Critic Review - True Detective

True Detective – Series 1: Episode 4

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Writers: Nic Pizzolatto (Creator), Nic Pizzolatoo

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan

Released: 9^th February 2014

I chose this TV series for how it captivated me throughout the entirety of the series; it achieved this through the usage of its visual elements, such as mise en scene, cinematography, sound and editing. As well as this, how the tools furthered the narrative within such a compelling way, which ultimately is what made this series such a fantastic experience. The series flashes back and forth from 1995 – 2012, as the narrative dwells on a criminal who is still to be brought to justice by two, to some degree, unorthodox police detectives.  

One specific scene I have decided to choose and depict is the end sequence in episode 4 for which we see Rust (Matthew McConaughey) break out of his covert role within the biker gang and flee with Ginger (Joseph Sikora). This sequence in the episode is set back in 1995.

(Series 1:Episode 4 - Ending sequence)

Firstly, this location in comparison to the majority of season has a totally different feel about it,  after focusing on the limpid blues, greens and greys of Louisiana in the first three episodes, the director,Cary Joji Fukunaga  - assisted by cinematographer Adam Arkapaw - gradually switches them for the nocturnal, firelit griminess of east Texas's biker gangs, with the dread slowly increasing as we move closer towards the encounter in the projects. 

Clearly, the most distinctive elements used to creative such a cinematic and engaging scene are the sound, the long take and cinematography. 

The sound and cinematography go hand-in-hand with each other as Cary Joji Fukunaga has struck the perfect balance between the visuals and diegetic sound, to put it simply, 'show and not tell' . I'd say from the get go in this scene, sound is pivotal and as we get inside the house, the sound plays an increasingly more important role as we are unable to witness what is going on out there, however we are not blind from it. Through the use of diegetic sound from outside, we are clearly able to create a picture in our own minds of what is building, the realisation that these 'cops' are not real, we overhear as Rust looks through the blinds "They ain't five-o man" - "Get everybody" (0:40 - 0:50), it also captures the sound and imagery's intentions beautifully, the innocence of the child, yet the sheer chaos which is mounting. Instantly everyone, the characters and audience, know that this is going very, very south, rapidly. However, as the audience knows that Rust cannot die, as he is living in the present (2012), this will be a scene where inevitably speaking, the audience shouldn't really feel any anxiety towards the potential loss of him, on the contrary, with the director knowing this, he plays on it and creates this amazingly long take which doesn't let you leave Rust's side. We're trapped with Rust just like he is trapped in this maze of a project, fleeing for his life, bullets zooming past him and Ginger. This one long take creates such an authenticity to the scene, almost bringing it to life, you feel absolutely everything and you completely forget that he actually makes it out of this alive. We're meant to be stuck to Rust's side as we the audience are meant to feel every movement he does. There doesn't need to be an edit because there isn't anything more we need to see other than the perspective of Rust's, we can hear what he hears, we can see what he sees, and currently we go no further ahead with the narrative until he does. This all emphasising and encapsulating the vast intensity and havoc reigning over the project. 

Overall I think this sequence was meticulously planned to perfection, to have it emit the authenticity that it did, to really let yourself be emerged within it as I truly did was only able through it's usage of those key elements. That this character Rust, was running to survive through houses, over fences and for it all to be unbroken created such a sense of reality and authenticity that you felt you were running by his side, as if you were the camera. Everything was so purposeful and precise, even though we only saw the helicopter for literally one second, it was only meant to be seen for one second, as it captures perfectly what the instinctive human would do who is trying to escape for his life, run and get out of sight as soon as possible. This scene all together encapsulates brilliantly, a man's struggle to persevere and survive. 

Screenwriter Research - Jesse Armstrong

As my research continues I decide to pick Jesse Armstrong as my other screenwriter to do some digging up on. I decide to choose him as he may not have a major relevance to my work as it's mainly comedy he does however I've watched a variety of his work and love his screenwriting so I thought i'd like to get to know and understand it all a bit more.

(Jesse Armstrong)

Jesse Armstrong is a British comedy writer, best known for Peep Show and the BBC political satire The Thick of it. He's from Oswestry in Shropshire, and attended comprehensive school there before reading American Studies at Manchester University, where he met his writing partner Sam Bain. Before Jesse actually went into comedy writing in the late 1990s, Armstrong worked as a researcher for the Labour MP Doug Henderson. 

Jesse Armstrong has also written films such as Four Lions and The Magicians, these were collaborations with the writer Sam Bain. 

KEY WORK

Peep Show  - 9 Wins & 34 Nominations, 1 Win for best writer from Royal Television Society, UK in 2006.

Another win for Writers' Guid of Great Britain. obviously both written by Jesse Armstrong in collaboration with Sam Bain in 2006.

