For our music video assignment, we chose the song, "You and Me" by Disclosure. I interpreted this as a song from a girl who is in love with someone who doesn't love her back the same. I wrote the story accordingly, of a boyfriend that doesn't spend any time at home with his girlfriend and when he comes home, massive rows ensue.
I am going to compare our music video with that of Justin Timberlake's, "What Goes Around, Comes Around." The song is sang from the point of a man who has been cheated on by a girl he is in love with and in turn she then gets cheated on and he feels she deserves it. The music video tells the story of a player who finds a girl who plays him worse. The general feeling of the film is that they both deserve the hurt they both cause. The twist is the massive shock at the end in which the female character dies in a car crash.
Although our music video is less violent, a similar story is portrayed, except from the point of view of the female singing character. Our ending is left on a cliff-hanger, as the main male character arrives home to a silent house and it is unknown what he stumbles upon in the living room, although it can be assumed either the female protagonist has killed herself or is cheating on him with someone else.
Obviously, the Justin Timberlake music video is a high budget production, but I feel our music video still captures the emotions of the characters perfectly, with same amount of empathy felt for the protagonist and a similar level of shock at the ending, despite being more ambiguous.
I like the fact that both of these music videos are very modern in the way that instead of being the victim, the woman stands up for herself and both characters end up being of even strengths. The lyrics of both music videos envoke emotion and sympathy for the protagonists, and in our video I varied the beats I cut clips on to keep the audience interested and alert, in terms of finding out what the outcome of the story is.
Links:
You and Me Music Video: https://vimeo.com/82075817
Justin Timberlake Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOrnUquxtwA
Wednesday, 7 May 2014
Comparison of Two Editing Applications in Relation to Career Pathway
Before this year, my main experience of an editing application was with the use of Final Cut Pro 7. At the time, it was a very popular editing tool for both professional and amateur filmmakers and editors. However, with the introduction of Final Cut Pro X, this application has now seemed to become obsolete in the industry all together, with no upgrades for Final Cut Pro 7 now available.
Avid Media Composer, however, seems to be the answer. It has always been used in a professional environment and seems to mainly put new learners off with its complex look and temperamental nature. This year I have had a lot of practice using Avid, however, and I do in fact see why it is so popular in the industry.
The use of keyboard short-cuts for more precise editing saves a lot of time, and with practice, an editor can become almost expert at simple commands to allow for faster editing. I also really like the easiness of creating rolling titles with the marquee tool and the quality of the exported product with the correct settings used for various uses, for example uploading to an online video sharer site.
I do not however like the way in which Avid projects are very difficult to move from one location to another, especially with a lack of knowledge of how to do this properly. This was not the case with Final Cut Pro 7.
I do feel that having knowledge and experience of both applications has greatly helped me during work experience tasks, but I will concentrate on Avid Media Composer, as I now prefer it and is the most widely used application in the television industry, which is my aim to be a successful editor in.
Avid Media Composer, however, seems to be the answer. It has always been used in a professional environment and seems to mainly put new learners off with its complex look and temperamental nature. This year I have had a lot of practice using Avid, however, and I do in fact see why it is so popular in the industry.
The use of keyboard short-cuts for more precise editing saves a lot of time, and with practice, an editor can become almost expert at simple commands to allow for faster editing. I also really like the easiness of creating rolling titles with the marquee tool and the quality of the exported product with the correct settings used for various uses, for example uploading to an online video sharer site.
I do not however like the way in which Avid projects are very difficult to move from one location to another, especially with a lack of knowledge of how to do this properly. This was not the case with Final Cut Pro 7.
I do feel that having knowledge and experience of both applications has greatly helped me during work experience tasks, but I will concentrate on Avid Media Composer, as I now prefer it and is the most widely used application in the television industry, which is my aim to be a successful editor in.
The Social Network: Post Production Case Study
I have chosen The Social Network for a case study of its post production process and the elements/persons involved in this. I particularly enjoyed the film's subject as I felt the story of social networking to the level of Facebook is highly interesting, however I wanted to explore in more depth the process of it appearing on the big screen in relation to my studies.
Firstly I discovered the film had been shot on a RED ONE 4K camera, which records at 4096 x 2304 and achieves ultra-high definition. The crystal clear footage, I feel, makes the film feel real by allowing the audience to watch the film as if they are watching real life.
The film was originally edited on Final Cut 7, VFX conformed on After Effects and then imported into Adobe Premiere. this was done to allow real-time playback with all the effects of After Effects in action. These total over 400 layers and Adobe Premiere allowed the Art Director, Tyler Nerson to view this on a creative level and ultimately decide on the visual outcome of the film after the post-production process.
