These 2 days (Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd of August) have been of intensive filming, rough, first hand editing, and lots of technological managing.
With 3 cameras at our disposal, and a tripod, shots were made, including interviews to subjects, furtherly analized in the "data log," establishing shots spending a great amount of time and memory capacity, and the most simple, but not easy or trivial at all, close-ups of security cameras.
Weather was very helpful (no rain), except for the extreme cold.
Some difficulties were found, especially when encountering frequent low-batteries and needs to quickly recharge. Also, the memory of the cameras in hand did go out in some ocassions, so we had to download our footage several times into the laptop. Our first intentions of recording audio separate from video were unsuccesful, as our equipment wasn't prepared enough. An establishing shot of aproximately 40 minutes long which was prepared to be fast-forwarded, has been probably lost between the first-hand download to the laptop.
But, we were able to film over 10 interviews, over 4 long, establishing shots, several close-ups. Also, we thoroughly researched over which b-roll footage we were going to use and decided a final list of videos. Obviously, the majority of our tries to interview random people were a failure, but several hours of work ended up in us having many of them, and many quotes to choose from.
Some plans had to be changed (for example, due to the discovery of a great establishing view from Ramiro's balcony, we didn't have to travel through the city to capture that specific shot), but we followed more or less our shot list, our location list, and we strictly worked according to our roles. I filmed the shots, being the cameraman, and also prepared them, as the mis-en-scene. Now, I will be the one encharged of transcribing the interviews and deciding on the punch quotes to be used, also creating subtitles and the script.
Production Journal: First Filming Day
Today is our first filming day. At 5 pm the group is going to come together at a designed place, and shooting will start. Further information will be given afterwards, hopefully, we will learn how to achieve better footage tomorrow!
Interview Analysis
After watching footage from Super Size Me (Spurlock, 2004)
1) What techniques are used to introduce the audience to the interview subject(s)?
2) Is it necessary to hear a question being asked before the interviewee's response on film? Why/why not?
3) Shots - what camera positions and angles tend to be used? Why do you think these choices are made?
4) Movement - what do you notice about the movement of camera during interview filming?
5) What can you say about the positioning of the interview subject within the shot (ie. where are they looking and why?)
6) How long are the subjects' responses to questions? How much information/opinion do they give?
7) What research do you think Spurlock did BEFORE interviewing the subjects here? Be as detailed as possible.
1) Voice-over can be used to introduce a new subject, or audio in general. This can be accompanied by visual footage. Thye audio can be edited to fit with the entry of the new subject
2) No, it's not necessary if the question is absolutely implicit or if the subject answers with full syntax. Although sometimes, the question can be shown, in order to convey different effects (e.g.: when he asks the lawyer about his motivation for being in that trial, the Q is used as "agressive")
3) Level-angle shots are used, in order to give a balanced, non-distractive image to the audience
4) There is no movement involved, as the image is intented not to de disruptive for the viewer, for him/her to concentrate on the content of the interview
5) Subject usually focuses his view outside of the framing, as if watching a third, non-shown subject. This gives the audience the feeling of being in an interactive, conversational situation, in where the artificial camera is not acknowledged.
6) These are short and concise: editing is carefully done to only show the important and relevant content of them
7) A huge amount of research was done, as he investigated on the backgrounds of the subjects, their important data, their past, and all which was concerning each of the interviewees.
1) What techniques are used to introduce the audience to the interview subject(s)?
2) Is it necessary to hear a question being asked before the interviewee's response on film? Why/why not?
3) Shots - what camera positions and angles tend to be used? Why do you think these choices are made?
4) Movement - what do you notice about the movement of camera during interview filming?
5) What can you say about the positioning of the interview subject within the shot (ie. where are they looking and why?)
6) How long are the subjects' responses to questions? How much information/opinion do they give?
7) What research do you think Spurlock did BEFORE interviewing the subjects here? Be as detailed as possible.
1) Voice-over can be used to introduce a new subject, or audio in general. This can be accompanied by visual footage. Thye audio can be edited to fit with the entry of the new subject
2) No, it's not necessary if the question is absolutely implicit or if the subject answers with full syntax. Although sometimes, the question can be shown, in order to convey different effects (e.g.: when he asks the lawyer about his motivation for being in that trial, the Q is used as "agressive")
3) Level-angle shots are used, in order to give a balanced, non-distractive image to the audience
4) There is no movement involved, as the image is intented not to de disruptive for the viewer, for him/her to concentrate on the content of the interview
5) Subject usually focuses his view outside of the framing, as if watching a third, non-shown subject. This gives the audience the feeling of being in an interactive, conversational situation, in where the artificial camera is not acknowledged.
