Directions Unit Research Part 1: My Director - Contextual Analysis

The director I have chosen for this unit is John Fawcett. The reason I picked him is because I love his work on Orphan Black and it made me want to do more research into him and also see why what he does is so great to watch.

He is still a young director so his catalogue of films and shows he has directed in not that extensive but he has managed to show in a short space of time what an incredible director he is. After a series of short films he got into TV in 1996 and that was with sci-fi comedy which was recieved well by critics and was a success.

Joh  Fawcett's best received work has generally been in the Drama/Horror genre and he was known for directing "Ginger Snaps" "The Dark (2005)" and "The Boys Club". Whilst at the time of writing I have not watched these films I have read into them and they are interesting because 2/3 are with women lead actors. I like this as it shows John does not feel he has to stay with the standard stereotypes and possibly the safer option of having a male lead, he went for something different which seems to benefit his work.

His big break however was on Orphan Black, a show made by BBC America. I personally had watched this show for years of a friends recommendation and I have loved it ever since.
Once again it has a female lead actor in Tatiana Maslany. Whilst I know he has not directed all of Orphan Black episodes, John has made the most out of any single director so I feel the series bares his style more that most others. He does an incredible job of building and squashing suspense meaning you are never sure what's going to happen next. This means the viewer is always on the edge of their seat.

After reading an interview with John Fawcett, he revealed that horror films are what drawed him to film making in the first place. And whilst Orphan Black is not particularly a horror show it does bare many traits of one. I will continue to research John, and hopefully get round to watching his other shows and films very soon. However from a quick search it may be hard to see all of them.

Red Riding - Directing Unit Research Task

My challenge is to read the Red Riding script and decide on the Crew (DOP). Production designer, Composer, Editor, Locations, Tone and Style.

After reading the script here are my ideas:
Director:
Not sure if it is suppose to be realistic on who could direct it but someone like Alfred Hitchcock was great at making mystery stories and from the opening scenes of this film it seems like he could really work with this.

Production Designer:
Rick Carter from previous experience would be good for this. I loved Back to the future in which he did a great job and I think even though this is a different genre he can add his expertise well.

Composer:
Bernard Herrmann's work in psycho would be my reason for choosing him. he knows how to evoke a response in the audience and he certainly did that with psycho and even though that woukd seem to be a different genre to Red Riding I think it could work well.

Editor:
From some of the films that Thelma Schoonmaker has edited I would say she could be a good choice. You want someone to know your genre and from the work she has done it looks like she could edit this into a very good show.
Location:
From reading the script I would say somewhere in a working town up north or even into Scotland. I would probably pick the highlands in Scotland. Somewhere very remote so that the story makes sense with someone going missing and no possible leads.

Tone And Style:
From reading the script I get the feeling that it would be a serious tone and everything would be seen as it would be in real life, no little jokes in there for comedic effect. In terms of style I think you would film it a little like a documentary to try and get all the facts but at the same time you would need to get backstory in a different way that you would not be able to in a documentary.

Directing Unit Lecture Notes

- Make sure scenes are dramatic, make sure they are full scenes.

- Don't extend a short scene to a long scene with more shots.

- Main 2 considerations
What is happening in front of the camera
Where the camera is positioned

- Break the script down, and find questions to answer that we will need to answer.

- How/Who/Where/What Will need to be answered.

- Need to know your script, this means you can answer the important questions.

-

500 Word TV Review - Top Gear Season 22 Episode 1

Today I wanted to review one of my favourite shows, Top Gear (This episode is S22 EP1). Whilst I have watched the show for years I never really thought about how it's made and shot so that's what I'm going to reflect on today.

Sound:
Sound is a big part of Top gear, we have the usual opening sequence which has symbolic sound as even if you don't watch top gear regularly, you would recognize it. The use of a live audience is interesting for the audio as well, live reactions make things inherently more funny. However you do suspect that many of the shots are retakes and the audiences laughter would not be as much as when the joke was first made. Diegetic sound is used mostly in the studio as when they are setting up a piece no background influence is needed, but once the get into a car review or a race against each other there a mix between non-diegetic and diegetic sound as the extra music and sound effects used.The reason background music is used to to heighten the drama and make us feel that is more intense than it probably actually is.

Editing:
Editing in Top Gear is vital, it is what makes a good scene into a great scene in my opinion. Some of the sequences in this particular episode are great as the action cuts so quickly it means the viewer doesn't have much chance to see a particular shot and means we instinctively move through the scene very fast. As what they are doing in this episode is a race they need to make sure the editing. The term used for this sort of editing id temporal editing as it manipulates time to seem faster than it is. Continuity editing is used to we have a correct timeline of what is going on in the scene.

Cinematography:
Multi camera is used in Top Gear and they have so many shots for the same segment it means we have great coverage of what is going on and shows they really have though about how they wanted this sequence to come out. I would say that telephoto lens are used in Top Gear so they can get all the action needed and also zoom into certain areas in which smaller lens types could not.Some angles are shot from Normal/Medium telephoto, especially the in car shots looking at the presenter but in the most part a long lens is used for the best coverage of a scene.

Mise en scene:
In Top gear all the presenters dress like us, like normal people. Whilst they are probably multi-millionaires they dress like us so that they engage with the biggest audience. Whilst in some scenes they may dress in suits its normally jeans and a shirt. The most part of this film is located in Russia but the show is broadcast from the UK and that is where the main hub is. The main props that are used are vehicles but sometimes as comedy gags they will buy each other presents and that will be a funny gag for the scene. In terms of lighting they mostly use natural lighting whilst outside, but in the main studios they use focused lighting so that we focus on the main 3 not the people in the crowds behind them.

Summary:
A lot of effort went into these episodes and I now realise that through doing this review. It makes you really respect the levels they go through for one shot but that can make or break a scene so it is totally worth it.

Contextual Studies: OBSESSION 1976

De Palma uses some very horror-like music in the opening title and it is very similar to Halloween.

