A Quick Summary

Set in the outback my scene is centred around two characters, A Killer and an out of uniform Policeman who attempts to bring The Killer a sense of justice and morality.

The two have very contrasting world views ,The Policeman believes in God and Order, whereas the murderer believes in Chaos and Uncertainty. What unfolds is a word driven conflict within the harsh, demanding environment.

A Few Notes

As an introduction to the scene. I want to start by presenting the environment, through a montage of long shots capturing the surrounds-like what you see at the start of most westerns. I intend on having 3-5 shots and within the final shot there are two men at the back of the frame, one man shoots the other, the sounds of the shot pierces through the silent beginning and the screen fades to black with the title of the film fading onto it. I then cut to the main scene.

My Goal/Aim 

When coming up with ideas I wrote something too much material that could never be condensed down into 5 minutes of film, so the focus for me will be to take just one scene and focus all of my attention onto that scene. It would be far better to make a good scene that goes for 3 minutes than to make a 10 minute film that looks horrible.

My goal when shooting this will be to make a very fluid scene without any random shot choices and cuts. I want my actors dialogue as well as my editing to really flow and be as absorbing as possible. I want my scene to be more about the substance of film making, rather than story.

My Approach

Before even beginning to shoot the final product I would like to experiment and test all the different aspects of the film especially the different areas I want to improve at. As Robin put it yesterday I need to  work on various aspects of my scene in order to make it

Demystifying the Nuts and Bolts . 

In terms of approach, I think it would be unfair on myself and on the actors too shoot something all in one day, what I would like to do is look at each important aspect of the scene and work on that before filming the final product, which will be a script based drama.

There are some key things I’ll work on before I start to properly shoot my idea,

For things such as:

Colour grading, Exposure and Setting the Scene: I could go out by myself one day and focus on my landscape shots and try and get the exposure and the framing correct, I could then take these images into the editing suites and try and either colour grade or filter effects through the footage.In order to get a nice looking, distinct but most importantly consistently coloured backdrop.

For Framing/Lighting: I could also go to where I intend to shoot my scene and focus on capturing the characters within the surrounds with some mates posing as ‘actors’ in the frame. During this fake shooting session I would also have the freedom to experiment with lighting and various other filming techniques.

Shot Selection/Coverage: I could do coverage practice, by getting helpers or friends in the frame and experimenting with how I’m going to cover that scene, without worrying about audio or the specific delivery of content. I could also edit this footage which gives me a clearer picture of the most necessary shots to take when or if I’m filming the final product.

Acting/Timing I could also do a session with the actors, without a camera and work on there pacing and kind of meticulously direct them in how to deliver each of their lines and the pauses that they give. By doing this I know that the content I will be film will be strong and rehearsed (as opposed to last time). What I found with my last filming experiment was that the actors delivered it really weakly and without rhythm, and even with editing there was nothing I could do to make the footage really flow.

Basically after chatting with Robin  yesterday I realised that I can’t really pre-conceive what to do and that in turn I should work on executing the various elements.

THE END

THE OTHER IDEA

I think for my final project I will try and film just a little bit of this-maybe even only the last scene.

Part 1

The story begins in an empty room, the prisoner is lying down, there are no beds or blankets, just the prisoner and an empty floor. In walks in a ‘hit’ man, his job is to take this prisoner to a drug cartel to probably be tortured and killed, a better name for this hit man is a middle man-he is kind of part detective/part messenger in a similar vein to Woody Harrelson in ‘No Country for Old Men’. The hit man walks in as light floods into the dark room and points his rifle at the prisoner-the prisoner is now captured.

The Hit man goes to a telephone box and calls the cartel-he is delighted to say he has caught the man and will be bringing him the long, secret way. Which is why the two travel on foot. The Hit-man hangs up the phone and walks over to the prisoner. Dressed in old, scrappy clothes the two men look out of place in modern society.

By foot they begin to travel towards the Cartel through the plains and mountains, things are tough and they don’t converse at all-the prisoner is quiet as The Hit-Man leads the way occasionally mocking him attempting to drum up conversation for his own benefit.

As the end of the days walking ends, the two camp out under the stars for the night, they have an in depth chat and bond-they talk about their futures, the past and there philosophies-it’s quite a long and intriguing character study and conversation. Following the conversation the prisoner kills the hit man. During the murder the tempo of the film slows down immensely.

