Research post 1

After beginning the process of planning our opening sequence it seemed a good idea to research into the trickier parts of our idea and the technicalities of what could come across as tacky on camera. 

To do this I found videos on youtube I thought would be most beneficial to our group:

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In our sequence, we have shots that include blood either from bodies or on the props (hammers) so I watched this video on how to make fake blood. I now know all the ingredients needed, which are simple and easy to get, and can have to hand on set. I'm glad we can add this extra detail to our piece because it makes it gory and realistic and i think we can incorporate some really cool shots with the blood, like these: 

The ingredients:

1. Flour
2. Red and Blue food colouring 
3. Corn or maple syrup 
4. Some water added if needed for consistency 

You get a bowl and add 1 teaspoon of flour. Then half a teaspoon of red food colouring is added. Then 1 tablespoon of corn/maple syrup and pour it into the mix. Finally add a small drop of blue food colouring and it should form a deeper red colour. Then mix it together and take a look at the thickness of the 'blood' and use if needed add a small amount of water to thin it out.  

MOOD BOARD :)

This is a mood board of our sequence I drew:

GROUP PITCH :)

 

Camera Workshop 2

In the second lesson, we learned about the 180-degree rule where, when filming a shot you have a 180-degree radius from left to right, up to down that you can shoot in. Otherwise, it becomes confusing to an audience.

Alongside this, we learned about the 'rule of thirds' which applies to where characters or objects are placed within a shot. We looked at the example of two people conversing over dinner. it's important you keep the person on the left in the left hand of the shot throughout the scene, equally, the same goes for the right. if not, once again, it would reverse the audience's perception of their positions. 

We were taught about the order in which you shoot and the continuity of shooting. usually, the order of shooting begins with a wide shot, then a mid-shot, then a close-up. it begins wide because that is the shot that establishes and sets the location so that when the close-up occurs we have the context to it. We learned about the importance of continuity and that because filming is such a long process, if you had to stop and start all the time it would get tedious especially when in a difficult or unfamiliar location. The continuity of a shot is also dependent on catching details like the opening and closing of a door that you may have missed without keeping the camera rolling. 

We briefly discussed marks, they're used for actors to walk to and look at in their peripheral vision so they know where to walk to and when to stop. 

Towards the end of our workshop, we created a shot and simple scene and we became the roles behind the camera. Matt taught us what is said before shooting a scene. the assistant director will normally call out "stand by" and then "roll camera" the director says "camera rolling".The director also says "action/cut".

We were taught to keep rolling after and before the scene so that the actors don't stop acting and you didn't miss an extra window of entrances and exists on either side of the take.  You should never watch the footage back on set, firstly because you would never get anywhere, stopping and starting all the time. Also actors can get pretty bigheaded when they see themselves on camera and they may change the way they move, act or look on camera- which you don't want as a director!

Feedback and development on final pitch.

When we presented our idea to Matt and Mike they thought our idea was really cool. Danny was off sick so Sienna and I pitched the idea.

They suggested we make our main character more memorable, more iconic for an audience. The costume is significant (a sick jacket with something abstract on the back) or he has a cap or funky boots to make him seem moe iconic. We talked about the audience wanting an influential look they can admire or layer copy.

Matt thought of the idea that he resuscitated one of the bodies only to then kill him again once brought back to life. we also liked this idea although thought about the logistics of it and preferred that he don't speak nor did we see his face. However we really liked the idea he suggested about having a girl in the club, hyperventilating, freaking out because she's just witnessed all this. He gives her mercy and she runs out. i liked this idea because it hints at his personality that may not be totally evil.

