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[kn1fprty]

Scene Recreation

After a long discussion, we decided on the scene on the 25th of November. At the same meeting, we agreed on the roles for this production. The scene was chosen out of my and Louie’s love for Twin Peaks and because it posed a creative challenge: it looked simple enough in terms of camera work, but it had a very distinctive look to it. 

On the 27th of November, we met up again to make a prop/costume and kit lists. Probably the biggest challenge was the fact that the essential kit had already been booked out, so we had to ask for help and look for alternatives. 

On the same day, I made a visual breakdown of the scene. I decided to use GIF format for the shots, as it helped me see how the camera moved in each setup. That was one of the most rewarding things I did this semester, as it gave me an insight into how the scene was executed. 

On the 30th of November, we started building the set. We set out to do quite an ambitious task of faking a wall and wooden textures, which we accomplished with cardboard, copious amounts of tape and vinyl wrap on the walls.

On the 1st of December, we got all the kit in and started setting up and figuring out the lighting. The Liliput 300 watts lights were very bright for the space even with an ND gel, so we had to sacrifice the dimmer switch that we wanted to use for practical lights(which made them overexposed); to redeem how sharp the fill was, we used a sheet as a diffuser. 

Even though we tried our best to do as much during the pre-production period as possible, most of the issues arose during filming and editing. 

Early into choosing the date, we agreed that one of the members of our group had to leave earlier since he had work that day, and it felt fair, as he did an amazing job during pre-production: looking for costume, props and set-building. However, about 1/3 through filming, the director left as well, which wasn’t arranged previously and left only two of us on set. Thankfully, there was another person on location who agreed to help out with booming. The lack of free hands posed additional challenges and limits: for example, we couldn’t use a poly board to reflect light (as was planned before), because there was no one to hold it and a c-stand didn’t fit into the space. I also had to take over all the communication with actors and look out for continuity.

After we got the rushes, we realised that it was underexposed. That was a big learning moment since we heavily relied on the monitor, which was too bright. I asked Matthew Kondratiuk for help since he is a very talented editor. We sat down together, and he showed me around DaVinci Pro Resolve and we managed to save the footage as much as we could. This experience convinced me to finally move to this program as my main editing tool, and Matthew was extremely helpful since he took his time to explain how everything works so I could do it myself in the future. 

I sent the colour-graded footage to Leo, but when he got the edit back we realised that the sound wasn’t synced properly and some cuts were in awkward places. Since we didn't have much time to spare, I spent the night resyncing the sound and polishing the final product.

In hindsight, there are a lot of moments that could have been executed better. It was my first time actually being hands-on with a camera and my biggest takeaway was to rely more on technical numbers than on the actual image on the monitor since it’s not always true to life. There was also a setup where I completely lost the focus and that makes me think of how much attention you have to pay to playback to avoid situations like this. I also feel like lighting, in general, is still a major weakness for us because the light setup we ended up using was a major compromise and not completely true to the scene. 

I believe that the most problematic area for us at this point in our studies is the actual organisational process. I was the one to organise all the pre-production meetings, and it was extremely difficult to manage people’s different schedules and availability.  Another big realisation is how much work actually goes into making a film, as even a small oversight can result in big problems that are difficult to work around (like the underexposed footage from relying on a bright monitor).

Contribution: pre-production meetings, visual breakdown, camera, makeup, kit list, set design, taking over directing, editing. 

The production documents and the original scene can be found through this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xV016mlIpf0UGO3ddKfe2PCZcbGQ4WgY?usp=sharing

[kn1fprty]

"Cinematography: theory and practice: image-making for cinematographers and directors" by Blain Brown Language of the lens summary

Lens renders a 3D image onto a 2d plane. The particular way each lens does it impacts the framing through the distance to the object, perspective, compression and expansion of space and focus. These effects can be used in cinematic technique to convey meaning.

Normal lenses

Normal lens portrays space close to how the human eye sees it. What is considered a “normal lens” depends on the camera one is using. For digital cameras it depends on the size of the sensor: for the lens to be “normal” its focal length should be equal to the diagonal of the receptor. 

Wide lenses

Wide lenses expand space and make objects look further apart through distorting the objects in the foreground. This means that one shouldn’t favour a wide lens for portrait shots, as it distorts the proportions of the face. This can be applied creatively to convey alienation or power. Wide lenses provide great depth of field and they are used for deep focus — no object in frame is given preference. Deep focus gives an effect of presence.

Long lenses

Long lenses compress the space, which can be used to portray claustrophobia or intense movement. More practical application is to make stunts look more dangerous by rendering objects to look closer than they are in reality. They are also used for portrait shots since they render the proportions of the face correctly.

Since long lenses can’t provide great depth of field, cinematographers use selective focus to isolate the subject of the shot. 

Depth of field is affected by focal length, aperture and sensor size. 

