(Un)title(d) sequence part 4

(Un)title(d) sequence part 4

Back to the title sequence then...

I decided to make a compilation of my scribblings on the subject, and here is a scheme of the things I thought 12 Monkeys is about, or the aspects I would like to highlight in the title sequence, including visuals elements.

I have also done some sketches in Photoshop, and I am thinking about whether or not to use still images, with panning camera motions in After Effects, or whether the ink blots (Roscharch test) are going to be animated somehow.

Clientology part 1

First of all, this is going to be a rather incoherent post...in order to start seriously thinking about some of the things assigned in the task for next year`s Client Project, I`ll have to have a really serious inner dialogue to get an idea of what I want to do, and according to that, where should I start looking for clients. Now, browsing through film and documentary festivals pages has been a good thing regardless of my still confused state of mind, you never know what might give you ideas...but, I will be back with more on this topic...

 

Art By Chance (Ultra Short Film Festival) 

 

The reason Art By Chance caught my attention was because `the selected short movies will be presented to the public through advertising screens instead of movie theatres [...]Viewers around the world will have the opportunity to watch the best festival movies free of charge and within the course of their daily routine`. All submissions must use the given theme as a backbone of their work, which last year has been the idea of a journey, and this year, is that of time. Films must be 30 seconds long or less excluding the title and credits. Deadline: 26 March. 

 

Sheffield Documentary Festival

Unfortunately, the deadline for this is before November, so no chance really to be considered for next year`s Client Project I guess, but it`s good to keep in mind the event nevertheless.

Ah, and there is something else that might be useful I managed to spot on their page:

Submit a Session IdeaI - If you have an idea for a session you would like to produce at the festival - it can be craft-based, case studies, debates, panels or masterclasses, you can submit your idea to Doc/Fest. Online submissions for 2010 will open in March. (Hmmm...thinking, thinking...ideas...yes, I might have some of those...hmmmm)

 

CrossOver Labs

 

Multiplatforming, discussion panel and project that brings together people from various media to:

• explore new techniques for developing multi-platform projects
• encourage fresh thinking about interaction with viewers and users through user-centred design processes
• provide a framework for the development of concrete projects and results in the building of pitches and early stage concept prototypes.

 TO BE CONTINUED...^.^

Time(-machine)`s are hard...part 4

Yesterday, I had a meeting with Michelle from the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, we`ve talked about the transitions I`ve done and I`ve got a chance to see the orchestra and the choir at work during a rehearsal (which is supposed to be good in making me feel the importance of my effort, or something along those lines...psssst, it was touching though!). All in all, everyone`s happy and looking forward to the concert on the 27th.

There are a couple of things they`ve suggested I change:

- no music for the transitions

- a couple more transitions, introducing Les Miserables and The Pines of Rome

- look for some pictures for the Planets, Rome and WW2 bits

- produce some fireworks for the 1812 piece (I`m going to use some Particular effects in Adobe AE, nothing fancy so far, I am playing around with the default settings, maybe if I get any wiser in time, I`ll try my luck at something more spectacular)

Having said that, today I`ve been in the studio again, helped by my lovely assistant...I mean, friend...Sam, getting on with the last two transitions. In line with the same theme of our now famous and lovable (yeah, right!) glass-headed traveller, here are the last two transitions:

Also on my to do list for this evening...learning how to create some (hopefully mind-blowing) photomontages, because nobody wants to keep it still and boring....right? 

The big O

Yes, do make fun of me as much as you like...but I have this dirty secret. I like my opera and my classical music every once in a while. I am one of those who mostly get it through recordings, but hey!...

So, it seems that one can work on THESE little babies: adaptations for the screen of operas or of classical music (a sort of video clip if you will). I know I should be more coherent and make a critical assessment of these, and I will try to sometimes later....but for now...it`s just....WOW:

 

How to rock your doc

Since we have been assigned our groups for project 4 (producing a 10 minute documentary on a given theme) I have set forth to look up useful information until our first meeting this Thursday. It is a fresh start with new people and I`m looking forward to this new (sprained) `joint venture`.

