Objects or things that you have that define you
http://youtu.be/TOoCnWP6eCY
Shows a parts of a place or places that define you
http://youtu.be/q9nfvhwqow4
Your immediate family
Constraint 04
Reply
Monthly Archives: March 2014
Constraint 03
Single take about something slow
Single take about something fast
Constraint 02
Light
Not light
Shadow
Constraint 01
Square 1
Square 2
Square 3
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Sight and hearing / w3 reading
Image and sound must not support each other, but must work each in turn through a sort of relay
If a sound is the obligatory complement of an image, give preponderance either to the sound, or the image. If equal, they damage or kill each other, as we say of colours.
I always thought the sound and image of a movie was equal, played together. Reading this surprised me as I started to watch films differently. I now realize that one cannot enjoy both at the same time, it would ruin it all together.
A beautiful picture must be supported by a more quiet background sound or we would be distracted from the scene. Same goes for the opposite, When watching a less intense scene, there must be a more distinct sound to keep the viewers focus. Take example of a horror movie with poor sound effects, the viewer will quickly get bored and disinterested, on the other hand when watching something beautiful and colourful such as a scene shot of a scenery the viewer will invest their concentration in what they can see, therefore must not be distracted by the sound.
Sight and hearing. In Bresson, R. Notes on the cinematographer, (p. 50-52). London: Quartet, 1986.
Rolling
In the tute we screened a short film called Rolling – a film made in Film-TV1 a few years ago.
After I watched the short film, Rolling, it left me with a really good feeling, they had a good script and actors give a great first impression of this film.
However there are still a few things that they can improve. The lighting of the supermarket scene was really poor and it will be better if they could bring their own lighting in. In the beginning of scene, there are notes everywhere in his house to remind him to do things which confuse people about who is the one who wrote those note (his girlfriend or his mom???), so I think that is unnecessary scene to put in and in the end the girl just come to his house and walk in, I was worried that she will see all the toilet paper, and I was waiting for his reaction and explain about it, so the end scene is a bit disappointing. I think the script is good but if they can work on it a little bit more, it will be better. The final negative thing that I find is the sound of the supermarket scene, it was not very good as it did not blend between scenes.
Overall for first time film making students, this is still a successful product.
Clown Train
In the film Clown Train the sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?
In the beginning of the short film the sound of the train brakes helps us put a location to the scenario. The background music combined with the clown talking creates an atmosphere of terror, guilt, and questionable sanity.
The speed of the clown’s speech varies from fast to slow and the music is played in rhythm driving the narrator to the brink of insanity.
Though we all might think of film as an essentially visual experience, we really don’t pay enough attention to the importance of film sound.
• the human voice
• sound effects
• music
To create the desired effects, we must mix and balance These three tracks so as to produce the necessary emphases
In this movie case the background music is really important which is used to add emotion and rhythm to a film. In addition, background music often foreshadows a change in mood. In this case the backgrounds helps enhance the fear an terror towards the talking clown.
Sound plays a really important role in all genres of movies regardless if its horror, action or comedy. For example in the case of fast and furious, the constant sound of engine rev, music and effects based on the major motion picture creates a nitro-burning joyride that makes outstanding use of sound effects, and innovative camera work.
READING 4
Ryan, Marie-Laure. Avatars of Story. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006
In this article, Marie-Laure Ryan describes what makes up a narrative. It is then summarized in a list form. The Summary explains how narrative is the textual realization of story, and that the story itself is a narrative in a virtual form. By seeing things from this perspective it pushes me to think more effectively about the relationship between the two and how narrative is different from other text types due to its power to tell stories to the mind. However, even given all of these option Ryan still raises the point the no one can ever be sure that the text is going to be read in the exact way that we wrote it, despite trying to implement and use every tool available.
WEEK 2’S READING
Sørenssen, Bjørn. “Digital Video and Alexandre Astruc’s Caméra-Stylo: The New Avant-Garde in Documentary Realized?” Studies in Documentary Film 2.1 (2008): 47–59. EBSCOhost. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.
