Film Blog Three

18 – 10 – 10

We began this workshop by each person sharing their log line for the script Choices. I found this was an interesting exercise as it allowed me to see the different ways in which people view the script as a whole.  For example, the plot of the script stood out to me and so my log line was fairly narrative based and quite brief as I did not want to give too much information away. Others however were based more on the themes of the piece, asking questions about good, bad, greed and laziness. Some focused on character, introducing the protagonist, his personality and power.

We then got into our groups and began looking at the script together, focusing on the beats we had each marked. We discovered that we had most of the beats in the same place and we agreed on where to add more beats. We then moved on to talking about what we all thought of the script. We all seemed to agree that the script was ok, but we would make several changes. None of us were very enthusiastic about the ending and so we decided that we would rewrite the ending. We decided this would be something we would think about and consider this week, ready for discussion in our next meeting. Ed then mentioned that he didn’t like the way the split screen and choices were portrayed. Again we all agreed that this needed to be changed. We discussed ways in which this could be done, and decided to rewrite this also. We discussed the idea of playing out one option, and then rewinding back like a video tape and playing out the second. I think this is a great idea and that it could look really effective if we could get the right editing, backwards motion and sound effect of a rewinding tape. Another idea was to play out the options, then simply cut back to reality.

I then asked the group which roles each person was interested in. Some of us already had an idea in mind, while others said they weren’t sure yet and would be happy to do a number of things. I expressed an interest in producing, as I think it would be an interesting experience to be in charge of the organisational aspects of the film and making sure everything runs smoothly. I am a very organised person, confident in leadership and working in groups which I feel are necessary attributes in the role of producer. In anticipation of this I said I would organise a group email where we can discuss our next meeting, contact people via Facebook in order to create a group page and email everyone in anticipation of creating a contact sheet for us each to have.

I also made a list of scenes in the script, noting the scene number, location, characters and a couple of words of description. This I will use later on in production as I think it will be useful to see who we need and where we are in each scene. After editing the list when the script is finalised this will hopefully help us organise the filming on our production weekend.

Halfway through the work shop we moved to another room where we created our blogs. Our blogs will act as our film journals and be assessed later on in the year.

After workshop.

After the workshop I researched different roles and jobs within the film industry.

I did this by researching sites such as Film Making Careers and Media Match

I then compiled a list of job titles and responsibilities each role entails. Although I understand that we will not be working in the same manner as a large scale film production and that we will all be playing several roles, I thought this would be a good way of ensuring that all the important aspects film making are allocated to individuals. This will help me, as producer, see all the things that must be done in the production and make sure they are completed. In the next meeting I will discuss these job roles with the group and hopefully finalise who will be doing which jobs within our film production. Once this has been done I will be more aware of who is doing what, and as producer I can make sure I get in touch with them regarding the specific roles and make sure all jobs are completed.

I then researched specifically into the role of film producer to make sure that I am fully aware of my responsibilities and the sort of things I must do as producer of our film project. I found Prospects to be a useful website regarding the roles of a film producer.

I have also contacted all members of the group via email or Facebook, and have created a contact sheet with our names, email addresses and mobile numbers. I will give a copy to each member of the group in our next meeting. This will hopefully ensure efficient and straight forward communication between all members of the group. I have also created a Facebook group for us so that we can also keep in contact in a friendlier, sociable manner.

Film Blog Two

11 – 10- 10

In our second workshop we began with a brief explanation of the broadcast lab and its Youtube channel which hosts the BSU student films. Mike recommended we watch Every Four Years in particular, and a book titled On Directing by David Mamet.

We then moved on to watching a collection of short films by Futureshorts on DVD.

After watching each of the selected short films we were told to create a log line for each film, and to ensure that it was catchy, not too long and would make an audience want to watch.

Here are some examples of the log lines I came up with:

Can we kiss?

-       “An aspiring actress intrudes upon a man sat unhappily in  a French cafe, asking him simply to help her with her lines. He does so, and shows the girl how to spark some real emotion in her performance.”

She loves me, she loves me not

-       “The trials and tribulations of a young couple pre-break up.”

La vie d'un chien (The Life of a Dog)

-       “A scientist revolutionises human freedom by creating a gene-mutating drug called K9. He and many others discover a life altering new world which changes the way they live forever.”

We then discussed key features in short films and the sort of things all short film should include.  This included few locations and few characters, as there is usually limited budget and time. Also, a key storyline with a clear interest in its audience and where the story is going; in a short film there is no time to waste and the story must be achieved and the audience intrigued throughout. Repetition and particularly rules of three are also common in short films.

After watching these films we discussed the first assessment and each person had to write down their availably in order for the groups to be organised. We were each given a copy of the script Choices which we will be creating. We were told to read through the script, create a tagline and to mark the beats.

After the workshop.

Choices is a script which I feel would be fairly simple to create on a low budget. It uses few locations, all of which are easily accessible (a house, an office, university grounds) and a handful of characters. However there are several things I would like to change. I do not really like the ending, I think it is too cheesy and because of this, uninteresting. I would also make it clearer which choice the protagonist Dan made and make focus emphasis on the results of his decision.

