Sunday, December 8, 2019

Risk Assessment & Preliminary Exercises

Risk Assessment:

Risk 1: Risk of camera lens being too near the lit stove during the close up shot. To avoid this problem, I'll make sure to film the shot from a safe distance. 
Risk 2: Risk of camera falling from inside the cabinet. However, a supporting item will be adjusted to prevent the camera from falling. 
Risk 3: For a one scene, a character will be walking on the road. If the road has too many cars passing by, it will slow down the filming. However, to prevent facing such a problem, I will be filming on weekend, instead of on a weekday and I'll make sure to film during timing when there are few cars passing by. Filming will also be done on the side of the road to avoid accidents and also to make sure the cars are not being interrupted and neither is the actress.  
Risk 4: Risk of handling the teapot and the tea cup. However, I'll be using light material teapot and cups and will make sure that the teapot is not actually filled with hot water. 

Preliminary Exercise

Match on action: Actors walking, sitting on the floor.
Continuity: Actor opening the cabinet, searching inside, then closing the cabinet.
Equipment: Nikon D3400 for filming along with the help of tripod and gorilla pod. For editing, Adobe Premiere Pro.

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Storyboard and Animatics (of discarded opening film)

Storyboard:



Animatics:



Planning- Script and 25 Words Pitch

25 words pitch


A traumatic past left a huge impact on three lives, causing them to live in their past, as they struggle to survive in the society. 

Script/Screenplay:

Film Title: Walk Of Life
Genre: Drama
SHOT 1
Close up- Character sitting as flashback plays
Sound of air plane from flashback
Non-Diegetic sound- Music 
Dip to black
Production Company Title
SHOT 2
Close up of stove being lit
In graphic transaction
SHOT 3
Character 3 smoking
Cast Titles
SHOT 4
Close up of kettle being filled with water
Cast Titles
                                                 Close up of kettle being placed on stove
Cast Titles
Close up of tap
Mid close up shot of woman's face shown from inside the cabinet as she opens it
Cabinet closes
Institutional Titles
 SHOT 4
Master shot of character in kitchen
SHOT 5
Mid shot of character 2
Camera tilts
SHOT 6
Mid shot of character 3
Dissolve transaction
Close up of possessions being discarded
Close up of footsteps
Low angle of character 3 sitting down
SHOT 7
Dip to black
Close up
Zoom in on character washing face
SHOT 8
Establishing shot
Focus pull
Character smoking
Track shot of hand
SHOT 9
In graphic transaction
Master shot of sky 
SHOT 10
Over the shoulder shot
Master shot of car driving away
Mid long shot of character standing
SHOT 11
Movie title appears "Walk Of Life"
Title fades away










Planning- Idea Development





Research- Target Audience

Identifying Audience According To Demographic & Psychographic Factors

Due to the broadness of drama films, the target audience may vary by sub-genre. Drama films usually try to appeal more emotions. Often, drama films are made to appeal directly to the female audience.
After researching into other drama films, I found the common audience for ones concerning conflict in with society and themselves are people mostly belonging from middle-class or lower-class. Themes such as not fitting in a society and not being able to cope up with it tends to be empathized more to by lower-class as they can relate better than upper class. My film focuses on the past trauma faced by three helpless people that effects the characters' present lives. My target audience will be females and males aged 15-40 from middle/lower-class. Despite the film having two main female characters, it will also have a male character, along with some aspects to which the male audience can relate to, so I will be using the male gaze to attract the male audience. 


Friday, December 6, 2019

Research- Conventions of Drama Genre

 Conventions Of Drama Genre:

A drama tells a story of human conflict through dialogue and action. The human conflict presented in the film is often emphasized, and usually in the drama genre, the conflict the character faces is either with; themselves, another character, nature or society. In drama, the narrative is often very serious but this changes within the sub-genres of drama. Dramatic conventions are able break the illusions reality such as through suspension of disbelief, where the audience is convinced to accept that something is true when clearly it is not. All forms of theater have dramatic conventions, such as the poses used by actors to establish a character. 
Overall, a film can be defined as part of the drama genre because of the way that the audience sympathies, which is done through a high level of tension.

Conventions of mise-en-scene:

In drama films, low-key light is common as dark and dull lighting show tension and sadness. In gritty dramas, the costumes are often worn out, torn and faded clothes. Not always do the costumes have to be dull, like in teen drama, the costumes are just simply plain t-shirts or hoodies with jeans, as everyday outfits make the drama seem more realistic. Actor's performance revolves mostly around the expressions and the body language, to portray the effects of the tragic story on the character's personality. The color grading in drama films tends to be of darker themes, such as in the shades of dark green and blue. But such is not always the case, as in historical period dramas the tone is kept more warm. 

Example of various color grading in drama films:

                                  



Conventions of camerawork:

The most common camera shots found in drama will be close ups of characters and objects, low angle and high angle- to portray strength and weaknesses amongst characters, and extreme close ups. Close ups and extreme close ups add tension and intimidation by showing a character's emotions. For example, an extreme close up of a person's eyes can depict how the character is feeling. The close emphasis on the eyes can also make the audience understand the uncomfortable and tense situation.

Conventions of sound:

Sound effects are generally used to establish location, weather, time of day or a character's feeling. In drama, realistic sounds are used to portray realism and thus allows audience to feel better connected to the film and characters. In drama, you can observe incidental music which enhances a theatrical atmosphere. Another common thing found in drama films is voice over. Narration is often used to convey a story of the character's past or character's thoughts/inner monologue. One of the most dramatic yet classic thing that happens in the drama genre is the sound of the clock ticking. Music is also an essential aspect of the drama genre, music is used in genre to enhance what is occurring in the scene. Drama films often use classical/vintage music.

Conventions of editing:

 Editing in drama, like cinematography, influences how the audience sees the characters within the scene. Spiritually driven scenes are further enhanced through the use of various editing techniques: One example of this would be ‘Shot Reverse Shot’.This type of shot is common in all films however there are various reasons for this. Usually occurring in conversation, it allows the audience to see each characters reaction during the action shown on screen. 
Long shots, in drama, are extended takes which gives the audience time to clarify how the characters are feeling. Ellipsis and expansion of time play an important role in drama films. For example, a bomb is dropped, and in the next few scenes we see slow motion of people shouting to take shelter, an aerial shot of the area being destroyed and burned along with mid close up shots of the people, focusing on their reaction to the destruction and chaos. 

Research- Inspirations

Inspirations: 

Inspirations for this film has been taken from the opening scene of the movie The Irishman, directed by Martin Scorsese. 

The major inspiration for my opening film is the use of non-diegetic and diegetic sounds in this film, such as the background music, narration and dialogue. The close up on various different objects during the flashback scene has also helped me in developing a dramatic effect for my film.

Another inspiration for me regarding the title sequence was Bohemian Rhapsody by Bryan Singer.

Opening film (Introduction)

Introduction of yourself and your team

My name is Emaan Ansari. The project I've been assigned is with making a 2 minute opening film and this will be my first solo project. As this is a solo project, I am the director, producer and the editor of the film.


Editing Techniques

Continuity:  Continuity editing  is the process, in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different compon...