Storyboards done.

Well, kinda. I've finished drawing them all out but I still have to annotate a fair few with camera directions and transitions etc. But all good. Done 50-odd. In two books, Yeah.

Jamie

Updates.

As you may have gathered from the last post ala Mikee, I met with him and my star actor Keir Carroll the other night to discuss some things and have a few pints because we're raging alcoholics.


But more to the point, we went through the script and had a really good session bouncing ideas off eachother. I like this project I'm doing, but after this I'm really looking forward to starting it all. Yeah budday!

Jamie

Rough ideas after looking through the script with Jamie and Keir. And two pints of the black stuff.

Mikee

Actor Test 2.

Keir doing some more acting for me, footage again is edited for a strong contrast.

Actor Test.

My pro-tag-noir, Keir Carroll, acting out a few of his own lines. The footage has been edited to make it look more effective (and less grey). But the annoying about the DV camera is the background noise of 'neeeeeeeeeeeeeee'.

Some Test of my own.

First Test, I wanted to try out the Contra Zoom for myself as well as some other bits and bobs. With the Contra Zoom, I need a bit more practice but I'm getting there with it. I'm generally experimenting with settings at the moment to try and get a strong contrast and make it look very bold.

Soundtrack idea.

When I was walking home from my tutorial at Camberwell today (which went well). I was listening to my ipod and thought of a good idea.

For the Sound of my Film Noir anyway, I plan to take full advantage of Mikee and his orchestra. But for some elements of the film it may be good to use actual Soundtracks. I thought this whilst listening to Frank Zappa so pretty random, but there are good examples of this kind of thing. Such as Marie Antionette by Sofia Coppola:



I can't find a better example due to copyright law on youtube but you get a rough idea, it's a great contrast of contemporary music against old history. A great way to explain the story/scene and gives it an interesting edge in general. I'll talk to my sound guy MIkee though before anything of this part develops further.


Ciao

Jamie

Film-making Techniques.

Last post today I promise, this is a video I came across that covers all the techniques I'll use in my Film Noir film, obviously not all of them, but rather than having to explain what each shot or each camera direction is, these are good visual examples of them instead.



Jamie

Camera Techniques 2.

Another camera technique I'm really interested in using is the Stereoscopic shot. It's actually the same method used for 3D filming with those red and blue glasses, only no colour is saturated and rather than play the shots at the same time. Using two cameras, which are side by side (like a pair of eyes) you flick through the footage each camera films very quickly. The idea is that it tricks the eyes to thinking that the background of the shot is stationary, while the foreground flickers about quite surreally.

I first saw this technique it in a music video for Harmonic 313 (it may make you feel a bit queasy):



This was on the Creative Review Blog with a few other videos that used cool techniques. I think this will be a very good method to use, especially for my dream sequence.

Again, I'll shortly post up a test shot of this technique, for you to see and it'll be good practice for me.

Jamie

La Haine.

I think La Haine is a good example of the visual aesthetic I'd like. It has a lot of elements similar to Film Noir, shot in black and white, high contrasts, good use of diagetic and non-diagetic music, long takes, wide angles.
I found this playlist on youtube for La Haine, I highly recommend you watch it if you haven't done so before:

La Haine

Camera Techniques.

A key part of my project which I've forgotten to mention on my blog is the camera techniques I plan to use.
This will be a big part of my experimentation, to help emphasize certain bits as well as add a new element to my Film Noir film.

The Contra Zoom will be included in the film, the process is when you pull the camera away from the shot, and zoom in at the same time. This gives a surreal look of the subject matter being concentrated on as everything else in the background gets big. It's a good shot to use for someone being shocked or surprised or realizing something.

Here is an example of a contra zoom test:



And here is an example of it in the film, 'La Haine' which is a briliant, go to 02.25 to see the contra zoom in full effect, connoting that things are concentrating on them, in this big city of Paris:



Jamie

Another tough decision.

It pains me to say this but I'm afraid I've had to drop the animation outcome as well.

Even though this is something I've really wanted to do for a while, I have to be practical and think of my time scale and work load. The effort for this would be immense. So I'm afraid it's dropped for now. I will pursue it as a personal project in the future though.

