Thursday, 25 March 2010
Monday, 22 March 2010
Booking Equipment
I've been to stores today and asked about equipment during/after Easter. I'm going to have a camera out for my pairs piece over Easter, so we can film the interview with Tom from DocFest and anything else necessary using that. It's an XM2 though.
Dan, there won't be a meeting this Wednesday, on the first week back they will give them out on a first come first served basis. I will be in uni in the afternoon on the first Monday back (12th) anyway so will get down there and book it if nobody else is around that morning.
Dan, there won't be a meeting this Wednesday, on the first week back they will give them out on a first come first served basis. I will be in uni in the afternoon on the first Monday back (12th) anyway so will get down there and book it if nobody else is around that morning.
Post Production + Voiceover
I am going to be starting the editing this week with the footage that we recorded interviewing the public in the centre of town. I have managed to book the room on wednesday and friday, pretty much all day I think so I will be there from late morning or in the afternoon sometime. Feel free to come along as well (get in touch) to give opinions on how it should look.
Also I was thinking that perhaps this week we could get the research done on statistics etc. that will be needed in the voiceover, and then while I am still here I could record it and then put it into the edit straight away. I think once I get this I could probably edit the first minute and a half atleast with all the footage we already have. Although booking a marantz may be hard. Also do we know if the bookings for the week after easter are being made this wednesday? Because if so we need to get on that prompto.
Also I was thinking that perhaps this week we could get the research done on statistics etc. that will be needed in the voiceover, and then while I am still here I could record it and then put it into the edit straight away. I think once I get this I could probably edit the first minute and a half atleast with all the footage we already have. Although booking a marantz may be hard. Also do we know if the bookings for the week after easter are being made this wednesday? Because if so we need to get on that prompto.
Meeting with DocFest/Planning over Easter
Tom Gatis from DocFest got back to me today, he is available for an interview next week. Tom organises the recruitment at DocFest, but has worked there for a few years now so knows a lot about the festival as a whole. He said to just go to the Workstation and ask for him, but I think it would be nice to let him know a date/time in advance.
Dan, I know you might not be here next week but either me or Harry can do the sound - if you don't mind. I'm free any day apart from Tuesday 30th, let me know whether any of you have anything on and we'll fit it around that.
We also need to organise a group folder. I've just had a look on Blackboard, here's what it needs to include:
• Research materials
• A project treatment
• A production schedule.
• Shot list /sound notes
• 5-10 stills (including shots of the film as well as production shots of the
crew)
• Technical details of camera, sound and post production approaches and
equipment list.
• Contributor consent forms and any other relevant release forms.
• Equipment list
• Crew list and contacts
• Contributor list with contacts
• Consent forms and release forms
• Camera and Sound log sheets
• Edit log and evidence of edit planning
I don't mind putting it together. I think we could do with a couple of meetings over Easter to talk about exactly what we need to do. Then I'll sort out a schedule for the next few weeks, we only have five weeks left and we could do with at least two weeks post-production. It might help to put all of our schedules/timetables on here so we can arrange shoots etc.
Dan, I know you might not be here next week but either me or Harry can do the sound - if you don't mind. I'm free any day apart from Tuesday 30th, let me know whether any of you have anything on and we'll fit it around that.
We also need to organise a group folder. I've just had a look on Blackboard, here's what it needs to include:
• Research materials
• A project treatment
• A production schedule.
• Shot list /sound notes
• 5-10 stills (including shots of the film as well as production shots of the
crew)
• Technical details of camera, sound and post production approaches and
equipment list.
• Contributor consent forms and any other relevant release forms.
• Equipment list
• Crew list and contacts
• Contributor list with contacts
• Consent forms and release forms
• Camera and Sound log sheets
• Edit log and evidence of edit planning
I don't mind putting it together. I think we could do with a couple of meetings over Easter to talk about exactly what we need to do. Then I'll sort out a schedule for the next few weeks, we only have five weeks left and we could do with at least two weeks post-production. It might help to put all of our schedules/timetables on here so we can arrange shoots etc.
Monday, 15 March 2010
Notes from last week's meeting
Vox Pops (Questions) - What are your thoughts on media students?
- Do you have any preconceptions of what a media student is like?
- Do you agree with the stereotype that media degrees aren't a "proper" subject?
- What comes to mind when I say "media students"?
Having already conducted these vox pops I was pleased with the outcome and the variety of answers we got from the public. We are yet to log the footage.
