Practical Screencraft Part 2: Evaluation

For the second half of Practical Screencraft, I actually found it to be a challenge. My only experience with sound mixing and editing is in my spare time so this was a new experience from an academic level. I have almost exclusively worked on sound for video so having to focus solely on audio by itself was new to me. 

We were presented with a number of methods in order to produce sound for Soundcloud such as recording diegetic sound effects and incorporating them into a custom made music piece. While it was an interesting way of producing sound, it wasn’t something I felt confident with. Recording sounds was fine but trying to build music around it was tricky. I had to be inspired by the sounds but sometimes I just sat there with no inspiration. Getting over creative blocks was the biggest problem I faced throughout this module and greatly affected the outcome. 

For a number of the sound files on Soundcloud, I collaborated with other students in order to produce clips akin to audio dramas. We picked Dragon Age and Batman: The Killing Joke as inspiration for the pieces and let us voice act followed by editing. We also gained experience with setting up the sound equipment inside a professional studio space. Performing voice acting inside a proper studio was refreshing and much better than the times I’ve recorded at home for previous modules. 

The musical pieces took a while to get right as I have no experience with instruments keyboards so  I infinitely felt like I was producing music from riffing. I experimented with sounds and music tracks until I reached a sound I liked which I would then make into a full piece. My piece ‘Tom's Totally Not Boss Music’ was inspired by the style of music one might here fighting a boss in a video game. I found issues with composition as I started quite a few pieces however I would reach a point where it just wasn’t coming together and left the idea behind which resulted in only having a handful of sound clips left over.  In the future, I’d probably get myself more aquatinted with the program and the means of composing inside with the large number of composing options.  

Overall, I believe the module could have gone better. My inexperience with sound making software held me back in the process of making sound clips which is something that I can work on in the future. I know what works and what doesn’t so I can learn from the experience. In hindsight, there was much more I could have done and will most likely expand on some of these ideas in the future.

Moving Narratives 2: Evaluation

After being given the assignment and watching a few films, I actually had a hard time coming up with a feasible idea that I was content with. The only film that I found inspiration in initially was ‘Wrong’ as I enjoy making crime based films. It wasn’t until we watched ‘Down by Law’ that I finally found a film that sparked an idea for a short film that I could truly make well and feel happy with.

After my last film for Comparative Film Practices was a much more serious film, I wanted to get back to making more comedic based films that had a much more simple style to it. I wasn’t happy with how my Comparative Film Practices film turned out and I think the tone is largely to blame for this. The idea brewed from the concept of prisoners sharing a cell and all but one of them want to break out. The one left over preferred staying in prison due to having a terrible life outside. With this in mind, it snowballed into the final product very well as I managed retain the image from the inception of the idea to what was made.

In ‘Down by Law’, around a third of the film takes place inside a prison cell with only the main three protagonists being seen on screen. I loved the idea of this as it really made the audience feel enclosed in the cell too with only the prisoners to relate to. Jim Jarmusch’s style also appealed as he would set up the camera for long shots that lingered at a particular angle. To capture this style and keep the claustrophobic feel, I decided to have the camera stay in the exact same position throughout the film and shoot it as a long take.

What I found most interesting about this submission was how the idea almost completely changed when filming took place. Initially, there wasn’t much to look at since it wasn’t too deep. It was initially just two prisoners in jail. That was it. However, when I came up with the idea of playing all three characters with only one ever being physically seen, I realised it could work as a metaphor for a trapped mind. A person imagining themselves as their own companion locked up. The reason they would also act as the guard could be seen as self-doubt. It was quite a discovery when I realised this and I felt proud that there were a number of ways one could interpret my film.

Comparing this film to my previous submissions, I found this one the most experimental and actually quite risky. Because I played all three characters, I had to make sure I timed the dialogue perfectly or else there was a chance I could be left with long pauses of silence or the dialogue was too quick, giving no time to insert the voices of the characters off screen. It therefore made editing quite a challenge in order to make sure everything lined up correctly. This film relied heavily on the editing to make sure it made sense.

Despite being a seemingly simple idea, it actually took me a while to get the script off the ground. Because of the free form style of just following a person’s time in jail, it was hard to pin down a narrative which is when I tied in the idea about criminals wanting to break out with one wanting to stay behind. Ultimately, while I did have a script to follow, there were times during the shoot where I went off script and using improvisation to create new dialogue which I realised wasn’t a good idea for a film where I had to work off myself. In the long run, it worked out by recording the different character’s dialogue separately rather than try to tackle it in sequence.  

