The studio experience

This studio as has been really beneficial and exciting for me to partake in. Coming from the professional communication course, I found this studio gave me the best foundations for film production. Each week we learnt how to master a new piece of equipment and then how to use it to create well-developed and constructed films. It was interesting to focus on specific elements of production such as foley or shot construct rather than rushing to learn everything. The set-up of having smaller productions allowed us to test, trial and perfect specific elements of film in order to be the best prepared for our final projects. This method allowed me to focus and reflect on each aspect before moving forward and creating more work. Overall, I’ve developed a much stronger appreciated for shot construction, now knowing the processes behind it and the qualities that make a beautiful frame. This studio has given me the media production foundations I need in order to be confident with my future projects.

Pre-production

As the producer, I knew that to have a successful production, our pre-production would be vital. Personally, I think I managed both the group and documentation as well as possible. With a group of six, I found it difficult to ensure that everyone was on the same page and present for important discussion involving our scene. I think that I was able to keep both people and documentation organised, resulting in a smooth shoot.

When it came to choosing a location, we found it very difficult. We struggled to find a bathroom large enough in size to fit all our cast, crew and equipment. Once we found a potential location, we had to evaluate it in terms of set up with mirrors and basins. As we were already restricted in set size, we didn’t want to be restricted by furniture as well. We ended up mocking up the bathroom layout in order to try and test camera set ups as well as arriving early to location in order to rehearse the set ups. I think we managed this complication really well, given the project timeline. Although for future projects, I believe it would be beneficial to see the location before shooting, reducing the possibility of set complications.

Overall, I think our pre-production was successful, considering the circumstances. With our location difficulties, we knew that on set, we would have to work on the fly, but, for future projects, as a producer, I would want to have locations scouted quicker, in order to ensure the shot construction is possible for the scene.

Production experience

When it came to the production weekend, we were aiming to complete the shoot in a number of hours. I felt like this was a lot of pressure on us to make sure we got as much as possible right. We arrived with three hours to ensure we were set up and confident in the space before actors were arriving. This gave us time to test and trial all the lighting and camera work before shooting. During the shoot, we had some complications when shooting in the bathroom. Due to the bathroom size and equipment needed in the space, there was very limited room to move around. This required some of us to double up roles as we could not all fit in the space. For example, our director had to also manage sound as during one set up we could only fit two crew members in the space.

Similarly, we got caught up shooting in such a small space, that we forget to shoot some extra external shots and ending frames. At the time, we felt we had enough to create a well-structured scene, yet once we reviewed the footage we found that opening and closing the scene may be difficult. On set, we felt it more appropriate to complete the dialogue set ups than shoot establishing shots, which was a good choice as we ran out of time, but we should have worked out a way to capture some ending shots even if they were only with stand ins. Overall, we had a really fun time shooting together. Even though we got caught up in the shooting process, I think we overcame many challenges and worked together cohesively.

Post production

Personally, I felt this is where we had the most issues. It became very difficult to all keep in contact, and come to agreements on what should make the final edit. We began by each creating our own edit. With my personal edit, I attempted to quicken the pace of the dialogue. I tried including more cuts between shots in order to enhance the chaotic nature of the scene. I found it difficult to cut on action and dialogue, as each take was slightly different. It bothered me that two different shots were not a perfect match because the set markings were slightly different. To combat this, I overlayed shots of other character reactions. I think this created a smoother flow between shots yet it resulted in a confusing shot order. While I like my edit, our final cut had a better flow of dialogue and showed a much more logical shot construction.

My first edit

Once we had decided the final version, we felt that it needed more space and depth between shots. The scene consisted of only dialogue and we felt that it needed a clearer beginning and end of the scene. This was a fault of ours in the production and pre-production phase as we should have accounted for shooting some external frames to end on. We ended up have one group member shoot some external shots to make our edit more well-rounded. While a great last minute save, this could have been avoided if we had thought ahead in the pre-production phase.

Aside from this, I personally had the most fun experimenting with sound, colour and special effects to create the drugged-up atmosphere of the scene. We decided on the “Echo effect” which I really loved and paired with the ringing sound effect was a cleaver editing choice. Our colour grades really changed the whole scene. We found that lighter and brighter colour grades gave the scene a more wholesome feel, which was contradictory to the dialogue. We also experimented with shadows in the scene and decided a darker colour would best suit. Our final choice was purple because it best complemented the actors and their costumes. Overall, I’m very happy with our edit. I think given more time we could have experimented more, especially with sounds, yet considering our earlier complications, I think this edit version shows the best of our scene and skills.