Gothic connotations in the opening sequence and also a big house show the type of amercia it is being shot in. The camera is constantly moving in the opening sequence which i think draws in the viewer as they are intrigued about what will happen next.

The gun at the start of the film is a great reveal as in a way it's not very subtle and forces you to realise that danger is a real possibility. The camera never seems to stop moving.

Having to physically dolly the camera into something as zooming was not as easy at the time meaning you had to interestingly use the camera. They do this to show us the ransom note.

There are a lot of simple editing techniques in the opening sequences but it keeps the start of the simple enough for the viewer to follow. Without narrative context however you may not completely understand some of the shots.

The use of certain camera shots what's to insinuate what the relationship of some characters towards each other are. We see us looking up/down at certain characters so that shows us who is in power and the one who is likely to be the lesser. Looking down at the camera diminished the subject and shows they have little power.

The subtext of what is being said makes it more interesting, we know what's being said has an underlying message.

Tracking shots used to move through time easily. Zoom was used to look closer up at the painting and then to reflect back to her eyes which have a similar pose to the painting.

Circular motion and pushing forward are motions that are used a lot throughout this film. The use of no dialogue through sme scenes is very different as it is a prominent feature in most films.

Soft focus throughout the film makes the lights look a lot different.

The use of a freeze frame at the end of the film is an interesting ending. As we know the relationship when they don't, it doesn't really conclude the film for some.

Final Critical Evaluation

I am going to review making my film and all that has gone with it.

My film started as a 25 word pitch back in September has has developed a lot since. I feel that my biggest problem throughout making my film was getting a really good reason for it all to happen. I have a good beginning and end but the middle of my story always struggled. It actually really took off only recently whilst talking to Mike Rymer I feel I now have a really good middle of the story to make it all make sense.

Screenwriting
I knew from the start that this was the part of the course that I would struggle with most, I know that my writing ability is not the best but part of the reason I wanted to do this course was to test myself and try things that I haven't wanted to do before. Actually I did end up enjoying writing my screenplay. I assume when it's going to be marked there will still be flaws with it and it could be improved vastly. However I would say that i have personally learned a lot through this part of the course and I am happy with how my knowledge has developed.

Filming 
I was disappointed with one day of filming my film because Andrew could not turn up for one of the days meaning myself, Connor and George had to shoot scenes needing 4 people with 3. This meant for me personally that a lot of the shots around the beach are nowhere near as good as I wanted. It was very frustrating at the time but we had to deal with it and we did end up with some very good shots. The fact there where only 3 of us meant a lot of the shots where on a tripod when I wanted them handheld but they still looked ok. We also had to change characters to what I originally planned, I had planned to place people in what I thought was their best role but the fact that Andrew didn't show up meant that I had to change around the roles. We also has to physically play 2 characters whilst at the beach which was annoying meaning that the continuity was not very good. I feel that this would confuse the viewer so they may think that it was badly done but it was really just improvised as best as possible.
Whilst filming in maidstone we only had one small problem, the path I planned to use wasn't that great so we switched to another, it wasted a little bit of time but in general it ended up better than planned as our path we used actually was great for the shots. The last thing I wanted to mention was that I did break the 180 degree rule twice whilst filming. It was easily corrected in editing, but it annoyed me that I have learnt this rule and it all up there but somehow in the heat of the moment I did forget to make sure it was right.

Editing
I enjoyed editing in Premiere pro. It did take time to learn the basics but Ferg was very helpful in his lessons as well as when I just knocked on his door he was always happy to show me the best way to edit. I had not used Premiere pro before but I have enjoyed this a lot. I think my film ended up looking ok, I would say with more time it could be a lot better but I guess that is the same for everyone.

General Conclusion
I know we have done more than the three subjects than I have mentioned but I feel that in all areas I have definitely improved in all areas from when I started and that is thanks to all the people that have helped throughout. In general I enjoyed everything we did, which honestly was surprising because I thought I'd only like the filming and editing. Overall I am happy to what I have learned and I hope to progress further in next unit. I know personally what I can improve on still so I push myself to improve in the next units.

Lost and Found Film Development | Testing Ideas

I'm going to write about the development of my film and show how it has changed since the start.

My story started out very basic but talking to the people on the course as well as the lecturers it has changed a lot. Some of the big developments have only been recent. Mike Rymer who came in to help make our films look better actually helped me with my story as well. He said that there really needs to be a good reason for the vents in my story to unfold. I did tell Mike that I knew this was the part of story I needed to improve and he helped me by suggesting that this could be a recurrence of something that happens earlier in the story so that triggers Ricky to be so angry and flip like this.

Whilst talking to Steve I really realised that my story needed to be adapted and whilst doing the screenwriting for my film I realised that simple stage directions and actions could be more important that words. Show not tell was what Steve kept drilling into us, and I tried my best to get that into my film as my original idea had way too much dialogue and not enough action.

Whilst editing Ferg and Simon helped me a lot. One or two frames can make a big difference so that is what I had to get into my head. Close tidy editing was needed for this to be improved. Simon showed me what shots worked and didn't and I looked through my options and luckily i generally had more than 1 option for each shot. However if I where to do this again I would definitely make sure I did at least 4 takes of each shot as 2/3 seemed to be not enough some times!

Feg really did help me out with some neat editing tricks to improve how the film is presented. Flipping the image if I broke the 180 degree rule (which I might have accidentally done!) was a big help as well as editing out a green screen in after effects to make my news report look a lot more realistic.

I also needed to test ideas and see what worked, as of course it was not all going to go to plan. Having to adapt to certain circumstances also was a big issue for me as Andrew didn't help for one day meaning  lot more of the film was filmed on tripod than I wanted, and also we had problems where 3 people where in shot and at times there where 4 characters being used so we had to switch roles whilst filming which was really frustrating. i did also test a lot of shots for the same scene. I think this worked as I got some shots that I did not storyboard and I think they came out very well. We also had to adapt to the beach not being out when we arrived meaning some scenes played out very differently to how I had originally planned.

