See You Soon - Scene analysis for my roles

Comments are off for this post

                                        1             INT. LIVING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER    2
We see PEARL (45), slim build, her NHS uniform too large for her; evident bags under her eyes and a straight face. She is knelt down next to the COUCH with a PREGNANT WOMAN, THEA (28) laying down.
Pearl is holding a DOPPLER in hand, moving the Doppler closer to Thea’s head, the babies heartbeat heard beating away.
Thea listens in wonder.
THEA
(anxious) Is that                              good?
Pearl, looking slightly distant forces a smile and replies.

                                        PEARL
You have a perfectly healthy child. She has a strong heartbeat.

The sound of the heartbeat increases as Pearl focuses on the display.
SOUND - 
Living room - 
Birds outside, traffic passing, general outdoors atmopsheres. Also any noises such as television, humming from the kitchen or appliances. 
Pearl - Rustle of the fabric of her outfit as she moves (especially as it is too large), movement of the carpet under her knees as she moves, gripping of the doppler in her hand and any adjustments she makes to her posture, the doppler itself, both breathing, if thea moves, the sound of the fabric of the couch. 
The heartbeat needs to be dominant but not too overwhelming. It could even be in the background as they are speaking and then brought to a higher level once the shot focuses on the display. 
Then postioning for appropriate recording for dialogue and making sure that it is a clear and undisturbed recording (outside noises etc)
LIGHTING - 
The scene is day (as mentioned just before), so a light natural glow on each woman, needing to focus on their position as to how the light will bounce on each of them. Need to use the light to effect how Pearl is perceived, especially if she is meant to look tired. Need to have appropriate lighting for the doppler, so can clearly see the information & making sure the audience understands what it is. 
FOCUS - 
Not much movement in this scene, so wouldn't be much of a focus apart from potentially if the shot was to focus more on the doppler as it is moving around Thea. Also if Pearl is shown to kneel at the beginning of the scene. 


Reflection - 
Analysing a scene can show me just how much focus has to be done to each role, and to be honest, it is a little overwhelming. Especially sound needs to have a full focus on it, which is why we are in discussions to get some help. You have to really think of every single sound there could possibly be to make it seem more realistic, so it will be a hard task. 

Reframing The Interface - Discussion & Tutorial

Comments are off for this post

After the discussion, I felt a lot more focused on what I need to achieve & what would work best for me. I realized that maybe it would be better to do lots of pilots of all the ideas I have, so that I can have a better understanding of them and then I can reflect on them and decide whether I want to pursue on a bigger scale. Then if I don't create them on a bigger scale, I at least have something to show for myself.
I also have some questions about See You Soon which me and Kathleen discussed, and i'm sure these will be further discussed through Kathleen, Rosie and my group. I need to really focus on what it is I am doing within the group, and just make sure that I am being directed properly because otherwise I feel more stressed and that's never good!


I wrote a lot of reflective notes during the discussion, I feel that it's good to write down what I feel when I feel it, because it's harder for me to think of my approach afterwards quite a lot. I also think it helps me feel more focused. Also in these notes are reflections on projects we were shown. A couple of them gave me little ideas for projects or concepts I like so wrote them down. 
Here are these notes (once again they are broken down because I usually work in short sentences.) -

See You Soon - 
Need to focus more on emotion of the film.
Rehearse before the film, like a play?
Running Machine?
House needs to be thought of element by element.

Personal -
Multi-screen could show my post production skills. Possibly do small versions of all my ideas so that I can focus on it more. 
So - Indecisiveness - me & just me with visuals. 
Nature - do the dawn light one morning.
& Depersonalisation.
Try to do each week/a small amount of time like the everyday vids because I sit on projects & doubt myself. If I make them & they don't feel right to do bigger, I would at least have the smaller projects done. So basically, create & don't sit on it. 
Also start with photography & decide if it's worth it.

if I am creating, it also gives me time to think about what I want. 

Could also do the soundscapes too.
Have done by Dec/Christmas.

