Test Shoot

This Sunday I gave some thought about where I wanted too shoot my final film and I chose the aqueduct trail and its surrounding paddocks, which is conveniently just 2-3 minutes drive from my house. In my practice shooting I was conscious of the sun and I located my actor (Dad) to be completely in the sun in order to get nice hard shadows. I also intend to have my film begin with a series of establishing shots so I practiced framing different points of interest within the area, so when I go for my final filming I know how I want to frame these shots and can do it quickly.

Weekend Woes

On Friday in the editing suites where I revealed to Robin I had asked only one actor, without getting a response he looked at me and said ‘Stop being so linear’ referring to my systematic approach to getting this task done. E.G Not approaching any actor until the script had been through 3-4 revisions. So on Friday Night I looked at my calendar and realised I was approaching Week 10 with just a script, no location or actors.

On Friday I called my too potential Stars, unfortunately neither answered my phone. On Saturday I left them both Facebook messages with the script attached-no reply. So on Sunday I called once more, my lead actor Jordan confirmed he wanted to do it-albeit he works five days a week and doesn’t know what days he will be working until the Sunday of the previous weeks, he said he was free Tuesday and Friday this week.

I then called my actress, well sort of, she had a busy weekend and missed my calls, I knew she went to Church on Sunday Night with a mate of mine-who is a much more reliable phone picker-upperer, so he did and because he is such a great mate he went over to her and handed her is phone, fortunately she agreed with enthusiasm to act in the project, but alas on Tuesdays and Fridays she isn’t free this week, which means I have to wait until next Sunday until I find out Jordans weekly timetable and hope for it too match Katies. Again, this put me in a huge panic and I began to think of potential backup actors in case their schedules didn’t match up that week.

I then realised that I wrote this script with those two in mind for each of the characters-I was tempted with the idea of myself portraying man 1, however I am far to precious and anxious to let anyone else handle the camera duties. Can you see my conundrum?

Then it hit me, purely to get the film made, the way I intend it to be made, I may have to film at night-a challenge no doubt, but when thinking about it, it could potentially add a lot to my work.

 

The other issue I conquered this week was of location, up there road from me there is a public, but unused, bike trail that follows along an aqueduct next to the trail is government owned paddocks. In one of these paddocks, at the top of the hill is the remnants of a house that got burned down in the 1960’s (I heard an older man lecturing his son this as they rode past). This location is desolate, overgrown (but still practical) for shooting and too be honest quite eery-its also only a 3 minute drive from my house.

I now have actors, a script and a location. Now I just need a date.

The Game Plan.

This Week I intend too upload by editing of the little short film we made in class on Thursday, aswell as the one we did a couple of weeks back about someone with ‘something in their eye’- I’ve edited these so now I just need to submit them.

I intend on having a rehearsal with my actors sometime this week as we get prepared too shoot not this Monday, but the Monday after. I need to cue up a sound man, as well as finalise my location choice. I will go to my location this week and do some test footage. When I catch up with them I would like to record there dialogue, just to get rhythm right.

 

Brydan ‘The Interview Edit’ Reflection

-What Didn’t Work Well

– The lack of shot changes, there were where a rather unconventional shot was used for a significant portion of time. I think around the 4 minute mark, the camera really looks up at my face, on maybe a 65 degree angle, though this is a good shot to use quickly and sparsely to have a whole conversation with that one shot doesn’t really work. Its type of shot that (for an interview) gives me too much of an on screen presence.

– We needed too shoot more of Mitch as the interview. When he asked me a question and I answered, I was the only on screen. If I had my time over I would have shot Mitch asking the questions and then move the camera to focus on me my answers. I would have also gotten shots of Mitch nodding or looking interested too intercut with the footage of me answering the questions.

– The framing for the shot of Mitch interviewing Ali should have been a bit tighter-it was nicely symmetrical but just that little bit too loose, the microphone also wandered into shot.

– The transition from my interview too Ali’s, I didn’t fade the colour grading of Ali’s shot so it kind of looks like the frame just gets a whole bit of blue randomly dumped on it.

