In this clip from ‘Blood Simple’, the video portrays a standard cutting pattern from person A to person B, occasionally cutting to close ups of objects or long shots of characters entering or leaving the scene.

In terms of audio, sound is dubbed and overlayed in such a way that the implied action of a character or event, both on screen and off, has consistent audio which maintains continuity and flow in both diegetic and non diegetic aspects. For example, when person B starts hypeventilating, the audio remains consistent when the camera cuts to Person A’s reaction.

Sandra spoke abut the role of the director, during production. Thedirectors responsibility lies in recognising his or her vision for the film. On the day of production, they are largely concerned with dealing with the actors, advising them on their characters and blocking, as well as making sure they are comfortable and happy.

Another great point made by Sandra, is the importance of a Plan B. This is a plan which has the sho list planned out in order of importance to least important in terms of lighting and scene groupings for a particular character. By doing this, if there is a problem during the day of production (for example, an actor is late), production can move forward by referencing the Plan B.

The lecture covered lighting, its different elements and constructive advise on how to consider lighting. I found this incredibly interesting, as despite being very aware of its importance, I was still very vague on the general process and technique of lighting. Most interesting, although now incredibly obvious, is the amount of actual gear required, as well as other things to consider like the amount of power required. In retrospect, the material covered in the lecture, and more so the tutorial, on lighting was invaluable to my experience shooting. Having a lot of our footage overexposed and generally unsatisfying (although I am very thrilled with the result despite this) has further highlighted the amount of control required to recognise the aesthetico one is hoping to achieve.

In Rabiger’s text, “developing a crew,” 2 points which stood out to me are:
The importance of rehearsing shooting and the process pre-production. Doing this puts the whole crew on the same page in terms of the vision for the project as well as allowing pele to get to know one anger and develop a dialogue which will make production smoother and more efficient. We did this to a limited extent, in our Lenny exercise 2. However, now in post, I feel more or longer rehearsals would have given us much more insight which in turn would have helped us develop a more polished product.

Another point, which I was already aware of to a certain extent, but enjoyed reading it in a succinct format, is the large and broad amount of responsibility of the director. As the director of my project, and having the project be my initial idea, I’m very attached to the story I’m trying to tell. Lucky for me I didn’t break down in an existential crises, which I credit to the enthusiasm of my crew and actors. This reading has highlighted bad habits directors can have, for example, neglecting the crew for the actors and vice verse.

Antonioni, Blow Up
This clip from Anonioni’s film, “Blow Up” is an example of the way in which direction and cinematography come together to create an effective and consistent flow and action. The amount of pre-production involved is evident throughout the clip. The variety of shots (close ups, medium shots and two shots) edited together tie the movement, or lack of movement, of the actors to create the illusion of a sequence of events in order. There is a lot of use of panning and tracking, a camera technique which requires harmony between the movement of the actors and the camera. In saying this, tone could assume that the director and cinematographer worked together in order to achieve the desired timing of each shot.

Rolling is the most compelling and polished piece of work done by students I have seen presented in the tutorials so far. The protagonist of the film was very well cast, he had a strong sense of comedic timing and clear facial expressions and body language which gave us as an audience terrific insight into the character. There were a number of engaging shots throughout the piece. For example, the camera following the character walking down the isle, tracking backward made for a visually interesting a dynamic shot, which also contrasted well with the stillness of the shots during dialogue. There were however a number of shots that made me uncomfortable, or more importantly, made me notice that something wasn’t quite right. A good example of this is during the first exchange between the two characters. I have been previously taught that shots of people or subjects should prescribe to the rule of thirds. More specifically, if a character is in dialogue with another, the character speaking should have there eyes positioned in the top right or left hand conflict points depending on where the actor is facing. Throughout this movie there a shots of the actor positioned directly in the middle of the frame or positioned on the wrong side of the frame according to the direction they are facing. This cause me to a) notice the flaw in the cinematography and b) caused discomfort as a result of this recognition. Overall it was a fine film but a few small, easily avoidable aspects detracted from my overall experience.

In Kathryn Millard’s journal publication, Writing for the Screen: Beyond the Gospel of Story, she talks about the way in which the utilisation of a production diary can help focus and develop the themes, tones, and overall vision of a project. If you have a collection of images, sounds, music, locations, etc, in one collective diary, it is a fantastic tool with which you can both illustrate to others your intended vision for a project and to focus your own ideas so that you may avoid getting sidetracked or carried away, which could result in making a film which doesn’t reflect your original intention

In the week one reading, Writing The Short Film, Cooper and Dancyger provide an example of a short film script presented in the proper format. While I have seen scripts presented like this before, I read this under the assumption that I would right something similar this semester, or if not, in the not so distant future. As such, I was suprised by the lack of detail present in the script, for example, there was no character bio, no explanation of camera movement etc. The only thing presented aside from dialogue was the location of the scene and whether or not the dialogue was diagetic or not. This was significant for me, as I am prone to add too much information when writing a story. The stripped back minimalism of the script made me reconsider the way in which I approach script writing.

In the film Clown Train, sound is heavily used to create a sense of atmosphere and to punctuate certain events or actions within the film. Sounds like the screeching of train wheels and the hum of fluorescent light create a sense of discomfort within the film, while also establishing the location in which the events of the film take place. A deep bassy thud is also used to accent moments of realisation or the implication of fear is effectively used throughout the film, contributing to a sense of rhythm or impact within the parameters of the film. A subtle yet effective use of harsh strings and sub-tones heighten the sinister atmosphere of the plot. It is also important to note the use of silence within the film, which is effectively used to create a heightened sense of tension and suspense, adding to the drama of the overall piece. A film (or series of films) which utilises similar sounds to the same effect is the Saw franchise. The saw films rely on sound to heighten the implication of danger or fear which is omnipresent throughout all of the films. similarly, the sound designers utilise a similar technique in punctuating dialogue or events with a bass kick type sound in order to add emphasis to the events or actions. A very different film, the new Studio Ghibli animated adventure/romance, “The Wind Rises”, most of the diagetic audio is the recording of a human voice emulating the source of sound; for example. the sound of a plane propeller, locomotive engine, an earthquake. This decision provides a heightened sense of fantasy, surrealism, and childlike playfulness.