We agreed that the shattered glass was too difficult but the mirror was still doable as long as we get the angle right. We thought about casting and what we vision our main guy to look like. Preferably someone with a  muscly back who looks pretty fierce, although we won't see his face. We had to work out the fact that our years above cannot be used in our opening sequences. (although we will look more at casting later)

danny and i talked about when and how we wanted the music to start and we were set on the idea that it was a sound bridge from his headphones to the soundtrack as he kills the first guy 

Here is a relatively solid plan for our opening sequence so far:

• man in club sitting on chair, no shirt on and listening to music 
• shot of his back 
• shot of his his back/side profile (focussing on ear)
• shot of his hands then feet with a hand on the floor. 
• shots of the club, lights, different features
• cut to man crawling, begin on his legs then follows him up with blood trailing him
• camera cuts back to a behind shot of 
• Slight sigh from killer, puts on coat and stands up as he. Music cuts to loud, soundtrack
• One long take of killer putting on coat, picking up hammer and slowly walking to guy crawling
• We saw his whole persons walking through this nightclub esc hallway with pink and purple lights
• We then cut to the man crawling again and the cameras at his level, music cuts back to being played out of earphone
• We see the killer striking his hammer down, (music cuts back to loud and soundtrack) and then cut before impact to girl in the corner gasping
• Cut back to behind of killer, camera pans when he slowly looks over to see her sitting there terrified
• Then cut to bunch of more dead bodies on ground. They are all dead and bloody. Music is still soundtrack.
• Cut to rings as well on dead people, same ring on all of them - criminal syndicate type beat. 
• Silhouette of man walking out with lights. He leaves girl alone, she is alive. 

Camera workshop 1

We went into the studio and were shown various parts of equipment used to set up a film camera. We were shown the tripod, then the spirit, then the gear stick, and finally the camera that sits on top. The camera is called Black magic 4K mini URSA.

We learnt about the "yours" and mine "rule" which is technique used to ensure the camera isn't dropped as it's heavy and expensive. when passing the camera you communicate with the person you pass to so that when the weight is transferred and you have full control. 

The spirit level is on the tripod and the there is a bubble on it you use to centre the camera. It's also where you balance the camera as well as to pan and tilt it.

We learnt how to use a tripod safely and correctly after taking it out it's case. When opening it up in the place you want it, you bring up the bottom section first so the weight is at the bottom of the tripod instead of unbalanced on the top. Key tips we were given were to always click the knobs in so it's secure, and to lift and bring down the tripod together when adjusting the height.

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To focus on a shot there is a focus lense as there is for zooming in as well. You turn it until you get the distance or focus you desire.

Matt taught us that you need to zoom in and then focus before zooming out on a shot, so that you are guaranteed to have focus. Whereas if you just assumed you did you would zoom in to a blurry shot. He also informed us that when we are filming a person we should use their eyes as a focus point as itis the most detailed facial feature. 

White balancing is in reference to the light source and how it alters the lighting/colour of your shot. how much brightness or darkness is in the lense.

Striking the kit is what we did when we were finished with the camera which is basically deconstructing all the equipment and putting it neatly and correctly into the bag/box. 

FIRST GROUP MEETING XO

 So once we had all pitched our ideas, our groups were chosen and I was pleased to find out im working with Danny and Sienna.

We then created a whatsapp group so we could share our ideas and pictures.

We got together back at house and had a discussion about what idea to do. 

Idea 1

We settled on Danny's idea and decided to elaborate it straight away, we quickly came up with little detailed suggestions like a shot of shards of glass on the floor which show our guys reflection. we discussed how we really liked the lighting used and we talked about possible costumes, casting and camera angles already.

Danny's idea:

One of my ideas for an opening scene would follow a single man alone. The genre would be action / thriller. 

The scene would open on the man putting on a jacket and stepping through a door. I would there to be a short sign of tattoos to show his criminal background. The shot would be from behind. The rest of the scene would be him walking through an empty nightclub. 

This could be done by potentially building a small set, as the scene is set only in one place. The rest of the scene would be a tracking shot of him from behind, with pans every now and then to show a dead body on the floor. 

The colours of this scene would be crucial I think, as it sets a certain tone. 

There could also be certain close ups at the beginning of him playing with a ring, such as moving it slightly on his finger. This ring would have a symbol on it which would be important later on in the film. There could be more close ups of this guy with his ring throughout the scene, further emphasing its importance. 

A ring like this with a symbol engraved into it

The scene would end with him turning towards the camera as he enters a lift and the doors shut on him, revealing the Title of the film.

The rest of the film

The rest of the film would follow one of the friends of the victims of the nightclub massacre trying to enact revenge on this crime syndicate. The symbol on ring at the beginning would be a key symbol in the film, and would regularly come up, as it is important to why the character was at the nightclub and his backstory.