Project Evaluation

For the directions unit, we were asked to compose two videos - the first being a 2 minute film taking the form of a self portrait. We were encouraged to be as creative as possible, exploring new techniques and coming up with an original idea that would demonstrate who we are and what we like. During prep, I came up with many ideas and decided rather than choosing a certain concept I would do a compilation of things, all relating to things I like or people that are important to me. I wanted it to seem like a montage of unrelated aspects all merging to create one video, almost a summary. I looked at including locations such as the beach and London. I also thought of ways I could include friends and family, maybe giving the camera to them and allowing them to choose something to film. As we were not allowed to include music or dialogue, I thought about including natural sounds from nature or a busy city atmosphere to make the film more dynamic and not just something visual. I filmed several aspects including a segment of my eye where I started with a natural eye and filmed me putting my makeup on. I wanted to include this element as we had to be in our video in one way or another. I also filmed myself doing a quick sketch of a natural landscape from a woodland walk I regularly take. After filming, I started to edit my footage on Adobe Premiere. However, I soon realised that the idea of not having a certain theme didn't work very well when edited together. New locations like the beach seemed like a huge jump and it felt too random. In order to greatly simplify this, I decided to take the element of me walking through the woods and observing the natural environment. Pairing this with my speed drawing, I decided to come up with a new concept called 'Natural Observation'. The theme is what I do to relax. When I want to get some space and clear my head, I will go on a certain walking route across some fields where I live and into a woodland area. It is a very scenic route and helps me to feel calm and peaceful. A hobby of mine is to sketch, particularly locations that I like visiting or new locations. Therefore to tie in this element, I decided to choose a frame from my filming that I particularly liked and film myself sketching this quickly to get an idea of the environment and space. In terms of sound design, I decided to use natural sounds - birds singing, crunching of leaves under my feet and the sound of the wind. These are all quite calming sounds which go with the stunning natural imagery. In terms of the edit, it was relatively successful. I began editing this after the drama so had already got back into the habit of using Adobe Premiere and felt confident that I knew what I was doing. I am pleased with the final video and think it is a good reflection of what I enjoy as it makes me feel quite relaxed and peaceful when I watch it.

For the drama scene, I chose to look at the series Broadchurch. Broadchurch is a British drama starring David Tennant and Olivia Colman. It has been very popular with audiences and has had two successful and well received series. The scene I decided to choose was an interrogation which takes place between four different characters so two interrogations overall. I really liked the way it was filmed in the original series. It was split up so that the camera crosses between the two interviews therefore linking them together. To put my own spin on the scene, I decided to add a split screen element towards the second half. I thought this would be interesting because in the original drama the camera flicks between both conversations as the characters say their lines one after the other. Having them both on screen at the same time, I thought would link them together more and make what they are saying more powerful and prominent. In terms of the the filming itself, I was going to film over two days but was limited to one due to actors not being available on the second day. However, this was plenty of time to complete the entire scene. My crew entailed Imogen as my camera operator and Laura as my sound operator. I chose them because I get on with them well and felt like we would make a good team which was a good decision as we worked very well together. The day was very successful and I managed to cover all of the shots I had planned. The only shot I seemed to miss out was a medium shot of Nigel to match the medium I had of Alec. To tackle this in the edit, I cropped the frame slightly so that Nigel was more in view. In terms of the edit, I found the drama much more complicated than the self portrait. This is because I had a lot more elements to put in place and had to think carefully about where to have my cuts. The split screen was also a huge challenge for me but I felt very pleased when I knew how to do it. The final film works quite successfully and fulfils what I imagined. I really enjoyed this project as I felt like it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to think creatively as a director. Although, I found some aspects very stressful, I feel like I have taken a lot from the experience.

Editing - Self Portrait

In terms of the editing for my self portrait film, I found it much more straight forward than the editing for my drama piece. This is because the concept was a lot simpler and I had a lot more freedom about how to put the clips together as the piece was rather experimental. For the imagery, I wanted there to be a balance between natural imagery and footage of the drawing to create lots of cutaways to keep the film interesting. I think that there was a nice balance of footage with a variety of locations for the natural imagery. I really enjoyed experimenting with speed/duration for this piece as I sped up the drawing footage. As the video is only short, there wouldn't have been enough time to include all of it so I decided to speed it up so that the audience could see the drawing unfold. The last clip shows the final frame which is what I decided to draw. I thought this would be a good place to end the video so that there was some comparison between the drawn element and the natural element. In terms of sound design which was a huge requirement for this brief, I changed it quite a lot. After a viewing with Simon he told me that using a piano in the background was not as well thought through for the piece and didn't challenge the imagery in any way. Therefore I took out the piano and emphasised the natural sounds. These included birds tweeting and leaves crunching on the floor which I think gave the whole piece a much more natural, raw feel which is what I wanted to achieve. I also layered the sounds over each other, particularly towards the second half to bring the film to almost a more dramatic finish that made it seem slightly more intense. Overall I was pleased with the final film and think that the change in concept was definitely necessary to give it a bit more meaning rather than being so busy.