I went looking for reading material to the library today, and started the hunt for useful video links. Here are some of the first findings:

Coverage: interview related shots, and B roll (a visualisation of some of the things your subjects talk about or reveal about themselves during the interviews. Ratio 30:1.

 In the case of subjects that are not present on camera, use photos, stock footage, alternative methods of visual representation for what the dialogue or voice-over is conveying.

Memo: scripted, unscripted? Voice-over? I have a vague feeling that people would not be too keen on voice-overs, mainly because someone needs to write the script for it...which is something I`d be really interested in trying though (together with all the research that goes into....wooohooo!).

Release forms: make every person that makes an appearance or a statement in your documentary, sign a release form that gives you permission to use their contribution. If they don`t sign it, don`t include the footage in the final edit!

Location release: has to be signed by the person in charge of the location you are filming on. IMPORTANT: you don`t (generally) need any permission to film in a public space...

Two documentaries it`s NOT wise to miss out on

Yes, my beloved and loyal blog followers (as I am sure there are many of you out there, listening to this voice of mine that thus does not resound like an empty echo!) I know I have kept you waiting for such a loooooooong time, post-less, seduced and abandoned by my enlightening, life-saving (if not giving) musings. BUT, fear no more...because your benefactor is back, and she has brought you (by the mercy of....herself...praises be unto her!) two documentary series you SHOULD NOT miss out on (at least, not those of you in the geek segment, which I`m sure you are plenty).

So, I bring you our old trusted friend and chosen practitioner for the SPP essay: James Burke (we`ll have a post on another project of his, Knowledge Web, soon). The Day the Universe Changed and After the Warming deal with Mr. Burke`s main theme (or obsession...but the good kind of obsession): how technology is influenced by changes (societal, climate) and how in turn, it triggers changes that act as feedback and here we are going round and round in an ever expanding circle of madness (but the good king of...hmm...).

What I would like to point out, is that in The Day the Universe Changed, although Burke seems to adopt one of postmodernity`s most ill-used concepts, i.e., that of no view of the world (whether mythical, religious or scientific) is better than the other, in that they are all equal and do the same, he does highlight in the concluding episode of the series the basic difference between them (one that is soooo often overlooked INTENTIONALLY ): if you admit that you are creating the universe according to the frame set you have developed any given time, and that it is a version of the truth you are presenting, and not a portion of a yet-to-be-discovered incontestable truth, sooner or later you will come across the holes in your cheddar...I mean, your Weltanschauung. And when the plot thickens, you can either change the storyline (as has been the case with science) or you put some cotton balls in your ear and hope it will go away. Now, whether one or another of these methods is more beneficial to man, it is in itself a long and heated debate...point is, the difference between these views had to be highlighted, so kudos for James!

Thought bubble of the day...

In the beginning, is the scream. We scream.

The starting point of theoretical reflection is opposition, negativity, struggle. It is from rage that thought is born, not from the pose of reason, not from the reasoned-sitting-back-and-reflecting-on-the-mysteries-of-existence that is the conventional image of  `the thinker`. 

We start from negation, from dissonance...An inarticulate mumble of discontent, tears of frustration, a scream of rage, a confident roar. An unease, a confusion, a longing, a critical vibration.`

John Holloway, Change the World Without Taking Power, Pluto Press, London, 2002

King Tut(orial) part 2

Today has been a fine day...for tuts! I`ve set my eyes on a few things that might make our short-film project look better and I`ve tested two things: blemish removals (especially for close-ups, since we didn`t have a make-up person on the set) and the bleach bypass.

Now, the bleach tutorial  has helped me familiarise with the Luma Matte, but in terms of its effects (the ones I managed to achieve anyway) I am not sure I`m doing a proper job. I find I couldn`t really spot that much of a difference between shots that used it, and those that didn`t (maybe I was too tired). Here is an example that actually demonstrates the effect quite well:

This is the image without the Matte...

This is the image with the Matte...

