Post 14-Pre Production Documents

In order to produce the best short film possible, we need to go through the motions and produce all the pre- production documentation, these include the location recce, shot list, story board, treatment, plot overview, character profiles, lighting recce, risk assessment, costume recce, mise-en scene and both film and costume mood boards.

Within the group i am the Production Designer, the first item i produced is this mood board. A mood board is not only a reflection of what you want to show, but in this case it indicates what the film in question is based around. Here i collected a number of pictures,not directly related to the topic of the film, however these still images show the concept of loneliness and the feel of being alone in a large space. All the images show a bench and this is because the focal point of our film is the bench which Jonathon remains sitting on throughout. I believe this mood board really indicated the main point of our film and really grasps the idea of not only peace and quiet but also beautiful surroundings. 

After completing a mood board for the film, i produced a mood board to represent that characters and the costumes they will be wearing in the film. This mood board shows how i feel the characters should look. On the left side is a representation of Jonathan's character, he is in his early 20's and dressed smartly, the description in the script states that he has a brightly coloured scarf on and scruffy hair so i have tried to incorporate that into the images in this mood board. The images next to Jonathan show a young child, these represent the young child in the play who Jonathan encounters, he is a young male, so the images i got for him show how i envisage him being dressed. Along side the pictures of the young child are images of a teenager, in the script it states he is listening to music and dressed for the winter. Finally on the right hand side theses images are meant to depict the art student who Jonathan meets last, she is wearing bright colours to represent her artistic flare.

After this the character profiles were produced. I produced this character profile of Jonathan to indicate to the audience what he is really like and some background information on him and his wife. This character profile shows us how he is grieving for his late wife and how he is going to counselling. We also learn the background information as to why he collects all the images that he takes by the bench.

These are the character profiles for all the other characters who encounter Jonathan throughout the film. These include, Sam a small child who has come to the park with his mother, Harry an unsociable teenager in the park to meet his girlfriend, Carol an office worker in the park to eat her lunch. And finally Becky a cheerful and sociable art student who is very pleasant towards Jonathan.

Sam- This character profile is for the young boy in the film.This image is depicting him playing in the park as he will be in the film and the annotations show his purpose and actions during the film. He is a shy young boy and has come to the park with his mother, he's aged six. He bumps into Johnathan as he has run off from his mother but is slightly anxious regarding if he should speak to a stranger.

Harry- This is the character profile for the teenager in  the film. He is a sixteen year old boy and is quite unsociable, with headphones on listening to loud music. He is reluctant to talk to Jonathan and tries to ignore him. He is more interested on being on his phone than a conversation with a stranger. He has come to the park to kill time before he goes to meet a friend and go to a concert.

Carol- This is the office worker,she is very busy and is sitting on the bench to eat her lunch. She is dressed very smartly, in only dark clothing to show her cold attitude. She doesn't want to engage in conversation with Jonathan and tries her best to ignore him. She looks uncomfortable next to him and tries to leave as soon as she can.

Risk Assessment.

A risk assessment is an essential piece of pre production documentation. Risk assessment is a step in a risk management procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitive or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat. The following document is the risk assessment for our film production. We are filming in two locations and thus i have produced risk assessments for both. The first location is a public park and the other is Jonathan's living room.

The following risk assessment is for the house we will be filming in, i believe this documents shows all the possible dangers or risks that could occur when filming.

After casting our actors i had to produce casting documents to show the actors details so when it comes to filming getting the right size costume etc would become easier. The following documents show all the characters that will be featured in the film and their details, i  was responsible for this task.   

Costume, Hair & make-up and prop list.

As my role within the group was production designer i decided to create a costume and prop table for each scene. I feel this will take the pressure of when filming because i will know exactly what is needed at what time. The table will also help me to be more organised when filming thus meaning there will be little delay between scenes.

Sound Experiment

Because there are only three members of our production group i was responsible for production design as well as sound. In order to be in charge of sound on the day of filming i had to do a lot of research into the different roles involved with sound. I had to learn about the various equipment and in particular the booming equipment that i would be using on the day of filming.

