TV Theory 6: Documentary watching- 'Making a Murderer' (Netflix, 2015)

Hereare notes taken from TV Theory session on : 27th October 2016

Making a Murderer (Netflix, 2015)
-10 part US documentary series about a miscarriage of justice.

Documentary:
-Unscripted, but often relies on classic narrative structure.
-Employs real people, but often requires directed performance.
-Typically shot handheld, but also often employs classic fixed camera techniques.
-Does not use formal Hollywood mise en scene (but still relies on classical precepts of framing, composition and lighting).

-Documentary in purest sense is filmed observation. A recording or 'document' of reality. Primary for informing rather than escapist entertainment.
-Term first coined by Scottish filmmaker John Grierson (regarded as 'father of British documentary') in 1926.
-Grierson described documentary as 'he creative treatment of reality'.

Documentary formats:
Formal documentary:
-Observational (Excluded)
-Current affairs/factual (Making a Murderer, content driven)
-Polemic (Adam Curtis) Uses documentary form, techniques and conventions to educate, debate and inform content.
Hybrid documentary:
-Reality (benefits street)
-Scripted reality (TOWIE)
-Drama-documentary (Man On Wire, Touching The Void) Uses documentary form, techniques and conventions of entertainment.

'Documentary film is traditionally perceived to be the hybrid offspring of a perennial struggle between forces of objectivity (represented by the 'documents').

Narrative documentary modes:
-Expository- emphasises rhetoric and information. The classic 'voice of God'/current affairs/BBC documentary.
-Observational- classic 'fly on the wall' Typically no voiceover, music or other interventions (Maysles Brothers).
-Participatory- onscreen relationship between filmmaker and subject, usually via interview (Louis Theroux).
-Reflexive- makes viewer aware of filmmaking process. Seeks to challenge our assumptions (Nick Broomfield).
-Poetic- artistic montage-based. rely on expressive editing of sound montage rather than classical continuity.
-Performative- filmmaker is performing in the documentary itself, does not necessarily represent reality.

Critical approaches to documentary:
-Realism
-Mediation and Representation
-Reception Theory
-Ideology
-Documentary and Propaganda- 'Man with a Movie camera' (Vertov,1929)/ 'Olympia' (Riefenstahl's, 1938).

TV Theory 5: Sound

How important is sound?
-Can you have sound without pictures?
-Can you have pictures without sound?

Films that use sound without moving pictures:
-Derek Jarman's Blues (voices over blue screen).
-Chris Marker's La jetee (voices over still photographs)
-Even 'silent' cinema used live musical accompaniment and sound effects.

Function of sound:
-aural narrative (dialogue, voiceover)
-sonic ambience (mood, atmosphere, sound effects)
-emotional or intellectual resonance or dissonance (music)

Key elements of film sound:
-Speech (dialogue or narration)
-Ambient or natural sound
-Sound effects
-Musical score or soundtrack

Use of sound effects:
-Heighten drama-abstract or enhanced effects designed t affect audience perception or emotional state (e.g., audible heartbeats in horror films)
-Simulate reality- ambient background that underscores and reinforces unity of mise en scene and editing (e.g., traffic noise, chatter, room tone)

Aesthetic uses of sound:
-Impressionistic-harmonious sound that evokes a mood, atmosphere or tone.
-Expressionistic-discordant sound that evokes abstract or dark psychological states.
-Asynchronous- sound and visuals are mismatched for dramatic effect.
-Diegetic and non-diegetic.

Diegetic vs non-diegetic sound:
-Diegetic- any sound that is intrinsic to the film space or implied by action (e.g./ character speech, music performance)
-Non-diegetic- any sound that is external to the film space (e.g., voiceover, soundtrack music)

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
Director: Pedro Almodovar
Dubbing Nicholas Ray's Hollywood film.

Looking for Langston (1989)

'Films are 50 percent visual and 50 percent sound. Sometimes around even overplays the visual'-David Lynch

How important is music?
The Imperial March- Conveys power, villainous, marshal, militaristic.