 

What Did Work Well

– I think the framing of Myself and Mitch at the beginning of the interview, and the tighter shot of me at ‘1 minute 50 sec’ looked quite good, almost as if I was on Today Tonight.

– My transition fade, from the shot at 0:14-0:16 worked well. I also added a bit of blue to Mitch’s opening, which created some nice contrast between the opening and the interview.

– The drums in the background I think had nice levels, they weren’t too loud but they were loud enough.

– I thought the acting/interview was quite good, well delivered, decent content.

Idea for working with a specific actor

I think it would be cool for the actor playing Man 1 too not know he’s a murderer until the day. Because ideally I would shoot the scene in chronological order, and I think that he would play the character more to how I want to represent the character-if he saw him as just an ordinary bloke not a killer-overall I think I would get a more honest, more fitting performance.

THE TRUTH, THE ACTORS SCRIPT

Pretty much the script I have for myself has a lot of annotations and various reminders on how specific moments should be performed, and what shots to use. Due to this I have created an easier to read edition that has mostly just the actors dialogue with some, very minor but also very necessary acting cues.

All in all this is a much more accessible, convenient edition of the script.

THE TRUTH ACTORS SCRIPT

Scene 1

The opening begins with 4, 2-3 second landscape shots. In the final landscape shot, at the back of the frame one man lifts a gun up and kills the other, the image cuts to black. The next shot is of blood rolling into frame, the camera follows the blood until it reaches the foot of the killer and scans up his body. I then cut to a medium shot of him walking.

Scene 2

In a clearing, in the bush, the two characters interact. Man 1 is happy, optimistic and romantic whereas Man 2 is stoic, quiet and self-assured.

Man 1: My Grandfather always told me that in this land mercy turns to dust, forgiveness leads to repentance and happiness or was it love or life? Or something like that doesn’t exist. But I don’t think that’s the truth and whether people accept it or not this this land bears fruit.

Man 2 is off doing something, however she is listening, she’s looking at him on and off whilst performing her task.

Man 1: Do you want me to finish now or can I keep going? Because I can talk the hat off a donkey. (he is happy and charming)

Man 2: How old are you? (distracted from her task)

Man 1: I’m 19. (Sarcastically, Wryly) How old are you? (as if he doesn’t want to partake in this shallow activity)

Man 2: I’m 19.

Man 1: And you have a gun. (Stating the obvious, not concerned)

Man 2: Yep.

Man 1: And, of course, you know who I am?

Man 2: Yep.

Man 1: Ok, now we’re getting somewhere (optimistically, no pause between somewhere and the next line) Would you like me to keep talking? (smiling, once again trying to charm)

Man 2: Please keep going

Man 1: Well what would you like me to talk about?

Man 2: How this land bears fruit……..What do you see in it?

Man 1: I see…..(Closes his eyes and thinks for a few seconds). This place has the potential to exist solely in an imagination; it’s as if it’s been filtered through a dream- separated from reality.) How wonderful. (Too himself, looking down)

Man 2: It’s just a whole lot of grass and trees. (almost cutting him off)

Man 1: (assertively yet optimistically and ecstatically) Its fiction. And its beautiful.

Man 2 smirks and continues on with her activity, she then looks down and continues on. She looks to the right of her. She sees Man 1 just staring at her, smiling. She then looks down and forward left. She looks at a pretty tree and then smirks to herself, as if to say ‘yeah that is beautiful’. She then continues on with her activity, she grins as if admitting man 1 is right. A lapse in the conversation occurs.

Man 1 I think I’ve said enough. I’d like to hear something from you.

Man 2: Well what would you like to hear?

Man 1: Something truthful, something honest.)

Man 2: Would you like to know why I am here?

Man 1: Not really……I just want you to tell me the truth. (He gets closer to her)

Man 2: Ok, well, I was born in Brisbane, I now live in Melbourne. My Dad Jeremy died 5 years ago and my Mum Loraine lives by herself in our old house in Queensland.

Man 1: Is that it?

