#and that's the rework of cal's character. that was a great choice

[keyboardandquill]

Under a read-more because I'm just talking myself through some things in preparation for the long-haul Muddy Middle here. Rebloggable if you wish, though I can't fathom why you'd want to ;P

I'm going to have to do more character-establishing work. There's a lot of ground to cover between what I want to accomplish and what I'm actually writing on the page. Maybe I'll start writing additional notes in the outlines for each scene:

What tone am I going for? Is this meant to be a heavy, angsty scene, or am I trying to go for light hearted? (This one's important because I looove throwing in an angst curveball when it's really unnecessary!)

In addition to plot advancement, how am I progressing the characters' arcs? How should their interactions change after whatever they learn or whatever happens in this scene?

How do they feel about what they learn/what's happening?

I especially want to focus on the developing feelings between my MC and her love interest. While I love a good sunshine character/grumpy character relationship, I usually write/read it from the perspective of the sunshine character.

So I've also been re-thinking the POV in this story. Do I want to switch between POVs so I can get my 'fix'? Do I want to make this be from a different POV (which would require extensive reworking, so, no I don't really want that)?

Maybe I simply need to look at each of their interactions through the lens of the sunshine character, then figure out what my grump is thinking at any given moment during this interaction.

Writing some surface-level dialogue without thoughts and asides would be a good start. Watch it from an outsider's perspective entirely, then figure out where to go from there.

I also need to figure out a few other things like pacing the frequency of heart-to-heart conversations and how much to reveal in each one.

AND also, and it's kind of silly that I'm thinking of this so far into the development process, but why are they attracted to each other in the first place?

What are all the little things that build up into one big thing? Or, if I go the intended route with Hawthorne and have him fall for Beck almost immediately for Reasons, how can I support that infatuation with evidence and turn it into a solid foundation for actual love?

It's not even a romance story but I so badly want to write a satisfying buildup for them ;-; I don't want it to feel shoe-horned.

And none of that is even mentioning the other two members of the squad. I should write a few vignettes for Yarrow and Cal to get a feel for their voices as well. I know I want Yarrow to be a bubbly 12-year-old, but so far I've written her as kind of sullen. Time to fix that!

Some things I know about her so far: She latches on to people who show her kindness. She is naive about people's intentions, but not unaware that bad people exist in the world. She is afraid of what will happen if her secret (an implant in her leg) is revealed to the group—she thinks they'll shun her because she has built up a superstition due to lack of understanding, so she takes great pains to hide it. Eventually, the truth comes out in a pivotal moment, which will be the basis for all sorts of fun plot things :)

In addition to all that, I'm not even sure what's going on with Calamus. I'm figuring out his character as I go—I have a few thoughts in mind, but nothing solid yet. He'll be a fun one to create because in my head he's already very nuanced. He's full of contradictions! He contains multitudes. He's cowardly but cocky, he's self-serving but undertaking this perilous journey for the greater good, he's a follower who tries to be a leader.

In a similar way that Hawthorne is a foil for Beck, I think Cal is a foil for Hawthorne. There to contrast and highlight Hawthorne's strengths by his own weaknesses. But he has his own (very good) reasons for being on this quest himself, so under all of the negative qualities, there's a solid conviction which will lead to some interesting choices and plot-relevant stuff later on.

So I'll also need to have scenes that specifically showcase the contrast between the characters.

Maybe I could start a scene checklist of all the things I want to write in the novel, keep the list nearby while I write, and check them off as I go. That way, even if I veer off-course plot-wise, the emotional stuff I want to develop can still make its way in there. It's like solving a problem! I know the solution I want (emotional bonding!) and the plot is just how they get there.

Okay this has been a productive rant and I've given myself a lot to think about. If you happened to read this whole thing, I'm glad you stuck around! If you have opinions on anything I said, I'd love to hear it.