Students from our course and other media related degrees, questions to ask them include:-
- Is the film/media industry something you wish to pursue as a professional career?
- What made you choose the course that you're on?
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
SHEFFIELD DOC FEST:-
It would be handy for us all to do some research on this in the coming week. We need to know who funds it, who is behind it, what kind of film makers get their work showcased and how. Amy I know you have a way in for us on this.
Approach Hallam uni for information and figures on post graduate employment statistics in the media sphere.
Also on the to do list is make a phone call to the Showroom and see if there is an angle that we can use to incorporate interviews from employees or managers
The Full Monty. As discussed in the meeting I will do some background research on the making of the film as I think its impact and release might be worth mentioning in relation to how Sheffield has changed over the last 10-20 years.
Our aim is to disprove the pre-conception that media students come to university simply to take the taxpayer's money and waste it. There are more students on film and media courses than there are jobs available in the industry for when they graduate. We need to find out why this is.
Yeah boy.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Here is a clip of 'Salesman' (1968) by the Maysles brothers, one of their very successful films. Due to the lack of material in the University's library, I have had to use Youtube as my main source for material and so I have not been able to view the full version. However, this clip does point out the kind of techniques we may use such as handheld, moving shots. From what I have seen in other clips also, it looks like a good watch.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
The Maysles Brothers
Albert and David(1932-87) Maysles were behind the creativity that led to early Cinema Verite. They have been a leading force in the production of non-fiction films since the early 1960s. The two Americans were recognised as pioneers in 'Direct Cinema,' the distinctly American version of French Cinema Verite. They earned their reputation by being the first to create non-fiction feature films in which the drama of human life would unfold as it is, without scripts, sets or narration.
They were responsible for early classics of American Cinema Verite such as 'Primary' (1960), a film about the democratic primary election campaigns of Kennedy and Humphrey. Other earlier examples include 'Yanki' (1961) and 'Salesman' (1968).
However, with that reputation they also received a lot of criticism. When they were screening 'Showman' (1962), Motion Picture Academy members stopped the projection only a mere ten minutes in. Old school documentarists called it 'anti-audience' and 'anti-art.'
They believed in 'subjective objective' truth, a cinema in which ethics and aesthetics are interdependant.
Now the main influence that we have found with the Maysles Brothers towards planning our own documentary is the fact that everything was shot with one camera. They didn't use any unnatural angles in their films because they were seen as being false; instead it's almost as if the viewer becomes the camera. They liked qualities such as wobbley shots because they brought with it authenticity. The idea with our documentary is to use one camera, hand held, so that with the interviews we will be conducting it would create a sense that the viewer is actually there. It would add to the tone of the documentary, giving it a sense of real life, and the intention is to use nothing unnatural in it, much like the Maysles did.
They were responsible for early classics of American Cinema Verite such as 'Primary' (1960), a film about the democratic primary election campaigns of Kennedy and Humphrey. Other earlier examples include 'Yanki' (1961) and 'Salesman' (1968).
However, with that reputation they also received a lot of criticism. When they were screening 'Showman' (1962), Motion Picture Academy members stopped the projection only a mere ten minutes in. Old school documentarists called it 'anti-audience' and 'anti-art.'
They believed in 'subjective objective' truth, a cinema in which ethics and aesthetics are interdependant.
Now the main influence that we have found with the Maysles Brothers towards planning our own documentary is the fact that everything was shot with one camera. They didn't use any unnatural angles in their films because they were seen as being false; instead it's almost as if the viewer becomes the camera. They liked qualities such as wobbley shots because they brought with it authenticity. The idea with our documentary is to use one camera, hand held, so that with the interviews we will be conducting it would create a sense that the viewer is actually there. It would add to the tone of the documentary, giving it a sense of real life, and the intention is to use nothing unnatural in it, much like the Maysles did.
Monday, 1 March 2010
Cinema Verite
In its literal translation, Cinema Verite means 'film truth.' Essentially this is what documentary sets out to do, finding out or telling the truth in some form. It was a style of filmmaking developed by French film directors in the 1960s.
Their production techniques contrasted greatly from Hollywood filmmakers as we know it. These French directors would prefer to work with non-actors, small hand held cameras and actual real settings such as someones home to use as a set. Obviously, as film students, this is something that would work well for us as we have limited, if any, resources. For the purpose of our film this is all that would be required.
