Documentary Day 2

Today we began filming day 2 of our documentary interviews. Unfortunately due to the cancellation yesterday I began the day trying to find a new interviewee with no such luck. This was very disappointing for both me and the team as it would set us back on the amount we could use to edit and the varied answers we would have achieved otherwise. Therefore instead we began looking over the work we had completed the day before by looking through our rushes and discussing how we should edit them and what directions the answers could take us. We also began labeling everything correctly and developing an order. I also began writing up a script for our audio interview so we could perhaps use the answers in post production, using animation.

This time also allowed us to go through how we wanted to exactly film the cut away scenes, these depended heavily on the type of house we would be using which we hadn't seen previously. It also depended on what our actress would allow us to have access to and how open they were to using items around there home. Fortunately for us, our final interviewee was very enthusiastic about her new role and would willingly improvise a scene if necessary.

Finally finished filming and heading home.

I rang in the morning to confirm that we were still good to go as I did not want another cancellation. Once confirmed we prepared our equipment, once again checking batteries and SD cards. Due to the bad weather the previous day we had, had to dry out the camera bag and Marantz bag. This was unfortunate but we didn't want to damage the equipment. Luckily the bags had dried overnight so we were good to go. Again we had to walk to location which was fortunately not far and in a simple location.

Due to this particular interviewee providing the majority of our cut away scenes we had allowed ourselves more time to film at this location than at the previous addresses. While my team set up I briefed our actress on what we would like her to do, also going through the interview questions. I also discussed our ideas for the cut away scenes allowing her to elaborate on what she thought and what we could use in the house, particularly the kitchen, giving a change of location from the living room where the interview would be taking place. We were able to quickly and efficiently develop ideas for the cut away scenes to be performed after the interview.

Once we had finished setting up, with myself checking over what the team had decided, we asked our actress to sit as we adjusted the camera to her position, keeping close to the rules of thirds. Megan performed a sound checking, which we had visibly improved on from the day before, getting better, clearer sound quality. We began the interview, receiving helpful and interesting answers. The interview finished within the time we had set to complete it and we moved location into the kitchen to create the cut away scenes and beginning of our documentary.

Using items already available within our actress's house added to the realism and truth of our shots and allowed us to make it more believable. We took  a few takes of each cut away, adjusting the angle and composition of each shot so we had more depth to edit with.  We were very happy with the work we produced and hope it is to the quality expected of use, although we are pleased non the less. Our interviewees how been extremely patient with us as we used the equipment and had all visibly improved by the end of the day. We also became faster at setting up the equipment such as the tripod which had be a struggle to maneuver at first.

Once we had completed this last bit of filming we headed home to back up our rushes and look through the recordings for quality and to see what else we would need to film. However it wouldn't be until a first edit draft is made that we will be able to have a real scale of the amount. Unfortunately it looks as if we will have to recruit a new interviewee. This is not ideal but will be necessary for the quality and completeness of our film.

We were able to progress with the next stage of our filming by being able to write detailed questions for our professional interviewee, based on the information we had received by the 'public' and send this off to our contacts. I will also be contacting our university associate to update them on the progress we have made.

Overall I believe we have learned a great deal about the process of setting up, communicating with the public and actors, and conducting an interview. I would like to also thank everyone involved so far with our film for being involved and being patient with us and allowing us to develop our film making skills. We look forward to the feedback and what improvements we could make.

Documentary Day 1

Today we began the filming our first interviews for our 'See Green' Documentary. We began early to make sure equipment was working and charged, checking SD cards and cables. We did have to visit the shop for batteries for the Marantz but had given ourselves plenty of time to do so. Then we sorted through the necessary paperwork such as actor release forms, interview questions and production schedule. We wanted to be as organised as possible. 

Megan re listening to recorded interview

Our first interviewee lived close by so we walked to her house. Unfortunately she had recently had a knee operation and was unable to move around much, however she was still enthusiastic about making our film, supplying useful information and allowing us time to set up and move things in her house for a better composition and frame. Fortunately for use she was very accommodating and willing. 

