Inheritance- Jib Test 2

Having done the first test with the jib, which admittedly was more of a putting up practise than an actual test, we took the jib and my camera to a location, specifically, Ralph's cross. The location itself was very windy as it is up atop the moors where there is no cover from wind and where it is very cold. First lesson of the day learned, wrap up warm, we were somewhat underdressed for the location and as such we were all somewhat cold during, but that didn't stop me, we didn't drive all the way there to turn around at a bit of British weather. So we got there, set up the Jib and did some practise shots for the opening shot of the film whereby I want to pan down the large stone cross.

As you can see there was improvement towards the end of the day as the shoot progressed but none of the shots where particularly great in terms of whether or not they could be used in a final production. However, for sake of evaluation I can take them apart and say what the issues where so that when it comes to the second practise, in theory I know what to look out for.

Take 1: Shaky, and jolty at the beginning. Also the cross doesn't stay on the original framing, also the camera doesn't start level with the top it is low angled. A positive however is that the end was like a pan should look but the beginning is way too disjointed.

Take 2: Really nice framing and background at the beginning but the same issues as take 1, also it is too fast, it needed to slow down.

Take 3: Ended too low down and cut of the top of Ryan's head, the cross stayed more where it should but still not perfect, the colour also looks good on this.

Take 4:  Same shaky issues and such but we fixed the jerky start by starting from higher up so we got more into the groover by the time that we see the cross.

Take 5: Not a lot to say about this, largely the same as 4 but faster which made it too fast.

Take 6: Colour and sky look amazing, however the pan itself is poor, this I know is because it was rushed because I saw the sky as it was and knew we needed to shoot it while the chance was there.

Take 7: Sky looks beautiful but the ground and subject are way too dark and cannot be seen, the pan suffers from the same issues as before which the wind caused us.

Take 8: Aesthetically good but again the pan is jerky and not steady, not much more I can say, we showed progress but not yet what I wanted and not yet anything that could be used in a final production.

Take 9: Went too low down and jerked and sped up near the end, having said that this was the best one up to now as it started well and was smooth from the beginning and the sway from side to side was the lowest it had been.

Take 10: This was the final and best take of the session, at this point the remaining issues were the sway, although it was the lowest it has been, the tilt (as in the fact it isn't level its titled up) and there is a little jerk towards the end of the shot.

In conclusion of this test, come the next test there are some things to consider:

• It doesn't particularly look like a pan it just looks like a tilt, therefore the camera needs to be higher se we get it level.
• The pan needs to be smoother, there are some jerks among the sweeping movement.
• And the biggest issue of them all was that the jib didn't stay still and was swaying from side to side which meant the framing didn't stay the same.

However, I feel I have been too negative and as such here are some positives to be taken from this:

• This was also a recce and the location is fantastic
• We now know that the shot can be done, it just requires practise and care.
• The visuals at times were absolutely stunning and will look fantastic come the real thing.

Inheritance- Jib Test 3

This will be a very short post I would imagine as it is to simply highlight the latest Jib tests we performed and how it went. This time instead of going up to the moors we did it just outside of university using a lamppost and the substitute for the cross as this is much more convenient and if we can do the shot then we can do the shot, the location is irrelevant.

As you can see there were many many takes, some better than others but none without issue, this isms a problem though because we have showed progress which is good, however we aren't there yet, but we have eliminated some issues, the sway from side to side is substantially smaller and the shake has reduced drastically, the tilt is also the smoothest it has ever been, we just need to hone these together into one excellent take on the day and we will have a great shot to open the film.