Some of Jesse Armstrong's work within Peep Show had been based on real life events, obviously changed ever so slightly but here in a quote we see -

"Taking other people's pain, juicing it and using it verbatim in your script is even better. We're very lucky to have had a boss at Channel 4 who led an interesting life and had a wealth of terrible experiences which we put in the show. Like the time he did a shit into a McDonald's bag because he was on the telephone and couldn't get to the toilet. He tried to flush the bag down the loo but it got blocked and for the next three weeks he had to go to the pub every time he needed the toilet. We put something very similar in series three."

To see where the concepts and ideas come from is extremely interesting, to know that these events have occurred in real life with real people with only slight changes happening once put on screen is intriguing to say the least. It is also probably why the show gets such a popular following as well though, as some scenes clearly more can relate to than others and as we have here for example, it's something that has actually happened. 

We also get to hear what Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain have to say about the way Peep Show is shot, quote - "We like the point of view filming style and internal monologues in Peep Show but very occasionally we wonder what it would be like if we shot the whole thing normally. Perhaps it would have more mainstream appeal and be considered less of a cult. The style makes the show appear edgy even when we're writing quite traditional comedy. We could probably write a scene in which a vicar was coming round for tea and a character was struggling to get his trousers on but still retain a sense of reality to the situation because of the camerawork!"

In many respects the way it's shot completely cuts itself off from being able to be compared to any other Comedy series in the UK, it makes the show more intimate, at times uncomfortable but always a sense of reality to the situation which I find extremely captivating.

FRESH MEAT -  4 Wins & 16 Nominations - Won RTS Television Award for Best Writer in 2012, Also won British Comedy Award for Best New Comedy in 2011 - Again collaboration work with Sam Bain.

Once again, the same story with Peep Show really, is that this series is also based on life events, and events which took place in the writers life, for this show is based in Manchester where Jesse Armstrong studied and also met writing partner Sam Bain, quote - ' It's quite simply a time when people leave home and start a new life and often don't know what the hell they are doing. That fundamental time of transition is a brilliant area for comedy. Also, Manchester was a great place for us to set it because you find an interesting mix of people; a great clash of backgrounds. For instance I went to public school in London and Jesse went to a comprehensive in Shropshire so we had our own stories to tell."

Says Jesse: "It's that classic scenario when people who may be very different are trapped together. You can get that in the work place, in flat shares like Peep Show and you get that in colleges and universities where people who wouldn't normally even say hello to each other are forced into close proximity."

This gives the comedy series already a much more richer feel to it as it's loosely based on the lives on the writers and  their experiences. Not only this but that the writers can empathise with the characters, they can at any moment associate themselves with a character, Quote - "I think it's fair to say I could associate with all of the characters; the fun of writing anything is you can put bits of yourself in everyone. I went to public school so I knew a lot of JPs, there is probably quite a bit of JP in me in a way. But I was also a sensitive, anxious guy so that's Kingsley, and I was desperate to be cool and make a mark and impress people Oregon style. There was probably a bit of wanting to be a rebel like Vod, same as Josie I wanted to get involved and do everything, be positive, and like Howard sometimes I wanted to sit in my room and avoid talking to people. To me the joy of writing is that you can be all the characters; you don't have to just pick one." - Sam Bain. 

I found this interesting as i'm sure the very skilled screenwriters can do this with everything they write, to be able to see some part of them-self within a character, to make  the character come to life. 

In some ways thinking about it now, screenwriting is all relative and relevant as a lot of it is based on life experiences and manipulating it, creating out of it new drama, comedy, thrilling TV to entertain the masses. 

I look forward to hearing on whether Fresh Meat gets the green light for making a 5th series! 

Critical Evaluation of Unit

As my 2 minute sequence and script have finally came to completion, I now look back at all the hard work and effort I put into creating them both.

So lets start on my short 2 minute sequence! I was extremely happy with the way things worked out from beginning to end with this. At first I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with certain things as getting hold of my actresses was becoming a bit of a scare, and waiting to hear back from KFO (Kent Film Office) was a worry as well but everything fell into place. But my shoot went well and I got full coverage of what I needed to tell the story. 

However, if I were to look back on my shoot day, and ask myself would I get anymore shots and a few variations of more shots, I'd say yeah I would as when I came to the editing suite, I felt I could of had more to manipulate and play around with to have more of a creative stance. E.g A close up of Millie handing Sarah the letter. But not only would it help me creatively, it'd make me feel more confident to think ' Right i've got several of these shots, why not try this and see how it comes out ', which to be fair to myself I did, but not enough.