Man 2: Yep. (dismissively)

Man 1: All you’ve got? (looking more surprised, he walks to her) That’s all you’ve got? You can tell me anything in the world, and that’s all you’ve got to say? (getting animated)

Man 2: Yep.

Man 1 approaches her, he goes right up to his face, he’s quite fired up now, he’s almost crying.

Man 1: I’ve asked you to give me something honest, I’ve asked for a feeling, a memory, something from your soul. I’m offering take your pain or recognise your happiness. I couldn’t care less that you moved from Brisbane to Melbourne (gesturing to no one) I want to explore your mysteries. I want to see a memory tinged in emerald. Now take a feeling, a truth, and put it on this plate. (He picks up a plate and hits it)

Man 2, walks to the other side of the abandoned camp site, she shakes her head and thinks for a moment, or at least she appears too, Man 1 watches her do this for a little bit, waiting, he walks and sits ten metres directly from the left of her. He then walks over, to the front of the shot and does something whilst sort of half looking at her, he then walks back to where he was. As he performs these basic tasks she holds a gun continually at him, watching him, every step he takes the gun is tracking him. She drops the gun and continues to look at him, she closes her eyes.

She walks over to Man 1 and gives him the gun, she says nothing and walks back and sits where she was. She walks calmly back to her spot. Man 1 looks at the gun and doesn’t pick it up.

Man 2: Well, when I wake up I feel like I’ve woken up on a boat, or in a plane but not on solid ground. I take a step out of my bed and I feel like I’m falling, that at any time, in any moment my life could just evaporate into nothingness and I could be erased and I wouldn’t have changed the world, I would just be another person that lived and faded and no one really knew them.

Man 1: That’s exactly how I feel.

Man 2: That’s not how you feel.

Man 1: How come I haven’t been given anything, I’m not virtuous, I’m not handsome……I’m not anything.

Man 2: Trapped in a frustrated mind. (to herself really, while he says her bit, she should treat her line and this line as being a part of the same ‘monologue’)

Man 1: I’m not good at football, I can’t drive a car.

Man 2: Unable to act

A moment of silence occurs.

Man 2: Why did you kill the farmer? What did he do? (she’s angry)

Silence for a significant amount of time, until the original question has been diffused.

Man 1: Please don’t hold this against me but I don’t know how to fight loneliness as well as you.

Man 2: You’re a liar.

Man 1: Thanks for telling the truth. (earnestly)

Fade to black.

 

The Truth, Draft #4, Directors Script

THE TRUTH-THE DIRECTORS SCRIPT

Introduction: The film fades into a landscape mountain shot, designed to set the scene. Following in succession are 2-3 second long, broad landscape shots, no fading just cutting, on the fourth shot at the back of the screen, in shadows a man lifts a gun straight at the other man-a shot rings out and as soon as it does the screen cuts instantly to black, the next image is of the ground (with blood rolling into the frame), the camera moves from the blood and up the leg of our protagonist until it reaches his face, showing his eyes. The next shot is a medium shot of him walking away, I fade out of that and into the next scene. (There will be Man 1’s opening dialogue over the shots, and potential classical music).

Over this ‘No Country for Old Men-esque’ montage. When it fades to black, the gunshot rings to silence.

Actors/directors note: You first see the character on the line ‘but I don’t think that’s the truth’. Its delivered in a rambling, staggered way, except for the underlined part of the sentence which is emphasised.

Man 1: My Grandfather always told me that in this land mercy turns to dust, forgiveness leads to repentance and happiness or was it love or life? Or something like that doesn’t exist. But I don’t think that’s the truth and whether people accept it or not this this land bears fruit. Emphasis on the final 4 words. Man 2 is off doing something but listening, she’s looking at him and her task, definitely listening.

Man 1: (eye balling the camera) Do you want me to finish now or can I keep going? Because I can (laughs, trying to charm) talk the hat off a donkey. (The man lets off a wry smile). Note: The shot hasn’t changed, its still a close up of man 1.

Man 2: (distracted from her task) How old are you?