The script is written with certain scenes being split across the scene, with one scene playing on the left side and another on the right. This was done to represent the two directions Dan could follow. These are acted out side by side, followed by an imagination scene of what could have been. We then see the actual ending. I found this to be a confusing and fairly boring way of showing the choices. I feel that it would be better to play out the two options in full, that way we would be able to make the most of the visual and sound effects. I think it would also be much clearer to play out one option, and then cut back to Dan contemplating this idea and dismissing it. Then I would play out the second option which is the path Dan decides to take. This would make the first option appear as thought and the second option as action. I would delete the imagination scene as it would then be unnecessary.

By doing this I think the ending would be clearer, as it will be more distinctive which choice Dan made. I would then rewrite the final scene to work around this idea. In our workshop next week I will discuss these ideas with my group, and I look forward to hearing their ideas and opinions on the script.

The log line I created for this script is;

“A lazy student discovers he has the ability to open the door to any location he desires. With great power come many opportunities.”

First Film Blog

04-10-10

Workshop.

Our first Planning & Making a Film workshop began with a discussion of recommended reading and a read through of the student handbook. Mike Johnston particularly recommended Voice and Vision by Mick Hurbis-cherrier and The Film Makers Handbook by Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus. We discussed the information in the student handbook, paying particular attention to the assessments for the year. This year will be assessed in three ways; an independent short screen play, a group short film (where we will be put into groups) and a second group short film (where we can choose our groups). Mike also informed us about how the group projects we will be marked, and explained that there is a point system which will be discussed between tutor and group to ensure everyone is marked fairly for the amount of work and effort they put in.

As well as these assessments we must write a reflective journal throughout the year. Some of the questions I will think about while writing this journal include; what are my ideas? What do I think are the key things to include in the script/production? How am I influencing the group? What am I contributing to the group? How successful am I in doing so? What would I change about the final product? What I think worked well in the final product and why? How well do I think we are working as a group? What ideas have I seen in other films and feel could be useful in our production?

Mike also gave us a pre-warning that we will each be attending two production weekends this year. The first will be either the 13^th and 14^th of November or the 20^th and 21^st of November, depending on which group we are in. The second production week will be the 26^th and 27^th of February or the 5^th and 6^th of March, again depending on our groups.

I will also research the following to aid my short film knowledge;

·         Futureshorts YouTube channel

·         Encounters Film Festival

·         Danny Stack (Writer’s blog)

·         British short film collections

·         Online film scripts

Mike also urged to us to watch as many short films (between 3 – 10 minutes long) as possible, in order to gain knowledge and ideas for our own production later on in the term.

After the workshop.

After the workshop I researched Futureshorts online, and discovered that they are a short film production company, YouTube channel, and that they are interested in sharing and increasing the popularity of short films. I watched several short films on the YouTube channel, and wrote the following notes on the films which stood out to me.

 The Head, 2:29 minutes.

Characters/art/composition – Matias Vigliano

Hand drawn, traditional animation. Sound effects and music; no dialogue. Comedic. There is a structured storyline (beginning, middle, end), but no sense of definite story or plot (random, wacky style). Cartoon fiction.

The Cemetary People, 3:58 minutes

A CRF Production

Text introduction. Speech, narration. Non-fiction. Serious, factual. Variety of shots and camera angles. Real people, no characters. Documentary.

Words, 3:18 minutes

Everynone

Play on words, neither fiction nor non-fiction. Music, dialogue, sound effects. Playful. No regular or repeated characters. Poetic.

Words; play, blow, break, split, run, fly, fall, light, space.

Esther’s, 6 minutes.

Amon Tobin

Structured story line. Dialogue, music, sound effects. Action. Acting, scripted characters. Fiction. Interesting plot, characters and special effects. Surprise ending; a romantic twist. Fiction. Robot/sci-fi theme.

Lucia, 4:01 minutes.

Directors: Cristóbal León, Niles Atallah and Joaquín Cociña

Structured story line. Art/animation, no physical actors. Spanish dialogue, English subtitles. Narration. Sound effects and music. Interesting story, fantastic animation and art work. One main character. Suspense. Horror/thriller style.

After watching these videos I began thinking about which films I enjoy and why. Out of these films I particularly enjoyed Words, because it was clever and imaginative, and Lucia because it was tense and unusual. Mainstream films I really enjoy include;

The Orphanage – For the suspense, horror theme, surprise ending, and interesting location (remote Spanish house).

The Wizard of Oz – For its fantasy element, imaginative set and costume design, and originality. Also for its use of colour, particularily the way in which it is used to differeniate between the real world and Dorothy's dream.

The Shining – For its original horror theme, suspense, action and high class acting (Jack Nicholson).

I particularity enjoy films that surprise me or keep me guessing. A great example of this is Sixth Sense with Bruce Willis. Throughout the film I am kept interested by the horror elements of the film and the ensuing action, but the twist at the end of the film is what, to me, makes it worth watching again and again.

I also really enjoy comedy films, particularly those based around real life situations such as The Hangover. The plot of The Hangover’ is wildly over the top and hilarious, but it is based around the idea of a group of friends going out, drinking too much and in the morning finding themselves unable to recollect all of the previous nights antics. This is something I think most people can relate to, as we have all had a bad hangover at least once in our lives. Being able to watch funny characters mimic things we do in real life, but with much funnier consequences, is something present in most of my favourite comedy films.

In the future I would like to create a horror short film and a comedy short film, as these are the genres I enjoy the most and as an audience member feel that I know the most about.