What I found that I struggled with on the video was finding the right music, it took me until my fourth and final edit to find something that captured the scene and what i was looking for, but even now I still feel that the music doesn't make me feel how I really wanted it to, and in that respect it won't have the desired effect I want on the audience watching it. 

What I can take away and gain from all of this is that I found pre-production really helped me focus and concentrate with the task at hand, and for my next project, I know that if I put time and effort into that then when it comes to my days of shooting etc, i'll be able to do things with confidence and efficiency. As well, being on shoots with the cameras now, moving with them and shooting a whole sequence is something i'm quite proud of, now I can go into my next project with not as much apprehension and doubt, but with more self belief now. Finally my abilities with the software have seemingly improved which is also pleasing.

I'd say out of the two pieces for this module, I struggled with the script the most. I just don't think I have the creative writing mind, but I did try and commit to the script to the best of my abilities. 

What I found in myself is that when I coined the idea, just a general flow began to emerge as I was writing and it felt fantastic, however I'd then hit a wall. And then bad forced idea's would come about and i'd stick them into my script e.g. Sarah meets a mysterious old man whom had known her deceased mother. There were many things that I feel I could of done better with my script, but then there are things I felt that I achieved on my script that were pretty good.

Things that went well with it were I'd say the the final version of the start of the script, I liked the idea of a video going viral on social media, as that is quite topical and relevant as we live in a world where everyone has access to these things so easily, that it is quite frightening to think about, that it could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. 

I'm glad my concept changed, because it really would not of worked at all, or it might of but it just would of been an extremely boring screenplay which isn't good for anyone. 

What i'd say about the experience of writing a script is that it really does take time and patience, hours spent with wandering thoughts, reading many random articles hoping for something to inspire you. I was naive to think something would just come to you like that and bing, bang, bosh it's done. I know for next time though that I definitely need to be more persistent, to sit down for longer an read more and really get my cognition's going.  

In conclusion I am happy with the overall completion of my work, there are certain things that I look back on now and think to myself maybe I could of done that with more accuracy and skill, but these are things to look at the future to and be prepared for next time. 

  

Script Development

So redrafting my script was fairly straight forward, I had done many changes regarding the first 3-4 pages over and over again because of the feedback I had received from Steve. 

This was the first draft, it lacked creativity and had a poor narrative as the 2 main leads were meeting up with no real reason for actually meeting up. So Steve suggested there to be a real motive for Millie to meet her at the pier, instead of just going there and telling Sarah that she wants to escape. So eventually coining the concept of the viral video. 

 So then when I figured out that the reason they're meeting is because Millie is furious that this video has been published and shared all across the social media, I could move forward with the entirety of the script. As well as this, cutting out one of the girls was a necessity as she was not forwarding the story in any way, more doing the opposite and prolonging unnecessary action. 

So then after the first two pages on the 2nd draft I decided to focus on Sarah, and take the story a different way, focusing on her and how she meets a man to which then Sarah realises is an old friend of her mums. However this really took focus off of Millie who having already spoke to Steve about my first draft, and how I should really be focusing on one, I decided to change on my 3rd draft. What I did was shortened the scene, and instead of a man, it'd be a woman who Sarah already knew and making it a less prolific scene. To which then I could spin back to Millie, having lost her job, experiencing even more turmoil.

In the 2nd draft what i decided to do was have Millie in a state of despair, so she has just lost her job and now is bed bound unwilling to try and reevaluate her life. However at the end of page 2, on my 3rd draft I decided to add that she receives a letter in the post. A letter regarding something, but at the time it took me a while to think of what may the contain of that letter actually be, an ex boyfriend coming back? something regarding an influx of money? it would of been something positive. But in the end I decided to suggest that it was another job prospect. 

This was down to Steve wanting more conflict and change, so i'm setting Millie up to fall again, and for her character to develop. With that as well I had Sarah, who in my 1st draft had a weird significant middle section to my script - 

(Sarah meets mysterious old man, turns out to be dead mothers past friend)

But then she had nothing really at the end, no change from being a bum, so in my 2nd I tried to incorporate somehow that she ends up with a job of some sort but it just wasn't working as I still hadn't really managed to chop down the middle scene of Sarah's. Until I managed to think of a way in which Sarah can actually turn things around between her relationship with Millie and her job prospect. I managed to coin a concept and it eventually lead me to hit two birds with one stone. 

The ending was always an issue in my 1st and 2nd draft as I'd look back at the notes from Steve on my 1st, and still could not really think of a way to end it which left the audience feeling satisfied. In the end, hoping I made the right decision on my 3rd draft I thought to end it with both Millie and Sarah working within the same environment, after Sarah has managed to get Millie her old job back. As last time in my previous couple drafts it had ended very cliche, and very dull. in my 1st and 2nd draft they would both end up fulfilling their goals/targets and not much conflict had happened throughout the script, and to end on such a note really made it a boring read. So I decided to end in my 3rd and potential final draft that I'd have Sarah reconcile with Millie, through getting Millie back her job and through that act of kindness, being rewarded with a job herself.

