Actor Release form

This actor release form serves as a contractual agreement to allow my useage of the actor's image in the short and related materials as well as their commitment to reshoots.

Shooting coming!

Production is moving rapidly now, with a initial shooting date of the 17th of Novemeber. While I'd have liked to have shot it a month or so earlier, the reality of coordinating actors, equipment and the location meant I had to be flexible. In order to make sure the shoot is as efficient as possible, I've drawn up a shot list and a storyboard which will hopefully means I have a reference of what to shoot.

 On the admin side, I'm getting my actors to sign a model release form, so they can allow my useage of their image and everything I shoot as well as a commitment to make an effort for reshoots. There is a similar one for the location that I'll need to get the manager of the coffee shop to sign - essentially my promising not to knock any doors down.

I'm having my lead actor over on Wednesday to play dress-up. While we both have an idea of what we want the character to wear and look like, this costume planning will help us be specific and give me as director an understanding of what colours I will be working with. I've done a lot of exploration of colour imagery, something I'll go into more detail after the shoot.

Image Progression

Props List

Following on from the breakdown, I'm going into the props list in a bit more detail, looking at two pieces that might be elusive.

• Notebook/Journal

Miranda has a notebook that Graham looks inside. I have a fair-trade leather bound notebook that might use, alternatively I'll invest in a moleskine notebook. Both of these are well made and personal It's important that the audience can easily believe that Miranda has spent a lot of time writing in the notebook so I'll need to do some production design and fill it with text!

• Coffee and Coffee cups

Coffee is an important part of the story, used as a visual signifier for establishing characters. What this does mean is that there needs a consistent supply of coffee for shooting with! I might have to beg the coffee shop I'm shooting in for discount coffee or alternatively bring my own supply...

Production Diary - Researching

Lately I've turned my focus in Media studies to looking at existing products and working out what works and what doesn't. Doing this hopefully will help me understand how to make a short film that works with existing conventions as well as being well done.

As seen in my Research into Director's post, one director I've looked at it Spike Jonze and his work. I saw Where the Wild Things Are soon after its release and loved it for its beautiful and unique visuals as well as a very touching and emotive story. Looking back over it recently made me want to explore his other works which lead me to watch his latest feature Her, another fantastic, innovative film.

This has certainly influenced my ideas visually - suggesting a tone and 'style' to emulate while shooting, which I'll explore more in an upcoming post.

Production Diary - The Benefit of Hindsight

Back in Easter, a couple friends and I entered a national competition to create a short film in the science fiction genre in the space of forty-eight hours. We were given the title ('Strange Attractor') a prop (A black box - to be opened but we couldn't see what was inside) and a line of dialouge that had to be included.

The end result is below.

I'm proud of what we created in that time and I feel the story worked really well for the format.

Looking forwards to comencing production of the next short film I will make, I've decided it's worth looking back to examine what worked well and what didn't.

The first thing that I would have done differently is adjusting the exposure - everything is a lot brighter than I'd have liked. I do know now how to do that properly and will definitely be able to fix it for Brew.

Also, I'd like to place a focus on developing the frame compisition -  having to deal with actors of very different hieghts resulted in a few odd angles, as well as a total disregard of the rule of thirds - the technique that suggests that there are places to objects of interest to make the frame more aesthetically pleasing.

During directing, the main thing I'll take away is that it's good to do as many takes as possible, and keep in mind how it will be edited. Using only one camera meant that I had to get the actors to repeat the majority of the takes in order to enable succesful editing. What I'd like to be able to work on next time is making the final product look 'fluid' and less choppy, which can be achieved by having more takes to choose between and monitoring the actor's movements. The 'choppy' editing is evident earlier on in this video where we were doing shorter takes - later on we moved to longer ones, and I feel that did work better.

One other thing that I am proud of is the variation of shots - there is a wide range presented, with a purpose. I especially like the low angle shot with the box in focus and the two characters arguing in the background (1:37). We even desaturated the shot in Premier in order to make it look different and stand out from the other shots.

Making Strange Attractor was great fun and a great experience and I'm glad to have done it, as it has given me some pointers to make my final product short film as good as possible.



Moodboard

Brew - In Pictures

 

To better articulate my visions for the tone and style of my short film, I've developed a moodboard consiting of inspirations and styles.

 

Included is a still from Amelie (2001, Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet), two paintings - Nighthawks by Edward Hopper and The All Night Cafe by Vincent Van Gough. These were included because they represent the tone and mood I want to emulate as well as being consistent with the colours.

 

The Jacket is likely to be worn by my main actor and the images of coffee shops are there to help my in my search for a location.

 

Finally, The Smiley Face stressballs and the quote both encapsulate the themes within the story of being happy and having a positive outlook.