Pre-production: Development of Concept

Development Process - 
The brief gave us an outline and a target audience for our documentary, so as a group we went off and began discussing several concepts.

- Women in the underground music industry, how they're underrepresented yet how there is a growing number of women within the specific scene.

- Boy racers

- Drugs and consequences in adolescents.

there were a few more but generally speaking we couldn't come to agree on terms with one solid concept due to there being at least one person disagreeing with it. 

Eventually after speaking to Zoe & Helen, they gave us a loose idea which we capitalised on and began to work straight away with, the concept obviously being about young drivers. 

Critical Evaluation

Critical Evaluation

Having almost complete this unit and nearly finished my edit, there have been many variables within this term that have came to be serious obstacles. I have faced these straight on at times an unfortunately came out the loser, losing out on actors and locations. However out of the negatives come plenty of positives, to have experienced this hardship it makes me appreciate the times of when everything goes smoothly, but encourages me to engage more and focus on keeping those lines of communication strong and clear. 

 What worked?

What I felt went very to script and storyboards was my hotel sequence, I knew what I was doing throughout that scene and the approach to it was clinical. It did not take long to shoot and my actor was fantastic to work with. The edit also came along nicely after deciphering which sounds best suit my work for capturing tension an evoking an emotional response of anxiousness. 

What Didn't Work?

I personally believe a lot of things on this unit could of gone better, personally I feel i've let myself down, but knowing that I can only move forward now from this and to prove to myself and others that there is much more to give. As certain things didn't come together I had to make do with a kitchen for a shop sequence which really doesn't work whatsoever. It was immensely frustrating directing it and at times I felt like giving up as it was not at all what I had wanted, however I kept going and got it all shot. As well I didn't keep clear communication with one of the actors, and the location correspondent who I was talking to about confirmation of shooting in his shop. Also the sound on my edit, I need to give myself more time to find appropriate and quality sounding effects that really evoke what i'm trying to achieve.  

What could of been improved on?

Honestly, a lot of things in this production, the preproduction, not putting all my eggs in one basket, considering other actors just in case. Trying harder to find the right location, having a plan B, C, D, F etc. Sound design now to me is something that I need to focus on heavily, I'm finally understanding why there are so many sound guys, it takes a lot of time to find the right sound you're looking for, but when you do find it, it's extremely satisfying. Also sound recording on this shoot was a slight pain when it came to post-production, there was a wobble with the mic on the camera, so I know for the next time to keep it still and be more gentle with the camera.

What have I learnt?

I've learnt that I don't want to ever be a director... Haa haa! I wish I was joking but in all seriousness, I don't think I'm cut out to do it, It has definitely made me appreciate the directors job, the competence and strategy of someone an their skill set must be vast an to be turned on constantly on and off the set. It has made me think though about working in a team, being apart of something and looking at the finer details, especially with sound, this unit again just like the last unit has reinforced how pivotal it is. 

What will I apply next time?

If ever something comes up not too dissimilar to this then I'll be thinking about the preproduction more, putting in the graft of my location and actor hunting. Thinking as well way into the future of what possible edits I want to use, so when I'm on set shooting I can shoot things that can be later manipulated into match cuts, jump cuts, eye line match cuts etc. I want to begin to further my editing skills and focus on that. An also the post-production, working on the sound design, spending more focused time to play around with different sounds, not feeling rushed! 

Overall general thoughts

I can't believe it's genuinely gone this fast but it has, and there are things that i'm looking back at which I wish I could possibly go back and change and spend further time on, but I can't and this is what i'm left with. I can't truthfully say i'm as proud as I was last term this time round, but some things have came out as planned so I can be happy with that. I just know for next time I need to be more committed to certain aspects of the production. 

Directors Statement

Directors Statement

The scenes I chose were specific to me and what I felt I could potentially give in terms of depth and a disparate perspective to that of the Coen Bros. Obviously, I didn't realistically want to change much but I felt I could certainly add and tweak parts of the scene ever so slightly to add to the tension and atmosphere of it.  