Overall the development and change of my script has been drastic, possibly changing entirely as it's not as much about escapism anymore, more just how Millie's life has been catastrophically ruined by this online social video and how through that the story transpires and becomes what it is. I'm quite happy with the script and it's format and layout, the narrative has always gave me slight worries but i've stuck with it and made it into something that i'm quite keen on now.

TV Drama/Series - SKINS

SKINS

The TV Drama/Series I decided to choose was 'Skins', as I found it most relevant to my script and narrative. 

The cast consisted of 9 main members and there names were: Kaya Scodelario, (Effy Stonem) Lisa Backwell (Pandora Moon) Merveille Lukeba (Thomas Tomone) Jack O'Connell (James Cook) Luke Pasqualino (Freddie McClair) Ollie Barbieri (JJ Jones) Lily Loveless (Naomi Campbell) Kathryn Prescott (Emily Fitch) and Megan Prescott (Katie Fitch).

The series that I chose to look into was series 3, and a specific episode was chosen which was episode 9 (Katie and Emily's). the general synopsis for this episode is that Katie won't leave the house so Emily has to pretend to be her and sit Katie's exams. Naomi tells Emily that she's going to Cyprus over the summer alone to work things out. Emily asks Naomi to go to the love ball with her but Naomi says no. Thomas finds a broken hearted Emily at the bus stop and proves to be a true friend. Back at home Emily tells her family she's gay but they pass it off as a joke, so Emily tells Katie some home truths. Naomi turns up at Katie and Emily's the next morning and their mum tells her to leave Emily alone.Katie and Emily go shopping for dress for the love ball. They bump into Freddie and JJ. Katie finds out Emily slept with JJ and decides to tell Naomi and warns her not to come to the love ball. Naomi decides to go to the love ball after all. Katie and Naomi fight which is overheard by Emily. Emily and Katie then start to fight just as Emily is about to punch Katie she stops herself and tells her and the whole ball that she loves Naomi. Emily then takes Naomi's hand and they walk away. Thomas and Pandora also decide to start a fresh.

Obviously this series felt extremely dated through it's Mise en Scene, however what I still found and made good use of was relating to my own work. It was the dialogue and character development throughout this series that engaged the audience that once used to watch this show.

So specifically in this episode what I took from it as some form of inspiration was the battle between the two sisters, one wanting to be set free and open about her sexuality, and the other wanting to hold her back from it. Which in many ways, had a similar concept to my first draft of script, Millie wanting to escape it all yet Sarah was trying to hold her back, for selfish reasons. However, changes in the script were made but still there are similar themes throughout. 

What I enjoyed though in the series was it's use of archetypes, the character development and the general youth feel it has to it. I tried to capture that in my work, with the first page or two of my script, trying to capture an essence of two characters that have love for each other yet don't ever really get it right, but when they do it's good. 

A piece of dialogue that I enjoyed was between the two sisters as they were ripping into each other. It felt natural and is really what i was going for in my script - 

          Katie

          I’m more popular than you, thats why you’re doing

          This

               Emily

          Fuck Off

              Katie

          Yeah I think so, you can’t stand it, its sad

          So you gonna stop before you hurt someone

              Emily

          Fuck off

              Katie

          Your not gay your just stupid

              Emily

          Right I’m stupid, because I don’t let anyone

          Fuck me when they love someone else

              Katie

          What?

              Emily

          You let freddy use you, and look what its

          Got you

              Emily    

           (Continued)

           That’s a normal relationship isn’t it,

           She fucked you up good didn’t she

    

This specific bit was highlighted for it's general naturalistic an authentic feel i felt it had achieved. 

In conclusion I found the series and this specific episode very useful in terms of inspiration and ideas for use of dialogue and character development. 

Embers - Final sequence for hand in

This is the final piece which has now been put on Fergus' hard drive ready for submission. There were slight changes made to the titles, and the music has changed coming towards the end of the sequence. My reasoning for that change was due to the feedback given from Simon as he felt the music in the 2nd edit suited rather than the clash of the muffled sound fading into the ambient sound. 

My overall view and feeling towards the final edit is that i've accomplished all that I could of done with the feedback that was given to me. My personal view on the finished product is that it is shot relatively well, with a clear plot and narrative which doesn't stray from it. There definitely could of been room for improvement in some technical aspects but as this is my first project i'm content with the level of standard it is. 

