts for see you soon. I really enjoy breaking this down frame by frame to see how they achieve some of the angles and shots in a clever way. For example in the scene below the dancer goes from climbing up some stairs, to seemingly putting her head against the wall next to them, but as the camera turns and the woman gets up we realise she is laying down in a different location. This is a brilliant demonstration of match cutting between two locations and is something i would love to be able to make happen in this film.
For the main scenes which take place in the family home i would need to look at the locations proposed and how we would intersect between the two. Research looking into how films cover both past and present, maybe looking into how we can effectively demonstrate the different time zones with lighting.
Phone box film (un-named)
This film is not as developed as the other two but play on a cyclical theme of having a camera rig going round a phonebox where the single actor is playing out a role throughout. Stylistically this is a nice idea and maybe would work well for an experimental piece but it seems for an actual film it is unlikely to have the development to move forward.
Thursday, 6 November 2014
Short Film - EFA
The film EFA is an idea i came up with over the course of a week after brainstorming and wanting a film idea of my own to present. I was inspired by a story of an old man who had escaped his care home, which i had read about earlier in the year.
The story was about a man named Bernard Jordan, an 89 year old D-Day veteran living in a nursing home in Portsmouth, who wanted to attend the 70th anniversary commemorations in Normandy but was not granted approval to make the journey as the trip could not be organised properly for him. So, Bernard took matters into his own hands, hiding his war medals under a raincoat he told his carers he was going for a walk before boarding a coach to France. By the time staff at the care home had realised he was missing in the evening, Bernard was already checked into a hotel in Normandy. The whole event did spark a frantic missing person search, but once he was made known to be safe and helped back on his journey home the story became quite a humorous one for news reporters and Bernard was given a hero’s return.
I noticed from this story, people really seem to root for a person in this perculiar kind of position, as it went viral on social networks and various news websites. It seems that the general public enjoy following a character who, no matter what their age or physical/mental limitations, still has some fighting spirit in them to succeed and no matter how small the task may seem to an everyday person, you know that it means a lot to them and so it becomes heart warming to read about.
As this was to be a short film, i had to make sure that i take considerations with story and how it would follow a structure that would fit in a 10 minute sort of limit. I decided to do some research into short films to see which i favoured and the structure they followed to see how i could cross reference this with my own.
I found https://www.youtube.com/futureshorts to be a great resource of short films. This was where i was first inspired by short films 5 years ago, when i came across “The Black Hole”
I was mesmerised by the creativity and intelligence in story. Revisiting this short film i realised how much i would love to create a short film that is “clever” and contains a sort of twist at the end for the audiences enjoyment, hopefully being un-expecting.
I was mesmerised by the creativity and intelligence in story. Revisiting this short film i realised how much i would love to create a short film that is “clever” and contains a sort of twist at the end for the audiences enjoyment, hopefully being un-expecting.
Upon further research into this sort of genre of short films i discovered the Bombay Imagination Series. Run by Bombay Sapphire, this series was all about sparking imagination. An Oscar winning writer, Geoffrey Fletcher was asked to write a short script stripped of any stage direction. Using Fletcher’s dialogue (which they were not allowed to change), screenwriters were called upon to infuse their own brand of imagination - such as genre, location, situation, characters, etc. - to make Fletcher’s words come alive in whatever story-world they could dream up. The five most imaginative film entries were picked, produced and premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.
Title: Room 8 - Winner of the BAFTA for Short Film 2014
Winner: James W. Griffiths
Title: Water Song
Winner: Paul Frankl
Title: The Mrs
Winner: Shekhar Bassi
Title: Crab
Winner: Cadi Catlow
Title: Concrete
Winner: Alexis Barroso Gasco
The reason i enjoyed these films and found them to be a good reference is because they were all shot with limitations. The script was half decided for them and to be honest isn't that strong and quite ambiguous, however, it has to be for it's purpose so that it can be adapted. This means that all the films had the chance to be as creative as possible in visuals and imagination of interpreting the story in different ways. I believe as a 3rd year university student who hasn't had much experience in narrative film or scriptwriting, this is more or less what i would be expecting to produce (albeit they have quite seemingly high production values) and provides a good aim.
I am inspired particularly by Room 8 as a short film. I finished the film feeling so excited by the story and had to watch it again right away, as i felt it was so clever and wanted to see it from a second time viewing perspective, knowing the ending. I really want to be able to evoke this feeling in my own audience when they walk away from the film and almost give a reason to want to watch it again, spotting little details that would make sense, a slight satsfaction. For this reason i started to experiment with the thought of working in some sort of cyclical theme to Efa, having the beginning link to the ending. Below is how i aimed to achieve this:
In text:
1) Efa arrives to care home in small car in the evening. Does not know where she has come from, we do not see the driver.
