I have never willingly by choice watched a film that was made in the 60’s, not for any specific reason but I guess I never appreciated films in that sense before starting this course. However when thinking of a scene to deconstruct, I thought of a movie that I was pretty much forced to watch in a film class but it definitely left an impression on me, Alfred Hitchcock’s movie ‘Psycho’. Like I said, I never really appreciated filmmaking till recently therefore I decided to deconstruct a scene from a movie I did not pay much attention to and see what hints, film techniques I can pick up on.

 

First and foremost, at the time this movie was being filmed, black and white films were almost halfway out the door so it seemed like Alfred was willing to take the risk and shoot the entire film in black and white . Based on my research his intention for doing this was because it was said to be his goriest film yet in terms of the famous bloody shower murder scene and that it might be too much for the audience. That will be the scene I will be deconstructing in this reflection. In my opinion I feel that the black and white effect sets the tone of the film and to the mystery and curiosity of the film aside from the acting which created this slow, ‘what is about to happen’ feel. The b&w was very harsh and abrasive on the eye, so it gives the audience that uncomfortable feeling, waiting for something to happen.

 

In this shower scene where the main character Marion (played by Janet Leigh) is murdered, I will be deconstructing it in terms of 3 aspect, sound and camera angle. Firstly is sound, at the start of the scene as the character is getting into the shower there is no background music of some sort, it is quiet with some non-diegetic sound that eventually builds up to a slow pace music that you can sense the tension building up. As she turns on the shower, the music stops and all you can hear is the sound of the shower. After a couple of shots of her taking a shower, an intense fast paced high pitched typical thriller genre music is played scaring the audience with the piercing noise which goes on throughout the stabbing on top of the screaming of the character. The music eventually dies down slowly as well as the screaming to signify the state of the character. The scene ends with just the sound of the shower still running leaving that suspense for the audience, questioning who, where, why and what happens now that the main character has been cut off. Fun fact the stabbing sound effect was actually created by plunging a knife into a melon.

 

Moreover, moving onto the camera angles. Judging by the angles that this scene was shot from, the scene was most probably filmed in a set built specifically for this scene. It was clear in several shots as the character was taking a shower, for example, there is a mid shot of the character with the camera positioned below the shower head and water flowing over the camera onto the middle of the frame where the character is. This shot shows that the cameraman must have been positioned in the wall or from that perspective, this is seen in the shot when the killer appears from behind the curtain. The camera is positioned in front of the character with the killer slowly fading in whilst he walks closer in the background, the equipment could not have fit in the shower to get that angle so they definitely placed the camera equipment in replace of a fourth wall. It zooms in to the shadow of the killer as he get’s closer to emphasize the focus of this scene to the audience. When the killer pulls the curtain open, he is seen as a silhouette with a knife in his hand to show he is about to kill her. As she screams the camera shows a close up of her mouth to emphasize that she is reaction. Following the stabbing every attempt the killer takes to stab her, the camera rapidly shifts back and forth between the killer and her reaction going up to almost 77 different angles throughout the whole scene. The editing really played a part in setting the pace, as during the murdering shots the cuts were really fast and post murder it slowed down.

Below are some shots mentioned in this deconstruction.

The camera positioned below the shower head.

The camera position on place of the wall with the silhouette of the killer fading in from behind.

The silhouette shot of the killer, achieved using the fluorescent light behind.

1. ORIGINAL TEST SHOT

This was one of the test shots taken for our final project located in Macedon.

 

2.  I tried enhancing the shot by increasing the saturation and lowering the temperature just to bring out the colors of the sky and the trees a bit more. This is because in the original shot the colours looked more dull and low in contrast therefore I wanted to try and enhance those colours. However I think I may have over done it a little as it is becoming more clear as I am writing this that the colours look somewhat fake. I would maybe tone is down a little to ensure the colours look more natural.

 

3. My vision for this edit was a more winter, cold feel as the first two was more of warm colours. It was quite a struggle to bring that idea to live as I wanted to keep some colour in it by not lowering the vibrance or saturation too much. However by decreasing the temperature it did exactly that. I experimented with the highlight and exposure to attempt that white snow landscape look. Overall I think it is not all that great but

 

 

4. This would be my favorite edit for this series. I added a fade filter as the base to give the shot a more gloomy emo look and adjusting the saturation and temperature making sure it suits the look really helped set the tone to the shot. This shot incorporates a lot of nature and when I associate moody with nature, I think gloomy, low exposure but still having a pop of color in it and not necessarily making it black and white which is what I tried to do with this shot.