I`ve noticed that since the lighting, contrast and saturation levels are different from one scene to the other, in order to get an effective matte, one has to take each scene separately and tweak the parameters. I guess that would mean jumping between Premiere and After Effects to treat each sequence.

But let`s get to the piece de resistance! The Bleach bypass has been around for quite a while, being used before the digital switch-over in photo labs. Here are some examples (and I don`t think I need to point out which one`s has bleach bypass applied):

I have also made an overview of the entire footage today, and I`m looking forward to discussing the next editing bits with the group members.

Look, you`ve got a Prezi!

While looking for material for my networking SPP essay, I stumbled upon Prezi!...a new presentation tool that wants to get rid of the concept of slides we all got so used to. Instead, it introduces the idea of a giant canvas (maybe to give the impression that your idea forms a coherent whole and your arguments are interlinked to prove your point?...Mr. Freud, analyse this!) on which you can place your images, charts, information, footnotes, subtitles, etc...and then, you can focus, zoom in, move around, turn the thing Topsy-turvy to visually, not just verbally, highlight connections within the presentation. Sounds interesting and I think it is worth a try (and not just because the developer has a distinctly Hungarian sounding name).

PlayLis(z)t

Never a bad time to get some musical inspiration for future/possible/probable soundtracks. Tonight`s special:

Masked Ball by Jocelyn Pook, but this time, the unaltered version, which is a Greek Orthodox chant for mass in Romanian. For the scene in Kubrick`s Eyes Wide Shut, they have played it backwards.

This song is called The Tired Sun Tango...and I came across it while watching a documentary on Russian cutout animation artist Yuri Norstein

Picture this...

Since we have agreed to use the tram station at Hyson Green for one of our locations for the Bogdan script, I decided to take a look at the location again and try to think of some interesting camera angles. I know that the results might be very deceiving, as in the absence of a model, I had to add a silhouette for where the character might be placed within the frame, and it is likely that in terms of size the pictures are not really trustworthy. Still, I hope that they will be useful for tomorrow`s practice as a guideline. 

I`ve tried to place the subject near the vanishing points created by different elements within the frame. Also, it might be a good idea to try a shallow focus on some of them.

Thought bubble of the day...part 3

I`ve just found some time to have a read through a book (Terence Wright - The Photography Handbook)  I had for a few weeks now and I`ve come across something interesting already (after 5 pages, I`d say that`s fast!). Just a short entry, as I`m going to have a read through in more detail on the subject this weekend. Basically, it is about photography and the three main aesthetic approaches:

• 
  
  realism - concerned with the subject of photography (in other words, who is it that you frame to tell your story)
  
  
  
• 
  
  formalism - shifts the focus away from the subject, to the response the overall composition elicits from the viewer (having had a quick look at some works, it is quite clear in some of them that they lack the classic `subject`)
  
  
  
• 
  
  expressionism - is looking at what might have determined the taking of the photo in the first place.
  
  
  

Really interesting to consider for the composition of the shots in films as well...Food for thought

(Bog)Dan, capitan de plai...

...don`t worry, you will only get this reference if you have studied Romanian literature. As part of our project 3 we have been given the Bogdan script, a story that has as its main character a Romanian immigrant. As the previous working script we have been given, this one is also fairly ambiguous, which gives us freedom to develop our story in different directions. After a meeting last week, I have been assigned to do a character study for Bogdan, given that we wanted to avoid the all-too-obvious `Tom Hanks in Terminal portraying the imbecile yet resourceful immigrant` kind of scenario. Given my insight into Romanian society in general, we agreed that it would be a pity not to make use of this advantage. So, here is my study, focusing on creating a background story for the character (revolving around the issue of why he left his country), and trying to draw a few guidelines in as much as appearance and age are concerned.

