Assignment 6 – The Deal

Our final project for MDA1300 tied together all that we had learnt in our previous workshop. For this project we were required to form groups of four and shoot a short film  based upon one of our previous scenarios for MDA1800.  In order to successfully complete the project we would have to demonstrate an understanding of mise en scene, continuity style, the three act structure and diegetic sound, all while presenting a story that featured “distinct characters” who undergo change. My group for this project consisted of:

• Producer/Editor – Eduard Stîngă-Ţîrlea
• Director – Arielle Alvarez
• Camera Operator – Karl Cross
• Sound Operator – Matt Emons

Our first big problem with this project was that none of us had an appropriate screen scenario, having misunderstood description for the initial assessment to mean simply “filmable” rather than “filmable by university students with little to no budget”. Nevertheless after some discussion with our course tutors, our producer was given the go ahead to create a new scenario. Eduard then explained a outlined a relatively simple but effective scenario we could use. After some minor brainstorming, the story took full form and our director was assigned the task of translating it into a  screenplay. The script underwent numerous revisions before we were ready, largely due to a group session with David in which he offered several pieces of advice that came to have a bearing on the ultimate shape the script would take.

With the script nearing completion, it became time to consider the more physical, practical elements of our film, namely location and actors. Our producer felt it would be best to draw our actors from our class on the basis that it would therefore be easier to coordinate and organise, as well as saving us from the potential embarrassment of making mistakes in front of professional actors. With regards to location, Eduard managed to find some excellent locations all within reasonable distance of each other and our temporary base, which allowed for a degree of flexibility while we were shooting. Based on our script and photos of the various locations, Arielle began drawing up storyboards over the holiday and updating us over Facebook.

The first page of our revised script; ready for production.

When the holidays came to an end and with the crew all back together, Eduard devised a schedule that could work around the limits of the crew, our actors and the camera, a Canon 60D, which he had borrowed from another student specifically for our production. This meant that we would have to complete the majority of our film in a single day and although I initially had reservations regarding the feasibility of the schedule (after all a single unexpected problem could throw the schedule off completely) I was impressed by the ambition of the schedule and eager to see if we could meet it.

We met up relatively early in the morning to take out our equipment and hopefully pick up a couple of SD cards (my own card had broken some weeks previously), unfortunately we met our first setback almost immediately as the equipment store had run out of SD cards, necessitating that Matt and I head down to Brent Cross, while Arielle and Eduard printed out the scripts and our fake envelope of cash. We managed to all meet up on the bus later on route to our base for the day, however this unfortunate incident had set us back by almost two hours. With a certain grim determination, we nevertheless pushed on and briefly discussed moving  a couple of small scenes to another day so that we could at least complete the more complicated scenes.

Discussing the film and checking sound.

As we began shooting it became apparent that we would have to deviate somewhat from our storyboards, partly due to time constraints, but also due to our choice of camera. Given several of our scenes were set within relatively restrictive interiors it was impossible to complete many of the shots with the dslr camera we had opted for as we had no wide lenses and little to no familiarity with the camera. For my part, this was my first time properly using this specific camera (and my first time properly using a dslr, come to that) meaning that I spent a large part of the shoot in sheer bewilderment as I attempted to get to grips with the camera. Another problem we had with the camera was battery power; as we had no spare battery and no way to charge the camera during the day of our shoot, we had to carefully conserve power lest the schedule become completely ruined. The only other real problems we encountered were to do with the use of exterior locations (people walking into shot, background noise, weather, etc) but these are to be expected.  After a long day of shooting we packed up having completed the majority of our shots.

Filming in the subway; The Deal is struck.

Post-production was handled by Eduard, who updated us via Facebook as he went about editing the film and tracking down appropriate music. After a few cuts the film began to take shape and despite my initial misgivings I was quite pleased with the final piece, though I feel we could have accomplished more with more planning and perhaps a practise shoot, for both the actors (to give them time to familiarise themselves with the script and get a feel for the scenes before filming) and the crew (so that could properly get to grips with the equipment).

