Design Practice 2: Film: Work Submission

My main ideas and intentions that I was trying to express in the project were:

Our main aim was to create an interpretation of the script ‘shift’ that was uniquely distinguishable from the other groups, through alteration of the visual style, time period and mise en scene. We set to incorporate our script into the ‘film noir’ style of filming, the main story which already had many conventions and tropes associated with film noir, such as conspiracy and crime, could easily be converted to match the style. To produce a film that audiences could instantly associate and relate with film noir (shadows, high contrast, city scenery, detectives), but at the same time not be restricted and have a unique postmodern twist. For example mixing black and white with modern scenery, old props alongside modern items and the use of electronic music creates an interesting hybrid film. The idea that it has 1920’ film noir elements but is set in 21th century Britain let’s audiences experience mixtures they usual wouldn’t. The main mood throughout the film was intended to be a fast past, thrilling and suspenseful using a lot of varied angles alongside fast cuts, rarely allowing the viewer to relax; we wanted the story to unfold gradually, keeping the audience guessing constantly. Through the use of a flashback at the beginning of the film, I was hoping to develop an interesting equilibrium, the non-linear structure was intended to hook the viewer from the start and allow them to piece together the events for themselves. I intended the tile sequence to set the genre instantly and be able to form a mysterious mood on its own, to become a part of the film and be instantly recognizable and unique to the film, like a brand. Finally I aimed to use light and shadows to create symbolic meaning, in and out of darkness for madness, half face lit for mystery, white flashes to show past and present.

The methods I use to develop my ideas were: (brainstorming, , visual research, storyboards etc)

We began by assigning each other roles within our group, determined by what we wanted to do and the level of experienced we had in the area, I was appointed the editor. Within our first group meeting after reading the script I suggested using film noir. Firstly to get my creative juices flowing I began analysing existing top rated film noir movies for editing influence, I wrote a long list of transitions, effects, shots, cuts and brightness/contrast levels that were familiar throughout the majority of clips, I later collaborated them into a brainstorm board which I used as a reference for editing. Next as I felt quite restricted to what I could actually do being an editor pre-production, I started creating mock-up videos, testing out various effects and techniques, I did this mainly to get better acquainted with the software before the real edit. Next I was assigned the task of finding suitable fonts for the title; I put together a large list of fonts that were found through searching for words relating to the mood of the film, and showed them to my group. For ideas on title animation I analysed existing films and shows from the crime/adventure genre. To develop ideas on lighting I had a practical session experimenting with different ways to create the film noir look, through researching and watching online tutorials I learnt how to create varied desired effects. Finally through viewing recorded material in-between shooting days I was able to create a list of extra shots and angles I desired, this allowed me to improve the continuity of the film while filming was taking place, I could work out which shots worked best together in on the day, before filming ended.

I took a risk by trying something new. (Explain):

I took a risk by taking on an acting role in our film; I usually stay behind the scenes. I was cast to play the part of Kyle, a rough-looking gangster who is trying to apprehend our main character Chris. As I had no prior acting experience I was vary about acting as It can be harder than you think to display emotions and believable reactions on camera, It is usually evident who has had training and who hasn’t, so I didn’t want to ruin the film. After tips from my group and practicing looking mean in the mirror, I started to make my character look believable and ultimately I am happy I took on the challenge.

Some of the unexpected problems I had to solve while working were:

The footage shot by my group when I was not present on set was all twenty second long shots and I needed more varied camera angles and shots to work with, to create a more interesting and understandable story to the audience. Some scene were taking too much time to film, we were in jeopardy of not finishing for the deadline date. Not planning out the continuity of the bag in the film properly and lastly people not contributing to their role.

The decisions and choices I made to help solve these problems were:

For my group producing the long 20 second shots, I presented them with a long list of possible shot and angle additions to incorporate into the scenes, once we had re-filmed these specific scenes with my new purposed camera shots and angles in mind, I was able to piece together the footage much more coherently and create a more desirable fast-paced effect. For the time issues, I decided to help out in both the directing and cameraman areas, I worked alongside my director and camerawomen, telling our actor how to move/what to do and managing/positioning the camera in order to get better results and speed matters up. For the continuity issues with the bag I had to re-evaluate the structure of the story, editing and adding a clip where our character removes the bag from a safe, to ensure it made sense when it reappear in later scenes. Finally I had to make the decision of taking on the role of sound as our sound woman did not contribute any of the required sounds.

The things I have learnt from this particular project were: (Specific examples should be cited.)

I’ve learnt many new techniques in premiere pro which I didn’t know before, these include title key frames, the vignette circle, the colour pass effect, layers and opacity and colour correction.
I learnt that you need to leave a longer time to edit in a production schedule, editing can’t be rushed, it’s more complicated than you think to produce a decent film that flows. I learnt that within a film crew, you need to stick to your roles and take them seriously, the more in-depth people take their role the better organised the set becomes. Finally that it all depends on team work, everyone has to express their opinions and keep up-to-date with each other’s progress, conflicting ideas will occur but you have to work towards the ‘happy middle’

Areas for improvement , If I were to do this project again I would change or do differently:

Defiantly should have planned out the use of time more effectively and been direct about what we wanted each other to do, I would have encouraged people to conduct more role-specific research and planning before filming commenced. Ideally filming could have started a week earlier, allowing more breathing room for feedback and improvements. In technical terms of the film, I would incorporate voice-overs to various clips to create a classic ‘film noir’ style narration. This would add extra substance to the film and help in establishing a more understandable story for the viewer to follow; It would also be used as a device to develop the main characters personality and emotions further.

A new project that might grow out of my experience maybe:

A black & white film noir themed music video for a local band