Music as 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 associated with a particular person, place or idea (e.g., Jaws theme, Darth Vader's march in Star wars).
-Pop songs as commentary/dramatic device: 'When words fail, music speaks' (Hans Christian Andersen)

-How important is the right music?

-Can you use any music regardless of dramatic context?

-Why are some musical soundtracks changed?

Modernism vs Postmodernism
-Modernism- an aesthetic and cultural reaction to classicism, relying on innovations in form, material and techniques to create new modes of rational and progressive expression and representation.
-Broadly ideologically utopian (e.g., Soviet montage)
-Postmodernism- reaction t failure of modernism's objective rationalism. Playfully deconstructs form, fusing disparate elements of high and low culture (usually through homage or pastiche) and meta-reference (intertextuality and self-referentiality).
-Broadly ideologically disruptive (e.g., The Simpsons, Pulp Fiction)

Use of narration:
-First person subjective (monologue or contributors voice: e.g., Jarman's Blue).
-'Voice of God' objective commentary (expository narrative: e.g., classic documentary).
-Conventions of male vs female voices (dominant vs empathetic); RP vs regional (authoritative vs authentic).

19th October 2016: Afternoon session

Here are notes gathered on the 19th October 2016:

Story-boards:

What are story-boards?
-Story-boards are a series of sketches, that used as a planning tool visualise the action of a story unfolds.
-Some are detailed, others are diagrammatical

When are story-boards used?
-Used in all forms of film and TV
-Used at all stages of a production
-Conception- Used o convey the concept for a new project. Far cheaper than test shoots or pilots.
-Pre-production- Enable detailed planning of entire production: sound, production design, camera.
-Production- used in actual production phase as guide for setting up shots on the day/ used as first point of reference.
-Post-production- Use in editing phase to help editor visualise how the director intended a scene or sequence to be constructed.

Story-board styles:
-Graphic-Artistic/ detailed.
-Diagrammatical-Less detailed/ less artistic/ widely used.
-Plan View-Consists of one drawing for each scene, viewed from above, with camera positions, angles listed on it.

Shot description:
-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)

'Contracts' Short Film Review

'Contracts' Short Film Review:

'Contracts' is a short film running at only just over six minutes but still manages to convey it's story within that short space of time. The story involves a meeting in which people have been sent kill someone for money but deception is used and the two 'hit men' try to deceive the other to get the al of the ransom money.  This film also uses blank screens with clever uses of sound to create power of suggestion for the viewer.

This is a good influence for my own short film as I plan to make a trailer which lasts two minutes, therefore I need to successfully convey my story within that short space of time. I probably wont take influence form the blank screen ideas though as text is used to explain certain plot points, creating a 'tell not show' approach to film making which I would like to avoid. Also I am also avoiding te ideas of hit men as well due to the idea being generic . However, the themes of deception do link very well with the themes of my own screenplay/ film.

Premier Pro Workshop 2: 14th October 2016

This workshop included editing a scene shot by professionals to create a cohesive story within the scene.
Certain editing techniques we have learnt are to import video and sound over an existing piece of footage to save time in editing. Also we practiced using a rolling and cutting tools to make sure that the audio and video look and sound natural and also colour correction effects.

Here is my final edited version of the scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcR0iqpEGOY

Or:

I think that this edit was good but some of the audio cues are a bit out of place due to editing mistakes and I feel like the camera does not have much of a rhythm to the change in camera angle/shots.

'Compromised' Short Film Review

'Compromised' Short Film Review:

'Compromised' (Calvin Freer) is a short film found on YouTube about an agent who is caught as an enemy during a hostile meeting and goes on the run.

The ten minute film has a resemblance to the film 'First Blood' in the way in which a man is on the run and has to use his survival skills to stay safe. However, the protagonist is portrayed as being the perfect character who can do anything and everything that he has to do which is something which I feel I should avoid. Having a flawed character would be much more interesting because the task at hand would become more difficult due to their inability to perform certain tasks.

