Major Project: Critical Reflection / Final Film

''I Pull The Strings'' has finally been created - what do I think of the overall project?

It's definitely had it's ups and downs! I think the film has come together really nicely, however, there's lots of things I would change about it if I had the chance to do it again - and the money! Vic and I definitely worked well together and I felt like there was a lot of support there throughout. Our cast and crew worked really closely with us, and although not everything went to plan, everyone kept pushing for the film to be done to our standards - especially Adam, which was great.

Pre Production

Pre production through the past unit and the current one has felt like non stop work. I have had lots of troubles with casting and locations, however, I am happy with the overall locations that was picked. The theatre is definitely my favourite location and it's something I was so close to not finding. I also really like the dancing/old rehearsal room location, I think it fits with the story really well, and it's not too over dramatic. Although originally I mentioned it was going to be quite dungeon like, I'm glad I didn't chose that location as in reality - not many small theatres have dark, cellar like rooms. The lighting worked really well and I think the best scenes were definitely filmed in these two locations. Overall, as a script writer, I felt pretty confident at the beginning, I was proud of my script and thought it would make a great story. Although I still enjoy the story - especially the ending, I think it can be improved on drastically and I don't think I have wrote the best story I could.

Props was something I really enjoyed looking for, during every project on the course i've always loved to find props to make the scenes come to life and to give to the characters to make them seem real. During this unit, I was so excited to get all the masks for the extras, to find the backdrop for the theatre play, and to find Bethany's end costume for the show. I do think I did well as a producer in the mise en scene of the film as in every scene nearly theres things added to create a better atmosphere and make the characters have a real life. For example, I set up a photoshoot with Amy and Joseph to take some photographs for some photo frames and for a mug. I think these photos worked effectively and really brought truth to the idea that they was a couple. I also bought lots of trophies that had 'Bethany Hutson' engraved into it (we didn't end up using these but!). Overall, as a producer for pre production I think i've done well and I'm really happy that Vic helped me throughout as it was a lot! of work to do. If I was to change anything throughout, it would be to change the story slightly, as a lot of time was spent trying to find the perfect theatre and I think the story idea was a little too big for a short film.

Production

Production was really stressful for both me and Vic. I was really happy how well Vic did with directing, as there was a lot of people and he managed them all really well and got on with what he did. He knew what he wanted and made sure that the actors knew his vision which worked well. As a producer on some occasions I felt a little overwhelmed. This was especially when the extras for the scene didn't turn up, everyone turned to me and I didn't want to freeze up not knowing what to do. I felt like I handled it well though as I waited a little while, and then decided to move on to the next scene as it would be wasting valuable time that we had of the actors and of the location. I am really happy with Chris' support throughout our production also, he always was there to give advice when we asked, and came with us on every shoot - along with climbing up a ladder to help put the back cloth up! 

A problem with production was sound - I think it let us down the most, and although some scenes aren't too bad - a lot of them are. I think to fix this we should of checked the equipment more thoroughly before use, however, it often sounded great and then went back to tin like - so it wasn't guaranteed that during a check we'd of known anyway. On the day the zoom recorder wasn't working properly and we took it in to Ferg who confirmed it was a problem with the recorder. 

I think I managed the team overall well through production and tried my hardest to push forward with filming without rushing Vic.

Post Production

During post production, I tried my best to help Vic by doing the sound editing. It was such a huge job that definitely isn't as simple as syncing the audio to the video. There was so much noise reduction to do, fixing the levels, and adding in sound effects and music were necessary. To help manage ourselves, a post production schedule was made for both of us. I made sure that I'd evened everything out so that I wasn't giving loads of things to do for Vic in only a few weeks. I tried to split the weeks between editing, sound and colour grading. This proved to be helpful as after a slow first few rough cuts, Vic managed to edit the rest of the film quickly and confidently. Collaborating with the composers was initially really exciting, Declan is such a talented composer, and created the song that is in the dancing scene with Bethany and Francis. However, we struggled to receive music as the months went on, and although our composers were good it was stressful as the film needed the music. Post production was something that felt like it kept going and going. Whenever we would watch the film through fully, we would notice something that needed to be fixed. Although the film wasn't the best when we first saw it, I think Vic did really well to edit together a story with what he had. 

Overall

Now that we've finished, it's definitely helped me to see what i'd like to do in the future. I think I need more time to practicing my writing, however, I would like to carry it on. Producing wise - it was so stressful, but when you see the film finished, although it's not the best, it's still rewarding to see all your work put together. 

The best aspect of our production was the team work. Vic and I both had a similar vision to the story which helped greatly in deciding on ideas that we could do for the film. 

www.ipullthestringsfilm.com

Major Project: The Opening Scene

Throughout post production, I was thinking a lot about the beginning in Iron Man, and really liked how they started with his face really bright and close to the camera, and then cut to 48 hours earlier. I think the technique of teasing the audience with a dramatic scene in your film is something which works really well, as, if done well it can hook the audience from the beginning.

Originally, our opening scene was Bethany on the stage having a heated argument with a man, in which she is punched and dragged off stage. However, I looked over this scene with Vic and felt like we could change it to make it much better and dramatic. Vic and I had a long talk and I showed him the Iron Man scene and he agree'd it fit really well. We began brainstorming and thought the scene were Bethany is tied up in the old dressing room would work well at the beginning of the scene. This is because it's very clear footage of her face, clearly showing she is injured, and it's very close to her. 

I decided beforehand, to look into some films which are similar to ours, and start (near enough) at the end and see the different impacts different styles have on the viewing.

The beginning of Memento also starts with the end, however, it's quite a long scene and I think it's not much of a teaser as the whole film isn't linear anyway. Although it still works well, I think if we followed this technique our scene would go on way too long.