Sound Workshop and Interviews

This was our second workshop and involved us learning how to utilise the sound equipment we would be using to film with – including boom and lapel mics. The importance of sound was also stressed to us, as many people seem to focus upon the purely visual aspect of film-making, however I found this session particular interesting as I have little practical knowledge of sound in film and am eager to learn more about it. We were taken step by step through the process of setting up the equipment and checking levels, before being sent out to record a short scene involving sound. Unfortunately my group and I neglected to pick up vital piece of equipment until the last minute and so had to rush to complete the scene. Hopefully this will be a good lesson for the future. We were then given an assignment to record two interviews – one using the boom and one using the lapel mic, which would be review in our next lesson. Filming the interviews themselves proved to be relatively straight-forward, though our efforts were admittedly undermined by our rather lax approach to planning resulting in a very improvised set-up. By focusing so heavily on sound, we also neglected other elements such as as composition and light, leading to a very dim image as the day wore down. Editing was also made somewhat more difficult due to the fact that we had failed to prepare questions for our subjects ahead of time and therefore failed to create a coherent structure for the interview.

Assignment 5 – Scene Recreation

For this assignment we were tasked with recreating a short scene from a film as closely as possible, down to location, acting, lighting and sound, whilst ensuring the scene is identical in terms of framing,camera positioning, script, shot number/length and scene length. After our first production meeting we settled on the naming scene from Reservoir Dogs and chose our roles. Having already worked as a camera man and director on previous assignments, I settled for sound.

The Crew

Director – Arielle Alverez                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Producer – Matt Emons                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Camera Operator – Paulina Janukowicz                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Sound Operator – Karl Cross

We used Facebook to co-ordinate and plan, as well as cast our actors, which was one of our biggest hurdles, given the number of actor’s in the scene.  During another production meeting, we managed to break the scene down in terms of shots and other requirements such as costume, location, etc. Aside from casting, location would be our biggest pre-production headache as we required a fairly large open space to film in and it was not until our production meeting with David that we were able to secure a spot in one of the television studios. The space was not ideal but with the deadline closing in we decided it was the best possible option. With location handled, we sourced what few costumes we needed through charity shops, as well as asking our actors to wear anything that even vaguely matched their on-screen counterparts.

The Set-up: Getting ready to shoot

We arrived at ten in the morning to begin setting up before our actors arrived, but found that the studio was in somewhat of a state, which set us back by a good half-hour, meaning that by the time our actors started to trickle in, we were still setting up. As boom operator, there was little for me to do at this point aside from helping to set-up the equipment and greet the actors. However, with a little help we were able to get everything ready for our first string of shots, beginning with the close-ups.

Lighting Mr Brown

We used a three-point lighting set-up throughout the shoot and continually adjusted the set-up throughout in an attempt to mimic the lighting in the scene, however this proved to be more difficult than we had initially imagined as the original scene heavily utilises natural light whereas our set was entirely closed off. Adding in our relative inexperience with the lights, we (in my opinion) heavily over-lit our subjects in several shots with a fairly hard light. I believe this may have been because our strongest light was also our fill light, rather than our key light and was quite close to the  subjects in certain shots.  As shooting continued, time began to become an issue. A certain line from Mike Figgis’s  Digital Film-Making  seemed scarily appropriate at that moment; “It’s only the last hour into a four hour shoot that people begin to realise they’re in trouble.” We had just less than an hour left, with still quite a bit to film as well as pack away our equipment. It was only by all pulling together that we were able to quickly run through the last shots.

The Crew (Minus producer)

Post-production proved to be equally fraught with difficulty, largely due to conflicting schedules. Editing was very much a piecemeal process though the fact that we had decided to edit as a group gave us some leeway, as well as the fact that our job was to simply copy pre-existing work, rather than make our own artistic decisions. Below is the finished product, as well as the original scene itself.