We set up the equipment quickly and efficiently, though had some trouble with calibrating the Marantz as we are still getting used to the equipment while our actress remained patient and was briefed on what we wanted of her. Once we felt we had clear sound and a good composition and image we began our filming. Taking care to incorporate lighting changes and room space. We did unfortunately have to remove her clock from the room due to the ticking sound, but the sound remained clear after that. Megan was in charge of our sound for the day. While Hazel and Rob focused on the camera and I directed the shots and interviews. This worked well because I was team leader and had made contact with our interviewees, therefore they felt I was the one who knew what should be happening. Being careful of her knee op, we arranged a few simple motion shots to incorporate as cut away's for our film. Once finished we thanked our interviewee and returned home to back up our files on to a hard drive and laptop, ready for editing late.

Once we had backed up our material we still had enough time to look through it and check the quality of both the image and the sound. Allowing us to see what other shots we would need from interviewees. This was beneficial because any shots we felt we needed to do again, we could replace with new shots from a separate interview.

Our next interview was located further away and needed the use of a car. The lady was a lot older than our previous interviewee and didn't quite understand what we wanted from her. After discussing with her more closely, she would allow us to film her but not post the images on the internet. This however would make her interview void. Therefore we managed to negotiate that we could record a voice recording of her interview and create a voice script that we could perhaps recreate later using and actor, or as facts using animation in our finished film. She agreed to this and the interview continued.  This was a slight set back for our filming process as we will now have less clips and footage time than previously expected. We hope to find another person to interview but we are short on time. We have also found, when we were originally trying to contact people, that the age group 65+ do not like being posted on the internet and many rejected our request to film them for this reason. This has made it incredibly difficult to find people to interview. We felt somewhat disappointed at this particular interview, mainly due to the way I should have perhaps communicated better instead of assuming that they would assume the material was going to be posted online. We are however glad we remembered the actor release forms and asked them to sign them before beginning filming. The interview wasn't a total loss as we were provided with very interesting answers, allowing us to have new and interesting questions to ask at our next interview. 

I learnt that communicating clearly is essential when filming and to detail exactly what we want from our actors. We returned home and again backed up our material and looked though, slowly beginning a voice script of the interview, that we hope to incorporate into our final film.

We later received bad news again, that an interviewee had to cancel on us due to poor health and could no longer allow us into there home to film. This has again shortened our footage time. Fortunately I have a few contacts in the area that we are phoning to see if they would be willing to be in our documentary. We are hopeful someone will volunteer and allow us to continue filming.

As far as first days of filming go, we've had mixed up and down results. We do have some good footage which is the main thing but are disappointed with the amount. However tomorrow we will be continuing with another interview and hopefully an extra volunteer. If not we will have to make a second trip and return to finish filming. This is not ideal but must be done for the quality of our film. Overall an interesting day in which we learnt a lot and worked well as a team. I am proud of the team for adapting so well with the situation and remaining positive throughout the day. 

A Documentry's Beginning

 On Tuesday 20th November  after weeks of preparation  my team and I have set out from Stafford to film our first university Documentary. It is also our first work that will be judged and used for industry purposes. We are creating a documentary to encourage the elderly to reduce the amount of energy they use, linking with the European union's efforts to reduce energy consumption down by 20% by 2012.

Waiting for the train with equipment.

To accomplish this I have mentioned in an earlier post about our pitch presentation. We were rewarded with helpful feedback and the motivation to continue with our idea's. However before we could get to the stage of filming we have had to do a lot more prep. Including gathering actors and interviewers. There availability has affected our process and determined the time scale of our filming. Therefore it has been a number of weeks since our pitch. We have also continued to gather more research to make our documentary as close to the truth as possible but also enjoyable to watch and educational.

On the train excited about filming tomorrow

We have caught the train and are changing location, mainly due to the fact that we have more contacts in this area of the country. We are armed with our equipment and hope to be finished over the next 2 days, then it's into the editing rooms. We will have to wait to complete our film until we have all our material, which includes an interview to be held at a later date.

All our actors are willing to help, some are also inexperienced which will give us more experience with working with the public. We will also be entering these peoples home's, which means we will have to adapt to the environment quickly as well as take special care to respect the environment. We will also be working with a frailer generation physically and will have to take care over the length we are filming, letting them have plenty of rests.

