WELCOME MODERATOR

MAX BEHAN

CANDIDATE NUMBER : 1502

CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL : 64680

 Welcome to my blog, I hope you enojy!

I worked with LUCA STEFANUTTI 1556, RICHIE BATEY 1574, THOMAS PALLISER 1587 

Our brief was to make the titles and openings of a fictional thriller film.  The title of our film is Robotica

Our film is immediately below, followed by my preliminary exercise.

All my RESEARCH and PLANNING follow below on the main blog roll, in reverse order, starting with the latest first. To present my research and planning, I have used a wide variety of platforms and tools. These include; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Photoshop,Piktochart,Movie Maker, Slideshare and IMovie.

My  CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION is above under Pages. Clicking on the tab CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION will show the research and planning that went into our responses to these questions. To present my responses, I have used the following platforms: Question 1 Blogger and Movie Maker to add annotations ; Question 2 ; Blogger and Slideshare Question 3 Emaze ; Question 4 Emaze

Our Film Opening: ROBOTICA 
       

What I did during the production

For the production I directed a few scenes including the laboratory scene and the final dining room scene. Both these scenes were very important within the film opening as the first one explains what modifications are being made to robot Rick. As well as this the second scene shows the ending to the film where Rick tries to stab Toni. This second scene was very hard to direct as I had to think about the positioning for every character in order to include them in one shot. To do this I set up a table with Toni sitting on the left whilst Luke and Rick were next to them. As well as this I had to add props to the set such certain foods, plates and cutlery. 

I was cameraman for the scene which is included of the advert where Rick is spinning around. This scene was important as it was the main reveal of Rick as an AI robot. When filming this I had to firstly bubble the tripod and make sure that it was in the correct position for the main reveal. As well as this reveal I also had to film tilt pan shots to reveal features of Rick before his face then 

I was also cameraman for the balcony scene which involved Luke and Toni talking about taking Rick and modifying him. Being cameraman for this scene was important as I had to make sure that the composition of the shot was good and that I was zoomed in to fit both of their faces on the balcony. In order to make it an aesthetically pleasing shot I had to stand on a separate platform to the left of the balcony to capture the angle of it well.

I was also cameraman for the scene where Luke and Toni take Rick from the office. For this scene I included a tracking shot of all three characters involved moving out of the office. I used the Manfrotto tripod to balance the camera whilst I then moved the camera to track the characters.

PLANNING: FRAMING

Looking at films such as Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive (2011) because of its use of framing. In the tutorial Every Frame A Painting, on Drive- the quadrant system, i learned how narrative complexity is achieved through using the creative use of positioning characters in different quadrants. Here, for instance, attention is focused on Ryan Gosling in the upper left quadrant but also on Carey Mulligan and her boyfriend whom he is gazing at, in the lower right hand quadrant. We engaged visually to compare the two men and see the long shadow one casts towards the other. the two sides of the frame tell different stories, which enriches the film work.

In my own work, i intend to use this quadrant system when positioning the actors when i am directing a scene. One of the scenes that I directed was the office scene in London. The middle of the the scene that cuts the quadrants up, separates the two rooms of the office where in one half Luca is walking and in the other half I am sat down. 

Showing the effect of the different quadrants:

This one here shows the four quadrants that separate the shot.

 This next one shows how the way the camera is positioned allows the camera to show the two rooms: the first of which Luca (on the left) has just come out of and the second with myself (sat on the right) where Luca is just about to walk into. This puts an idea into the viewers head that something is going to happen. The purposeful walk from Luca coming into the room on the right suggests that he has something to deliver to myself, the CEO and this is due to the way the camera is positioned and has framed the image.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING GREEN SCREEN

Today in class we were filming the two green screen scenes which involved me for one shoot and another actor for another shoot, both for the news report section of our film opening.

I started off by setting up the green screen which includes two poles with clips, which held the green screen in place. I then had to answer a question about Robot Rick and I answer in saying that an advert is being released in the next few days. Positioning in this was important so that when editing Luca could include the microphones underneath me to act as though it is a press conference and could also include a news background.

The second green screen scene was of Charlie who is outside our media group. We used him a news reporter, reporting  on the company Robotica. We were informed from our audience feedback about how nice and crisp the green screen was and that the microphones on my green screen looked professional and real. On Charlies it was commented that his positioning was really good as you could still see the 'Breaking News' effect on the screen as well as the Robotica workers and Rick on a screen in the background.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING CAFE SHOOT

Today in class we filmed one of the last scenes that we had to do which was the scene of the directors of the company talking about the development of Rick and how far they have got with enhancing his technology. First, I knew that it was important to create a mis-en-scene that made it look as if our school terrace area was really a cafe in London, frequented by young entrepreneurs. Therefore, I ensured that behind my protagonist there appeared to be other customers discussing business deals in the background (see image below).
Secondly, I wanted this scene to advance the narrative. Therefore, I knew that a mid shot of the company directors talking very intently would have to convey urgency and tension. I had to manage potential interference in the adjacent kitchen building because I wanted the dialogue to be very crisp. This piece of dialogue is critical as it references an 'unstable processor' and the fact that one of the directors chooses to ignore potential danger. This will mark the point of disequilibrium in the narrative in the film.

I directed this scene, as well as being cameraman and decided to do a shot -reverse-shot camera angle to capture both angles of the two of them talking. In order to do this i had to position Luca and Tom in the right positions as well as making sure the extras that we had in the background of this scene. As well as directing the scene I was cameraman and had to make sure the the focus was fully on Luca and Tom whilst the background, including the extras were blurred. In this picture below, I was bubbling the tripod and fitting the camera onto the tripod, before i then positioned it in the right position for the first shot.

As a group we decided to choose this setting as it is presented like the outside of a coffee shop. Luca and Tom both had coffee cups with them to add to the setting. For Luca' shots we had to position him differently as when we did the first take, the background didn't fit in with the setting.