Evaluation

Evaluation

This semester has been a massive learning curve for me during both the documentary and drama projects. I have taken up two different roles in each, Cinematographer in the documentary and Director in the drama piece. I feel that I have experienced a great deal by taking up these roles and that it will stand me in good stead moving forward.

Firstly as cinematographer in the documentary “The Dark Side of Football” I believe that I excelled in this role as I have a strong eye for creative shots, I worked closely with Paul our director to ensure we got everything that was needed during interviews and out on location in Liverpool.  The concept of this project was to document hooliganism in football and how it has changed now compared to the past, we had a basic plan for who and what we were going to shoot and in the end we were very happy that we managed to get almost everything we wanted. I was very pleased with how the finished film looked on screen and the feedback we received was extremely good.

One of the main parts about our documentary which made it professional were the two main contributors Paul Machin and Andy Nicholls. Paul Machin created The RedMen TV which is a web based show about all things Liverpool Football Club, he gave us a great insight into his experiences with the club and how hooliganism has affected him and the club across the years. The biggest capture by us was Andy Nicholls Author of “Scally” and former football hooligan; he was very helpful and gave us a fantastic interview about his past experiences with Everton Football Club and again how hooliganism has affected his life over the years.

As cinematographer it was my job to get to grips with the camera which was a Nikon D3100, I was pleased with how easily I managed to learn the settings and how it came out in post-production, it was also very good when we filmed at night around Goodison Park when Everton played Oldham. I wanted to make sure we got footage that would enable the edit team to create a strong piece. I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed making this documentary as I was unsure if it would be an area I would like to explore however I am now excited to continue to study documentary filmmaking next year.

When we were capturing footage at two separate games it was hard to know where to be to get footage as the fans mingled around the stadiums before and after the games, we went to both a Liverpool and Everton game which really gave our documentary a professional feel as the viewer now gets a sense of atmosphere at the game. We were grateful that the Liverpool game was against a Russian team who notoriously have a large fanatic following so there was a large police presence which meant we could properly document how they manage fans on a match day to limit trouble.

I have learnt so much during this project as I really wanted to excel as Cinematographer as this is the main role I would like to go further in, I love being behind the camera and working closely with the director when bringing the vision to life. I think this is my strongest area as I am comfortable using any camera and have a creative eye to get stylish yet effective shots. I am looking forward to continuing in this area of skills next year as I am passionate and want to continue to learn more so that I can work in this area in the film industry.

I am extremely proud of our documentary “The Dark Side of Football,” for me given the time frame and amount of work we put into this project I believe it is a very strong piece. We could have made a much longer documentary but given the 5 minute limit we could not do this, we have discussed as a group the possibility of revisiting this project and making a longer final cut and submitting it to festivals as we think it is an interesting a well thought out piece.

If there is one thing I would change about the final piece it would probably be to get a few more filler shots as sometimes it would have been good to cut out of the interviews with the sound going over shots around the city, grounds etc. We got a lot of these but one thing I have learnt is that you can never have enough fillers and that these are critical in a documentary.

As a team myself, Paul, Lucy, Danny, Chris and Joe all worked so hard to make sure we had a strong final piece. During our visits to Liverpool and Wales (where we interviewed Andy Nicholls) we had to make sure we used our time wisely and on the whole we did this productively. We really dedicated ourselves to this project by going back and getting the footage and interviews that we knew would enhance our film more.

The second project this semester was to make a 5 minute drama film that conveys a notion of “journey”.  I chose to be the Director as again this is an area I would like to explore further and felt it could benefit me creatively. As a group we came up with a few ideas but nothing really stuck with us until we decided on a concept of 3 interlinking stories leading into one event of a car accident. The idea was to show 3 points of view leading up to a woman being run over and all of the characters are connected, each of their actions has a consequence that causes the accident.

We planned relatively well, with a script and storyboard and 3 actors, we felt confident we could pull this idea of well. As Director I felt a great deal of pressure as I knew I would have to organise each scene and take and make sure everybody was doing their role correctly. On the first day of the shoot I felt very stressed as it was the first time I had felt this kind of responsibility and I knew if anything major went wrong it would be on my hands.