All our train tickets for journey

My team and I are very excited with this adventure and look forward to the experience and hope it will be rewarding and fun. We also want to learn as much as we can also teach back to the people helping us out.
The marking for this assessment is based on the actual making of the film, composition, exposure, focus etc but the 'see green' team will be judging on content so it is important for us to keep this in mind and have a good balance to our film.

Our first day of filming will commence tomorrow and we just hope we are organised enough and can work together as a team to create the documentary we all envisioned. So I hope it all goes well and we have some excellent footage.

It was a long journey.

We have put a lot of preparation into this work and hope it will be success and look professional. As we want to make this a professional production we are also encouraging our actors and interviewees to sign a release form allowing us to distribute the film in any way we want. This allows us to post the link on Vimeo or Youtube. We will also be allowing our actors to have a screening of the film and allow them to rate it. We will also be using these new contacts to help distribute and advertise our film.

Anyway on with the filming.

Disturbia (2007) - An effective beginning?

‘Analysing the effects created using cinematography, editing and sound within the introduction sequence of ‘Disturbia’ (4.30minutes)’

‘Disturbia’ was directed by D.J.Caruso and released on 14^th September 2007 by DreamWorks Production Company. It’s a thriller with a runtime of 105minuets. The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer and David Morse. Translated into Russian it is named ‘Paranoia’ accompanied by the tagline ‘Every Killer Lives next door to someone’.

After witnessing his father’s death at 16, Kale Brecht is sentenced to 3 months under house arrest for punching a teacher. He passes his time by spying on his neighbours only to discover that his neighbour is a serial killer. Determined to expose the truth while protecting his mother and friends, Kale attempts to prove what Mr Turner really is.

I am analysing the introduction of the film as this sets the scene and introduces Kale making it important to grab our attention. The screen begins black with non-diegetic voices speaking in the background:

‘“You think he sees us?”

“Nah he can’t see us but he can feel us watching.” ‘

This line foreshadows future events in the film and causes tension within the audience straight away as they prepare for something to happen. Slowly the diegetic sound of water begins as a stream fades in. As the camera pans upwards we can see a reflection in the water, the camera continues upwards to a medium shot of two men fishing. There are mountains in the background with the sun shining creating a very calm scene that relaxes the audience. Non-diegetic calming music begins in the background removing the tension from earlier.

As the characters talk they reveal their father and son, the son named Kale. The camera cuts to a high angled close up of a fish that they are trying to catch. It cuts to a medium shot of Kale as his dad joins him. The mis-en-scene is very still apart from the water and fishing rod. It cuts to a close up of the fish and follows its movements. We feel that Kale has the upper hand over the fish by using a low angled shot so they appear higher than the fish. The camera cuts to a medium shot half in the water which is murky and unclear, the audience realises the fish isn’t as defenceless as it seems. The camera pans upwards, everything appears still until the fish jumps in the air. We feel Kale’s triumph which the music accompanies by rising with the speech tones.

The camera cuts to a close up of Kale reeling in the fish with diagetic sounds of the fish splashing. The audience sees Kale’s disappointment when the fish escapes. A medium shot shows his full disappointment. A close up forms into a point of view over the shoulder shot of his dad. By cutting from the two characters we can see their close relationship and respect for each other. Kale is willing to spend time with his dad than his friends; they can talk freely to each other. A medium shot allows us to see them together which cuts to a high angled long shot with them in the distance. This allows us to see that they’ve travelled far to a remote, beautiful, peaceful and calm place. This is continually accompanied with non-diegetic music to emphasis their calmness and tranquillity.

The scene abruptly cuts to a close up of Kale and his dad in a car. The music continues but is drowned out by the diegetic sound of the engine. Kale is on the phone to his mum. The camera cuts to a low angled long shot of a large house in the suburbs showing that they live a happy comfortable life. We hear diegetic sound of Kale’s mum replying before cutting to show her in the kitchen, the music has stopped. This alerts us that something is about to happen allowing for tension to build. The camera cuts back to the car emphasising the family’s close relationship. A close up of the wing mirror reveals a car taking over. This makes us feel wary that the car is threatening Kale’s relationship with his family. Cuts to a point of view, over the shoulder shot through the windscreen of Kale passing the phone to his dad we feel relief because he can concentrate on driving. A close up of his dad then to his mum emphasises the relationship. The audience begins to speculate the damage if one member were to die, this heightens the tension that has manifested within the audience. There is still only diegetic sound.

