To prepare for my shoot, I wanted to test out how the bedroom and it's lights worked with the blue and pink lighting gels I wanted to use on my shoot. I originally tried mixing red and pink gels - thinking that the red would provide a warmth, however I found that the colour wasn't strong enough and that completely pink worked a lot better.
half Pink (002) gels and half Red (111) gels
completely Pink (002) gels
completely blue (141) gels
half pink and half blue gels
I have decided to begin by lighting with three blue gels and one pink gel to brighten the room. I am using the lights in the room as they give an extreme, naturalistic light.
In order to create a half and half look with the pink and blue lights, I needed to include a blue gel on a lamp pointed at the subject in order to get the colour necessary and have the effect in the shadows that worked so well.
To acquire the extreme pink used in the latter half of my film, I used all four of the pink gels.
After researching Maya Angelou's life I knew I wanted to make my film about a social issue, inspired by her time as a civil rights activist. When reading the poem I reflected its ideas through my struggles to feel comfortable as a genderfluid person and wanted to reflect this is in my film by showing somebody battling with gender dysphoria in a way that was very up-close and personal.
My initial proposal: (dated 15/11/18)
"Proposal
Based on: ‘Life Doesn’t Frighten Me’ by Maya Angelou
A gender-fluid student
prepares for their prom, searching for the bravery and confidence to wear what
they want.
A group of students walk down the street, chatting
excitedly about a party. The girls are deciding what time they’re meeting and
who’s helping who with make-up whilst the boys talk about ‘pulling techniques’
– they’re all arguing over who’s going to get more drunk. Having remained
silent and not a part of either conversation, one of the group breaks off and
walks into their home.
We see them getting ready for the party
through slow, drawn out close-ups. Shaving a leg, painting their nails etc. As
the scene unfolds, we realise the student is gender-fluid and preparing to wear
what they want publicly for the first time.
They leave the house and we follow,
people stare and a few stop walking to look. They pass beautifully made up
women and a group of ‘lads’ on a night out.
As they arrive at the party, the stares and confusion have become
confidence and bravery."
I decided to remove the narrative of the idea in order to really focus on the core idea of the film within 5 minutes.
The lighting workshop was very important to how I want the film to look. We found very interesting effects when mixing colours and how this affected shadows and I will light my film with very strong blue and pink lights to reflect the idea of binary gender and mix them as it breaks down throughout the film.
I have decided to use naturalist lighting, using the lights in the room, covered with gels for a strong, harsh look that I hope - in a way - reflects Jean-Michel Basquiat's bold illustrations from the original book.
Break Free (2014) [x] A short film about gender roles, Trans, and what it is like to have an identity that deviates from the status quo. Written/Produced/Strarring: Ruby Rose
Music: Butterfly Boucher "It pulls me under" https://www.youtube.com/user/thebutte...
Directed/Edited: Phillip Lopez
Styled: Phoebe Dahl
multiple angles
begins by completing 'feminine' look - shoes, lips and hair
begins with feminine look for enigma, so scissors immediately draws you in
then completely flips by chopping hair
slower fps
lots of close ups
handheld and almost shaky
'washes' self to reveal tattoos
has 'macho' moment to camera - feels like mirror moment psyching self up - reminiscent of Taxi Driver
Can be watched forwards or backwards, reflecting binary sides of dysphoria
I love the way that this film can mostly be watched backwards to present the same story but reflecting the transformation from male to female. This is an idea I want to try and repeat in my own production, I will try to plan the actions of my piece to achieve this and mirror my first and final shot to bookend the film.
Casting: I have decided to use my part-time actor-friend, Jack for a variety of reasons: we have a very strong working relationship and have worked on many projects before and his appearance lended itself to the project. Ideally I would have opted for a queer actor but because of the films personal themes I decided that mine and jack's past experience on-set was more beneficial for making the shoot comfortable for everybody.
Shots of room taken during recce/lighting test
Shots of room taken during recce/lighting test
Location I decided to use a student house with white walls as they worked best with the bold lighting design I required for my film. I decided on prominently bare walls with no set dressing as I felt that anything else could have been distracting for the eye.
Creates dimension and depth to shots - flat lighting is unattractive and unprofessional
Two main philosophies towards lighting
Naturalism: Intended to replicate realistic lighting, placing lights at points where actual light sources are. EG Windows, Room lights. Naturalist lighting can also be used by low-budget filmmakers to save money and give their movies a more realistic look.
Pictorialism: Placing lights in order to get the most desirable look from the shot, regardless of continuity etc.
image two
Two main types of lighting:
image one
High-Key: Everything is lit, giving full vision to the scene. Typical for lighter movies EG comedies and romance
image three
image four
Lo-Key: Lighting is used sparingly, focusing on highlights and a dramatic, impactful look. Shadows are more defined Used for modern dramas or films with a 'gritty' look.
The two shots from Harry Potter (image one: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two [2011, David Yates] & image four: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [2004, Alfonso Cuaron]) show how different types of lighting can be used within one continued series. One image representing hope and the other showing fear.
Properties of light:
Brightness - How intense is the light?
