Final Project

https://vimeo.com/126501606

Evaluation

Our cinematography film is based around our main protagonist, a Sheffield news reporter who feels undervalued in his career and is desperately seeking the promotion to studio anchor that he feels he deserves. An anonymous call from ‘the Woman’ however, tips him off to a lead in the serial killings that have been happening around the Peak District area and he sets off to Grindleford in search of the lead- and the body- before the police turn up. Once he gets there, he finds not only a body but also a set up. ‘The Woman’ is in fact the serial killer and has set him up as an easy target. Remanded in custody, she’s got away with it.

Some of our main inspirations for this film came from not only everyday life but also influences from television and film. Nightcrawler, a very similar film about a man who fabricates evidence to make it as a freelance newsmaker was a big influence for me. The dark aspect of the plot as he got deeper and deeper into fabricating, even going as far as murder, was something I was interested in. However, when we all spoke about it we agreed that perhaps as a plot twist the news reporter should be innocent. The idea of placing the serial murders in Grindleford came about from Lauren and myself watching NBC’s Hannibal. Often on the show, the killings are in an isolated area as not to indicate any attachment to the killer themselves, but not random enough that the murder cannot eventually be traced back to the perpetrator.

The intended audience for our work would probably be adults aged 18 – 45, as our protagonist and scripts are both mature and therefore available for any audience to immerse themselves in. I do not believe that a particular gender would be interested as we tried to make our piece as gender neutral as possible in both characters and storyline to make sure that it would be more widely accessible. However, obviously people with a background of growing up around the Peak District area would be the most interested in our film as that is where the entire film is set. Also perhaps people with an interest in the crime genre, as I would classify our film as a crime film.

I think that our project has worked incredibly well and come extremely close to what was envisioned both by all of us as members and by the script. There have been no real bumps beside equipment failures in the production and everything mostly went to plan. I think that the genre is portrayed well; the audience will not fail to see that this is a crime drama film, and the plot is easily grasped and followed. I also think that our film is interesting and will keep people engaged for the duration of it, something that is hard for short films to do now that large audiences are used to the slow burn and big production of high budget films.

However, if we had had more time we would have perhaps liked some more shots of our main male character in his home to establish his personality and character a little bit further as from the interview to the phone call we do not know much about him as a person. Also if we had had more time, some more information about ‘the Woman’ would have been advantageous to the audience as her work as a serial killer is not really explained greatly in our piece. 

Making the work once we got past the initial planning and scripting stage was easy. We divided the script into sections so that we all got the chance to film a part equally and decided that we were going to edit together. As everyone in the group was on time the entire time and worked together very well there were hardly any mishaps at all during filming. Although we did have to go back to Grindleford three times due to the actors schedules being rather busy, and also had to find locations for our indoor shoots which weren’t easy to find.

I wrote the script that we used for our cinematography film when we realised what we wanted to do in terms of planning. After around four drafts, sending it to Lauren and Jessica to make sure that they were happy with it and didn’t want to tweak it each time. I found it quite stressful and hard to write in such a small amount of time, but once I got the details finalised with the group it was easy to get it down and scripted and could be redrafted with problems we encountered at meetings. Feedback from the group was essential on the script and having meetings really helped with this. The end result is very true to the script, and any changes that have been made and deviated from the script have been beneficial. We got a lot of footage, which I think really worked to our advantage as we then had a lot to choose from if the certain one that we were sure that we wanted turned out to not work at all in the film.

I filmed all the inside parts and the lighting change section of the ‘four elements’ that we were required to do. I found the inside parts easy to shoot as the actors were co-operative and if I needed someone to help me with the focus pulling someone would instantly step into help me. I really enjoyed shooting my sections, as focus pulling was something that I’d been keen to use since our workshop on tracking. I stayed very true to the script with the shooting, and we tried to dress indoor sets in accordance with both the script and in thought of art direction. When I did the indoor lighting change, we had on set changes in the form of a lamp being turned on when he picked up his phone. This didn’t work as well as I thought that it would but it was something that we were able to make better in post-production.

I’ve learnt a lot about camera and lighting with this module. I think one of the key things I learnt was rigging lighting and pull focus when tracking as I did not have a lot of experience with this previously. It was also something that became a key element in our film and I feel as though without the workshops it is not something we would have been able to do as easily. Experimenting with lighting in both the workshops and our films has helped me to further my abilities, as it was something I was unsure of how to set up before. The importance of lighting has also been highlighted to me through this, such as mood and colour change.