In this respect, the influences gained from this short film would be to do the opposite of what has been done here in terms of characters.
However, I shall take influence from the higher ranking characters as there is an air of deception between characters which causes certain events to take place.

TV Theory 4: Editing

Introduction to television: Texts, contexts and culture:
Editing:

Objectives:
-What editing is and how it serves the narrative.
-Explore different schools and theory of editing.
-Use of editing in cinema television and documentary.

What is editing?
-The assembly of visual material into sequences.
-Constructs a narrative (linear or non-linear).
-Manipulates time (condense, lengthen, flashback, flash forward).
-Juxtaposes ideas and concepts (visual and intellectual).

Do we need editing?
Not necessarily- Andy Warhol Empire State Building Film.

Long take continuous narratives:
Rope (1948): 10 minute takes with 'hidden' edits to join the action.

Russian Ark (2002): 87 minute continuous Steadicam shot.

Creating visual meaning:
-Mise-en-scene and cinematography create implicit meaning within shots.
-Editing creates implicit meaning between shots.

Un Chien Andalou (1929): Surrealist film

If editing creates implicit meaning between shots, what meaning is conveyed by undercutting the following...
-Blossoming flower.
-Raising an obelisk.
-Fireworks.

Four key elements of editing:
-Spatial- the relationship between different spaces and the editors manipulation of them, e.g. cross cutting.
-Temporal- manipulation of time within the film in relation to order, duration and frequency, e.g. montages, dissolves, wipes, fades.
-Rhythmic- manipulation of duration of the shots: accents, beats and the tempo, e.g. action and suspense scenes, jump cuts.
-Graphic- the relationship between pictorial qualities of shots or scenes, e.g. graphic match out.

Why editing is important:
-Creates strong visual narratives from simple script descriptions or unedited rushes.
- The most creative aspect of filmmaking.
-A good editor can make mediocre shots work; a mediocre editor can ruin (or ignore) good shots.
-Shooting ratios have an impact on editing (film is 10:1, documentary 60-100:1)

Two schools of editing theory:
Continuity Editing: Gives the viewer the impression that the action unfolds with spatiotemporal consistency. In most films, logical coherence is achieved by cutting to continuity, which emphasizes smooth transition of time and space.

Soviet montage is where a formal theory and technique where editing serves an ideological place.
Soviet filmmakers showed that film could serve a political education purpose for the betterment of society.
Eisenstien said that montage, especially intellectual montage is an alternative to continuity editing.
Montage is conflict - where new ideas emerge from collisions within the montage sequence.

5 principles of soviet montage:
Metric: Editing which follows a specific tempo, cutting the next shot no matter of action
Rhythmic: similar to metric but allowing for visual continuity from edit to edit
Tonal: uses the emotional meaning of the shot eg: sleeping babies denote peace
Overtone/Associative: a fusion of metric, rhythmic and tonal montage
Intellectual: editing together shots which when combined convey a intellectual or metaphorical meaning

Modern documentary editing:
Evidentiary: Meaning of edits is reinforced by narration or dialogue. shots are often illustrative and usually maintain some visual continuity.
Dynamic editing: In dynamic editing, concepts of matching and continuity rarely apply. Shots are ordered by meaning but not necessarily by their relationship to each other in time or space. A documentary filmmaker photographing a leopard taking down a gazelle can’t ask for a re-take or another angle. Generally, he only gets one shot at one angle. Because of this he will need to string together discontinuous shots to create meaning and tell his story.

TV Theory 3: 13th October 2016

What is camerawork?
-How the camera is used in television and film to serve story, character and action.
-The art of cinematography.
-The primary grammar of visual storytelling.

basic elements of camera work:
-The shot- affects our emotional and psychological relationship with character and setting through composition and speed.
-Movement- affects our emotional and psychological relationship with character and setting through changes in movement.

How do we use shots?
-The basic building blocks of visual grammar.
-The visual equivalent of sentence structure.
-If shots are words, mise en scene is meaning and editing is narrative structure.