3rd Ember edit

With this third edit, what I tried to incorporate was the feedback that I had received from Simon which was to now look at the finer aspects of it e.g the authentic sounds of what you'd hear at the pier, like seagulls, the sea and the end scene of the flat, hearing muffled sound of conversations and music. 

So I went on Youtube and found some sound clips, and played around until I felt it looked authentic and natural. I still had personal issues with the current music playing throughout the opening scene, it still didn't feel right to me nor Simon, so I kept on looking for a more fitting an evoking choice of music.

Overall with this third edit I felt it was an almost complete version but it just needed a few more things cleaning up with it, which wouldn't take long at all. 

Script feedback with Steve Coumbes - 9th November

Today I had my feedback from Steve Coumbes, and a lot of it I was expecting as I knew what I handed in was not a finished master piece, but more so a very rough draft with a concept that was pretty weak at the knees. 

So from the of point I was told that there was too much dialect involved, I was over using slang terms etc, and that needed to be shortened and if I wanted that effect then I could just use one or 2 abbreviations to denote that the character is a certain type of person. Also that the action in the story was not bringing it forward, and that it depends too much on text. I was giving away too much in the dialogue and most of it was unnecessary information, so I took that on board, leaving me thinking that if it isn't important then I may as well cut it from the dialogue. 

Then we got onto the actual story and the structure of it, to which he said it was a bit confused, mainly because I haven't really decided on whose story i'm actually telling: Millie or Sarah. He said it starts and ends from Millie's POV, but the crucial middle section is all about Sarah, which is absolutely right so I need to really think about which character I actually want to follow and develop. There isn't enough room in 10 pages to focus on both which I completely agree with. I have to prioritise one or the other an the conflict and choices that they make, and now thinking about it i'm feeling like edging towards concentrating on Millie.

We then focused on the structure, an in terms of it he felt too much happens via text or on the phone. I'm asking the audience to read, which is literally telling and not "showing".

(Example of over-usage of phone/texting)

There was a scene I was wanting to include which consists of Sarah receiving a note from a mysterious man, however Steve brought up the issue that it can't just appear explaining the backstory and just vanish, it has to earn its keep which is again extremely true! Then coming towards the end of our talk about my scripts structure we talked about the ending and that I need to decide on which event is more important. Sarah and Millie reconciled, Sarah changing her life, Millie getting another job? etc, so I have much food for thought here and a lot of progress to be made! 

Finally we then spoke about the tiny things like the layout etc, it seems pretty good however just a few mistakes on unnecessary things like adding 'fade in' or 'cut to', as they are not needed unless it is crucial to the story. 

With all of this feedback I've received and with the time I have, I'm confident on shaping the script into something that has conflict and change in abundance and which focuses on one main character rather than confusing the fundamental plot of the story with trying to find a balance between the two.  

Screenwriter Research - David Farr

Screenwriting Research

So one screenwriter that grabbed my attention was a man called David Farr, the reason for this is there was a recent series named 'The Night Manager' in which he wrote the screenplay for. This series went on to be nominated for 12 Emmy nominations, winning 2 of them which were for - Outstanding directing for a limited series, movie or a dramatic special, won by Susanne Bier. The other being - Outstanding music composition for a limited series, movie or a special (original dramatic score) won by Victor Reyes. 

David Farr was born on October 29th 1969, and lived in surrey, where eventually he went on to study at Cambridge university graduating with a double first in English Literature.

But before he had wrote the screenplay for the fantastic award winning series, he had been involved in many other productions and not only for TV but for films, e.g Hanna - Dir. Joe Wright. The synopsis for this film, to put it briefly, is about a sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin, who is then dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives. The film didn't get massive recognition and didn't do too great in the box office but it was a film with great implications i.e empowering women, having female leads with their characters having huge strengths, going against Mulveys theory of the 'male gaze' . It also actually did receive a nomination for best screenplay at the St. Louis Film Critics Association, US.

The Night Manager - 2016

Each episode cost an estimated £3m to make, and one executive producer, the Ink Factory's Simon Cornwell, says the lavish adaptation was "a risk."

"It's a difficult book to adapt," he says, "and there have been quite a few attempts to make it into a film, it just didn't work. It needed six hours to explain the story.

"But to all intents and purposes, it's been written and shot as a film - we just hired one director, Susanne Bier, for all six episodes. I always think of it as a film - just a six-hour one."

Susanne Bier had won an Oscar in 2010 for her film 'In A Better World'. 