Instead of worrying about what I come out with, just create & then evaluate what works for me. Not just uni for my portfolio, can make anything while I can.
So could even re-create stuff I did in the past if it would help.
Starlings could really be pushed to be more beautiful - sound, long shots. 
Think of more aspects of me for film and photos. Reflect on my life? My interests? My morals?

Learning Agreement - Analysing how I will achieve my goals.
If doing my own little projects, find out how much paperwork I will need - risk assessment etc. 
If doing small projects, do need research but will be developing alongside the practical so that I can sculpt a well rounded project.

What does my work mean to other people?

Could think of stylistic stories - Record Player, I love eras, memory of objects.
A room with sounds to show memories?
So instead of a montage, have a flowing story, like the competition. Inspired by the work in the V&A (need the name of it)
Grandma? Or someone to that degree.
Could consider music video or doing a piece to music I have composed.

Still would loveto do something era based, but simple because of the time I have & being on my own (could ask for help if anyone available) - Pride etc.
If historically based, it would be interesting to study.
Would give more relevence to the audience, but depends on what it is and how simple it would be.

Documentary can mean based on true events.

For See You Soon it would be good to be in contact with Jacob. But also do individual tests such as lighting - natural, how women's features look, inside etc. 
This means I would have things to show & add to my own body of work. 

Film on Autism, interviews with dodgy visuals. But good concepts. Works well as it is an interesting subject so just needed better visuals which I would focus on. (this is in reflection to my ideas based on interviews or conversations)


Assessment

Comments are off for this post

I found the assessment to be a lot more calming then most of us. I have got quite used to presenting, even though i'm never perfect at it. I think it's because I know everyone & we're a pretty little group. I also know that I have a good relationship with my tutors, so will usually know what they are going to say before I present so try to make sure I fulfill everything I need to do.
I felt that the See You Soon presentation went better than the Individual, but this is purely because the See You Soon felt more academic. The individual was just me going on about my own doubt and thought processes. But I felt that I did a good job, and now I need to focus on the future.

General feedback/notes I took after -

See You Soon - Don't focus as much on sound, get someone else to focus on it?
If this happens, can focus on another project/personal.

They like depersonalisation, but could do in a beautiful way.
Could even do project on being indecisive - interview, abstract. Writing etc.
The struggles of anxiety and being a creative.
Discuss with Nathan/collab? (my housemate came up with a similar idea on not being able to come up with ideas)
Think of any other projects I can do, if possible. 
Speak to Alex about what I am doing and when. 
Contexualise photos more.

Now I need to focus on how my year will look, and then can reflect on this to decide how big my personal projects can be. I am interested in some other projects, but I want to be able to know what it is, how it will benefit me, and whether i can realistically do it while doing See You Soon.
I will contact the other people on the course that need crew and try and gain information from them. I also need to make sure that they are reliable & can work well with me.
I want to have a range of work, so some projects I am apprehensive about, but I will try to evaluate this when contacting them/sorting out everything.

While I am doing this, I will be focusing on my dissertation, and also trying to do little projects here and there. I do a lot of little bits of filming for Youtube, and after a quick chat post assessment with Rosie & Kathleen, I think producing little experiments will help me have a clearer view on what I might want to focus on in a personal project.
I also need to organise what & when I am photographing, if it is focusing on Christmas. I have desires to go back to Lincoln for the Christmas Fair, because I have personal connections, but it all depends on time management and why exactly I plan on going.
If i do this, I will contact the organisers of the fair just to make sure it is ok for me to photograph, and maybe even see if I can be part of the publicity (i can also do this for other events, I have a possible Charity Shop connection to this too)

C300 Induction

Comments are off for this post


We were inducted with the C300 on 4th November. I found it to be a very good experience in terms of getting to know the camera, but also working with my group. it was a fun exercise, and the focus pulling exercise we did the day after really opened my eyes onto how important it is, and how much I am going to have to practice!
I am glad that we were given a step by step process, it was really easy to go through, and when I had the go through with the camera, I slowly made sure I fully understood each step I was doing, so I was sure I felt confident with the camera. 
I'd still like to continue working with this camera with tests, especially with lighting and focus pulling. I think it's a really good camera and will serve us well on our project.