My 25 word pitch was "Two friends who have not seen each other since primary school bump into each other. Whilst catching up they discover a dumped body."

In essence it's exactly what I stuck to. Obviously in 25 words you can't tell the whole story but I have massively adapted from what I first thought and it has been a great experience. I feel I have learnt a lot in this unit even though I would have liked more time to film, I know it's part of the challenge.

Script Development

Here is some evidence on how my script has developed

Here is the initial first few lines from the first draft..

Comparing that to the last update, you can see it has changed a lot. This is thanks to all the feedback I have been given.

I found the process of updating it tough but a rewarding experience and I hope Steve does see the effort I Put in.

Further Research on Screenwriting Including 2 Screenwriters Researched.

2 Screenwriters researched:
Aaron Sorkin
He started as an actor in the early 80's but properly got into screenwriting in 1991. He wrote scripts for three massive films for castle rock entertainment, which grossed about $400,000,000. At this stage of his career he was most definitely a script writer not a screenwriter but he was mastering his craft and in 1998 he started his career in screenwriting. His first big hit was Sports Night on ABC/ESPN which was a behind the scenes look at American sports. The show was critically acclaimed and many people wanted the show to continue thanks to how unique it was but cancelled by ABC/ESPN after its low ratings.

The west wing was his longest running show as a screenwriter. Started in 1999 it was described as a political drama which Sorkin went on to write 87 screenplays for. After 7 years and many awards the show ended, partly rumoured due to internal conflicts. This was by far and away his most successful time as a screenwriter.

I like how Sorkin has developed his ideas through his times in many different areas of the industry. The fact he used to be an actor meant that he could really finesse what was needed in a screenplay so that it was easy for the actors to use as well as the whole team producing his screenplay.

Even though he went on to write more screenplays West Wing was his biggest success. He actually launched a screenwriting masterclass in August 2016 so others can benefit from his knowledge.
From looking through Sorkin history it is really interesting to see his career path and it makes me think that I need to look at how others view my screenplay because they may find it hard to understand my ways of writing.

Joss Whedon
He started screenwriting in the late 1980's but his big start was Buffy the Vampire Slayer  in 1997. The series lasted until 2013 with many award wins and is what Joss is mostly known for. The most interesting for me about Joss' career is the amount of money that was spent on his ideas that never actually went onto our screens. At least $3,000,000 of producers money was spent on his ideas that never where actually produced. I find this fascinating because I can't image this much money going to waste.

I remember Steve telling us that he wrote many screenplays through his career which he was paid for, but never actually ended up on TV. I think this shows what a massive industry TV/Film is. If this sort of money can be spent without too much worry if it is actually used I think it shows how much money is generally being made.

Famously Whedon's work included anti authorisation, power, powerlessness and many more extreme subjects. I like when screenwriters test something different because that way we may end up with a very different show on TV and we can get shows like Breaking Bad that test the norm and do something different.

Further Research on Screenwriting 
Whilst looking further into screenwriting I realised that there always seems to be repeated storylines, for example Man vs Man or Man vs nature or the supernatural. It always seems to be A man against somebody else.

Dialogue is very important in a screenplay. Sounds silly, but it is very easy to overdo the speech and let the camera tell everything. However it is very important that when dialogue is used, it is in the right place and also is the right dialogue. It needs to impact the scene and actually make it better. It sounds silly but it's been a problem I have come across whilst writing my screenplay.

I wanted to look further into how screenwriting is as a job and what it pays and what qualifications you need. From the website I looked at it says you don't need a degree to properly get into screenwriting but it would of course help you. $58,000 is apparently the median salary for a screenwriter. However I seem to think that this is probably not the norm, at that most people probably earn a lot less as they could be contracted for only a few months and then not working for the rest of the year. Even though they stated that you might not need a degree to get far in screenwriting, looking at other sources it does seem unlikely to get a very top job without having studied something.

Contextual Studies - Crime Dramas

Scandy Noir: scandinavian crime drama - inspired by British crime dramas.


The Bill


- Set in fictional london police station. - Longest running british crime series. Originally 12x6-min episodes. From 1988-2005, became year round twice-weekly schedule. Peak viewing of 11m in 2005, rivalling coronation street.


Mise en Scene real locations or studio? Authenticity? (sets, props, etc)?


Camera and Sound


Single or multi camera? Visual style?


Narrative and genre conventions


realistic characters or stereotypes? acting naturalistic or exaggerated? diversity


What is it?


Evolved from literary detective fiction In TV often police procedural sub-genre - ‘realistic’ investigation of a crime by law enforcement teams.


Edgar Allan Poe - The Murders in the Rue Morgue


Archetypal genre storyline - ‘Whodunnit’ (enigma to be solved)


‘Howcatchem’ - audience know whodunnit, pleasure is process)


Technical Conventions


Editing: chase scenes, montage, flashbacks. Single camera Camera movement - either handheld mockumentary style or steadicam, dollies, cranes Visual devices: ECU’s for tension or reveal Tilted, low and high angles. Slow motion. CG recreations (CSI) Graphical text (Sherlock)


Narrative Conventions


Episodic series format - typically 60 minutes. Usually self-contained closed narratives Repetition - relies on returning central cast (team) and location (police station), Conflicts in policing methods, often intrinsic to the drama. Resolution - the very nature of detective/crime genre demands crime is resolved by setting up a mystery. (Film and TV guidelines demanded that 'crime must not pay’)


Symbolic conventions


Lighting - low-key. Many crime dramas use dark-dark contrasts in costume, setting and lighting (e.g. use of flashlights) Authenticity - props, costumes, settings New conventions - detective via computer. lighting and exposition critics have said that crime dramas have lost mystery thanks to the computer. more interesting to get people outside.


Crime genre archetypes


The Rebel: (hero,anti-hero), detective or senior cop. Jaded. Doesn’t always play by the rules. Sometimes corrupt. The King: (authority figure): commanding officer or station sergeant. The Innocent: (rookie): audience surrogate and empathy. The Sage: Eldery, wise. If not senior figure, often doctor or scientist. The Villain: Binary opposition to hero and rookie. Many crime dramas use binary opposition: good and evil, law & order. But often the investigator has their moral boundaries challenged.