I also feel like the project has helped with my lack of experience of interacting with and selecting actors, something that I am now more confident in doing. It has also helped me to improve my screen-writing skills, as it is something that I am considering pursuing more seriously after university. It helps that actors also read the script, so that I could work out what did not sound right in the context of the situation.

I feel as though our team worked extremely well together and would be happy to work with them on further projects. We made sure to share the workload equally in terms of filming and doing specific parts of the script to make sure that we all had a chance at filming some of the work. A weakness we had perhaps was that due to the fact there were six of us; most of us also had jobs that sometimes clashed with filming. Although this was easily worked around due to the number of our group, although due to timetable clashes it wasn’t possible for everyone to have a large role in the editing process. 

Editing

Jess, Lauren and myself began the editing process today for our film. We are missing around three scenes but we are filming them tomorrow so thought that it was best to begin editing the scenes that we had.

After some initial editing and shooting of scenes, we then had all the footage that we needed to begin the full editing process. Although we only needed a rough copy for the presentation as the film was not in until the following Friday, we wanted it to look the best that we could. 

In the editing process we came across the problem of the fact our actors weren't as suited to the roles as we thought that they were going to be. This made our footage less realistic and didn't really contribute well to the vision that we had at the start of making the project. Although we had no time to recast and reshoot, so we were determined to make the best film as possible from the footage that we could.

Synching sound was hard, because even though we weren't being marked on sound we wanted our piece to be of a high quality. But often we found that our foley sounds did not fit in well with the images playing on screen.

Colour correction was also a problem that we had to overcome, as we realised quickly that sometimes, shots that we wanted back to back did not match due to the amount of green visible in the frame. Our indoor shoots worked well in colour correction however, although there was a small amount of grain that we were unable to erase in our lighting change scene.

Third Shoot

Today was the last day that we needed Jackie, but we filmed both hers and our mans interview part of the script and it went really well. We felt like we got some really good footage, but obviously we got more than a few 'perfect' shots just incase. 

The weather was good which meant there was no continuity errors between that and our shots in Grindleford, although we are going back there on Tuesday for the final outside scenes so we are hoping for the same weather.

Our lighting change will also be filmed on the Tuesday, as our POV, colour change and tracking shots were filmed in Grindleford. Our colour change was the red blood on the trees, and both our tracking and POV shots were 'the woman' stalking our protagonist through Grindleford.

We used a slider for both of these shots to make sure that they were consistent with each other and gave the effect that we wanted. This built on what we had learnt in the tracking workshop we had with Mark which was very helpful in this case as we had to focus pull, especially on the inside shoot where there were a number of stops as it was a very slow focus pull. This was my inside shoot as I had been given the inside parts to film with Jessica, who also had the outside interview part.

We also then got 'studio footage' of one of the passover cut shots to the interview outside where Kierandeep volunteered to play the role of the news presenter. It went extremely well and we are starting the editing on Monday. 

Second shoot

Our second shoot didn't go as planned. When we received the camera the batteries were not charged and we did not realise this until we were already at Grindleford. We also had a broken shoulder rig and a smashed camera.

This meant that we have had to reschedule yet another scene for the next available date that we can use our actor for. However we did get one of the scenes done so it was not a wasted day. 

Film Analysis: Cloverfield

Cloverfield is an extreme example of the POV shot. However, rather than the audience being 'omniscient' and seeing everything from the ideal observer, they are forced to see through the eye of the character in the first person. This makes Cloverfield a unique film, but also a found footage genre piece.

Cloverfield has a number of shots that are there purely to create tension and audience association with the other characters. The idea of the hand-held camera, and being in the first person is so that the audience comes to feel for the other characters in the way that the character behind the camera feels for them. This includes shots which focus on specific angles, and show the characters the way that the other sees them.

Shaky camera is also a technique that they employed to make it seem more realistically from the first person and it is something that we will be employing in our film.

The difference in colour between the flashback camera scenes and the current film is noticeable. The scenes from Jessica on the camera from another day or week are very contrasting in colour to the 'live' footage of the attack. Sepia's and dark tones dominate the film, whereas in these rare flashbacks to before, the colours are bright, yellows and oranges and daylight tones.

