P.O.P Final Planning Before Shoot

In the last few days, Katie and I have been getting organised before the location trip. We have finished buying props, compiling shot lists and prop lists, and have completed our Parashoot risk assessment.

Screen shots of documents are posted below:

P.O.P Progress

Progress so far:-
On Saturday 22nd Oct me and Katie got together for a meeting where we compiled a shot list from our storyboards, with a seperate breakdown of shots we will need to do in each location. Then yesterday we went scouting for man made objects we can use in the rest of our project. We plan to meet later to practice the techniques we are going to use and then finalise our project planning, including finishing off our shot list & location breakdown and create a title for the project.

P.O.P Initial Storyboard

After a meeting me & Katie had we drew out a basic storyboard each to see if we understood each other's ideas of filming shots and camera techniques. When we have more time together we will create a shot by shot detailed storyboard.

I stopped drawing the storyboard at this point as me & Katie decided it would be best to complete it when we decide which man-made objects we was going to use and in which location. On the storyboard I also included possible camera shots that me & Katie could use when it comes to creating the shot list.

P.O.P Inspiration

This film by duo Joe King and Rosie Pedlow will be huge inspiration for our editing techniques, especially the continuity cutting that we plan to experiment with.

Here is a link to a site with the film 'Sea Change'. The idea that you can have a continuous movement with a changing environment will hugely influence moments in our film where we will try to acheive something very similar.

Sea Change - Joe King & Rosie Pedlow

Still taken from "Sea Change"

P.O.P Locations

Location: - Edale
Film Style:- Experimental (Silent)

Through researching on Google Maps of the filming location Edale, Katie & Myself have discovered what we think would be brilliant locations for visuals and shots of landscapes.

1. Barber Booth Hill - Good views & not too far from station and meeting point.

2. Jacob's Ladder - Great location for shooting travelling objects.

3. Kinder Low - Top of hill with some amazing views looking out into the valley.

4. Barber Booth Bridge - Great location for shooting travelling objects, also has the woods surrounding the stream which we will need for some of our natural objects.

Katie & myself then created list of natural & man made props we may need during the shoot & things we will need to buy to help us during our filming which we went out and collected the weekend just gone.

Natural Objects

 Leaves, Pinecones, Mushrooms, Acorns, Flowerheads, Rocks & Apples.

Man-Made ObjectsWaste Bin, Folding Chair, Table Lamp, Hiking Boots, Plastic Bags, Flask, Umbrella.

Things We May Need To Help During Our Shooting

Invisible String, Wellies, Umbrella, Plastic Bags.

Portrait of Place

Location: Edale
Film Style: Experimental (Silent)

Idea 1: An experimental piece that focuses on natural objects and the objects setting of the natural world around them. The objects begin to travel to different locations around Edale using a cut edit effect.
The natural objects then slowly start being introduced and collide to human life by coming across a trail of man made objects left behind hikers.

I then began to draw a few sketches to try and organise ideas and plan out how our piece would work.

The Kid With A Bike

Le Gamin Au Velo (The Kid With A Bike) - Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne - 2011

I've always been 50/50 with the Dardenne Brothers work. For example absolutely loved "Rosetta", disliked "Le fils" (The Son). I also thought "L'Enfant" (The Child) was an incredible film but still in need to see "Le silence de Lorna" (The Silence of Lorna). Not sure why im split with the Dardenne Brothers work because their filming style is always the same and usually deals with familiar subject matters. However, Ive always had upmost respect for them, I love the way they deal with their subject matters and the powerful messages they send out. I also believe their way of filming is extremely raw, gripping and somewhat poetic. Watched the trailer for their new film "The Kid With A Bike" today, due for release in the UK late this year/early next year. The storyline got me hooked straight away so really looking forward to seeing this film...lets see how it does if it enters Cannes Film Festival next year, another Palme D'or maybe?

Alps

Alps - Yorgos Lanthimos - 2011

I fell in love with Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos after watching his intense thought provoking & extremely disturbing film "Dogtooth" last year. So, was absolutely overjoyed when I discovered he has directed this new film which is heading for a release in the UK soon. At the moment can't find much information about the storyline or what the subject matter is about, but hopefully it will be just as incredible & insane as "Dogtooth", which im sure it will be.

We Need To Talk About Kevin

We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay - 2011

Seriously cannot wait to see this film next week, been looking forward to it for so long now! The novel by Lionel Shriver is absolutely incredible & when I found out Lynne Ramsay was creating a film adaptation of it was SERIOUSLY EXCITED, although really find it hard to believe it's only her third feature lenght film, i find her an extremely talented female director. Check out her other films "Ratcatcher" & "Movern Callar"



Tyrannosaur

Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine - 2011

Finally watched Paddy Considine's feature lenght directorial debut "Tyrannosaur" last night at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield. Thought it was brilliant, although the story is slightly different from what I thought it first would be from watching the loosely based short film "Dog Altogether" beforehand again directed by Paddy Considine. Peter Mullan is great as usual as a troubled soul with past demons, but its Olivia Colman's performance who blew me away, a mile away from her happy characters you usually see in comedies such as "Peep Show" or "Hot Fuzz"...Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys their gritty british realism drama's.