1. This is a mid shot of me was taken by a classmate for the pull focus exercise. There is not much depth in the shot and I feel like maybe the exposure or white balance could be increased by a little to make the shot more lively which unless she was going for a more moody vibe then it works. That is particularly why I wanted to experiment colour grading on this shot.

 

2. My first attempt at enhancing the colours in this shot by increasing the exposure and highlight. However looking at it now, I may have over done it as the bottom half of the background is blinding in a sense that it does not look natural. You can see it on the two coloured seats on each side of me, the edges are sharp between the white and the colour making it look a little photoshopped in my opinion. Maybe next time I would tone it down with the highlight and whites.

 

     3.  Often seen in french films such as the movie ‘Amelie’, this bronze tone I was experimenting with gives the viewers a sense of warmth, comfort and romance. Warming the mids and highs is what we react to, although I’ve always thought bluer tinted shadows might be best that can break the mood (more for action movies i guess). I worked on increasing the temperature to the warmer side, and exploring the colour wheels, adjusting the mid tones, shadows and highlights.

 

inspired by :

4. For my last exploration for this shot, I was inspired by the photo above which was a scene from The Matrix of Keanu Reeves character ‘Neo’ escaping from work. While watching the scene it felt very suspenseful and intense which I feel the tinge of green really brought out. I played around with the colour wheel, testing out the midtones, shadows and highlights using different shades of greens and exposures. Out of all 3 I favor this the most, the lighting, the mood the vibe all comes together and just works.

1. Reshoot script (4b)

• In the same groups as the previous week, our task this week was to reshoot the same script but this time we had to switch producorial and technical roles. As I was the first AD in the last exercise I decided to take on the role as the camera operator. Whilst writing this reflection, I realised that I should have worked on the audio or maybe take on the acting. This is because, being behind the camera or just directing the actors and crew are more in my comfort zone, for some reason I have this fear of working on sound/audio as well as on camera. However it would have been a better idea to step out of my comfort zone and be able to reflect on this exercise in more depth and in a different perspective.

• It is quite obvious the location we filmed at is not exact to the script which was based in a bar but with time and location constraints, I feel like the location we chose worked really well in terms of lighting. Besides it being a little too bright with that that blinding white patch of light on the left hand side of the frame, I feel like the white balance and exposure was adjusted to the right amount. However I felt like the communication within the group was very weak. As a group a few of us had some good ideas to contribute to the film but were not taken into consideration. The director was not quite sure of her vision or the direction of the shots which resulted in only getting a few shots of the same thing in the same angle which was a mid shot from the front of both actors sitting on the steps.
• I would have personally like to practice and challenge my editing skills by incorporating different angles and more shots to have explored with such as an individual close up or mid shot of each actor during their respective lines. Shooting from the other person’s perspective would have been good to try as well. We did not have much time but it will definitely try to be more efficient as a group and have a clearer direction of our shots.
• ( could not find file in drive for this exercise, all based on what I remember)

 

2) Focus pull exercise

• I personally found this exercise a lot of fun to experiment with as I have never practised focus pulls before even though I feel like i could have done so much better in terms of angles, pull outs and just framing my shot. Was not in the right mind set that day and reflecting on my shot is quite disappointing. Instead of zooming in to focus I should have pulled the focus out (duh!!). The lighting and location however I feel worked nicely with a little colour grading could really set the mood and enhance the shot. We worked in our respective final project groups for this exercise.The technique of manipulating the focus really added depth of field to the shots and it was really cool to see how it was presented in different ways through each member’s ideas.
• I am determined to experiment and explore this technique further in my test shots as well as future projects. Possibly having 2 characters in the shot starting with a close up of the person further back and then zooming out whilst switching the focus to the person closer to the camera (if that made sense) It would be good to explore this technique with dialog to really set where the attention should be shined on.

