END OF YEAR SHOW - Getting people through the doors

   

For our end of year show spectacular we have chosen to hold it at the Komedia in the center of Bath. The venue boasts a large variety of different set-ups accommodation everything from large standing gigs, cabaret seating and classic rowed seats. So when it comes to our show, we have quite a choice on are hands.

However, whatever set-up we eventually pick there is one thing that doesn't change. The fact that we will need people to fill the space. This isn't simply a case of wanting to get the most for our money. The event is acting as a way for us to showcase all the the hard work and effort we have put in over the past 2 years. 

The show is also a chance for the friends and family of the class to come and see our work displayed on the big screen. However, the show can also act as a bit of a networking event. By inviting local production company's to the showing we can start to build contacts in the industry, helping those who want to get a foot in the door in such a competitive business.

We can go about this by contacting companies directly, both through emails and over the phone. Better yet, if we met with representatives before the show, for example over a coffee, we can build a relationship with them increasing the likelihood of them attending.

As well as industry professionals we also want members of the general public to attend. One way we could go about this is by utilizing our connections at the Bath Chronicle. Getting something on their website, or better yet in the paper, will plant it in the public eye and get some much needed press. 

Something that we can glean from last year is inviting officials from the bath area. An example is that of the mayor of Bath who attend last year. This again will help build hype for the show.

FMP- Close Encounter of the Film Kind

Filmmaking is almost like a giant puzzle game. It's all about solving problems.  These can vary in size and difficulty. Some are avoidable and some are not. However, there are things you can do to to make these challenges easier. This is called making arrangements and staying organised. Having these two traits means that you can discern issues that you may encounter before they araise. Also, being prepared means when unexpected issues come up, you can handle them in a calm and collected manner.

So lets first look at the style of how we want the film to do. That being, black and white. There are many different ways to achieve this look. However, something to look at is how things look in that style. Set dressing is all different when it's not in colour. Also, making sure we shoot in a format that is easy to tamper with in post will be key.

Another important part of the film will be the camera movement. We want to achieve a 1950s look, not just in the set dressing or props or script, but in the production style. Many aspects of filmmaking which are now common, and that have been perfected, were still in there development stages during the 50s. Getting that slightly imperfect look will be important to selling the overall project.

Although the film is in no way a SCI-FI VFX packed explosion fest, there will be some smaller effects. The importance of nailing these effects is huge. A shody effect can and will pull a viewer away from the story.

FMP- Camera Cranes and Where to Find Them

There is no one piece of equipment that will make a film amazing, nor make a great filmmaker. Instead, we use each but of equipment and method like puzzle pieces. On there own they are little use to anyone, but when brought together, they form the bigger picture. Adding weapons to your arsenal strengths and broadens your ability. Something that I have wanted to add to my personal armoury for a while is that of jib/crane shots.

This technic was pioneered in Hollywood during the nearly 1940s before homed in by late 1960s. It involves mounting a camera onto an apparatus which can drastically add height to a shot. Specially made equipment was soon produced, but was only available to big studios as they cost a small fortune. However, as time went on and filmmaking gear became more readily available, the price dropped significantly.

The purpose of a Jib is to had a vertical movement to the camera. This could be to get a high angle of a new location and then to dip into the action as the camera goes down to street level. It also has a native production value about it. The average viewer will associate a jib shot with larger productions, meaning it can make something with a small (or no) budget seem a lot larger scale.

Examples of Jib shots can be seen in almost every Hollywood film for the last 60 years. Famous examples include the opening scene in Touch of Evil (Orson Welles. 1958), High noon (Fred Zinnermann. 1952), Breaking News (Johnnie To. 2004) and The Stunt Man (Richard Rush. 1980). As you can see, the technic spands all genres and has a verity of uses.

I have a small experience with Jibs. On our last short film "Scribes" we used what is know as a pocket Jib to great effect. This is simply a smaller version of a larger Job. This was to achieve a birds eye view of are lead laying on the sofa. The birds eye shot is one that I am particularly keen on.

We have done some short tests with a larger Jib, the footage I shall include in my 3.1 - 3.2 vlog.

FMP- Puffing on Hot Air

Lets talk about cigarettes. Particularly cigarettes in film. Since the beginning of Hollywood, actors and actresses have been seen puffing away on tobacco. From pipes to smoking sticks to cigars these have formed a key part of film history. In fact movie stars were often sponsored  by tobacco companies to smoke their product in front of the camera and behind the scenes. Hell some of the most famous pictures in cinema are of stars smoking. For example Audrey Hepburn in every single promotional piece for the two time Oscar winning film "Breakfast at Tiffany's". 

However, there is something that has always puzzled me about this smoking Hollywood culture. And that is "What are they really smoking". No, I don't mean are they puffing away of illegal substances (although I am sure when stars do behind closed doors) rather is what you see on screen real or fake? For example what If you have an actor who doesn't smoke or an actress who was given up the habit and doesn't what to relapse?

Well for a long time it was industry standard to simply use real tobacco! In fact Clint Eastwood famously hated smoking, however for almost all his classic western roles he had to puff on a cigar, giving him that tough guy look. However, the taste of the slow burning, unfiltered tobacco often made him feel very ill, sometimes causing him to gag between takes. 

After it started to come out that smoking wasn't fantastic for your health, the industry realised that having an actor smoke 50 or more cigarettes a day wasn't doing great things for their health. This is also around the point where some celebs were trying to kick the habit. So in the place of tobacco cigarettes they began using herbal ones. These are free from both tobacco and nicotine. 