Something I wanted to explore too is being able to create distinct characters in a very short space of time. Only one is named (Terwilliger, who is named after Sideshow Bob’s real name from ‘The Simpsons’) as he is the only character seen on screen. The rest, despite not being named, are given varied personalities with the second prisoner being more cowardly and emotional than Tewilliger and the stern, loud and abrasive guard who watches over them. It would make for a much more interesting dynamic between the two characters if they had completely opposite personalities.

In fact, making sense was one of my biggest concerns. Unlike previous films which I was able to get the point across easily to the audience, I feared that this would leave the audience a bit confused. The moment that I felt this was most apparent was when the second prisoner is introduced. The first prisoner’s head is out of shot so I thought that it could interpreted that he was making the second prisoner’s noises. This is also the reason that I decided to perform a variety of voices for the characters to make them stand out more as well as get over the challenge of providing a voice only performance.

Something I realise in hindsight that is an issue with my film is the lighting. In the solo scenes, it is very effective as it highlights the single character and having his shadow on the wall is aesthetically pleasing. However, it doesn’t make sense when the other prisoner is introduced. His shadow is not seen on the wall which would mean that the light source is coming from the inside of the cell between the two characters. Originally, I set out with the idea of having the shadows of the prison bars going over the prisoners however I couldn’t get this done in time for the shoot. On the flipside, the isolated feel with the focus on a solo character made it feel more like a play which is an area in which I received my acting training. It felt good to convey my previous expertise.

One problem I had with the editing side of the project was that I actually had too much to fit into the running date allocated to us. Being long takes, I had almost half an hours’ worth of footage however that meant there was a lot that I had to cut out. The big problem here is that the final cut loses a fair bit of character development such as why the first prisoner is so desperate not to leave prison or even a trait that saw him singing prison songs every now and then. I’m almost tempted to create an extended cut just to have and to make me content with the project as a whole.

This is a film that I am not only very happy with but I’d actually be willing to remake someday. Not just reinterpret but outright remake scene for scene. The only things really letting me down are the camera and sound quality so if I had a full crew and actual actors to work off; it could easily be of a higher quality. While I will defend my choice to play all three characters, I do think it would’ve been easier to have someone else assist with filming. Although on the film side of this is that having no-one else around let me do much more improvisation which helped flesh out the characters much more.

In summary, I am proud with how my film turned out. It’s one of the only times where I felt I’ve nailed exactly how I initially envisioned my film to be. The camera was set up exactly how I had hoped, I managed to convey a sense of multiple characters despite playing them all myself and having the problem with not interacting with anyone when filming. It was a challenging film to make however I still had fun filming it. It was refreshing to take a break from more comedy based films with the last module however I think I’m better at that then the more serious kind of film. Hopefully down the line I can find a good compromise between the two but, so far, this submission is the closest I’ve gotten. It’s a dark, serious setting with unconventional conversations and awkward based comedic timing. I felt I was able to use both my skills as a filmmaker (due to the emphasis on editing and lighting) and an actor (playing multiple roles, most of which through voice) which, while not my initial aim, is something that I came to learn as the project went on. 

Moving Narratives 2: 'Joint' Script

PRISON

The cell door is heard opening as guards squabble to throw a guy in. He falls into shot, hitting the wall.

GUARD

Get settled. You're gonna be here a while.

Prisoner looks around the cell.

PRISONER

(Unfazed)

OK!

GUARD

....alright.

Guard leaves the cell as Prisoner leans against the wall.

TIME JUMP

Prisoner is pacing back and forth.

PRISONER

Well then...

TIME JUMP

Prisoner leaning against the wall listening to a prison riot, shifting when stuff is thrown around. A grin appears on his face.

PRISONER 1

You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice cream!....No? No one? Ah, you're no fun...

TIME JUMP

The cell door is heard opening as Prisoner instantly stands up. The guards throw in another prisoner.

GUARDS

Get in there!

PRISONER 2

NO! NO, YOU CAN'T!

He hits the wall as Prisoner 1 watches the commotion.

GUARD

Enjoy your new roomate

PRISONER 1

You're not the boss of me

GUARD

Yeah we are

PRISONER 1

Uh, yeah, kinda.

Prisoner 2 is heard in pain

PRISONER 2

Uhhh...soo..what are you in for.

PRISONER 1

Broke into a mall, you?