[ba-hons-film-blog]

Film Narrative 2 - Fiction Project Critical Reflection:

Initial Idea, Story and Script:

The initial idea came from Euan, who had the broad idea of a door-to-door salesman trying to sell something. We then expanded the idea to have it follow a desperate, morally dubious salesman, who grows increasingly desperate in his efforts to sell his products to a vulnerable old woman. We liked the dubious morality of the idea, and the inner conflict this would give the (unnamed) Salesman. We also thought the two characters, who both had clear but conflicting objectives (the Salesman needs to secure a deal to provide for his family) and the elderly woman, Mrs Beale (who simply wants some company, and isn't interested in the Salesman’s pitch) would help to give the film some good narrative thrust, as Mrs Beale casually dismisses the Salesman’s pitches, and the Salesman then has to try a new, more dubious tactic to secure his sale.

I feel my main contributions were towards coming up with various story beats and character developments for the idea, and making some dialogue revisions to Euan’s second draft of the script. This is due to my interest in storytelling, and script writing. I personally feel like I made a good deal of suggestions for the plot which made it into the final script and feel my dialogue suggestions, while somewhat hurried and not overly polished, helped to expand certain beats where I felt the script rushed past a moment that could be used to create more tension or character. Overall, I feel happy with the final draft of the script, although I feel it was left slightly late, and would have liked to have had time to submit/review a few more drafts done by either Euan, myself or another member of the group, so as to fine tune each and every aspect of the script.

Pre Production Documents:

(For all pre production documents, go to this link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/15hR7u8XKGlIGuBE3ye0p2FvMvKXCiAJS)

While I did have some ideas for the films style (suggesting ideas like the tv show White Gold) and some ideas for certain shots which I shared with the group(like the opening shot were we see the Salesman who the neighbouring door slammed in his face), I feel I was more engaged with the story and script side of the project than I was with the production side. While that is more what I am interested in, I feel in the next project, I want to get more stuck into the pre production aspects, even if just for some variety and experience. I did do the logline and script synopsis, but that wasn't too far removed from my work with regards to the story and the script.

I think the group did a great job with their production documents, creating a clear sense of the film's style and cinematography. The only issue was sometimes a lack of communication between each person meant certain documents did not 100 percent lineup with each other (like the shot list and the storyboards feature differing shots) but overall, the documents weren’t too inconsistent with each other.

Editing:

I think the picture edit went well. This was my third time using avid (I had previously used it to edit a different scene from “Lethe” and a film of my own) so my this point I had more of an understanding of how to use the software. I tried to create a slow paced edit that generally stayed on the character of Eve as much as possible, as the story is told from her point of view. I feel I could have done a better job with regards to keeping the group up to date as my edit developed and getting their feedback, but I did get some good advice about my second edit from Zoe and group 4 in one tutorial that I took into consideration when working on my third edit.

I also attempted a sound edit using a free trial of Avid Ultimate, which was a good learning experience although ultimately I didn't feel too happy with my finished product. While I managed to raise the levels of the appropriate sounds, and avoided any jarring audio rises or any unnatural silences, I don't think I chose the best background sounds (I used the corridor and general hospital sounds for the whole video, as opposed to just using them at the end. This made the scene feel a bit too busy and overwhelming, and hearing some ambient room noise and beeping sounds throughout instead likely would have been a better choice). Ultimately, I felt the scene worked better before I added these sound effects. My edit didn't manage to export in time as well. We ultimately went with Rosie’s edit, although I still hope to rework mine at a later date.

Crit Feedback:

The logline and synopsis were praised for being intriguing (with regards to the logline), effectively summing up the events of the film (with regards to the synopsis) and overall being well written and well formatted. One shortcoming (or something that group 4 was complimented for having that we didn't have) was not making reference to the movie's style and genre. Additionally, while not necessary, a document describing the key characteristics of the main characters would have been a nice addition.

The rest of the pre production documents were well received. The storyboards by Cal were well drawn and gave a clear idea what the films cinematography would look like (although could have done with some text beneath each image), the costume/prop/set documents by Rosie gave a clear idea of the films style (as did the moodboard, although we were told some comments on each of the images would have helped) and the shotlist by Robbie was well formatted, and clear and concise with regards to what each shot would feature (despite some confusion over some of the abbreviations and the fact the storyboards and the shotlist did not completely line up).