Part 2

A man whose job is a policeman is on a date with a pretty girl, he is not in uniform and in a diner. It is revealed that the policeman is a vegetarian and that he likes to write and read. They both talk about themselves and flirt. He charms his date and its clear the two have a pretty good connection-she is vibrant and energetic and does a lot of the talking as well-its quite a happy, pleasant scene. The two leave the diner flirting. (This could even be in the diner could even Maccas).

The Policeman, on his own, now in uniform, finds an abandoned shed where the prisoner is hiding, he walks up nervously and kicks down the door, he scouts around the room and in the corner the prisoner crouches with his gun pointed at the cop. The cop persuades the prisoner to sit on chairs and talk things through, insisting they both aim to stay alive and that there are policeman outside ready to shoot-though sceptical the prisoner doesn’t buy it. The cop puts down his shot-gun insisting he is not going to kill the prisoner and will in fact save him. The prisoner now has his revolver pointed at the policeman, the policeman convinces him to drop it and they both have a revealing conversation, with tense rapid fire dialogue, again the two bond. Something happens in this scene to end it, probably a thematic thing, the show ends.

• Now I just need to work out an ending- it will be based off he dialogue I write within the scene.

I’m really only adding this to my blog to demonstrate that I’ve been thinking about Film 3-which I have! I therefore acknowledge that most of what I have written is not very funny, and serves as merely a document of work.

Introduction

Presenter: Good Evening welcome to Yesterdays Issue, your most current, affairs program. On our show this morning…I mean tonight we explore the Big Banana Bonanza hitting North Queensland Grocery Stores (images of Bananas) The Neighbour from Hell (a smiling, pleasant man dressed up in a devil suit) and just Why He Won’t go away (he frowns as if he has ‘heard’ the line). Before we see him the camera pans around the house) followed by Santiago Lamons budget cuts and how it will affect your pocket. But First…….. (Camera stops showing image montage, the presenter is now looking down the lens on another angle) We celebrate the works of comedy legend David Morris.

Corny 70’s music plays as potentially found footage or filtered original footage-or both comes across the screen. This is a quick introductory montage. I feel as though I should incorporate a really out of context image of George Bush or some 21^st century icon here, just for laughs.

Narrator: The 1970’s, they were the best of times, they were the worst of times, depending on who you asked. And it was this particular decade that comedian David Morris, so humbly known to many as Sir David Morris OBE, could and would call his own.

A shot of the two.

Interviewer (taking himself too seriously): Despite little critical and commercial success you made a big impact, ok maybe not a big impact, an impression on the Australian Underground Comedy Circuit

Assistant: Cut! (pauses, looks to assistant)

Interviewer: Sorry, Was I being too generous there? She Nods. You made an impression on the Australian Underground Comedy Circuit. ( a maybe? Probably leave this out. )

David Morris: I made an impression on the whole world, on the very construct of the society in which we lived.

Interview: Are you telling me that you believe the infamous cow joke performed in 1973, directed at Margaret Thatcher, has embedded itself into the cultural psyche of this great nation.

David Morris: In a word. Yes.

Interview: Very well-articulated, you’re a clever man.

David Morris: Thankyou.

Then change things around.

David Morris: You could say that my presence in the world shifted human civilization out of modernity and into post-modernity. But I’m not one for big claims

Interviewer: Always a humble man of course. (MAYBE THROUGHOUT THE STORY YOU CAN EMPHASISE HIS HUMILITY-BUT OF COURSE HE’S NOT)

Interview: Thankyou. I have played all the great venues.

“Madisons Square Garden” A picture of a young Madison in her backyard, symmetrically framed.

“Royal Alberts Hall” A balding, middle age man, wearing a crown in front of a Scout Hall.

Hollywood Bowl. Out the back of a Chinese restaurant.

I need a better/different set up to this, it can’t be too and fro dialogue.

Jokes:

1: I’ve played in all the big venues Madison’s Square Garden an image of a smiley Madison in her tiny AstroTurf Garden, Royal Alberts Hall an aging Bald Man Wearing a Crown in front of a Southall and the Hollywood Bowl (some Chinese restaurant).