Man 1: I’m 19. (Sarcastically, Wryly) How old are you? (as if he doesn’t want to partake in this shallow activity)

Man 2: I’m 19 . (again, dryly, phlegmatically, returning back to her task)

Man 1: And you have a gun. (as if stating the obvious, not concerned)

Man 2: Yep. (dismissively)

Man 1: And, of course, you know who I am?

Man 2: Yep.

Man 1: Ok, now we’re getting somewhere (optimistically, no pause between somewhere and the next line) Would you like me to keep talking? (smiling, once again trying to charm)

Man 2: Please keep going

Man 1: Well what would you like me to talk about?

Man 2: (straight away, judgementally) How this land bears fruit……..What do you see in it? (she thinks this place is completely baron, she says this very judgementally as if Man 1 is definitely wrong)

Man 1:I see…..(man 1 closes his eyes and thinks for a few seconds). This place has the potential to exist solely in an imagination; it’s as if it’s been filtered through a dream- separated from reality.) How wonderful. (Too himself, looking down)

Man 2: It’s just a whole lot of grass and trees. (almost cutting him off)

Man 1: (assertively yet optimistically and ecstatically) Its fiction. And its beautiful.

Man 2 smirks and continues on with her activity, she then looks down and continues on. She looks to the right of her. I do the classic Fargo shot of showing the image of what her eyes see. She sees Man 1 just staring at her, smiling. She then looks down and forward left. I feel as though she should look at a pretty flower or tree or something and then kind of smirk to herself, as if to say, ‘yeah that is beautiful’ and then she continues on with her activity, she grins as if admitting man 1 is right. A few moments of nothingness occurs (she should take her time here, especially at the start of the moment).

Man 1 (breaking the silence): I think I’ve said enough (trying to strike up conversation, half shouting from the back of the frame, this is quite a long shot) I’d like to hear something from you (half shouting, enthusiastically).

Man 2: Well what would you like to hear?

Man 1: Something truthful, something honest. (not getting too worked up here)

Man 2: Would you like to know why I am here?

Man 1: Not really……I just want you to tell me the truth. (I think he should get closer to her now) (there is distance between them so all of these lines are half shouted).

Man 2: Ok, well, I was born in Brisbane, I now live in Melbourne. My Dad Jeremy died 5 years ago and my Mum Loraine lives by herself in our old house in Queensland. (she says this rushed, annoyed by the question).

Man 1: Is that it?

Man 2: Yep. (dismissively, as if trying to end the conversation)

Man 1: All you’ve got? (looking more surprised, he walks to her) That’s all you’ve got? You can tell me anything in the world, and that’s all you’ve got to say? (getting animated)

Man 2: Yep. (dismissively)

Man 1 approaches her, he goes right up to his face, he’s quite fired up now, he’s almost crying.

Man 1: I’ve asked you to give me something honest, I’ve asked for a feeling, a memory, something from your soul. I’m offering take your pain or recognise your happiness. (pause) he then kind of paces away, his back too hers. I couldn’t care less that you moved from Brisbane to Melbourne (gesturing to no one) I want to explore your mysteries (still with his back to her, he is declaring this) I want to see a memory tinged in emerald (shouting, he then walks back to her, quite close now) Now take a feeling, a truth, and put it on this plate. he picks up a plate and hits it. He gestures at the plate boldly in front of her. This is quite a tense moment, this is escalating conflict.

Man 2, walks to the other side of the abandoned camp site, she shakes her head and thinks for a moment, or at least she appears too, Man 1 watches her do this for a little bit, waiting, he walks and sits ten metres directly from the left of her. He then walks over to the campfire and lights a fire, or something as like it whilst sort of half looking at her, he walks back to where he was. As he does this she holds a gun continually at him, watching him, every step he takes the gun is tracking him. She drops the gun and continues to look at him, she closes her eyes. I like the idea of this all being one shot, of Man 2 in the bottom left of the screen, all the audience focuses on his her, we also see Man exit the shot to do whatever activity he wants to do. Maybe he could exit the shot and you just see Man 2 holding the gun tracing him, that’s kind of cool.

He then walks back into the shot and sits on the right hand side of the frame-the shot is perfectly symmetrical.

