FINISHED PRODUCT

Here is the finished film opening. Welcome to the world of EGO 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPaElX04M1k

Creative Critical Reflection

Here is the link for the Creative Critical Reflection: 

 http://youtu.be/eBQv8cMRegs

CU,MS,WS or shall we go with CU,WS??

Sequences. It's what makes a film(except Russian Ark, which is one long take). Sequences cut to one shot after another making a store. If the man picks up a cup of water, we want to know how and where. The wide shot tells us where we are, medium shots tells us what is happening, and the close up shows the emotion. This sequence is called progressive. Now we don't want to use this sequence every time. Contrast or repetitious sequences are used. Contrast is presenting two opposite shots to show the difference between size and importance. Repetitious is presenting similar shots in order to portray the relative equality of each image. Wes Anderson frequently uses it to show balance along with his titular brand of symmetry.

In our film, it starts off with two long takes. The end of the second take acts as our wide shot. When the bully punches Frankie it cuts to a medium shot to introduce both characters. Then a low angle Medium shot to show the bully's power and intimidation. After we cut to a high angle shot of Frankie's weakness. This simple cut shows the differing positions of two men.

The 5C's of Cinematography and Hitchcock/Traufutt was used as research for sequencing.

Here are some links that have helped:

https://www.youtube.com/user/everyframeapainting
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/03/breaking-down-the-crop-duster-scene-from-hitchcocks-north-by-northwest

Title Sequences

Think of how you are introduced into a movie. Logos of the companies, the first frame, the characters. At some points, there is also the titles. They are to give importance to the people that have worked on the film. That can be a bit boring, like the titles used in classic films in the 40s. Some directors like spice up some things, this when the title sequence is born. Think of some of your favorites. James Bond, Hitchcock, Charade, Guy Ritchie movies, Se7en, Fight Club, etc. Some of the titular sequences come from the master himself, Saul Bass.

In our film, we used a title sequence to show the main character's ego while also crediting the people who have worked on the film. Using Youtube as a template, the names are inserted to the typical places where names are on YouTube, such as channels and videos to watch.

Here is our title sequence:

For research, we looked up some of these:

http://nofilmschool.com/2012/04/movie-movie-art-title-design
http://nofilmschool.com/2013/08/documentary-title-sequence-saul-bass

Long Takes!

Oh do I love Long takes! Children of Men, True Detective, Birdman, Russian Ark, Old Boy, Boogie Nights, Rope, GoodFellas, most of Speilberg and Kubrick and many more! There's a reason for a long shot. For suspense, to show the atmosphere, create the emotions of the character visually, etc.

For the film opening, I wanted to show the world that Frankie Gibson lives in while also showing the impact that his alter ego has. This is also a way to introduce the characters too. We start off a phone, slide into another, and pan with the man walking into the fight. Although this isn't necessarly such a long take, I did want to achieve the feeling.

When Orson Wells was working on Touch of Evil, they were behind schedule. To create suspense and fasten the workload, they decided to do one long take. This cut hours short and made them move on to the next scene. The beauty of it is that it became on of the most notable shots.

Why else would a director use a long take? Martin Scorcese used it when Henry Hill and his wife go into the Copacabana Cafe. This introduces the power that the character has with everyone, as we are introduced to this world along with his wife. P.T Anderson used in a familiar fashion in Boogie Nights.

In conclusion, long takes are to achieve a particular emotion visually, all in one take. This saves production time too. Here is the long take for our film opening. Notice how I cued the actors and some of the errors I did while focusing(DSLR on a glidecam makes it very hard to focus btw). Audio is horrible since it is a DSLR.

Here are some research into long takes:

http://nofilmschool.com/2014/05/study-steven-spielbergs-cinematography-help-you-master-long-take
http://nofilmschool.com/2014/11/how-birdman-was-made-to-look-like-film-shot-in-one-take http://nofilmschool.com/2014/12/how-light-film-looks-one-continuous-take-chivo-talks-birdman

Post Production

A director that leaves for a week, leaving his crew to edit was something of a task. As I went to San Diego, my team regurly kept me updated on the post production of the film. Here, they had to edit. Some say, this is when a film is born. All the parts are carved and mold together to make a film. Some of these edits are to add the impact we need the viewer to see. 

The most important was editing this in a cohesive and sequential order. It's all about what is before and after a shot. 

For additional information, we looked into this: http://nofilmschool.com/2015/04/history-techniques-editing-explained-seven-minutes

Distractions and Obstacles in production

There will always be some form of distraction or obstacles in the path to finish the film. Murphy's Law is the film makers best friend and worst enemy. Whatever can happen, will happen. If it can rain, it will rain. If the camera has the ability to not work, it will not work. If your friends are stupid enough to steal your camera, they will do it and film Ranger Nick. Enjoy!

This just goes to show you that you can never really trust anybody with professionalism. We're students, humans and we love to fool around. Although it is taking time away from filming, you got have some fun then get back to work! Also, as the director, he needs to find a way to bring team over the wall and get back on track.