I feel that after the first few hours and then moving onto the next three days of shooting I became more confident in my role as Director and was able to keep a cool head when sometimes it was tough going. Managing actors and crew is hard and I am thankful I had good workers with me. We built a good working relationship with the 3 actors which made it easy to direct them and keep them entertained whilst they weren’t in particular scenes.

The 2 scenes we were most worried about turned out to be the strongest parts in our film, the driving scene and then the ending crash scene were hard to write and then film but I feel that we have pulled it off to a good standard. I am proud of the driving shots we managed to get in and outside of the car, these were obviously very well planned as we would be doing them on open roads which can be unpredictable. There is also a few shots I am very happy with, a long tracking take of one of our characters running down the path and then into the road which we managed to get in one take and is a really powerful shot.

We experienced a few difficulties such as, not having one of our actors on Day 2 of the shoot which meant we had to concentrate on only certain parts of the film, which in hindsight did help to get quality shots for those scenes. Another issue we had to contend with was the camera battery which would last 2-3 hours, we would recharge this when we took a break from filming which worked out well as we usually stopped to regroup and discuss what we needed next.

If I could change one thing it would be to re-shoot some of the dialogue scenes as it was windy during some of the takes and it would be nice to get nice crisp sound, but I feel we edited this well in post-production so it is not too bad. Also the crash scene I would plan again to spend a whole day on this as we ended up changing how this is shown so it is more suggestive rather than actually showing it. I feel this was the right decision given the circumstances but I would like to go back and try to film the crash so we could see it in full glory.

I have learnt so much making this project, before I started I knew the Director role came with massive responsibility but until it didn't actually hit me until I was on set on Day 1. I appreciate a lot more pre-planning time and being able to turn up fully prepared like we were on Day 3 and 4. I think that this whole experience has taught me valuable lessons such as getting as many takes as possible so in the edit you have so much to play with to make the film as strong as possible. I enjoyed being Director but it also made me realise that my main strengths are as a cinematographer.

As a team like with the documentary project we worked hard to make sure each role was done to a high standard, having chosen new roles we each had to learn new skills and this meant we each had to help others when needed. I was thankful to have people around me who trusted my judgement and could also collaborate creatively when needed. During the edit I wanted to make sure that everybody had an input as different opinions meant we could really identify weaknesses within the film which others may have missed. Sound was always going to be a massive component to our film and I think that we have mixed atmospheric and Foley sounds well to make it a powerful piece.

In terms of the finished piece I am pretty happy with what we have achieved, it was an ambitious structure and I feel that we have managed to produce a good film. Although there are a few parts which I would like to change given more time I am proud of what we have with the final piece. I think that as Director I tried my hardest to make the most of the role and this experience will probably be one of the most valuable I have had this year. Although it was stressful at time, it was also enjoyable whilst filming and editing and I am now happy that we have a final film worthy of showing to an audience.

Overall this semester has been thoroughly enjoyable, I am happy to say that I will definitely be exploring more into documentary filmmaking as well as drama productions. I also loved being Cinematographer and this has increased my desire to excel in this area.

Editing

During the editing process I joined Danny Wild and Chris Wood (sound) who would be doing the majority of the edit. We spent a long time after the shoots looking at footage so we knew what we would need the next time we were on set.

After the wrap on the final day of filming we were in most days working on the film, we concentrated firstly on the visuals and cutting together each act exactly how we wanted them. We then tidied up the audio which included atmos and Foley sounds. Danny is a very good, efficient editor and Chris performed very well when it came to cleaning up the sound.

I believe we got enough footage to make a solid film and this benefited us in the edit as we had many takes to choose from, however there were some scenes where we could have done with more options to work from.

Overall I am pleased with how the edit has gone, we did not encounter too many issues apart from some dialogue scenes where we had to change the levels because of wind being picked up.

I enjoyed my role as Director and it has taught me so much about where I want to aim towards next year on the course, I feel the responsibility or heading a project will stand me in good stead as I move forward.

Pacing was key during the edit as we had to show the right amount at the right time to ensure the audience isn't given too much information too soon.