A point of view shot out of the windscreen looking at the car in front which is too close, at this realisation the car quickly turns to reveal a stationary car in front. Kale isn’t looking and the people by the car are running away. We know they are going to crash and are scared that they will die. The next shots are very fast, but show us almost every angle to give a big impact affect and build the tension to whether they’ll survive. A close up reveals Kale’s dad reaching for the steering wheel but it’s too late. We see the car hit the stationary car and turning as it moves through the air. The camera stays level with the car with every different shot and angle this allows us to feel from the characters perspectives, heightening the tension and terror felt over the fear for their lives. The diegetic sound of the car crashing to the ground is designed to shock us, we calm as the mis-en-scene becomes still but when we see the smashed window the tension rises again. There is relief when we see that they are alive. The whole crash takes just 14 seconds but within that time the director has managed to play with our feelings in a few shots.

The audience is still concerned for the characters but believe the danger is over. A close up reveals that they’re in pain but not seriously injured. Kale remains securely fastened to his seat unlike his dad who is falling out as they remain upside down. As the diegetic sound quietens the non-diagetic high pitched music begins and continues to rise, building tension once again. A close up of Kale shows him looking out his dad’s window. “Dad-“, is said in a quiet frightened voice which allows the audience to realise that it’s not over yet. Cuts to Kale’s dad as he realises then a point of view shot of the car coming towards his dad’s window. The car continues towards the camera and the audience knows it’s not going to stop; it hits the camera shocking the audience. It cuts to a red truck which pushes the car as the camera stays still creating a faster and bigger impact. A close up of the car spinning towards the camera makes that us realise that someone will be seriously hurt. The camera is still at a low level with the characters. Medium shots are used to show the impact and destruction of the crash. Smoke surrounds the car when it stops making us focus on the car and makes us keep our attention on the characters survival. The mis-en-scene is very still and using a low angled close up of the back of the car we see the extent of the damage. Only diegetic sound is used such as the tinkling of falling glass. The camera pans to the front of the car showing the smashed remains. The sound of someone moving give relief to the audience as Kale crawls out of the car, ripping his leg in the process. The camera follows Kale as he moves to the other side of the car, always keeping to his level. We see’s he’s in pain but believes his dad is alive. A point of view, close up of Kale looking into the car, smiling gives the audience hope. However his expression slowly changes to disappointment then horror and we realise that his dad’s dead. Using this technique the director has used Kale’s facial expression to explain that his dad’s dead without us needing to see the body. Non-diegetic music slowly begins allowing us to mourn with Kale who stands and steps back, the point of view shot continuing as if his dad has died with his eyes open.

This first scene is designed to show the close relationship within Kale’s family and therefore the impact Kale’s dad’s death will have on them, Kale especially. The director has made use of the cinematography to make us feel as if we are first witnesses then involved in the crash. Using fast or slow shots the director has conveyed desperation or calmness. The editing also allows us to see everything in a few seconds of footage. Shia LaBeouf has created a stunning and suspenseful performance by using his expressions to give the audience all the information they need.

The music used to create calmness is kept in the background while the director prefers the use of diagetic sound to give the suspense needed. Overall the opening sequence allows us to understand Kale’s actions later in the film and pity him.

Therefore the opening effectively sets the scene for the rest of the film, giving Kale a motive and reason for his actions with all the appropriate elements included. This is a very powerful opening as it is shocking and to the point, effectively creating emotion within the audience.

"Marla is the root of it all" - Fight Club Directed by David Fincher

“Marla is at the root of it.” Says Jack in David Fincher's film 'Fight Club' (1999)

(Warning this essay contains SPOILERS from the film 'Fight Club'. It is an analysis on the effects of Marla Singer on the main character, scripted as 'Jack'.)

Fight Club DVD directed by David Fincher and Fight Club written by Chuck Palanniuk.