She walks over to Man 1 and gives him the gun, she says nothing and walks back and sits where she was. She walks calmly back to her spot. Man 1 looks at the gun and doesn’t pick it up. The shot still hasn’t changed.

Man 2: Well, when I wake up I feel like I’ve woken up on a boat, or in a plane but not on solid ground. I take a step out of my bed and I feel like I’m falling, that at any time, in any moment my life could just evaporate into nothingness and I could be erased and I wouldn’t have changed the world, I would just be another person that lived and faded and no one really knew them.

Man 1: That’s exactly how I feel.

Man 2: That’s not how you feel (sternly, smirking)

Pause/Cut into a much longer, deeper shot. Man 2 is at the other end of the frame, staring at nothingness as is man 1, who is small in the frame just like man 2.

Man 1: How come I haven’t been given anything, I’m not virtuous, I’m not handsome……I’m not anything. (I could try him looking directly at the camera, here he is kind of pleading) (Think about music here)

Man 2: Trapped in a frustrated mind. (to herself really, while he says her bit, she should treat her line and this line as the same ‘monologue’)

Man 1: I’m not good at football, I can’t drive a car (Angrily)

Man 2: Unable to act

A moment of silence occurs.

Man 2: Why did you kill the farmer? What did he do? (she’s angry)          

Silence for a significant amount of time, until the original question has been diffused.

Man 1: Please don’t hold this against me but I don’t know how to fight loneliness as well as you.

Man 2: You’re a liar.

Man 1: Thanks for telling the truth. (earnestly, mellowly, calmly)

Fade to black.

By Brydan Meredith

Editing Tips Cheat Sheet, My First Week of Preparation

Editing Tips Cheat Sheet

Colour Grading:

  • Create an adjustment layer so you don’t have to edit each individual clip, you effectively make a filter that is applicable for each bit of footage. This is handy because often you don’t want to edit the actual footage. This is done by clicking ‘New Item, Adjustment Layer’. This later controls my colour correction, this saves editing each clip/new shot individually. Right Click, New item, Adjustment Layer.
  • With the clip I selected I go to the effects control panel. Effect Controls-Video Effects-Colour Correction, after that I open up the 3 way colour corrector.
  • To Change the colour wash of the whole clip I’m editing click the master button. By doing this all effects that are applied are applied onto the image.
  • Saturation (which you can find under the 3 colour palette circles) when raised, gives you brighter, bolder, more prominent colours. Its preset is 100, by boosting it to say 130 you get a much more heated/glary image, by lowering it to say 80 you get a much cooler picture. I think saturating the image only slightly makes it a bit deeper, bolder and starker. Obviously you don’t want to overdo things. Feel free to experiment with saturation. You master work with the master saturation.
  • Make sure when you are operating the three different colour palettes (3 way colour corrector)-the midtone, shadow and the other one (I can’t remember at the moment) that the first one that is tweaked is the midtone one. Its also important to click the box next to the Master Button, If I don’t do this I don’t think the colour get applied to my adjustment layer. Note: Blues give you a cooler image, Whereas Orange (and its various shades) give you a much more heated, punchy image. To get the 3 way corrector on the adjustment layer, you simply Drag It on.
  • Below the 3 way colour grader are Input Level Bars. On the input level bar if I drag the triangle to the centre of the black patch my darker colours become darker, if I drag my white colours to the centre of the white patch, my light colours become lighter. The white colours generally become washed out and blown out if overused, so it’s important to be subtle. For Black, you slide the triangle from the left, in turn you get greater contrast. This is known as the ‘Master Levels’ in Premiere and it heavily effects the contrast.
  • RGB Curves. For RGB curves you can pull the individual colour channels out, such as the blue and red. For example when you drag the red one to the left corner (the extreme) the red on her jacket really shines. You drag these RGB curves onto the adjustment layer.
  • To continually compare your edited image to the original image, you can toggle the RGB on and off, or you can just click off The Master button. Alternatively you can view the source monitor to see the unchanged clip.
  • The Luma Curve controls the light which effects how bright the image is overall. It effects the light and dark of the image without effecting the overall colour values. With this you don’t want to push it to the extremes because it can become too ‘Contrasty’ and not very natural.
  • To remove effects you can either click off the effects or go into ‘effect controls’ and hit backspace. This takes away the effects completely-you can also toggle effects on and off.