Report- Francis Ford Coppola

Within my report, to counter the fact that I may not be able to contact professional directors I have decided to add case studies into my report from famous examples of directors that fit what I am trying to show in a given section of my report. The first of these is Francis Ford Coppola, famous director of some of the best films ever made, such as The Godfather Trilogy, Apocalypse Now and Dracula (1992). So this is a very strong example of someone who certainly was at the top of the industry in the past. I am using him as an example of working up from the bottom of the industry ladder and reaching the top, following university graduation

The first place I got my information regarding Coppola from was his IMDb page, which shows that he has held many roles in the industry from Sound Operator to Executive Producer, however, there is a direct correlation from his early days and his upwards progression as he made more and more films before he began directing seriously in the late 60s and early 70s, The Godfather came out in 1972 and basically cemented Coppola at the top of the pile at this time. The second of my internet sources was his online biography which told me the details of the progression I had seen from his IMDb, from here I found that he graduated from UCLA and from here he developed connections with some of the big names in film at the time and as a result he managed to progress quickly up the ladder, which goes to highlight the importance of making connections in this industry. Coppola's first big breakthrough was Finian's Rainbow in 1968 which saw Coppola put the first step in place of his directorial dominance for the next few years.

The final source I used was Coppola: the making of his movies by Ronald Bergman, this book basically served as a glue that held together everything I had learned from the internet sources, it held together what I had hypothesised by confirming it and it served to back up the things the internet was saying to confirm them as fact.

Glide Cam test 3 With lighting

This is a blog post about the third glide cam test again in my flat, this time however, we knew that the camera work was fine, this time it was simply about making sure that the lighting looked good and we could light it to be stylised but to also look like a party. We did this with 4 lights lights (3 red heads and 1 cool lamp). We had two red heads in my room, one facing the corridor and one pointing out of the window to light the path outside, then we had a redhead in the bathroom to further light the corridor and we had a cool light in the living room to light up that space.

As this is a big shoot we enlisted some extra help in the form of Andrew, Beth and Ethan, the other two had gone home at this point but Andrew was in this picture holding me. As you can see the green filter on the cool light gave a nice glow to the scene which when we fill it with people and potentially get some party lights it will really bring out the scene and give it a party aesthetic that we want from it.

The cool light itself was a bit of a pain to put a gel on as it is very wide and the gels are A4 sized, as a result we had to add two next to each other, luckily we had two greens which were the same. We originally tried blue on this but felt that it made the scene too cold and didn't light it very strongly whereas green was much more effective.

Of the lights this one was my favourite, it gave a really strong colour and a kind of UV effect which very much strongly emphasises our party vibe but it also is very neon which I for one love, especially within the context of this film as it is very neon and vibrant and this light is perfect for that look.

 

The other internal light was the red that lit the hallway and blended into the blue from the bathroom light very nicely and created a soft purple middle ground which I think looked fantastic, although there are no photos it can be seen on the video of the footage we took. There were a few issues with this lighting set up but on the whole it lit the scene fantastically and created a very vibrant neon party atmosphere and that is all before the acting and the music is added, this to me shows we are off to a flying start.

Alice- Recce, Dark Room

Today we went on a recce into the university dark room which the photography students use, we found that they aren't really using this room for their current module and as such we should be free to shoot in there when we need to provided we give them prior notice. This therefore makes this location ideal for me as producer because I can easily organise the shoot and also it will be easy to get permission for what is essentially a prime location for what we need.

Firstly the visuals are fantastic, this isn't something I should worry too much about as producer but I can safely say that by delivering this location to Brad I am fulfilling my role well because I am giving him a location which fits his directorial vision and as such the film will benefit hugely from this.

There is a slight issue that the location is a little too dark, not hugely as we want it to be quite dark and brooding, but there is some need for us to bring in lighting, this too is no problem though because there are plugs situated in ideal locations around the room which will serve us well in doing this. This does however mean that we will need to return to do lighting tests and such to make sure that the visuals are maintained but we up the practicality of shooting. One way that was suggested was using a cool light as this can adjust the intensity level so will give us a lot of control.

From a producers point of view, the main issues with this room are working in low lighting conditions people could have trouble moving safely without tripping or other such issues. Another issue is the chemicals in use in this room, though we aren't using them ourselves, being in proximity to them is still a risk which needs to be addressed, but I will cover all of this in the risk assessments.

