Shot for Shot Pre-Production

Here's the original scene.  Note: this clip omits the final shot of the scene, which I put back into my shot list.

Here's a link to my shot list:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1QgnLza2I0XY0VtdEFWTjRMUEU

Pre-Production Photos:
1st Location:

2nd Location:

Camera/Lighting Setups:

1A, 1C, 1E (I had to cheat the angle in order to replicate how it looks in the film)

1B

1D

1F

 Camera pans to the right, actors move to the right.

1G
Camera follows actress, keeping her in the middle of the frame as she backs into the kitchen, then makes a circle

1H (this should be a red circle)

Actor walks backwards in a circle, camera keeps him centered at all times, following him.

1J, 1K

Static camera, actors switch places.

1L

 Camera pans left. Actors walk towards opening to hallway.

2A

 Camera pans right and dollies into actors (slider). Actors enter room, reach door, then end on the wall.

2C

2D

 Actor opens door, 6 pack enters frame, followed by actor.

2H

2F

Lined Script:

Director's Statement of Intent: Shot for Shot

1.      What is the story of this scene in two or three sentences? In other words, what happens in the scene? 

Truman has recently been questioning his reality and suffered a breakdown after (basically) kidnapping his wife to go on a road trip.  His wife tries to calm him down, but tension only rises to the point where she uses a potato peeler to protect herself from her unstable husband.  While fighting, she accidentally breaks character and speaks to an unseen third party, causing Truman to freak out and threaten her, until his friend Marlon shows up to diffuse the situation.

2.      What is purpose of this scene in the larger story? (Or, if there is not a larger story, invent the purpose of this scene.)

This is the moment in the film where Truman and Meryl’s relationship (and their entire marriage) is finally revealed to be a sham.  Their relationship breaks down, just as Truman’s own perception of his world has been breaking down.  She also accidentally confirms his beliefs that his reality is not real and is being manipulated by unseen forces, which fuels his actions for the rest of the movie. 

3.      What is the emotion I want to communicate? 

I want to communicate Truman’s frustration at the realization that his marriage and reality are falling apart, and I want to communicate Meryl’s fear of Truman and concern for her own safety.

4.      Why is this scene personal to me? What previous personal experiences does it remind me of? Why do I need to make this scene?

I strongly believe in the importance of free will and choice.  I also believe strongly in the importance of honesty.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when people lie to me or try to trick me (which is funny because I love acting, which is essentially lying for entertainment).  This movie encapsulates both of these things that I love.  The film is all about the importance of free will and the harm that everyone’s deceptions and lies cause to Truman.  It shows that humans should choose freedom even in the face of the unknown and dangerous, rather than remain coddled in a pleasant but controlling environment.  This scene in particular shows Truman confronting his wife about the lies that have been prevalent all throughout their marriage, and their confrontation solidifies his conviction that his reality is not real, which leads him down the path to discovering how to free himself from this world and regain his free will and agency.

5.      What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively and feel at the end of this scene? How do you intend to make sure this will happen?

Honestly, this is probably the most difficult part, since the scene doesn’t make a whole lot of sense out of context.  For example, when the wife slips into “commercial mode”, the audience understands what is happening because we have seen this strange behavior before.  Without the context of the rest of the film, this moment will seem random and out of place.  However, I think that it is important for the audience to know that they are having marital troubles, Truman is feeling particularly paranoid, and his wife genuinely becomes afraid of him and fears for her safety.  They need to know that Truman regrets his actions at the end of the scene and realizes that his life is falling apart.  The audience must feel bad for both Truman, who is suffering a massive breakdown, and his wife, who is in physical danger.  I intend to make this happen by casting actors who can portray all of these complex emotions and sticking closely to the framing and composition of the original film.

6.      What two visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) will you use to help communicate the emotion of the scene?

Two visual elements that I wish to utilize are movement and color.  There is a clear difference in saturation between the first half that takes place in the kitchen and the second half which occurs in the darker living room.  This contrast emphasizes the escalating nature of their fight and the darkness creeping into Truman’s life.  Movement also plays a key role.  When they circle each other in the kitchen, the camera keeps them in the center frame at all times, which makes it seem like they’re standing still and the world is spinning around them, which further emphasizes how their world is falling apart (and in Truman’s case, the world does revolve around him, in a way).

