EVALUATION

Drama

The concept of our film is a short love story of boy meets girl. The boy (Flynn) has negative views about love and he meets a girl (Lily) who changes his perspective on love. The theme of journey is emotional instead of physical. The age group of this film is aimed at teenagers and young couples.  Our influences came from Submarine, 500 days of summer and Amelie. The film is a short version of Submarine and some of the shots are similar. I like the colour scheme in Amelie and I believe it would benefit well in the film.

Overall I find the film to be ok. The themes of journey and idea behind it can be portrayed within the film. Im not too happy about the sound of the film considering that it was all done in post production. You can tell that the dialogue between the characters has been dubbed and these are things which bring it down and makes the viewer less interested in the film. The atmos track and music is fine and creates a mood in certain parts of the film and as the editor, they bury some of the white noise of the dialogue. I liked some of the shots in the film and the colours. They did not come out as much as I wanted to but they worked. While blocking the scene at the bus station, I forgot to film a close up shot of both the two characters in the centre of the frame, which would have brought the audiences closer to the characters.

Given the chance to make changes to the film, I would reshoot the entire film and have sound equipment. I would also change the location of the park to look for a better one which would allow us to portray a passage of time and have more footage to work with.

The making of the film went on really well. At first I was worried we might have difficulties during the filming because it was only Carrie and me who were present. Nyle couldn’t come because of his medical condition and Chris had to go home to work. Because of the few group members we had, I took on multiple roles. I did the filming, editing and sound design with Nyle. The editing was great and thats where I found out the type of shots I was missing which would have benefited the film, like the close up shots of the bus stop scene and park. The major problem I would say we had was the sound. We had to do it all in post production and ADR the dialogue. Chris recorded the dialogue sounds but I had problems in trying to sync Lily’s voice because of her pace and how high pitched her voice was. I overcame this by cutting the dialogue and using the atmos sounds to cover the blank spaces in between the gaps. We had problems in deciding which music to use for the film and we ended up using Nyle’s music.

In this project, I learnt a lot of things and how the different roles work with each other. Firstly I learnt how to use the canon 600D which improved my technical skills. Since the 600D has similar features to the 60D, I am now confident in booking out a 60D and finding my way around. Secondly, I can now ADR the dialogue in films. I know the things to consider in order to get a good quality sound of dialogue when doing ADR which is, recording in a quiet room, making sure the actor matches the pace of the original dialogue, editing the dialogue so that it syncs and creating an atmos track using different sources of material. The editing role gave me an insight on how to place the audience’s in the film and which shots work best at certain moments within the film.

As a team, our team work was ok but I wish there would have been a better communication at the start of the project, that way we wouldn't have wasted time but everyone contributed something to the project, which was good. Our main weakness would be communication from my point of view. To improve our teamwork skills, we would work best if everyone was passionate about the project.

POST PRODUCTION

The edit went on smoothly. The film was more than 5 minutes long and trying to reduce it was a bit hard because the pace in some of the scenes became to fast, like the opening scene. Chris recorded all the sounds which were going to be used to ADR (Automated Dialogue Replacement) the film. Syncing Flynn's dialogue was fine because the voice sounded natural and he was able to match the pace of the film during the recording. Lily's voice was hard because the pace in which she talked in during the filming and recording was different and also her voice was high pitched. Using ProTools I was able to cut some of he dialogue to match her lips but you could tell at certain points that her voice was dubbed.  I tried to overcame this by cutting the dialogue and using the atmos sounds to cover the blank spaces in between the gaps.

During the edit there was a major problem when it came to the music. When Nyle did the sound design, he placed a music which was ok in certain parts but not the whole film. The director was not happy about the music because she wanted a slow smooth song which can create the mood of love like in submarine or 500 days of summer. For me, I liked the music at the start of the film up to the ending of the bus station scene. In the scenes of the montage me and Nyle used different parts of the sound track to fit that scene.

Below are some of the editing screengrabs which show the colour correction and sound design.

Colour correction

Colour correction

ADR

ADR

PRODUCTION

Because of our late schedule, we had to film during Easter and only Carrie and I were available. One major problem we had was that we couldn't book out any equipment so we used Carrie's canon 600d and no sound equipment. I brought my camera tripod with me and a 50mm lens. For the sound, we were going to do it all in post production.

The whole production process went well, even though it was just the two of us. The producer made a schedule for the filming day and we filmed it over a period of 2 days. We filmed on gell street and at a bus stop near the University. On day 1 we filmed at the park and street and day 2 we did the bus stop and ending scene + a few more extra shots.