- The film opens with a average looking car driving into a country-house driveway, we do not see the passengers or driver. A care nurse walks from the house doors to where the car parks and opens the door. She greets the old lady who steps out of the car and ask's "How was your journey", the old lady in confused about said "journey" and this is the first hint that the old lady has some sort of memory problem though it is never said what exactly throughout the film. We are taken into the country looking house which we find out is a a residential country nursing home of not many guests, all of whom are sleeping. Efa is taken to her room, where all her belongings are already placed
2) Learn of story about EFA and her adventurous past. Family to her is just her son, whom since a young boy, every month would take to a sentimental spot to keep fit and bond together. He has a family of his own and can not look after her, she only remembers what he looked like as a young boy. Her husband has passed away and so she does not have visitors.
- Through conversations with the other people in the home/nurses we learn about who EFA is and her story. The idea is that she is portrayed as having a somewhat adventurous past, always on her feet climbing and walking. Efa has pictures to show some of these as well as much younger pictures of her son and husband, she remembers these old times so well but never speaks or seems clear of recent events. She does not seem to mention much about her family, only that her husband passed away many years ago and her son grew up with a family of his own. Her true passion is just to be outside and so she tries to be outside when she can and is fond of her walking boots.
3) EFA plots a day escape as the end of the month is approaching and she can’t accept not sticking with her ritual of visiting the spot she always has seen with her son. The plan is then put into action.
- With the carers being used to Efa wanting to be outside she realises, though she would get in trouble, that she could plan a day escape to return to the spot she is so fond of and it's only one day of the month so Efa doesn't see it as a big deal, she's not escaping for good. Her plan of route and timings is set in place, she packs a packed lunch and other bits and bobs for along the way as well as a bit of money for the bus. The next day she will put it into action.
4) After leaving the care home, she begins a short half day trip to the location, travelling by bus and taking a steady pace realising she is getting older and not as fit as she once was. Once at the spot she takes in the air and reminices. She also meets a man who’m she tells her story to and why she is there, he listens fondly and asks if they can take a picture together. He also offers her a ride home as it is not a short trip back.
- Being a small town, the hike for Efa is not that huge, still a significant walk, but no mountain, however for an old woman we see how it is exciting for her to feel like she is doing something a bit mischievous and at the same time re-living young memories as she traces steps along the way. There is not too much time spent focusing on the actual journey itself and we are taken to the sentimental spot where she comes to reside for some time before being approached by a man wondering what an old lady is doing on her own so far from the road. Efa introduces herself and tells the man a short story of why she is where she is and why it means so much to her, being the spot she spent so long with her son watching the sunrise and set throughout the years, a time for them to bond and talk about what is going on in each others life. The man asks how her life is, how she is feeling and after a little talk offers her a lift home.
- We see the two getting into and driving in the car together, during the drive Efa asks the man about his life and he tells her about his family and after a while we see Efa has fallen asleep due to the tiredness. She is woken up when the car comes to a stop and her door is opened by a carer greeting her, asking how her journey was, still a bit tired and confused Efa is not sure what journey this nurse is talking about. She takes Efa in and we see the two walking inside. The man inside the car smiles and once again, drives off.
The story becomes a cycle.
Visual Inspiration:
A lot of the visual inspiration that has inspired me when going through the though planning and brainstorming for Efa came from the film Philomena.
"The film follows the story of Philomena Lee, who after becoming pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns to America for adoption. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist as cynical as Philomena was trusting. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also the powerful bond that grew up between Philomena and Martin."
I really enjoyed the cinematography throughout Philomena, it felt very close to the subject a lot of the time, really capturing emotions well. The lighting and colours always felt very "real" and true to portraying british landscapes and homes. Due to this "realness" Philomena ends up feeling like good old cinema at it's best, where shot composition, natural lighting, and film stock are used as a tool to tell the story and create a feel, not using computer generated effects to compensate. The majority of the film was shot on the Arri Alexa and then Super 16mm utilised for the 1950s flashback scenes, it worked wonderfully well to convey time change and a feeling of saddened loneliness. The whole film feels like it has the basis for the style of Efa and there are many scenes and shots i would love to try and transfer across to my own film.
Locations:
The locations that would be needed for this would be:
1) Exterior to front of residential country home, minimal shooting needed here.
2) Interior of home - This can be broken down to room by room and is not actually necessary to film in the same house.
1) Efa arrives to care home in small car in the evening. Does not know where she has come from, we do not see the driver.
- The film opens with a average looking car driving into a country-house driveway, we do not see the passengers or driver. A care nurse walks from the house doors to where the car parks and opens the door. She greets the old lady who steps out of the car and ask's "How was your journey", the old lady in confused about said "journey" and this is the first hint that the old lady has some sort of memory problem though it is never said what exactly throughout the film. We are taken into the country looking house which we find out is a a residential country nursing home of not many guests, all of whom are sleeping. Efa is taken to her room, where all her belongings are already placed
2) Learn of story about EFA and her adventurous past. Family to her is just her son, whom since a young boy, every month would take to a sentimental spot to keep fit and bond together. He has a family of his own and can not look after her, she only remembers what he looked like as a young boy. Her husband has passed away and so she does not have visitors.
