Experimental Research
Colour Grading
As stated in my research, I have decided to emulate the look from the 2000 film 'O' Brother, Where Art Thou?'. I notice that the sky was very blue on the day and the sun was out, this led me to take my camera outside and try out some random shots. I wanted the blue sky because it really adds to the overall contrast and vibrancy of the image, which is so well associated with the western genre. When colour grading, I found an image from 'O' Brother, Where Art Thou?' and place that on one monitor and on the other I graded the footage. I believe the look I have created isn't an exact recreation, it is inspired by the look of the Coen brother film but I have added a personal touch that I feel suits the emotion of the film better. I also set up
the camera and walked in front of it, so I could get a sense of what the skin tones would look like under this colour gade. In the end, I was very happy with the overall look and will most definitely use this in the final film as I believe it truly gives off the theme I want to convey with the narrative and also looks very western and epic.
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I decided to look further into colour grading the look of the film, after a while, I narrowed down my collection of possible looks to four. The four looks can be found above. The first of the looks is a look inspired by 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi', the grade is very flat and washed out almost sepia. I admire this look however, I feel it could deem multiple costume choices and props to become as falt as the landscape which I do not desire. The second look, taking inspiration from 'War For The Planet of the Apes, gives off a more naturalistic look and has bright highlights and dark shadows like real life. I believe this look fits very well, however, I feel it doesn't give the world much of a character as it looks neither dead nor alive, for me, it is too real for a majestic western I will be creating. The third look, inspired by 'Deadpool', has a more blue tint to it and has more colour all around. All the colours seem separated and help bring focus to the centre of the image, this is all very good. However, I feel the sky feels empty and drained of possible character. The final look, number four, taken colourful inspiration from 'Blade Runner 2049', the trees are a crisp brown, the grass is a lighter shade of brown and the sky is a deep rich blue. I am very happy with this look, from my research into the look of 'O' Brother, Where Art Thou?' the same uses of colour have been used in this look as in separating the colours of the trees and shrubbery. However, I decided to shoot another shot with a different shooting style, I went with 'Cinelike V' which adds a lot of contrast and makes the colours more cinematic, once colour graded the shot has a dynamic colour range and realistic look. I am the most fund of this look, therefore this will be the final look for 'The Lonefret'.
Location Test Shots
After choosing a desired look for the final film, I decided to go out with my camera and shoot the locations. Once at the locations, the camera angles I chose were how they would be angled when filming. This is so I can feel confident about the final shot compositions in the film. I also added a music track from the film 'There Will Be Blood' as I feel that the track germinates the tone I want the final film to express. In addition, I am very happy with the colour-grade in correlation to the shot composition. I feel I am now in a positive position to commence production.
Final Scene Test Shoot
For the final scene of the film, I decided to go to the location and record with my phone how I would block and compose the scene. I added text at the bottom to show what the actors would be doing, as the actors were not present on the day. The video helps me understand how I would want to shoot the scene and also when filming with my phone I came up with a few new shots, such as a dolly shot tracking the characters shoes as he approaches the crest of the hill.
Blackmagic Video Assist Test
The Blackmagic Video Assist will enable me on set to have a large and more detailed look at the shot when shooting on set. This is crucial due to the camera itself having a relatively small screen, which brings along issues. Such as, shots not being in focus and overexposure because the Director of Photography might not be able to see what he's actually capturing in detail.
Feature Film Behind-The-Scenes
I have worked on a local feature film 'Lucas and Albert' as a clapper loader and also in the sound department. In addition to this work, I also created the official behind the scenes film. I have included this in my research due to the behind the scenes helping me develop my skills in filmmaking, most profoundly directing and editing which are my two favourite roles. The behind the scenes took a lot of planning to pull off, such as getting all the interviews and b-roll needed in the edit. From this intensive planning, I have learnt a lot as to how to have a secure shoot.
An analysis of suspense with no dialogue
I decided to analyse this famous scene from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Due to my film being a western I thought it would be interesting to see how tension is made with no dialogue and only expressions and the use of eyes.
The first establishing shot of the scene shows the space the characters are in, showing where the characters stand so that when the camera gets closer and closer, later on, we still know where each man stands. After this establishing shot, there are 3 medium shots of the 3 characters. These cuts are controlled by the characters eye lines, wherever a character is looking there is a cut to show what they are looking at. The eyeliner matches also assist in helping convey the relationships between the characters, which I will go more in depth about later on in the scene. The next 3 shots are over the shoulder shots, which again helps show the geography of the scene and where each character is located to each other. The next 3 shots complete the set up of the scene, with 3 close-ups of the characters and more importantly their guns. From this point on, we now know the fundamentals of the scene. Where the characters are, their relationships with each other and their guns. We know by the end of this there won't be three characters alive, this is a perfect setup which is key into the creating the immense suspense of the scene.