7.      What are some potential obstacles to creating a successful scene? How can you be prepared to overcome these?

Location location location.  In order for this scene to work, I need to find a large enough kitchen/dining room area that has a ceiling high enough for the high angle shots, and enough space for the actors to walk around and perform.  Most of the apartments that I know don’t have kitchens large enough to film in, so I will have to do some serious scouting to find a house that matches the space as closely as possible (the living room scene should be easier, since it mostly requires a door with windows next to it).  Also, several of the shots require parts of the frame to be obscured or blacked out completely (the button cam shots, for example), which I will either learn to do in post, or I will work with Lauren to see how we can achieve the effect in camera.  I’m also a little scared about knowing what lenses to use in what shot, so I will by talking things over with Lauren, my DP, and seeing which lenses will best replicate the shots that we need.

8.  What is the first image of the scene?  What is the last image of the scene?
The first image is of Meryl standing in front of the island in the kitchen, facing Truman and pleading for him to get help.  The last image is of Marlon holding Meryl in front of the doorway, comforting her and assuring her that everything is going to be okay.

Shot for Shot Analysis

Shot for Shot Analysis: The Truman Show

I uploaded a link to the file on my google drive (didn't know another way to fit it all on here).

Also, his friend's name is Marlon, not Marion.  I noticed the mistake after I had already uploaded the file.

Director's Reflection - One Shot of an Event

          Quiplash is a super fun game that you play on your smartphone.  Two questions are sent to your phone each round, you answer them however you want, and then the rest of the group votes on their favorite answers.  That’s the basic premise of the game.  When thinking about what I wanted to shoot for this project, this game immediately came to mind.  I love the intimate setting that this game creates, and the humorous answers that people come up with while playing.  I’ve spent a lot of time playing Quiplash with my friends and family, and I’ve learned a lot about them in the way that they answer questions.  I wanted to capture that feeling of friendship and fun that is felt when a group of friends gets together and plays.  That is why I ultimately decided to show this clip, even though it is filled with several mistakes on my part, more so than any of the other clips I considered using.  I felt like the mistakes added humor and a sense of friendship and lightness to the piece, which is what I was going for.

            When choosing to shoot this project, I severely underestimated how long the game takes to play.  I shot for about an hour, and in that time, the group played through three games, each one taking about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.  I wanted to show as much of the process as possible so that the audience would understand the rules of the game, but one round of the game took about 5 to 6 minutes, which was way longer than the project’s time limit.  In the end, I decided to eliminate the beginning of the round where everyone submits their answers, which would have increased the audience’s clarity about how the game worked, but ultimately took too much time away from the other things that I wanted to show, such as laughter, group bonding, and humor derived from the game.  I also wanted there to be a satisfying conclusion, so I decided to show more of the scores at the end of the round and less of the answer submission at the beginning.  I had hoped that the group’s dialogue, as well as shots of the screen and gameplay, would help the audience understand how the game worked, but electronic games such as Quiplash are only just starting to take off, so their rules are not as universal or easy to follow if you’re not already playing it.  If I could do it again, I would have chosen a simpler game that is more universal, or a board game that is fairly easy to follow, even if you’ve never played before.

As always, while shooting the film, I was reminded of my own weaknesses as a DP.  I don’t know anything about white balancing, ISO, or any other technical camera knowledge, and I had little experience with using the shoulder rig.  It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to balance the camera, keep things in frame, and adjust the focus.  If I could do it again, I would probably try practicing and using the larger shoulder rig.  Even though it’s more complicated, it would have given me more control over focus, and the camera would hopefully have been less bumpy.  I also didn’t really comprehend the difficulty of shooting a television screen, and I was grateful that I had the laptop as a backup while shooting because without it, several parts of the film would have been incomprehensible.  Ultimately, I feel like I failed to capture enough of the gameplay in order to help the audience understand the rules, but I feel like I did capture what I was originally going for by showing the group bonding, laughing, and enjoying each other’s wit and humor.

Photos - Week 7

1.

This photo has the least amount of color out of all of my photos this week, and it's mostly black, white and grey with a blue tint.  I liked the ambiguous space and the strange, modern art taking up the foreground.  I wish I could have had something more colorful in the background to draw the eye, but I do like all of the tonal contrast going on with the tree and the sky.

2,

I was looking at my roommate's workout equipment, and I realized that his blue mat was kind of a nice color, so I tried to position the dumbbell in such a way as to see the wall and the floor.  The space is pretty ambiguous and it's not framed very well, but I like the color contrast between the blue mat and the red wall and chair.

3.