Collaboration

Collaboration is a key aspect of group work. Without good collaboration, group dynamics will struggle and in turn the final project will suffer.  I really enjoyed the dynamic of our group. We were able to each share ideas and collaborate effectively to produce the best outcome. After learning the technical aspects of the filmmaking throughout the semester, we were able to cast roles according to our strengths and create a piece we had all contributed to. In the beginning stages, no one person was doing more work than the others and each of us had roles that we successfully filled. As the project developed it was difficult to manage workloads and individual strengths as a group of six. We struggled with balancing the workload and completing the film in the required time. We also had some issues with communication and decision making with so many group members. To combat this, we stayed in contact as much as possible and used our roles to make big decisions, collaborating effectively. What made the experience most enjoyable was the teams willingness to step up and perform any job. Rather than having to ask to jobs to be complete, we were all more than happy to help out where we could.

Making and Reflection

Deconstruction

Idea/Concept

Colour Grading

ORIGINAL

COLOUR GRADE ONE

I’ve never used colour grading before, so for this aspect of the assignment I chose to experiment with different areas of colour for each clip. The first clip I chose experiment with saturation and attempted to neutralise the effect by altering the highlights and shadows. I increased the vibrance and saturation of the clip in order to brighten the re colour of the jumper and the yellows and reds in the background. In doing this the clip took on a red tint, so to combat it I added a blue tint to the shadows and highlights.

Vibrance 49.5

Saturation 147.4

Sharpen 30.5

ORIGINAL

COLOUR GRADE TWO

For the second clip, I chose to focus on the basic corrections. Here I increased the exposure, contrast, blacks, whites and highlights in order to brighten the whole clip. I found that this not only brightened the colours I wanted to highlight but also reduced the dull grey of the background. While I think some of these alterations are the best for the subjects and their clothes, by boosting the exposure the lights above the actors and coming from the right of the frame I personally thing are too harsh for the rest of the shot.

Exposure 1.0

Contrast 47.4

Highlights 53.7

Shadows -32.6

Whites 20.0

Blacks 5.3

ORIGINAL

COLOUR GRADE THREE

As this is my first time experimenting with colour grading, I wanted to see the impact of applying filters. I applied the FUJI ETERNA 250D Fuji 3510 (by adobe) filter to the clip and the change was instant. The filter created a film like effective and could be very useful for a more artistic or thematic piece rather than just correcting.

Exposure 0.8

Highlights 24.2

Whites 22.1

Blacks 24.2

Vibrance 53.7

Faded Film 41.1

Saturation 111.6

THE KARATE KID (2010)

The scene I have chosen to analyse is “Everything is Kung FU” from the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid. This scene is essential to the films narrative, as it is first moment in which Mr. Han is not the half-hearted teacher he appears to be and Dre is a talent student. The scene is constructed to enhance action and dialogue.

The location of this scene is an outside space, established due to the shadows cast on the ground and the sounds of leaves and birds chirping. Dre is lit with what appears to be sunlight as his skin shimmers with sweat whereas Mr. Han looks lazy sitting in the shade with a mug. The lighting choices of the scene are odd as sometimes the light is overwhelmingly harsh and unnatural, making the scene construction appear messy.

The scene opens with two over the shoulder shots to frame Dre and Mr. Han as they have a disagreement. The camera is positioned over Mr. Han’s shoulder, yet Dre’s full body is in the frame, the distance between them showing that there is tension between the characters. As dialogue continues, the shots become tighter with a dirty over the shoulder shot of Mr. Han looking right of screen and a waistline point of view shot for Dre looking left of screen upwards at his teacher. As the discussion continues, the lighting becomes uneven with Dre in the shadows and Mr. Han in the light, and while an odd choice, the scene gets away with it by previously establishing that the characters are outside.

The scene shifts in tone as the action picks up, music coming in as the two begin to train. Alongside the motivational music, heightened sounds of skin slapping are used to build the tension of the scene. As the action of the scene heightens, the camera moves with the actors almost as if part of the action. For example, in the motion of “picking up the jacket”, the camera follows Dre’s hands but rebounds back to his face as Mr. Han’s foot meets his hands painfully. The change from static to movement makes the movement feel more exciting. Although, this would have been more impactful if it was the only camera motion rather than including unnecessary shaky shots. The almost handheld shots within the tracking frames reduced the potential impact of the motion shots.

The scene shows a very effective use of camera movement, able to enhance the action and dialogue of the scene. Yet many artistic choices come across as unintentional due to weird lighting and distractingly shaky shots. I think the scene has some unique elements yet would have come across as a well-designed scene if simpler lighting and less handheld shots had been used.

