technology and innovation in films

If you look at modern day films, you can notice that small and large elements are shown that are previously shown in older films. The technology shown in almost every film today are either fact or fiction. T.V's shown are obviously fact, as they are real today, but then look at Godzilla or Mothra, man made creatures that have an impact on todays film culture. This post will help me open my mind more to what the possibilities that I can create.

Film today often is based off of current events. Film like war create different depictions like Star Wars or Dr. Strangeglove, which shows the dangers of war. "cinema's response to nuclear threat was appropriately enormous. As the cold war took hold, outrageous mutated beasts were spawned onto screens across the world" (Ross 160). Godzilla came out in 1954, under a decade after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs shows the aftermath of nuclear war. The giant mutated lizard created from nuclear waste shows the pain that Japan had felt after the war. Godzilla shows as a warning against technological development and what kind of Pandora's Box could be opened. This helps me by showing that I can create something as terrifying as Godzilla, but important remembrance of where I gain inspiration from.

 The Jurassic Park films are a constant reminder of the dangers of playing god. this helps me by showing that there's more to the world than what we see in front of us.

question-What films do you think were inspired by world events?

....And Onto the Screen

….And Onto the Screen

            Editing a film is hard. It is strenuous, tedious, backbreaking labor that I dread every time I make a film. It doesn’t help that as my films get more sophisticated and as I use better software, editing becomes more and more complicated as well. Before I get too far into my process, let me establish the four basic reasons for editing a movie: to combine, to trim, to correct, and to build (Jones and Patmore 103). I primarily edit with the “to build” in mind. This way of editing is to “take many shots, which are taken out of sequence, picking the best takes, and placing them in the desired sequence. It is a long, involved process but ultimately the most rewarding” (Jones and Patmore 103).

            When editing a film, there are 10 steps that should be followed in order to make editing go as smoothly as possible. Those are: importing all of your videos, importing all of the audio, syncing the audio with the video, organizing the clips, making basic cut of the scene, working in the basic cut of the scene into the rough cut of the film, adding necessary music and sound effects, adjusting the audio levels, viewing the rough cut of the film, and finally, assembling the film together (Jones and Patmore 107-110). Being my rushed and unorganized self, I skipped, or at least reordered, many of these steps. For example, I didn’t sync up my audio with my video until after I had assembled the rough cut of the film.

            As I argued in my previous post, I believe that sound is the most vital part of a film. While editing, it’s important to ensure that the sound is the best it can be. Jones and Patmore state: “the original sound is examined for flaws, and then it is cleaned up or manipulate to create the final soundtrack” (122). For my film, all of the audio was flawless except for in the park. Wind interfered with the recording, making the levels go too high. I fixed it, however because of how far gone the audio was, the final result suffered. When recording, it’s imperative that the best sound possible is captured during production.

            Furthering my point of audio being important, I believe that the score of a movie is the highest priority of audio. “Music in film helps establish themes or to create mood. The style of the music will depend on the type of film and the idea you are trying to convey” (Jones and Patmore 126). The score of a movie essentially creates the entire tone of a movie. You could play two clips side-by-side, each with a different score playing, and each would convey drastically different tones and moods. During the making of this film, I create some music of my own and found some free to use for a project, as long as it’s accredited. Using this music, I was able to create the tone I wanted in each of the scenes.

Here's a link to the video if you would like to watch it: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whyg9CqH9Nc

            While making this film, I was able to understand how to cope with a significant amount of stress and responsibly manage multiple tasks that all need to be completed. I was able to accomplish all the things that needed to be done in a manner that I can be proud of. Directing a film is a tremendous task, but it’s one that I incredibly enjoy. As I finish this last post, I have two questions: what is your favorite film genre, and how much significance do you think a soundtrack holds in a film?

Works Cited

Jones, Ted, and Chris Patmore. Movie Making Course. 2nd ed., Barron's, 2012.

Setting up Shots -- Storyboarding

Setting up Shots – Storyboarding

            “One of the primary reasons for using storyboards is to convey your ideas to other members of the production team, especially the director of photography (or cinematographer or camera man)” (Jones and Patmore 24).