2. An interviewee is drinking wine from a wine glass, she says ‘Fill Her Up’ and a two litre Just Juice Bottle enters the frame.
3. The comedians ‘worst enemy’ who, whilst wearing a Maccas Shirt, Woolworths Hat amongst other big company advertisements ends his rant against David Morris saying he should ‘Eat Fresh!’ and ‘Go Home’. During his segments adverts zip across the bottom of the screen.
4. 1970’s Grainy Image Segment. A key part of it is the joke ‘The 1970’s, They were the best of times They were the worst of times, depending on who you ask’. I want to create Pretend 70’s stock film by filtering it on premiere through a grainy filter as if it was filmed in the 70’s. Found footage could also work.
5. When I first met Jerry Seinfeld (any comedian obviously if this was filmed it would have to be fictional) and did some of my material he told me I would be best off as a straight man. I said around him Unlikely! A talking head of Jerry (the fictional comedian) appears and he says ‘I should have known’ dryly.
6. This is where we filmed my first show ‘The Quirks of David Morris’ of course when filmed some 30 years ago, this here was all farmland. He stands in front of Flinders Street station.
7. They are walking in a vacant car lot. This is where I shot my first Hollywood Film. The reporter says in a concerned fashion. In Coburg west?
8. Maybe I could do a segment on his influences and have really bad comedians sighting him as a major influence, maybe I could get films of them bombing on stage.
9. Don’t forget the died at the end joke, and break the charade of a T.V show by filming the presenters adviser telling the presenters about the comedians sudden death. At the end of the show Yesterdays Issue pays tribute to him by playing the whole segment again, however I will only show the first 5 seconds and then fade into a super cheesy fare out with his Birth and Death dates next to his image.
10. Have fun with the ACA ‘Next Week’ Gags
11. There was an idea of him getting stabbed when he talks to them about his old film set in Coburg East-an unplanned crazy person wants to kill him and the crew, it is filmed as if the crew are all in trouble.
12. When doing his Bio I could talk about drug use and messed up affairs
13. David Morris takes his Veganism very seriously having not eaten meat since last Tuesday

Have beach surf music in my 1970’s segment.

Don’t forget the cuttlefish joke Of His son telling the camera directly that he saves money on Toothpaste by ‘Sharpening’ his teeth with cuttle fish, he smiles as the camera zooms in and some of this teeth are black.

14. Loved by some and known by So many this truly is a tragedy.
15. When asked for his old jokes he states he only ‘performs new material’

At the age of 97 our comedian has died of the plague loved by some and known by so many this is a significant loss for Australia comedy, Police have assured us here at a curent affair no fowl play occurred.

After the in class attempt at filming a short drama between two brothers I wrote something else to shoot. The night (after I wrote it) I saw a scene from ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ which seemed simple and looked really nice, so I (shot for shot) tried to replicate it-In the end I included a few different shots so this didn’t end up really happening.

At the bottom script I have evidence of this correlation before shooting.

The Retirement

The two characters are walking through a park; I have a tracking medium shot. The manager is a couple of steps behind the player, trying to keep up.

Manager: $200,000 for one game, all you have to do is walk out on the pitch and hit around a piece of leather – you’re good at it.

Player: No

Manager: Really? (surprised/annoyed)

Player: I’m not playing the game (flippantly)

Manager: Did I mention the $200,000 bit? (hopefully, inquisitively)

Player: Yeah you mentioned it and then I said no (calmly)

Manager: Do I have to go through this ritual every time I ask you to play a game. $200,000 is on the table. How could you refuse that? (warmly, melodically)

Player: I’ve got enough money, I don’t need any more. (Bitterly)And I’d rather not earn $200,000 than watch a bunch of younger, fitter players be better than me.

Manager: You’ve made over 4000 test runs, no one out there is going to better to you.

(silence occurs, player looks grumpy)

Manager: Name one player out there who is going to be better than you?

Player: That Robinson kid bowls 150 kilometres an hour and swings it a mile- I don’t stand a chance

Manager: Only if you think like that

Player: He bowls at 150 kilometres an hour.

Manager: I don’t care if he sleeps in a tub of margarine, whilst crooning Betty Davis numbers to the coaches wife-you are playing the test.

The Two Sit down on a park bench.

Player (sympathetically/intimately): Frank let me be frank, My time is up, there are younger, better players out there, the game has outgrown me. It’s too quick nowadays, I just can’t keep up.

Manager (sighs sympathetically): What do I care? If you don’t want to play the test I can’t make you do it. (resigning to the fact)

Player (grinning, being charming): This is why you’re a great manager

Manager (falling for the charm): Don’t ‘This is why you’re a great manager’ me. You’re a terrible client you know that.