The basic shots:
-wide shot- establishes location , setting or character's context in setting.
-medium shot- characters dominate the frame.
-close-up- face or specific object dominates frame
-extreme close-up- one particular focus in frame.

The size of the image is important to the emotion, particularly when you're using hat image to have the audience identify with it- Alfred Hitchcock

Classical framing and composition
-Rule of third- subject placed at aesthetic intersect.

Angle and speed:
-High angle shot (overhead shot, birds eye view)-objective, alienating. diminishes character or subject in frame, emphasising vulnerability or isolation.
-Low angle shot- emphasises character or subject's dominance in frame. Often used for 'hero shots', or menace.
-Dutch/tilt angle-disorientating, creates psychological tension.
-Slow motion/fast motion-alters audience's perceptual or emotional response to dramatic action.

Expressionism:
-Angled shots are a common feature of expressionism, particularly the classic German expressionist film of he 1920s-30s.
-Expressionism presents the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists sought to express the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality.

Motion and emotion:
Why do we move the camera?
-to heighten action or emotion.
-to convey objective or subjective viewpoints.
-refocus audience's attention within the scene.
-explore or change setting/ environment.

I believe in using camera movement when it helps tell the story more effectively... I think one of the first essentials of the moving camera is that the eye should not be aware of it- Alfred Hitchcock.

Hitchcock's Frenzy (1972)
Use of camera movement to emotionally distance audience from action (murder narrative)

Alienation:
-Hitchcock's use of the reverse crane/ racking shot is an example of alienation effect.
-Alienation is the extent to which one maintains a critical distance from cultural production. the more immersive a piece, the greater the extent to which one is drawn into the fictional piece, often associated with passively experiencing the media.
-Contrastingly an alienated  audience remains removed from the media, critically considering the signs, narrative and so on. This is often considered in relation to artifice, with alienated media not attempting to hide the constructed and artificial nature of the production; showing scaffolding, using minimal staging etc.

Key camera movement techniques:
-pan, tilt and zoom
-handheld/ Steadicam
-dolly/ crane

Filming Halloween (1978):
-heightens action and emotion through subjective POV
-switches between subjective (steadicam) and objective (crane) viewpoints.
-refocuses audience's attention within the scene (movement through set and pans)
-Explores character relation to environment.

Elements of visual style (Bordwell):
-denotative (directing attention)
-expressive (bringing out or magnifying emotional qualities)
-decorative (flourishes or stylistic patterns that are independent or semi-independent of narrative design.
-symbolic functions (invoking abstract concepts).

Use of handheld in documentary:
-Heightens action and emotion (conveys urgency)
-Dynamics of transition (moving from one location to another)
-Places character in context (life on the streets). Authenticity.

Camera workshop: 12th October 2016

This workshop included filming a scene between two people discussing the 180 Rule (see previous post).

We each had a turn in acting, audio and directing. I feel that I was able to successfully direct the actors and choose the appropriate shots for the scenes.

Here is the full edited scene that I shot and directed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIYbiX_znQo

Looking back on this edited piece I realize that I would rather change certain editorial choices which I had made. These include changing the shot to a close-up of a non-speaking character too early and leaving a slight pause at the end of the edited piece.

The final cut of the Chair Scene

Here is finally the edited version of the footage I shot involving the scene with the chair:

CALMING CHAIR:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2FTcQIZ0Wg

Story-telling with Pictures: 180 Rule

Here are notes taken from 'Story-telling with Pictures:180 Rule':

180 Rule:

-Where you position the camera in a scene is where you place the audience in the scene.

-Screen Right and Screen Left: Characters must stay on either screen right and screen left.




Screen right must look towards screen left, screen left must look towards screen right.

Every time characters change position, camera needs to create another 180 Rule.

-Make sure the characters are seen physically changing sides.
-Alternate solution: Move the camera to visually allow the audience to see the change of sides.