Adobe Premiere is not a programme I have had much experience using, but on completeion of my research I do feel it may be a media editing tool worth investigating and trying out, especially as it is said to integrate really well with the use of After Effects, which I have just began to work with.
The resolution and quality of the produced film were perfect for giving a rich feel to the chosen home media formats, DVD and Blueray and, therefore, A Social Network is another visual masterpiece for the accomplished director, David Fincher, to add to his resume.
Link:
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/customer-stories-video-film-and-audio/postproduction-on-the-social-network/
Firstly I discovered the film had been shot on a RED ONE 4K camera, which records at 4096 x 2304 and achieves ultra-high definition. The crystal clear footage, I feel, makes the film feel real by allowing the audience to watch the film as if they are watching real life.
The film was originally edited on Final Cut 7, VFX conformed on After Effects and then imported into Adobe Premiere. this was done to allow real-time playback with all the effects of After Effects in action. These total over 400 layers and Adobe Premiere allowed the Art Director, Tyler Nerson to view this on a creative level and ultimately decide on the visual outcome of the film after the post-production process.
Adobe Premiere is not a programme I have had much experience using, but on completeion of my research I do feel it may be a media editing tool worth investigating and trying out, especially as it is said to integrate really well with the use of After Effects, which I have just began to work with.
The resolution and quality of the produced film were perfect for giving a rich feel to the chosen home media formats, DVD and Blueray and, therefore, A Social Network is another visual masterpiece for the accomplished director, David Fincher, to add to his resume.
Link:
http://tv.adobe.com/watch/customer-stories-video-film-and-audio/postproduction-on-the-social-network/
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
DSLR Tutorial and Photo Portfolio
Last year, we were set the task of creating a photo portfolio to showcase various effects that can be achieved with different aperture, shutter speed and ISO in terms of exposure, depth of field and overall effect of the photograph.
We learnt the basics of using a DLSR during a tutorial and I found the camera much easier to use than some of the larger cameras I have had experience with during filming. This came in very useful for delicate photography and has since been good for delicate, artistic filming in my short films.
I chose to do my project on London, both in terms of tourist attractions and the unseen places of interest. This lead me to gathering many varied and often original images for the portfolio.
I tried out various different combinations of shutter speed, ISO and aperture to achieve my final shots and was very pleased with what I learnt. My favourite shot was a low shutter speed with a moving torch in Battersea Park in which a swirl of moving light was created.
I feel my understanding of still photography has greatly heightened my appreciation of what can be achieved with film, as many of the effects are transferable to this.
We learnt the basics of using a DLSR during a tutorial and I found the camera much easier to use than some of the larger cameras I have had experience with during filming. This came in very useful for delicate photography and has since been good for delicate, artistic filming in my short films.
I chose to do my project on London, both in terms of tourist attractions and the unseen places of interest. This lead me to gathering many varied and often original images for the portfolio.
I tried out various different combinations of shutter speed, ISO and aperture to achieve my final shots and was very pleased with what I learnt. My favourite shot was a low shutter speed with a moving torch in Battersea Park in which a swirl of moving light was created.
I feel my understanding of still photography has greatly heightened my appreciation of what can be achieved with film, as many of the effects are transferable to this.
Memento Lighting Exercise
For our lighting exercise I was director and producer, as well as choreographing most of the lighting. We chose to replicate the black and white scenes from the film, Memento. I was very lucky to find an attic room at a relatives house in which to film, however this was a difficult location to get to for the crew, resulting in a late start.
As we only had one day to film this added pressure was a challenge as we had to film while there was natural light outside but we still managed to get it all filmed in one day. The attic room was ideal as we could pass it off as a 3rd story hotel room, much like the location used in the original black and white scenes in Memento.
We decided to put our own mark on our replication with the use of a black actor and a soul Bible instead of a Giddeon bible, as well as using the actors London accent for the voice over. We managed to source as many of the props seen in the original scenes in our own homes and from the location, displaying great resourcefulness and the power of team work.
We filmed on a DLSR which allowed for smooth, varied shots, even in difficult spaces such as the small bathroom. We used a shotgun mic on this for the sound however I do feel from experience with should have used a boom mic with zoom mic to record clearer sound. However, this equipment was used for the voice over recording, which is the main sound used in the scenes, and so the use of the shotgun was fine in this particular case.
I feel the lighting should have been used to create more shadow in the left-hand side of the room but as this was our first experience using the lighting we didn't use the right lighting angles to achieve this. I also feel we should have filmed in colour and then colour graded to black and white, as the original had a slightly blue tint and so this would have achieved a more accurate replication.
Overall, I feel we created a fairly accurate replication with our own twist. I was pleased with the result and feel I have learnt from the mistakes we made in our final short film, Human, in which the lighting was used much more effectively.
