31.8

In this class we had a challenge shoot. We had to shoot from four different angles of a scene with two people talking to each other about copying. It was a race against the clock to see if we were able to finish shooting everything, and then come back to capture the video onto the computer and then edit the film in time. We didn't get to edit our film in the end because there were many things we needed to know about Final Cut Pro in order to edit successfully but everyone managed to finish filming in time. I was worried we wouldn't be able to make it because last year when we were filming we took a long time. It could have been because we weren't as focused or we just didn't have exact guidelines to shoot from so we kept making changes. This time my group and I were very organized and focused. I think having the perimeters of the shoot set was extremely helpful, for the first shoot at least. I also felt more professional and I felt that it just looked clean, not like last year when we weren't really sure what to do and just based everything on instinct.

I also think that I gained a deeper insight to the movie world during this shoot. It was really funny when we were watching the playback, to see the mistakes we made either because we forgot our lines or we messed up because we started laughing. I can imagine this is what real actors do sometimes, and I know that it takes a lot of takes to get just one short scene perfect. I also learned that directors shoot the same scene over and over again from many different angles so that they can cut it to create different effects. I never really understood how they did that in movies; I always thought there was multiple cameras in different positions and they got the footage like that. I have a bigger appreciation for actors as well now, because just think how many times they have to act a scene to suit the directors, and be able to get their lines and their expressions just right.

I think that next time we could be more aware of lighting and sound. We could have chosen somewhere more quiet or somewhere with less background noise so that the audio can be clearer. I don't think it was affected that much because we didn't shoot in the area where it was loudest, as we made the mistake of doing last year, but I think there could have been better areas to shoot in. The lighting could also have been improved a little bit because when we were playing back I thought we could have shot on the other side of the Quiet Zone as we wouldn't have been in the shadows there; but the lighting wasn't too bad. There were many times where we had to stop and adjust our positions because the camera lenses couldn't get in our faces, and also when it was a close up/medium close up and we had to zoom in enough to get it to that kind of shot. I had a lot of fun shooting and I'm really glad I'm learning more and more about how to film, and especially what I should or shouldn't do in order to get it right.

"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" - The Wizard of Oz

29.8

Today in class we listened to two presentations of our classmates chosen clip. The first one was on a movie called Big Fish, directed by Tim Burton.

It's a family movie, or rather a movie she would watch with her family. The genre of the film is fantasy because of perhaps the supernatural element to the story. I learned that there was a skeleton shown in the water as the narrator was talking about death, and that's called foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is used to hint or clue in the audience as to what might/will happen later. I think this is a good technique used quite often in movies or books because it adds to the mystery and suspense and it makes the audience wonder. It also grabs at the audiences attention so the audience will want to stay and find out what happens, although sometimes the foreshadowing can be quite subtle. Just like the skeleton in the opening scene of Big Fish, it wasn't very clear as to leave a huge impression on the audience; it was subliminal.

I've never seen the movie and I've never even heard of the movie before today, but through the presentation and the opening clip I find it intriguing, the mystery element has been portrayed very well, especially because there isn't much we see in the opening. The bits of information we are given is by the short narration, building suspense and wonder, and also what we see under water. The choice of camera angles is also important; to show the point of view, to give away information or to present a scene in a certain way.

The second presentation was on Inception directed by Christopher Nolan. It was the scene where we see the most important on of Dom's memories. It's an intense scene. The music and sound effects of the scene is particularly good. The music producer of the film is Hans Zimmer, a very famous music producer. He composed music for The Lion King, The Dark Knight and many more. He is also the head of film music division at DreamWorks studios. I think it's great that he knows how to play the piano and the guitar and other instruments because that gives him a deeper level of understanding and appreciation of the music with first-hand experience, and he would also know how the instrument works. He could use that to his advantage when producing film scores. I also learned a very important fact, which is that it's what you don't see that makes you the most nervous and scared. I guess it's that uncertainty in the face of the unknown that scares us.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." - Casablanca

23.8

In the first class, we mainly focused on introducing ourselves and learning about the topic for this semester in film. Last year we learned about the cinematography of films. This year we'll be learning about the sound design of films. I'm excited to learn more about that because I think that the sound is also another really important part of a film; to bring out the right atmosphere in a certain scene or to give a sort of "heads-up" to what might happen next like building up anticipation. It could also mean something particular, like give the audience a hint about the movie. Such as in the opening scene of the movie Wall-E, the song played was happy and cheerful although we could obviously see the setting of the film wasn't exactly a nice place to be in. That created contrast, but also told us that maybe the movie would have a happy ending. I learnt last year the importance of cinematography, especially good cinematography, because film is first and foremost a visual media. But I just don't think a scary movie would be scary without those sound effects, both diagetic and non-diagetic. Just like when you watch a film without the sound; it doesn't feel the same even if you can tell if it's an intense scene or something scary might pop out at any second.

Towards the end of the class we had to choose a clip from a film to analyze/talk about. I chose the film The Matrix, directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski . I really liked the film, mostly because I really liked the topics that they talked about. I also thought it was similar to Inception, another great movie. The scene I picked was near the ending, where Neo was starting to really believe and trust himself.

The beginning starts off with Morpheus saying, "He's beginning to believe." Neo doesn't run, he decides to face the agent. There's a medium close up of the agents fist curling, ready for the challenge. There's some non-diagetic sounds in the background as a few pieces of papers float to the ground. You can hear the sound of the paper crinkling in the wind, emphasizing the tension of the moment. Neo's fist closes, and suddenly the action begins. Immediately you hear that typical "action sequence music" and it throws you right into that fast pace, like your heart is races with each beat of the music. Neo and the agent grab each other, suspended in mid-air. You can see the almost invisible paths of the bullets in the air, giving you a sense of how fast they're moving and also to again show how you can manipulate time and space within the Matrix. We see the bullets fly past, whiz past, but again we can see them clearly. The music played when they were running towards each other really fits with the action because it's fast, seems like it keeps going "up" in a sense that notes keep climbing up, building up the tension and the atmosphere. Once they crash into the ground and point the guns at each other the music comes to a stop, as if finalizing something. When they're both on the ground, it's like they're equals. He's not inferior anymore because he understands and he believes. He's making his own stand now.

Then when the agent takes off his dark glasses, that motion sort of says, "Oh it's really on now. You haven't seen anything yet." He's really set his mind to kill Neo now, but on the other hand taking off the glasses was a sign of weakness because now he has nothing to hide. Now he can't hide anything. Also it's like he's admitting they're on the same level now. The music gets louder and more 'intense' as they continue fighting. The lighting of the scene isn't that bright, there's the dim yellow glow of the subway lights and the lighting on the wall of the tracks. Only in close ups of their faces can you see their expressions and the determination, but from the music the atmosphere is retained.

I particularly like the ending, where Neo gets thrown onto the subway tracks. Shot from a low-angle, half of the shot is in darkness except for the part of the platform. The darkness sort of signifies a 'doom impending' scene. The agent appears in that bit of light, and we see him towering over, as if he's in complete control again. He's the superior now. He jumps down and tries to strangle Neo, like giving his opponent one last taunt. Close-up on his face. He has that look of hatred with his eyebrows curved downwards, but his voice seems so slow and calm. Perhaps even a bit cheerful. You can barely detect that hint of menace. The contrast further gives an indication of the fact that he's only a machine or a robot. The final bit where the train comes, he knows it's inevitability, but he's going to change that. He knows he has the power to change it. He's not going to let them get to him again.

I really like the sound sequence in this clip.

"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." - A Streetcar Named Desire