Draft pictures from The Arches

 

 

Above is a picture of a retro T.V. which we thought could make a nice addition to our list of possible old-fashioned props which we are using in our film. We also liked it because of the colour, it is a very rich red which contrasts a lot of the props we have found which are very old and dull.

 

Below is a picture of a grammar-phone which we hound in The Arches in Ramsgate. It was the only grammar-phone which we found in all of the antique shops which we looked in, however we are not sure whether or not we would like to use a grammar-phone or a standard record player but we are certain that we would like at least one of them in our final film.

Above is a picture of a collection of musical items such as records, record cover's an amp and an old XLR lead. There is also a red desk lamp. We thought that some of the antiques in this picture could be useful for our film. We would ideally like to get a couple of records from differnt time periods to show what time period it is in the shot and to add an element of authenticity to it just like Martin Scorsese did in "Goodfellas". We would also like to get some good audio recording equipment such as an NTG-2 so that we can get the exact audio which comes from the record player so that we can record all of the little imperfections so that we can make the audio more authentic.

Below is a picture of a an old fashioned game similar to pinball which is a retro arcade game which could be a nice addition to the list of props in our list.

 

 

Above is a picture of a couple of "Baby Champ", glasses which we found in The Arches in Ramsgate. Thought that there glasses were very interesting because they have a different shape compared to modern campagne flutes. They also have a gold rim which makes them look quite expensive and they are "Baby Champ" which is a very collectable and recognizable kind of glass.

 

Below is a picture of a retro radio which we though could work alongside the record player all the grammar-phone in order to create our the mostly diegetic soundtrack in our film. We would use this at different times to the record player to show the transition to a differnt time period. We also really liked the colour of this particular radio as it's a very rich mustardy yellow.

 

 

These two pictures are both of old cameras however the camera pictured above is a bit older than the one picture below. We are planning to focus one of the sequences in our film around a camera and the oe pictured below is the kind of camera which we had pictured in our minds before we had gone out to get draft shots because it is silver with a large black strip through it, quite similar to old olympus and pentax cameras.

 



Above is a picture of a typewriter which we found in The Arches in Ramsgate. This typewriter stood out to us because it was theoldest one which we had found. We would like to use a typewriter for foley two introduce the narrator's dialogue and we are also thinking of having a couple of shot of them in our film.

 

Below is a picture of a pocket watch which belongs to Fran's Dad. We thought that it might be quite interesting to have a shot of a pocket watch in one of the flashback scenes.



Feedback MGS

• Good notes Layer Cake as it focuses on film form.
• Target: 
• Complete all other film analysis
• Research other short films (Film form, conventions)
• Produce a visual mind map

Grindhouse Effect Tutorial

 

We found this video while browsing the internet to look for ways to use after effects to put dust and scratches onto out film as we have very little experience with after effects. While browsin we found this tutorial which we found to be very helpful. It takes you threw step by step how to get an effect which contains dust and scratches. It shows two methods of doing this, it shows a method using plug ins which look really good but cust more as they contain effects which have to be downloaded and bought seperatley. It also shows a method not using plug ins which is the method which we decided to follow and we will be uploadin g examples of this effect shortly.
This tutorial was found on a YouTube channel called Film Riot. Film Riot is a YouTube channel whic posts weekly videos giving tutorials on how to pull of certain effects. We have found this YouTube channel very useful and we are considering using it as an aid in future projects.
 

Raging Bull Montage Sequence

During the montage sequence there are several segments which are filmed in colour. We found these parts especially inspiring as we thought that the flashbacks in our film could look like this. The coloured segment has a lot of noticeable scarring, dirt and dust in the shot which makes the composition of the look very aged which we think could work very well in our film as the flashbacks are set through different time periods.

Zodiac Opening Scene

Grindhouse

Layer Cake Opening Sequence

The opening sequence of Layer Cake starts in black and white which shows the time period in which the scene is set. The cinematography at the start of the scene could also represent how "black and white" things were in the time period, this is backed up by Daniel Craig's dialogue when he says "the world was a far simpler place, it was all just cops and robbers". After the opening shot the colour  slowly comes in however, the shot is still very desaturated.
The editing in this sequence is very smooth and fluid, an example of this is the transition between the "Robbery" scene and the "Summer of Love" scene, the camera slowly pans and move really close to a woman's hair creating an extreme close-up. The camera then pans out and the hair has changed to the hair of a hippy. The "Summer of Love" scene is very saturated and it has a very mixed colour palette which makes it much more vibrant and could represent the psychedelic experience that some of the hippies in the scene may have been experiencing. There is also a sepia tint in this scene which makes it look like it is from a different time period and it makes the film look more aged but it doesn't make it look as aged as the black and white footage at the start.
The next part of the opening sequence is set in a prison. This scene has a very limited colour palette which shows how restricted the inmates in the prison are. The limited colour palette is very similar to those from Wes Anderson films.

Examples of shots showing the rule of thirds from a wide range of films.

Examples of Symmetrical shots from a wide range of Wes Anderson films.

