Edgar Wright

Edgar wright quick shots cinematography

(Show clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YY6mymW4oA)

In this next clip it's very fast paced and seems rushed, this is to show how pushed for time they are and how quickly they need to think of a plan. The tone of the lighting is very high key to show how optimistic they are about their idea and how they think that everything will turn out good.

(Show clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeJzHSxRq40)

Edgar usually likes to make the point of focus very obvious when he's filming. He does this by doing extreme closeups, he does more than one, sometimes one after another as you can see in these images. (These are all from the same scene)

Film compare screen shot (House of the dead): 

Film compare screen shot (Shaun of the dead):

Media notes Lesson 4

Moving images

• The reason we film/video is to tell stories
• Some stories are big: Cinema, Television
• Some are small: Advertising, Promo 

The process 

The film making process is broken into three parts

1. Pre-Production
2. Production 
3. Post-Production

Aesthetics: Pleasing to the eye

Shooting Ratio: When you go out and film 10 times the stuff you need. I.E Have 1 hour film, film 10 hours worth of footage. 

Production

Who does what?

• Camera operator/Cinematography(American)/Director of photography(UK): Set up lighting, Film stuff
• Director: To come up with the shots for the film. Their job to tell the story visually. They will get a script/pages of dialogue. Will interpret it into a visual medium. 
• Producer: Person who is in charge of everyone. Makes sure people show up on time. Knowing how long they have to spend on a specific section/scene. Organised/Militant. Make sure film is created on time/in budget
• Lighting Technician: Links in with the Cinematography. Makes sure the scene looks right with the lighting 

Types of production

• Single camera production: Where you have one camera used throughout the whole shoot. Reasons why: Might cost a lot of money. Get a good camera. Main reason: Get the best performances out of the actors. Can get it into different spaces, don't have to worry about getting different cameras in shot. Feature film will usually be a single camera production. Documentary usually a single camera production. TV Drama usually single camera production. Majority of things filmed 'on location' 

• Multi Camera production: Where you have a multi camera set up. Cut from one video to another video. Usually used on a live broadcast. Or a pre recorded TV show (Alan Carr: Chatty man) Used mainly for getting all the angles. Multi Camera used mainly in a studio. 

How to make moving images

• Light is the most important thing. Light is everything we see. Once you understand light you begin to understand video. (What that means is: Once you understand how cameras interpret light, you understand how video works and how best to produce your aesthetically pleasing moving images.)

Light explanation

When it comes to natural light there are two different kinds of light. (Soft light and Hard light)

Soft light (indoors): Shadows faded, not crisp or sharp. Almost like you're not being lit. Should have element of shadow on one half of your face. Also sometimes called 'Defused light' Light may bounce off something or be filtered through something

Hard light (indoors): Lots of different reasons why you would do hard light - creates depth. Being more friendly, helps flattering people. Also sometimes called 'Direct light' 

Exposure: Anything that is bright can be called the highlights. Covers part of the image. Another bit called the mid tones. The whole image really. Shadows really dark part of the image. If you get the balance right you can lose a lot of detail.

Media Auteur Homework

Partners: Vicky + Ben

Our Auteur: Edgar Wright

Auteur Edgar Wright research quotes/links

This is a video to show that Edgar has a specific way of shooting scenes: 

This is a quote from a person who is exploring the idea of Edgar Wright being an Auteur: 

For editing techniques, Edgar Write is known for his sequences of fast cuts. These last for a bout 5 seconds each time they happen and only happen when a character is seen preparing for something or for fast forwarding action. This is linked in with themes and actions that get repeated. (Source: X)


This is another quote from a person who is exploring the idea of Edgar Wright being an Auteur: 

Last night I dared to say on Twitter that, after seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, director Edgar Wright is on his way to gaining status as an auteur. This sparked a lively debate among friends on whether this was true, or even what the definition is of an auteur. To my mind, an auteur is a director whose work is instantly recognisable, no matter what the narrative of their film entails, and who tells stories in a way that is both familiar and refreshing with each film. I stand by my statement that Wright puts such a unique mark on his work that with a few more films, he could easily join auteur ranks. (Source: X)

The films we are doing: Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz

Supporting films: At worlds end

Similar Films: Paul

Me: Cinematography and Sound for Shaun of the Dead

Unit 26: Notes on sound and editing.