Highrise

Highrise – Gabrielle Russell – 2002 – 4’00”

At only four minutes long Highrise very successfully sends out its themes and messages with a powerful punch & personally I loved it. A single mother living on a high floor in a block of flats has only crucial seconds to decide what actions to make on an event that could change her world completely, forever.

Highrise begins with a young toddler playing by itself on a sofa while the mother pays no attention more interested in watching what is on television. The pan of the room from the camera shows the flat to be not well furnished or decorated & not very clean either, instantly showing the audience that this woman could well be a struggling, single, unemployed mother living in lower, working class poverty conditions.

Still from "Highrise"

There is never any speech from the mother, her facial expressions are constantly blank & dull throughout with her body language very lazy & sluggish. This reflects the mother’s tired & exhausted state to the audience. Also, each time she looks over to her child her expressions never change or at times look somewhat slightly more irritated. From the actresses performance I believe it successfully shows to the audience that the mother feels very little affection or love towards her child & that she is suffering from post-natal depression. Every time the camera focuses on the mother, with the use of a steady cam or a jib the camera begins to sway left to right in a disorientating manner. This technique I believe very successfully backs up the fact that the mother is suffering from post-natal depression, with the swaying showing audiences her unstable, disorientated & confused state of mind.

Still from "Highrise"

The camera shots throughout the film are very close up of the characters and objects within the flat giving a sense of the mother’s claustrophobia and a feeling of being trapped within the flat with no means of escape. As the camera focuses on the television show, it is also showing the mothers focus which is a game show called “Dreams Can Come True”. This I believe shows to the audience the mothers feel for a need of an escape or a better life. However the use of sound here I believe is very clever because her child’s moans and cries feel to become slightly higher over the television show bringing the mother back to her reality, which in her mind doesn’t seem like a very great one. I believe this is also trying to show to the audience an understanding of why the mother is feeling how she feels as it gives a sense of her never being able to have time to herself and create any escapism at all.  

When the baby throws a doll which lands on the windowsill right next to a window that is wide open, the baby rises up to go grab the doll making the mother to jump up trying to stop the baby go near the window but she trips instead and falls to the floor. There is a focus on a bottle with milk dripping from the tip. I believe that the dripping of milk is supposed to represent those crucial seconds to act that everyone faces in life, how the choices you make in very little time can change your whole life forever, the dripping of milk representing the passing of crucial seconds the mother is being given for a chance to act. Instead however the mother looks back into the corridor and decides to crawl away closing the door behind her.

Still from "Highrise"

The shot in the corridor again I believe explains a lot to the audience about the mothers state of mind but also her situation. The long narrow shot of the corridor with dark lighting represent her feelings of being trapped & her state of mind being imprisoned in a long & very dark abyss. I believe this shot also symbolises the pressures of parenthood & the isolation & loneliness this single mother has been feeling. When the mother hears faint screams she instantly rushes into the front room, where like the audience she believe her baby has fallen out the window. However we discover the screams have come from the television of a contestant winning the game show and then we see the baby back to its original position at the start of the film playing with a new toy. The shot of the broken doll on the floor outside I believe is supposed to be a dark metaphor of what could have actually happened. This makes me also believe that another theme of this film (along with depression, time, isolation & loneliness or a sense of being trapped) could be fate. This is because the dripping of the milk representing the passing time which could be fate allowing her to take action. Also, the symbol of the doll on the floor showing what could of happened, which could possibly represent fate giving the mother another chance with her child.

Still from "Highrise"

Christmas with Dad

Christmas with Dad – Chris McCormack – 2008 – 12’00’’

Christmas with Dad brings us to a council estate near Bristol full of crime, drugs, unemployment & anti-social behaviour during the festive season. Here we are introduced to Aj, unemployed and barely a man himself at just the age of twenty-three he is already fathering seven children (five of which he is the step-father) & preparing for the arrival of child number eight. From obvious appearances & lifestyle audiences & general members of the public may automatically dislike Aj.  However I believe that the director is not showing Aj & his family in a negative way & his aims was something surprisingly different altogether as the documentary went on.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

It is clear from the start that the director has taken his time develop a friendly basis with the family so that they all feel comfortable in his presence. This makes the documentary feel realistic as possible and allows the audience to enter this family’s world with every event looking completely natural. The use of the hand-held camera adds to the realistic feel of the family’s situation & the visual shaky effect adds to the chaotic and claustrophobic feel making the audience feel as though they are there among the family they are observing.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

The first half of the film we are introduced to Aj & his family & his ever growing struggle to hold his role as the dominant father figure within the household. This is shown through different shots of the younger toddlers running around being mischievous not listening to his empty threats & warnings, to a very shocking confession from Aj when the eldest son tried to stab him after an argument they had. Throughout the documentary Aj is constantly and completely honest with the his views on his kids and his fathering, one example is when he is explaining how he feels as though he gives more attention and love to his biological children but tries to equal out his love to all the children. Another example also is when he is explaining how he feels as though because he is young himself he is struggling to gain respect from the older children. Even though this may come across as Aj being a bad father there are a number of scenes the director has intentionally put in the documentary of Aj showing true love and affection towards the children, making the documentary have a very warm feel about it but also making the audience sympathise & warm up to Aj.

