Timelapse

In a practical task in which the whole class to part in there own individual film, Dan, Dave and I all decided on our task. We would be trying an effect dave had found in a previous film we watched (Down on my blog). Getting the actuall time lapse was easy as all we had to do was leave the camera recording the sky for an hour or so and speed up the playtime on Serif to give the sped up time lapse effect. To get the real time part was also easy to capture, but a lot harder to edit. We just recorded dave for a few minutes. Dan used a composition technique of using the natural line of the wall in the shot to use as a cropping point, so I could set the sped up clip as a video track, and put the real time clip as an over lay track and crop it at the point of the wall; therefore giving the effect of a timelapse background and a real time foreground. This was over third attempt of this and finalised.

 

This effect looks very professional and different. It gives the impression of time flying by, with a surreal feeling.

Foley Sound - Realism

For our main task this year we have decided to improve the sound by bringing in new methods and equipment to give the viewer the full experience. Like last year we will be using foley sound to give our production the edge with the match-on-action shots, however as the brief this year is allowing us to use copyrighted music we will really take advantange of this new found freedom and create a better more urban feel on the whole film.

Another difference about our production this year is the introduction of dialogue. There will be scenes where the characters are having a conversation and to make this really effective we are investing in a shotgun microphone to pick up the dialogue professionally. Shotgun microphone can make the difference of making short film amateur, to professional because simply recording the dialogue straight from the camera means that it will not sound good and background noise will be picked up as well. Also it will make doing foley sound a waste because having good foley sound and poor dialogue will be really noticeable to whoever watching it.


We will also be using sound editing techniques to make the viewer seem like they are actually there. For example I have taken a screen shot from our first scene where I am outside, previously in the scene a song is playing inside the house so when I go outside Dan has edited it so it for what it would sound like if you were outside where the character is to really add to the realism, this puts a whole new side of editing for this production.


We are really taking advantage of being able to use copyrighted music this year, we have chosen artists such as Cypress Hill, The XX, and Subscape. as we felt there styles really suit what we are doing well.

We have chosen these artists because they are popular within the type of audience that our short film will be aimed at. They seem to fit with the film really well with what we have done so far. I have put a link below the one of the songs we are using so you can get a feel for the atmosphere.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYnjMLmVTLI

Research into Similar Products - London Heat

For our research, Dave decided to analyse 'London Heat'. To get a better understanding of films and shows that are a similar genre and theme to the one that we plan to make, we began watching some clips and analysing techniques that we think are effective and relavent to our film. We have also been watching out for typical conventions. Here is a link to SB.TV's short film, London Heat

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDmcOJUejE8

London Heat is about Malcolm, "a street smart kid with lots of ambition. His biggest goal is Jasmine, the girl literally next door, but when it's evident that her loyalties are split between him and the 'Man', the heat begins to burn in the London estate. What unfolds are a series of events that changes the average perception of young urban life", a bit like what we are trying to portray in our short film.


I really like the first few establishing shots shown on the left. They are very still and quiet and set the feeling for the estate it is set on. The tall metal fence gives a representation of being 'trapped. Maybe not physically but maybe trapped in a cycle of crime or other struggles a youth might face in an urban area. This is enhanced by the shot of the security camera which suggests an always over looking power that the people on the estate cant escape, adding to the trapped feeling. The stillness and calmness is contrasted with the diegetic sound of the radio talking about the London riots, where the audience would picture carnage. I would like to incorporate these still opening shots into our production as it gives a sense of calm before the storm or could be interpreted deeper to suggest death or struggles of youth culture.

Another technique that I thought was effective was the use of blur on the character Malcolm seen at 15:11 on the video. This give a surreal atmosphere to the scene as it blurs in and out of focus before focusing in on the character. I think this is effective because it is a good transition into the next scene