Yesterday we showed our film to the rest of the group and our tutor for the last time before handing it in. Since the last tutorial we added another 3 minute sequence to the beginning of our film in a different location to Grindleford to help the explain the narrative of the film, whilst also including some of the cinematography elements we were required to include in the final film e.g. the interior lighting change. Apart from that addition, we stuck very carefully and precisely to our storyboards or shot lists that each individual had planned which made the editing process very straight forward as well as made us all clear on what we needed to set up for and film as soon as we were on location.
The group gave us some positive feedback mainly focusing on the POV sequences in both sections of the film. This was because it was very clear who the audience were identifying with from the start which made the film easier to follow. They also liked the use of lighting changes around the bag that the thief stole. They said it was clear that this was a symbolic item that held significance around the narrative and set up the plot for later in the film.
Improvements we could have made to the film include, in the first sequence, due to the exterior lighting and camera settings, we had to use gain on the camera for objects to be visible when filming, this caused considerable visual noise which was unintentional and lowered the professional quality of the film. Also the Grindleford footage we shot was on the wrong setting for the camera which makes the image look strange compared to what it normally should be.
Friday, 20 December 2013
Monday, 16 December 2013
2nd Shoot Day
After shooting the footage in Grindleford, our group decided it was best to film another similar sequence in a different location to help form a narrative whilst also addressing all of the cinematography techniques we needed to include in the final film. We decided to film in a house at night time, to help the realism regarding the thief stealing something whilst also explaining why someone is following him. We also used a house to do an interior lighting change to give continuity to the exterior one we did in Grindleford surrounding the bag.
I planned the opening shots for this small sequence, which ultimately is the start of the film, and the group supported my decision to introduce some of the elements straight away.
The main element I wanted to get across at first was a small POV sequence with the thief looking into houses. This is because it makes the audience instantly identify with this character and want to find out what he is doing, which is what we wanted the audience to do straight away. I used a mixture of static wides, mids and close ups to get this desired effect, following a narrative control template from Film Directing : Shot by Shot : Visualizing from concept to screen (1991) by Steven D. Katz.
I also wanted to introduce one more element into this sequence so I built upon the already existing colour element, the red hoodie on the thief, and we shot next to a street light which gave off a strong red light which contrasted with the bright lights of cars going by. The reason for this is to show the danger surrounding this character and that they are not to be trusted, which is highlighted by his questionable actions.
Finally I planned a sequence shot time lapse outside the house to transition the narrative to one location to the next. This required me filming for 45 minutes as the sun rose outside the house and then compressing it in the edit to about 25 seconds long.
This shot also served as an exterior lighting change used as a narrative device.
After my sequence the rest of the group planned their shots to support the narrative. We had another sequence shot inside the house of the thief looking around a room and finding the bag, waking the stalker up as he left which set up the sequence and plot for the Grindleford section.
We did encounter some problems when filming this section of the film, mainly to do with under exposure and gain due to the time it was recorded and the camera we used (Canon 305). Some shots really struggled to be exposed with the practical light we had, mainly outside, so we used the gain on them but this main the shots very visually noisy which effects the quality of the final film overall. However that was the only negative point we really had with this second shoot, and we hope both parts of the documentary will fit well together and make a decent film.
I planned the opening shots for this small sequence, which ultimately is the start of the film, and the group supported my decision to introduce some of the elements straight away.
I also wanted to introduce one more element into this sequence so I built upon the already existing colour element, the red hoodie on the thief, and we shot next to a street light which gave off a strong red light which contrasted with the bright lights of cars going by. The reason for this is to show the danger surrounding this character and that they are not to be trusted, which is highlighted by his questionable actions.
Finally I planned a sequence shot time lapse outside the house to transition the narrative to one location to the next. This required me filming for 45 minutes as the sun rose outside the house and then compressing it in the edit to about 25 seconds long.
This shot also served as an exterior lighting change used as a narrative device.
After my sequence the rest of the group planned their shots to support the narrative. We had another sequence shot inside the house of the thief looking around a room and finding the bag, waking the stalker up as he left which set up the sequence and plot for the Grindleford section.