6) These are short and concise: editing is carefully done to only show the important and relevant content of them
7) A huge amount of research was done, as he investigated on the backgrounds of the subjects, their important data, their past, and all which was concerning each of the interviewees.
Production Journal
Last week, the shot list was completed in detail, including each type of shot, location, and general idea of transition and storyline in between them.
This was done by me, the cameraman and scriptwriter, who, obviously discussing with my production partners, achieved a final shot list. This was done after deciding which were the best locations, which were not, what types of shots were adecuate, etc.
The difficulties resided in the thinking about the accessibility of the places we were going to visit in the filming days, and the logistics of transport in between. Finally, as set of locations in nearby Capital were decided in order to make an effective use of time during the filming days.
Artistic shots, such as specific footage of a merely cloudy sky, can be filmed anyday when the climate is appropiate, so we will be ready for this. Ramiro will be in hand with the camera.
B-roll footage is going to be selected by Ramiro, the researcher. This is going to include street robbery scenes, and he is going to try and achieve a big lot of footage for Honorio to select more effectively in the final editing. Also, B-roll is going to include a whole set of newspaper articles and titles.
A location list was finished by Honorio and Ramiro while I was encharged of the shot list. This included all the final locations in where filming was going to be done. These two lists can be changed in real time depending on the conditions and circumstances of the day, but the final and definite model for this has been finalized, so our work onwards is going to be much more organized and systematic.
Honorio, due to climate abnormalities, could not meet the cop, who did not get to the place of meeting. However, Honorio is going to contact via-cellphone the one to be interviewed.
POSITIVE ASPECTS: There were some radical changes in the production outline, as the changing of the opening scene from a tracking shot of fences to a use of impacting B-roll. To these changes, the group has responded effectively and open minded, as we were able to adapt to them quickly
This was done by me, the cameraman and scriptwriter, who, obviously discussing with my production partners, achieved a final shot list. This was done after deciding which were the best locations, which were not, what types of shots were adecuate, etc.
The difficulties resided in the thinking about the accessibility of the places we were going to visit in the filming days, and the logistics of transport in between. Finally, as set of locations in nearby Capital were decided in order to make an effective use of time during the filming days.
Artistic shots, such as specific footage of a merely cloudy sky, can be filmed anyday when the climate is appropiate, so we will be ready for this. Ramiro will be in hand with the camera.
B-roll footage is going to be selected by Ramiro, the researcher. This is going to include street robbery scenes, and he is going to try and achieve a big lot of footage for Honorio to select more effectively in the final editing. Also, B-roll is going to include a whole set of newspaper articles and titles.
A location list was finished by Honorio and Ramiro while I was encharged of the shot list. This included all the final locations in where filming was going to be done. These two lists can be changed in real time depending on the conditions and circumstances of the day, but the final and definite model for this has been finalized, so our work onwards is going to be much more organized and systematic.
Honorio, due to climate abnormalities, could not meet the cop, who did not get to the place of meeting. However, Honorio is going to contact via-cellphone the one to be interviewed.
POSITIVE ASPECTS: There were some radical changes in the production outline, as the changing of the opening scene from a tracking shot of fences to a use of impacting B-roll. To these changes, the group has responded effectively and open minded, as we were able to adapt to them quickly
Tarantinoesque Script
TOM:
So she just gets in the market, totally unkown, and releases her record right? Now, pay attention to this...
PIERCE:
Sorry Tom, not getting it... Why is it so damn hot in here?
TOM:
Come on..., you must have heard Lady Gaga, it's everywhere nowadays...
PIERCE:
Oh that gaga stuff, I don't quite listen to the radio, you know, jobs like these get you home fagged out...
TOM:
Stop complaining, I didn't even have time to brush my teeth this morning. I tell you, those tunes are awesome, the cadences, the atmospheres created..., it's really not like that modern music, standardized and computer-made, I assure you, this, is real. Why, she did actually study music! Bet you get it know...
PIERCE:
Uh? Dunno, surely she must have released a cheap porno, Paris Hilton like, something... merely accidental. That's the way chicks get nown today.
TOM:
Pretty sure she hasn't made any, believe me it would be well-known.
A subway starts arriving the station. Camera fixed in a mid-long shot of both characters sitting down. The noise covers their dialogue, which is indistinct. Subway leaves.
PIERCE:
Just hand on to this damn briefcase a sec, I'll take something off before I melt
TOM:
You always trying to make theatrical moments about everything, just try not to exxagerate it that much right? Sit down come on...
PIERCE:
I know you like it when I dramatize. And you're taking this too freely, you know we can't loose that...
TOM:
Uh, right... Here it comes, shut up and jump in
Subway arrives, they get in. Camera fixed on the empty bench now.
Production Journal
Confronting an inconvenience: Ramiro's cop's possible dissappearance.
Further solutions: -Honorio's cop?