The atmosphere of the film is nailed by this culmination of shaky camera, first person POV and camera angles. They truly create a realistic tension that a genre piece should have. Characters are aware of the camera in this genre, which creates a perceived reality to the film. 

Another realistic part of the film is in fact, the justification of the recording. In the scene where the statue of Liberty's head comes flying through the air to essentially rest at Hud (and the camera's) feet, everyone whips out their phones to take a photo- which justifies the continued recording of this event by mirroring reality. 

The film can be divided into two feelings of human nature - flight or investigation. When the film and its characters are in flight, e.g running away from the monster, the tone is set to that of panic, and the sound is much more rushed but extremely realistic. This sets the tone and builds on the scenes. However, when in investigation, the characters seem more calm, and this lulls the audience into a false sense of security. That they may infact, find something else, or even perhaps the monster waiting and hiding behind the corner. I feel like this film mirrored War of the Worlds in this sense. 

J.J Abrams casting and directing in this film was extremely important. Unlike in some films when they forget to frame around the POV shot, this could not happen. The entire film was framed around this singular POV shot and it largely added to the entire aesthetic of the movie. 

The ending of the film is also realistic enough for a genre piece that it leaves it largely open ended. Although it truly ends with them being bombed in the tunnel, where the footage cuts out. The film itself continues with backdated of footage of the both of them at Coney Island, focused on the Ferris Wheel and seeing the 'creature' possibly crash into the ocean behind the camera. The last line of 'We've had a really good day' adds irony to the entire film, but also ends on a more human note. 

Script

We have just finished and finalised the script for the shoot which means that we can go ahead and contact the actors that have applied for the two roles for our shoot. Our script follows a news reporter, who goes to Grindleford when contacted by an anonymous caller that tells him that he may get a lead story on a spate of serial killings in the area. Our protagonist goes then to Grindleford, only to be framed by the actual murderer when he stumbles across the body.

Our script idea came about when discussing what we could do with two characters and one leading the other on and into Grindleford. Rose suggested the idea of a news reporter character who stumbles across a body in the woods and it was taken from there. The script was then drawn up between Lauren and myself, with me doing the most of the script. 

You can find the script below;

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B80XU7bL3VwJTXBqaXhKVjdNbzF6ck05b3o1YUg3MkozNnF3/view?usp=sharing

First shoot

First shoot in Grindleford was for the middle of our film where the protagonist discovers he is being set up by the antagonist.

Our actors live quite close to Sheffield so luckily we are able to call them in at short notice for shoots. We got a lot of footage, and are confident in our choice of actors that we cast from an advertisement on StarNow. I'm confident that our film will be as we envisioned it.

We are shooting on DSLR's for the fact that stores would not make anything available to us during the Easter holidays and as we shot on the two days before stores shut for Easter they would not let us have anything. This then means that we must consistently use DSLR's for the rest of our film, but as a lot of our group own DLSR's that shouldn't be a problem. 

Shooting in Grindleford means that our tracking shot will be shot there. Our lighting change is an indoor shoot but our colour change is also in Grindleford and is based around blood on the trees. This will be on another day of Grindleford shooting however, as anticipate that there will be another day of shooting to be done. 

POV Shots

Point of view shots are incredibly crucial to scenes. They determine who the audience is going to identify with, and who they are focused on. Working alongside something such as framing, it determines also how much the audience interacts and how involved they become with the character on screen.

Stephen D. Katz said, "Point of View may be the most important aspect of a directors contribution but - apart from some familiar subjective techniques - the way in which camera placement, composition and editing shape the Narrative Stance of any scene is generally overlooked. This probably accounts for the fact that Point of View is handled indifferently in so many films'  and he is correct. Without the proper framing, and employment of other techniques, Narrative Stance simply becomes just another shot.

Most films are presenting in the POV of the 'ideal observer' it is not always the sole viewpoint but it is the best one that  the audience could have. POV shots give this a more personal feel and involve the audience further and more directly. It means that the audience may be 'truly omniscient' (perhaps also including narration or voice over so that we know what the character is thinking)

This also includes levels of identification.

• The most powerful 'cueing device' is the line of sight of the actor, especially in a closeup. This means more identification with the character. 
• SHOT 1 - Subject - Eyeline Established
• Transition with Spatial/Temportal Continutity
• SHOT 2 - Object from OR close to Subject Position/Eyeline

Generally speaking, the closer the line of sight of a player is to the camera in CU the greater the degree of viewer identification with them.