SMOKING VIDEO 

Each week I have found that creating scenes has become increasingly more difficult, both in terms of production and editing. The Smoking scene was one that was challenging as its intended purpose was for us to practice the correct calls as assistant directors. As this was the focus, when coming to the edit, I found that there were a lot of errors. Which our focus divided I found we forget to keep the boom out of the shot and maintain continuity among other issues. While not an issue when shooting during the edit I chose to place the shots together in the order they were shot. I used the actions of sitting and smoking to tie the shots together although I felt that they didn’t have a construction order that was logical or visually pleasing.

With the second edit, I tried to experiment more with movement and attempted to join the clips at what I thought was logical. I was limited in that, there were only three shots and six different actors yet I tried to piece the scene together by following the actor’s movements and dialogue. For example, I chose to cut the action mid-sentence as the actress turns her head, the camera shifting to show her in frame. By opening on action and cutting in between dialogue and movement I found that the pace of this edit was quicker. Rather than statically shifting evenly between shots, I found that returning to previous frames throughout the scene was more exciting. It would be interesting to experiment with fast cuts and slow drawn out shots in future pieces to see the impact of editing on the mood of the scene.

TWO LINE SCRIPT

The two-line library shoot focused on the preproduction phase through to final editing. Being the first time we had to implement pre-production, sound, Foley, camera and editing, our ability to manage time became secondary. While we managed to record all the sound and shoot all the different shot, we were rushed to complete everything and didn’t always think things through. We shot each frame in the order of how the edit would run rather than setting up the camera and allowing the scene to play out. This meant when it came to experimenting with the edit we were more limited than if we had let the whole scene play out from multiple angles rather than one shot per action or line.

My first edit followed the scripted edit and used each shot that was filmed on the day. The edit follow a logical shot construction, opening and closing with wide shots and close up on details. I believe the pacing of my edit could have been made snapper by shaving off unnecessary silences, but generally I think each shot was well thought out in terms of the scenes action and narrative. For my second edit, I tried to remove as many shots as possible while still maintaining the core of the script. I found that this altered the pacing and who appeared to be the protagonist. By removing all the individual shots of myself, it appeared that there was a featured character, rather than two interacting. I found that this edit had a slower pace and by removing certain shots the characters came across as less emotional and the storyline felt shorter and much less interesting.

LIGHTING CLASS 

Working with lighting has been very interesting and beneficial. Lighting is an area I struggle with, being unsure of how to balance natural and artificial light to being able to light the space and subjects. I tend to rely on sunlight and reflectors as shoot lighting, but since our lighting classes have found that I like soft lighting rather than harsh light unless it is for dramatic purposes. Being in the studio space when shooting this scene, we had to rely on different types of lights to highlight both the subject and space. The result of limited lights was a subject well-lit with a key light as well as a LED light as a backlight and fill light used to illuminate both actors. Because all of the light on the subject, the background came out completely dark, which was to be expected from the studio space. It will be interesting for my team to shoot our final scene, as it is set in a bathroom with fluorescent lights, balancing both actor and space lighting will be a challenge.

Our scene from this lighting class was a simple and short over the shoulder conversation with only two different frames. My first edit was simply switching back and forth between characters as dialogue and action commenced. My second edit I chose to extent the silence on Tristan’s face as I felt with the golden glow of the light against the background created a potentially more expressive scene.

For this piece, I’d like to develop a scene that is centred around movement. I’m interested in finding different ways to capture movement and action, specifically why are character is performing that action in that specific place. I want to create a scene filled with opposition, where particular elements don’t necessarily match, but in this movie world do.

Aside from the action, I would like to incorporate interesting uses of colour, potentially through wardrobe and props, to make certain actions or moments more interesting to look at. I would like the action to navigating shot rather than dialogue and think it would be interesting to rely more on facial expressions and body language to create a narrative.

LOCATION

• Doctors office/waiting room (story element)
• Dressing room (visual)
• Shopping centre (lots of potential locations)
• Parking lot (wide shots)

ACTIONS

• Weaving between people as they walk down
• Eating food, licking crumbs off fingers
• Process of pulling out head phones, plugging in etc.

AUDIO

• Day time TV in background
• Applying makeup (brush on skin etc.)
• Zipper sounds
• Page turning

CHARACTERS

• People pleasing
• More about actions and facial expressions than dialogue
• Reoccurring actions (e.g. cracking knuckles)

VISUALS/MOTIFS

• Colour (interweaved through the scene)
• Balanced shots, symmetrical, or completely off
• Mirrors or framing within a frame

Overall, I’m not really set on a narrative idea or concept in general. I think with some more time a small narrative could come out of this, but personally I’m more interested in finding interesting actions and sounds and how to best shoot them.