SOUND

Two types of sound: 
Diagetic = Dialogue and Ambient Sound 
Non Diagetic = Voice over and soundtrack. 

Contrapuntal : Doesn't fit image. Murder scene happy sound. (IE Psycho footloose scene)

Sound bridges: Sound seeps over into shot

List types of sound you hear in example clips: 

The Matrix: 

Dialogue Diagetic. 
Non Diagetic soundtrack. (The tense music) but (Rob Zombie soundtrack in the club is not non Diagetic because it's suppose to be playing in the nightclub. Classing it as ambient sound) 
Ambient sound Diagetic.
Sound bridges. Alarm clock 

500 days of summer 

Non Diagetic sound, sound track. Music
Diagetic ambient sound bell of lift
Diagetic dialogue saying hi to people. 
Contrapuntal sound. Fountain sounds like fireworks. 
Non Diagetic. Not soundtrack or voice over but crowd cheering and bird tweeting were added on after. 

Mean Girls.

Diegetic dialogue. 
Diegetic ambient sound. Crowd shouty mob thing. 
Sound bridges. Drum bangs while in the office.
Contrapuntal. Animal sounds for humans. 
Non Diegetic. Voice over. 
Non diegetic soundtrack. Drum banging. 

Casino Royals 

Non diegetic soundtrack. Tense music. 
Diegetic Ambient sound. Chair scraping, breathing, rope hitting him 
Diegetic dialogue. Screaming. Talking 

Sound is important in creating an impact on an audience. Sound is also important on trying to communicate a genre. 

EDITING

Editing transition - From one shot to another. 
Fade - To show passage of time/suspense and flashbacks usually.
Cross dissolve - Flashbacks
Cut - Invisible, cut is used to make sure the narrative flows seamlessly 

(First three are most commonly used in films today)

Page wipes, checkerboards etc etc aren't commonly used. A bit cheesy mainly used in old Star Wars films. Makes them seem cheaper. Make the editing more obvious so you're more aware that you're watching a film. 

By making editing invisible it makes you suspend the fact that you don't believe this film. 

Parallel action is where two scenes happen at the same time and we use edit to show both of them. 

Montage - modern idea -show a section of narrative in a quick way. 

Traditional idea was lots of messages to send a message. 

PARALLEL ACTION EXAMPLE SCENE: When in Silence of the lambs the audience is tricked into thinking the FBI are at his door when in reality they got the wrong house.

Media notes Lesson 3

Video editing = Unit 16 + Unit 21

Work flow

• Ingest footage 
• Review/Mark footage
• Rough cut
• Finesse cut
• Locked cut = Export.

Non linear editing system

• Final Cut Pro
• Adobe premier Pro
• Avid Media composer
• Sony Vegas

Linear = In a line/in sequence

Non Linear = Not in a line/in sequence

Non destructive editing =





These are the control buttons








This is all of the windows open at once

This is called a bin

This is the timeline 

Assignment task

Edgar Wright

Reoccurring themes:

Genre is always Comedy with a mix of something else.

Same actors: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman.

The Shining Review

Write a review about 'The Shining' What did the critics and the audience say about it? In your opinion how good were the actors performances? Give specific examples of innovative or unusual cinematography and mise en sceneThe Shining is a Psychological Horror Film made in 1980, set in the 60's. It is a very successful film therefore many of people have watched and reviewed it. Here are just a few: 

Deeply scary and strange. - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian [UK]Essential viewing. Prepare to be disturbed. - Ashley Clarke, Little white lies Kubrick has made a movie that will have to be reckoned with on the highest level. - Richard Schickel, TIME magazine

Despite the films success there are still some people out there that aren't that satisfied:

Kubrick is after a cool, sunlit vision of hell, born in the bosom of the nuclear family, but his imagery--with its compulsive symmetry and brightness--is too banal to sustain interest, while the incredibly slack narrative line forestalls suspense. - Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader.