Fight Club, however, is styled very similar to our film. Just before this video starts, the man is shot in the mouth which is shown at the very beginning of the scene, he is in a dark room and the light is very strange and he is very close to the camera. I think this works really effectively as it's such a dramatic beginning that it makes you wonder what could happen next. Towards the end of the film, we go back to this scene, and it carries on until the end when they are stood looking out the window.

The introduction for Limitless is also another film which works really creatively. The film begins with a man in a building talking over the clip. The room is very unusual as it's empty with boxes and someone is banging on his door. Soon after this, we see him stood on a very tall building, looking over the edge. The music really builds up the enigma, and although it doesn't start straight away on the building, it builds up to it which is really effective. Something that also works well is the voiceover, it really helps to build the tension and suspense building up to that moment and immediately hooks you into the film. I think this may have worked with ours if we had more voice over like this film does, however, if we did voiceover I think it would definitely ruin it.

The final video, is the opening to Iron Man which is what I looked at first. It really inspired me to think about how we can make our film much more dramatic. Although the film doesn't start straight away with Tony at gun point, it builds up to it and we are still a little lost as to whats going on. However, I really like how the bright light comes on and there is a close up of his face, with unfamiliar voices in the background. At this point we're still not sure what's going on, just that he is in danger. I think it's such an effective way to start the film and really builds up the tension. After this clip ends, it goes back to Tony in a office meeting, with the titles '48 hours earlier' written on the screen which also helps the audience to know what's going on.

Although it's not that much of a change, I still think it makes a huge difference in our film and will be really effective in the final film after it's had colour correction and sound added to it.

Major Project: Foley Sound Research

Throughout shooting, I began to realise that a lot of sounds would need to be added in in post production - even those that I thought wouldn't need it. Initially, I thought to look for sound effects online, however, it's not always so simple and a lot of the time they aren't exactly the same, or have to be paid for. Worst of all, it's very time consuming and if it's not right then it will push the level of professionalism down in our film as the sound is extremely important in creating a believable story. 

I decided to look into Foley sound - as this is the one thing that is used most in films.

A foley artist is someone who 'recreates' sound effects for film and television. Foley artists don't just record the specific objects they want to use, they use other objects to mimic the sound and make it clear. For example, a foley artist may use a different object to mimic someone being punched. 

A foley artist usually recreates the sound in front of a screen which is playing the film. (See image to the right)

I began reading some articles on Foley, and Philip Rodrigues had an interesting point.

''On a film set nothing is real - the sword is made of plastic, the marble floor is painted plywood. Foley replaces or enhances that live sound; the result is a sword that rings like metal and floors that echo like marble!"

It would make much more sense to add in realistic sound effects, since a lot of the set is fake - as we don't want          something rubbery/plastic to be recorded and used as the sound. 

He also points out the fact that when you cut in-between takes, the sound can mess up - which proved the same with our ballerina music track.

''The process of filming also creates dips in the sound since each scene is filmed from different angles over several takes for the best look and performance. Once cut together, the picture flows from shot to shot in a fluid motion but the sound can become choppy and overlapped. Once again, Foley provides a foundation that bridges these gaps.''

Here is an example Philip uses when he describes how the foley artist, actor and sound editor can work together to create seamless pieces of sound.

Let's say in a scene the actor grabs his gun, walks to his motorcycle, starts it up and drives away...

Foley would recreate the sound of the leather jacket and jeans as the actor walks, footsteps (heavy cowboy boots!), the gun pickup and handling, handlebar grab and bike moves - and maybe some key sounds as he puts them in the lock.

The Sound FX Editor would create the roar of the motorcycle engine starting and driving away, a tire squeal and background ambiances (birds, wind etc.)

In an ADR studio the actor would rerecord his line, "I'll be back...", which was inaudible on location with the motorcycle engine running.

The Dialogue Editor would conform the production and ADR into one.

When played together, the tracks produce a seamless tapestry of sound.

Reference: http://www.marblehead.net/foley/whatisitman.html

Foley was created in 1927 by Jack Donovan Foley. Foley got the idea of projecting the moving image in a sound stage and recording sounds in sync with the actors' movements, using different surfaces and an array of props. It was said that Foley could make the sound of three men walking together using only his two feet and a cane.

Gary Hecker is a world known foley artist working on films such as Superman, Robin Hood, Django Unchained and A Knights Tale. 

I decided to look at a video which entails him showing us exactly what he does to create different sound effects. The video was really inspiring and I was amazed by the amount of different things he does; especially using his own voice for horse noises and for breathing sound effects was something I definitely didn't expect. Gary shows us the amount of layers of sound he creates for just one small scene, however, it really does paint a picture and build up the scene to make it so much more realistic and powerful.

It's amazing the amount of detail which goes into foley - and although we don't need foley to this level, and we definitely don't have all the props and skill it takes, it would be great to experiment with it to get a much more crisp and professional sound design in our film.

Reference: http://nofilmschool.com/2012/11/foley-artist-gary-hecker and https://samnealesoundandcamera.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/gary-hecker-foley-artist-sound-research/

I also looked at some more videos to see how other artists create the sound effects which was also really interesting. 

I think foley sound design is such an important part of films that often gets overlooked by small budget films. Researching into the amount of sounds that are actually added is shocking but really encouraging as at first I did wonder how we could get such crisp and fine tuned sound from our actors - but listening to Gary and the other foley artists has proven how much is added, even down to small things such as breathing.

Vic and I have booked out some sound equipment for a week and we are going to try our best to add in some of our own sounds. We've already got some ideas and this research has really helped to make me think much more creatively and out of the box to what we can use to record the sound effects.