Reflections 

Deconstruction

The scene I have chosen to analyse is “Harry’s Birthday” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This scene is a turning point for the films narrative, as Harry’s magical background is confirmed when Hagrid comes to pick him up to take him to Hogwarts.

This scene relies heavily on enhances sounds to build tension before Hagrid arrives. It opens with Harry drawing a birthday cake in the dust on the ground and blowing out his imaginary candles when his cousin Dudley’s watch hits midnight. The sounds of drawing in the dust, it blowing away and the watch alarm are all loud and clear among the thematic music and sounds of the thunderstorm outside.

As Hagrid arrives at the lighthouse, the camera moves in towards Harry’s face, shaking as it does, implying that the building is shaking from the force behind the door. Zooming in on Harry’s face before focusing on any other characters creates the foreboding feeling that whoever is behind the door is coming for him.

Once Hagrid enters, the dialogue between him, Harry and Dudley is covered in a number of mid shots at different angles. The camera is always shot upwards from a low angle for Hagrid to establish his giant size, while Harry and Pugsley are framed in a mid-shot. Both mid-shots frame the boys to be smaller than Hagrid, yet Pugsley’s lack of eye contact and Harry’s strong gaze establish Harry as the brave one between the two.

The camera is stationed over Harry’s left shoulder and Hagrid’s eye line follows to the right of the screen during the dialogues first shot. When it is switched back to Harry’s mid shot, his eyes follow to the right of screen upwards at the established Hagrid, the camera being stationed at what can be assumed as Hagrid’s waist. This scene construction makes sense to audiences as eye lines follow the height differences and even when Harry’s cake is brought into frame the hand motions follow the established directions.

Overall the scene focuses on each character individually with mid shots and close ups rather than wide shots establishing the space and the character’s locations. It doesn’t necessarily take away from the scene to not include a wide shot. In fact, this potentially increases audience tension to not know exactly where characters are placed.

The scene shows a very effective use of sound and framing, no shots seeming out of place in the sequence. While it would have been interesting to include a wider shot, the framing choices do not take away from the tension and magic of the scene.

Out of all the tasks we have been given so far, I personally found the first homework assignment most challenging. Being my introduction film to the semester I chose to use what I know and make a piece that showcased all my best media skills. For example, music choice is an area of filmmaking I am most passionate about. I tend to base my editing timing around the beat of the music and rely on the song choice to reflect the mood of the piece. I also like using fun editing techniques, which I relied heavily on for this piece rather than creating well framed shots.

With the “Making Coffee” video, I ended up with almost a minute of footage. For this video, I edited up shooting a lot for only a short video timeframe, therefore I didn’t really think about what shots I was shooting, how they were framed and if it was really worth pressing record. I ended up just shooting whatever I felt like and this resulted in having a messy edit. Some of the shots didn’t align as nicely as I would have hoped and there was a lack of consistency within the short narrative. For example, it was pointed out in class that the angle of the handle when grabbing it from the cupboard and pulling it from the machine did not match. While not noticeable in one viewing, it is a small detail that could have very easily been fixed with preproduction planning. The general class comments spoke about the importance of music and while I thought my music was an effective choice I wish I’d considered some of the raw audio of the coffee machine or pouring the milk to build a more layered soundscape. I think for future projects I will need to take more care in the preproduction in order to make sure I don’t rely on editing and music to fixed my shot construction errors.

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The Lenny class exercise was an interesting experience. When shooting the scene, we chose to have each shot directed by a different individual. While this gave us each a change to play director and actor, it made it difficult to create a clear construction of shots. We had each read the script and had different visions for how we wanted to portray the scenario. This meant during the shoot we spent a lot of time working together figuring out how to combine all our desired shots while still following a traditional dialogue scene structure.

I think the most interesting part of this exercise was the sound and Foley tasks. I didn’t realise how much of sound in films is externally recorded and fitted to the visual. It was really interesting to see the impact that rerecording sound effects and dialogue had on the final version of the scene. When recording the sound, I think we focused more on learning how to master the equipment than how accurate the sound was, resulting in a less than perfect sound and visual match. While some effects didn’t match the footage, I found that the video was so much more interesting with the better-quality sound. Being able to hear all the details made the film feel more polished and synchronized. I think this experience has given me a newfound respect for the sound artists who work on big projects, with the knowledge of how much time and energy must go into ensure the audio and sound effects are perfect. I think this exercise has exposed me to the artistry behind sound creation and that the films soundscape can make or break the piece.

1. What do I want from this studio?
2. Reflection
3. The Initiative Post