My opinion on the actors are that I thought they were very believable and realistic. I think this because the Wife showed genuine fear when Jack went off the rails. The actors performances must of been good or else I wouldn't of enjoyed the film as much as I did. The little boy in the film was really creepy and he was expressionless for most of the film (Minus the parts where he was screaming) but even then there was little expression on his face. Jack was great. His portrayal of a guy slowly descending into madness was really scary and probably quite realistic. 

There were so many unusual/innovative uses of Cinematography and Miss en scene. Here are some:


At the start the camera angle was way high up in the air to show how in the middle of nowhere this place is that they were going to be staying at. I think that the director did that to create a feeling of isolation.

When they showed Jack sitting on the bed he had a much paler face than usual, this is indicating that he was starting his slow descent into madness. It was making the audience think that there was something wrong with him, and the hotel. 

The  camera angle was facing the scene, head on to the action when the elevator doors were opening and blood was pouring out. I think he did this to create a sense of panic and confusion. 

When the little boy was travelling down the corridor he started in the background then ended up in the foreground, this was probably to show how far he had travelled and how long a corridor it was. 

As the film went on the lighting began to turn into quite a low key dreary setting. This was to continue the narrative and to show how much things have changed and how the atmosphere in the whole hotel has gone from this quite nice big family friendly hotel to some really unwelcoming, cold dreary place. It created a sense of tension and fear in the audience. 

When Danny was in the corridor the angle of the camera was overhead. This is quite weird for a hotel/house setting as you would usually assume that the camera angle would be from eye level and that Danny would be in the lower half of the frame which would make us feel like the adults. But instead we were usually at eye level with Danny making us feel a bit intimidated and like a frightened child most of the time. 





HOMEWORK

1. To listen to the sound and editing tracks on Steph's blog. 
2. Pick an Auter you would like to study for and begin to find research on the bullet points in the ppt 

Media lesson 2 notes

ADR - Additional dialogue recording.

• Where you dub something over.

Environment:

• Chose the correct microphone
• Microphone position 
• Use a muffler 

In the studio:

• Perfect acoustics
• Sound control
• Additional sound recording
• Foley sound recording

Microphones

• Lavier = Omnidirectional clip microphone
• Shotgun = Directional/Cardioid

Mixers, recorders and monitoring

• Studio - Mixing desk (In the studio)
• If you're on location use a field mixer. Mixer is attached to a microphone and headphones. Mixers do not record they just allow you to monitor sound.   
• Field recorder - Actually records sound if you're on location.

Feedback sound

• Audio feedback.
• Sound comes out of the speakers, sometimes it will go back into the microphone. Creates a loop of sound. Gives a feedback sound.
• To eliminate it just put headphones on or turn the speaker down.

Wild tracking

• Recording ambient sound. (Recording sound of environment so you can use it to add a bit of reality to your scene)

Boom microphone tip: wrap cable around the sticky thing so you don't mess up ok 😅 🎊🌋🗿🗽🗾

Media Homework

What is an Auteur? Make a brief list on blogger of Auteurs.


Definition: A filmmaker who influences their movies so much that they rank as their author.

1. Stanley Kubrick
2. Orson Welles
3. Edgar Wright
4. Christopher Nolan
5. Sam Raimi

Man on Fire

In man on fire, the 7 minutes of footage we watched had lots of different camera angles and shots. Some scenes were sped up to fit in with atmosphere of the club and the man running into the club. It had very low-key lighting because of the setting. When people were talking fast the close up of the characters were switching quickly too fit in all of the dialogue. There were some high angle wide shots so we could see all off the setting of the club and of everyone dancing.  It also contained a split screen of 4 different scenes. Wide shot shows a rundown setting in the background of the frame. The sunglasses make him look a bit shifty, the audience wonders what he is doing there and if he is up to something. He changes his costume to show the audience that he isn't a villain but he is a gangster. The blue colour wash makes it seem more mysterious and shady. Most of the props were guns and a photo of the little girl who he was trying to find.  The lighting flashes a lot to make it seem more fast paced. There is a P.O.V. shot where it shows what he is holding close up to the camera. There is an over the shoulder shot when Denzel Washington is  interrogating his victim and the effect is to show that they are quite close together so it's kind of intimidating for the victim There are subtitles next to the person that's speaking to show how loud the place is. The bits that are subtitled are the bits that we need to focus on the most. When it slows down it does it to highlight important things happening. The camera pans to show the whole scene. They have overlaid two scenes on top of each other to fit in with it being a rave and to show that the people outside still aren't aware of what is happening. Flashbacks to give the audience important information. 