PRISONER 2

I cut out a mans liver and fed it to him.

Prisoner 1 stares blankly

PRISONER 1

....ok

TIME JUMP

Prisoner 1 is messing with the bricks on the wall.

PRISONER 2

Hey, wait a minute

PRISONER 1

What?

PRISONER 2

How'd you get away with that hair in here. They cut mine

PRISONER 1

Yeah same.

PRISONER 2

You said you've only been here for 3 weeks.

PRISONER 1

Yeah.

Beat

TIME SKIP

Another riot is commencing.

PRISONER 1

What's with you?

PRISONER 2

It's scary man...all that shouting

PRISONER 1

Nah, it's, well, a riot.

Something smashes

PRISONER 1

I'm sure that wasn't expensive.

PRISONER 2

But

PRISONER 1

Oh come on, it's cool to see the other guys take over this place. See, there's Fun Bobby chasing those guards...op, down he goes.....hey have you ever seen Down By Law

LONG TIME JUMP

Prisoner 1 watches Prisoner 2 panic.

PRISONER 1

Wow, wow man what's up?

PRISONER 2

I can't take it anymore. I want out.

PRISONER 1

Well, you kill someone, you're probably gonan wind up here.

PRISONER 2

I...I just gotta plan an escape

PRISONER 1

Ohhh how cliche. Well, don't let them here that

PRISONER 2

You want in?

Beat

PRISONER 1

No!

PRISONER 2

What? Why?

PRISONER 1

Roof over my head, food, excersise yard, showers. Hell, I got it better in here than out there.

PRISONER 2

Ohh...

TIME JUMP

GUARD

Alright maggots, out into the yard.

Prisoner 1 stands up

PRISONER 2

It's time.

PRISONER 1

Huh?

PRISONER 2

My plan...

PRISONER 1

Yeah, good luck with that...

TIME JUMP

Prisoner 1 is drumming against the wall until an alarm is heard. He listens to the sound of guard dogs and guard whistles joining. He gets a smirk across his face.

TIME JUMP

Commotion is heard as the guards drag Prisoner 2 back into his cell.

PRISONER 1

Welcome back. But, if I may, why not somewhere more isolated

GUARD

Prison's full

PRISONER 1

Ah.

PRISONER 2

Uhhhh

Guard hits him

PRISONER 2

Quiet maggot

LONG TIME JUMP

Guard bangs on cell.

GUARD

Terwillger!

PRISONER 1

What?

GUARD

You got bailed

PRISONER 1

What?!

PRISONER 2

Lucky

PRISONER 1

But...but I like it here

He steps towards the guards who grab him

PRISONERS 1

Where are you taking me. No! NOO! I DON'T WANT TO GO! STOP! NOOOOO!

Beat

PRISONERS 2

Baby

Moving Narratives 2: Inspiration

Initially, none of the films really sparked my interest in terms of using ideas from them for my own film. At most was 'Wrong' which featured a bizzare sense of humour and some ties to crime with the use of an incompetent detective character. However, after being shown 'Down By Law', an idea grew from seeing three strangers bonding in prison.

The only idea I had to start with was two criminals sharing a cell with one wanting desperately to break out while the other would actually prefer to stay in jail. I used that as the base and build around it with a combination of improvisation and thinking about the interactions in 'Down By Law'. The three characters were surprisingly likable despite their negative demeanours for the most part and we earnestly want to see them make it to the end of their journey unscathed.

The interaction specifically with Roberto (Roberto Benigni) and the other two, Zack and Jack (Tom Waits and John Lurie), was the main driving force behind my film. We learn that, out of the three, Roberto had committed the worst crime as he murdered someone while the other two were set up for lesser crimes. It's interesting that the funny, light hearted member of the trio is the one who did the worst crime while the negative, down to earth characters are the seemingly innocent ones. I constructed the two prisoners in my film with this in mind as one simply broke into mall while the other, seemingly more comedic one, killed someone horrifically. It makes more a good comedic set up ripe for character interaction.

Moving Narratives 2: Idea

Before settling on the final film, I managed to come up with an idea based on 'Wrong'. This film I came up with would actually serve as a sequel to my last Moving Narrative film. 'Misplaced' focused on a noir detective being thrust into the real world, forcing himself to see crime wherever he went so I wanted to expand on this by having the same character get involved in a real crime. However, I personally found there wasn't much I could do to expand on this idea.