Many also use classic Freudian triangles: hero (anti-hero) as id, Authority as super-ego, rookie as ego that tries to balance the oppositionals.


Critical Approaches to genre


Realism - British crime dramas are often in social realist mode; many popular US crime dramas more escapist and may involve breaking with realist conventions.


Representation - gender and diversity; issues of ‘political correctness’ vs empirical fact.


Psychoanalysis - genre characters as Freudian archetypes, criminal pathology (the monster/the uncanny); crossover with horror genre (‘return of the repressed’)


Return of the Repressed

Production notes

Here are some notes from filming as well as the two posts I have already made.

Storyboards

As you can see I am no artist, but I did spend a lot of time getting these storyboards ready before shoot day so we has as much to go on as possible. I think it really did help make sure I got all the shots I wanted. Even if they where just scribbles some shots it made me remember what I wanted when I was writing the script.

Source Material

Here are some of the things that inspired my idea.

TV SHOW:

"The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story"

This was important as it was a similar story line to mine. 1) Are the police corrupt? Did he actually murder him? Just a few of the questions that are similar to my story and inspired by this show.

The idea of a body on the beach was one I remember seeing in a newspaper report. It's obviously an intriguing and horrible story so it is one you make into a film pretty easily. I like the fact it creates a lot of mystery. Even though I had to adapt my ideas through filming this was part of the reason I wanted that scene in my film.

I thought that including bullying in my story would be strong because a lot of people have been bullied and can relate. It's obviously not a nice subject but we all have seen it happen so I wanted to include it because I think it is relatable.

Filming my Project - Day 2 Maidstone

Day 2 of filming for me took place on Friday and I just needed a few clips to make my story make sense. Firstly i needed to record the rest of a phone conversation with George in darkness. The camera didn't look great in low light, but that was expected.
Secondly as Andrew was not in Wednesday I wanted to get him involved today, so he was the TV presenter, but I am not sure if that clip will make my cut as it was just a but of a footnote to the story.
After that once again I switched a role I was going to play with Andrew so he could be in the film, he was the police officer questioning Connor, I like this and the guys helped me think of some different shots so we have some variety.
Lastly I needed a few outdoor shots which are in the opening few moments between George and Connor and I really liked these shots, we stumbled across a small path which was perfect for the scenario and the shots came out very well.
Overall I really enjoyed working in this group and getting involved in the others work as well, now I need to get on to editing!

Eastenders/Soap Opera - Contextual Studies

Objectives:
-Analysis of the soap as genre.
-Codes and conventions of soap genre.
-Some possible critical approaches.

Genre elements to watch for:

mise en scene-
-How many locations?
-real or studio?
-Communal spaces?

Camera and Sound-
-Single or multi-camera?
-Diegetic or non-diegetic sound?

Narrative and genre conventions?
-Realistic characters or stereotypes?
-Acting naturalistic or exaggerated?

A soap opera almost always uses family issues and dramas

It originated in the USA and was aimed at the housewife audience.

Sponsored by detergent companies, hence the name.

Serial Drama is a plot that will evolve every day, we are never sure when the story will end.

Series Drama is one that will eventually end, we are more likely to know the plot.

Soap opera technical conventions.

Multi Camera, because it saves time and means its cheaper.

Limited sets

Diegetic sound
Early soaps transmitted live or recorded as live.

Narrative conventions:
Episodic format -30 minutes which end on cliffhangers
Repetition - relies on stock characters and location which are used in almost every episode
Resolution - Serial form, means that they are constantly evolving. plots may take weeks/months/even years to resolve.

Melodrama or soap?
Pathos
Overweight emotion

Moral polarization (Thinks are black/white)
Coincidence.

Common soap conventions
- BIRTH/MARRIAGES/DEATHS
- LOVE TRIANGLES

Symbolic conventions
- Classic social realist
- limited sets keep the continuity

Realism - Are they realistic?  Changing forms, teen soaps such as hollyoaks, soap influence on reality TV.
Representation - Challenge of diversity vs stereotypes, changing social attitudes.
Reception theory - How the audiences consume soaps - uses and gratification ( Contract between producers and viewers)

Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratification:
- Diversion - escapism
- Personal relationships - Social interaction
- Personal Identity  - Audience identification
- Surveillance - Programme informs or challenges our world view on topical or social issues.

Filming my Project - Day 1 Dymchurch Beach

Filming Day 1 - Dymchurch Beach

Day 1 of my film was taking place mostly at Dymchurch Beach. In the morning we filmed a few shots in my room to get a bit of the backstory of why the film follows the path does what is does. george was the main character in my film and Connor was the 2nd main character. Andrew was going to be apart of these shots as well but he went home before we started filming

Another problem we came across was that the microphone that we where supplied with did not work. We did try and get an answer as to why, so we had to do a whole day of filming with the inbuilt microphone which was disappointing. Another problem was that the tide was in for a long time whilst we where filming, meaning that we only got  a few beach shots and meaning i had to adjust my shots as we went.

 We decided to use this car park as the main center of this scene, this was suppose to be on the beach, but obviously we couldnt. We could not have booked the beach for longer as the light was going, even by our 3pm finishing slot. We had to adjust my story that the two bad guys where dragging the body out of the sea (instead of being left on the beach) and in general I thought this looked very good. I adjusted the exposure to get a very dark shot, to try and represent early morning and it looked very good on playback. We also decided to get some shots to set the scene. I wanted to make sure I got as much footage as possible so that when I'm editing I can make a choice on what I like the most.

We did some very interesting shots where the body was dragged over the camera and I felt that looked very good. One problem was that there where 4 characters in this scene and we only had 3 actors as Andrew went home. This meant me and connor has to switch out as the body and means that editing will be very hard to not look bad, with obvious continuity problems.

