Camera workshop

Today was our first camera workshop with Fergus. 

It was a great day learning about the Sony EX cameras.
I have never used one of these before so was interested in finding out more about them.
Fergus went through the controls and options on them, this was great as I didn't know the amount of options that were available on them like focus assist, time-lapse and stop frame. Today we mainly learnt how to operate the camera, camera frames/shot sizes, focus, gain and shutter.

Pull focus 

Keeping the same frame 

We had a couple of tasks, the first being a pull focus exercise. I was teamed up with Sam and Matt, fun to work with!  We each took turns using the camera and being in front to complete the task. I enjoyed using the camera and think I managed to do a good pull focus. Fergus stepped the challenge up by asking us to ease out and follow the person keeping the same shot/frame. This I found slightly difficult as I have never done this before along with being new to the camera. I switched the zoom control from ring to button, and used manual focus on the ring. I did quite well surprisingly apart from being out of focus at the end as the subject walked forward close to the camera. You can see from the photos how we did the tasks.



After lunch Fergus set us another task of filming a small scene using a camera 'bag' and using 5 different camera shots and angles to create the scene. It was decided that Sam was on camera for this as he wanted more experience. Plus Matt and I did not mind being on screen. We started our scene as a bag with headphones in and Matt gives me the bag, I then put on the headphones and it turns into an advert, like beats by Dre.

I think this went well, I enjoyed being on screen and helped Sam get the shots. We all saw everyones raw footage before going back to base room and capturing the footage onto a mac. We edited in the group and after putting it into Adobe I put footage into Final Cut to see if I could make a good edit. Sam and Matt decided to help with me and edit on Final cut, as we found it much easier and quicker. I quickly cut all the clips together, added music and title.

It was a fun and exciting task, Sam was on camera and I feel the shots were a little off. We made good progress overall but some of the shots could have been better, and one of the shots on me was darker than rest. I added a little colour correction in final cut but did not spend a lot of time fixing it.

Here is the video:

After trying out the Sony camera I feel that I may use it for my screenplay project. The options and controls on the Sony are great, quite user friendly and easy enough to use. I want to practice some more before deciding whether to use the Sony or not. I often use a DSLR for making films/shorts due to the nice picture, depth of field and ease of use. Sony will be great to use for the zoom (smother than a DSLR) but also the time lapse and stop frame features. Another advantage with the Sony is the audio input, meaning I won't have to sync the audio to visual like I have done when using a DSLR.

I enjoyed using the Sony and really think it will be a fantastic tool to use for my drama. I am looking forward to the next workshops.

The Meeting research

I have started researching for my story. I have watched a couple of documentaries on Suicide .
Firstly I watched 'The stranger on the bridge' a channel 4 doc focusing on Johnny who nearly jumped off Waterloo Bridge in 2008. He was stopped by a random stranger and that stranger saved his life. Johnny is now on a mission to find that stranger, to say thank you.
This story became popular and was trending on the internet and social media, a campaign for people to find 'Mike', the stranger in question. Many people claimed to be Mike so it was difficult for Johnny to find who the real person is, especially as he was distressed at the time of the incident and blocked out everything.

This is a documentary and not a drama but it still helps me with my screen play as how I should treat the subject of Suicide. The doc has more positives than negatives and the words used by people are delicate and calm. In my drama I will make sure I treat the subject peacefully and ensure the character fits the part of someone who has suicide feelings. I want to make sure I don't have disturbing scenes or any neglect that could cause distress.

I also watched BBC 'Life after Suicide' 2014 documentary. This doc is focused on Angela who talks about life after her partners suicidal death 11years ago. She travels around the country to find other people who have similar experiences. Angela wants to learn more about why people wish to end there life so suddenly and how it has a massive impact on loved ones close to their loss.
This doc is really inspiring as it shows Angela talking about her experience, she quotes "We have to talk about this". A great quote on the subject. Angela doesn't just talk about her self but visits other people and finds out other experience people have.

This doc has really inspired my story on how I should end it. The doc focuses on the impact suicide has to family members, with my drama I am planning on having the character die, I am thinking how the impact it will have with other people. The doc starts with a negative but turns into a positive as Angela now shares what has happened to her and shares to other people, going to groups set up for this subject. The family is brought much closer together and feel more approachable and able to talk openly. Angela doesn't want to hide anything, she wants to say something.

I feel that this doc doesn't influence my story that much in terms of a 'happy ending or positive to negative'. This documentary is mostly research of what suicide is and how I should portray it in my drama ensuring I do it correctly. I still have more research to do but I feel this is helping me have more knowledge on showing suicide in my film.

The Meeting 'Weak'

My pitch 25 words:


Short drama of a young, working man who is met with a weak, stressed woman, attempting to jump of a bridge and end her life.

Characters:


Neal:

• Male

  

  Neal

• 22 years old
• Smart/casual dressed 
• working in an office job, doing well but lonely

Linda:

Linda

• Female
• 20years old
• Casual dressed
• She is a full time student with part time employment. She is over working, failing and underachieving.