Applying Transitions

  • Effects, Video Transitions, Dissolve (the most common one), and you drag your effect onto the footage. If you want it to go for a longer or shorter time you can trim it in or trim it out. By zooming in and either dragging it to the left or right of screen you can ‘play with’ how quick these transitions happen by merely trimming in and out.
  • Often when beginning or ending a short clip its could to apply the transition ‘Dip to Black’, it looks more subtle and nuanced. For big jumps cross dissolves are good to use.
  • You can right click on a certain type of transition and make it your default. The 2 common ones are cross dissolve/film dissolve. You can drag and drop it on the clip where you want it if you want the same transition over every single cut/clip or you can highlight all or click on each individual clip whilst holding shift and go to ‘Sequence’ and ‘Apply default transitions to Selection’. You get your default transition on where you selected, if you don’t want to highlight everything just click on the cuts you want whilst holding shift-and you can trim, drag and scale how you wish.
  • By double clicking it you can edit in an alternative way, you can edit the duration by clicking on the duration box and typing in the number of seconds.
  • By going to the right of the screen you can choose where the transition occurs on your clip. Do you want it to be smack bang on the cut or a little bit earlier or later? You can change/drag where you want it too start and finish.
  • If you get Zebra Stripes whilst doing this it means there are not enough frames for a smooth transition, everything appears quite still, because adobe copies the image in order to fill in the time. It duplicates the frames and everything looks very static.
  • If you want to trim your transition in the timeline but perform the action at the top of the screen, by pressing shift K and by having ‘Loop’ ticked you can get your transition constantly being played on one of the screens, hence you can always view how your dragging looks.
  • There are also options for special effects transitions and what not. A particularly experimental one is ‘Displace’-it gives you quite a strange look.
  • Iris Cross is funny-if you don’t want to delete the bad ones you can just drag things over the top of them.
  • By Dipping to Black at the end of the video looks quite smooth.

Speeding Up and Slowing Down Clips:

  • Windows, Tool, Click Stretch Rate. What this does is stretch he frames and makes them go for longer, a by-product of this is slowed down footage. You can drag it out short or longer, what it doesn’t do it cut any footage-it just changes there delivery pace.
  • Or you can Right Click, ‘Speed Duration’. 100% is base speed, 50% makes the clip go for two times longer, hence two times slower. 200% works the other way, it makes it go two times quicker.

Thoughts after practical use

  • You create adjustment layer where he clips lie, and you drag your effect onto the video to be able to engage and edit it, you also must click on effects control at the top of the screen.
  • I made my midtones more orangey for a warmer feel as well as my shadows, and I made my highlights blue.
  • I dragged my input and output levels in.
  •  Tint on Premiere if you go from ‘Map Black to’ ‘Map White to’ you completely tint and colour the image from black to white, as if you clicked the black and white thing on windows movie makers. You can even tint from green to purple

 

Random Notes, Not For Presentation.

NOTES:

– I’d like to work on consistent colour

– Work on the harder to name ideas

– Pull apart each component

– What film 3 is really about is my relationship with the film, my technique in terms of making the film needs to be the thing best for the text, not what the ‘standard Hollywood’ procedure is.

Notes:

Focus on a good/short scene.

– Do the most cinematic scene, the most visual scene, a scene that could only be shown not told. If you want to tell a story through writing you can just do that, tell as story that only film, as a unique medium, could do justice too. Try and ‘Pull if off’ on truly a cinematic level.

– Get the relationships between the two characters right.

– In other words attempting to ‘Master’, or at least improve on, some filming techniques.

Timing (acting and shot selection in order to produce fluidity), Pacing, Coverage, The Acting and also Colour Grading the images that I get. Things such as

Answering questions such as: Should I shoot it all in one long take with both actors in the frame or should I intercut between whose talking? Coverage is something I really need to work on.

 

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