Once we got back to my home we did one more shot at the front door, which was done when it was pretty dark, I wasn't expecting this shot to be in the dark but it worked pretty well. Connor and George did stay a bit later than expected to help me get these last shots, and i really appreciated that as I feel we made the best out of a bad situation, adapted on the spot and still got some really good footage.

Film Update (Location permission) & Script Update (2nd Draft Done)

Today we were not filming so I made sure I finished up with all the things needed to do in order to film.

We had a bit of trouble with our previous beach location so once again I have had to change my plans. The last beach was all ok, until they told me last week that they are now having work done on the same day I was planning to film. After emails back and forth from Hannah from Kent film office and Sean and Simon from the crown estate who manage Dymchurch beach I have now got it sorted. Having to go through this process will hopefully make it easier in the future. It was definitely a pain to have to change location yet again but i think it is sorted now!

I am also ready to hand in my risk assessment and just need confirmation from Laura that I can film around the studios, if I can't it would be disappointing but i can work around it.

The purple section is where I can film.


As well as doing that today I was editing my script. Steve gave me some really useful feedback to work on and it is already very different to my first version. However saying that I still need a vital part of my story to make it all click into place, I know that and I am trying to draw inspiration from anything to make it make sense.

However saying that I have now got a second draft ready to give in when it's needed but i am sure I will be making slight altercation between now and when the next submission is. hopefully that big "Moment" will come to me before then!

Otherwise I am going to finish today by completing a few storyboards. I doubt these will be the final ones I give in but I have realised from filming with the others in my group that storyboards would have really saved a lot of time so I'm hoping to get them done because I know i have a lot of filming to do in my 2 days so I need to be efficient with my time.

The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story (TV Drama Review)

The People vs OJ Simpson is a TV drama looking back at one of the biggest murder cases in history, in which OJ allegedly killed his ex-wife.

First episode link: http://gossiponthis.com/2016/02/03/video-watch-people-v-oj-simpson-american-crime-story-episode-1/

The pilot episode starts off with TV reports and footage of people rioting. This whole sequence is very important to show us the problems with police in the United States, and problems with violence between the police and African Americans. Watching the whole series I realise why this first sequence is so important.It shows us that the police system in the US was so corrupt and they would often get the outcome of a case wrong. This is a huge part of what inspired me for my film. Police misconduct is a problem throughout the world and something I wanted to touch on in my film. In the process of screenwriting for this opening scene they would have made the purposeful choice to use this in the opening scene to give the whole series more emphasis. It's something your rely on through every scene in the film. It makes you think "Is what they are saying to or are they trying to manufacture this for their own benefit?"

I find the next part of the show interesting as the conversation is so natural between OJ and the taxi driver. Its natural dialogue between two people, nothing special. However I find this scene sticks in my mind as the undertone of the music, its a very soft spooky track that gives the suggestion that something is wrong. Whilst screenwriting they must have made sure that the dialogue was free flowing and normal and whilst in editing they would have made sure the music fits just right so it gives that sense of mystery. 

Whilst the police search the house they are still unsure who's house it is, they stumble across a statue of OJ but to some viewers (Like myself) it didn't mean much as he wasn't a big name in the UK so we would not have known who the statue was of. The first sense we get that he is famous is then the police ask a guy who lived in a small sub-house if OJ is home. He is referred to as "MR" meaning we now know he is of importance. It's a subtle line from the screenplay but is important to some viewers who may not know who he is.

"He didn't ask how she died" Is the first punch line from one of the detectives. This links back to the opening sequence, are they trying to frame him straight away? Or is it simple thoughts through any case? I find this line so important because for some viewers it could possibly make them loose faith in the detectives. This influenced my work in a way that I knew the dialogue has to be gripping, a big punch line here and there can really help the story move along. In my story I have added the subtle plot twist that Ricky's dad is a police officer that is helping frame Adrian, but I have only mentioned that could be related through a few lines in the text.

"What where you doing at Simpsons" Marcia Clark (Who will end up being the Lead Prosecutor)  asks one of the detectives. I think it's a great line once again as it reverts back to the opening sequence. It seems to add a little part of confusion to us that the police are trying to push something that may or may not be true. Marcia know what the police have done in the past and I think its a great subtle way of making the viewer think twice about each thing they see and hear. 

A part later on in the first episode where they show a note about (50:20) they are doing the famous "show not tell" even though you are still reading it we are immersed in what has been written. OJ Simpson's suicide not is very very important as it shows how insane he is going. I think this a great example of "show not tell" that Steve kept telling us about and that inspired me to make sure I only use dialogue when I absolutely need to.

Vodka Diaries

Analysing Vodka diaries:

Mise en scene
- Not many locations, mainly set in the same house/ most the same rooms (Or outside the house)
- Real location

Camera and sound
- no audience laughter was added
- diegetic sound - not added music

Narrative and genre conventions
- I think they are real characters but slightly emphasised stereotypes for comedy effect.
- I think the acting is exaggerated for the effect of comedy
- Humour is mostly physical

Codes and conventions are important in deciding the form of a TV show of film
Technical (seen): Camera, Sound, Editing = Narrative
Symbolic (unseen): Mise en scene, Subtext = Context

Traditional studio sitcoms:
Multi camera
Edited as live
Audience laugh track
High key uniform lighting

Location sitcoms:
Single camera
Post-edited
Mockumentary style


Episodic format - 30 mins closed narrative
Repetition - circular narrative

Sitcom genre conventions:
Comic Trap (escape a physical or emotional situation)
Running Joke
One liner
Innuendo
irony/ sarcasm
farce/Slapstick
Parody/satire/just a prank?

Archetypes/ Stereotypes In Vodka Diaries
- The Rebel
- The libertine
- The authority figure
- The fool

CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH - Short Films

First I am going to research 3 Short films and review them and also say how they influenced my work that I am currently doing.