Colour in Film

'If it's Purple, Someones Gonna Die' by Patti Bellantoni provides the perfect examples and definitions of why colour in film is so important to both the audience, and the maker.

Red's can range from romantic, to angry, to powerful and are a very dynamic and easy to spot colour signifier. Whereas blues are a little harder to place as they are very detached, and often used to signify very cold spaces. Colour is extremely important in film as a visual signifier, and not just in hue, but also in chroma as this can signify different moods within a colour.

Colours are also extremely important when considering a story arc or location rather than a scene. For instance, if you are using reds as a signifier of danger, then it may appear before the dangerous scene of the film as a warning to the audience that there will be some trouble ahead. Films also tend to stick to a colour palette, so that they are consistent throughout and the audience knows when a deviation is used for effect. 

Characters will also wear certain colours that may signify their personalities or foreshadow arcs to come. Therefore the choice of colour in film does not only extend to location and setting the scene, but also to setting the characters and therefore attention to detail needs to be paid. This all shows how important colour is in film.

Inspirations for script

Most of the inspiration for our film came from the brief itself. While we knew that we were limited in terms of location and casting, we thought that a news reporter being lured into Grindleford would be a good idea as it would not only be original but fun to film and an easy storyline to create. 

Nightcrawler is a film that I watched that partially inspired me when writing the screenplay, although to an opposite end. The killer would be the one moving and placing the bodies to make sure that the reporter was in frame directly to be framed himself. The mixed nature of 'live found footage' in the genre is something that we experimented with. For example, when our female character picks up the camera that he has dropped in the woods in shock at actually finding a body it then switches between the camera's POV and a normal camera view. This is something that we are going to have to play around with a lot to make it look realistic. 

Woods are often a place where serial murders occur, and when Lauren and I spoke about this we automatically thought of the 'mushroom' farm in NBC's Hannibal. Although too far fetched and also out of our league to recreate anything similar, this was our inspiration for setting the serial murders in Grindleford and the Peak District area (as mentioned in the script and dialogue)

As for the ending shot, we were influenced by Psycho where the camera is tracked out of the face. We are going to be attempting to do the same thing with a slider and two tripods instead of taking the track. 

Grindleford Recce

Our group made the trip to Grindleford to seek out possible locations for our cinematography film. We left with a few other groups and arrived in Grindleford with the idea of choosing the ideal vantage point for our possible film. 

As the topic of our film is a news reporter who is lured to Grindleford, we wanted to film it in places where a potential killer would be able to have a good view of the reporter. This would be for the POV shot, as we would be filming some of this from the POV of the killer. 

We also looked for possible ambush points, where we could have our  key lighting change as discussed in the brief. The amount of green in Grindleford means that we were considering a change from green to blue to reflect the change from the greenery of Grindleford to the colour of the stream.

We found the recce to be useful as it helps us to visualise and storyboard the scenes that we will be filming in Grindleford. This also helps me to script the film and means that if something goes wrong with our preferred location in Grindleford on the day that we know enough for backup location to become instantly unavailable.

Basic Idea

Our basic idea for the cinematography film is a male news reporter who is lured to Grindleford from the city with the promise of an exclusive lead on a serial killer. It so happens that the news reporter is lured by the serial killer themselves.

We thought that it would be a good idea to have our key lighting change during the phone call that the protagonist gets from the serial killer that prompts them to go to Grindleford. We would have the lighting change by having them step out of the darkness of the city street and into the light, perhaps under a street light or if outside lighting rigs can not be set up this would turn into an indoor scene.

Alongside our key light change our sequence shot will be a tracking shot through the forest of Grindleford, following our protagonist without them noticing. This shot will be important as it will add to the atmosphere and mood of our film, and also create tension for the audience.

The colour change will also be an important aspect of our film as it will also help to create a certain mood for the film. At the moment we are considering a change of green to blue 

We are envisioning our audience to be around 16 - 51 years of age, as this is the sort of genre and storyline that would appeal to a variety of people of all genders. I also think that having our protagonist as a male in this vulnerable situation is also pulling away from convention. As stereotypically it is usually a female embodying the 'damsel in distress' trope.