 

1. ORIGINAL

This is the original still clip taken from the pull focus exercise in week 7a. I feel like the lighting and framing of this shot works well together and Jeyda’s expression really brought character/mood to the shot. In every edit, I tried presenting and expressing how I felt every time I re watched this shot.

 

2. COLOUR CORRECTION

For this edit, I just attempted to enhance the shot a little by bringing up the exposure but trying not to over do it , increasing the contrast to bring out different colors in the shot. For example the contrast between her striking maroon head coverings, black and grey clothing and neutral background colour worked well in my opinion. This was just a trial to brighten up the shot and make her face glow more especially with her engaging facial expression in the shot to really capture the audience attention .

 

3. DREAMY/ FLASHBACK

I attempted going for a more dream like flashback scene in this edit because to me it suits well with her action in this shot. The whole ‘looking back at the camera’ feel went hand in hand with the blurred background with a soft pink tint to just bring that focus onto the character. I explored the pen tool of blurring the background out, played around with the tinting to create that soft mood with lowering the highlight so there won’t be any sharp edges in the frame. When I re watched this I thought of a dream, most of the time dreams are blur but you will remember a small aspect of it which was what inspired this shot. Inspired by the photo below.

 

3. FRENCH MOVIE INSPIRED

I tried again going in with the bronze, warm romantic look and I feel like it works so much better with this shot. Her facial expression really engages the audience and the warm bronze tone really compliments it. The exposure and white balance was not that much of a struggle as the lighting at this location was originally good to begin with just increased it by 2 points maybe.

 

WEEK 8 PRESENTATION REFLECTION

In Memory of Anyone Unknown To Me

By Elizabeth Jennings

At this particular time I have no one

Particular person to grieve for, though there must

Be many, many unknown ones going to dust

Slowly, not remembered for what they have done

Or left undone. For these, then, I will grieve

Being impartial, unable to deceive.

How they lived, or died, is quite unknown,

And, by that fact gives my grief purity,

An important person quite apart from me

Or one obscure who drifted down alone.

Both or all I remember, have a place.

For these I never encountered face to face.

Sentiment will creep in. I cast it out

Wishing to give these classical repose,

No epitaph, no poppy and no rose

From me, and certainly no wish to learn about

The way they lived or died. In earth or fire

They are gone. Simply because they were human, I admire.

 

Description 

For our final project we are going for an experimental short film that explores the techniques and skills learnt throughout the semester using the poem above as an inspiration. From the lighting, different range of angles and shots, sound (atmos) and colour grading.

Inspiration

• kiarostami
• sweeping landscapes
• colour palletes

Experimental Ideas

• mediative moody shots
• using a poem to set the tone and guide/inspire our shot ideas
• shooting in both indoor and outdoor  ( to experiment lighting and colour)
• 3 locations
• different angles
• camera movement (tracking/panning/still)
• pull focus technique exploring shadow depth of field
• surreal/dense soundscape
• 1 or 2 characters on screen (showing absence/loneliness – ref to the poem)
• possibly adding text on screen to set deep tone

 

Over the next few weeks of filming and editing, I am excited to experiment on all these techniques and concepts and seeing them come to live.

ACTION

• Walking in hallway
• Putting earphones on
• Flipping through a book
• Writing
• Throwing an object
• Getting out/in of a car
• Turning on the engine
• Driving
• Walking in woods
• Hugging someone
• Passing an object
• Tying hair up
• Cooking (specific actions : stirring, cutting, flipping, adding ingredients etc)
• Baking  (sprinkling flour, opening and putting in oven, prepping ingredients)
• Walking down stairs
• Tucking someone into bed
• Arranging things
• Group of people discussing
• Putting something in the trunk of a car
• Looking for something
• Swimming

 

LOCATION

• Pier
• Black Spur forest
• Old diner with 70’s interior
• Hallway
• High Rise Balcony
• Hills
• Lake Mountain
• Dandenong Ranges
• Highway
• Chinatown
• Under a tree at a park
• Stairway
• Great ocean road

 

PEOPLE

• Family
• Band
• Photographer/Videographer
• Children
• Students
• Tourist
• Backpacker
• Chef

 

Thoughts throughout this process;

• Filming to edit
• The way the shots are constructed
• The lighting I would imagine it in

INSPO IMAGES.