SHORT FILM 1: The Most Beautiful Thing

The Most Beautiful Thing is a short film about two people who meet and we figure out the women in the film is deaf and finds it hard to speak. I have chosen a few main points through this film that I think are what makes it such a good short film. 

First off the sound that is used in the film is very important for me. The non- dietetic soundtrack at the start of the film is moving as it is associate with loneliness and sadness. Even if you just listened to the film and didn't see the moving image you would know that it is a sad part of the film because the music is that powerful.

The first shot in the film is also the main character sitting on this bench by himself. The mise en scene from this scene indicates that he is by himself and he is purposely pushed to one side of the bench to show us that he is not purposely trying to be a log, he is inviting people to sit there, but nobody does. I think this shows very clearly this character does not have many friends as is currently very sad.
The rule of the third is also used in the opening shot.We find out about 30 seconds into the film that he may be worried about going to prom with somebody and that he doesn't want to be the only person alone. Everything he does seems to be currently wrong. He get's hit by other pupils as they are walking past and also keeps seeing other couples together ready for prom.

I think this film is shot handheld because it gives the viewer more of a sense that we are in the situation with him, in a way to be him. The filmmakers want us to feel sorry for him as much as possible so they are in a way trying to put us in his situation so we can feel it.

We see more shots as loneliness as he travels home and it is edited in a way that he is shown as very isolated and purposely made to be the only person in a  lot of the shots. The main character then is finally seen in a shot with somebody else. It is someone we saw earlier on who seemed to blank the main character when he said hello. He says hello again ad she still ignores him, then we get the reference. She is deaf and cannot hear what he was saying to him, she wasn't ignoring him and then he instantly feels better. He is not alone. I like this because it seems like he is all alone, but now he has someone to be with and "talk to".        

He gets to know the girl and just as he is about to ask her to prom he sees her with somebody else on their bench. He then turns around and thinks that it is all over after everything he went through.

The costume in this scene shows that the main character is a "nerd" and we can read into that by saying that it probably means he doesn't have many friends.

Through the music we know that he has gone back into a sad mood as the music had changed to uplifting and happy but has now changed to the style of music we heard at the start when he was alone.
This whole film seems like it is being filmed either on a handheld camera or purposely filmed without using a tripod. It gives the film the feeling that we are on the journey with this character and we feel what he is going through. The film is also mainly focused on him so that's why we have that connection to him.

As the film comes to an end the two main characters meet each other again and the boy is mad as he thinks she is now going to the prom with someone else, he turns around and walks off. She then says something for the first time in the film which is slightly surprising as we did not expect it after what she had written earlier.
Once she explains to him he is happy and they hug.

This short film has influenced my work in a few ways:
Firstly,it has made me realise how much of an impact the sound has in any film. For me it is what made this film so good was the layers of sound throughout. The music a long with how the characters say certain things, it really makes a massive difference.
Secondly, it shows me that a use of tripod in every scene actually may make the film worse. Being handheld and even slightly shaky at times gives you better shots and immerses the viewer even more.


SHORT FILM 2: I MISS YOU

I Miss you is a short film about a couple who use to be together and then remember why they broke up. The first thing I noticed is throughout the whole film there is no diegetic sound. The whole film is music and voice overs. Normally I think this can work well but it wasn't the best in this film because the narration wasn't that immersive.

This is one of the opening shots and we see the two characters together, I personally would have liked some dialogue that is diegetic or possibly even some laughter to show they like each other, but the voice over continues and it starts to loose me a little.

I really liked the lighting in this film however,  the movie cinema shot is great as it only shows us the light that would see on their faces if there was a film playing behind the camera. I think that works really well in this montage sequence. The clothes in the shots show us that these are typical teenagers and that is how it relates to a lot of people, if they where dressed very posh it could loose viewers but as they are like most of us the story really draws us in through that.

 I like the shot on the left as it gives a great field of view, it is an incredible shot and it also shows the closeness of the two characters. We can read into this and can tell they are close friends and most likely boyfriend and girlfriend. It starts as a wide shot and then closes in to a near close up to really immerse us in what he is saying. I would say this is denotive as it is directing attention of the viewer into the scene and we are focusing on the relationship between the two people we see on screen.

I think the handheld camera is once again important in this film as it gives a good grounding and makes it feel very real, as if we could be one of the characters in the scene.

I can't really tell if it is or not but I think they use a flashback to show what the relationship was like and this gives us good context of what the whole film means, he still likes her but the bad reasons outweigh the good.

I wasn't a big fan of the ending, I feel it was an editing mistake to leave the ending so open, anything could have happened, but I guess that is the point of a short film, sometimes we have to use our imagination to fill the gaps.


SHORT FILM 3: TEXT ME

 This film is about two teenagers on a date and they can't stop texting. The opening shot shows us straight away that it will most likely be a date, an Italian restaurant. It's a symbolic place that many people go for a night out and the music that is playing also clarify to us that it's Italian, if we missed that.

The camerawork is good as it shows not tells (As Steve Coombes keeps telling us) It shows the prices of the food on the menu then we look into his wallet and we can see he has hardly any money, showing to us that he cannot afford it.

The film is very samey and we get the same shots over and over and it doesn't use too many impressive camera techniques to make the viewers experience better, infact its basically the same shot every time once we get inside.

The costume of the boy shows us that he is very normal, probably nerdy meaning that we can denote that he is probably shy and won't be great in a conversation with the girl once she does arrive. The girls costume is pretty much a polar opposite, very fancy and bold showing she is probably a popular person at school and she probably won't like being on a date with a nerd.

The scene uses a mixture of diegetic and non diegetic. In a way it uses a fake non diegetic sound, the music in the background is playing

which sets the scene but it is not as intrusive as if it was put over the top of the couple talking. It's most diegetic sound with the two talking but there is a little added non diegetic sound to add emphasis.

The two find a similarity through the film and that is that they both have to wear glasses, it's a small addition that makes the characters bond but it doesn't really add too much to the film for me, which in general isn't that great. It's a good concept but I'd say it was poorly executed.