After the introduction stage of the scene, there is a punctuation shot that breaks the scene into a new pattern. This punctuation shot is shown above, where the Ugly is shown reaching down towards his gun. In this new pattern, we determine the characters relationships with each other and also see clever cuts that foreshadow the out climactic outcome of the scene. The editing pattern in this section of the scene conveys what the characters are thinking, the editor done this by ordering the shots in a well thought out way. The outcome of the scene is that the Good shoots The Bad, and the Ugly's gun was never loaded.
The Good gets a total of 7 shots out of the 25 shot that makes up this section in the scene. These 7 shots show close-ups of the Good's face and his gun on his belt. He has a low shot count in the scene, which shows he's in control of the situation and isn't worried at all as he has the plan. His aim in the scene is to keep an eye on the Bad, this is because the Good and the Ugly have an alliance and the Good cannot let the Ugly die. Therefore, the Good is constantly keeping his eyes on the Bad. The Ugly also gets the low count of 7 out of 25 shots. The shots always include his eyes shifting restlessly. This is because he doesn't know what the Good's plan is and he is panicking heavily. The editing shows him on an equal shot count as The Good, both with 7 out of the 25 shots. This helps convey the unspoken alliance between the two and also foreshadows the end of the scene, the Good and Ugly are the survivors. On the other hand, the Bad has the most shots he has 11 out of 25 shots. This is because he is the one who is most in danger of death, his conflict is far more significant than the other 2 characters. As the scene goes on, the Bad realises that the Good and the Ugly have some kind of alliance leading the Bad to decided that it's up to him to draw first if he wants to get out alive. This again is another element of foreshadowing as the Bad turns out dead at the end of this scene.
The alliance between the Good and the Ugly is shown through the orders of the shots and the cuts in between them. In 4 cases, a close up of the Goods face is followed by a close up of the Ugly. The two carjackers link eyeliner more than any other characters. This could show that Good is staring at Ugly telling him that it's okay and that the Good expresses to him he has a plan. Another point of showing the relationships of the characters is that the Good and Ugly both stand opposite each other. Which means that when they look at each other they look directly down the lens. This again shows the bond between the two, as they keep looking directly at each other throughout the scene. However, stuck in the middle is the one in the most danger, the Bad, his shots never show him looking down the lens as he is in between the Good and Bad. Therefore, we constantly see the Bad eyes shifting from left to right, from Good to Ugly, this also helps visually convey that the Bad is stuck in the middle of an alliance.
Ennio Morricone's killer track 'The Trio' plays in this scene, the track gets faster and faster as the tension in the scene builds and builds to a climax. However, in the next section of the scene, the music takes hold. Causing the close-ups to turn into extreme close-ups, which shows the rising tension and the little time one of the 3 characters have left to live. The cuts keep getting faster and faster, they know no longer provide an insight into the characters thoughts and no longer foreshadow as both these have already been conveyed. All that is left of the cuts is for them to be driven by the increasingly epic rhythm of Ennio Morricone's masterful track.
As the music reaches it's the intense climax, the pacing of the music is so fast that the cuts of the scene increase rapidly with shots lasting only a matter of seconds each. With 6 extreme close-ups, the scene reaches its final climax. The Bad quickly draws his gun, followed by the Good who shoots the Bad down in an instant. The music stops on the gunshot, as the Ugly attempts to wield his gun. We return back to the establishing shot that started the scene, the long shot showing the three characters. The shot that once shew three standing characters now shows only two, with the Bad laying dead on the floor with the Good's revolver smoking at the barrel. After the gunshot, the pacing drastically decelerates along with the cutting of the shots. After the gunshot, the shots get further and further away, turning close-ups into medium shots and then finally into long shots. As the shots get further way, the music comes to a stop.
Editing and Directing suspense and minimal dialogue
After analysing the scene, I produced, wrote and edited a remake of the infamous The Good, the Bad and the Ugly scene. From this remake, I learnt such a valuable lesson in editing in order to create and raise the tension within a cut. In addition, I also discovered the absolute importance of eyelines when editing. Without the editor following them or making them consistent, it can completely ruin and disorientated the audience as they are not aware of the space or geometry of a scene. Those are valuable editing lesson I learnt when making the scenes, but they can also be used very well when directing and choosing the blocking and pacing of a scene to benefit the tension. After creating this remake, I knew that the next projects I worked on I wanted to use these skills and direct films that follow a common theme of suspense.
The biggest project I had directed, before "The Lonefret", was the 2018 short thriller "The Bad Track" which tells the tale of a lonely drug dealer dealing with the loss of a best friend and gets a visit from an evil record player that takes him back to the death of his friend. I knew when making this short film, that the mystery and suspense of a payoff behind it would be the driving points of the film. Therefore, when directing it I made sure to keep all of these facts in mind. Along with directing, I was the Writer, Director of Photography, Editor, Producer and played the role of the villain. I have learnt so much from directing this ambitious short film "The Bad Track" and will use all that I have learnt when directing the even more ambitious "The Lonefret".