Film Shoot- Bradley's Me, Myself &I #1

So I am aware I am writing about this film shoot a few weeks after the event but this is a post about my first proper film shoot as a student. In this particular instance I was camera operating for Bradley on his studio shoot where we used a range of shots and some advanced lighting to get his desired effects.

 With regards to the lighting as oh can see above, we put a heavy purple/pink filter on the key light so that it painted the whole of the scene in a surrealist time that gave the film an uneasy and somewhat arty aesthetic. I think that this particular technique worked very well when translated into camera. This them coupled with the costume and soundtrack made the scene very surreal and eerie to the viewer, I am in firm belief that Brad nailed the aesthetic and I think that as the camera operator I also got the vision perfectly in the shots.

In this shot Bradley is watching back over my footage whilst Connor the sound op for this shoot (the shoot was silent) is laying on the track and dolly. It is the track and dolly that I was wanting to talk about, Bradley decided early on that he wanted the track and dolly shots to feature heavily in his piece. This was a completely new experience to me as I hadn't actually used this equipment yet but doing it was very fun. It was very simple to do a basic tracking shot as it just required someone to push the dolly,  however Bradley and I had bigger ambition than just a standard tracking shot and we decided to add camera movement along with this so that (for example) when the track went to the right, I turned the camera to the left at roughly the same speed, this meant that I kept Bradley in the centre of the shot whilst the camera moved around him. This effect worked particularly well when cut with the other tracking shots quickly as it made the film more artistic and frantic which when coupled again with the fast paced orchestral soundtrack made it hit the mark all the more.

So to conclude this post, a very fun shoot in the studio that I found to be very useful as a learning means as it taught me some new camera techniques I will now consider an option when I'm shooting where I may not have used them before.

Me, Myself & I- Masks

This I As previously mentioned on this blog I intended to add face paint to myself to create my character on screen and portray emotion and aspects of myself visually, unfortunately I was unable to get hold of a face painter in time for my shoot that could do as well of a job as I was hoping. As a response to this problem I decided that instead of using face paint I could buy paper masks that were plain white and I could add the faces that I wanted onto those.
These are those masks:

This is a blank mask I used to show an indifferent character who was not yet emotionally involved in the story.

This was a mask that was intended to look disappointed as Arsenal had just drawn and in my narrative this is very frustrating.

This was was intended to look nervous as at first a nervous version of my self walks on stage before fainting, and I think that the mask really helps to highlight the nerves.

This mask demonstrates that often I can think of nothing but Arsenal as I am a huge fan and the team is one of the biggest aspects of my life.

This is a half and half mask that displays a different emotion depending upon which side I face towards the camera, this means that I can strongly portray the emotion.

This half is used when Arsenal score to highlight the joy this gives me and how happy it makes me generally in the day.

And finally this is the sad side which I show when Arsenal concede to show the despair when Arsenal concede or lose  all of these make serve to portray my strong emotion towards my team but to also caricature it in a way.

Screenwriting- Treatment

Recently I had to write a treatment for my film, Brush Stroke, I found this to be a very helpful exercise with regards to panning because it allowed me to get a solid plot written down so I knew exactly where it was going. If anyone is unfamiliar with what a treatment is, it is basically the entire plot of a film with all the twists and such so that a company can know the plot and from this know if it worth investing in.

This is my treatment for Brush Stroke:

Brush Stroke

LOGLINE: The story of a starving artist who is in a dead-end job and doesn't fit in who loses his inspiration before finding it again after gaining the ability to literally enter works of art, as though they are different dimensions.

Act One:

Michael is a artist in his spare time, he paints fantastic works of art but sadly has not been successful in the art world and as such is forced to work a dead-end job in a three star Italian restaurant, this is a problem for Michael as he feels like a caged bird as he does not speak Italian, like his coworkers and boss, thus he feels out of place and as though his job is stifling his creativity and from this his art is suffering. On the whole Michael is a loner, save for his young attractive friend Shannon, although Shannon is young she is already in a high paying job in a bank and lives something of a luxury life, quite the opposite to Michael.  Michael is also very proud and often declines financial help from Shannon despite his money problems and his low income.