Script Feedback:

(to follow. Apparently, Euan has not received this from Paul, which I will ask about and add once we have gotten the feedback)

Edit Feedback:

Here is the feedback Kieran gave me for my edit, along with my thoughts about it and how I would go about it differently in the future:

“Good professional practice with leader.”

“Atmospheric start, but the out of focus POV shot lasts too long.” - The reason this lasts for so long is to allow the character of Abe to slowly come into focus, to show how Eve is slowly waking up. However, I could definitely start the clip a few more seconds in and maybe cut of a second at the end, or just have a few seconds of a blurry Abe without a change in focus, although that might not be as effective.

“At 01:00:31:00 the scratching of the head doesn’t communicate tension and feels awkward.” - While I initially choose this part of the clip because I thought it would be interesting to have Kane doing something other than silently brooding, thinking about it again, I would agree with this, and would solve it by choosing a different part of the clip where Kane is simply standing still and looking ahead.

“It’s a good 40 seconds before anything really happens, which is too slow.” - I would agree with this - perhaps 20 seconds of build up could have been a good balance?

“Good reveal of the space at 01:00:47:04, using him turning around.” - Previously, this shot had been criticized for being too brief and seeming a bit random compared to the closer up shots used elsewhere. Despite this, I had kept it, as I felt it properly established the geography of the room and showed all the characters in relation to each other, so it was nice to hear Kieran liked this.

“The look at 01:00:59:00 is too short, allow the look to settle for a few frames before cutting to what someone is looking at to make it less jarring.” - I would agree with this. I'm not sure why I cut this so early, maybe the actor only looked over for a second and I worked with what I had, but I imagine more likely than not this was just an oversight.

“This whole section up to 01:02:13:00 is very good, but missing a reaction from him to her asking for the bed pan.” - I think I stayed on the shot of Eve instead of cutting to Kane purely because I liked his line delivery in that shot, but I could have either looked for a shot of Kane with line delivery of a similar quality or cut to Kane reacting to Eve’s line and then cut back to Eve and had Kane’s line.

“The watch pickup ECU is a little quick, as you haven’t established the watch previous to this and it is a key object.” - I would agree with this, and feel it could be solved by either having the watch appear earlier and only having it appear briefly here, or only having it appear here and holding on it longer to make up for that.

“Generally the pace is a little slow at the start and end, and this scene can’t sustain longer than 3 minutes.” - With a runtime of 3 minutes 23 seconds, and Kieran stating the scene couldn't sustain a runtime of over 3 minutes, this was understandably deemed too long. While I was going for a slower pace as opposed to a fast one, it may have been possible to have found a middle ground between the two. With the opening, I have already said that it could be whittled down to about 20 seconds. The ending might have been a bit more difficult to cut down, as it isn't just Eve lying in bed but going across the room and doing various things, but I still think I could have cut it down a bit. This could have been done by minimising the time Eve is simply crossing the room and looking through the bag, and giving a good amount of time to the more important beats, like the watch, the photo ID and the other bed.

Overall Reflection:

I think some more communication could have been a bit better, and we would have benefitted from a few more meetings, just to update each other, make sure we were on the same page and make sure there were no major differences in our work. I personally would have liked to have spent even more time fine turning the script, and getting in a few more drafts, but I am still quite happy with the submitted work. Despite this, I think everyone did a good job at their respective jobs and turned in work of high quality, and I look forward to working on the independent project with this feedback in mind.

[anycontentposter]

Omega Speedmaster vs. Rolex Daytona

You don’t really need to have a huge interest in horology to know the names Omega Speedmaster and Rolex Daytona. In terms of recognition, the two brands and their respective flagship chronographs are at the absolute pinnacle of public awareness. The pair have been duking it out for decades now, both the watchmakers and the watches themselves, and each has built up a devoted camp of followers who will stay loyal no matter what. But as far as the battle of the chronographs is concerned, which is better? Is there, in fact, a winner out of the two?