Links:
Original Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bragrpm50k
Replication: https://vimeo.com/87672862
As we only had one day to film this added pressure was a challenge as we had to film while there was natural light outside but we still managed to get it all filmed in one day. The attic room was ideal as we could pass it off as a 3rd story hotel room, much like the location used in the original black and white scenes in Memento.
We decided to put our own mark on our replication with the use of a black actor and a soul Bible instead of a Giddeon bible, as well as using the actors London accent for the voice over. We managed to source as many of the props seen in the original scenes in our own homes and from the location, displaying great resourcefulness and the power of team work.
We filmed on a DLSR which allowed for smooth, varied shots, even in difficult spaces such as the small bathroom. We used a shotgun mic on this for the sound however I do feel from experience with should have used a boom mic with zoom mic to record clearer sound. However, this equipment was used for the voice over recording, which is the main sound used in the scenes, and so the use of the shotgun was fine in this particular case.
I feel the lighting should have been used to create more shadow in the left-hand side of the room but as this was our first experience using the lighting we didn't use the right lighting angles to achieve this. I also feel we should have filmed in colour and then colour graded to black and white, as the original had a slightly blue tint and so this would have achieved a more accurate replication.
Overall, I feel we created a fairly accurate replication with our own twist. I was pleased with the result and feel I have learnt from the mistakes we made in our final short film, Human, in which the lighting was used much more effectively.
Links:
Original Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bragrpm50k
Replication: https://vimeo.com/87672862
Human Short Film: Idea to Export
I first came up with the idea for my short film after going to see "Under the Skin" with Scarlett Johansson in the cinema. I loved the idea of an alien fitting into human surroundings however I feel the film lacked depth both in plot and ending. I did however like it's artistic approach and the fact that the alien became more human as the film progressed.
The story of my short film, Human, focuses on an alien moving to London and loving it's new surroundings. He loves both the natural elements and the way in which humans utilise these. The short film is artistic in terms of imagery combined with inner thought voice over and a cover by the actor of Pink Floyd's, Wish You Were Here, with relevant lyrics and accent to imply the protagonist is an alien. As with most of my films, I like to have a major plot twist at the end.
I wrote the screenplay to keep ambiguity of who the main character is and most of all keep his real identity hidden until the last moment. Even when it is explicitly implied that an alien lurks beneath the human skin of the protagonist, I still did not want to ruin the artistic feel of the film by stating so. Instead I have added a scary but ambiguous "alien/monster" noise at the end of the film.
As director, I tried to get as many variations of shots and voice recordings as possible to allow as much choice as possible for when I reached the post-production stages. The most challenging shot to film was the 90 second continuous shot towards the end of the film. Even on our final take that was used in the film there are still mistakes and imperfections I would have preferred to eradicate with another take but unfortunately this was not possible due to the availability of our actors. I was very pleased with the variety of shots recorded by the cameraman and extremely pleased with the lighting effect we trialed for the sinister shot of the alien at the end of the film, also used for the flash frames.
Before editing, I went through the process of media managing our footage and audio, as well as audio syncing with most of the clips in order to speed up the editing process, as well as achieving a more organised and efficient edit. I organised these into different bins to separate the different settings and sounds, including voice over and background music.
I thoroughly enjoyed the use of sound and imagery in Human, and the outcome was a film I am proud to have directed and edited, as it turned out the exact way I intended when writing it. I then exported it in the Vimeo recommended guidelines, uploaded it to my channel on the site and this allowed me to easily share it with all involved and interested in viewing the film, including sharing it on Facebook. The feedback I have received has been very positive both from peers and professional contacts I have and I now feel very confident I could successfully produce another short film, in particular a re-make of our final first year short film, Green-Eyed monster.
Link: https://vimeo.com/93488003
The story of my short film, Human, focuses on an alien moving to London and loving it's new surroundings. He loves both the natural elements and the way in which humans utilise these. The short film is artistic in terms of imagery combined with inner thought voice over and a cover by the actor of Pink Floyd's, Wish You Were Here, with relevant lyrics and accent to imply the protagonist is an alien. As with most of my films, I like to have a major plot twist at the end.
I wrote the screenplay to keep ambiguity of who the main character is and most of all keep his real identity hidden until the last moment. Even when it is explicitly implied that an alien lurks beneath the human skin of the protagonist, I still did not want to ruin the artistic feel of the film by stating so. Instead I have added a scary but ambiguous "alien/monster" noise at the end of the film.