Location:

River 

River Medway (main location)
House/flat








Story idea:


The story is about Neal, a young man in an office job doing well at his job. He wants to live his life in the same routine being quite simple. One day his routine has broken. Neal is running late for work, he has missed the bus so he decides to walk. Walking past the river he notices a woman acting really strange, realising she is attempting to jump off the bridge. Neal tries to take control of the situation and after much determination she is calm and able to talk. Already late for work Neal offers to comfort the woman and stay with her. They both chat and have a coffee. Linda is nervous and is hiding the real reason she is depressed. They both leave and Neal goes to work while Linda decides enough is enough and jumps. Neal learns a few days later in the newspaper the real reason behind it all. 

Pitch Day

Today we had our pitches for our screenplay ideas.

It was great seeing other people's ideas and I am excited to see the productions. Today was mostly about feedback and how we can develop our ideas further. The pitch was the start up to the idea and it is important to have a good pitch so we can sell our ideas to programme and studio executives who can then help make it happen.

I gave plenty of feedback to other people as I know people need the feedback to work on there ideas, it all helps towards improving it.
It was now time for my pitch.

My feedback started from Simon with positive comments on the pitch saying it was to the point and fairly clear. I then had comments from other students like Nicky asking where the conflict is. I answered with that the conflict was the women stopping Neal in his routine trying to get to work.

More feedback was given on how intense my idea is but how it could work great, just need to work on how the characters connect and where the ending leads to. Simon said I need to do plenty of research as my story involves mental health and suicide, something that needs delicate attention to. My working title is 'Weak', this could cause controversy as those with mental health issues don't wish to be identified as weak. I really need to develop further and research before progressing any further. My idea could cause a lot of distress if not planned correctly.

I want my story to be a dramatic piece that is entertaining to watch and for people to enjoy without having negative thoughts. I am paying close attention to the ending as I am now planning to have the women die. I had opinions with my group before the pitch and it was suggested to have a ending on a sad note instead of having a happy ending, which i feel would be boring.

Moving forward:

Today has made me feel I need to work a lot harder on my idea but at the same time determined as I really want to keep to it and make it happen. Over the next couple of weeks I am going to research on mental health and suicide, how it could affect my film and what I need to do to make sure nothing controversial will happen. I have already had a suggestion by Rosie on watching a documentary. I will look further into my characters and how they could connect, look at actors who fit the character description. Begin pre-writing and also check out my locations, take photos and confirm if they are the right settings.

Character and Dialogue -Steve Coombes

Yesterday we had another lecture with Steve, this time focusing on character and dialogue in a screen play.

Character:

I learn't that any character can be interesting if it has some kind of crisis and we see that clearly. Characters have to be big and have a meaning, otherwise they become boring. Need to show the transition in their life, like first job or university etc. Actions tell you important information in a character, the way they talk, walk and look. Steve told us about how characters can be different stereotypes.
 monsters, being interesting and conflicted. Basil Fawlty from Fawlty towers, he is a 'monster' as he is always getting into conflict and being loud. The characters need to be tense and the same, once we see a character on screen you can't change them.
Heroin - we see these as fraudulent, people who don't know who they really are. like a existential hero, not sure what they want to be.
Women are usually making big choices, the characters have to make big decisions in the story.

We watched The Sopranos to find the characters in the screen play. Steve gave us a script from the opening lines of the drama. This was great to look at as I could see what was said in the drama. TV shows can afford around 10-12 speaking characters in an hour show. Exterior location shots at night are expensive so it is rare to see these on TV, usually they are filmed in a studio. However watching The Sopranos they filmed at night on location. They used 15 exterior locations and a studio set.

Dialogue:

We then went on to learning about dialogue. Steve told us not to have pointless dialogue, it has to have a meaning. He reminded us from what he said on Monday which is not to say it but to show it. Having characters speaking about a subject that can be clearly shown or obvious is pointless and is not entertaining at all. Dialogue needs to mean something that leads up to the plot or to a moment.
Dialogue should not be too clear or too direct. Steve also pointed out to us that characters can be informal with how they speak, not to worry about grammar. A character should be him/herself with an accent and appropriate slang/street talk etc. A character needs to have a rhythm when speaking, pausing at the right time or generally talking at an appropriate speed for that character. A final word from Steve on this was not to make speech for longer than 3 lines as it can get too long for the audience.

Final Draft:

Steve briefly went through Final Draft with us. Final draft is a software for creating scripts in the right format and is a professional tool that most screen writers use. It is quite straight forward with options on what text to be inputted like heading, character, dialogue, transition and action. We were given a copy of the first few lines on The Sopranos and I could clearly see what each text was for. Here is a picture I found showing this.

script 

At the top it has the title of the screen play along with series and date etc.  It follows to the scene name and number displayed with FADE IN (transition), INT (Interior set) name of scene and then DAY which is the time of day that is filmed.

Inspired:

From what Steve said it has inspired me with my idea and story. Steve has made me think more about my characters and I am now planning on what they look, walk and talk. The dialogue that they say and the accent/grammar. I am thinking what my characters should say and how they talk. Steve has inspired me to explore with my characters and to make sure I pick the right one. If the dialogue doesn't fit my character I need to think differently and use something else. I need to think about a big moment with my character. When I start writing my script I now know how to format it and make it look appropriate. I am already planning on what to include and the way I can direct my actors/actresses simply without using many words on the script. Steve told us to keep text short and straight to the point with important and key parts in capital text. He mentioned about transitions and camera angles/movements and that we should not put much of these down unless it is appropriate. I have been planning on what camera movements I am wanting in my story so if it is important and the cast needs to know then I will include it in my script.