Over the last weekend, I spent my Saturday night storyboarding some of the shots for my short-film that I thought might have needed some guidance. Although storyboards are supposed to apply to the entire film, because this is a short-film, I only storyboarded sequences where I didn’t know how I would approach them during production. As I’m not the best artist, I only drew the minimal amount of lines and figures that would help me (the one who will be filming this project) figure out how I want to set up each scene. As Movie Making Course suggests, each director or filmmaker will have his or her own way to storyboard. Some may choose to draw intricate pieces for each of their shots, while some opt for some scribbles in a box. (Jones and Patmore 24). I chose to practice a happy medium in this aspect.

In my storyboards, I wanted to keep them as concise as possible. In Movie Making Course, storyboard artist Rachel Garlick states that: “The simplest approach to storyboarding for a first-time-filmmaker is to draw basic thumbnails…for your boards and annotate them to convey technical needs, such as shot size, camera movement, etc” (Jones and Patmore 28). I did this, although my annotations stayed at a minimum. Above each box, I wrote how each shot would cut to the next and if any movement was necessary. I would also occasionally draw arrows if something within the scene needed to move.

            Something that I didn’t adhere to that is commonly done with storyboards is to paraphrase the dialogue and the other technical terms below the box. This is used so that whomever is reading through the storyboards knows the context for that frame. Because I am going to be the one filming this, I decided that it was unnecessary for me to do this, as I have the context already engrained in my head.

            After this, the next step would be to gather cast and crew, and set up detailed plans so everything runs smoothly. However, again because this is a short film and I’m a little short on time, I decided to just use some of my friends that act and that would fit the part. The cast is also just some of my friends. Scouting for a location wasn’t hard as I wrote the script with the locations in mind.

After doing all of this work, I have come to realize that storyboarding is a crucial part of making a film. It has helped me organize my thoughts and finally decide on shots that I was maybe more indecisive about. Storyboarding has made me a more decisive person both when it comes to film and in life in general.

            Now as I’m wrapping up this post, I would like to pose a question for all of you reading this: from reading this post, do you think that storyboarding is an essential part of filmmaking, or do you think that it could get in the way of other creative ideas you may have during production?

Works Cited

Jones, Ted, and Chris Patmore. Movie Making Course. 2nd ed., Barron's, 2012.

isolation and mind bending atmosphere of films

the atmosphere of a film is purely based on the the director wants the audience to feel while watching the film. The Shining or Blair Witch Project will make you feel isolated and alone, which is what makes it so scary, by making us feel there's no one around to help you. no one to be there for you. In The Blair Witch Project the setting of the Black Hills Forest, the dense vegetation of brush and tree's whilst being unknowingly stalked by a paranormal entity that is thought to be a town myth, is purely terrifying to think about.

In The Shining, the setting of the Overlook Hotel deep into the Colorado Rockies gives a strong sense of isolation. In the opening shot of The Shining, we get an overhead look of Jack Torrance driving on a mountain road, to show us to distance the hotel is from civilization. In the book Filmish it says..."the hotel is a maze to get lost in, both physically and psychologically. as Jack spirals towards a murderous, axe-wielding frenzy, each characters ability to navigate this deceptive and illogical space dictates whether they live or die" (Ross 68). This helps me realize that location and sets of a film are extremely important to the audience and how it effects the characters ability to survive. The carpet in The Shining plays an EXTREMELY important role in the audiences mind bending and claustrophobia. (the carpet is also my phone case)

The way the carpet is designed is disorienting on its own, but it helps the audience feel lost. "This vast labyrinth of winding corridors, mysterious open doors and disorienting design, plays havoc with the audiences orientation, instilling an uncanny feeling that something is not right about the building" (Ross 68). The way the hexagonal shapes are lined up like that, the lines up and down up and down and with each hexagon facing opposite directions, shows the insanity that Jack is being hurled into the oblivion. the way it shows turning disorientingly back and forth. It also plays with the audiences emotions and bending their minds to hell. This helps me think about my future films and how i could determine the perfect location for exactly what i want to do with the audience.

using the idea of isolation, I made a short, unfinished part of my own rendition of a Friday The 13th film. i chose the woods as a setting for isolation and the feeling of being alone.

The set of The Conjuring 2 is also a great example of horror sets that instill fear into the audience. The Green Street house in Enfield, England has a very unique run down look with creaky floorboards and a very antique-y looking chair. The set pieces can have an important role in these films as well, especially The Conjuring 2 with old Bill Wilkins and his beat up chair gives the audience a memory and attachment to the piece.

question-why do you think the set's and location are important for films?