I did all the filming during that day. It was my first time to use a canon 600d and I went on YouTube for tutorials on how to use it. The camera was really good but I wish we had a better lens because the standard lens had problems focusing on the subject.

RESEARCH

Inspiration

The main inspiration of the idea of the film came from Submarine and 500 Days of summer. I saw Submarine and had an understanding of what the characters are going to be like. Watching the film also helped me think of the shots we could use and how we could film certain scenes. Similar styles like this (fig 1) where the character breaks the fourth wall, would be great at the start of the film to help establish the character and draw in the viewer. 

Figure 1 - Submarine

Looking at the characters with in Submarine, I saw the kind of shots they were using in different moments. Below are some of the shots I like and might use them during filming. 

Figure 2

Figure 3

I wasn't able to watch 500 Days of Summer but I was able to get the concept of boy meets girl from the trailer. I also saw some of the shots they used and some of them looked similar to submarine.

Colour Scheme

The colour scheme from Submarine was a bit dark contrasting colours except from Jordana's red coat. From reading the script, The park scene made me think of Amelie and how the colours in that film created mood. In our film, I will try to use warm and cool colours (orange, green, red, pink, blue, peach).

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Equipment

The camera I'm going to be using will be a canon 600D. I've never used this camera before and looked for tutorials on how to use it online. I have a canon 1100D but I think the settings might be slightly different. The links below showed me specks of the camera and the additional specks which it has that cannot be found in the 1100D. 

Dave How To

Pete Spence gave me a link to a YouTube which gives you tips of what to consider when filming a dialogue scene. These included: 

• Rule of thirds
• Using different lenses and how it affects the footage
• Blocking your characters 
• Lighting
• Editing
• Angles

How To Film a Dialogue Scene

Story Board

Below are the storyboards I drew to help me during the filming. They are not 100% accurate but the give me the idea of what to film in each scene. 

Reference

Amelie (2001), [Online], Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Netflix. Video from Netflix last accessed 09 May 2014 at: http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/60022048?sod=search-autocomplete

Breaking the fourth wall (2013). [Online] Last accessed 09 May 2014 at: http://directaddress.tumblr.com/

OH, Jubilee (2011). Stuck on the puzzle "the submarine 2011 film", [Online], Last accessed 09 May 2014 at: http://provocallyism.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/stuck-on-puzzlethe-submarine-2011-film.html 

Searches The Depths of Teen Angst to Find Laughs. (2011). [Online]. Last accessed 09 May 2014 at: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/searches-the-depths-of-teen-angst-to-find-laughs/story-e6frewt9-1226132173484

Jean-Pierre Jeunet

stuck on the puzzle''the submarine 2011 film''

BLOCKING & ADR

We made a remake of a scene from the last tycoon in my production skills session. I learnt how to block a film and how the different positions create a different effect of how the audiences are placed within the film.

What I mostly liked was editing the scene. Selecting the scenes to use was really interesting & I played about with the pace and reverse shots. This small scene made me think of the following:

• Angles
• Shots
• Blocking your set
• Positioning your characters
• Lighting
• Editing - Pace, reaction shots

We also had a lesson on how to ADR a film. This was a very useful session as it showed me how to correct or replace the dialogue in a film. Firstly you need the actor to get the pace and rhythm of the original dialogue, that way what they say will be in sync with the images. The recording needs to be done in a quiet room so as to get good sound quality and no background noise. The film we ADR'd was Mr and Mr's Smith. The scene was when they have dinner at a restaurant after they have been assigned to kill each other. I recorded the sounds using the zoom and they need to be mono, not stereo. 

CHANGING OUR IDEA

We ended up changing our idea last minute because there hasn't been any development on Nyle's idea and we tried to organize a group meeting but not everyone turned up. We chose Carrie's idea & it's now developed and it's possible to film it.

Treatment

Working Title: Whirlwind

Length: 5 mins

Hook paragraph:

A story about  a teenage boy trying to come to terms with the feeling of love towards a girl. A journey about how he struggles to figure out how to feel with pure infatuation and desire which he has never experienced due to a sheltered life.

Narrative Development:

Beginning: 

The story begins by introducing Flynn, a teenage boy. A natural introvert and unpopular, Flynn narrates a story about love and fantasy. Flynn leads a troubled home life and his parents are in the midst of a messy divorce due to infidelity and secrets.

