Dimensions: (width) 11'' by (height) 17''.
birds - mindil beach markets - dusty walk off.. end of short.
-slightly eerie, but funky and summery.
Monday 31 January 2011
Monday 24 January 2011
Tuesday 18 January 2011
Shoot 3
I've filmed at the Colne Valley visitor centre this time with my second actor and I feel it went quite well, I had followed example from my second shoot and created a shoot schedule so I knew what I needed to shoot and what angles I required so I wasn't left unsure of what I had to do.
I still feel that I'm not taking control completely in the sense I feel I have to rush to get the shooting completed quickly and get out of their hair. Due to this I often don't have a majority of shots or reshoots which means I may have missed or made a mistake with a shot and wont have many takes to choose from.
To improve I think I will just have to take control more and slow down the process to ensure that I get the best camera takes. I think I've filmed about 60% of the total amount of footage needed, my next shoot is once more at Black Park, so ideally I will shoot the remaining bulk in the coming few weeks due to my actor going away on holiday relatively soon.
This gives me a good opportunity to really fine tune the shooting schedule and also work on my other ancillary tasks.
Friday 7 January 2011
Ancillary Task: Film Review
People often say less is more, and in the art of film too subtle or too much can be the making or breaking. Perhaps director Lewis Underwood took this too literally in his upcoming short film "Cloudy Skies" with his plot line, somewhat falling short of sense. Regularly left wondering what it is you are watching the film struggles to portray its meaning to the audience. One major flaw in the film is that it doesn't accept that one major rule cant be broken, "all films must have a beginning, a middle and an end." As the film doesn't manage to establish a strong meaning in the early stages it's left struggling to pick up the pieces as it moves on at pace.
That said its plain to see the film has good intentions; with the easy to digest screenplay and a strong onscreen presence with actor Paul Scicluna, "Cloudy Skies" is a film to watch with an active mind. The short follows art student Paul as he attempts to get to grips with what it is that is happening to him. Think of a slightly skewered, darker influence from "Ghost Town" (Ricky Gervais 2008.) The fleetingly poignant camera work will allow viewers to absorb snippets of close emotional breakdowns as Paul comes to realisation that he might be unable to see the people he loves ever again.
When we spoke to Lewis (director/editor/producer) we realised that he himself was also unhappy with the final product, "I see myself as a perfectionist, and what Ive created isn't perfect - a lot of blood, sweat and frustration went into this project and although there are parts I love; the entirety of the piece is missing a few key elements." We recommended him to not beat himself up too much as he himself said their are masterful snips throughout, a constant mental relay race relating focused points throughout the film.
The velocity of pace is the definitively unique aspect, as CS attempts to divert from a traditional editing structure, with shots often cut seconds short and the pace always quickening. It definitely adds to the intensity of some scenes, which makes the film worthwhile as it showcases some of Underwood's finer film making qualities. These speedy increments allow the pace to peak alongside emotional feedback from Paul, to really come across quickly and effectively.
Verdict:
Its frustrating to see that this is a film that was undertaken without laying down the groundwork, however it excels in its editing sequences and thus doesn't cease to keep the viewer interested. We hope to see improvement and big things for Underwood in the future, however "Cloudy Skies" remains a sail short of a boat. ***
That said its plain to see the film has good intentions; with the easy to digest screenplay and a strong onscreen presence with actor Paul Scicluna, "Cloudy Skies" is a film to watch with an active mind. The short follows art student Paul as he attempts to get to grips with what it is that is happening to him. Think of a slightly skewered, darker influence from "Ghost Town" (Ricky Gervais 2008.) The fleetingly poignant camera work will allow viewers to absorb snippets of close emotional breakdowns as Paul comes to realisation that he might be unable to see the people he loves ever again.
When we spoke to Lewis (director/editor/producer) we realised that he himself was also unhappy with the final product, "I see myself as a perfectionist, and what Ive created isn't perfect - a lot of blood, sweat and frustration went into this project and although there are parts I love; the entirety of the piece is missing a few key elements." We recommended him to not beat himself up too much as he himself said their are masterful snips throughout, a constant mental relay race relating focused points throughout the film.
The velocity of pace is the definitively unique aspect, as CS attempts to divert from a traditional editing structure, with shots often cut seconds short and the pace always quickening. It definitely adds to the intensity of some scenes, which makes the film worthwhile as it showcases some of Underwood's finer film making qualities. These speedy increments allow the pace to peak alongside emotional feedback from Paul, to really come across quickly and effectively.
