Research: Pitch

Research: Experimenting with Editing

Over the Summer Holidays I decided to experiment with editing and video-making techniques, creating a short film of Footage in Dorset, England. The video uses a stop-motion technique which involved the taking of thousands of photos, all stitched together to create the illusion of video. To do this I used a Canon 1000D camera, taking a picture, moving slightly, then taking another picture and so on. I chose to use Coldplay's "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" because I felt it had a fast pace which matched the jagged appearance of the video, I edited the video to match the timing and lyrics of the song.

Research: Short Films & Documentaries

Last Minutes with ODEN

Last Minutes with ODEN is an extract from the 8 LIVES documentary; a series of small documentaries by amateur film maker Eliot Rausch. The story follows Jason Wood as he talks about the ups and downs of his life and we learn how his dog Oden is always at his side. The further into the story, we learn that Oden has struggled with Cancer and that now it is the appropriate time to end his suffering anymore. It won Best Video, Best Documentary and Community Choice in the 2010 Vimeo Awards.
I think this documentary works well through the extremely abstract start; you're not sure who he is talking about and the use of isolated shots shows the protagonist as stressed, trying to relax. These shots work well with the narration and give a melancholy mood which also creates an element of suspense to the story. It is only later that we begin to learn that it is his dog, and that creates a small twist into the story. When I watched the video I did not expect to see his dog being put down and that element of surprise along with the sadness of people around him, the isolated shots and the narration really conveyed a strong sense of emotion. 


Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die

Choosing to Die is a documentary by author Terry Pratchett and his belief of euthanasia being legalised in the United Kingdom. Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and wants to know whether he will be able to die the way he wants to; before he is unable to write stories any longer, not when the government chooses. Terry has already lost his ability to type and dictates to his assistant when writing a novel, he already feels like he has lost some of his ability to write. Terry visits several people who have decided to die with Dignitas, a company that provides a service of euthanasia in Switzerland (the only country that legalises euthanasia). The documentary was subject to controversy over showing footage of a man dying during the euthanasia process near the end of the film in Dignitas.
When I watched the documentary, I was worried about seeing the "death scene" from the start, it was constantly playing on my mind that I would witness one of these people's deaths. However, the tough subject made this a very powerful and moving documentary, especially with the narrator and investigator considering assisted suicide in the future. Pratchett also went to meet the wife of a famous Belgian author Hugo Claus who died of assisted suicide in 2008, I found this moving because you could clearly see the strong emotional relationship between them as they discussed the experience of the Hugo's death. I found the story of Peter Smedley the saddest and the most moving; an English millionaire with motor neurone disease.  He was a man that lived in luxury and could have anything he wanted, but would rather end his suffering. He chose to do it sooner, so that he could protect his wife from prosecution, making all decisions for himself. The scene's of his death were very emotional.


Wonderland: Can We Get Married?

"Can We Get Married?" is a documentary from BBC Two's Wonderland Series about young couple Ben and Emma who have been together for 6 years, both of them have Downs Syndrome and wish to get married. This documentary is in a "fly on the wall" style and acts more as an observer than an interviewer. It follows their daily life in their supported-living community in Devon where they have an active social life and part time jobs, the main story showing Emma and Ben as they decide whether married life would be the best option for their unique relationship.
Although I found this documentary insightful, I didn't find it as moving as the other documentaries. I felt that the documentary could have given more monologue from the characters, which I feel could of created a stronger impact on the audience. Other than that, the story line was very powerful and the various shots gave us a point of view similar to an outsider and gave a very interesting view of their life and gave a clear message to viewers of the beauty of life. It was a heart warming story that made me feel how lucky I was not to have a condition such as Downs Syndrome.

Research: Case Study - About a Girl

About a Girl is a BAFTA award winning short film directed by Brian Percival which was released in 2001 on a £33,000 budget. Brian Percival wanted a change from directing glossy commercials and wanted to chose a gritty script for his first short film, Julie Rutterford's script was the perfect match. The film is still regarded as highly successful, winning a TCM Classic Shorts Award Prize at the London Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Raindance Film Festival and 5 other awards.