-Immediate tries to contact the former cop
Furher Points to Cover: -More thorough research (still shots, newspaper articles, statistics, etc)
-Decision (final one/s) over the locations of shooting
NARRATOR= (should there be a voice-over or talent pushing the documentary forwards? Or just visual artifacts?)
Final Decision= At least a voice over, to give a more dynamic and interactive documentary flow.
Other Objective: START OF SHOOTING (During weekend or day of the week) - Specially artistic scenes.
Further solutions: -Honorio's cop?
-Immediate tries to contact the former cop
Furher Points to Cover: -More thorough research (still shots, newspaper articles, statistics, etc)
-Decision (final one/s) over the locations of shooting
NARRATOR= (should there be a voice-over or talent pushing the documentary forwards? Or just visual artifacts?)
Final Decision= At least a voice over, to give a more dynamic and interactive documentary flow.
Other Objective: START OF SHOOTING (During weekend or day of the week) - Specially artistic scenes.
Quentin Tarantino
1) Clever, humorous, quick dialogue / Sudden scenes with high levels of violence
2) He was a film clerk, so he acquired his film knowledge by this, not by a conventional high-school method.
3) It was critizised for having excessive violence levels which were considered unnesessary (e.g.: the ear cutting scene...?). Also, they claimed he had plagiarized from the movie City on Fire.
4) Crime and Gangster Films
5)
"God's Eye POV"
This extreme high-angle shot from Kill Bill Vol. 1 shows Uma Thurman entering an unknown space in where she will get into a battle. The shot reflects, by this angle, her inferiority in the situation, as she is vulnerable in this space.
"The Corpse POV"
This low-angle shot is from the POV of the "dead" Bride looking at her murderers. This conveys her extreme inferiority as her life is in total control of them.
"The Trunk POV"
This is a low-angle shot showing Vincent and Jules opening the trunk of the car to fetch weapons. This could be used to create tension in the sense that the viewer wonders about what is it that's inside the trunk.
6)
The "Mirror Shot" is a specific shot used by Tarantino sometimes in where a character looks at himself in the mirror, and maybe talks to himself. The shot reflects intimacy and self-reflection, conveying the privacy of the moment in where the character looks, literally and symbolically, to himself.
In this shot, Vincent (Pulp Fiction) is having an intimate moment trying to control himself and detaching his mind from his feelings, as he has to spend the night with his boss' wife (obviously he's trying to control himself).
7)
a) Mexican Stand-Off is the name given to a shot showing more than two individuals aiming at each other with guns.
b)The term comes from Sergio Leone's movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," a classic from 1966 and one of Quentin's favourites.
c) Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
8)
a) A MacGuffin is an element which drives the movie's plot forward without having a specific relevance on its own (it may never be revealed or shown). This motivating element pushes the narrative forward and usually doesn't have any other purpose in the film.
b) In Pulp Fiction, the MacGuffin is the briefcase which Jules and Vincent have to return to Marsellus: the briefcase is the one which activates the action in the movie, but hasn't got any further purpose.
c) Rocknrolla: the painting is the MacGuffin used which develops the plot (no screenshots, as it not shown in the whole movie, obviously...)
Mission: Impossible III. The action in the movie is triggered by the search of the Rabbit's Leg, although this is never found...
2) He was a film clerk, so he acquired his film knowledge by this, not by a conventional high-school method.
3) It was critizised for having excessive violence levels which were considered unnesessary (e.g.: the ear cutting scene...?). Also, they claimed he had plagiarized from the movie City on Fire.
4) Crime and Gangster Films
5)
"God's Eye POV"
"The Corpse POV"
"The Trunk POV"
6)
The "Mirror Shot" is a specific shot used by Tarantino sometimes in where a character looks at himself in the mirror, and maybe talks to himself. The shot reflects intimacy and self-reflection, conveying the privacy of the moment in where the character looks, literally and symbolically, to himself.
7)
a) Mexican Stand-Off is the name given to a shot showing more than two individuals aiming at each other with guns.
b)The term comes from Sergio Leone's movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," a classic from 1966 and one of Quentin's favourites.
c) Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
8)
a) A MacGuffin is an element which drives the movie's plot forward without having a specific relevance on its own (it may never be revealed or shown). This motivating element pushes the narrative forward and usually doesn't have any other purpose in the film.
b) In Pulp Fiction, the MacGuffin is the briefcase which Jules and Vincent have to return to Marsellus: the briefcase is the one which activates the action in the movie, but hasn't got any further purpose.
c) Rocknrolla: the painting is the MacGuffin used which develops the plot (no screenshots, as it not shown in the whole movie, obviously...)
Mission: Impossible III. The action in the movie is triggered by the search of the Rabbit's Leg, although this is never found...
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