Casting

With casting for this production I unfortunately fell into a pit of despair as my actors dropped out. However I was able to, in the end recruit a member of the class and a fellow actor which coincidentally was his friend! They definitely didn't fit the part for the first scene however in the second part of the sequence I definitely felt the appropriation was nearly there and his aesthetic also. 

(Alex Miguel)

Location

As spoken about in one of my previous posts, my prime location had unfortunately not allowed me to shoot in so I had to make do with a kitchen and try to attempt to transform it aesthetically like a shop. My initial target though was to have the shop sequence filmed in a shop across the counter/till area, and if this would have been possible I believe the quality and authenticity of the whole scene would of gave the whole sequence much more life. 

However, being dealt that blow made me think how to approach the kitchen with it's difficulties of resembling nothing of the sort of a shop, I tried everything in my power to make it as authentic as possible. 

Costume Design

My costume design was specific for my main protagonist, the character Lleweyn, played by my friend and actor, Alex Miguel. I wanted to replicate the same sort of aesthetic as was captured in the original film. I felt I did that. 

Sound Design

Sound was one of the technicalities in where the thought process was much deeper and meaningful, I wanted to try an make the audience feel as if they were behind the counter in the shop scene, and with Lleweyn in the hotel suite. As in the original there is purposefully a lack of sound which is extremely effective, so I just wanted to experiment and see if I could create just as much atmosphere with sound, than without. 

I chose to use dog sounds and police sirens in the hotel suite scene to add to the undertone of the scene and give it more fear and intensity, as I did not want at any time throughout the sequence for there to be some sort of let up from the tension. I wanted constant, relentless tension being built up for the dramatic finale. 

Camera Operation

With the camera I wanted certain shots extremely close up as these specific scenes at times are awkward and immensely tense. For example I wanted CUs of Anton Chigurh eating the nuts, as it creates an uncomfortable watch for the audience as the entire sequence is evoking such a response, it compliments the scenes nature

. 

This is where I wanted to really to add my own perspective, by using the close ups, going further into the action and involving the audience more to emerge them in the scene. 

Mood/tone/visual style

What I wanted to portray was nothing to disimilar to the original piece, stark contrasting characters with vast amounts of tension and suspense created through all four of the key elements. Colour wise, especially in the hotel scene I wanted to keep it dark, low lit lighting, very isolated and confide. This was all again to add to that hostile tension build up, to make it all seem very authentic.

Editing

With my first scene, I chose specifically to build from slow steady pacing, gradually speeding up with the context of the scene and it's tension rising dialogue. This choice was to reinforce the scenes tension an uneasy atmosphere within the space. I again chose to do this in the second scene of the hotel, going from slow to fast paced. There was a specific edit I decided to use to entwine the scenes with which was a match cut, I'm not fully convinced it work nor am I too sure on the exact reasoning behind it other than my aspiration to use it ever since watching 2001: A Space Odyssey an how successful that was. 

Location Drop

Location Drop Out

So two days before my shoot was about to commence, I decided to go and just make sure that it would still be okay to go and shoot in my confirmed location. The location that was firstly confirmed about a week and a half before the shoot was Cafe Moroc on Rochester High Street. 

(Cafe Moroc)

Unfortunately, when I went in to confirm the shoot dates etc, I was told that he had forgot and that he had a large booking in that night. He said if lines of communication were kept going throughout, obviously he would of remembered and would have spared me time inbetween his work to allow me to film. This is all food for thought and definitely something to take into account in the future. 

However this then left me in a relatively tight spot, with hardly any time left to shoot, and having asked the majority of stores/places realistic to shoot my footage, I had to think fast, in the end choosing my own kitchen. 

Overall this whole experience has made me think more about communication and how vital it is, keeping on top of it and being clear with your commands and questions. 