Editing - Drama

In terms of my post production for the drama, I found the edit very challenging. Editing is something I would like to improve on in general as I find Adobe Premiere quite difficult to use, having not used it before being at UCA. The biggest challenge with the edit was the element of a split screen which is where my personal directorial style is most prominent in the scene.   The way I have shot the interviews is quite

standard with lots of over the shoulder shots to create a sense of depth and intimacy for the scene, however, by adding the aspect of a split screen this allowed me to have both interviews on screen at the same time to create a new dimension. The actual set up of this is impossible as there is no way we can watch two people in two different rooms at the same time in real life. Even so, I thought this would tie the interviews

together and emphasise the relationship between Nigel and Susan as we begin to find out more about their past and how they are related to each other. When I had my rough cut viewing with Simon he said to keep the shots between the interviewer and interviewee consist so if I had just used an over the shoulder showing Ellie Miller, I would then reverse this to show Susan Wright. This helps to create a more even balance of shots which is pleasing for the eye and makes the edit seem more seamless. As the scene intensified, I included some closer shots which emphasise the characters' facial expressions and emotions. I felt this was important to give drama to the scene as there is not much else going on in terms of action. Another element that I found particularly difficult to tackle during the edit was the lighting. I used a lighting kit which meant that the lighting was very hard. This was ideal as I wanted to the space to seem very clinical and uninviting. However, getting every shot to match up as we moved the camera was very challenging. When looking at my clips, I noticed that the lighting on Nigel Carter was a lot darker than on Alec Hardy. The lighting on Hardy was also more yellow. Therefore I used the colouring tools on Adobe Premiere, changing the exposure and tinting to give the overall look a more balanced appearance. I decided to take out any yellow tones at all as this was giving the clips a warm appearance and reflected a slightly warmer atmosphere which is something I wanted to remove from the scene completely. Overall, I am pleased with the edit and feel like I have learnt more about some of the tools, including some new ones that I hadn't used before whilst I was editing the split screen.

Filming - Self Portrait

In terms of filming for my self portrait film, there were several different elements that I wanted to include. I wanted to capture many different aspects of my life and who I am and the places I like to go to. I have a particular walking route that I like to under take a few times a week. It includes a long stretching field which looks incredibly scenic under the sun before I walk through a gate into a smaller woodland area. I wanted to include this element as this is something I like to do to relax and unwind. To tie in with this section of the video, I wanted to include my passion for sketching which is something I like to do when I visit new locations to take something away from it that is a bit different from a photo. Therefore to include this, I decided to pick a frame I took from my walk and sketch this into a book. I decided to use an actual book was opposed to a sketchbook to evoke the idea of going on a journey as well as hinting to me telling my own story. Another location I filmed was at the beach. I went to Whitstable to film this as this is somewhere I often visit with my family and is a place that I associate with relaxation and happy memories. Another aspect that I experimented with but am not sure if i'll use is my eye which I filmed as I was applying makeup. My idea for this is to speed it up and include small bursts of this throughout the video ending on my final eyes with completed makeup which is how I feel most confident.

I'm not sure yet if I will use this clip for the final film as it was very difficult to keep the frame in focus for the entire shot. This was because I could focus the camera to where I wanted it but as I moved slightly whilst doing my makeup, the slightest change meant that the camera would come out of focus. It was also very challenging to do without a mirror so I didn't get the exact results I wanted for these clips. 

True Detective - Drama

True Detective is an American anthology drama series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. It broadcast and premiered in the US on 12th January 2014. The first series stars Woody Harrelson, Mathew McConaughey and Michelle Monaghan all playing lead roles and takes place in Louisiana, following State Police homicide detectives and their pursuit of a notorious serial killer over the course of a 17 year time period. The second series stars Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams and Vince Vaughn and takes place in California, focussing on three detectives who investigate crimes linked to the murder of a politician. I decided to look into True Detective as I have chosen to recreate a scene from Broadchurch for the drama video. Like Broadchurch, True Detective is a crime drama which centres around detectives and a police investigation. The subject matter is also very similar to that of Broadchurch as it focuses on a murder which automatically creates quite a dark and sinister tone to the drama which is something I was keen to explore in my own work. I felt like this was a really interesting series to look at because it is quite a serious drama which is something I personally prefer to    watch myself. I find particularly crime dramas very thrilling because they usually reflect very real issues and keep the audience guessing and on their toes. This is another reason why I decided to look at Broadhcurch.