Bogdan

- Character study-

Reason for leaving Romania

Bogdan was formerly an engineer working on a construction project that got massive funding. At realizing the corruption and machinations for money laundering that went on under the cover of the project, he decided to get out (for both ethical, but most importantly, personal safety considerations as we shall see later on). At this point though, his abrupt departure gave rise to suspicions within the press, anxious to know why a specialist would leave a well-paying job so suddenly, and while all things seemed to be running smoothly. Also, his superiors want him on the project because his being a specialist with no political affiliations and no business ties gave the team an aura of respectability. When Bogdan refuses to go back on his decision (he knows that if he does, he will be made into a scapegoat once the affair boils over), his colleagues threaten to sue him for breach of contract and mishandling of public funds. Bogdan leaves the country, hoping that his absence will make him invisible, and give no further fuel for the attacks and investigations of the press, thus making him a less inconvenient witness for his superiors. Having been to the UK a few years earlier during a professional training course, and having a reasonably good job prospect and social network to rely, he decides to move to the country to start anew. Yet, Bogdan receives some bad news from home: as a result of a fake anti-corruption campaign started off by a rival political party against Bogdan`s superiors (members of another political party), the press`s attention on the case has not diminished, quite the contrary, so now, Bogdan`s colleagues have put their threats to practice (they have started legal action against him). This creates a series of problems for Bogdan, who has trouble with applying for his job because of the legal conundrum and, subsequently, has a hard time preparing the ground for the arrival of his family. This is where our story picks up.  

Clothing

(Business) casual, a bit `boring`, mainly white or pastel-colored shirts, jumpers, jeans or black pants, coat (see photos)

Age

Around his mid 40s, which means he is still likely to make the decision to move to another country (social mobility decreases with age) but explains his need for a dictionary. Note: the generation that studied foreign languages before 1989 has acquired its knowledge from school and books exclusively; as there were no foreign TV programs on the network (communist regime banned them). So, there is a certain `school-like feeling` to this generation`s mastery of a foreign language and for Bogdan, who has been using English intermittently over the years during his work, his knowledge is uneven. Also, he is likely to be meticulous and diligent in his updating of English, this explains his note taking and his consulting the dictionary. 

Items

Turkish style coffee is very popular with Romanians and there is a strong cultural reference to Kent cigars (they were the most sought after foreign brand during the communist years, as many Romanians are heavy smokers). Suitcases are common for any man working in a white collar business, and since we assume Bogdan is a middle aged man, his choice of glasses is more `classic`.

 Now, let`s see what herr direktor comes up with!

Captain`s (V)log

My (slightly quirky) version of the what the cinematographer is all about, with an attempt at shallow focus. Can I just say in my defense that I`ve been a victim of what one might call a case of `the editor ate my homework` (my first tape, with carefully recorded footage has been obliterated by the cruel machines in room 105...although I can`t guarantee that the quality of that work would have been much better than this). I got this together in 20 minutes, desperately trying to get people and objects to pose (the objects maintained a firm resistance!). Without further ado, enjoy!

Color (Me Badd)

Reading up on color on Bruce Block`s The Visual Story, I have just come across a very handy information for future attempts to light a set. It refers to the actual color that different lightsources are more likely to produce:

- candles will produce predominantly reds and oranges;

- a 60 WATT lightbulb will have reds and oranges but also a wider green and blue segment;

-  with the TV light, oranges and greens are at a similar level, yellow is still the predominant, and reds and blues are equal;

- sunset light means you`ll get a distinctly reddish light, with orange overtones, some yellows and greens and very little purple and blue;

- daylight is dominated by cool colors, such as blue and purple; again, you have an equal amount of yellows and greens and less oranges and reds;

The additive system (mixing two colors to obtain a third one) is mostly used in theatres and two light live performances. Primary colors are RED, GREEN and BLUE

 The subtractive system obtains new colors by subtracting the wavelengths of the two colors combined. Primary colors and CYAN, MAGENTA and YELLOW.

Desaturation: take a pure color, mix it with its complimentary color, and watch it turn grayish
Tint or pastel: adding WHITE to a HUE.
Shade: adding BLACK

Brightness of color is essential in capturing the attention of the viewer, so that when one considers affinity or contrast, one should also bear in mind the brightness of the respective colors. Yellow and Blue are complimentary colors, just like Red and Green, but the disproportion of brightness in the first pair, means that the attention of the viewer is going to be directed overwhelmingly towards the Yellow area. With Red and Green, the brightness levels are similar, so the scale is balanced.