When I watched this film, at first I was a bit unsure, I was certain that I would find the whole film quite boring. For a couple of minutes it felt as if it was dragging on but then I started to notice that her quick changes to her hobbies and like where used as a way of escaping the reality of her violent and troublesome life. The use of various isolated camera shots give her an image of loneliness and depression, the finale of the whole story came to me as a complete shock and it was a very disturbing and controversial conclusion which I thought was a very powerful piece of imagery.

Research: Postmodernism & Intertexuality

Postmodernism
Postmodernism is when one text references another and how the references influence the audiences' perceptions and interpretations.


Intertextuality
This is where a piece of media is cut, edited or acted to convey a message across to the audience, usually subtly. Different forms of media are linked into various references in order to make it interesting. The narrative needs to make sense.
Morrisey's "Everyday is Like A Sunday" uses intertextuality throughout his video. For example; Morrisey's strong vegetarianism beliefs are shown through the girl writing "meat is murder" on the postcard.

Research: The Beginnings of Film

The first films were short, expensive and didn't have batteries to power cameras.

The Lumière Brothers - 1890s

• The Lumière Brothers were the groundbreakers of film. 
• Each film was 17m long, which translated to 50 seconds of hand cranked film. 
• They mainly produced "actualities", a reflection of everyday life, mini documentaries
• They toured their work through a Cinematograph which functioned as a camera, projector and printer.
• Credited with over 1245 different short films and even filmed aerial shots before the first airplane.
• Not only did they pioneer technical attributes of the camera, but also artistic attributes, creating a dialogue of realism that has always been a crux of cinema.
• Entirely modern, nothing post-modern, it was created by them.
• Silent films are useful to look at, showing an evolution of visual language and grammar of film that formed the codes and conventions of today.

Georges Méliès - 1902

• Georges, assisted by his brother Gaston created the Film "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (A Trip to the Moon), a black and white silent science fiction film. A film loosely based on "From the Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne and "The First Men on the Moon" by H.G. Wells.
• The film runs at 14 minutes at a frame rate of 16 frames per second (the standard frame rate at the time of production)
• It was extremely popular at the time of release and is the best known of the many films by Georges Méliès. It is the first science fiction film and utilizes animation and special effects.
• It is named one of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century.

The Great Train Robbery - 1903

• Filmmakers began to attempt creating "narratives". The Great Train Robbery in particular shows how important editing and using different shots is.
• The film used various innovative techniques such as cross cutting, double exposure, composite editing, camera movement and on location shots. Cross cutting in particular was considered a new and sophisticated editing technique.
• In some scenes, prints were hand coloured.
• The film uses simplistic editing techniques (each scene contains one shot) and the story is mostly linear, It represents a significant step in movie making, the first narrative movie of a significant length.

Examiner's Reports 2011

• Titles in general are improving, but some work still lacked awareness of the institutional conventions of titling, with just cursory attention to titles. Given this is half of the task (the titles and opening of a new fiction film), it is crucial that adequate attention is paid to this area.

• Soundtracks likewise still tend to be limited to just a music track, with no attention to diegetic sound.

• Camerawork was often far too limited, particularly lacking in close ups and with insufficient attention paid to framing.

• Lighting was often a problem, with inadequate sources producing grainy footage.

• There were still too many opening sequences which tended to resemble trailers and once again the usual stalk n’slash incidents in the woods- with white masked strangers popping out from behind sofas and trees.

• Candidates should be advised against the use of such storylines as generally they reinforce the sense of amateurism rather than creating a believable professional product. Such scenarios are rarely done well and appear more like early experiments rather than finished pieces. 

• Candidates need to work on narrative and building an enigma; many of them still wanted to condense and conclude the story in the opening two minutes, which of course misses the whole purpose of film openings.

• Centres who worked creatively and imaginatively on the use of titling and the use of sound were much more effective than those who focused on trying to create a potted story.

Last Year's Short Films

From watching last years Short films and Documentaries, I noticed a few things I would improve. I decided to note these down so that it would benefit my own production:

• Use a tripod when necessary for stable camera movement
• Use a separate sound recorder
• Match the editing style to the genre
• Use close ups, creates a "tease"
• Handheld
• Indents for different film companies
• Horror films, the less footage, the better
• Editing Process is extremely important.
• Use composition techniques; such as the "Rule of Thirds"

The Phone Call