Research Question of the Week and Filming Plans

     I meant to address the research question yesterday but it slipped my mind so I shall write it today. Last week I posed the question of how to effectively use the camera to improve scenes. The research I have done to answer this was a mix of examining my own footage and taking a look at some renowned short films. What I found immediately while editing together my own footage was the fault of making scenes so static. Regardless of dialogue it seems that without very well trained actors, a static shot lasting more than 30 seconds or so grows stale. The solution would be to record lines individually with the camera facing different characters, this is if you're like myself and are without a large number of cameras.
     Another thing that I picked up was that you can use certain camera angles to aid in expressing a mood present in the scene. Now often it's not all too obvious but looking at a film like Christopher Nolan's Doodlebug, the camera angles are used to reflect the very odd nature of the film. The film itself is only three minutes long, it is about a man attempting to crush a bug in his apartment only to find the bug is himself. The camera shots included are at very odd angles, they're very dark and often have the character come into frame from an unexpected place. This very chaotic set of shots is used to add to the intended mood of the piece, a tool I could possibly use later on in my own film.
     I also read through an article of of the website "The Elements of Cinema" that talked a lot about the effect of the height of shots relative to the character in question. Such as that a high angled shot can work to make the character in frame appear weak or submissive and quite the opposite in the event a low angled shot.
     I will be filming this coming Saturday for most of the day and intend to read through the script beforehand and see when I may be able to use any of the techniques above. As I've watched through all of my footage, I've decided that it's important that I actually re-shoot parts of quite a few scenes making for a very busy day.
       As for the question I hope to answer this week I would like to look somewhat into acting which is something I have yet to really touch on. I want nothing more than to have the script performed well and much of that relies on myself. I don't have a very focused question to this point but I''l be sure to include one in my next post. All I know is that it will have something to do with emphasizing emotion when delivering lines. That's all for today.

Happiness Revisited - Class 4/27

      Today in class we read through an article entitled Happiness Revisited, after reading through the passage of writing we were prompted with a set of five questions. The first question posed was the following, When do you feel most happy? This particular question is something I have attempted to answer before, it holds a place in most of your life decisions, I have yet to produce a complete answer, at best my response is an educated guess. To respond in a somewhat concise manner I would say this, I am most happy when I am making decisions based solely on what I find interesting. As soon as a deadline is introduced an expected standard of quality I lose much of the passion I began with. Often I find this happiness in writing in my own time for my own reasons. This is the thought process that led me to pick the project that I did. Certainly there is a deadline and there are things that I can and cannot do but the project is loose enough to keep me interested and passionate.

    The second question addressed to us was a request to respond to the article before this. There are points with which I agree. The parts suggesting that you need to truly push yourself to progress and ultimately find greater happiness. I agree that we've progressed very little in understanding happiness. What I found issue with was this core piece of what's being called "flow." It's this theory that they've adapted to a chart. This chart has skills and challenges on it's two axis and details where you can find your happiness and where you will face boredom or anxiety. It just seems odd to speak on how we've learned little about happiness and then to go on to create a simple chart to depict happiness, it seems like a cheap answer to a complex question. Happiness is not attained the same way by everyone. 

    We were asked to say where we would be on the chart, I am not so sure that I am in fact on the chart. I would say I am suffering some anxiety from the project but it's not due to the amount of challenge exceeding the amount of skills I possess. The anxiety is simply due to tight time constraints, something that I have little control over which feeds into a piece in the article that speaks on how much of what effects your mood is beyond your control. Throughout my project I would say the amount of anxiety has increased, currently I am at the stage with the most work and a good amount of work left to do which depends on the reliability of others. It may decline if the next filming session goes well.
      The final question asked of us was, how can you achieve flow? In short complete filming, maybe the entire film then I will feel happy having reached a final product. 

   

A Full Week of Editing

Throughout this past week I have been hard at work editing all the footage shot this past Saturday. As of now I have edited most of the first four scenes of the film, unfortunately there are some re-shoots I have to do before I will be able to fully complete the scenes. In addition to the actual film I completed the sample of my project that is expected of us by next Monday. Due to the fact that I am without a full scene I opted to make a short explanation as to why the project takes so long. The sample is about a minute and a half long and it is a collection of clips in which scenes are messed up for whatever reason or certain things that just delay the process. I want to show it in class before I post it here so I will likely have it on the blog by Monday afternoon. Aside from that not all too much has happened, I hope to write the last scenes in the script this weekend.