One interesting production technique in regards to sound was that they would tape record actual conversations, interviews, and statements of opinions made by people, and then find pictures to illustrate the sound recordings to use over the top of them. I visualise the start of our film using this kind of technique whereby we would have shots of Sheffield in general with a voiceover stating what the documentary is about, giving some statistics, and giving different views.
With Cinema Verite, the filmmakers goal was always to show life how it really is, using the film as the artistic medium. This is something that would be very important for us to maintain as it is essential to portray the truth in order to reach our goal with this film.
One filmmaker we all know, Jean-Luc Godard, was very much influenced by Cinema Verite and his first feature film 'Breathless' (1960) was shot without a script. He improvised as he went along, sometimes writing dialogue and rehearsing actors on the spot just before he would 'roll cameras for a take.'
The key difference between a typical Hollywood film and Cinema Verite is the respective goals of each. Hollywood will aim to create some kind of fantasy that would be sufficient in attracting its mass audience to go and see it, resulting in a handsome profit. Cinema Verite however, aims to show the mundane truth of people's everyday lives and the social context in which they live their lives. It is part of the broader artistic tradition of realism and the cinematic tradition of documentary filmmaking. In our case, we will be using Sheffield as the location for our documentary, and will be looking at the benefits of the film industry in this area and the impacts it has had.
Some famous French examples of Cinema Verite to take a look at:
'Chronicle of a summer' (1961) by Jean Rouch
'Le Joli Mai' (1962) by Chris Marker
Their production techniques contrasted greatly from Hollywood filmmakers as we know it. These French directors would prefer to work with non-actors, small hand held cameras and actual real settings such as someones home to use as a set. Obviously, as film students, this is something that would work well for us as we have limited, if any, resources. For the purpose of our film this is all that would be required.
One interesting production technique in regards to sound was that they would tape record actual conversations, interviews, and statements of opinions made by people, and then find pictures to illustrate the sound recordings to use over the top of them. I visualise the start of our film using this kind of technique whereby we would have shots of Sheffield in general with a voiceover stating what the documentary is about, giving some statistics, and giving different views.
With Cinema Verite, the filmmakers goal was always to show life how it really is, using the film as the artistic medium. This is something that would be very important for us to maintain as it is essential to portray the truth in order to reach our goal with this film.
One filmmaker we all know, Jean-Luc Godard, was very much influenced by Cinema Verite and his first feature film 'Breathless' (1960) was shot without a script. He improvised as he went along, sometimes writing dialogue and rehearsing actors on the spot just before he would 'roll cameras for a take.'
The key difference between a typical Hollywood film and Cinema Verite is the respective goals of each. Hollywood will aim to create some kind of fantasy that would be sufficient in attracting its mass audience to go and see it, resulting in a handsome profit. Cinema Verite however, aims to show the mundane truth of people's everyday lives and the social context in which they live their lives. It is part of the broader artistic tradition of realism and the cinematic tradition of documentary filmmaking. In our case, we will be using Sheffield as the location for our documentary, and will be looking at the benefits of the film industry in this area and the impacts it has had.
Some famous French examples of Cinema Verite to take a look at:
'Chronicle of a summer' (1961) by Jean Rouch
'Le Joli Mai' (1962) by Chris Marker
Warp Films
I've been researching the company Warp Films and their output. I came across a film called "My Wrongs #8245-8249 & 117" (clip) a couple of years ago directed by Chris Morris, of Brass Eye and The Day Today fame. It's a short about a mentally deranged man and a talking dog. I love the use of sound in the film and I think the script is effective and succinct. Warp Films are responsible for the funding of Morris' first feature film, due to premiere at the end of this month at the Sundance Festival. It's called Four Lions and it's a comedy about the "funny side of terrorism". An exclusive clip can be found here.
Other film output by Warp include music videos by artists on the sister label "Warp Records" such as intelligent dance artist Aphex Twin. A video called "Rubber Johnny", an experimental music video directed by Chris Cunningham can be found here. Warp Films are also responsible for 2 Arctic Monkeys productions, a video filmed on location near the Showroom in Sheffield called Leave Before The Lights Come On and also for their Live at the Apollo DVD. Warp Films have also been involved in the release of three Shane Meadows films, This is England, Dead Man's Shoes and Le Donk and Scorzayzee. My next step is to find out specifically what their involvement was in each of these productions. Their past releases point to a desire to support and promote experimental short and feature films, as well as a desire to promote the profile of local directors and films that are shot on location in the Yorkshire area. I have sent an email out to Warp Films in order to secure a visit to their office, if possible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)