Colour - Is it natural day light or artificial lights such as LED or tungsten?? Are you using gels to create an emotional impact?
Quality - Is the lighting hard to create strong, deep shadows or soft to show minimise shadows?
Angle - Where are they placed in relation to the subject? Are the lights direct or being bounced off of a surface to soften them?
Shape
Three Point Lighting -
We experimented with three-point lighting and what happens when combining different colours. We found that by bouncing the backlight off of the wall, we could also influence the colour of the shadows for a very interesting effect.
I want my film to have a naturalist look with low-key lighting to represent the fear and anxiety the protagonist is feeling and to use shadow to show the duality of their personality and the 'two-sides' of their gender. Towards the end of the film, once they're fully dressed and able to show themselves as they feel they are - they will step out into full light, hopefully connoting that they now feel more complete. I want to combine blue and pink gels - opposing the stereotypical gender of the item on screen at the time to reflect the dissonance of their 'self'.
Life Doesn't Frighten Me Published in '93 and became the title of collaborative book with Jean-Michel Basquiat. Basquiat's pictures are dark and powerful but considered by some 'too strong' for Angelou's words. His purposely childlike style reflects the simplicity of Angelou's words and reveals the emotions and powerful imagination of a child.
Angelou said she wrote the poem for all children who whistle in the dark and refuse to admit they're frightened out of their wits.
The poem is simplistic and repetitive as if from a child perspective Short, lyrical stanzas that lend themselves to performance
Jean Michel Basquiat's illustrations
Angelou: I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.' The poem is about overcoming fear - moving past bravado and having a reason for bravery.
born Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, Missouri Varied career including: nightclub performer, composer, and Hollywood’s first female black director. Not to mention seven autobiographies, three books of essays and various poetry books and being Hollywood's first black, female director. Also an avid civil rights activist, Angelou worked with Dr. King jr and Malcolm X. She served on two presidential commitees, with Ford in 75 and Carter in 77. Before her death in 2014, she was awarded over 50 honorary awards, including National Medal of Arts by Clinton in 2000 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest US civilian honour) by Obama in 2010.
Angelou became a member of the Harlem Writer's Guild in last 1950's where she met James Baldwin, a black writer "whose eloquence and passion on the subject of race in America made him an important voice." (https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Baldwin) It was during this time she became inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King's message and became a part of civil rights movement and became northern co-ordinator for Dr King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Following this, she moved to Ghana in West Africa in 1962 and upon er return to the states became work on 'I know why the Caged Bird Sings', her first book that told her story from childhood to the birth of her first son. The book was an immediate success and is taught in schools to this day despite controversy over her honest portrayal of race, sexual abuse and violence. "Angelou’s use of fiction-writing techniques like dialogue and plot in her autobiographies was innovative for its time and helped, in part, to complicate the genre’s relationship with truth and memory. Though her books are episodic and tightly-crafted, the events seldom follow a strict chronology and are arranged to emphasise themes." A widely-read and highly revered poet, her 1971 Just Give Me A Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie was nominated for a Pulitzer prize the following year. Carol Neubauer wrote in Southern Women Writers, “the first twenty poems describe the whole gamut of love, from the first moment of passionate discovery to the first suspicion of painful loss.” In other poems, “Angelou turns her attention to the lives of black people in America from the time of slavery to the rebellious 1960s. Her themes deal broadly with the painful anguish suffered by blacks forced into submission, with guilt over accepting too much, and with protest and basic survival.” As well as autobiographies and poems, Angelous had a successful career in film and TV too. In 1972 she became the first black woman to have a screenplay produced with Georgia, Georgia and was nominated for an Emmy for her time in Roots in 1977. In 79 she helped adapt her first book into a television movie of the same name. Asked by Bill Clinton to read and write an inaugural poem, in the early 1990s Americans across the country heard Angelou read On the Pulse, a call for peace between races and cultures and humankind. Angelou also wrote several books for children in the early 90s. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me (1993), which also featured the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat; My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken, and Me (1994), and Kofi and His Magic (1996), both collaborations with the photographer Margaret Courtney-Clark. Her poetry was at it's best when performed and she performed to countless spellbound audiences, astounded as she bore her soul and commented on topics like race and sex on a social and psychological scale. She once said “Once I got into it [poetry] I realized I was following a tradition established by Frederick Douglass—the slave narrative—speaking in the first-person singular talking about the first-person plural, always saying I meaning ‘we.’ And what a responsibility. Trying to work with that form, the autobiographical mode, to change it, to make it bigger, richer, finer, and more inclusive in the twentieth century has been a great challenge for me.”
I decided to show the emotion 'fear' by contrasting close-ups and obscured long-shots. I tried to ensure a full face is never seen and purposely avoided showing key action such as the blinds being shut. I hoped that by avoiding typical structural forms to make the small piece create a sense of unease with audiences. Our tutor Sam suggested in future considering exploring using much more extreme long-shots to capitalise on the added isolation implied by the shot.