Call Sheet

Script

Company Logo

Technical Recce Images-

Location Recce-

Post 13- Advanced Production Skills Workshop 3

We began the lesson by having a class discussion about they ways in which we could enhance the quality of our video work through the technical element of lighting, however in addition to this we still wanted to develop a sense of style on our own production work.We began by looking at how lighting affects sources and colours. A quote by Broadwell and Thompson states “Lighting can be characterised by its source. In making a documentary, the filmmaker may be obliged to shoot with the light available in the actual surroundings. Most fictional films, however, use extra light sources to obtain greater control of the images look. In most fictional films, the table lamp and street light you see in the mise-en-scene are not the principle source of illumination for the filming.”

This image is taken from the film Forest Gump,in class we had a group discussion about the different types of lighting used in this shot that we noticed as well as this we also looked at the shadows. From looking at this image we can see that it relies heavily on natural light, as well as this the lighting seems to be very soft which thus emphasizes a cool and calm style to the shot. Another thing that is evident from this image is that there are a number of attached shadows, these can only been seen if you look close enough though. For example this image shows that there are attached shadows under Forests blazer sleeve. When looking at this image it seems clear to see that both characters are placed under a tree due to the darkened light, and the lightest part of the image is at the back on the right, which shows very little sun.

This second image shows a completely opposite use of lighting to the first. The use of hard lighting makes the image look very artificial,it is this hard quality which creates a bleached effected on the clothes of the characters meaning we where unable to see any form of attached shadows. The background differs greatly in comparison to the first image,the brightness is blurred out due to the amount of contrast in the image.


Having looked at and analysed the first two images, discussing how the lighting changed the effect of the image, we now needed to extend this knowledge.
The picture opposite is an image from the filming of  Harry Potter, this image shows the addition lighting they have chosen to add into this scene. From the mise-en-scene and from the audience point of view the light source is meant to be coming from the old style street lamps however this would not illuminate the characters enough and would cause a lot of shadow. Thus they opted to add overhead light to illuminate the two characters faces and clothing, this creates a clearer overall picture.

After looking at the previous images we went on to look at another two images of how lighting can be used to create different atmospheres. The first image, shown opposite was of a clear corridor, the filmmaker would have no control over the light sources as they are already in place. The lights are at the highest point possible, thus illuminating the whole corridor. The hard bright light creates reflections of the walls and floor.

The second image we looked at was taken from a film and had a much more interesting atmosphere from the audience point of view. The light sources they have used create shadows below the lights themselves pointing the light upwards. There is also ceiling lights hidden by the piece of wood pointing down so we can see the middle of the corridor, there is also an additional light source coming from in front of the character to illuminate the mans face.



Many of us don't think or worry too much about lighting, when in fact, it is very important when producing a short film. Lighting has some distinct elements to it, these are key lights, fill lights and back lights. The key light is probably the most important element of lighting, which most producers and cinemaphotograpers use. The purpose of key lighting is to highlight the form and dimension of an object. The fill light may be used to reduce the contrast of a specific shot, and may even illuminate certain aspects of a shot, and the back light is also another form of illumination, although they do not produce light themselves.

We Then went on to discuss the use of 85 filters, which adds a warmer atmosphere to shots. Below is an example of an 85 lens filter, which we notice in the second image there is a slight tint of orange, which warms up the image giving it more of a daylight and sunny look. During production we will need to consider all of these elements and how it can create a clear representation of what we want to show.

I was absent for the experiment that the rest of my classmates did . however i came back and caught up on what they were doing, they were spilt into group and asked to look further into the effects of lighting and how it can be used to create an atmosphere, relating back to the photos we looked at previously. They were all given a different school corridor and were asked to shot two different scenes. The first was using the light that was available to use such as ceiling lights or natural lights and then for the second scene they had to find a way of manipulating the light to change the atmosphere of the shot. The video is shown below.