The story so far:
-'What's the point of writing a beautifully structured script, with all the right technical points in it, if the writer does not believe in it?'
-Every idea starts with a blank page.
-Where can ideas come from?
-Anywhere.
-Filter and sift ideas. Test which you feel ae the strongest, which has 'legs'? idea gives you the strongest gut reaction?
-Is it dramatic? Can I dramatize it in a series of events?
The key elements to think about when developing your idea:
-The theme, what is your story really about?
-Characters, wo are these people. Not just names.
-The goal. What is it your protagonist wants? And what will happen if they get it?
-What is the problem to overcome, and how will your protagonist overcome it?
-What is the change of affairs.
-You have an idea for your story.
-Know characters.
-Know the setting.
-Know the goal.
-Know the ending.

The Next Step:
-Structure
-Shooting plans
-Trailer or opening two minutes??
-Find your cast
-Find locations.
-Find your crew.
-Plan your shoot: shot list/ production design/ schedule/ testing
-Risk assessment
-BOOK YOUR KIT!!
-

Steve Coombes Session 3: Beginning, Middle and End.

Here are notes gathered from Steve Coombes session 2:

Begining, middle and end:

Plot- Order of events.

Story- ‘Cacthing the order of events’

All characters should have 'buts'/flaws.

Same with stories: It is the 'but' that gives significance/story to the plot.

-Dramatic Irony

-'What kind of patient does a doctor make?'

-'What kind of funeral would an undertaker have?'

The moment:

-An epiphany

-The turning point

-The beginning, middle and end

-Should come like an 'eye opener'

Sod's Law:

-When everything goes wrong.

-'The only stupid question is one which you don't ask'

Contradiction to what the character says.

Audience= American President

-Wants to know what nobody else knows

-Wants to be ahead of time

Own film:

Opening:
-Have I tested my opening for 'buts' and choices?

-After the opening, I need my character to make choices?

Opening: Get the audience's attention

-Big

-Bold

-Arresting

-Conflict

Middle: Needs to be bigger

- Bolder, even more conflict.

-Materially changes the story

-Rotate the story, revelation

-Give new significance to what the audience is looking at

-Make audiences see the story in a different light
Ending:
-See the final dramatic choice being made
-The more ironies you an show in your ending, the better

Golden Rule:
-Count your moments.
-Make sure to have moments that are memorable and make us believe 'that's a moment!'.
-See the moments in our heads.
-Moments are the most important thing we do in a screenplay.
-'A good film has 5 or 6 moments'-William Goldman.

Screenplay Idea Pitch Updated -Andrew Ayres

Feedback from previous pitch:

-How can I build the world/ convince the audience of the world and setting?

-How do I let the audience know that the two characters are spies?
-Are they actually spies?
-Could deceit the audience into thinking that the characters are spies when they actually are not.

-I have a beginning and end; I need to make sure that I have a clear idea of events in the middle of the film.

-Why does the Devon want to kill Baxter?

-Is a forest a secluded enough location?

Title:
Talking to Death

Genre: Thriller

25 Word Pitch:
Thriller where the protagonist comes across and converses with a strange individual, not knowing they will be their killer.

(19 Words)

Characters: Note that all characters are gender neutral for the purposes of this pitch.
Baxter-
Well mannered, dressed in casual clothing. They are seemingly nothing out of the ordinary.

Character arch: Baxter retains their well mannered persona until suspicions start to arise and they eventually turn on their suspected killer and become more vicious.

Devon-
Scruffy, suspicious and slightly insane. Has bad manners and is unable to completely hid the fact that he is out to kill.

Character arch: Believing they have one over on Baxter, Devon becomes cocky and completely gives the game away. After Baxter acts more viciously, Devon's act is dropped and soon become a cowering wimp.

Unknown Character:
A mysterious figure who gives Devon a picture of Baxter, promising to pay a ransom for Baxter's death.

Locations:

Alcove leading into a forest-

Quiet and secluded where no one would be able to see or hear them talk and the eventual threats that would be made.