Audio levels had to be adjusted as well as colour correction on some shots.

Editing each act meant we had to make sure the non linear structure did not become too puzzling for the viewer.

Final Day Shoot

Friday 3rd May 2013

The final day we filmed from 12pm - 4pm.

The final day of filming was key, we had met the night before to discuss and plan what was needed so that when we started we could be proactive throughout the day. All the actors joined us and it turned into the best day of filming we had.

We shot scenes from each act and probably the most pleasing was a one take shot of our actor Josh who plays tom reacting to the crash and running down the path and into the road. Lucy the Cinematographer captured this from the car and it is perfectly framed and smooth, this was fantastic as I really wanted this shot in our film.

We experimented with dolly shots to get some nice stylish shots leading up to the reveal of the body, again I was happy with how these came out and feel we would have some very strong footage when it came to editing.

We shot the flashback sequence which would be used in the film to show an emotional side to Summer to really hammer home her characters feelings.

Key shots achieved today:

Tracking dolly shot of Tom running

Dolly shot low pan alongside car and Summer's body

Dolly shot low pan across front of car

Reaction shots to crash

Flashback sequence

Recording a scene with Heaven and Josh who played Summer and Tom.

Using the car as a dolly for tracking shots, this proved to be very  successful.

Day 3 Shoot

Thursday 2nd May 2013

A shorter yet very productive 3 hour shoot.

This day was productive as we were able to gather more driving interior and exterior shots, these are a key part of the film so we wanted to get as many as possible so when editing we had a lot of angles and styles to play with.

Heaven was with us on this day so we were able to catch up with scenes where we needed her to walk down the street and into the road, we also got facial reactions which were also critical to the film.

I was very comfortable in my role on this day and feel that the past 2 days of filming had taught me so much and now I was fully confident as Director. My team were performing well and the actors were very good to work with.

Main shots captured today:

Tracking shot of Summer - we did this using the car as a dolly and it looked very good and smooth, I was very happy with how this came out.
Driving exterior and interior
Summer facial shots
Summer wide/close walking shots

A wide tracking shot of Summer walking down the street.

Setting up the camera for a scene in the road.

Here is a scene where Summer enters the road.

Day 2 Shoot

Wednesday 1st May 2013

Another 11am - 6pm shoot.

This was a difficult shoot as our actress Heaven could not make it today, however in the end it turned out that we were able to concentrate on getting quality shots with the other actors for other key scenes.

As Director I was beginning to become more comfortable in my role and was much more prepared for what was expected of me compared to Day 1.

The driving scenes went relatively well and we would use these in the rough edit to decide what other kind of shots we should get during the next shoot. We realised continuity would also be an issue as filming on different days meant certain factors had to be taken into account such as the cars parked in the street and the weather/lighting. We would have to plan accordingly.

Main shots we gathered today were:

Driving car scenes interior and exterior
Close up shots of conversation for Tom and Nick
Re-shoot of Nick scene from different angles

Framing a scene so we maximise the actors and backdrop.

Joe who played Nick, prepares for his scene.

Day 1 Shoot

Monday 29th April 2013

We had everybody available on this day and filmed from 11am - 6pm, although we got a lot of footage we knew we would have to go back and film some more throughout the week. We filmed on a Nikon D3100 DSLR and recorded the majority of sound using a Marantz and Audio Technica Rifle Mic.

As Director it was my job to organise each shot with the Cinematographer and actors, and also get everybody else on their own specific jobs such as sound recording. I was helped by our Producer Paul who also made sure everybody was doing their jobs correctly.

The key shots we filmed today were:

Summer and Tom's discussion

Tom on the phone to Nick

Nick's scene in full

Nick on the phone to Tom

Overall I was relatively pleased with the days filming, however it was a massive learning curve as it was the first time I have been a Director on set and I did not settle comfortably until a couple of hours in. Moving forward I can use this experience to make sure I perform confidently in the next few shoots so we can get the best performances from the actors and crew.

Working together was key in this project, everybody had to pull their weight.

Discussing and giving directions for a scene.

Setting up a scene.