The story starts by him walking out of his house, you can hear shouting in the background. We then see him journey in to Sheffield whilst daydreaming/narrating about his life and how he feels about topics such as love and societal norms.

He constantly points out that his life hasn’t been ideal and he’d rather not talk to anyone – choosing to spend his time alone with his thoughts in scenic locations – drawing and writing despite living in the hustle and bustle of a city. We journey with him as he explains his life up to now and how he hopes to move away. In the city we get more darker as we enter the city (Sheffield). No one notices he’s there but he doesn’t mind. In the city he waits at a bus stop for a bus to the countryside and suddenly you can hear his heartbeat – he sees a beautiful girl in a red coat approaching him. She introduces herself – Flynn looks amazed.

Middle: 

We notice an obvious jump in time. A montage of Lily dragging Flynn around from the city to the countryside it shows how they’ve come together and how close they have become. Accompanied by music. Flynn explains his time with Lily and their whirlwind romance. She becomes his muse, he spends all his time writing about her and drawing her.  Flynn explains his infatuation with her and talks about his new emotion – love.

Lily and Flynn are now in the woods laid next to each other – Flynn listens intently to Lily as she talks about how her parents are also divorcing and how she has to move.  This rocks Flynns world. Lily explains how they need to appreciate what’s around them and that nothing lasts forever.

End: 

Flynn gives Lily a collection of drawings and poems as she gets ready to move.  We see a montage of Lily and Flynn tells us what love is and how it’s changed him as a person. Lily kisses Flynn and tells him to appreciate every moment and see the good in the bad. Lily drives off. Flynn returns home and hears quiet and tranquility when walking towards his house.  Flynn smiles – he holds a picture of Lily in his hand. The story focuses on seeing things positive makes you more optimistic.

Style:

Visually similar to “Submarine” by Richard Ayoade.

Heavily narrated by Flynn.

Vintage/sepia effect so it’s slightly off colour to give warmer tones, especially to the montage and woodland scenes.

Red is a main colour that stands out to represent love and warmth. Red is prominent on Lily, as she wears the colour.

16:9 Letterboxed for a more cinematic feel.

Soft yet upbeat music through ought the montage sequences.  This really stands out with only little dialogue in these scenes.

Lots of wide shots to make the characters stand out.

Strange effects when Flynn daydreams about Lily. E.g. Kaleidoscope.

Audience:

16+ though mainly aimed at teenagers.

Both male and female.

Working Class

Would be more of an independent feature – shown on Film 4.

Roles

Director - Carrie Marples
Producer - Carrie Marples
Cinematographer - Myles Chimutanda
Sound recorder - Chris Kelly
Editor - Myles Chimutanda
Sound design - Nyle Roberts and Myles Chimutanda

We slightly changed our roles since we had changed the idea.

RESEARCH

Since we were sticking with the plane idea, I researched into ways we could make it work and not look cliché.

I found a video called Mid air emergency which shows the interior of an air plane and how it was developed using adobe after effects. Watching this video make me almost think that our idea was possible to recreate the space we wanted. The complications that came with this was

1. I didn't know how to use adobe after effects,
2. The person editing the mid air emergency used some plugins which I do not have access to and would require money to buy them,
3. We would have to recreate the space for every shot in the scene which will be really difficult.

I looked at some feature films which had air plane interiors to see how they had recreated that space. I found the visual effects of the air plane crash in Final Destination 5 and it involve's a lot of animation and set building which I think will be time consuming.

Nyle told us he had a studio in which we could film and his plans of recreating the interior involved having the seats and a plane poster and the final touches will be made in after effects.

I think we are not going to be able to make it work because to make the interior of the plane will be really hard & non of us have any experience of how to do it. Even if we tried to do it in after effects, getting the plugins & creating the air plane interior will be hard and I don't know how to do it. I tried to convince Nyle to change the location and use a train or coach but hi insisted we stick with the plane. This made us think of a plan B because we weren't convinced about how this idea would work.

We had a session with a few actors who wread the script and they give us feedback and how to improve it. They liked the idea of the awkward encounter of the girl and his old boyfriend but were be concerned about the plane setting. They suggested we use a train, bus or coach.

Reference

Final Destination 5. Visual Effects of Death: Airplane Crash (Special Feature) Full HD 1080p. (2011). [Online], Last accessed 09 May 2014 at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZcEGXEkHjo

Video Copilot. (2012). [Online], Last accessed 09 May 2014 at: http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial/mid_air_emergency/