The first shot shows the light sources that were available to use, this was the natural lighting coming from the windows and the ceiling lights. However in their next shot, they used the light off the ceiling lights and turned on the spotlights in the ceiling, they moved the lights so they were facing down onto Carolyns face. This had a massive effect on the atmosphere it no longer felt and looked like a school corridor and could be any location. This was very successful and they were very pleased over all. However, they were unable to block out all off the natural light, which lead to a mixture of artificial light and natural light which doesn’t come across very nicely on film.

Post 12- Advanced Production Skills Workshop 2

In this lesson we were asked to begin by focusing on the two Major features of lighting, quality and direction. The direction that we view a light source from has a profound effect on our perception of it, and on how the objects in a scene will appear. Choosing which direction your main light is coming from is one of the most important decisions you can make since it will have a great deal of impact on how a scene will appear, and also on the emotions your image will convey. When looking at quality we are focusing on the intensity of the illumination for example, hard lighting, which is a direct light source creating bold shadows with crisp textures and edges. On the other hand soft lighting such is indirect light of diffused which blurs contours and textures, and there is a softer contrast between light and shade. When we are looking at the direction of light we are concentrating in which the light source has been positioned for example back, front, side, above and how it bounces of different surfaces. Every light source has a point where it is brightest, and a point at which it wanders and loses itself completely.

 This is an example taken from the Madonna Vogue music video. We can see from this picture that they have used a soft light source, which I turn as created an image, which has blurred contours and textures. This is shown on the faces, which don’t have defined shapes and curves. Its also shown in the women’s clothing as it is unclear what she is wearing due to the softer light source not illuminating the clothing

This example is again taken from the same video however; this is an example of hard lighting. We can see this through the direct intensity of the light illuminating the diamonds on her back. The direct light source has created crisp textures and edges again shown on the diamonds as well in the outline of her shoulders. We can also a bold dark shadow underneath her arm.

In class we were separated into two different groups, one looking at direction and the other looking at quality. In my group we were given direction to focus on. We were given the hypothesis “how can you manipulate your lighting set up to achieve variations on direction within your lighting designs?” As a group we had to allocate roles these where Director, Camera, Clapper, Recorder and Gaffer.We were given a range of equipment to use in our experiment and were left to come up with our own decisions on how we would like to set up and arrange our experiment. Are equipment included the following

Mini DV camera

Tripod

Batteries

Base plate

Tape

Laminated whiteboards and marker pens

1x lowel pro 250W lamp

1x stand

Extension lead

Barn doors

Torch

Black wrap and crock clips

White materials and tin foil

Safety gloves

We were then asked to look at pictures from the Vogue music video and identify the concept of direction of light within them. As a group we came up with the following points

-The direction of light helps to show the main characters

-It helps creates shadows and effects within the pictures

-Shows body features such a clothing differently depending on the direction

-Helps to highlight facial expressions

-Help to add tension into a scene.

After looking at already existing photos of direction of light we then had to make predictions on what the equipment will do to then quality of light. As a group we predicted the following:

-The black wrap will focus the light and make it darker whereas the foil will make the direction of light brighter

-The use of the umbrella will make the light softer

-The white sheet will be used as a back drop to block out any unwanted shadows as create a clear background

-Whiteboards will notify the audience if what they are about to watch

-The tripod will mean we can steady the filming when moving the camera.

Then we had to identify the factors that will need to be changed. As a group we said the intensity of the light would need to be changed. The equipment and materials will need to be changed to show the different directions. The position of the light will need to be changed. We then had to identity how will we measure and record the effects while remaining safe; we said that we will record the direction of light through filming. We will make sure we move and hazards out the way before filming. We will make sure that we read through the risk assessment before we start filming, this lead up to make sure the Gaffer will constantly need to be wearing safety gloves when operating the lights. Finally we had to say what we would be keeping the same, we would keep the same person we are filming throughout our experiment so it will be easier to see the different effects. We will also keep the position of the camera the same throughout.

 

                             

From looking at the video we can see how by the use of different equipment and reflective surfaces change the direction of light. For example,  0.06 seconds into the film, here we are using a front light and the use of barn doors and we can see the brightest point of intensity from the light to the side of him while in the top right hand corner the light is fading away into the black background.