On the whole I am happy with this location there are only a few minor issues, such as we need to shoot to make it look smaller than it is as it is quite a big space. Also there is the issue that it very much looks professional and that multiple people use it at once when we are trying to create an air of amateurishness, although she is a professional Alice does everything from her home and as such we want it to look like a home set up but neither of these issues are unsolvable and we have a greta location in this.

Photo credits: Liam Robson

Glide Cam test 2

This a post highlighting the follow up glide cam test we conducted this time on location in my flat, this is where the actual scene will be filmed. For this test we didn't take any lighting or sound and went during the day whereas the actual shoot will be at night or late evening. This test was purely for logistics of the shoot, to navigate the spaces and get a vague idea of how it would look and from here we can develop the finer details of the shoot.

The first tests we did were with the monopod, this is a really easy piece of equipment to set up, it is simply a case of attaching the camera to a stick which you then move the camera with, however, this produced somewhat shaky shots and as such we knew that we could reduce this by using the glide cam, as this gives a much steadier shot, not completely stable but definitely good enough for what we are wanting.

We did a few tests with the monopod but none seemed to be at the level we wanted so we moved on to using the glide cam and saw instant results, then once the camera was nailed down technique wise me, Brad and Liam were able to discuss some of the subtle movements we could do in the scene, such as a quick side pan to the man which Alice throws off of her. Then by the final test we had something that very much looked like it was becoming a polished shot which when lit and filled with extras will be a really strong shot.
For reference purposes here is the footage which we took on that practise shoot:

glide cam test 1

For both productions it is likely that the glide cam will need to be used, in fact it will definitely used in Alice as there is a scene with a approximately 2 minute tracking shot which cant really be filmed in any other way on our budget. While the glide cam can produce some fantastic camera work, it is a pain to set up as you have to balance the weight and position to suit the camera you are using and to balance the counter weight. This took Liam a long time to do but eventually he got there.

So, once Liam had it set up he did some practise work following me up the stairs to the printer, from here he then moved to new angles but without cutting to make the shot more dynamic. We then went back downstairs and watched back the footage and looked for improvement and how it could be bettered. He then recalibrate the weights to try and get it to run smoother and we went again.

After a few attempts Liam really had it nailed and we could both confidently say that he could then use the glide cam for the actual shoot when it comes to it. One thing that is worth mentioning is that I personally didn't get a hands on experience with the Glide cam but having watched Liam and been a part of his practise as the subject I have gained some knowledge on how to work it. From here it is likely that me and my camera operator (Ethan) will go on to do practices of our own as neither of us have used the glide cam.

Alice- Flat Recce

When writing the script for Alice, Brad had a party scene in mind that is made up of one long tracking who that encompasses the whole scene in one go. This scene was written with my flat in mind and as such it was no issue for me to do a recce, however, a recce needed doing all the same so I did that and this is my response to said recce.

The first aspect that Brad wanted was the long alleyway outside that she walks down as approaching the party. This is sparsely lit and with the shot being one take we cannot adjust the camera to compensate and thus we must fix this issue with the usage of lighting. The best way I can see to do this is to put a red head in my room and shine it out onto the path, that way the path will be lit up and wont look unnaturally lit up.

Then there is the courtyard type area, this will be littered with extras to make the party look full and vibrant, as the scene is almost made or broken on the feel of it and if it looks empty and not like an actual party then the scene falls flat and falls apart. The lighting of this area wont be an issue as there is a strong security light which will light the space fine and is a white light so it looks quite good as opposed to an orange one which would look awful. Another issue with this is that it is a large space so it may be difficult to look full but we have a fairly large amount of extras who have said they will come along so I am hopeful that this will not be a problem at all.

Then there is the kitchen and living room area, this has the opposite issue to the courtyard in the sense that it is a relatively small space and as such it will be an issue for it to not be overcrowded but have enough people that the scene makes sense in the context of the bad guys not noticing Alice straight away. With regards to lighting, we wont ever see the kitchen and as such we can use the plugs there and put up a light to light the living room and it wont be an issue to hide at all. There will also have to be some moving of furniture for this scene to maximise the space so that we can comfortably move everyone around and give the scene an organic party feeling. Although, this is partly achieved with the sound within the scene which is down to the sound designer.