Overall this series really did enthral me and have me engaged the whole way through because of the character development and the narrative as a whole. The my main focus was on Tom Hiddlestone's character 'Johnathan Pine' as he is an ex-militant whose days in war have been over for some years now however due to current affairs within the series he puts his working gloves back on, so to speak, and we see such a change within him that I find fascinating. It just makes me think about my script and the development that all scripts need for their characters to work, to have conflict happen, which then brings about change, which results then in even more potential conflict. 

   

3 Short films - Frankie

Short Film Review - Frankie 

In this short film 'Frankie' Dir. Mike Pappa - brings to life such a creative screenplay in such a very ideal and attractive way. It reminds me very much so of a Wes Anderson type film. It does this through it's use of the camera and the aesthetics, quite a visually rich sense of depth. 

Synopsis - "When a watch repair man acquires an antique pocket watch that can control time, he decides to use it to achieve his dreams. His plans soon become sinister when he learns he isn't the only one with the knowledge of the pocket watch." 

With this concept having not much to do with my own narrative, I chose it because when i first viewed it, I was intrigued with a lot of the aspects of this short film. Through the use of its cinematography, it's sound and the lack of dialogue, the mise en scene and editing. It may be the one furthest away from my concept of narrative, however it is pretty influential in terms of the way it has been developed and created. 

What I appreciated about the short film was its lack of dialogue, as dialogue wasn't needed to move forward this story at all. I found particularly interesting as with mine I really did struggle to shorten the usage of dialogue as my narrative wouldn't really allow it, however with feedback from Steve, I was able to actually take out a character and shorten the entirety of the first 2 pages of dialogue. 

The camerawork and lighting was key to this film, as it adds to the dark themes and forebodes notions of insecurity and quite menacing undertones.

(Screenshot of 'Frankie')

The lighting is very suggestive, it is low key, amber lighting from the street lights outside, indicating somewhat that he is very isolated and it is reinforced by the mise en scene i.e he has his large alarm clock sat by the side of him. Also emphasises his senile dysfunctional life habits and that he has a strict routine to be kept to. 

What I also got much pleasure out of was the ironic twist at the end, as throughout the entirety of this short film, we are made to believe that the protagonist is such a methodical man and is extremely meticulous with time and how he spends it. However (spoiler alert) at the end of this short we see that he makes one huge error, he rushes into something without the foresight to think that there may potentially be something else interrupting the flow of time that he had not took into consideration, which ultimately leads to his demise in this short film. 

Dramatic irony is something that I recognise to be very useful and often needed in films for them to be rich and entertaining, one of the major things that I found useful from Steve Coumbes lectures. 

In conclusion this Short film influenced on both aspects of my script and my film opening. This was achieved through looking at the films lack of dialogue, and trying to put that into my own work, similarly to my other short film I reviewed 'Alone Time'. As well as this, on the filming side aspect of it, through its smooth edits, transitions and the beautiful framing that was used throughout it I have tried to adapt to my own work.     

    

3 Short films - Gift

Short Film Review - Gift 

With this short film 'Gift' Dir. Daniel Yam, I enjoyed the simplicity of it, and it's manipulation of perception, playing with the audiences conception of the film. 

Synopsis - 'This Boy Never Saw His Dad As An Inspiration. Until He Found Out His Big Secret
A son confronts the resentment towards his father only to realise his true intentions.'
Throughout the film, it's stylistic value isn't as packed as the other two I have chosen but that is down to this films context and narrative, it is the relationship within the short film that I have taken influence from, and not necessarily the visual aspect of it. I appreciated how we saw the growth of the characters and the complete change of the narrative in the end. 

We as the audience are made to feel empathy towards the young child, and see it through the eyes of the boy and feel as if he has been neglected throughout his upbringing. Clearly this isn't true as the big twist in the narrative at the end is that the dad has been so selfless with his life helping many others but himself, creating a sense of regret in us the audience and the boy who is now a man. 

Since my short film/script is about the relationship of 2 girls, and how it develops, I've been interested in how other short films have spun this concept and let it grow through conflict and change. This film obviously has a completely different narrative path however it still plays with the same notion. 

It did have an influence on my work in terms of playing with the perception of the audience and manipulating them into believing where my story is going to end up. I liked that idea of a complete change of emotions, and where our loyalties lie within a film, as these short films usually are the more evoking ones that make us question, think and are poignant. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DUYlHZsZfc&t=3s
(Gift - Short film. Dir. Daniel Yam)

Overall my view of the film wasn't fantastic, I felt it lacked certain visual aspects and came across a bit poor. However it was the narrative and its message that really made this short film.  

3 Short films - Alone Time

Short Film Review - Alone Time 

One short film that I chose to watch and which has significance to my work is 'Alone Time' Dir. Rod Blackhurst. DOP. Adam Mcdaid. Synopsis - 

'A young woman, stressed by her busy and continually crowded New York City existence spontaneously retreats to a solitary lake deep in the Adirondacks.'