Weekly Research Question

I have come to notice that my project tends to be somewhat lacking in the area of research. To combat by tendency of failing to mention what research I have done, my teacher, Alexis Lord, suggested that I start doing a weekly research question. Now I'm not so sure how I will write this in the future but this I am both answering a question and posing a new one.
   Now the one I have been responding for the past week is the question of how to both use and properly utilize the program Adobe Premier Pro. As I wrote that sentence I also had to research how to write program titles, whether to italicize or not. I found no answer in my short search so I hope italics are not required. Anyways I have spent the past week editing my first bits of footage and am now editing the larger pieces from Saturday. This has forced me to spend much of my time working to understand Adobe Premier Pro. For those that don't know this particular program is one of the better video editing programs and currently runs for over two-hundred dollars. Fortunately they offer a month by month plan for thirty dollars a month. Due to it being a very comprehensive program it takes a bit of time to take advantage of what it offers. This is what you see upon opening the program.

    The first step in using it effectively was to read through the shortcuts for certain necessary tools, such as the tool to cut slips, and then modify them to my liking. Due to the quality of the program it's built with the idea that most people using the program will have had some experience in editing, this resulted in my own difficulty to figure out how to do things as simple as fade in and out. So for the more basic aspects of editing I kind of just learned as I went, learning functions as I needed them. I am now capable of efficiently editing clips length and sound, making a more fluid piece.
    In terms of the more complex aspects to the program though, I have had a bit more struggle. For example I was working with a clip of a car driving by a large hill that was covered in bright yellow grass. The scene worked well because of the color, so when I went to edit it and found the colors to be much more dull than they were in reality, I attempted to use color correction. Now I could have just brightened the shot but it washed everything out the contrast was lacking. I could have increased the contrast but that resulted in it looking very artificial and poorly edited. So I went with the difficult method of having to navigate the color correction tools. What I ended up using was a mask which is simply a tool where you modify a shape to cover what area of the image you want to modify. You then alter the color with a standard rgb color model and brightness/contrast scale. It took me some time to reach the color I wanted but in the end I had something much closer to what I originally imagined. I will likely post a before and after of the image tomorrow. There are many more specifics I could go into but this post is already moderately long and I will likely address those aspects later on.
    My question to answer this week is, how to use camera work to improve a scene and keep an audience interested.
   On top of adding a weekly question I also want to post my weekly goals each Monday and the state of the goals of the week prior. So this is what I would like to accomplish between now and next Monday.

Goals
- Edit together the first two scenes involving dialogue.
- Set up a second full film day within the next two weeks.
- Complete a small section of film to share with the class next Monday.
- Complete rewrites and write the last of the scenes.
- Fix and add to bibliography.

Class Questions

Today in class we listened to a piece by one Brian Grazer who spoke on his belief in the importance of leaving your comfort zone. Grazer says that he often pairs himself with difficult people in situations that are at that time beyond his skill set.  This he says is the key to growth, and that without growth you may as well be dead. Grazer repeatedly questions himself as to why he subjects himself to these difficulties even though he is capable of retiring instead. He goes back to this idea that even as a competent adult, growth is integral to human life.
   This led me to question my own tendencies and if I myself frequently exit my comfort zone in the course of my own project. As I've mentioned before the field in which my project resides is not one I am competent but beyond that have I really extended myself to a significant degree? I think thus far what has been most nerve racking, furthest beyond my comfort  zone, is simply the task of acting, and having others have to recite my lines. In the past I have been rather private with my writing and rarely chose to share. So to have people read my writing in front of me and attempt to make it work is new and provides anxiousness. It's to a lesser degree with acting yet still performing arts have always made me uncomfortable and to have to do it in front of friends somehow makes it worse.
     The next step in exiting my comfort zone and developing further would be to share pieces of my film with those working professionally in the field. Sharing my writing isn't easy but I have a decent degree of confidence in that, whereas in film I haven't the slightest. I am fully aware that feedback on my film would be incredibly beneficial but to put it out there is difficult. As I write this though I am seeing it as an integral part of the process and will likely force myself to do it.