At the beginning of the film Michael is painting a landscape in his basement which is spectacular, we follow his every stroke until he is finished and he takes a step back from  his stand, smiles and goes upstairs from his art workshop (which is in his basement) and to bed. The following morning he looks through the mail in his bare, dull kitchen while he eats toast that he’s burnt and we see that he has several bills, one of which is a very serious bill for his rent which is a last notice before his eviction. Michael then leaves the house and goes to work via a rusted old bike.

Upon arriving at work he goes straight into the kitchen where immediately he has orders barked at him while his two co-workers stand and chat in Italian, the day winds on and at the end of the day he cycles a few streets to meet with Shannon at a coffee shop. The two chat about their day and Michael begins to vent his problems to Shannon and he begins to let go more and more whilst telling her about his financial troubles and that he may lose his house due to back rent. On the brink of a full breakdown, Michael stops talking and begins to drink his coffee, Shannon then offers to pay off his back rent and some of his bills. Michael angrily denies her offer and she reaches a minor compromise as he lets her pay for the coffee. The two then part ways and once Michael is home he immediately goes to his basement to paint to take his mind off of the day.

Act Two:

Upon attempting a painting in his basement Michael can no longer find his inspiration, he tries and tries but cannot put the brush to canvas and do anything good, as we see him struggle his frustration grows he eventually snaps and throws the canvas across the room before slumping into a corner and sobbing as to him it is as though he has lost the only thing in life that brings him joy. We then go again to his next day at work and as he is getting bawled at by his boss he stares at a painting on the wall of a forest, all of a sudden Michael finds himself in the forest from the painting and he walks through the trees and gets lost. he then comes across a floating framed picture of his basement as he left it. Michael stops to ponder the photo before he then finds himself in his basement stood in the middle of the wreckage from the previous night. he tidies up his mess and sets about sketching an outline for a landscape, he has not yet found his inspiration again but has found enough to begin sketching.

The next day Michael has a meeting in a lettings agency with his landlord about all his back-rent. whilst he is being asked to explain himself and to explain how he is going to pay back the debt, Michaels stares and studies a painting on the wall of a marina, the same thing happens again and he finds himself on a marina front that appears to be empty. Michael walks along the front for sometime before looking down and once again seeing his basement only this time it is on the floor. Once again he stops to study the picture before him and finds himself all of a sudden stood in front of his canvas and paints, he then picks up the brush with renewed enthusiasm begins to paint a landscape of a forest by a river with a log cabin. Upon doing a substantial amount of the painting Michael puts down the brush and goes to bed.

Act three:

For the first time in a while Michael wakes up with a good feeling about the day and arranges to get coffee with Shannon before work, so the two of them meet up in there usual cafe and they chat as they usually do. Shannon notices that Michael is a lot brighter than usual and Michael cannot help but tell her about his new found ability to enter paintings, for obvious reasons Shannon cannot believe Michael. He pleads with her to believe him before eventually offering to prove it with one of the paintings in the diner, a small painting of a cottage in the country. Michael takes her hand and really focuses hard on the painting but to no avail. no matter how hard Michael tries he cannot get it to work. Shannon now thinks Michael is making fun of her and tells him he must've dreamt his trips into the paintings. She then leaves cash on the table and leaves angrily and abruptly.

Feeling somewhat upset about what had happened and also wondering if it was a dream Michael cycles to work to find out he is being sacked for ‘what happened the other day’ (while he was in the painting) when he asks the boss to explain he just says that he was barely there all day (Michael is unsure whether he means physically or mentally). Distraught by how his day has gone Michael cycles home only to find that there is an eviction notice on his door. Michael tears the notice off of the door and immediately goes to his landscape.

