Screenwriting:
The initial process of learning screenwriting has been exciting and challenging at times. This included learning about features of script such as slug lines, dialogue, actions and how to use these in the correct context, along with making sure the layout of the script is in line and correct. The first script written based around a horror theme scenario was challenging as the genre is different to my interests but exciting to experiment with by deciding the start location and new characters.
Within the script I chose the initial location of a party to make the later events shocking to the audience, with the mindset that the script would accompany a film. Visually, the back party lights would contrast with the later location of a dark, abandoned house. Though I found the location of the script successful, the characters dialogue was rushed and could have been adjusted to make the party situation seem more exciting and real, along with the journey of the characters from the party to the house. The characters leaving the house seemed rushed and when filming, would not make sense. The script itself also has some technical issues such as using colons after characters names which is not needed, along with no capital letters when first introducing the two characters. For future scripts, I must take these technical factors into account and ensure the layout is professional, along with understanding the timing and imagining the time and movement of location when writing the scripts action.
The second opportunity to script write was based from scratch including a new story, characters, location, etc. Following advice from my last script, I made sure the colons were not used after a characters name and that actions were thought through.
What went well in the second script titled ' adventure ' was the description of characters such as describing their costumes. I did this to give insight to the audience as to who the characters may be from viewing them in a single scene. To improve and challenge myself for future scripts, I could remove some dialogue and add action instead to emphasize something in a more powerful way. This could have been done in ' adventure ' when Maliha, the main character, replies to her best friend Abby after asking about Timothy, Maliha's boyfriend. Instead of replying to Abby in a frustrated way, Maliha could have shook her head and ignored her by looking down or the other way whilst
scoffing. Other weaknesses within the script included using EXT. and INT. before receiving feedback, the script had ' EXT' and ' outside art gallery.. ' after this. This did not make sense as the scene was already set by using exterior. This means I must read over the script carefully and ensure technical factors are not just added, but make sense and fit the script when used.
Overall skills I have learnt is how to use dialogue and actions, both writing as a story and technically using these as part of script-making to portray / impact a story line.
My overall goal for future script writing projects would be to use the 3 act structure and make this & the story-line strong. I could do this by making the middle confrontation different or having an unexpected end resolution making the audience feel shocked or any type of emotion, meaning they are engaging with the story.
Cinematography:
Within cinematography, in groups we explored the 180 degree rule, tracking and panning shots and using focus pull.
Exploring a tracking shot was interesting and allowed me to visually experience how no editing effects a shot and story and how this can be more effective in terms of making the audience feel more connected and not be distracted by editing. Though our panning shot was successful by being one shot and included no editing along with the story making some sense, no shot types were specifically used and the video does not seem professional. The camera follows the character at the start making the audience feel as though they are also being chased but then is forgotten about and does not follow the characters too far after. The shot was also not cinematically pleasing and could have evidently included the symmetry rule in the beginning etc. To improve this, by being the cinematographer I could make the camera follow the runners slowly along and and get the actors to slow down to keep a relationship with the camera and characters. To approach the filming in a different way beforehand, the group could plan out having different characters playing and different people controlling the camera. This could ensure that everyone experiments with their idea and gives us a wide range of videos to view. The shot could therefore follow the first runner and stay panning slowly in front as a wide shot, and have the actors positioned so that they are in equal distance from each other and have the main runner behind the middle character allowing a line of symmetry making the shot more aesthetically pleasing & professional. Instead of following the actors to the end and them just stopping, the camera could pan away into the surrounding, giving suspense as to whats happened to the characters for the audience but also giving a taste of the location. This also prevents the end of the shot from looking messy and adds to the scary genre of the story.
For future panning shots, the camera could follow just a singular character who meets others and the camera could pan to switch to them. This gives different perspectives and allows room for experimentation, between the shot types that may match the character / symbolise something from them. This therefore would allow me to be more creative and play with the story, though there may be issues in the duration of the shot depending on location. To overcome this, we could get the characters to walk from one location to another e.g from a hallway to outside the door and have a more than 1 person behind the camera to help out. The pace of the characters could also be fast depending on our time given.
By using a travelling shot, I have learnt a skill of using a Steadicam and figuring out / thinking about ways to use this and when most suitable.
Learning about the 180 rule has been exciting and has personally made me realise the importance of the rule in terms of making a shot and story make sense - dialogue between two characters and the direction of them both etc. Though I have mentally processed this skill, I would like to experiment with it more and film more using the rule in order to fully understand it.
The footage still needs to be edited and exported onto my blog. To ensure this is done as a reflection of the whole project I need to improve on time management. The video itself has strengths such as being filmed correctly from a front angle of the two actors and sides of both of them, with the camera facing from their separate directions. This was successful as it shows our understanding of the rule however the location we filmed in was not as successful. We chose outside to show the scripts location of outside an art gallery. This was done to make the story clear however the weather and lighting affected this at times. This means some of our footage could not have been used due to it looking as though it does not fit together and as though the scenes were filmed at different times of the day when the conversation was continuous. When editing,I would like the shots between both the actors to show reverse shot reverse in perfect timing to show the conversation between the two. To tackle the lighting issue for future filming, we could have a backup location and thoughts of where, in order to get cinematic shots whilst still allowing the story to make sense and have clarity.
Focus pull intrigues me as it involves using shallow depth of field onto a moving image rather than still, meaning the focus can go back and forth from separate subjects.I have learnt technically how to adjust the focus on a Sony and Nikon camera, which has been fortunate. Though our group has not filmed the footage for the focus pull we could have added and experimented with the effect in our 180 degree rule video. This would have allowed us to experiment with both techniques using the same story line and duration of video. As we cannot use the same location or story as the 180 degree video (focused on my script ) due to different costumes and different weather, we have decided to film using a different story and separate location. Though the videos will not follow the same story line, I would like to still experiment with the technique and show some exploration of this in any way. After this or for any future explorations and projects, our group could film both the 180 degree rule and focus pull technique in one video. Moreover, I have learnt to plan backup locations for future situations when the main location may not be available.
Editing:
Our group are in the process of editing the 180 video, and are constantly sharing ideas with each other on the pace of the video, desired cuts etc. One thing that is a strength in the video is the initial tracking shot from Abby walking towards her friend, though the transition to her sitting down could be improved to look realistic / shot as one scene. To allow the whole group to reflect and learn for future projects, the whole group is watching the footage and editing as one. To further challenge the video, we could add audio within Premiere Pro for the initial shot and carry this on throughout Abby and Maliha's dialogue. However, challenges we may face by doing this is distracting the audience from the main speech. To ensure this is not the case we could turn the volume levels of the music down and still keep the dialogue clear. The background music may add more atmosphere and to the video and make it seem / sound less empty.
Also within Premiere Pro we could experiment with transitioning or fading in and view how this may look. This may make the video start in a smoother way, though it could also look unrealistic and not match the initial shot or story. Our group can experiment and only learn by using it with our footage. As part of reflecting I would also like to learn more about using Premiere Pro and challenge myself with editing for future project, for example the use of key-frames.
Conclusion:
Overall I have been challenged across the film making exercises in terms of starting from scratch in situations such as screenwriting and not having as much experience when editing in Premiere Pro but learning from others around me in my group and through experimentation. I would like to work more with a camera in order to fully understand and incorporate all techniques and rules as much as possible to create a cinematic shot along with expressing the idea that cameras must be moved around to fit the action, and not the action to fit around the camera, in order to create a successful story. Future goals for projects therefore include challenging myself in various ways to ensure a story line is engaging and visually pleasing for audiences viewing. I would like to overcome my personal weaknesses within using cinematic rules and learning more on how to edit.