Casting - Drama

For the drama piece, we were told that we must cast outside of the classroom and find actors that would be fitting to the roles in our scenes. For my scene, I need to cast four actors to play D.I Alec Hardy, D.S Ellie Miller, Nigel Carter and Susan Wright. All of these characters feature regularly in the first series of Broadchurch and have very distinct personalities. I decided to use Casting Call Pro which is an advertising company that film makers can use to find actors for film and theatrical pieces. I advertised all four roles on this website including the criteria for appearances I would need. I also explained who played each character in the original series so that potential cast members would know the demographic I was looking for. I had quite a few applicants for each role, particularly for Ellie Miller which was great as it meant I could have a good look at everyones show reels and pick people who I felt would be most suitable for the roles to make the scene successful. All of the actors I chose responded to my emails straight away and were all keen to be part of the project which was great. I told them all of the details for the day including, time, location, shooting hours, costumes etc. so they felt comfortable that they were well informed and knew what to expect on the day. Originally, I was going to film for two days, however, one of the cast could only take part on the Tuesday, however, I felt confident when looking at my schedule that I could cover everything in one day. I was quite anxious about working with actors as they are people I have never met before and you don't know how reliable they are going to be. However, for a first experience of casting professionally, I really enjoyed working with new people as they were all incredibly friendly and came prepared which made the day flow very easily so that the shoot was successful. In terms of Casting Call Pro, I think it is a great way of obtaining actors as there is a wide variety of actors available who are easy to contact and communicate with.

Filming Drama Scene - 'Broadchurch'

On Tuesday, I filmed my chosen scene for the drama piece. I was incredibly nervous beforehand because as a director there is a lot of pressure to organise everyone involved - the crew and actors in my case. I asked Imogen to be my camera operator and Laura to be my sound operator as I thought we would all work well as a team and I felt confident that I would be able to tell them what I wanted to achieve. My set for the shoot was production room 1 in the base room. I chose this location for filming as it made an ideal office space. There are white walls and tables and chairs so I had many of the props I would need in place already. I wanted the office to look quite clinical and uninviting as the scene is an interrogation, therefore I wanted to use the set to create suspense and drama in the scene. Using some props like a clip board and a sound recorder, I added these to the desk to give the room a bit more purpose and make it look realistic to the situation. In terms of actors, I casted from Casting Call Pro which was very successful as I had lots of applicants which allowed me to choose people who would suit the characters well and make it a convincing scene. As soon as they arrived, everyone was getting on well already and practising their lines whilst I set up lighting with Imogen and Laura. I used a lighting kit to allow me to achieve the clinical look to make it seem almost hospital-esque which is an environment no one enjoys being in. Once we began shooting, I had the script and my storyboard and shot-list which I had planned out carefully. I decided to shoot all of the scenes with Nicola and Sue first so I wouldn't need to swap the cast around too many times and alter the lighting too much. I took several takes and covered all of my shots including mainly over the shoulder shots and a medium as well as filming everything from a wide angle two shot to give myself lots of variety when editing. I had also planned to move in closer to the characters as the scene got more dramatic especially for some of the closing lines to evoke quite a tense and heated atmosphere. As the day progressed, I felt more at ease in my role and felt confident when asking my crew/cast to do each shot. As everyone was getting on well, it made the atmosphere on set very casual and friendly. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about how to work effectively through a scene, including each shot planned whilst maintaining a good working atmosphere.

Directing Workshop

Before undertaking our own projects, we have had some workshops looking into the art of direction and how to interpret a scene. We had some time with Simon and Fergus looking at a scene from the film 'Atonement' which stars Keira Knightley and James Mcavoy as the lead characters. We looked at a scene where they meet together after being separated for a long time. The way it is directed strongly hints to an emotional past between them with plenty of close ups on their faces and their hands which emphasises their body language. For the task we were given a script for the scene and asked to work in groups of four to recreate it. We would direct the scene and the other three students would be the camera operator and the cast. I always find tasks like this quite challenging as it requires undertaking several roles including acting which is something I'm not very good at. I think working in teams is really useful and effective though as it helps to improve communication skills for when we are working on our own projects or crewing on someone elses. For my directorial input for the scene, I decided to have a master shot that showed one character walking into the scene from behind with the other character facing the camera. This allows the audience to see both of their facial expressions right at the beginning of the scene. I then did a few over the shoulder shots whilst they were in conversation to create a sense of intimacy and the idea of a strong relationship between the two. I found the task difficult but it allowed me to think on my feet and make some quick creative decisions which worked quite well.