Marla Singer is introduced very early on by Jack (the narrator) when he appears to be threatened by Tyler Durden with a gun, “Somehow I realize that all of this: the gun, the bombs, the revolution...has got something to do with a girl named Marla Singer.” From this brief mention the film moves to a flashback from which the rest of the story is told. The first mention of Marla allows the audience to know that Jack believes that Marla caused his present predicament and therefore causes us to judge her accordingly. We believe that this ‘woman’ must be an untrustworthy and manipulative person as we stereotypically cast her as someone likely to cause Jack’s position.

When Marla first appears on screen our earlier assumptions appear to support her character. Jack is currently addicted to support groups that allow him to cry and release his built up emotion allowing him to sleep. Marla ‘invades’ these support groups. We hear her heels before we see her entering the meeting room for a ‘men’s testicular cancer group’. She is smoking with no concern for the other members in the room. Her appearance is messy and also has an uncaring quality with her short matte black hair and her big dark eyes. Jack’s dislike towards her is enforced by Jack’s narrative voice-over, “And she ruined everything.”  She uncaringly asks if this is the group for cancer and Jack is left staring dumbfounded. Her behaviour appears harsh and disrespectful towards the members of the support group due to her constant smoking and turning up to all and any group. However, this emphasises the wrongs that Jack is committing by also attending all the support groups giving us a contrast between the two characters “Her lie reflected my lie.” Jack becomes self-conscious and is unable to cry, stopping him from sleeping again. Jack uses very negative language when describing Marla, influencing the audience’s reactions and feelings towards her, making her throughout the film, appear more ‘unhinged’ than Jack.

The contrast between Jack and Marla remains clear. Jack has everything that everyone wants to aspire to, even living in a condo with the slogan “A place to be somebody”, he isn’t happy. Marla is also unhappy but is of a lower class, owning little and unable to do anything due to societies system “The girl who lived there used to be a charming, lovely girl. She’s lost faith in herself.” Both characters have a desire to ‘feel’, Jack creates ‘Fight Club’ to quench the desire while Marla attempts suicide “This isn't a for-real-suicide things. This is probably one of those cry-for-help things.” Marla has a ‘bored’ attitude to her situation; she has little to live for and nothing to do and appears not to take her situation seriously. Tyler stops her suicide attempt, beginning a sexual relationship with her in the process.

Jack becomes jealous of this relationship even though he denies liking Marla “I am Jack's Raging Bile Duct.” However, frequently throughout the film Jack’s mind wanders to Marla for instance when he is at a support group and thinking of his cave, for the second time, it is Marla he thinks of. Tyler’s and Marla’s relationship is a key function to giving the audience clues about Tyler’s true origin “Tyler and Marla were never in the same room together.”And at other instances Marla’s words or actions appear out of context to Jack. Tyler soon wants rid of Marla and doesn’t want Jack to say anything about him to her “If you say anything about me, or what goes in this house to her or to anybody, we're done. Now promise me.” This sounds like a reasonable request but as the film draws to its conclusion we discover the real reasons behind it. Jack’s refusal to admit he likes Marla creates Tyler’s sexual interest in her. Tyler is everything Jack wants to be and Jack desires a relationship with Marla but won’t admit it to himself, “If I had a tumour, I'd named it Marla. Marla...the little scratch on the roof of your mouth that would heal if only you could stop tonguing it, but you can't.”

Marla’s odd behaviour is evident when she steals some clothes from a launderette and sells them in a vintage shop further on. Although Jack comments on this he does nothing to stop her. When they exchange numbers Jack’s voice-over tells us “Marla’s philosophy of life was that she might die at any moment, the tragedy, she said, was that she didn’t.” This highlights again the uncaring attitude she has but then opens up questions about Jack’s own feelings on life and how the audience should view their own lives. When Fight Club begins Jack doesn’t care about how he’s hurting the other members just that he can release his own energy and emotion “Where did you go Psycho Boy?” He only realises the true impact of what ‘Project Mayhem’ is doing when ‘Bob’ dies by accident. He can’t understand why the other members are so uncaring and passive. This leads to his attempt to protect Marla from the effects also but in the end she is brought straight back by his own making.