The last section to think about is the corridor leading  to the rear exit of the flat. In this section Alice pulls a man to her to cover herself from her pursuers, after she does they walk past and the camera turns to see her leave. Lighting this scene shouldn't be too problematic as there are three rooms (including my own) which we can put lights in to shine out and light the corridor. The main issue here is that there isn't much room for the camera, actors and the sound op to turn around and move fluidly around each other. However, the key point is that there is room so with practise this is no problem, they will be able to move around each other no problem. This then concludes the recce for my flat, which will be used in the party scene of the film and it should be relatively easy to get permission for as I live there.

Jib Test 1

This is a post to document the test that we ddi using the jib for both of the productions I am working on, however, as producer for Alice this was more useful for me from my directorial stand point on Inheritance.

Firstly there was the construction of it which was fairly easy although it was not as easy at it should have been for us. To clarify what I mean by this, what I mean is that, it is easy to put up for us now that we have practised but had we not then it would have been a nightmare on set. For this practise we couldn't actually attach a camera to the jib due to the fact that it requires the slider head which was booked out, instead we just went without and practised the movement.

We also found that during its set up one of the pieces required for it to work was missing so myself and Liam had to go to a local DIY store to find a replacement, luckily we did and this meant that the construction of the jib could continue. Once we managed to get it up we realised we didn't have much space to work with and as such should have perhaps done the test somewhere else, although this didn't prove to be a major problem as we could still do it.

Once we had it up and working we practised Brad's shot that he wishes to use in Alice which has the character walking through a moment as the camera raises behind her. This wasn't simple at first but after a few tests with no camera, no monitor and no actress we managed to get the camera movement fluid and smooth meaning we now know that the shot can be done.

The above picture is a place holder as I was working the jib and no one took a picture but after that we practised my opening shot for Inheritance with a pretend Cross instead of panning down nothing. The shot itself is a jib shot which pans down Ralph's cross which is a big stone cross, this is a hard shot to do as not only do you have to pan down the cross, you also have to adjust the angle of the camera to make it sty level, this was not an easy task but with the four of us working on it we got something like what we will want for the final product and as such I am confident now that we can pull the shot off for real.

That's all for now, the next test we did was the glide cam, that post will be up in the very near future.

Report- Questions for Directors.

Following my previous post regarding the types of questions I may ask any directors I should happen to find and interview, I have decided upon these questions, followed by a brief description of why I am asking this. There are two sets of questions however as I have champed my research slightly as I am now also going to interview an aspiring director(s) as well as professional if possible. So without further ado, here they are:

Questions to ask pro director.

• How would you best describe your career path up to this point in terms of how you became a director? For example, did you make your own things then get noticed or did you start at the bottom of a crew and work up.

This is fairly obvious as this is the crux of what I am trying to ascertain from my report so as such this question will get straight to       the heart of what I want to find out

• Do you believe there is ‘best way’ for someone in my position (a year from graduating from a film degree) to get to be a director such as yourself?

Similarly to the first question, this is to get straight into the heart of my subject to find out what it is that gets someone to the top of the game and how they get there.

• What do you feel are the most useful skills for a director to have?

This is mainly to see if I personally have what it takes to be a director but, more than this the report will benefit from it as it seems that anyone who wants to become a professional director can read the report and also find out if they have what it takes.

• Do you feel you are where you want to be in your career, and if not what do you think the next step for you is?

This is to look forward beyond directing, if they are at the top, or to see where they go next if they are professional but still on the up, meaning for example if they are a TV director then do they have any desire to move 'up' to feature films.

• What would be a piece of advice you would give to someone like me who wants to be a director so that they can improve as a director?

This is another personal question for me but the report will benefit also because if the advice there give is something people can do for example take an acting course, then it is useful information for me to add to the report.

• How often are you working and what do you do between jobs?

This is useful because it is very rare that directors are working all year round and as a result I think it is useful for people to know what the in between times are like.

• And finally, what are you currently working on and would there be any room for me to possibly do some work experience as a runner or assistant?