I initially started this film in the planning stage with the potential of following up the previous crime of finding out who killed a fish but, due to the lack of scope, I felt apprehensive. It was until we were shown 'Down by Law' that I found a film with a gritty setting yet a relaxed tone and characters. I was able to keep it set in the crime genre but, rather than my previous films which showed a crime being performed, I was able to show the aftermath with a prison setting.

The first step was creating the characters. The only named character involved in the narrative is Terwilliger who I named after the character Sideshow Bob (whose real name is Robert Underdunk Terwilliger) as it tied in with the prison setting that Bob is usual seen in as well as a justification for my hair. I had decided to play Terwilliger because I felt I could convey what I had intended easier. The second prisoner is very loosely based on Roberto from 'Down by Law'. The only traits I took from him were him being the comedic foil to the other more serious prisoners and the fact that, out of everyone in that cell, he had committed the worst crime. The prisoner's squeaky voice was picked as I wanted something to be in stark contrast to the more deadpan, low voice of Terwilliger. The voice itself being an impression of Morty from 'Rick and Morty' for no other reason than it just fitting in well.

After deciding to star in the film, I thought that it would be best to play all three characters. As a result of this decision I realised I had just given the film a much deeper meaning. Initially, I felt there wasn't too much to look and set out just to make a quirky prison film. Instead, I ended up with a film about a trapped mind with a person seeing themselves as everyone. As their companion, as their superior, it made much more sense.

The name of the film, 'Joint', came from a number of definitions of the word. Joint is a slang term from prison, reflecting that the film is set entirely within the prison, and it also conveys the imagery of the corner of the room, where the walls join up.

Comparative Film Practices: Evaluation

Looking at how my film ultimately turned out, I found it intriguing how much the tone had shifted from the conception of the idea. The main driving force behind my project was the inspiration and how much I wanted to capture that. The biggest draw for me were the portrayal of villains from the TV shows ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Sherlock’, specifically looking at the characters of Kilgrave and Charles Augustus Magnussen respectively. Kilgrave especially helped shape the film as his struggle to win over Jessica in his own sadistic and desperate way was the basis on which the film was built upon.  I wrote a film last year about unrequited love however that was played straight so this time I explored an exaggeration of it.

When coming up with the names for the characters, I had to take certain things into consideration. As a tribute to ‘Jessica Jones’, I wanted to feature a moment reminiscent of it and, as a result, needed a name that had three syllables like Jessica. What drove me to pick Eleanor was the song ‘Elenore’ by The Turtles as I personally feel it has a similar theme as my film and it would make for a good moment when the antagonist sings it. Speaking of the antagonist, his full name (while not all in the film) was derived from the two men who created the protocol that would allow the World Wide Web to run, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf, which I blended into Robert Vinton although he is only referred to by his surname as it just seemed more fitting.

The biggest challenge I faced was trying to convey the subtle meaning behind the film. In order to apply the use of analogue and digital, I came up with the idea that the antagonist was a human embodiment of the internet which would explain why he’s clingy, voyeuristic and defeated by a lack of internet connection. I still believe the idea and intention is still in the final film however I fear it is much too subtle to the point where audiences wouldn’t be able to identify it. I suspect people will focus too much on the relationship aspect of it rather than question why he has access to phones and intercoms.

To enforce the idea of internet and relationships, I focused on two characters that can represent Donald A. Norman’s idea of the ‘Machine Centred View’ which declares that machines show characteristics such as being precise, rigid, and insensitive to change while humans are the opposite. I saw this as good grounding to build characters from by having them be polar opposites. I also wanted to capture this through the cinematography. For the first two thirds where Vinton has control, I wanted him to be positioned in the centre of the shot unless I was more dramatic effect while Eleanor would be off centre. This would switch towards the end with the crossing point being their encounter on the stairs when the both are centred. The last shot of the film emphasises this by making sure Vinton is to the right.

Initially, I found the idea of filming this a bit daunting as this was a much more ambitious project however I found it manageable by splitting the film into thirds and filming each third individually. There were a few moments within each third that had to be filmed out of sequence but, ultimately, I think it came out as my best looking film so far. I’m proud of quite a few shots and the colour and lighting worked in my favour. The best example is how the lighting showed off Kilgrave’s influence as he is commonly known as The Purple Man and the light on Vinton in the penultimate shot makes him look like a light shade of purple.