Assignment 4 – Lighting

This brief for this assignment was:

“In groups of 4, create a one-shot interior scene in which two characters interact without speaking.

Shoot the scene 2 times: once creating a ‘natural’ look making use of daylight, and the second time using only tungsten lights. The locations of the two scenes need not be the same, although the action must be the same (the actors, however, can be different in each scene).”

Though we managed to meet the brief and complete the project, this assignment proved to be far more difficult than I had initially expected. Our first big hurdle came as a result of scheduling conflicts and the difficulty of finding a suitable interior location. As de facto director, I coordinated with the group’s producer (Anne Martine Myking) who was able to secure a suitable and convenient location for our shoot. With a definite location in mind I was able to come up with an idea I thought might be visually interesting if filmed correctly.

Our initial plan involved shooting in two locations, a common room at Usher Hall and the atrium in the Grove. We arrived in the morning and commerced shooting our first scene in the atrium as allowed us to make excellent use of daylight. As my group and I had missed the previous lesson in which the lighting induction was undertaken, we were unfamiliar with the equipment however I had volunteered to help out another group in order so that they might return the favour and briefly run us through how to use the lighting kit. Despite this there was still a certain reluctance among the group about handling the lighting kit and camera, no doubt as a result of unfamiliarity with the equipment.

Shooting at Usher Hall: High angle and natural light. 

Though in theory I was familiar with the three-point lighting set up I had never had to deal with it practically meaning that my initial idea (involving 180° pan) didn’t quite work as my movement with the camera played havoc with the lighting. However after some discussion I decide to instead film from a high angle whilst slowly zooming out and tilting upwards so that I could still capture the same level of detail whilst also keeping the shot visually interesting.

After relocating to Usher Hall  to film the second scene we suffered another potentially disastrous setback as the SD card we were using experienced some kind of technical problem and all data was lost – including the scene we had filmed in the atrium. As time was pressing and the brief didn’t require two locations, we decided to simply film both shots at Usher Hall.

Despite the numerous problems that plagued this project I am satisfied with the finished piece and have gained a vital insight into the practical realities of filming using artificial lighting.

Assignment 3: Shooting in Continuity Style

Our brief for this assignment was; “In groups of 4, shoot and edit a scene consisting of not more than 10 (production) shots (ie, set-ups) in which one character (‘A’) enters a location and gives an object to a second character (‘B’). The scene must begin and end with character A in a separate space from character B. The scene is to be shot in continuity style.”

This followed on from work we had been doing in the production workshop, as well as the more theoretical work we had been doing in our lectures and seminars concerning the development, use and rules of continuity style. In simple terms continuity style is a framework of rules designed to create spatial & temporal stability and continuity in order to create a logical visual progression and a seamless narrative.

On this particular shoot I acted as camera operator, though given the relatively informal structure of the crew and the nature of the assignment, I was also able to suggest certain shots thereby allowing the director a range of options from which to choose. As can be seen in the images below we made use of POV shots for dramatic and comedic effect – by shooting like this we are able to fully capture not only the subject’s reaction in very intimate detail, but we are able to quickly and easily create an empathetic link between the subject and the viewer.

One thing that I found interesting whilst working on this film was that though shooting in continuity style was a specific instruction for the assignment, it rarely seemed to come up while we were shooting ; continuity style is so pervasive in modern cinema that we have, both as an audience and film makers, unconsciously  internalised its main tenants and underlying rules. Without thinking, we followed continuity style (shot reverse shot, eyeline match, 30° rule, etc) throughout filming and editing. This is not to say we did not make one glaring mistake by breaking the 180° rule/crossing the line, which can be easily seen in the difference between the third and forth images above or in the embedded video below. This shot is unnecessarily jarring and as such serves no purpose. What was originally intended to add visual interest by breaking the long walk up the path into more interesting snippets has actually negatively impacted the scene’s spatial continuity.