Marla appears or disappears whenever something crucial happens in Jack’s life. Jack is finally able to sleep and Marla appears causing him to be unable to sleep. When he is finally ‘rid’ of her by splitting the support groups he sets up fight club. When she starts a sexual relationship with Tyler, Project Mayhem is created. When he makes her leave to protect her, he has just discovered he is Tyler and has realized that Fight Club and Project Mayhem were not the right solutions. Overall when Marla leaves from his life, Jack/Tyler creates something more dangerous that creates a bigger community but is still harsh and uncaring. Chuck Palahnik author of the original book said the whole story is about a man reaching a point where he can commit to a woman. I believe this is true; Jack has nothing to care about or commit to and thus has no purpose, when Marla enters his life he refuses to admit to himself that he likes or cares about her to the end. When Marla asks him to come over and check if she has breast cancer, he goes. Tyler’s relationship with her is a reflection of what Jack truly wants. When Fight Club and Project Mayhem refuse to provide its members with that ability to care, Jack realizes his own mistake and tries to break free. Therefore Marla is the point of the story. Men need to learn to care or they will have no purpose. Interestingly when Jack is asked to find his “power animal” he thinks of a penguin which symbolises self-discipline, self-confidence, spiritual, creative energy, loving and capable of out of body experiences. This defines what Jack wants to be and gives the basis for Tyler. It is also what Jack becomes in the end, He becomes confident and loving.

However, Marla maybe the reason behind Jacks actions later in the film but she is merely a catalyst for fight club. Other factors caused Jack to create another personality. Tyler flashes on screen almost subliminally before me meet Marla.  The first time is when Jack is talking about “Everything is a copy, of a copy, of a copy.” And we have a shot of a copy machine and everyone drinking starbucks coffees. Jack is sick of the repetition within his own life and craves something different which Tyler is. When Jack is refused help by the doctor Tyler flashes up on screen, which leads him to the support groups where he and Marla believe that “When people think you are dying, they really listen, instead –“ ... “--instead of just waiting for their turn to speak.” Tyler then flashes up as Marla is leaving from a meeting and going off down the street as Jack pauses to decide if he should follow her. Therefore Marla isn’t the root of it all but she is the catalyst.

In conclusion Marla creates a meaning for the film as well as being a catalyst she is also the goal. 

This essay was created in 2010. All Quotes are from the film 'Fight Club' (1999).

Networking at BVE North 2012

On the 14th November 2012 I attended BVE North at Manchester Central. This is an even for 'production, post and content delivery professionals'. Meaning it is a gathering of UK film industry talent and companies to network, promote and socialize. It is also a great opportunity to learn from others and see the latest technology. 

Tickets and show guide for BVE North

The event is free but pre-registration was necessary which I completed easily and simply online. Allowing me to attend two days of events. Unfortunately I could only attend on the 14th however it did allow me to attend with a number of other peers from University and allow us to practice networking together. 

BVE was held in Manchester at Manchester Central, previously known as the g-mex. It is located in the centre of Manchester and was very easy to find, with signposts clearly visible. The building itself, is basically a large conference hall that was split into sections to accommodate stalls. Four temporary theatres had also been set up to base seminars and debates. I attended two seminars in the IOV theatre. 

Due to the wide level of people attending this event, the seminars were easy to understand as well as fully in depth, with tips for every level of skill. I particularly enjoyed Christina Fox's seminar on 'Essential Camera skills for Freelancers', all which was transferable into any area of work. She had great experience of the industry and gave simple but very effective tips. Her work and the presentation she gave can be accessed at 'Urban Fox TV'. 

This event was also a great opportunity to view the latest technology developments and have them explained and demonstrated by the companies themselves, such as Sony. We were also encouraged to be hands on with the equipment which was exciting. Watching those already experienced was also interesting as we could see what they looked for in the equipment or what they were using it for. This varied with the equipment and the job being currently undertaken. 

The BVE turned out to be very insightful and I learnt a lot, not just about the equipment but also networking and broadcasting my work to others. Also the importance of using the technology to my advantage such as vimeo and youtube. It was an inspiring day as well as somewhat overwhelming. I can't wait to learn and develop my own skills to be as knowledgeable as the people I met and spoke with. 

I also look forward to attending the next BVE event and learning more.