- Through conversations with the other people in the home/nurses we learn about who EFA is and her story. The idea is that she is portrayed as having a somewhat adventurous past, always on her feet climbing and walking. Efa has pictures to show some of these as well as much younger pictures of her son and husband, she remembers these old times so well but never speaks or seems clear of recent events. She does not seem to mention much about her family, only that her husband passed away many years ago and her son grew up with a family of his own. Her true passion is just to be outside and so she tries to be outside when she can and is fond of her walking boots.
3) EFA plots a day escape as the end of the month is approaching and she can’t accept not sticking with her ritual of visiting the spot she always has seen with her son. The plan is then put into action.
- With the carers being used to Efa wanting to be outside she realises, though she would get in trouble, that she could plan a day escape to return to the spot she is so fond of and it's only one day of the month so Efa doesn't see it as a big deal, she's not escaping for good. Her plan of route and timings is set in place, she packs a packed lunch and other bits and bobs for along the way as well as a bit of money for the bus. The next day she will put it into action.
4) After leaving the care home, she begins a short half day trip to the location, travelling by bus and taking a steady pace realising she is getting older and not as fit as she once was. Once at the spot she takes in the air and reminices. She also meets a man who’m she tells her story to and why she is there, he listens fondly and asks if they can take a picture together. He also offers her a ride home as it is not a short trip back.
- Being a small town, the hike for Efa is not that huge, still a significant walk, but no mountain, however for an old woman we see how it is exciting for her to feel like she is doing something a bit mischievous and at the same time re-living young memories as she traces steps along the way. There is not too much time spent focusing on the actual journey itself and we are taken to the sentimental spot where she comes to reside for some time before being approached by a man wondering what an old lady is doing on her own so far from the road. Efa introduces herself and tells the man a short story of why she is where she is and why it means so much to her, being the spot she spent so long with her son watching the sunrise and set throughout the years, a time for them to bond and talk about what is going on in each others life. The man asks how her life is, how she is feeling and after a little talk offers her a lift home.
- We see the two getting into and driving in the car together, during the drive Efa asks the man about his life and he tells her about his family and after a while we see Efa has fallen asleep due to the tiredness. She is woken up when the car comes to a stop and her door is opened by a carer greeting her, asking how her journey was, still a bit tired and confused Efa is not sure what journey this nurse is talking about. She takes Efa in and we see the two walking inside. The man inside the car smiles and once again, drives off.
The story becomes a cycle.
Visual Inspiration:
A lot of the visual inspiration that has inspired me when going through the though planning and brainstorming for Efa came from the film Philomena.
"The film follows the story of Philomena Lee, who after becoming pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns to America for adoption. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him. Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist as cynical as Philomena was trusting. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also the powerful bond that grew up between Philomena and Martin."
I really enjoyed the cinematography throughout Philomena, it felt very close to the subject a lot of the time, really capturing emotions well. The lighting and colours always felt very "real" and true to portraying british landscapes and homes. Due to this "realness" Philomena ends up feeling like good old cinema at it's best, where shot composition, natural lighting, and film stock are used as a tool to tell the story and create a feel, not using computer generated effects to compensate. The majority of the film was shot on the Arri Alexa and then Super 16mm utilised for the 1950s flashback scenes, it worked wonderfully well to convey time change and a feeling of saddened loneliness. The whole film feels like it has the basis for the style of Efa and there are many scenes and shots i would love to try and transfer across to my own film.
Locations:
The locations that would be needed for this would be:
1) Exterior to front of residential country home, minimal shooting needed here.
2) Interior of home - This can be broken down to room by room and is not actually necessary to film in the same house.
- Efa's room
- Living room/Communal Room
- Hallway
- Kitchen/Diner
3) Landscape that Efa will be walking through, with some sort of landmark where she will end up.
Potentially Belle Tout Lighthouse in Eastbourne. It has a beautiful cliff view to look onto, a lighthouse which can be the sentimental destination and a huge open landscape for Efa to walk along as her "adventure".
Also there would need to be considerations about vehicles:
4) Bus or Train depending on what transport Efa uses to get to the location.
5) Car which she is driven home in
To conclude:
I realise that for a student film, the way it stands is rather ambitious. I think presenting what Efa is at the moment as a rough idea for the film has a good concept and could produce a really nice end product. I am looking forward to hearing from others and having some constructive criticism on how to move forward and make this a reality. I think the story definitely needs some development and then a script to be created so that it is all down on paper and can be understood clearly. Though my interests do not really lay in scriptwriting i would consider taking this up to push Efa forward and that is where i would concentrate. However, if possible i would rather co-write the film and be able to concentrate more on the cinematography.
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