In a way the sound is Asynchronous as the Italian music shows that they could be posh and upper class but infact one side of the table is not which in a way makes the film a little more funny as it looks like both characters shouldn't really be in that situation.
Most of the shots used in this are Medium shots but sometimes close ups are used to express the emotions but for me personally the film likes to stick with the same back and forth medium shot which in a way disconnects us from the two characters as they are disconnected themselves through constantly being on their phones.

FILM PREP - Kent Filming Application.

Today I filled out my application to film in kent and sent it to the kent film office. I have decided one of my locations would be a beach and I know, located where we are it's very tough to find one close. I have sent of for an application to film in  Dungeness as that is a beach I have been to before and feel it would be great for the sort of film I want to do. However I have also stated in my application that if they know somewhere closer and better, that would be preferred as the other members of the crew would not have to travel as far. I also put that if they know any locations that would be good for my scene where a character runs out of a wood into a quiet road that would be nice. I have looked extensively on google maps to try and find somewhere suitable but I have had no luck as of yet.
I also had to attach the Insurance into the application which was on MyUCA. Once that was all filled out I was read to send.

 It was the first time ever doing this but it was a good experience as I'm sure this will happen very regularly when we go into the TV industry for real.

--

UPDATE - 4/11/16

After emails back and forth with the film office, I had to change the beach I was filming at because Dungeness was a £100 for a days shooting. As I only need a few shots, it wasn't really worth it.  We settled on Hythe Beach and everyone at Kent Film Office was very helpful in helping me find somewhere with no cost. After I agreed to film in a certain area I was booked in and ready to film!

Editing Catch Up Session - SOFT Trailer 2nd Attempt

Today we had some free time to edit and catch up with things we hadn't got around to yet. Whilst I had already done everything I needed to I wanted to re-edit my SOFT trailer as I thought I could do better than my first attempt. I wanted to get slightly more fitting music for this second trailer and also I needed to edit it a little bit more. I thought my first attempt was good in terms of editing, but I forgot to edit the audio and the music was too loud. I wanted to make sure you primarily heard the music but also got their speech in some of the scenes. I think this second edit is much better than the first.

Contextual Studies - Making A Murderer DOCUMENTARY.

10 part US documentary series - Took 10 years to film and they had 700 hours footage.
Won 4 Emmys

Documentary vs Dramatic film.

Documentary: Unscripted/ Employs real people/ Typically shot hand held/ Does not follow hollywood mise en scene

Dramatic film: Narrative and Dialogue (script driven)/ Performance led by actors/ Hollywood camera techniques/ Uses formal hollywood mise en scene.

Documentary is basically filming observation, you are filming to inform rather than necessary entertain "document reality"

Documentary was coined by John Grierson. He described documentaries as " The creative treatment of actuality"

Documentary formats:
FORMAL:
Observational/Not scripted/Not set up
Current affairs and factual (Making a murderer is an example of this)
Polemic - Putting a particular point or observation across.

HYBRID:
Reality - Much more in depth and setting up scenes for the characters
Scripted reality - Scripted a lot Like TOWIE
Drama Documentary - Dramatic reenactments of what has happened.

Narrative documentary Modes:
Most likely a documentary won't specifically fit into one group, it will go across 2 or more.
Expository - Emphasises rhetoric and information The classic voice of god documentary
Observational - Classic fly on the wall. Typically no voice over.
Participatory - onscreen relationship between the subject and interviewer.
Reflective - Makes the viewer aware of the filmmaking process Seeks to challenge our assumptions
Poetic - Artistic montage based.
Performative - filmmaker going on a journey, taking in personal experience

Making a murder is very evident in using supporting evidence (Court documents - Interviews - Papers)
Translating the facts -  reconstruction of the scene before the sexual assault - POV shot of what the women would have possibly be seeing. Use of the music advocates as emotional manipulation.

Black and white photographs to show the altercation between him and his sister when he pointed a gun at her. They had to make sure they didn't blur the lines between what's real and what's not (these black and white pictures are not real)

Critical approaches to Documentaries:
Realism - Handheld - Natural light - No music. As little artificial parts as possible to keep it "authentic". Real life as it happens.

What we see is no objective, but the filmmakers version of events. What has been mediated so we see what we see. In making a murderer the Averys are made out to be outsiders to the community

Reception Theory - How the audience sees the text on screen, that might influence our opinion. You can say it has no meaning in itself, instead the meaning is created as the viewer watches the film. Other ways that you could be influenced but what you see is maybe who and where you are with. You are possibly more likely to laugh at a cinema than at home because of other people being there. You can also be influenced if you are seeing it on a phone instead of a Computer, maybe on a TV you are less immersed because you could be easily distracted by a text for example.

Ideology - Common sets of beliefs and values that relate us to the rest of the world. Could have political bias in certain documentaries. With the BBC they can't take sides, have to see both version of events and make sure it is impartial. However you can still question what point of view they are trying to take. However other stations could have a different ethos and they particularly go down a certain route to prove a certain point. Possibly motivated by owners or leaders.

The context in making a murderer is generally the realistic approach. real locations, using graphic montages and also some music is used to emphasise points.
conventional representations of who and what is in the scene. However it can be questioned why certain things are put into certain scenes.
The filmmakers aren't including their own personal opinions and leaving it as much up to the viewer as possible. However some people are left out of the documentary, you have to question if that is for a particular reason or that the other people did not want to be in the film or where unavailable.

In making a murder they say that the people that are not included are not there for any particular reason, they feel that their documentary is true, fair and unbiased.

First Draft of my Screenplay - Updates

Today I finished my first draft of my screenplay. Personally I thought I was going to enjoy this part of the course a lot less than I did. I have actually enjoyed it and I still feel my script can be improved but I am happy of how it has turned out for a first draft.

Further development.
I have thought about my script since I have finished it and I have had a few ideas since. I don't want to go too hard with changed before it's been checked in case there could be a fundamental problem (I hope not!)