Player: I know.

Manager: So whats next? Aren’t you at that stage in your career when you start writing the autobiography?

Player: Give me six months and I will be.

(manager lets off a wry smile, a pause occurs)

Player: I do think this is the end though. I’ve had a good run

Manager: You’ve had a great run.

Manager: (grinning and laughing) I still remember that century you hit at The Gabba, right in the very beginning, I tell you what I couldn’t believe my eyes, I couldn’t believe I was managing a player from the Australian Cricket Team. You should’ve seen my Mum and Dad, as proud as punch they were. How many runs did you make in that game again?

Player: 183

Manager: That’s my boy

There is a shot of the two players on the bench looking out across the parklands.

THE END.

Basically, this should go for just 3 minutes.

Inside Llewyn Davis, Llewyns and Jeans scene. Scene 21 -24mins. I really liked the way the Coen Brothers shot this scene, it was quite intimate because they focused on the faces of the two central characters. I also liked the hand, held tracking shot of Jean and Llewyn walking to bench past the fountain, it feels as though, even though it is quite a simple scene to shoot, the Coen’s leave no blank space on the screen, and that every image has a purpose. I feel as though in terms of recording character interaction and narrative, shooting a scene in a similar nature to this can give me much needed practice and experience, as well as confidence after my not so great footage from class. It will also mean I will have to set up the camera all by myself and get all the technicalities right on the camera as well as correct compositions.

Positives:

When I was editing the conversation on the bench I thought a positive was the way I cut between the two character, even when only one character was speaking-it made it feel more natural.

Negatives:

I think shot selection was good considering the weak, discontinuous footage I ended up taking, the thing that I quickly realised is that a second is a long time and if the conversation missed a couple of beats it really stands out (which it did).

I realised that editing is like doing a riddle, if I moved or got rid of one shot, if would effect the following shot as well as many others, there are never ending possibilities. One scene out of place can effect every other inclusion on the “table”.

My sound was terrible, in order to get continuity I had to turn the gain up on the first shot, just so it matched he other ones.

Questions

I don’t know how to lower/rise the volume of each audio track.

Editing Colour? Colour grading? I think that’s what it was called-I haven’t done any of this yet, so its something for me to look at, and work towards.

– I wanted to do sick as credits, but I don’t know how too. Something to work towards.

Answers

-I worked out the best way to export (after really struggling earlier this semester). The best thing to do is, where it says Format make that H264 and in Preset 1080p HD 29.9

-The importance of recording atmosphere. There were too many times I had holes in my audio track, but I had nothing to fill them with.

First I will start looking at the mistakes.

– What I didn’t do was have a clapper or shout out the take of each scene before shooting it, so it was quite a challenge to sync with audio coming from the zoom microphone and the footage, especially when I took simular if not identical takes of the same shot numerous times.

– I would have had a boom pole for my microphone. On the medium close-ups audio was fine but when I was shooting longer shots, the microphone was just as far away from the actors as the cameras microphone is/was, which pretty much rendered it useless.

-In the final product there is the scene where the characters are talking on a bench. I felt as though this scene as covered very poorly. I only shots of each actor delivering there lines, to the other actor (out of shot) replying out of character. This meant the conversation between the two was doomed from the start, the conversation never flowed, it definitely looked like two actors practicing lines to a guy standing slightly to the left/right of the camera, as a consequence the scene looked jerky, which not even my editing skills could truly fix. If I was to shoot this again, I would have had one tight shot of the two actors on the bench, with the two actors delivering the scene together, fully in character, both clearly in shot. Then to be safe I would repeat the shots I did end up doing, but I would have the actors delivering lines to each other in character, with the actor out of shot performing like he was in the shot-by doing this I get a more naturalistic scene, truer scene.

Doing that hand held track shot that made up the first minute of the film, I should have held the camera on my shoulder in order to stabilise it, instead of holding it in a way that made it ‘dangle’ in the air. I thought some of the movements were a bit jerky.

There was too much background noise on the audio tracks.

Positives

I felt as though the framing was quite good, in the tracking shot I kind of lost it in places, but it was mostly pretty ok. I potentially could have made it a bit tighter.

I thought the darker exposure complemented the setting-if you were to take images from my film they would look quite picturesque, the greens and the browns looked really nice.