From a look point of view the two are Identical and would be impossible to tell apart both on and off screen. The TV show Mad men uses them on a regular bases for actors who don't smoke tobacco. John Hamm, in particular, was quoted as saying that he smoked 74 herbal cigarettes during the shooting of the pilot of Mad Men.

Following the genre of noir and the general attitude of 1950s America, all the characters in my film smoke. If they do not smoke tobacco we will either have to get herbal cigarettes, or come up with an alternative. For example, there are many only tutorials for making fake cigarettes for films. One example is using parsley to replace the tobacco. Tastes a little strange and burns faster than your average cigarette but looks the part. I will be trying a few methods to create the smoking look, I will either share my results in a follow up blogpost or in some kind of video format.

FMP- Reaching out

Being a filmmaker is all about expanding your skill set. Now there are many ways to do this, you can watch the masters of cinema and learn from them, read a book on certain technics or even be told how to do something by a much more experience filmmaker. All these things are good, but don't surpass the knowledge you gain from actually picking up a camera and doing it yourself, old fashioned trial and error.

As a budding filmmaker, there are many styles and techniques I am yet to use, that is why my FMP offers such a great opportunity to learn. I have also decided on a project which will require skills to produce a style I have never really tried to achieve, film noir. It is such a distractive style that there are countless things that I am going to need to research into and practise.

The first big one is lighting. In any production lighting is a corner stone, shoots are often planned to be in certain times of the day so they get the right light. With such a unique style as noir, you have to be very specific in how you light your scene. This is something that will require a ton of practise, both in the studio and in an outside environment.

The next thing to look at is black and white as well as selective colour. There are many ways to achieve a black and white look. Most cameras now allow you to shoot native in BnW in camera and sucking the colour out of a video is as easy as pulling down a slider in post. However, when shooting for back and white there are certain things that need to be addressed. It will be these issues and differences that I will need to research into to get the most organic feeling film.

Something which is less technical but still a key part of the film will be how can we get actors smoking cigarettes if they are either non-smokers or recovering from addiction. The last thing we want is someone who was previously addicted to start up again because of the film, that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. However, the noir genre demands smoke so one way or another we will get it. I want to find out what they use in Hollywood and experiment with perhaps doing something in post.

The big finally thing that I want to improve on is the camera movement. The genre of film noir has some signature angles and movements that I would love to be able to recreate. This will take time and effort but should really add to the overall project.

FMP- Baby steps into Production

                                 

                                                       

So, all the research is done and the theory is complete. So now what? Well, it's time to see how what I have learned will effect my film and then how I intend to processed tentatively into production. So first lets look at the obvious one. I want my film to fall into the noir/neo-noir genre. So what am I going to have to do to get the desired genre? Well, a main thing will be nailing the lighting. The genre has such Iconic lighting that getting it wrong simply isn't an option. Also, the tone of the film has to be dark, dripping in drama and intriuge like all good noir should. It was also clear from my research that certain camera angles are often used in noir. One personal favorite is the low-angle. This is used to make a character look larger than he or she is to make them seem more powerful or intimidating. This is used all the time in classic noir, making heroes more heroic and villains more villainous.

So that's style covered, but what about props? From my primary research, it's obvious that getting things that fit the 1950s time frame will be really important. Everything from costumes to cars to sets need to throw you back 60 years. It should be obivious that we are in the past just from the props, sets and clothing. I want to try and avoid the whole text on screen telling the the year thing.

Regrading characters, from looking at real life examples they need to be brutal and ruthless. They need to play with peoples lives like they are just pawns on a chessboard. Cause after all, that's how they few them, means to an need. As the film takes place just after WW2, people are hardened to death as it became just part of life.

With everything taken into consideration I know exactly what I need to do to continue this project. First will be completing the script, making sure we capture that era and also the brutal nature of the criminal world. Next will be doing camera and lighting tests to really nail down that iconic look. Finally we will be sorted props (clothes, cars etc) that fit into are 1950s time frame, as well as doing casting and location scouting.

FMP- Research conclusions

Drawing conclusions from research is key to getting the most out of what you have been looking into. It's from your conclusion that you know the next steps to take and it's no different for me. As part of my unit 13 I have been looking into things to help further the development of my idea, a short Noir gangster film based in 1950s America. I wanted to get an idea, not just of the history of gang culture, but also the history of the film Noir genre. I also wanted to see what people thought of when it came to building a belivable 1950s America.

So what did I learn. Well, firstly lets look at gangsters. I looked into the history of gangster ism in America, focusing on events happening after the 1900s. This included prohibition and the world wars. For my research it is very clear that these men were brutal in there quest for power. One example that I highlighted was the Valentines day massacre where six mob associates and a mechanic of the North Side Irish gang led by Bugs Moran were put up against and wall and shot. This highlighted for the cut throat nature of the shady underbelly that was the criminal underworld of 1900 America.

The next thing I looked into was the Noir film genre. What I learnt from looking into this part of film history was really the key elements that were needed for a film to qualify to be Noir. It needs to be dark with every shot oozing of shade and the night. Also, there are some set conventions for how people in the film should look. For example, men should be suit wearing, clean cut, trilby toting manly men who smoke 3 packets a day. Finally, films focus on more dark themes, those being murder, sex and drugs. 

The most interesting part of my research came from my primary questionnaire. This is where I asked people what they thought was key into creating a real feeling 1950s environment. Unsurprisingly, it was clear that all 3 elements, those being vehicles, sets and clothing are key in making the feel we want.

So, all things considered, it is clear now how to proceed, but that will all be highlighted in my next blog post.