We did encounter some problems when filming this section of the film, mainly to do with under exposure and gain due to the time it was recorded and the camera we used (Canon 305). Some shots really struggled to be exposed with the practical light we had, mainly outside, so we used the gain on them but this main the shots very visually noisy which effects the quality of the final film overall. However that was the only negative point we really had with this second shoot, and we hope both parts of the documentary will fit well together and make a decent film.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
The Place Beyond The Pines Analysis
The Place Beyond The Pines (2012) by Derek Cianfrance is a drama/thriller film starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Eva Mendes
and follows a mix of the life of a motorcycle performer, Luke, who
starts robbing banks to support his young child, and half way through
changes to following a cop, Avery, who shoots and kills Luke when in a police chase.
Then the majority of the story is about the son of Luke, AJ, and his
interaction with the Avery's son, Jason. The two sons don't know the
history their dads share and become friends and slowly discover their parents pasts.
This film had a lot of different and interesting cinematography elements in it which I can analyse and adapt to put into our final film.
The first opening sequence is a long take, using hand held, following Luke through a carnival. The purpose of this long take is to establish the location and give the audience a sense of place.
It also makes the audience see a third person POV of behind the character, much like the sequence shot in Elephant (2003) by Gus Van Sant, and this shows us where the character is going, what he interacts with and what he's looking at. Due to these things being obvious to the audience, they attach themselves with the character and empathise with them and to see what their part is in the narrative of the film. This technique is repeated later on in the film where Luke's son is walking through a party and the shots are two small sequence shots from the back of the character, used in the same effect. I liked the use of this long take as it was a mobile and done through an interesting location which means the audience are instantly engaging with the film and the character shown.
There was also an alternative use of POV sequences in this film as the majority of it was shot Hand held to give a more 1st person POV or 3rd person restricted POV to it and make the audience feel as though the camera is them. A good example of this would be at 1hour 15 minutes into the film where AJ is in a pharmacy store trying to steal some drugs for a party. The camera starts by following him into the store from behind (much like the shot at the start of the film with his father) and then pulls away so he is facing it, looking off to the side behind a shelf.
The camera then rapidly pans to the direction in which AJ is looking so the audience see the quick camera movement as if they themselves have just turned their heads to see what AJ is looking at.
This alternative style of POV sequences is very interesting and engaging with the audience due to the 'control' they feel as though they have in the scene. When they want to know where AJ is looking they see his face, and after that is established we move with the camera to where he is looking.
The final convention I would like to point out is the use of an interior lighting change. This occurs at 15 minutes into the film where Luke is inside a church at the back, watching his son being christened. He begins to cry for a bit then dips his head down, making his face and head darker. He then lifts it up after he stops crying, and turns looking into the sunlight.
I believe this is symbolic of the character Luke moving on with his life, as he wasn't invited to the baptism of his own son and he knows he isn't wanted by the mother to help out at all so he realises this and the light symbols change for him. I think it works well here because the location of a church already implies change/redemption so using it here gives a heavy emotive feeling for the audience to sympathise with Luke and want him to change.
All in all The Place Beyond The Pines was a very interesting film, especially in terms of cinematography, as it uses a wide variety of conventions to portray different emotions, themes and actions throughout. I will keep in mind the conventions I have picked out here when making our final film and perhaps incorporate the technical styles used into it, to increase the quality of it.
This film had a lot of different and interesting cinematography elements in it which I can analyse and adapt to put into our final film.
The first opening sequence is a long take, using hand held, following Luke through a carnival. The purpose of this long take is to establish the location and give the audience a sense of place.
There was also an alternative use of POV sequences in this film as the majority of it was shot Hand held to give a more 1st person POV or 3rd person restricted POV to it and make the audience feel as though the camera is them. A good example of this would be at 1hour 15 minutes into the film where AJ is in a pharmacy store trying to steal some drugs for a party. The camera starts by following him into the store from behind (much like the shot at the start of the film with his father) and then pulls away so he is facing it, looking off to the side behind a shelf.
The camera then rapidly pans to the direction in which AJ is looking so the audience see the quick camera movement as if they themselves have just turned their heads to see what AJ is looking at.
The final convention I would like to point out is the use of an interior lighting change. This occurs at 15 minutes into the film where Luke is inside a church at the back, watching his son being christened. He begins to cry for a bit then dips his head down, making his face and head darker. He then lifts it up after he stops crying, and turns looking into the sunlight.
All in all The Place Beyond The Pines was a very interesting film, especially in terms of cinematography, as it uses a wide variety of conventions to portray different emotions, themes and actions throughout. I will keep in mind the conventions I have picked out here when making our final film and perhaps incorporate the technical styles used into it, to increase the quality of it.
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