Verdict:
Its frustrating to see that this is a film that was undertaken without laying down the groundwork, however it excels in its editing sequences and thus doesn't cease to keep the viewer interested. We hope to see improvement and big things for Underwood in the future, however "Cloudy Skies" remains a sail short of a boat. ***
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Film Review Research
I've looked at "Empire" film review and "Rotten Tomatoes" both online reviews. I picked these two because I wanted to experience two types of reviews, as Empire have a print based magazine version coexisting with their online counterpart and will have a more professional style of reviewing than R T as they are based off user reviews and casual critic reviews.
Empire:
Empire use a very sophisticated language style; the pace of the writing is swift and smooth whilst always referring back to film throughout the review. However although the language is at a high level in generally steers clear of film terms such as mise-en-scene etc as it knows that their target audience may not understand these terms.
"In a way, the story is practically a Biblical parable, since it involves many of the elements you might find in the scriptures: hubris, repentance and deliverance."
This is an example of the level of review that Empire exhibits as it delves deep into the plot. Empire succeeds highly in portraying when a viewer will watch the film what its likely they will think and feel.
The review looks over the entire plot line and highlights the better and worse points of the film. Empire writes in a respectful way, always complementing where deserved and not mocking too much when a film is rated low. Although a pun here or there is always present.
Overall: Empire writes in an elegant manner so its easy for the reader to trail through whilst getting a good understanding on what the films about and if its made well. Humour is sometimes used to engage the reader into an laid back, social manner.
Rotten Tomatoes:
Almost instantly my first thoughts are is that RT is a website to engage viewers, with various polls, picture galleries and film news floating in and around various sub-sections, I root around to find what their take is on the new and highly rated "The King's Speech." (Below)
RT tends to conducts their film reviews to be very much publicly controlled as users are allowed to post their own thoughts on films in little snippet quotes. Furthermore they incorporate the views of top critics and other film reviewers giving it a very collective and perhaps reliable rating base. However it doesn't quite help me in as it wont directly fit to what I have to produce for my ancillary task.
Magazine:
Due to Rotten Tomatoes not really fulfilling one portion of my research I've decided to look at Total Film magazine. I bought a copy of their latest film review magazine and jotted down some notes about how they write in a informative yet informal manner. It's as if they are having a conversation about the film with you.
Empire:
Empire use a very sophisticated language style; the pace of the writing is swift and smooth whilst always referring back to film throughout the review. However although the language is at a high level in generally steers clear of film terms such as mise-en-scene etc as it knows that their target audience may not understand these terms."In a way, the story is practically a Biblical parable, since it involves many of the elements you might find in the scriptures: hubris, repentance and deliverance."
This is an example of the level of review that Empire exhibits as it delves deep into the plot. Empire succeeds highly in portraying when a viewer will watch the film what its likely they will think and feel.
The review looks over the entire plot line and highlights the better and worse points of the film. Empire writes in a respectful way, always complementing where deserved and not mocking too much when a film is rated low. Although a pun here or there is always present.
Overall: Empire writes in an elegant manner so its easy for the reader to trail through whilst getting a good understanding on what the films about and if its made well. Humour is sometimes used to engage the reader into an laid back, social manner.
Rotten Tomatoes:
It can be seen from looking at the main web page for RT that they do things a little differently, detailed by their rating system (Rotten or Fresh.) Although I'm a little unsure of what details a good film, with the two sub ratings I'm pretty sure a rotten 10% for Little Fockers isn't great. Especially with my first hand experience of that film being that upon exiting the cinema feeling somewhat deflated and wincing at the thought of the ticket price, a rotten 10% seems to sound fairly accurate regardless of its ambiguous nature.
Almost instantly my first thoughts are is that RT is a website to engage viewers, with various polls, picture galleries and film news floating in and around various sub-sections, I root around to find what their take is on the new and highly rated "The King's Speech." (Below)
RT tends to conducts their film reviews to be very much publicly controlled as users are allowed to post their own thoughts on films in little snippet quotes. Furthermore they incorporate the views of top critics and other film reviewers giving it a very collective and perhaps reliable rating base. However it doesn't quite help me in as it wont directly fit to what I have to produce for my ancillary task.
Rotten Tomatoes:
(Click to enlarge)
Magazine:
Due to Rotten Tomatoes not really fulfilling one portion of my research I've decided to look at Total Film magazine. I bought a copy of their latest film review magazine and jotted down some notes about how they write in a informative yet informal manner. It's as if they are having a conversation about the film with you.
Furthermore I've noted how TF lays out their bigger reviews on double page spreads and carefully position images and certain chunks of information in and around the main article and image. This gives the article a layered depth whilst not cluttering it too much so that its overpowering.
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