Wes Anderson - Symmerty

The video above shows a compilation of shots from a wide range of Wes Anderson's films including "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox", putting a lot of emphasis on the lines of symmetry which Anderson uses in his films. Anderson’s penchant for centering shots isn’t just an overindulgent quirk. It’s actually proof that symmetry can be a highly effective visual technique. Human brains naturally prefer things which are symmetrical as opposed to that which are not. As PolicyMic notes , humans tend to judge physical attractiveness based on facial symmetry. Its effect is so powerful that “even infants as young as 4 months old recognize and prefer symmetry.” Symmetry creates points of interest that are easy to see. In the words of renowned film scholar David Bordwell, the kind of central perspective used by Anderson “helps drive your eye to the main items” in an image. In short, Wes Anderson’s symmetrical style makes you look exactly where the director wants you to look. As the School of Digital Photography notes, a symmetrical shot needs two elements in order to be effective: “a strong composition and an eye catching point of interest.” Wes Anderson accomplishes that by using rich colors, fascinating characters, and quirky objects in his shots. To accomplish the same thing, create a focal point worth looking at, then use symmetry to guide a viewer’s eye towards it. Without symmetry, many of the images in Anderson’s films would appear oppressively busy or cluttered. But in his capable hands, the clutter becomes accessible visual stimuli, easily understood and powerfully affecting. This makes symmetry ideal for infographics and other information-heavy image projects. 

The video below shows an opening to a film with emphasis on the points at which the director has used the rule of thirds to draw the spectator's eye. Many people who use the rule of thirds believe that centered, straight-on composition diminishes visual interest, especially when doing portraits. Wes Anderson’s style proves this to be absolutely wrong. Bordwell argues that Anderson’s style can create a “‘painterly’ or strong pictorial approach” whose “stasis and passivity… carries the connotations of a posed photograph.” Or, given Anderson’s love of large group shots, even evokes “over-posed high school yearbook shots.”

Film Development - MGS 8/9/2015

Films and Directors to look into:

• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pandora's Box
• Wes Anderson - Symmetry - "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Fantastic Mr. Fox", "Moonrise Kingdom", "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenebaums".

Initial mind map of new ideas for our film

Change of Idea

During the holidays my partner and I both decided that we wanted to change the idea we initially had for our film because we couldn't think of a clear narrative and we lost interest in the project however, we have now thought of a new idea.

We were inspired while walking around some antique shops in Margate and so we started taking pictures of all of the antiques which stood out to us. Our initial idea is that a person walks into an antique shop and finds a box of antiques. When this person looks at the different antiques they have flashbacks of when the antiques were originally used. Below is a list of initial ideas we have had as a starting point for our film.

Ideas:

-Antique shop

-Box in a box

Find a story

Location

Past family member

Flashbacks using it when young

-Arches

-Flashbacks in different filters

-Number in corner of the screen written with sound of pen writing

-Pick up camera, look through camera lens

-Roller skating- Dreamland

-Graphic match of person using mirror

-Narration over each shot of memory

-Record player seeing them put record on then sound for entire film

-Typewriter narrating story of letters

Draft pictures from antiques from Ronnie Scott's, King's Emporium, Paraphernalia and Hunkydory in Margate

We though that the car could be a good object to have in one of our flashbacks and we also thought that we might be able to create graphic match. We thought that we could have a shot of the person in the antique shop playing with it and we could then cut to a shot of the person who originally had it playing it.

Pictured above is "The King's Emporium", which is one of the antique shops which we took pictures from in Margate.

We thought that we could use one of the suitcases to hold all of the other antique objects and it could have belonged to the person who originally owned all of the items. We also had the idea that the person who originally owned all of the items could be a relative of the person looking in the antique shop. We have also had some ideas of the suitcase relating to pandora's box in some way however, we have fully developed this idea yet.

Pictured above is "Paraphernalia", which is one of the antique shops which we took pictures from in Margate.

We found these cameras in an antique shop called "Paraphernalia", in Margate. We took interest in them because they were in the best condition out of all the cameras we found and we also think that one of the cameras could be used in graphic match. We also thought that we could show some of the pictures which were taken by the camera when it was used originally.

Pictured above is "Ronnie Scott's", which is one of the antique shops which we took pictures from in Margate.

Pictured above is "Hunkydory", which is one of the antique shops which we took pictures from in Margate.

Pictured above is an Elvis vinyl and below is a beach boys album. We thought that we could use these instead of a score. We would also like to get a record player for our film. We thought that one of the flashbacks could show a person putting the record on and listening to it and maybe dancing to it.

Pictured above is an old fashioned radio. We thought that we could use this instead of using a record player in our film if we were unable to find one however, if we were to choose between the two of them we would rather use a record player as we think that it looks better aesthetically.

When we saw these glasses they immediatley reminded us of Baz Lurmhan's "The Great Gatsby",and the party scenes where they are all drinking champagne and we thought that we could use it for a 1920's inspired flashback.

We really liked the typewriter which we found in one of the antique shops as we thought that it is an iconic object which is no longer really used today because we have computers. We thought that this could be used to show the dates for the different flashbacks in our film. We also thought that we could record some of the noises which it makes while it is being used and we could used it as foley or for a score similar to the score in Joe Wright's "Atonement".