Dark Room:
Filled only with a table and tow chairs. A secluded room where a secret meeting can take place.


Story:
Baxter walks down a path down a field and eventually into a small alcove leading into a forest. Baxter sees Devon talking to them self and approaches. Devon is caught off guard when Baxter starts to talk to them, becoming nervous for reasons unknown to both Baxter and the audience. The two start to talk as Baxter offers to help Devon, seeing that they are obviously under stress. During this time, Devon is constantly trying to hide something behind their back which  neither Baxter nor the viewer see.

Baxter eventually gives up on trying to help Devon, who starts talking nonsensical and Baxter starts to walk away. At this point, Devon starts to try moving slowly towards Baxter, finally revealing to the audience what Devon had behind their back, a knife.

Cut to a dark room with a table and two chairs with Devon on one side and a mysterious character on the other ( a flashback ). The mysterious character gives Devon piece of paper with a picture not seen by the audience ( it is a picture of Baxter ). Devon ad the mysterious character contemplate terms of payment for a job that the mysterious character proposes. They shake hands.

Cut back to present day and Devon is about to stab Baxter in the back. Baxter hears the crunch of leaves directly behind and turns just in time to miss the knife and swiftly take down Devon. Baxter interrogates Devon by the scruff of a collar and Devon hastily gives Baxter the piece of paper with the picture. The audience see through Baxter's eyes that it is in fact a picture of Baxter. After more interrogation, Baxter reveals a police badge from his pocket and places Devon under arrest.


Moral: What goes around comes around.




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Premier Pro editing workshop: 7th October 2016

This session included a full introduction to the Premier Pro editing software which is an editing program used by several professionals in the Television industry.

We were all given some unedited footage of a what would become an advert/ mini documentary about coffee and the workers in Uganda. We were also instructed on how to use keyboard shortcuts to make faster progression with the editing process. Although i found this useful, for the moment, I still find that I am more comfortable using the mouse.

During the editing process, we had to tell a story through both visual and audio. i struggled particularly on matching the pieces of vioce-over audio to create a story but thankfully worked out a reasonable order in the end. all that was left to do was match up visual to adio which I found slightly easier.

The order of which I used visually was:
-Opening titles
-Map of Uganda
-Picking of coffee beans
-Grinding of coffee beans
-Roasting the coffee beans
-Drinking the now made coffee
-Zoom out of map of Uganda
-Company logo at the end.

Doing this visually helped to tell the story of the working process of how the coffee is created from square one.

After this session I feel that, after some more practice with the editing and the keyboard shortcuts, I will be confident enough to use Premier Pro on a regular editing basis.

Camera Workshop 2: 5th October 2016

In this camera workshop we were given a small tutorial on how to use the white balance and other filters to create a certain image. This could be done manually or by choosing a certain filter from the menu on the camera.

Doing this enables the recorded digital film to retain a certain style or 'look' to its image.

For example, at one particular time when we were recording, the image being captured from the camera had a green tint to it due to the lack of lighting in the room we were filming in. We targeted a white piece of paper and set the white balance switch to give the image a more natural look without the green tint.

We were also given a tutorial on how to increase and decrease the brightness or darkness of the image using the different shutter speeds. The lower the shutter speed, the darker the image.

I found this segment of the session particularly helpful as I now know how to confidently change the look of my recorded films for better quality.


The second part of this session included recording footage for ourselves using what we have learnt. The scenario we were given was 'someone sitting on a chair'.

When creating this scenario on film, I tried to use several different creative shots. One which I thought worked well was a low-angled shot of a chair in the foreground and a person in the background staring at the chair. I used focus to switch focus between the person and the chair to symbolize that the chair is the person's goal.

Other creative shots I included were a shot of the person's fist clenching. I positioned the camera so that the chair was perceptively in his hand as he clenched it, emphasizing his goal of getting to the chair.