It is interesting to note that the bright color does not need a large area of coverage to attract attention. The brighter it is, the less area it needs to `get noticed`.

 You don`t have  to mix two colors to create the impression of a new color. All you need is to have a susceptible color, placed near a color that activates the change in the former.

Analogous colors are colors placed next to each other on the wheel. They appear to push apart, so that having orange on a yellow surface will make the orange look red.

Eyes, just like taste buds, tend to get `bored` if bombarded with the same color over an extended period, so the intensity of the color starts to fade away before one`s eyes, in search of that elusive `white`. Since combining a color with its complimentary gives us a gray, bringing us closer to white, your brain will add the complimentary color automatically.

Color-Correct me!

We`ve had a lecture on the use of color in films and while looking up videos related to the topic on Youtube, I just came across this video:

Now, this seemed to answer in part one of the questions I was to ask my tutors, about how you get your footage to LOOK like a film, not just a recording of a scene (of course, I am only talking about the visual aspect here, I know that the cinematic look is achieved through movement, both of actors and camera, sound, lighting and so on). This second video offered a tutorial, and although it was for another editing software, it just made me more aware of what effects I had to resort to in Premiere and After Effects to get a similar result.

This is a first attempt with some of the footage from the camera training we had last year with Bindni:

And here are some screenshots. It is really interesting how you can add to the story, or turn it upside down by tinting, high or low saturation, playing around with the levels.  Even minor changes, such as between the first and second capture, can alter the feel of the movie. The first one is warmer, closer to `reality` in terms of colors, but also, because of this, the viewer may not feel cosy and safe in the belief that (as visually suggested) he is witnessing the happenings of another world that is not his.

Know thy lights!

Just your basic three-point lighting tutorial, to recap some of the things we`ve learned last year.







Some useful ideas, especially the ones about what sort of lighting to use (wide, narrow) depending on the shape of your subject`s face. Also, note to self...adjust the position of your lights for each new angle you will be filming from.



This video demonstrates one of those simple tricks that you can use to figure out how good your lighting really is...really makes you wonder why you haven`t thought about it yourself? I`ve tried the technique out in my room, and it makes it pretty obvious which position of the light is preferable.

The next one deals with film noir style lighting techniques. Really interesting, I`ve been trying to replicate it, but obviously I can`t focus my desk lamp. Focus and intensity of light are essential in film noir, so that the soft, grey shadows are replaced by harsh ones. Shadows are your friends in this case.

What`s in the...location?

I have completed my research on the role of the Location manager the last week, but I forgot to transfer it on my journal. Meanwhile, I have come to realise ever more the importance of the role. Not having the appropriate location can make shooting a real nightmare, both in terms of the effort and stress level that the crew has to go through, and the visual and audio outcome of the work.

The most unglamorous, though at times very important, part of the Location manager`s job is health and safety. Every rolls their eyes, and it is very frustrating and bureaucratic a lot of the times, but a necessary evil. Then comes the really crucial bit: is the lighting adequate? Will the set not pose major problems with the recording of sound? Do you have to get permission to shoot and who do you ask for it? Will the neighbours agree or will you find yourself sabotaged ?! Can you control the area insofar as to make sure you don`t have people who are not involved in the production walking in and out on your set? Can you make sure the crew knows where to go on the day of the shoot (you`ll have to draw up a MOVEMENT ORDER for this particular task), without getting lost and making sure they can park, dine, warm up, work in a safe environment and clean up the location at the end of the day?

What does it take to be a location manager?

- a good understanding of the script and an extensive library to search through for the right place

- willingness to travel, even at short notice

- a good knowledge of your area/town/county/country

- working knowledge of governmental procedures

- know your history, architectural styles, etc

- ability to keep focused for long hours, attending to the needs of each unit of the crew

- administrative and negotiating skills.

SOURCES:

Location Works
Skillset

Prospects