Full Filming Day

This past Saturday the first large filming session was completed, I was able to get together the five main actors and an extra friend to operate the boom and camera. On that day we filmed from around 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. In that time we , managed to get through about five or six larger scenes.
    There were several things throughout the day that surprised me, the first mild surprise being how long one scene takes to film even in the case of scene that is only a little over a minute long. Often we'd be interrupted by a dramatic change in the natural lighting, boom in the shot, a dog barking, or of course a mistake in a line. Although I expected some difficulty completing shots I did not expect it to this degree. my bigger surprise though was the ability of the actors involved. I had one friend in particular who I expected to be less than enthused with having to act. Surprisingly though he was entirely cooperative and quite possibly the best actor among us.
   All in all the day was a success and incredibly exhausting. Everyone left tired, filled with splinters and hopefully feeling accomplished. Below is a photo captured in the latter half of the day not really sure what was being filmed if it was anything at all.

Some Information Regarding the Film

I was recently given feedback on the content of my blog by a local community member. There was a lot to the evaluation but what stood out most to me was his comment about how I had not shared anything regarding the plot of the film. This was partly on purpose and partly accidental. I wanted to have it be sort of unknown as to what it was as someone went to view it but I realized it may be important that I at least include a vague description to add some context to my work.

  The film follows a teen named Adam who is directing a short film with his friends, I know, sort of cliche at face value. Adam is attempting to create a film that he thinks to be a masterpiece with his equally diluted friends who he has recruited to help with the project. As I would prefer to not divulge much of the story I will instead lightly detail some of the characters. Adam has his right hand man in his friend Doug who is endlessly loyal to Adam. Doug is somewhat brash but easily malleable in the hands of Adam. Next is Dave, Dave is pragmatic, realistic and intelligent. Consequently he is often the butt of the joke and considered to be a nerd which is said negatively. Dave is really the only one who is fully aware of the true quality of the film. Darius is the most passive and as a result is often used for the more dangerous scenes in the film. Lastly is Tom, Tom is a pretentious and conceited young man. He holds himself to high standards and prides himself on his palette. Tom is often a pain but his supposed acting ability keeps him around. Other than that I don’t have much more I’d like to divulge at this moment.

Project Reflection

Today in class we were asked to read two articles and use their content to address our progress. One of these passages was entitled "Practicing." The central idea of this piece was the importance of leaving your comfort zone frequently in order to improve in your skills. After reading this piece we were prompted to reflect on our on practicing done throughout this project. I would say that I have left my comfort zone for a large majority of this project, although I am familiar with writing, film scripts are very foreign. I have made efforts to be working every single day even if through frustration. Although I think my tendency to practice skills required for this project is good, there is certainly room for improvement. Where I think I could improve most is the area of being conscientious in my research. Thus far I have rarely researched beyond my current knowledge. Certainly I watch films and draw from them but there are plenty of things I could know more about that I have yet to research. Things such as the effects of lighting or the purpose of certain shots or framing. So in short, primarily I would say I tend to leave the areas in which I am competent and work in these areas often yet in the areas of research I could be more ambitious.
     The second article we read was about the idea of motivation in your work and the importance of deadlines. It talked a lot about the benefits to putting your name on the line when you need to complete your work in order to motivate you to do so. Although I'm not in the situation mentioned in the article, by way of this blog I am attaching my name to this project, pushing me to produce something of quality to have my name on. On top of that though, my own self derived motivation comes from two things. The first being that I don't like to put out work that I feel could have been improved upon. This has continually pushed me to work harder and frequently than I could be in such a loosely structured project. The second thing that pushes me in this process is I genuinely enjoy the work I am doing. Certainly there are times of frustration but being able to bring my thoughts to film is enough of a reward to keep me going.
        We were asked to select a passage from the article on motivation, a passage that included a method to complete work that we would consider doing ourselves. The recommendation I found to be most practical is as follows, "First divide the work into smaller tasks and set deadlines for every one of them. Then find a tough and reliable person to hold you accountable for meeting each one. Make meeting the deadline - not achieving perfection - the ultimate goal." This is something I could find helpful and am already doing a somewhat diluted version of this practice. I agree that with such a large project it doesn't help to attempt to tackle it as one big task, it is best to break it down to what you can complete week by week.