The entire scene was directed as a  comedy (although I fear it may not come across as so when the film has been edited together, plus comedy is subjective) with the protagonist conveying a serious expression on his face during his journey towards the chair, showing that he has some serious intent, but then sits down calmly as if nothing happened. In hindsight  I do not think this was the best choice of genre to film because it didn't really make much sense in the context of what little story there was.

A particular shot which I had trouble with was a zoom on the protagonist's face once they had sat down on the chair. My first idea was to shoot it from a mid shot and then zoom in on the protagonist's face using the zoom button on the camera. However, I had trouble with the focus on the camera as, whenever I zoom in, I had to also control the focus so that I don't get a blurred image which I unfortunately kept getting wrong.

In time, though, I was given advice on not trying to achieve this shot at all. Because I was filming the shot handheld, zooming in on a handheld camera would increase and highlight how shaky the image will be and would not look very good at all. I was given advice on using a movement where I swoop the camera up to the protagonist's face but only if I felt confident enough to do this. I tried the shot a couple of times but didn't think I got the right effect due to my inexperience with this type of shot. I later decided on just using a separate close-up on the protagonist's face from a different angle to which the protagonist turns towards the camera, smiles and nod's their head.

Although I had trouble with certain shots, I believe that I was successful in my experimentation of shots and lighting to create a certain style.

An edited version of the footage will be on another blog soon.

'Soft' Short Film Review

'Soft' Short Film Review:

'Soft' tells the story of a child who has been bullied by a gang and is evidently traumatised by the event. However, as soon as his father runs into this same gang, he finds that he too is also afraid of the gang and unable to fight back for himself.

In the short fifteen minute period of watching this short film, I get a sense of who the two victims of the story are and how they have been a=effected in the past. The father is suggested to have a bad history with gangs or bullies and is unable to protect himself even during adulthood.

This fact would also put a lot of weight on the son as he would usually want to look up to his parental figure for help but cannot find any due to his father's own fears.

The story is about redemption, both for the sons revenge on the gang but also for the son to show his father that they need to take matters into their own hands and not to succumb to their fears.

This short film will influence my work in terms of the redemption theme. My protagonist is someone who is unable to properly fend for them self in a world that appears not to care about them and must make a powerful decision that could change their fate for the rest of their life, ensuring that they make the right decision in the end.

Session with Steve Coombes 2:

Here are notes made on 3rd October 2016

DIALOGUE:

Things you shouldn't do:
-Pointless dialogue/filler.
-Make dialogue on the nose (characters rarely say exactly how they feel).
-Make dialogue too formal.
-use character's name too often.
-Have different talk in the same way/ rhythm, accent-even if in same community (each character needs their own different voice).
-Use unspeakable dialogue.
-Be too grammatical.
-Make the dialogue too real.
-Use long speeches.

Not everything has to be dialogue- Use an entire range of expression: Actions/body language.

Dialogue that contradicts actions is great

Beware of accents
-Write different languages in English.
-Forced accents are rubbish-show actions.

Don't give information in dialogue:
-Show, don't tell.
-Use metaphors.

If characters say something they truly believe in:
-Character is telling the audience about that character.
-Being shown who a character is.

People talk in contradictions:
-Reticence
-Evasion
-Denial
-'I'm not in love' - They are actually in love - In denial.

Dialogue should not be what it appears to be about.

Different characters would have different expletives.
-People speak in rhythm
-Dialogue reflects the rhythm of a character's life.

Come in such that the first line of dialogue grips the audience:
-Humour

Anger is particularly good at being expressed through words




CHARACTERS:

You should know the characters in your script as well as you now your friends.
-Only interested on characters when they fail.
-All characters should begin with failure.
-Characters should be flawed people who fall short of their estimations of themselves.
-'Pride comes before a fall'.
-God characters are under some oppression/ conflict/ obstacle.

Tells are about characters giving themselves away ideally in a visual sense but they do not know that they are giving themselves away.

A drama is when all of the characters are right:
-Make your characters right.

Backstory describes your character external.
-What is interesting is not what the character has done, but what they will do next.


Three Characters:
-Monsters
-Existential Heroine
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