As director, I tried to get as many variations of shots and voice recordings as possible to allow as much choice as possible for when I reached the post-production stages. The most challenging shot to film was the 90 second continuous shot towards the end of the film. Even on our final take that was used in the film there are still mistakes and imperfections I would have preferred to eradicate with another take but unfortunately this was not possible due to the availability of our actors. I was very pleased with the variety of shots recorded by the cameraman and extremely pleased with the lighting effect we trialed for the sinister shot of the alien at the end of the film, also used for the flash frames.
Before editing, I went through the process of media managing our footage and audio, as well as audio syncing with most of the clips in order to speed up the editing process, as well as achieving a more organised and efficient edit. I organised these into different bins to separate the different settings and sounds, including voice over and background music.
I thoroughly enjoyed the use of sound and imagery in Human, and the outcome was a film I am proud to have directed and edited, as it turned out the exact way I intended when writing it. I then exported it in the Vimeo recommended guidelines, uploaded it to my channel on the site and this allowed me to easily share it with all involved and interested in viewing the film, including sharing it on Facebook. The feedback I have received has been very positive both from peers and professional contacts I have and I now feel very confident I could successfully produce another short film, in particular a re-make of our final first year short film, Green-Eyed monster.
Link: https://vimeo.com/93488003
A Clockwork Orange
One of my favourite films by far is A Clockwork Orange. There are many reasons for this but the main one is the fact that, even though it is over 40 years old, it has not aged. This is mainly due to the fact that the language and costumes used are not of any particular age or culture and are purely associated with the book and film, not real life. This gives the film a very futuristic and interesting edge, with many parallels to society however not so similar to identify them with a particular era of London.
The film is a satire of society, with the criminals being just as bad as the law enforcement. This type of black humour appeals to me greatly as it controversially pokes fun at the world we live in. It is offensive yet not too far from the truth, even if over-exaggerated. The fact that two of the "droogs" that the protagonist, Alex, hangs around with become police officers that use their power to beat up others is a major example of this.
Another major theme of the film is the use of behavioural therapy to "cure" a criminal. The irony of this is that Alex creates an aversion to the classical music he loves, which is the only real beauty in his life, and it in fact stops him from being human and making moral choices for himself.
The film is very violent and sexually explicit, to the level that to most audiences today it would still be considered highly offensive. I do, however, believe the use of these elements is not unfounded as the effect of making the audience uncomfortable also makes them consider their own morals. The film is making the point that if someone who is not in a place of power (Alex) commits a "crime" we feel they have done something wrong, but if a police officer commits the same level of violence towards a perceived criminal we feel this is justified and this is not something we should be comfortable with.
The fact that the film was banned in the UK for 27 years proves how both influential and controversial the films ideas are and I feel great caution should be exercised when producing a film of this nature. The film has been linked to many real life cases of crime and this can only be seen as a negative influence of viewers, however it is also one of the most highly rated cult classics by the fantastic director, Stanley Kubrick and I feel to the correct audience the film is a masterpiece. I do not feel films of this level can simply be viewed, as further reading and interpretation is needed to unlock the many hidden meanings and intended satire of the film to allow the viewer to appreciate the artistic direction of A Clockwork Orange.
Link:
Making of Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flzsv0-Gjf0
The film is a satire of society, with the criminals being just as bad as the law enforcement. This type of black humour appeals to me greatly as it controversially pokes fun at the world we live in. It is offensive yet not too far from the truth, even if over-exaggerated. The fact that two of the "droogs" that the protagonist, Alex, hangs around with become police officers that use their power to beat up others is a major example of this.
Another major theme of the film is the use of behavioural therapy to "cure" a criminal. The irony of this is that Alex creates an aversion to the classical music he loves, which is the only real beauty in his life, and it in fact stops him from being human and making moral choices for himself.
The film is very violent and sexually explicit, to the level that to most audiences today it would still be considered highly offensive. I do, however, believe the use of these elements is not unfounded as the effect of making the audience uncomfortable also makes them consider their own morals. The film is making the point that if someone who is not in a place of power (Alex) commits a "crime" we feel they have done something wrong, but if a police officer commits the same level of violence towards a perceived criminal we feel this is justified and this is not something we should be comfortable with.
The fact that the film was banned in the UK for 27 years proves how both influential and controversial the films ideas are and I feel great caution should be exercised when producing a film of this nature. The film has been linked to many real life cases of crime and this can only be seen as a negative influence of viewers, however it is also one of the most highly rated cult classics by the fantastic director, Stanley Kubrick and I feel to the correct audience the film is a masterpiece. I do not feel films of this level can simply be viewed, as further reading and interpretation is needed to unlock the many hidden meanings and intended satire of the film to allow the viewer to appreciate the artistic direction of A Clockwork Orange.
Link:
Making of Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Flzsv0-Gjf0
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