Notes lesson 1

Sound Unit 38

In the sound industry there is a lot of different job roles. Here are a few:

A Sound Recordist

A sound recordist is the one with the big boom pole and headphones. Their job to record clean audio. They record sound on location. 

Sound Mixer

A sound mixer is a person who does the post production. Sound mixers are responsible for getting the best real-time recording of a live action scene as possible.

Foley Artist

A Foley Artist is someone who creates sounds in a studio to mimic or represent sounds within production. They use lots of different objects and have to be very creative to get the right sounds. They do the whole film of sounds. From characters footsteps to props to horse noises. They do every single sound. This sound obviously isn't all going to be used. It's more of a backup if the real-time sound isn't what the sound mixer wants.

Composer/Score writer

A composer/score writer is a person who adds the music to the production.

Sound designer

A sound designer is in total control of the sound for any production, they will come up with sound that needs recording. They basically design the entire sound for production. This is a very big job.

When filming a production you need to record a lot of sound. Here are a list of a few:
Dialogue - Individuals, Groups.

Background/Atmosphere - Animate (Moving), Inanimate (Not moving)
SFX(Not special effects) - Foley, Real world

Video about sound:

Sync sound needs to be synced with the video. Action is also sync sound.
Non sync sound doesn't need to be synced up to make sense

Other notes:

Where you record is important?
Recording environment. No extraneous sounds should be heard.

How do we control what we record? -
Must have the correct equipment for the correct environment. E.G: Microphone

Boom pole
Used by Sound Recordist to get the cleanest audio as possible.

Shotgun microphone
Records sound coming from one direction only. Directional microphone. Pick up sound in front of it only.

Omnidirectional microphone
Picks up sound from everywhere. 

Media sound homework

1. Talking
2. The Engine
3. Wind
4. Cars
5. The bus shifting
6. Footsteps
7. Squeaking

Media induction video

Scream group work Day 3

Today we did the rest of the filming and it went pretty much the same as Yesterday.

Halfway throughout the lesson we started editing the clip. We made a rough cut.

We used Final cut pro. The things we learnt are:

How to edit clips together
How to insert music to certain parts of the film
How to cut the clips at certain parts
How to render clips


We finish editing it and filming it today. We just need to export it

Scream group. Day 2

In my group (Jess, Jade, Maddie and Nicole) are doing a spoof filming of the Bathroom scene in Scream.

Today we started the filming for our Scream spoof.

The things that didn't go well:

People kept walking into the Toilets and interrupting filming.
Some of the camera shots were hard to film because of the small space that we had.
Some of the over the shoulder shots were hard to focus because of the unusual camera angle.

Things that did go well:

Some of the angles were good.
The lighting was good for the shots that we were doing.
We got a lot of it filmed despite the interruptions.

Scream group work

In my group (Jess, Jade, Maddie and Nicole) we are doing a spoof filming of the Bathroom scene in Scream.


We discussed on what shots we we’re going to use.

Shot list:

1. When girls are in the cubicle – Low angle from feet raises a mid shot.
2. When she gets her phone out – Close up of her screen/over shoulder
3. Static Wide shot from the bottom sink
4. Mid shot of her when she hears her name
5. Pan close up of feet in cubicles
6. Close up of the girls face
7. POV shot of girl looking under cubicle
8. Wide shot of cubicle
9. Low angle shot of girls reflection
10. Static wide shot from the end of the toilet doors.


We found it easy to do the shot list because we were filming in quite a small place so it wasn’t hard to come up with different shots.


We decided today that the toilets near Costa Coffee would be best to film because they are almost identical to the ones in the film. Although we’re not trying to get the film content dead on, we would like the set to be identical so that people can tell which film we’re doing.


We came up with the, ‘turning the Horror into a Comedy spoof’ thing because we thought it would be best seen as not many of us are comfortable acting on camera so we thought it would be easier to do a Comedy.


When having a discussion about what to do in the film the topic of props came up. We decided that because we were making it a Comedy we should make the killer a Gorilla and make the knife a banana.