This short film was sort of the main one which had triggered thoughts of having the theme of escapism of the mundane and monotonous lifestyles of the world we live in. It is what I based Millie's life on at first, trying to escape from the small town she lived it, wanting more from life etc, whilst at the same time being held back by her conflicting/controversial relationship with her old friend Sarah. 

As well as this, throughout the short film I really enjoyed the cinematography, which I tried to incorporate to my work visually, using specific long establishing shots, obviously not having the same context of beautiful forest landscapes, but using establishing shots in mine not just to establish the setting, to have a visually positive purposeful affect. 

(Screen grab of 'Alone Time')

(Screen shot of my location)

It was also the dialogue, or lack of it, in this short film that I liked an wanted to try and incorporate to my work but with my actual context and the narrative it was inevitable that I was going to have a fair amount of dialogue. But having said that I did try throughout the 2 minute sequence and in my script to really limit the dialogue and to 'Show not tell'. 

The diegetic sound throughout the short film is harsh in the inner city, contrasting to the naturalistic calming diegetic sound within the natural landscapes she escapes to. This I just found interesting as it is a very simple effect to use but it emphasises the clear contrast which I found clever. 

In conclusion this short out of all of the 3 shorts I watched had the most significant impact on the outcome of my script and sequence. This was through the use of all 4 of the visual tools used in film and TV - Mise En Scene, Editing, Sound and Cinematography. 

(Link to 'Alone Time' Short film) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUkXIgBHk8Q

Story-boarding and Shot list

Story-boarding and Shot List 

So as it was approaching the days of my shoot, in preparation for it, I knew I needed to come together with a strategy to shoot my scenes so it would be as efficient as possible on set. I did this by thinking through each take and creating a storyboard to give me a structural concept of how, shot by shot, the sequence would go. 

I'm actually very thankful I did this storyboard as I kept to it and it really did make the shoot much smoother than I first expected it to be. There were obviously moments of improvisation and where i thought i'd go off script to experiment with the camera and the dynamics of trying to shift the story to a different view point. However 90% of the time I'd be closely sticking to the line of the storyboards I had made. 

                                         

(I know what you're probably thinking, 'Wow, why didn't Jason just do a fine arts degree', and my answer to that of course is that it would of been too easy).

Before shoot though I did have some complications with casting, and with changes made to my first draft of the script (there were meant to be 4 girls, but having spoke to Steve Coumbes, 3 girls was deemed plenty) I now only needed 3 girls. This was hard to negotiate and plan/prep around as one of the girls I had in mind was on a different course with different schedules. So it was trying to find the right balance and a day where we could all come together and nip this in the bud. Fortunately for me it landed on the exact day I was given permission to film by Kent Film Office (16th Nov). 

The location was the Pier, which is just before you get to Catham bus station, and I had been prior to the shooting day to have a look at the surroundings and double checking safety for my cast and crew. Obviously it was extremely safe and surprisingly on the day of the shoot no one was actually on it apart from me and the crew! So that definitely increased the time efficiency and general expectancy of the shoot. 

(Taking pride in wearing that hi-vis)

Overall my planning and preparation before my shooting schedule definitely had a positive correlation with the speed and quality of the general shoot. I'm happy with the way it went and looking back on it there are no regrets, however possibly missing out on a shot or two, it still didn't effect how my coverage of the narrative came out looking. 

Embers 2nd edit

Embers - 2nd Edit 

Having done my first edit and getting the feedback that I did, I felt confident in knowing where to focus my attention and full concentration. 
So having taken on board the positive criticism I had been given on my first edit, I focused on changing the music and setting a certain tone throughout the beginning and closing moments of my sequence. 

To be truthful I found it quite hard to find a certain piece of music that ran well with both scenes and after hours of trawling through the Youtube audio clips, I ended up frustratingly picking ones out of pure desperation and madness. Clearly this resulted in the 2nd edit still not really have a well working soundtrack. So I am still on the look for one! 

However there is some good salvageable feedback that i received, being told that i'm almost there with it, and to just look at the finer details now made me feel fairly content with the level of work I had produced. E.g to look into the colouring of certain shots, and the diegetic sound of the sequence, adding authenticity to the sequence with natural sounding clips, matching with the scene to give it a real sense of genuineness. 

Overall I'm pleased with the second edit, knowing that there isn't too far to go now, but that there is obviously work still needed to give it a feel real sense of authenticity and depth of detail. 

Self study research on Screenwriting

Self Study Research on Screenwriting

So as i've been looking into several different screenwriters for film and television shows, a few have taken my fancy. But what i've also been intrigued by in my research, is how screenwriting developed as a whole and bloomed, solidifying itself within the film/tv industry as having a pivotal role.