Michael pulls a chair up to the painting to stand on so he can paint the top of his canvas and we watch him put the last few strokes to his masterpiece before the chair gives way and we see his legs dangle, Michael has killed himself so he can live in his perfect masterpiece.  However as he is hanging there he drops his paintbrush which is covered in black paint and we look over his painting to see a black figure next to the log house as we fade to black to end the film there will be a slight movement from the figure as if to suggest that he is alive in the painting but it is deliberately vague to make the viewer decide if he is alive or not and thus whether he did have the power to go into paintings.

This was my original treatment but like with the step outlines the story evolved over the writing process due to me finding out how things worked in practise.

Using the smoke machine

We recently were given a tutorial on how to use the smoke machine.

As you can see above we can have a very thick smoke with just a few presses of the button, this means that you can create a heavy smoke environment. The only downside of this is that you cannot put a thin layer on the floor like with dry ice, which is now illegal due to the health risks of inhaling the gas. It is also of note that this can be used outside but will have to be used more as the smoke dissipated quickly.

There is not much else I can say about this because I haven't got anything planned that can incorporate this or rather needs to incorporate this. However I should briefly say that because it is smoke machine, it will set off smoke detectors (if not they're not really very good are they) so you'll need to turn off the smoke detectors in the vicinity or cover them. Also in form whoever owns the building of you doing so.

Screen writing- Idea

My idea is basically an artist who loses his inspiration and finds it again by gaining the ability to enter paintings literally. The protagonist Michael has a hard life and not much to live for, he works a dead end job and only has one friend really, Shannon. Shannon is almost a polar opposite of Michael as she is successful and easy going, they get along well regardless.
The original 10 step outline for this film was:

1. Michael is doing a painting in his art studio which is in his basement, he is very good and is finishing a really good landscape.
   
2. Michael gets up and does his daily routine before going to work.at work Michael does not fit in and is constantly being shouted at and scorned because he is the only non-Italian in the restaurant staff.
   
3. Michael then gets coffee with his best friend Shannon after work, he tells her about all of his money issues and how he will potentially be evicted from is house. Shannon offers to pay his bak rent and help him out but he refuses and gets angry, the two compromise with her paying the coffee bill.
   
4. Michael returns to his basement to do some more painting but he has lost his inspiration and in a fit of rage he trashes his workshop.
   
5. Michael is getting shouted at at work the next day and while he is, he stares at a painting of a forest and all of a sudden finds himself in the forest. he explores the forest and finds a picture of his basement as he left it, upon studying this he finds himself in there.
   
6. The same thing happens the following day in a lettings agency when he is being told he must pay off his back rent or face eviction, this time it is a marina but the events transpire in the same way as the forest.
   
7. Upon returning from the marina Michael has rediscovered his inspiration and begins work upon his perfect scene of a log cabin in the woods.
   
8. The following day, Michael goes to see Shannon before work for coffee and cant help but tell her about his new found joy and where it is coming from. she cannot believe him and the two get very angry, Shannon because she thinks Michael is making fun of her, and Michael because he cannot show her his power, Shannon concludes he isn't making fun but that he was just dreaming.
   
9. Michael leaves the coffee shop and heads to work, only to find he has been sacked due to ‘hardly being there all day’ when he was getting shouted at. he then heads for home to find an eviction notice on the door of his house, Michael tears this off and immediately goes to his basement to finish his art, he pulls out a chair to reach the top and the chair gives way, leaving Michael hanging. Michael has hung himself. 
   
10.  Michael hangs from the ceiling and drops his paintbrush which has a black paint on it, we then look over his painting and see a newly added silhouette, then we see a slight movement, or perhaps it didn't move, the point is to make the audience decide. 
    
    Although there are some differences as the script has developed this is still the basic plot, although I am thinking of adding a third painting scene instead of the intended original 2.