This was probably my most conscious effort this week to play around with color.  I tried to position the red and the blue next to each other so that the color placement would make them appear to be more saturated.  I wish I had shot them in a more consistent environment, though, rather than on top of the dull brown drawer and strange curtains that distract, and I feel like some of the colors clash more than I wanted them to, but I do like that red/blue combination.

4.

More ambiguous space (although not as ambiguous as the previous shots).  I wish I could have gotten the background in focus, but I like how the holes on the iron lead towards the red wall in the background, 

5.

More red and blue.  I took several different shots of our google fiber box, and I tried to make the lighting in the background consistent.  I had a different shot where the red was darker and the lighting was better, but it ended up desaturating the blue light, so this ended up being the only photo where the blue light emanating from the box wasn't washed out or desaturated.

Photos 6 - Tone

1.

This was yet another foggy day on Campus. I like the tonal contrast between the sky and the right building, but overall, there is a lot of tonal affinity.  I just really like what fog does to landscapes (although I hate driving in it).

2.

This is the wall on the East side of the library.  I wanted there to be more of a contrast between the dark rock and the light emanating from inside, but I don't think I quite captured that here.  I do like the labyrinth design of the wall, though.

3. 

This is a close-up of the library wall. Someone decided to put a rock in this little cubbyhole here, and it intrigued me.  It's not as bright or as tonally interesting as I wanted it to be, but I just really liked the strange juxtaposition of this rock.  It seems like it doesn't belong and shouldn't be there, event though it is sitting on a wall that is itself made out of rock. It's like the rock is looking into a world that it will never truly be a part of. That's just my weird, tangent thought on the subject.

4.

This one was my favorite photo that I took last week.  I was originally intrigued by the shadow that this lamppost was making, but I couldn't make any pictures of it look cool.  Then I decided to take pictures of the post itself, messing around with the aperture and brightness settings.  This was the coolest one out of the series of photos that I took.  I love the tonal contrast between the bright light and the tree.

5.

I took this one while I was at work at a women's basketball game.  I love how the darker tones of the camera and stands contrast with the super bright basketball court, and it kind of draws your eye downward to the players and the giant Y on the court. I wish I could've gone wider and gotten even more of the stadium, but I like this perspective.

Director's Intent - One Shot of an Event

1.       What is the story--the beginning, middle, and end--of this scene in three or four sentences? In other words, what happens in this scene as it starts, as it progresses, and as it ends?

      In this scene, a group of friends sits around a TV with their phones out playing the game Quiplash.  The main subject receives some questions on their phone and answers them.  We wait until everyone’s answers have been submitted, then we see all of the questions and answers.  We see the crowd react, vote for their favorites, and points are earned by the players.  By the end of the round, the main subject has either won the round or done horribly.

2.       What, specifically, must the audience understand narratively? How do you intend to communicate that information?

They must understand how the game works, how answers are submitted, and how points are earned.  I intend to communicate this information by focusing on one person per round and showing how they submit their answers and then focusing on the people during the voting of each round so that the audience understands that points are earned when other people vote for your answer.

3.       If this scene is from a longer piece, what is the narrative, emotional and thematic purpose of the scene in the larger story?

      The larger story is man’s desire to interact with others and form lasting friendships.  We partake in activities that may seem frivolous or pointless, but there is a strong social factor that influences these choices and helps to make us healthier, happier people in the long run.

4.       What emotion do you want to communicate in this scene? How do you intend to do this? 

I want to communicate fun and friendship.  I will do this by focusing on people’s reactions to the questions and answers submitted by their peers.  In this game, there is a lot of room for improvisation and creativity, and a lot of the joy comes from the humorous answers to the already humorous questions.  By focusing on the answers and how people respond and vote on which answers they like, I hope to be able to communicate the joy that is felt while playing and the friendship/bonding that is taking place.

5.       What is the first image of the scene? What is the final image of the scene?

      The first image will most likely be a wide shot of the crows preparing to start the round.  The final image will likely be a similar wide shot, or a close up reaction to the main subject’s success/failure.

6.       Why is this scene personal to me? What previous personal experience(s) does it remind me of? Why do I need to make this scene?

This scene is personal to me because I love this game, and I have bonded and created many friendships by playing this game.  I love playing games in general, especially because it allows a chance for people to be creative and learn new things about others that you never knew.  I need to make this scene because I want others to know how fun this game is and its potential for bringing people together and helping others to have a good time.