All I can say about this question is that shy kids get nothing.

Questions for aspiring director

• Do you believe there is a ‘best way’ that someone goes about climbing the film industry to become a director?

This is much like the first question to a professional director in that it gets straight to the heart of what it is that I am wanting to find out from the report and as such instantly cuts into this.

• What are the next steps for you on your career path?

As they are not yet in a position to be considered professional, it is important to ascertain where they go next as the early stages of progression may well be the most important ones.

• Where do you aim to be in ten years and how do you think you will have gotten there?

This is to get a sense of the persons ambition and what they deem to be successful in their career, by doing this it helps me get a better handle on the responses I am being given and it will also allow my readers to see if the information fits their ambitions.

• What skills and traits do you feel make a good director?

Just a useful thing to know and as I said before it is mainly to see if people have those qualities in themselves.

• Are there times when you doubt that you want to be a director, if so, how do you get past these and  continue pursuing the dream?

I think this is a very useful question, as the road to being a director will not be an easy one and as with anything of this nature there will be times when giving up seems like the best option and as such it is important to know how to get past this feeling.

• Given that I will be following a path not dissimilar to your own, what advice would you give me regarding post-graduation and where I go next?

This is useful as it can be hard for many people to leave the structure of education and be put out into the real world to get a job in an industry you have no history in, so this question helps to combat that in some way.

Live 2- Introduction

This is the obligatory introduction post for my latest Module, Live Production Module 2. In this module I will be involved in the creation of 2 films which will the be added to festival circuits and awards ceremonies both nationally and internationally so there is a lot that needs to go into this module to make the films to be at that high standard, but I am sure I can rise to the task.

The films themselves are, firstly, Inheritance, a film which I wrote and am directing with basically the same crew as Brush Stroke, as a result I am very much looking forward to making this as it is something I feel very passionately about.

The second film is Alice, a film which has been written by Brad and I will be producing, this is a very contrasting film to my own so it is interesting to see how the two will come out.

Report- Potential Questions

Throughout my report onto how to become a famous director I will aim to interview professionals that could already be considered to be professional directors, in doing this I ensure I have some kind of first hand account of the journey to get there and what it takes. Whilst conducting these interviews I will need to be careful what I ask and be sure that the questions I ask are tailored to get the kind of information I am looking for and the level of detail I need. The first way to do this is to ask a mixture of both open and closed questions, that way the level of detail I require can be dictated by the type of questions I ask.

Open questions are called open as they have no set parameters for an answer and as such they can lead to very long experience or opinion based answers that can can be very useful to me as I can use these to see if people are of similar opinions and I can also use the depth of the answer to strengthen opinions and such so that I have a more informed opinion on what it is I am saying.
Closed questions, by definition, are the opposite, these have very rigid answer parameters and are often followed by the question of "why" because they give very clear concise answers but give no indication of any feeling or opinion behind them. These are most commonly in yes no form or things like "what is your favourite...". These can be useful questions to ask as they are much easier to draw hard facts and statistical information from, take the example of the yes no question; we may find that 60% of people agree and 40% don't, but if we asked "what do you think of..." which is an open question then it is much more difficult to draw statistics as everyone who has been asked is giving a different opinion despite potentially meaning the same thing that can be then quantified.

Bearing all this in mind, I feel that I should only ask open questions and I have a few reasons for this. The first of which is time, if I am to be taking time from a very busy professional so that they can answer my questions, it seems best that I ask them open questions so as to ring out every drop of information from them so I do not want to limit what I can get from them with closed questions. The second reason is that I have very little use for the quantitative (statistical) data I can get from interviews as I will in all likelihood not be interviewing many people, therefore, with such a small sample size there will be relatively no strong conclusions to be made based on the stats I find, as there  is no way there is any integrity behind a sample size of less than 5 people, regardless of how high up on a career ladder they are. The final reason I have for this is that qualitative research in this case will be more useful to me as I already know that becoming a director has no set path so asking open questions will give me more of a personal feel for how it is to be done.