…with the development of 16mm and television, the day is not far off when everyone will possess a projector, will go to the local bookstore and hire films written on any subject, of any form, from literary criticism and novels to mathematics, history, and general science. From that moment on, it will no longer be possible to speak of the cinema. There will be several cinemas just as today there are several literatures, for the cinema, like literature, is not so much a particular art as a language which can express any sphere of thought.
(Astruc in Graham 1968: 19)
Being very interested in technology myself, I find it almost amazing how accurate Astruc’s prediction was. It’s as if I said “In 10 years, we will have microwaves that make food appear” (although I’m no specialist in microwaves) and not just to the point where we can hire movies like books from a library, the fact that cinema has reached a point where you can find a movie about anything, it’s not just limited to holywood movies anymore.
That said, I have a very split opinion on this.
The accessibility of movies has gone far beyond having to go to a cinema or even renting a dvd at any type of store, we now have access to films many more convenient ways. We can rent our movies off the internet, watch them on our portable supercomputer (smartphone) and even through rectangular black boxes hooked up to our TV made initially to play videogames on. Personally I love it, on a wet winter day I don’t even have to go out anymore, I have access to everything at arm’s reach. The negative side of this is that I believe more and more movies are being made purely for profits with no real story just a catchy title, interesting movie trailer and a million dollar advertising campaign.
Throughout the article Bjørn Sørenssen quotes and writes about how movie making equipment is reaching a stage where anyone can make a movie, from high en smartphones to decent camera’s most of us have good quality filming equipment at reach, and the same goes for distribution. I could make a movie and post it up on internet. But I am yet to see a cinema standard movie made by someone like me and you. There are many home made movies on the web, unfortunately none of which I have thought to myself “I should watch this on a larger screen, and maybe get some popcorn”.
So what’s missing? Better Acting, Filming, Script
WEEK 1: INTERACTIVE DOCUMENTS.
“Interactive Documentary: Setting the Field.” Studies in Documentary Film 6.2 (2012): 125–139
An interactive document or I-Doc is a platform that allows information to flow between both the author of the document and the end user in an interactive way. This view of interactivity requires a physical action to take place between the user/participant and the digital artefact. It involves a human computer interface that creates a personalized document for the user to interact with creating a deeper and more memorable experience.
I-Doc’s are primarily presented with four different interactive modes, Conversational, Hypertext, Participative and Experimental.
The conversational, This type of I-doc, uses 3D worlds to create an apparently seamless interaction with the user, lends itself to the Conversational mode because it positions the user as if ‘in conversation’ with the computer. It is also often seen in video games, It gives the user the possibility to explore freely the created 3D world also called sandbox. The user is virtually thrown into a world which they can explore and interact with.
The hypertext type of I-Doc interacts with the end user in a “Click here, go There” way. This is organised though a closed database of video clips where the user can browse the suggested videos by clicking on different hyperlinks. This gives the user an exploratory role not as open as the “Conversational mode” as the end user can only chose between pre-existing options.
The participative mode is very well described in its name, It requires the user to take part in the development of the product. The user takes part in an open and evolving database giving their part though the I-Doc. As the participative mode is used during production the information gathered directly impact the end result. Users may be involved and help launch the product, translate it or even take part in the filming process.
The experiential mode combines both the virtual and physical world. These I-Doc’s are often location based feeding the end user information customised to where they are. This creates an experience that challenges the user’s senses and their enacted perception of the world.
I believe that both makers and audiences should use I-Doc’s to their full potential as it is an excellent way for the “Makers” to gather important information and for the “Audiences” to feel involved and a part of something. That said the Makers have to keep in mind that not all information gathered from these documents is exact as there are many things impacting the end users decisions depending on I-Doc Mode/Type. Commonly seen the end user may often choose a certain path not based on what they really want but on what they would like someone to choose (ie. For lunch chose to eat fast food, but if someone walked up to me and asked what should they eat I would suggest something healthier). Depending on which type of I-Doc is used, location and the end users awareness about the subject will also impact the decisions taken
As long as this is taken into consideration and the correct type of I-Doc is chosen I believe that the implementation of an interactive document is a must for many projects to reach the level of success desired.