7.       What two visual elements (line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm, movement) will you use to help communicate the emotion of the scene? (Be sure these elements apply to the assignment as listed on Learning Suite; only choose elements that you have read about or that we have covered in class.)

Since the players will be seated for the majority of the game, movement will be hard to capture.  Space will also be pretty flat and confined, although I might want to emphasize this intimate space when shooting. Therefore, I intend to use line in order to direct the audience’s attention to the screen when that is the focus, or to people’s reactions when that becomes the focus.  I also want to use bright colors to contrast with the dull environment of the living room and to emphasize how fun and vibrant the game and atmosphere are.

8.       What are two or three potential obstacles to creating a successful scene? How can you be prepared to overcome these? Be specific!

      

      The number of people involved in the game can make it hard to shoot in two ways: if there are too few players, the level of excitement and fun will diminish.  If there are too many, it may be hard to focus on one person and keep the action limited and easy to understand.  I intend to overcome these by RSVP with everyone involved and getting a headcount, and choosing only one subject to focus on in order to simplify the action.  Another obstacle is limited space.  This game is generally played in living rooms and other rooms where space is limited and there’s not a lot of room to move around.  I will resolve this by finding spots that won’t inhibit the player’s view yet allow me to find good vantage points, and using lenses that can zoom in to get close ups and zoom out to get wide shots of the room.

Chase Scene

Director’s Reflection: Chase Scene

            When I started this assignment, I didn’t have any personal connection to it whatsoever.  I had recently seen the movie It Follows, and I liked the idea of having a monster that chased you slowly without ever stopping and that no one else could see.  For some reason, the film had made a big impact on me, so I wanted to replicate the film’s creepy atmosphere in my film.  My brother had also recently made a scary plague doctor mask for Halloween, and I wanted to feature it in my film.  I just wanted to shoot a scary chase scene, and that was it.  But after thinking, I tried to find a personal connection to the material.  I thought about why I wanted to emulate this film so badly.  And I was able to come up with an answer.  For my whole life, I’ve struggled with Tourette’s syndrome.  I have an aunt who struggles with Bipolar disorder.  And I recently found out that my cousin, who is only a little older than I am, has struggled with schizophrenia for most of his life.  So mental disorders have been a prominent part of my life for a long time.  I have always had difficulty explaining my tics to other people.  Close friends and family aren’t bothered by it anymore, but whenever I meet someone new, I eventually have to explain my situation or lie about it.  So in a way, I’ve been running from a monster that only I can see for a long time.  After finding this connection, I became excited.  I couldn’t wait to shoot my film because now it meant something to me.  It wasn’t just an assignment anymore.  It was a symbolic representation of struggling with mental disorder.  So I decided to imitate It Follow’s use of deep space, framing the protagonist center frame in order to portray this feeling.  We also shot a lot of dolly shots on a glide cam to better simulate someone being chased from behind.         

            There were a few technical mishaps.  We had problems with checking out the Black Magic camera, so we ended up shooting it on Brett’s Canon 6D instead.  Also, after we left the park to shoot in the next location, the mic on the camera stopped working and we had no sound.  This made me sad because I originally intended to include more sounds of the main character running, gasping, and screaming bloody murder (which my actor, Danny Brown, did splendidly).  It wasn’t a huge setback, though, since the dialogue in the beginning was the only essential part of the film that needed to have sound.  The initial cut was almost 3 ½ minutes long, so I spent a lot of time cutting it down to under 3 minutes.  This actually helped the film tremendously because I was forced to trim a lot of the fat and reduce it to what was essential to tell the story, although I feel like the opening card scene is a little bit choppy because of it.  There are also quite a few continuity errors in the film.  During one of the shots, I didn’t notice that Danny had put his glasses back on, and after we finished, he realized this and told us.  But since the shot was the most physically demanding, we decided to just move on and not worry about it.  Also, because it was so cold outside, I sent two of my actors home as soon as I thought they were done, not realizing that we still needed to get a wide pan of the park and the pavilion, so we did the shot even though none of our actors were there anymore.  I also fear that the second half of the film relies too heavily on music and not enough on visual in order to create suspense.  Besides these technical limitations, incompetency on my part, and the lack of sound, I feel like we were able to accomplish my original idea.  I am forever indebted to Brett, who did an amazing job with the demanding Steadicam shots that were required for the film and gave great input about lighting and lenses.  So even though the film has some problems, I still feel like we were able to put together a decent film that demonstrates the horror of being affronted with terror that only you can see