Alike in so many ways, yet worlds apart when it comes time to pay for them, the fight may never be settled – but we’re not going to let trifling details like that stop us. Read on below for our take on the great Omega Speedmaster vs. Rolex Daytona debate. 

Do you prefer the Omega Speedmaster or the Rolex Daytona?

Omega Speedmaster vs. Rolex Daytona Legacy

Universally beloved as both watches now are, it wasn’t always this way – for one of them at least. Omega struck first with the Speedmaster, released in 1957 alongside two other models which together made up their Professional Collection; the Seamaster 300 dive watch and the antimagnetic Railmaster.

It was the Omega Speedmaster that first moved the tachymeter scale onto the bezel rather than running it around the dial, freeing up significant space and lending the sort of legibility rarely seen on a chronograph up until that point. Between that, the excellent Caliber 321 movement developed together with Lemania, and the overall attractively utilitarian design, and the new kid on the block was an instant success.

However, this success story was not the same for the Daytona. It would be interesting to know how successful Rolex’s effort might have been if it had been launched first, but the fact is that when it finally hit the stands six years later in 1963, no one really cared. Rolex’s offering also had its tachymeter scale on its bezel, the sub-dial trio was the same, and it was similarly driven by a manually-wound movement. However, brand loyalty is a powerful force in most areas, and in horology especially, and there were not enough differences from the Omega Speedmaster to entice anyone away from buying the Speedy. 

Things only got darker for Rolex in 1965 when the Omega Speedmaster won the greatest image boost that was possible for a tool watch, and was named as the official flight-qualified timepiece of NASA. By the end of the decade, the Speedy had experienced the surface of the moon on Aldrin’s wrist and that was that – nothing was going to out-legend the Speedmaster.

When the Rolex Daytona was first released it was not as popular as the Omega Speedmaster.

Recent Years

However, things change. The 1980s were good to Rolex, and the Daytona especially. The second iteration of the watch arrived in 1988, powered by an all-new automatic movement – a heavily reworked version of the El Primero by Zenith. Practically overnight, the Daytona’s fortunes were transformed, the added convenience and freshened up styling making Rolex’s racer the must-have model of the decade. 

Then, at some point, a photograph surfaced of famous actor and race car driver Paul Newman wearing his first-generation Daytona with its unusual exotic dial and the horology world lost its collective mind. All of a sudden, even the fantastically unpopular first series Daytona watches were changing hands for immense sums; however, it was collectors who were buying them rather than drivers that were purchasing them to use at the race track. 

And the Speedmaster? The quartz crisis hit Omega hard, and the brand struggled to keep their heads above water by releasing countless variations on their chronograph, with battery-powered models alongside both manual and automatic winding examples. Rather than appealing to all-comers, it diluted the essential spirit of the watch and saw them lose ground to Rolex.

The Omega Speedmaster is flight-qualified by NASA.

The Chronograph Wars Now

So where do we stand right now? 

The third wave of the Daytona watches arrived in 2000, with its first in-house movement, the Cal. 4130. Of all Rolex’s sports watches, it has the widest variety of styles, forged in all three shades of gold, stainless steel, and even platinum. However, it is the steel pieces which have become some of the most sought after watches in existence with waitlists for current-production models reaching several years in length. 

As for the Speedmaster, it too is available in the same flavors of gold, along with stainless steel and several all-ceramic options. (On the Daytona, a patented ceramic known as Cerachrom is used only on the occasional bezel). But although Omega has tightened the collection up in recent times, the Speedmaster name is still used on more than 70 different models, taking in all manner of styles, including quartz pieces with analog/digital hybrid displays that are a world away from the original model. 

Even the Moonwatch, the series descended from the original Omega Speedmaster that really made the model’s name, can now be had with moonphase complications, double or triple registers, with or without a date function, Co-Axial or non-Co-Axial movements – all of which can get a bit confusing. And that is not even taking into account the numerous limited editions which seem to turn up almost every other day.