War Story - Aardman https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098620/
"This short animated piece uses a real interview as its soundtrack. Bill Perry relates stories about his youth, his tilted house, and adventures during WWII in Bristol, England during the blitz. Claymation Uses interviews as source material, this one from genuine ww2 soldier canted angles reflect sinking house Who's Hungry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8srEvrF90-s black and white 2D animation from animator David Ochs. “Who’s Hungry” is a modern spin on the Brothers Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel”. Ochs' freshman animation, won class award Uses 'Turkey in the straw' as emotional motif - seeming slightly unnerving at beginning but horrible by end. Colour Bleed https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1878888/
silent, uses music for mood and colour to create empathy - protagonist stands out among grey bg so we understand grey hand is her individuality dying OPERATOR https://www.operatorshortfilm.com/
"The script is based on a real 999 call. When Caroline first listened to it, she was completely blown away by how terrifying it was. It became clear straightaway that the story would make a powerful film, and that we could really bring to the audience's attention what an amazing job the operators do, remaining calm and composed in such stressful situations.
The film was funded through Kickstarter and was shot over two days in London."
begins with mentioning fire, then other jobs before focus begins on operator close ups on face increase sense of urgency. lack of cuts create anxiety and feeling of helplessness to help empathise with protagonist sudden silence is very powerful, immediately followed by another call shows this urgency and fear is commonplace PENCIL FACE
"A young girl is playing on some waste ground when she finds a pencil with a face. Whatever she draws with the pencil becomes real. Just an ordinary day." - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352842/ repetitive music immediately begins unease close up on pencil's face very creepy uses cgi to show influenced thoughts repeated shots of pencil face imply danger
BUT YOU DIDN'T
"Based on the anonymous poem of the same name, often attributed to Merrill Glass. It's said that the author was widowed and died of old age. When her daughter was organizing her remains, she discovered this poem her mother had written to her father back then, titled 'But You Didn't'." But You Didn't is directed by up-and-coming filmmaker John Wikstrom, who also edited the short.
Clips match words, with repeated words for effect Begins with focus on husband, then turning to daughter when he's gone matches colours when comparing them RUBBER JOHNNY
presented in infra red starts on out of focus close-up, very startling and confusing handheld camera gets shaky matching johnny's mood everything stops when sedated flashing lights jarring in darkness very surreal music interrupted with light cocaine makes video more eratic mixes paces and fast to slow cuts as well as obscured and face on angles - feels hard to understand or pin down combines the fear with small bits of humour, keeping audiences guessing on their toes
SOVIET MONTAGE Montage is a serious tool used by filmmakers. Following 1917 revolution film stock was low so filmmakers used old footage to experiment with editing. Found that people respond to shot differently depending on the shots that surround it. Kuleshov Experiment (see right)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gGl3LJ7vHc Lev Kulsehov created a film that showed a shot of a single man intercut with other images. Found that images surrounding shot of man influenced how audiences thought the man was feeling - despite it being the same shot. Lenin saw the films potential as propaganda.
Dziga Vertov & Sergei Eisenstein
combining and contrasting images to convey ideas
explored how rhythm/pace of editing & use of music can stir emotion
Eisenstein & Vertov considered continuity bourgeois for faking reality and preferred Marxist diaclectic about conflict of ideals. Eisenstein wanted to stir emotions and inspire revolution.
Eisenstein
Montage theorist, wrote 'Filmform' looking at ideals, including how the duration of shots affect audience reactions.
Used 'intellectual montage', matching and contrasting images such as cows being slaughtered & troops being killed in his 1925 Strike (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWiDciPuSW4 warning, graphic content!)
Also vertical montage, exploring how elements of the image, such as composition and actor movement work with the soundtrack.
Eisenstein's 5 types of montage:
Metric
Edit follows specific number of frames, based solely on time, cutting irregardless of the action in the Rhythmic
Cutting in time to a soundtrack, useful for keeping pace.
Tonal
Uses emotional meaning of a shot, not just manipulating length of cuts or rhythm.
Overtonal
Accumulation of aboce to synthesise effects for a more complicated and abstract effect.
Intellectual
Combines shots from outside film to synthesise meaning
Vertov
Vertov used montage to try an draw attention to the film-making.
Man With A Movie Camera (1926) is a city-symphony, covering different 'day-in-a-life events.
Uses partial shots of an object, close-ups, low and high angles, patterns and shapes to build sense of time & place.
Modern Montage
In the 1980's, Geoffrey Reggio's 'Kayaanisqatsi' used a lot of Vertov's ideals but for different reasons. Using time-lapse and slow-motion, Reggio showed modern life as a nightmare, contrasting shots of people on an escalator with sausages being squeezed out of a machine.
The three-way standoff from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly uses ideas from soviet monatage: dramatic cuts from wide to close-up & extreme close-ups, cutting between close-ups and accelerating editing to Moricone's classic score.
The title sequence of punk sci-fi 'Repo Man' uses rhythmic montage where shots of map sections are precisely edited to an Iggy Pop sountrack, cutting on every bar and beat.
In order to create a half and half look with the pink and blue lights, I needed to include a blue gel on a lamp pointed at the subject in order to get the colour necessary and have the effect in the shadows that worked so well.