1) I need to develop why they want Nelson dead. I have said that he is a troublemaker but not really expanded on anything further. I think that Nelson could have done something very personal to one of the head police officers and that is the reason why they want him dead. I'm not sure exactly what yet. Hopefully Simon or Steve could give me a little input on all these ideas to expand them.

2) Who is Ricky? I did put a single line in the script as a subtle hint but it probably needs to be expanded. I want Ricky to be the son of one of the characters, specifically the "Unidentified character" that we never actually see. And I want him to be involved as it could be something personal to his family.

3) Why do they want to frame Adrian? Once again it needs to be expanded as there is no real reason to this one. I suspect a reason could be that Adrian and Ricky has left on bad terms when they left school/ stopped being friends.

I also spoke to my Dad about what he thought about and he read the script and said it might make more sense if the main characters where a few years older (22/23) so there is evidence that Adrian has started to forge a successful career.

Editing Workshop - Drag Racing Interview and First Date

First we started using new tools including the slip tool to change the action in the clip and also we used tools like the cmd and alt tool to swap clip around in the timeline. Here is my final edited version of the drag race and interviews. I really liked how it turned out, with the music and the interviews and I think it worked well.

After we had to use the ripple tool to make sure the audio worked in the first date clip.

Next We used Adobe Audition to remove the bang. It is still slightly noticeable due to the line being exactly on the bang but it is slightly better.

Next we had to try and remove the generator in the back of one of the shots. This was once again in Adobe Audition but I couldn't really get it right. We did make the generator less noticeable but it's still not great.

Contextual Studies - Sound

You can have sound without picture, but it is a lot easier to have a picture without sound.

Films with sound and no video: Derek Jarman's Blue and Chris Marker's La jetee

Even silent movies generally have some sort of audio - music or sound effects.

La jetee has pictures (not moving) which tells the story but we focus on the sound and it has interesting use of sound effects, including the plane whiring, as if it was over us.

Functions of sound

- Aural Sound (Dialogue/voiceover)

- Sonic ambience ( mood/atmosphere/sound effects) 

- Emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance (music)

Key elements

- Speech (Dialogue or narration)

- Ambient or natural

- Sound effects

- Musical score or soundtrack

You will definitely use at least one of these - but possibly all of them. 

Use of sound effects

To heighten the drama but abstract or enhanced effects to affect the audiences emotions or perception.

Also to simulate reality, to reinforce what we may expect, for example traffic noise or chatter.

Aesthetic uses of sound

Impressionistically - harmonious use of sound that affects your mood

Expressionistically - Evoking abstract and a dark version of what you may expect

Asynchronous - When the sound and the visuals are mis-matched to slightly confuse the viewer

Diegetic - Any sound that is in the film scene -  What would have been picked up by a microphone 

Nondiegetic  - Any sound added after. Could be commentary, Music and sound effects.

Music is very important for the scenes because it dictates what your emotion is in via a scene. You can immediately tell from the start of a scene what it will be like due to the music that is being used.

Music as a narrative device

Music underscores or accentuates visual narrative, emotion or drama

Can create emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance

Use of leitmotifs - A short, recurring musical phrase with a particular idea (Imperial march in star wars - we know that something to do with vader will be happening, the music tell us that)

 Pop songs as commentary/ dramatic device " When words fail, music speaks"

Music can change depending on the audience. For example in some scenes of "Legend" the music is different for the UK and US versions on the film because the distributors did not think certain audiences would like the original music. 

You can use music to step out of the narrative to comment on the action. It is an alienation technique that contrasts the grim reality to their romantic aspirations. An example is Pennies from heaven. It's breaking the fourth wall between us and what is on the screen.

Modernism vs postmodernism.

Modernism -  an aesthetic and cultural reaction to classicism relying on innovation to create new modes of rational and progressive expression and representation. (Soviet montage)

Postmodernism -  Reaction to failure of modernisms objective rationalism. Deconstructs form and fusing disparate elements of high and low culture (The simpsons)

Use of narration "First person subjective" "Voice of god" "Conventions of male vs female voices"

Soft Trailer Attempt

Here is my first attempt at a trailer for "Soft". It was a project to be completed out of class. I edited in in Final cut, I didn't do many big edits, simply cutting it down to the main parts of the film and also finding music I thought fitted. I definitely think that I can do better and hopefully I'll remember to come back to do a more highly edited version.

Story Telling, Shot types and trailers.

In the morning we had a talk with the kent film office, followed by a workshop with the cameras which I will upload when it is edited.

Story boards.
They focus the key frames that make up a particular scene or sequence.

Raiders of the lost arc has incredibly detailed story boards. Definitely more complex than anything  I have ever done!

Conception - used to convey new ideas which is cheaper than a test shoot or run through.

Pre production - This is where they are used the most, enables planning of the entire production. All departments will look at the story board to figure out what they need to do to make the sequence look good.

They are used in production guide themselves through the sequence.

A story board doesnt mean you have to do it, whilst on set be adaptable and if you see something you really like you can just it. It's a guideline to help but not set in sand.

Types of story board styles:

GRAPHIC

DIAGRAMMATICAL

PLAN VIEW

SHOT TYPES:

Birds-eye-view/ angel's perspective.

-Extreme long shot (ELS)

-Long Shot (LS)/ Wide Shot (WS)

-Medium Shot (MS)

-Close-up shot (CU)

-Extreme Close-up (ECU)

Camera movement:

-Tilt shot- Tripod/ handheld from a fixed position.

-Crane shot- Fixed position, moving from a height.

-Pan shot-Left to right/ vice-versa.

-Tracking shot.

-Dolly shot.

Camera position:

-Two shot- two characters appearing in the same frame.

-Low angle

-High angle shot

-Over-the-shoulder shot (OTS)

Trailers:

Very old trailers where very different to how they are today!

In all honesty I really like this trailer, its funny, tells us about the film and also walks us through the scene which we don't see too much, especially in trailers!

Questions to ask when you are doing a trailer?

What is the story - When is it coming - Who is it aimed at.