I think we had many strength to our experiment and it was in fact very successful in showing how the different positions of light can have an effect on the direction on light. I think the use of the barn door was most successful as we could really see the difference in direction and how it created different effects such as the tunnel and how the shadows faded away. If we were to do this task again I think that we should move out back light further away making sure that it wasn’t in the view of the camera. A lens flare can be seen in our video as we placed the light source to close to the person.

Quality

The other group where given the task to look at quality of lighting. By using the same pictures that I have looked at in direction I can now look at them again but this time focusing on quality. I can see that there is a variation in the different qualities of light. In the photo of her close up and her back I can clearly see that they have used hard light to clear the crisp textures and edges. I can also see that in some of the pictures they have used hard light that have created bold shadows such as the man walking down the stairs. Finally I can see that they have used soft lighting such as the two people sitting down, we can see the blurs of the contours and textures and it easy to see the difference between the light and dark areas.

The equipment they had was:

Mini DV camera
Tripod
Batteries
Base plate
Tape
Laminated whiteboards and marker pens
1x lowel pro 250W lamp
1x stand
Chimera and diffusion attachments
Speed ring
Black card
Black sugar paper
Scissors
Safely glover
Extension lead

Predictions-
-You will be able to show the difference between the hard and the soft lighting through the use of equipment.
-To be able to see the different quality effects in different shots
-The use of diffuses would have an effect on the quality of light.

The factors that will needed to be changed are
-The direction of the camera for example the distance of the light to show the different light effects and how this will create different shadows.
-The different diffuser that you will add to the camera will need to be changed to show the effect it has on quality.

The factors that will stay the same are
-The position of the camera will stay the same throughout the experiment
-The lighting position will need to stay the same. This will allow the audience to see the different types of lighting such as hard and soft.



Even through there film was very shot and it was hard to see the changed between each scene, when you pause the image and then compare it is much easier to see the difference for example in the image below..

 0.01- this is an image with no diffuser and it just hard lighting we can see that the right side of his face it illuminated at the left side is in shadow. The direct light it’s hitting is face and clothes and reflecting of him.

                                  
0.10- this image is again hard lighting however with the use of a flag, where they have used cardboard and placed it on the side of the camera to block out an unwanted light. This has also channelled the light to just the left hand side of his face, while the right side is in shadow and is much darker.

0.23- here we can see the use of an ½ diffuser and no flag. Compared to the first image we can see that the image is much softer and it much nicer to look at through the camera and for the audience.


After watching the film it was very difficult to see the different effects using the filters and the cardboard, this was down to the shot being very shot meaning we didn’t have much time to see the changed clearly. However from watching their video and listening to there feed back they had some strengths and weakness within their experiment as well as things they would do differently if they had the chance. These where:


-As the camera was out of focus it was clear that the camera was focusing on the laminated board rather than focusing on the character, meaning the shot was blurry. This was due to the camera not having enough time to focus on the character after the laminated board was out of the scene due to the fact the shot were very short.

-When it came to planning and using the camera they said they would have liked to have more of a group discussion on planning what they wanted to do as they left it was rushed.

-This lead to the length of the film being very short, they said they would have liked to film for longer if they had the chance, as the shot were too short to distinguish the difference between the qualities of light.

-When they tried to create a blind effect of shadows on the character it wasn’t as successful as they had planned. This was due to the fact they had used cardboard that wasn’t very strong. They said if they were to do this again it would have worked a lot better and had a much effect if they could have used a much stronger material to cut the slits out off.

After looking at both quality and direction, I think it has given me a lot more of an understanding of the different effects lighting can have on your on screen image. I have a better understanding about the lighting in production in films it importance in production. When it comes to creating our own short films we need to consider the different light sources and what effects they will have in conveying different moods and representation of the characters. This workshop has made me realise that when we do our own filming a lot of through and consideration needs to go into planning what lighting we want to use and what effect we are trying to create, its also important to remember the different types of equipment we can use to help manipulate the light such as barn doors and light diffusers.