Jamie

Film Tutorials - Lighting Techniques Part One and Two.

Very very useful video for my Film Noir, lighting is key.

Film Tutorials - Framing Shots and Composition.

I don't mean to blow my own trumpet but I think I'm pretty good at composition already, but a shot I really want to try is the Contra Zoom/Pull focus. I think it will be really good for the Film Noir.

Film Tutorials - Mise-en-scene.

I learnt this term at A-Level, and it's very key to filming, IndyMogul goes through the basics to refresh my mind about it.

Film Tutorials - Storyboards.

I've already started storyboards but this nonetheless IndyMogul has some useful tips in the matter.

Film Tutorials - Editing Tips.

Film Tutorials - Preparing for shoot.

Just a good idea to be aware of preparation. Charged batteries, extra props and materials, good actor management (as in looking after them), weather forecasts and any particular permissions I may need.

Film Tutorials - Camera Crane.

A bit ambitious, but would be really cool. Especially for street shots.

Film Tutorials - Camera Dolly tips.

I've come across this you tube channel called IndyMogul, and it's pretty useful seeing as I haven't been taught any Film techniques/studies, these 4 minute videos tell you the jist and tips of a certain area. all DIY so you can do it as well.
Also, because the key element of my project is experimentation, I need to show my awareness of techniques.

Film Noir Script - Printed.

It's alive!

Big thank you to Louis Valenzuela for helping out with the correct terminology and proof reading it for me, I'm really excited about this outcome.

Tutorials. And a tough decision.

My first week back, and I've just finished a 2 day session of tutorials discussing work with new people and tutors, with the idea of getting some different feedback from people who don't know what your project is about, a fresh perspective basically.

On Monday we had a group tutorial all day, presenting our work. It got round to me finally in the afternoon, to which the tutor I was with, decided to rip in to me, interrupt and criticize every detail of my work. I wouldn't of minded if it was constructive, but it wasn't, it was just rude. I had done a lot of work, he just put me under pressure to explain it so I got nervous and became a blabbering idiot. Embarrassing. So understandably I felt really de-motivated.

However on Tuesday, we had one on one tutorials with different tutors, this was much more helpful and productive. He suggested a few bits and bobs I could look at. He was concerned that I have set myself a lot of work, which I have, I always set myself loads. But he was concerned that it could affect the overall quality of the outcomes, and perhaps it was better to concentrate on 1 maybe 2, rather than 3 outcomes.

He made a good point about this.

Which makes me sad to say I'll be dropping the Hansel and Gretel Outcome.

First I want to say a BIG thank you to Alex Cruden who wrote the script for this, it was really good, and I will be using it in the future for a personal project. I had to drop it as it looked like it would take the most work to do, and I'm definitely doing the Film Noir Outcome as I've done the most research for this, I just didn't want to a half arse attempt at it when it could be really good with my full attention. Sorry again to Alex.

I've been thinking about dropping the Stop Motion Photo montage Animation too. Again, with this, I really want to do it, but I really think time will be against me for this. It will take a lot of effort (cost a bit too) and I don't think it's worth rushing or compensating the quality of it for it to be in on time. I'll decide in the next few days but doesn't look hopeful.

Dramatic times!

Jamie

Updates.

I've finally made some more progress.

- I've completed the storyboard for the animation, like I've mentioned before, since it's concentrating on a more Visual Aesthetic rather than content, I've only needed a few storyboards to explain what's going on, but nonetheless it's good to get it out of the way. I'll take some photos of them and show them on here so you can understand what I'm doing.

- I've completed the first draft of my Film Noir script! Quite pleased with it as I'm not trained to be a writer, I'm going to get a few people to read it and see if there are any holes in it. As well as read it myself and hopefully get a second draft polished as soon as possible.

Next step is to do a storyboard for Hansel and Gretel, as well as do some TEST SHOTS - I really need to do this, just for practice, I've done enough theory work (by my standards) I need to get on with the more practical side of things.

That's all for now folks.

Jamie