Directions Unit: Locations

During my production, I have been asking myself what would be the best place for filming as an interior location. For this I have decided to use a house for filming/lighting purposes. The use of this style of location is because a simple bedroom can be changed to suit my character’s identity and the issues he is dealing with by making the room messy and erratic looking. The lighting will also reflect this by using a red tint throughout these scenes.

When it comes to an exterior location, I have decided to go with a garden pathway in Rochester as I aim to have the film look as good as possible and I know this location will achieve that with its beautiful sea background and maze like corners. I also know it will create a great contrast with the red tinted interior scenes.

(A Lighting Kit will be used for interior scenes)

Directions Unit: Equipment

When filming my shoot I used several different pieces of equipment:

Sony EXCam (For Interior Scenes only)

Canon 7D DSLR (For Exterior Scenes only)

Rode Microphone

Lighting Kit (This was used for the interior scenes to create the red
lighting)

Directions Unit: Reflections

Looking back, I am quite happy with the way my project turned out, I was able to get the lighting I was hoping for and I thought Chris and Ruby played their respective roles very well. The picture quality in exterior scenes held up remarkably well I thought in comparison to some other students films which I am pleased about because in particular I wanted the exterior scenes to have a certain pop which could be in direct contrast to the gritter, red-lit interior scenes. Although the film is not perfect by any means and the sound isn't entirely up to scratch I think it is leaps and bounds better than the last project I worked on. The main reason I feel the sound wasn't as good as it could have been is because there is some slight wind pick up during a few lines of dialogue. However I feel I was able to make this work through the editing process and it is something I will definitely work on in future projects. I was able to use more coverage this time for the most part which I think clearly shows.

Directions Unit: A Journey Through Anger - My 4 Minute Film

Here is my finished 4 minute dramatic film:

Directions Unit- Director's Statement

Directors Statement- Sam Mckeown by SamMcK123

Directions Unit: A Journey Through Anger (Rough Cut)

Here is a rough cut of my finished film, I have not completely finished it as I still have pieces of music I would like to add as well as just making sure that I have used the best possible takes and edits for my film project.

Rough Cut

Directions Unit: Lighting

When I was making my film it was a self conscious effort to make sure that the lighting for the interior scenes had a red tint, when I had a session learning about lighting I realised that I could go even further with this idea. I decided to set it up so that the bedroom scenes could have red lighting throughout. It bodes well with the idea of David (Played by Chris Sarmiento) having turned completely delusional due to his drug abuse. The redness represents the theme of anger as well as the idea of David losing his mind. 



For the exterior scenes I really like the idea of having a huge contrast between the outdoor and indoor scenes. This is why I changed from using a Sony EXCAM for the interior scenes to a Canon DSLR. Another major reason for the change is that the latter camera is said to have really a good colour filter and I want the colours to pop in the outdoor scenes. I feel I have been able to succeed in creating a nice contrast between the interior and exterior shots.

Direction Unit: Filming And Editing

Today I began to start editing my finished film takes. I find this to be one of the most interesting and rewarding parts of the entire creative process.

When I was editing I used Final Cut Pro X, it was a fairly straightforward experience but it was using the best takes and sorting out the footage that took a lot of time and effort. The editing process has allowed me to look at exactly how I want the interior and exterior scenes to blend into one another. I have also made use of different transitions and sound effects in my film.

Directions Unit: A Journey Through Anger - Script

A Journey Through Anger - Script by SamMcK123

Directions Unit: Use Of Sound/Music

Since the sound design project, I have been much more aware of just how much sound can elevate an entire film production. For this reason, although I will use focus on producing the clearest and cleanest sound possible but I will use a song in the public domain as background music. I haven't decided yet what to use but here is a copyrighted song by The Flaming Lips that I feel conveys the mood of my film.

The song is titled "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate" and I feel the music helps to create more of an atmosphere and the lyrics relate back to my story. The song is very reflective and about how love and closeness helps people to get through life and without it you can end up feeling like your fading away or disintegrating. This is an interesting parallel to David and Diana's once close relationship which has now faded and led to the end of their story at the closing of this film.

1. "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate"
   The Flaming LipsThe Soft Bulletin (1999)

Directions Unit: Working With My Cast & Crew During The First Day Of My Shoot

For the first day of shooting it was quite nerving at the start not knowing how the lighting was going to set out but I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. Chris Sarmiento was portraying the role of David for the shoot as Mark Cooper wasn't available whilst Vittorio Falcucci was camera operator for the day. Illiana Douvli helped on the first shoot with the lighting and Ruby Rogers helped take the pictures of the shoot. For the second day Ruby was also the sound operator.

Directions Unit: Director's Statement (1st DRAFT)

Directors Statement by SamMcK123

Directions Unit: Working With Steve Finn

Last month we spent a lot of valuable time in workshops working with an experienced Director named Steve Finn. He has been responsible for directing some very well known and renowned British Televisions series such as Eastenders (300+ episodes!) and London's Burning. I found working with him to be incredibly valuable and he gave us many helpful hints and secrets to help with how we can look at the film-making process in this industry such as in terms of spacing and lighting. He also gave us experience as a class at looking at how to direct your actors and also composition using different settings.

Directions Unit: Crew

For this project I have decided to use the following people as crew:

For my camera operator I have decided to use Vittorio Falcucci as he has had experience working behind the camera and is quite skilled.

For my sound operator I have decided to use Illiana Ntouvli because she has a steady hand and is quite reliable. I feel that she can acheive the sound levels I am looking for.

I will also use either Vittorio or Aimee Saunders as my photographer for the shoot so this can go on my blog.

Directions Unit: Filming Ideas/Use Of Space

I have been trying to create a vision for my idea in terms of how the shots will be positioned and in terms of framing. I've wanted to use wide shots for a while now since researching films such as Falling Down for themes of anger. I am also a fan of the Directing of Sergio Leone. (A Director most famous for spaghetti westerns ala Fistful Of Dollars. For these reasons I want the film to appear quite spacious regardless of the size of the shooting space. I have been looking in depth about film spacing and how to make the picture seem larger than it actually is. Filming slightly outside of the room and allowing the camera to get in close from every angle. I took inspiration from the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho for this, particularly the shower sequence which was discussed and analysed in a film lecture.

(Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho (1960)

I have also been looking at the 180 degree rule and how to implement this in exterior scenes featuring David and Diana. The 180 degree rule is a guideline that is followed by film makers when filming with two people. It means that when they are both being filmed in shot, they can not cross over to the other side of the frame. For this reason I will be looking more in depth at how I concieve of my shots with more accuracy involved.