Storyboard/Shot-list - Drama

In order to be prepared for filming my drama piece, I wanted to map out all of the shots and how I would like the scene to go ahead. As my scene is an interview, I don't want to use shots that are too daring or uncommon for a simple scene like this because it won't go with the setting and will mean that the audience miss out on some of the emotion from the characters. I decided to keep most of my shots as over the shoulders or medium shots when the characters are in conversation and close into them as the scene goes on to create some suspense and drama. For my own directorial input I have decided to do an element of split screen which will entails shooting medium shots of Nigel and Susan and editing them side by side so that both can be seen in the frame. In terms of my storyboards I went for a more diagrammatical approach as I find people quite challenging to draw in detail and felt like there was no need for that for me to understand what each frame was showing. In all of my descriptions, I stated what the shot would be and where the characters would be placed so that It would be easy for me to set up each frame. I also included  small stage directions for myself that I took from the script so that I knew what action points to include and where the lines would come in.  
       
Shot List:
Wide shot: Shows table in office, everyone is seated
Over the shoulder: Hardy questions Nigel
Medium: Nigel replies                                                                                    
Close up: shows a photo of Susan on the desk
Over the shoulder: Nigel is more in shot that before, closing in
Two shot: showing Nigel becoming more nervous
Over the shoulder/close up: Tension increases
Two shot: Miller is questioning Susan
Medium shot: Susan explains how she knows Nigel
Medium shots: Camera moves between them
Over the shoulder: Susan says she saw Nigel on the beach.
Over the shoulderL Conversation becomes more heated between Hardy and Nigel
Close up: Nigel reveals that Susan is his mum
Split screen/medium: Susan says her line followed by Nigel
Over the shoulder: Miller attempts to reassure Susan
Close up: Susan talks about Nigel's father

Script - Drama

For the script, we were asked to construct a 5-6 page script using the original dialogue from the scene we had chosen. As it is a retelling of the scene, it was important to keep the dialogue the same and only change very small sections if it required it. For example, we were allowed to choose a sequence of scenes, therefore a few script alterations might have been necessary in this case to make them all match and flow well together. I however, chose to look at one particular scene which is an interrogation between D.I Alec Hardy and Nigel Carter and another between D.S Ellie Miller and Susan Wright who are all very prominent characters in the series. Throughout the scene, it flicks between the two interviews as the interrogations take place, getting more and more heated as the scene goes on.  When writing my script, I watched the scene at the same time so I could get the exact dialogue and make sure it was correct. I did however, use my own action points and stage directions which were all my own interpretation of the scene. When filming, it is the action points that will help me when deciding what to get the actors to do whilst talking to each other. Here I have included a snapshot of the first page of the script. As you can see the first section of action is quite extensive because I described the characters in the scene such as what they were wearing and details about the location. This helps the reader to picture the scene and understand the purpose of it. I used Celtx software to write the script as it has a professional layout so that the script looks how it should. Throughout the scene, if the action changes, you should write small descriptions as shown above as this shows the reader what is happening between the characters and what the scene is showing. 

Directing with Steve Finn

As part of this unit to develop our skills and knowledge as directors, we had a few days with the director Steve Finn. He has worked on Eastenders for several years and has directed a number of episodes for the programme. As this is a very well known and popular television programme in the UK, I was really looking forward to meeting him and finding out about how he works as a director. We had a day of lecture time with him where he went into great detail about directing as an art form and how to approach it. He told us that the characters in a piece are vital and that actors must always know exactly who they are playing and the circumstances of the scenes. Steve said that very rarely people will sit down in front of each other and talk as if it's an interview. In a casual situation people will walk around and find tasks to do, therefore to make a conversation between two people seem natural, the director must think about the scene and what the actors will be doing. To do this, he said to look at the script and for each line of dialogue to think of an action to go with it. We then had an afternoon session with him where our directing skills were put to the test. We were given a page of a script in which two characters are having a conversation in an office. We examined the script to discover who they characters were and what their motives may be. As a big group we then took turns portraying different roles such as director, camera operator and cast to recreate the scene. It was quite daunting being thrown into the situation but we all worked well as a group. At the very end Steve showed us how he would have directed the scene which was slightly more complicated and incorporated more action making it interesting. For the next couple of days, we were given different scripts to look at. I had a script called 'Ted and Jo' which entailed an unhappy couple having a conversation where Jo reveals she is leaving Ted. When thinking about how to direct the script, I thought about what Steve said in the previous workshop about getting a master shot that will show the scene and both characters' faces at the same time. Therefore I decided to have Jo standing behind a desk as she packs her bag whilst Ted walks into the scene behind her. I then experimented with a few over the shoulder shots and side angles to convey emotion in their facial expressions which would be difficult to achieve with wider shots. Looking at clips from each persons vision was really interesting as they were all so different and really highlighted how everyone will interpret a scene in a different way. However, I will take on what Steve said when completing my prep for this project.