It was hard to convey the narrative to the cast and crew as I feel the film can only make sense when all edited together. Editing wise, the influence of ‘Sherlock’ is apparent most notably through the use of on screen text to show what is displayed on a phone. I find this technique much more engaging than cutting to the phone screen as it can be disorientating and makes it harder to read the message. I also made sure that I used the same font that is featured in ‘Sherlock’ which has been used for London transportation since the 30s. It’s not too distracting; it makes the film more unique and gets the message across easily for the audience.

The original idea was much darker and focused much more on paranoia with Vinton displaying his knowledge of the people he knows much like how websites remember information you input which also would have tied in the influence from Charles Augustus Magnussen. Magnussen retains a large amount of information on people in his mind so he can use this for blackmail. The only influence of Magnussen that has retained is Vinton watching Eleanor through his computer. There were close ups of Vinton, mostly focused on his glasses, which has inspired by similar cinematography from ‘Sherlock’.

After filming and looking back on the footage, I found that, while the creepy tone is still there, there was a bit more of a black comedy vibe to certain scenes. For example, Vinton sings ‘Elenore’ in a much more casual tone than originally intended and I think it added to his character a bit more. He also conveys much more exasperation at the end. It’s fascinating to see things change between how I originally envisioned it when writing and coming up with the idea compared to how the final product actually turned out.

If I were to point out where any of my improvements have emerged from, it would be framing and lighting. Previous projects, both in and out of college, have suffered from bad lighting as they are either blown out by natural lighting or covered in shadows. This time, I used proper lighting equipment and the film looks better for it. More detail can be seen with faces being lit up more effectively and the only prominent shadows are giant ones cast on the wall, creating a nice effect. With a stronger idea of how I wanted this film to be framed, there are a number of shots that came out really well. I consider this a big improvement over previous films I have made. I feel this is because I experimented more with equipment and ran with an idea I had since the start, allowing me to develop it further. 

One aspect I had to tackle was finding fitting locations that I could realistically film in. I had rough ideas of the sort of atmosphere I wanted but when actually trying to think of places to film, I was too worried about people interrupting shots which is a problem with filming in public locations. The third act was the hardest but luckily we found a large stairwell that had enough light and echo to accurately portray what I was aiming for.

With the echo already taken care of, I still had to do a fair amount of sound editing in post. Two moments when Vinton uses technology to talk to Eleanor required sound editing after filming. The first example of the screen turning on with him on it was a simple matter of playing the audio from the original video that is being played with a radio filter but the second took more effort. I had to splice between Vinton speaking into the microphone and Eleanor reacting (filmed separately so Eleanor’s actress was reacting to nothing) and then add both the radio filter and reverb in order to make it sound grander and match the natural echo that the stairwell has.

To summarise, I felt this project went better than anticipated. From a behind the scenes look, I used for equipment (mostly lighting) to make the film look much better than previous ones with more detail highlighted and a better sense of framing is apparent. I was a bit cautious of the content and tone of the film as it is a departure from what I’ve previously done. In terms of how I think the final product turned out, I still feel that the internet based undertones are too subtle to the point that most people wouldn’t pick up on them however I’d rather it be open to interpretation like that instead of being so blatantly spelt out for the audience with nothing for them to take away. 

Comparative Film Practices: Characters for Film

The grounding on which I built the characters on is derived from Donald A. Norman's The Invisible Computer*, specifically the seven chapter on 'Being Analogue'. The main draw from this is the Machine-Centered and Human-Centered Views.

Seeing the contrast between people and machines inspired me to create two characters, one who represents humanity and one who represents machines. Applying the idea that Vinton represents the internet, this was easier to pull off. The two main elements that stuck out between Vinton and Eleanor are their contrast between Vague and Precise (Eleanor having no lines compared to Vinton's numerous) and Attentive to Change and Insensitive to Change (Eleanor learns to let go off Vinton's bonds while he's left scrambling for her phone)

For Robert Vinton. I came up with his name by compiling together the names of the two men who are responsible for the Internet, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf. While they didn't outright create the internet, they are the two most often associated as doing so as they created the TCP which is the protocol that allows programs such as the World Wide Web to work, ergo giving the world access to the internet.

As to be expected with most of my films, I was hoping to play the role myself however, unlike most cases where it was required, I am writing this role specifically for me as I've always wanted to perform a character like Vinton. My long, unkempt hair would also work well in contrast to the suit and glasses, much like how Kilgrave from Jessica Jones appears to be well kept except for the unshaven stubble.

*Norman, Donald A. The Invisible Computer. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1998. Print.