When it is not possible to split focus or the rack focus is used for dramatic effect the basic rules are: to focus on the person speaking; a person most prominent in the frame; a person who is displaying important emotion; the actor who has a lower number on the callsheet. 

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Pre-production and BTS pictures for scene recreation

A very effort-consuming experience since we spent two days building the set and trying to figure out the light and general limitations of the location.

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Visual Exercise 2

When we arrived at the location, it was surprisingly empty. We were mentally preparing ourselves for an awkward conversation with the priest of the church who had been our point of communication while making an agreement about filming on the grounds of  St Gabriel’s Church in Prestonpans. There wasn’t a single soul there though. The space was vast and as if uninhabited by people. It felt almost liminal: somewhere that should have a human presence but is unnaturally devoid of it.  

All urban sounds seemed locked away outside the fencing, still present, but distant. Cars, planes, noisy school children — their voices travelled through a thick and viscous nothingness that surrounded the church. Closer to us were birds, mostly silent and sleepy, and the endless rustling of leaves: on the asphalt, in the trees, blown by the wind across the grass. It was difficult to single out the sound of the place, I don’t think it had a voice at all.

It also didn’t possess any substantial movement. Wherever we turned, the scenery looked like a still, with some hidden twitches of grass or leaves in the wind. It looked tired.

The church itself was an abandoned ambition: once a modern and curious building, now — succumbing to time. We found out that the big cross on the wall was once white. Now it most definitely wasn’t. However, the architecture and colour choices on the exterior of the building reminded me of home: the bold greyness and strictness of it looked like something you would find in Eastern European cities, which also tend to be full of enthusiastic architectural projects that have faded in time. Objectively it appeared sad and decrepit, subjectively — the church grounds felt home-like. 

When I called the number on the church website, the man on the other side said that he didn’t know if he’d be able to pass my request to his higher-ups in time. They had a big church service planned for All Saints’ Day. I am left wondering what the church looks like when it’s busy, and if it's ever busy at all? Can it have a voice and a life?

[kn1fprty]

Short film for reading week

The short that caught my eye was "Proxy" by Sophia Banks, as it is a sci-fi story by a female director. I came into it expecting a fresh look at futuristic topics and some interesting creative decisions in the "sci-fi" element, as I assumed a short wouldn't have a massive budget. And came out mostly disappointed.

The main character is a "proxy" called Victoria -- a worker who can act as someone who their clients want to talk to in order to settle psychological issues or process grief; a "replacement" for the real-live loved one, enemy, etc. It's revealed that the job isn't a pleasant one, but sometimes dangerous and degrading. In an off-script conversation with one of the clients Victoria confesses that she does the job to "feel something", which later leads to her snapping and killing another proxy she hires.

While on the surface the plot seems quite compelling, Victoria's motivation is hard to understand. Who is she outside her work? Why does her work make her "feel something" and her life outside being a proxy doesn't? And, most importantly, why does she murder? As a guilty pleasure, I enjoy reading about true crime, and the most intriguing question is always what is it that pushes one to murder, and I didn't find it motivated in any way in "Proxy".

The visual of the film was much more appealing than the story, but not without a perceived fault. There were two incredibly beautiful shots that caught my attention on the first watch. In the first one, I love the expanse of the counter in the composition, and in the second one -- how the ripples reflect on the roof.

Some shots I found...weird and as if I couldn't find an explanation for myself as for why are they framed like this or what is the emotional connection between the angle and the content.

In this one, the space behind the chair feels very out-of-place. This entire shot just disrupts the flow of the edit.

In this one, the proxy plays a man's deceased wife and they are slow-dancing while having a conversation about what could have been. Even though the scene turns sinister in the end, this angle felt unnatural in the context, even though I understand that it could have been foreshadowing what's to come.

However, the casting and the acting were very believable despite the fact that I didn't believe in the story at all.

After watching "Proxy" I decided to have a look at the other works by Sophia Banks and gave a watch to another sci-fi short "Unregistered", and found it profoundly disappointing as well; mostly for the very naïve story, wonky dialogue and characters, who once again didn't have any reason to act the way they did.

Sophia Banks has a feature film coming out in the near future and I don't think I will be interested in watching it.

[kn1fprty]

Exercise 1

Shot framing is one of the most obvious devices of cinematic language that affects the viewer's perception of what is happening on screen and gives an additional layer to how the characters' emotions and circumstances are interpreted.

In this exercise we explored centre framing and rule of thirds framing. When the point of interest in centred is the shot it oftentimes implies harmony and calmness or highlights the importance. It can also underline the on-screen world's whimsicalness or strict order.

When framed by the rule of thirds, the shot can look more realistic and naturally attract the viewer's eye to points of interests located at the intersections of the guidelines. It can be a great tool to effectively frame multiple details that require attention. It also allows a dialogue between the character and the surrounding negative space.

I believe that for the story of this film centre framing works better for most of the shots, as the situation isn't fully realistic. It also emphasises the space being cluttered and can convey the character being overwhelmed by changes of moving.