Thursday, 6 November 2014

DANCE

At this moment, the idea is about dancing. I want to focus more on the style and movement of the dance. 

This is a list of dances that I'm thinking about:

  • Street & Break dance
  • Salsa
  • Tap dance
  • Pole 
  • Krumping
  • Tango
  • Irish dance
  • Ballet
  • Stepping / Stomping
  • Belly
The concept of the film will depend on the dance that choose. The dance I want is street and break dance but that all depends on if I am able to find the dancer I want. 


Filming Techniques
  • The long take: i will experiment on the long take 
  • A variety of angles: this will range from low angle shots to high angle shots or oblique shots
  • Go pro footage: I like the first person view which you get from this camera and I want to incorporate that style in the film. 
  • 50 / 60 frames for slow motion: There are dance moves that look good in slow motion and having this style will visually make it look good if used in the correct way. 
  • Time Lapse
  • Multiple locations

Editing techniques
  • Splitscreen: I love the split screen and in this film I will use it to make a double of the character. I'm thinking of Duplicating him and have a dance battle against himself. 
  • The sound design will depend on the style of the dance
  • The colour and tone of the film will depend on the concept and locations I choose

Locations

These are some of the locations I had in mind. I'm looking at areas with a hip hop or dark theme behind them like graffiti and dark places. 


Graffiti walls on the corner. Here I would have the dancer come in from the right and then the left and meet at the corner to start the dance off.



Tunnels like this would look great and make it dark and creepy. This place could be used for a dramatic moment.


Walls with lights. The idea with the walls is to have a time lapse whereby the location behind the dancer is changing and not that dance.


Under a street lamp and have the background look dark.


Dark paths which are less lit.





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Wednesday, 29 October 2014

RESEARCH

Below are some of the experimental films I have researched for different ideas such as character, mood, techniques, styles and story. 

Grace Schwindt - The Chair



The film depicts a story from her grandmother about the occupation of Berlin in 1945. The story is personal and simple and it begins with a chair. The film uses images of different chairs and I see them as a metaphor of the different people that were present during the occupation as she tells her story. Every object or scar has a story behind it and this film has influenced me to look at objects that might have interesting stories behind them and how I could portray it using images.



Robert Mckillop - Cold Comfort




Is a short 10 minute by Robert Mckillop. This is more of a drama piece than an experimental but I like it of how its a character driven story, instead of a plot driven story. The lighting, mood, tone, environment and camera angles all work to make us love this character (teenage girl). This film has made me consider on the type of techniques I could experiment with to develop my character, if I choose to use a character in my film.

Michael Langan - Choros




I found this short film very interesting in terms of the technical aspects of how Langan managed to create a ghost like movement using one character and how he creates duplicates of the same character in the field towards the end of the film. I like the way he does it and how it flows. This film has made me think of ways I could present my character within the film. This maybe the positioning of the character and how the move within the frame or creating a double of the same character. 



Prov Myza - The Slippery Mountain


Is a Russian film made by Prov Myza (2006). The film simply shows people climbing up a mountain and as they are climbing, they are getting shot one by one and fall down. They get up and start climbing again but they are still getting shot. This repeats over and over until the film ends. This is a simple concept of using sound plus image with a powerful meaning behind it. The people are used as a metaphor of what's going in Russian. They are like in a pit trying to escape but cant because they are being oppressed to shot down. As a young film maker, this film inspires me to think of simple concepts that can have a big impact in terms of idea. There's nothing wrong with a big and complicated concept but sometimes simple ones work the best.
















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Friday, 17 October 2014

THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS

Is a Danish documentary film (2003) made by Lars Von Trier and Jørgen Leth. In this film, Lars Von Trier gives Leth the task of remaking The Perfect Human (1967) five times, each time with different obstructions.

The original film:

1st Obstruction 
  • To be filmed in Cuba and no set is allowed
  • No shot must be longer than 12 frames
  • Answer the question posed in the original film


Leth finds this obstruction to be a curse. From my point of view I see it as an advantage of being creative (What doesn't kill you makes you stronger). The film he made was interesting. It felt like stop motion animation.  

2nd Obstruction 
  • To film in a miserable place and not show it in the background 
  • Leth to take on the role as the perfect human 
  • The meal scene without the woman


Even though Leth was told not to include the background of the location, he showed it through a transparent screen. I see this as a true reflection of himself and not the idea. The effect added something more to the film, both physically and emotionally. The scene where Leth is eating the meal with all the people standing behind him creates questions. The film narrator goes on to say "here's the perfect human eating". But as a viewer I did not see the perfectness as you could see people in the background and the perfect human eating by himself. It created a meaning of greediness and reminded me how lucky I am. This has influenced me to think about my background when filming as might create a different meaning to what I want to present.

3rd Obstruction 
  • Complete freedom in the making of the film or go back to Bombay and re shoot. 


He refused to go back to Bombay and filmed it in Brussels. This version is modern and I like the techniques he use (split screen). The scene I liked the most was when the woman talks into the camera. She's breaking the fourth wall and it felt as if I was the perfect human, who had the desires mentioned within the film. I like this technique and its a good way to get the audiences attention. 

4th Obstruction 
  • To make the film into a cartoon


I like the colours within the cartoon and he didn't make into a cheesy / comedian cartoon. It had the themes of the first 3 obstructions he had made before this and included some shots from the original film as well. 

5th Obstruction 
  • Lars will make the film
  • Leth will be credited & will do the voice over for the script


The last version of the film is more personal. This is between Lars and Leth and their great friendship between the two film-makers. 

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Reference



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