Throughout the documentary the sound is constantly on the same level, for example when people in the family are being interviewed the background noise is not lowered so you can still hear the screams of the children at the same volume throughout the house. I believe the director did this to add the natural, realistic feel of the documentary & reflect on the constant chaos in the house. The lighting throughout is also natural coming from the lights inside the rooms & the natural lighting from outside, this also adds to the rawness of the documentary & also I feel it reflects on the family’s lack of wealth & simple standard of living.

Still from "Christmas with Dad"

As the documentary nears to an end we unexpectedly discover Aj’s unfortunate troubled past of having to leave home when he was sixteen & living with an alcoholic father we then also discover uncertain worries Aj faces as he is getting older of possibly becoming blind at the age of twenty-five which happened to his father. From this I feel I got a sense of the director’s reason & aim for this documentary. This is because we understand Aj’s worries & concerns for his future; I believe the director is not showing the family in either a negative or positive way, but with an unsettling feeling of uncertainty for the whole family’s future. To add to this the Christmas jingle music at the beginning, middle & end of the documentary is not uplifting & happy as it should be, but more eerie & dull creating what I feel a constant lingering sense of dwelling & unease for this family’s unclear future.

Overall, I feel this is a very successful and insightful documentary into a world a lot of us overlook. I like it for it's gritty honesty & unflinching openness & how it changed my view of it's main focus. At first I though Aj as a stupid, irresponsible man but as the film went on I discovered Aj to be very loving & sensitive but also a very troubled & worried man.    

The Life Size Zoetrope

The life Size Zoetrope - Mark Simon Hewis - 2007 - 6'33''

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The Life Size Zoetrope is an honest and celebratory portrayal of one man's life shown through a real life size zoetrope using real people holding picture cards while spinning to show the life of one man.

Just from the title of the documentary we instantly gather that the themes in the film could be about the cycle of life and as the film begins this becomes very apparent and clear, also repetition of life could be seen as a crucial theme in the film as a number of times phrases, pictures & events repeat themselves throughout the documentary.

I believe that the directors aims within this documentary is to bring all viewers together in a number of ways showing how very much alike humans are with the events that happen, our thoughts & choices we make in our lives. At the beginning of the documentary everyday looking people stand together in this life size zoetrope to help show the life of the narrator by holding up picture cards, this instantly could show the director's aim as it shows the coming together of people because of this film. The first images we see in the Zoetrope is an ultra-scan of a baby to it being born surviving on its mother's milk, showing the audience that we all come from the same place.

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The narrator in the documentary is very blunt and honest talking us through his thoughts. Through his teenage rebellion of drug taking & sex to his scared thoughts on fatherhood & then the loneliness that comes with old age. The narrator's voice is very monotone & he uses the same emotion throughout the film, this could at first come across as a very bitter and cold man looking back at his life, but as the film continues the use of images and the ambient choice of music come together to make this a very warm, comical and reflective piece. The same monotone narration throughout could make the audiences reflect on their own lives and show how similar theirs are. I think this because there is no emphasis on topics in his voice so it shows how all the events are normal & natural parts of life, that almost all of us have been there & done it & most probably have had the same thoughts as this man reflecting on his own life. The life of this stranger can leave the audiences feeling touched as they can relate it to their own lives.

  The pictures and narrator I believe work incredibly well in this documentary, for instance the fading of colour in one picture to represent death & the monotone emotion of the narrator while even describing his embarrassing & fearful moments. However if these two elements was not together I believe the documentary could have been left feeling very vague and confusing as sometimes I did find it very difficult to tell what some of the pictures were. So, when the narrator comes to talk about the subject of the picture it allows the audience to make sense of it all working together very well.

Still from "The Life Size Zoetrope"

The pace of the documentary is very quick, passing through this man's life in a short space of time; I believe this is to reflect how life can pass by us very quickly if we do not stop to see what is around us. The music towards the middle of the documentary reflect this as well as it becomes very fast paced and almost slightly disorientating as more events happen and pass more quickly. Sound of people's voices used and images repeat themselves over to reflect the repetition in life whether events in a singular life, e.g. tests, relationships, partying etc. or the repetition of life & death itself in this world e.g. birth of a child to the death of an elderly person.