First Day of Filming

Finally footage has been recorded, albeit only the opening shots but it is something. There's about ten minutes of footage that will need to be cut down to about half that. I intend to have it all edited to my liking by tomorrow evening and then I will be set to have a large filming day on Saturday. I've made sure all of the actors playing main characters will be free all of Saturday. Noa, my friend in the digital media department will put in a sign out request for equipment tomorrow to ensure we have what we need for Saturday. If all goes as planned I will hopefully have a large chunk of the filming completed. I may also complete very little, who knows, that's the nature of first time film making.

Further Issue and Future Plans

Once again filming has been pushed back. The plan was to film yesterday afternoon, my friend Noa had collected all the necessary equipment from the schools digital media department. Noa and I went to my house to film the first scenes but when we attempted to film we were met with an error message on the camera that Noa was unable to fix. As a result filming has been delayed. Due to Noa's busy schedule the soonest possible date for filming is Sunday evening. This brings a bit of anxiety because I am still without anything to edit, on the upside though it's looking as if I will be able to lock down Saturday of next weekend for a full day of filming with all the key actors present. It's frustrating to be without work to do for so long but hopefully I will soon have plenty to do.
    With the lack of work I have spent much of my week researching for my project. This has involved reading through The Screenwriters Bible and viewing films. The first film I watched this week was a film directed by Shane Carruth, Primer. It's about a group of four guys who in their spare time work on science projects in  on of their garages. In one of their experiments they invent a machine that allows them to travel in time. Two of the men go back in time to cut the other two men out of the discovery and quickly use the machine for their own gain. What impressed me most about the film was Calluth's ability to produce an intriguing story that at the same time left you unable to understand a large majority of what was going on on screen. It was very important to watch very intently. It pushed me to think about the inclusion of subtleties to draw a viewer in. I will modify the script throughout the week to possibly make things less predictable or obvious. Also the film was made on the minuscule budget of seven thousand dollars which makes it clear that you don't necessarily need excessive money to produce something of quality.
     The second film I viewed was in a much different vein. The film was Hot Rod, directed by Akiva Schaffer. Hot Rod is a comedic film that follows a stuntman named Rod Kimble who wants to save his step fathers life by raising money through stunts on his motor bike. Kimble works to pay for his stepfathers surgery so that they can fight one more time because he feels that he must beat him in physical combat in order to gain his respect. This is a film I have seen many times before and may have subconsciously drawn from in my script. It's helpful in my project because much like my own film it revolves around a group of friends with unique personalities and it thrives off of their conversations with one another. I may just use this an example of creating comedy through these basic interactions while still pushing a story along and achieving some sort of conclusion.

Finally a Film Date is Set

After far too long I have finally nailed down a time to film the first shots of my film. Unfortunately it coincides with my contraction of what seems to be the flu, less than ideal but it's something. This Wednesday I will be filming the opening sequence of the film on top of possibly some small shots throughout the film. It'll be good to alleviate the anxiousness surrounding the lack of filming thus far and also it'll serve as my first chance at working with the equipment. This will give me time to figure out what produces my idea of what the film should look like. I am hoping that after this first session things will pick up and I will be able to complete the rest of the filming much more efficiently. At least the small section will give me something to edit so I don't feel as if I am fully wasting necessary time. Some nervousness has arose regarding completing my project in time, I really have no idea how long post production will take, quite long is what I have heard from just about everyone, so having done none of it yet produces some anxiety. Oh well though, I'm not exactly a stranger to late nights and rushing to complete work it's more a question of my fondness of those two things. By Wednesday I hope to finally have something worth reporting on, unfortunately though this is all I have for now.

Minor Setbacks

    I hoped to be filming by today first but I have met my first setback. I am without film and sound equipment until next week at the soonest which is mildly alarming. Because of my lack of experience in film I can really make nothing more than a guess as to how long filming and editing will take. This means that it would be best to give myself as much time as possible to increase the possible degree of error. There is a lot that needs to be done, but can not be started until filming begins, really the primary concern right now is just being in sort of a lull where there is not much progress I can be making.
    As for next week if there is further issues with the equipment I will either have to seek a temporary alternative or at least do something productive that is short of filming, such as in depth read through where I would essentially just have people run through the scenes as if it were for the film just without a camera. Again I am without much ti update on other than that, hopefully I will know with certainty, the status of the equipment, by Monday evening.