The first screenplay was to be produced by George Melies with his film 'A trip to the Moon'  (1902). The film is silent. but the screenplay contains specific descriptions and action lines that resemble a modern day script.

(A Trip to the Moon. Dir + Screenwriter - George Melies 1902)

As time went on and films became longer and complex, the need for screenplays became more significant in the industry. The arrival of movie theatres also impacted the development of screenplays, as audiences became more widespread and sophisticated, so the stories had to as well.
Once the first non-silent movie was released ' The Jazz Singer ' (1927) Dir. Alan Crosland, screenwriting became rather important, resulting in them having a crucial role in Hollywood.

 (The Jazz Singer. Dir - Alan Crosland. Screenwriter - Samson Raphaelson. 1927)

The 'Studio System' of the 1930s (used during the 'Golden Age' of Hollywood) is a method of film production and distribution dominated by a small number of major studios in Hollywood (back in that era they were known as the 'Big 5' which consisted of '20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros and Metro Goldwyn-Mayer'. Their management structures and practices collectively came to be known as the 'Studio System'.) and these big five, or as it were named 'studio system' demanded vast productivity. Therefore leading to the birth of the 'Blue print' (continuity screenplay) of the film beforehand became extremely optimal. In 1933 the first spec script (A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company or studio.) was written by Preston Sturges 'The Power and The Glory'  an it was bought by FOX for $17,500, it it did poorly in box office - it was only until the late 60's/early 70's that spec scripts really had a major effect on the industry. A man named William Goldman sold his spec script 'Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid' Dir. George Roy Hill - 1969 - to Warner Bros for $400,000 in a studio bidding war. The script went onto win Academy Award for best screenplay. This changed the industry for writers forever. Now screenwriting for TV is considered just as difficult and competitive as writing is for feature films. 

(Other spec scripts that have went on to win Academy Awards for best screenplay include - Thelma & louise (sold by Callie Khouri to MGM for $500,000 in 1990); Good Will Hunting (sold by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to Mirimax Films for $675,000 in 1994); and American Beauty (sold by Alan Ball to Dreamworks SKG for $250,000 in 1998).

(Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Dir - George Roy Hall. Screenwriter - William Goldman. 1969)

As I was becoming slightly more satisfied with the amount of research I had delved into, there was one noteworthy bit of information that really caught my attention, which was that RKO Pictures had seemingly fell out of the 'Big 5' bracket and became somewhat extinct. 

So I decided to do a bit of background information on RKO Pictures, originally named 'RKO Radio Pictures'. It initially was founded by RCA to promote their RCA Photophone sound system. The initials in the company name stand for 'Radio Keith Orpheum', reflecting the joint venture of RCA, The Keith Orpheum theatre circuit, and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Office. Howard Hughes would purchase the studio in 1948 and sell off the studio to the General Tire and Rubber Company in 1955. The rights to the majority of the in-house RKO Radio Pictures films are owned by the current RKO Pictures with distribution rights owned and/or licensed to Warners Bros. Pictures via Turner Entertainment Co. While Walt Disney Pictures owns the rights to their own productions and films produced by Selznick International Pictures. (the latter via ABC Motion Pictures), the Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. family trust owns the rights to Samuel Goldwyn Productions films with domestic distribution rights licensed to Warner Bros. And international rights to Mirimax Films, Paramount Pictures owns 'It's a Wonderful Life' Via Republic Pictures and Universal Studios owns the films produced by Hughes. 

So after Howard Hughes sold it in 1955, it was then eventually renamed in 1957 from RKO Teleradio to RKO General, under the general tire and rubber company. This incarnation of RKO Pictures didn't produce films, they just handled the distribution rights to RKO General TV stations. 

However, in 1981, RKO General, under the General Tire and Rubber Company, began to reenter film production by co-producing several films with other various studios (such as Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox Film Corporation and Paramount Pics). Around 1985 General Tire's media holdings were reorganised to form 'GenCorp', with RKO General remaining as a subsidiary. A hostile takeover was attempted in 1987 on GenCorp and RKO pictures was spun off and sold to Wesray Captial Corporation, who then spun off RKO Pictures in 1989. The studio was then purchased by actress Dina Merrill and her husband and film producer Ted Hartley to form RKO Pictures, LCC, who remains as the current owner of the studio. 

Finally, what i also found quite cool was the development of the logo/branding of the company after swapping over hands and ownership of its corporation. Here's just a short video of that - 

One last piece of trivia that I'd like to share is that the Morse code heard on the logo transmitted this message: VVVV AN RKO RADIO PICTURE VVVV. I Just found that quite cool if i'm honest.