At Rolex, a Daytona is a Daytona. No matter what it’s made from, it is always the same underneath. It lends the range a cohesion that Omega seems to somehow lack with its Speedmaster.

The stainless steel Rolex Daytona has been sold out at dealers worldwide ever since its initial release.

Like for Like

The most legitimate comparison we can make between the two chronograph watches is likening steel for steel. That gives us the Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN versus the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch Chronograph 42mm (reference number: 311.30.42.30.01.005).

Aesthetically, both are definitely from the ‘tool watch’ category, with the Omega Speedmaster actually the sportier of the two. Almost everything is brushed steel, while the Daytona’s polished lugs and center bracelet links make it just slightly more dressy. The Omega is also more retro looking. The dial and bezel (with black the only option) have barely changed in decades, and the bezel is made from traditional aluminum, meaning that it is likely to pick up the odd scratch and fade over the years. The Daytona comes with either a black or white dial and its bezel is constructed from the company’s own Cerachrom ceramic, a material that is designed to look brand new fifty years from now, which takes away the chance of it picking up some characterful knocks along the way.

While both are forged from stainless steel, Rolex’s comes from its own foundry and is christened Oystersteel, part of the insanely tough 904L family. The Speedmaster is constructed from 316L stainless steel, still plenty strong enough in the real world, but it doesn’t hold a polish like the Daytona.

Inside is where most of the biggest differences lie. Rolex’s Caliber 4130 is their own, in-house automatic chronograph movement, recognized as one of the finest of its type – a column wheel-controlled, vertical clutch mechanism that eliminates hand slop on starts and stops and does it all with just 201 components; the lowest of just about any modern chronograph caliber.

The Caliber 1861 that drives the Omega Speedmaster is the same one NASA has been using since 1996 for their official watches. It is basically identical to the Caliber 861 which is an evolution of the Caliber 321 that was inside Buzz Aldrin’s model on the first moonwalk, save for having rhodium-plated components rather than ones finished in copper. Impressive though that is, the 1861 is not chronometer-rated like the Cal. 4130, and it is still a manually-wound movement, while the movement in the Rolex Daytona is an automatic.

The modern Omega Speedmaster is still very similar to the model that went to the moon.

And the Prices! 

Theoretically, the price for a Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN is $12,400. For the Omega Speedmaster, it is $5,350. So we already have a massive difference in cost. (Incidentally, that is not the cheapest Speedmaster, but it is the cheapest on a steel bracelet). However, that is only half the story. 

Due to an overwhelming demand for stainless steel Daytona watches and Rolex’s unflinchingly rigid policies of not ramping up production to meet the growing demand, the modern stainless steel Daytona has had a multi-year waitlist at dealers ever since it was first announced in 2016. That has left many people turning to the secondary market to purchase one, and prices have rocketed in recent years. Right now, you’d be lucky (suspiciously lucky actually) to find one for less than $20,000.

For the Omega Speedmaster, you not only stand a decent chance of getting one brand new at an authorized dealer, but you can also save yourself about 20% buying this year’s model pre-owned on the secondary market. Of course, the flip side of that is that the Rolex makes a better investment in the long run. You would be unlikely to lose money on it as you would with the Speedmaster. So, as far as the money’s concerned, it is a bit of a double-edged sword. But what about everything else? 

Well, both are absolute legends, two of the most established and widely-beloved names in the industry. They are each perfectly capable, with the Rolex maybe pipping the Omega Speedmaster in the performance stakes thanks to its superior movement. Then again, is there enough in it to justify picking one over the other just on their respective technical abilities?

Probably not, so it all comes down (as so often with luxury watches) to emotion. Which speaks to you most? The one with the literally stratospheric heritage, or the one that is the last word in earthbound glamor? The choice will always be a personal one, but one way or another, the decision will certainly ensure that you end up with an icon of horology in your collection. 

Which chronograph watch is your favorite?

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