Fargo - Series

Fargo (2014) - TV SERIES

Fargo is a TV Series based on the film Fargo (1996) which was originally created by the Coen Bros. The show was directed by Noah Hawley and Adam Berstein, with the exec. Producers being obviously the Coen Bros. The series has slight changes with characters etc, as it doesn't want to replicate but create a very ever lasting imprint on you. It wants to leave it's beautiful visual trademark and stylistic dialogue just how its originator left it. It consists of a stark narrative in which entails various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota.

With TV series becoming more and more visually gripping and complex, they're reaching levels of quality that you'd associate only with film. There is obviously a much more deeper answer as to why that is but i'm not about to get into it! That is why though with this series, especially the first one, I found the directorial stand point of this film magnificent. Colour is used throughout the series to bring out the harshness of its natural surroundings, the emphasise the bitter coldness of snow, an at points, the isolation of itself. What I also found to be interesting was the cinematographers of the show, Dana Gonzales and Matthew J.Lloyd would rarely go beyond the 40mm focal length. This again helping to reinforce the vastness and harshness of the landscape, through that use of wider lenses. 

Casting as well in this series is outstanding, Billy Bob Thornton and Martin Freeman excel stupendously and Billy has to be one of the greatest evils i've ever been witness to on screen. The simplicity to his acts and how meticulously he can carry out such antics is strengthened by the general themes and tones of the series. As the series is simplistic and minimal, it emphasises the bleak and graphic content that Fargo is riddled with. 

This series as a whole had a major influence creatively speaking, as it gave me more thoughts on my own piece on how to use the environment and think about the elements and landscapes. Even if it was in a building, to try and bring to life the surroundings and aesthetically shape things into believable spaces to achieve a sense of authenticity.  

Taboo - TV Series

Taboo (2017)  - TV SERIES

Released this year on BBC 1, Taboo was created by by Tom Hardy, his dad and Steven Knight. The TV Series narrative is based on true events and is about a man named James Keziah Delaney, who returns to 1814 London after 10 years in Africa to discover that he has been left a mysterious legacy by his father. Driven to wage war on those who have wronged him, Delaney finds himself in a face-off against the East Indie Company, whilst playing a dangerous game between two warring nations, Britain and America.

I thought the series as a whole was a fantastic and gripping experience in many aspects, the narrative had a great complexity to it and you never felt comfortable when Tom Hardy's character was on screen, which I found to be really intriguing. This was displayed through his lack of dialogue, his costume design and his general persona. 

The colour tones within this series were extremely consistent and portrayed the 19th Century perfectly, or as how I would of pictured it in my head. The blacks, dark greys, grey, just the general lack of highly saturated colours, and through just that you can feel how it would of been like to live through that period of history. 

Definitely in one aspect of the directing of this series which I found to be quite influential was creating such depth in the aesthetics of the locations. Creating such a world and making the audience believe it, unfortunately I was not able to capture this in one of my first scenes however in the second I believe I captured a relatively believable hotel room. Not only this but the awkwardness of the main protagonist/anti-hero (could be argued) is something that I wanted to try an emulate with my piece, to have my villain play awkwardly, and to reinforce it with extreme close ups to create such atmosphere.

Overall with having almost completed this unit, i've been able to fathom actually how much time, effort and cognitive function is put into directing, an so when I now watch series such as this one it really does make me appreciate the viewing a whole lot more.  

Production Design - Hotel Scene

Production Design

For my hotel scene, I needed a space that I could manipulate into being a hotel room, and for this I decided that space would be my room. So I completely stripped my room of all its identity like so - 

It took about roughly 2 hours to manoeuvre everything around and stuff it all in my bathroom, forcing me to use my neighbours toilet! It was all worth it though it the end as this scene was by far the most satisfying.  

I borrowed the lamp shade from a friend as the lights borrowed from Fergus were over exposing the shot, and were not really giving the desired effect through the camera lens. 

Overall I was happy with the dedication I'd put in with this transformation and I'd like to think it had paid off.