If there was other one particular element of continuity style I feel we could have paid more attention to it would be the actualisation of space in regards to properly defining the location/s.  In hindsight I think it might have been preferable to shoot our initial shots in a more distinct location/space, though that may be my familiarity with the location clouding my ability to judge it objectively. In my opinion these mistakes or misjudgements stem largely from a lack of planning on our part – by not planning our shoot in advance we actively handicapped ourselves when it came to shooting.

A second issue that cropped up during this project, separate from the issue of continuity, was a strange audio glitch (a strange kind of popping sound in the background) that appeared in the file between editing and uploading it to YouTube. Despite numerous attempts to discover the cause of the glitch I was unable to fix the problem. Overall however I believe that my group and I worked well together and produced a solid piece of work that easily meets the requirements of the brief.

Edit Workshop, Continuity and Mise-en-scene

During this workshop we review each other’s work from the previous week and looked more closely at the importance of continuity in film. Continuity style/editing is aimed at creating a coherent and logical progression of time & transition in space in order to present a seamless narrative and the illusion of “reality”. However there are occasions when a film-maker will deliberately cast these rules aside to elicit a certain response from the audience or create a certain mood/effect. We were shown an example of this using a scene from Uzak, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. In this scene the director cuts in such a way as to create a sense of discontinuity, to help externalise & illustrate the sense of alienation and tedium that is experienced by the character. We also looked closely at the mise-en-scene  – particularly how the director uses long takes with little camera movement, as well as relegating the main subject to the background (at one point he is actually obscured  by a red basket that descends from off-screen) in further demonstrate just how side-lined this character is throughout the scene – the camera always maintains a certain distance from him, both literally and metaphorically.

We then undertook a short exercise in which involved following basic rules of continuity whilst telling a story in ten stills or less. Overall I feel we did well, however as was pointed out when we were reviewing the stills, we really could have done with an establishing shot to place the action properly. We also failed to properly define our space through the stills that we did take, leading to some minor confusion as to exactly where the subjects are in relation to each other at times.

 Our assignment followed on from this by setting the same basic criteria; create a scene using ten production shots or less, involving one character starting off in one location and presenting an object to another character in a second location, whilst following the rules of continuity. I’ll talk more about this in my next post.

Introduction to Module and Camera Induction

In this workshop we were introduced to the module and the cameras we will be using to film. The overall aim of these modules (MDA1300/1400) is to enhance and improve our practical understanding of film and the various elements of film making (planning, editing and filming) through workshops and group projects, as well as to compliment the more theoretical modules (MDA1700/1800) we are studying.

During this first session we were asked to introduce ourselves to the class and our backgrounds, as well as what led us to study film. After this we looked at a few films including Red Beard (Kurosawa) in order to understand some of the basics of shot composition. We looked at how a shot can be designed to create “compositional tension” to provoke certain feelings within the viewer, as well as to direct the viewer’s attention to specific details. Following this we were introduced to the JVC HM100 cameras as part of our induction and led through how to safely and successfully set up and operate them (white balance, focusing, etc). In order to demonstrate what we had learned we were then instructed to form small groups and film a short shot demonstrating what we had learned. Despite some initial missteps, my group managed to film a shot that communicated an understanding of composition and clearly demonstrated we had learned how to use the cameras.

We then reviewed each other’s work as a whole group and tried to analyse what each group had attempted to do in each shot. To further compliment this we were set an assignment that required us to produce a single shot that “represented a unity of action and a sense of completeness.” My group elected to make use of the various levels of the atrium in order to create a kind of clean yet dynamic composition, as well as to provide us with open space within which to operate.  Our shot consisted of one subject walking along the second floor and down a set of stairs, whereupon he is met by a second character. The pair then continue down the stairs together and into a corridor until out of shot. One of our great weaknesses here was not properly considering the implications of what we were filming from a narrative perspective; we simply decided upon a series of actions and filmed them. In retrospect, I also feel we could have made better use of the space and the limitations that had been placed upon us by the brief.