Production Diary: Practice Shots and Inspiration

Inspiration and my version:

*Curfew –* One thing that i like about this frame and may try to emulate is the colour palette. The use of red communicates the character’s emotion and the direness of their situation. I will likely use cooler, softer colours to create my own theme and emotions, affecting the audience’s reception to the scene with the colours in frame, making them feel more sympathy for the audience.

This shot would be taken in landscape mode, more carefully framed and with the actor more in-tune with the actor in *Curfew*. I also want to have the camera be higher up, so that the subject’s head does not take up too much of the frame.

Although the inspiration for this shot is not a short film chosen by the exam board, I still got the idea to implement light blocking and colouring from this shot.

I also like how this shot turned out. Although the focus on the screen could be improved, and the zoom-out could be slower, which will be hard to achieve since this is the slowest zoom out on the app that I was using, I think the final sabot looks how I wanted. I will probably paint the inside of the tube a metallic or dark colour to make the moment more surreal, and hide how I made it. I Amy also use a longer tube to make up for how fast the zoom-out was.

I think that I actually pulled this shot off quite well, probably because I was relying on natural lighting and using a steadicam/phone gimbal. I think that if I can make movements this smooth and track the subject this well in the final film, I will have pulled this shot off well.

This is what I plan on my flashback sequence looking like, however with pictures of people having a party of family get together, likely with the protagonist in one frame or the images from his perspective, to communicate with the audience that his relationship with his family used to be much closer.

Stutterer – for this shot I definitely want to emulate the lighting. The soft lighting combined with he intense focus on the subject’s face keeps the audiences focus on them, and the lighting adds a more somber, silent atmosphere to the shot. However, I may try to use a more natural light to create a more positive atmosphere, as the moment will be more positive in my film.

I have practiced lighting this shot in three different ways. For the first practice shot, I used no light. For the second, I used the strongest light that I have, and for the third, the softer light. I also used portrait mode for all photos to keep the focus on the protagonist, like in the close-up from Stutterer. I noticed that the focus is slightly blurred though by the backlights, which may be fixed by using FilmMacPro, as I want to use an ambient backlight to emulate the shot in *Stutterer* better. I also want this shot to be footage, not a still image.

I also plan to use this type of the shot-reverse-shot usage towards the end of my film. That done in *Connect* will be used at the start of the film where the protagonists are silently looking at each other and trying to avoid eye contact, thereby establishing their relationship, or, rather the potential for it. This usage in *Stuterer* involves the protagonists finally overcoming their obstacles and acknowledging their love or like for each other, giving the audience closure and emotional satisfaction in the ending.

Although these perspectives do not line up, I plan on some of the final shots in my film to play out like this. I have taken the idea for this shot-reverse-shot from Connect, as the two characters will slowly look at each other until the camera has the opportunity to focus on each of their eyes. There is also some similarity between this and the ending scene from Stutterer, but I feel that connect did it better as the eye contact scene was more subtle and took more time leading up to it, as my film will do. I’ve also included a possibility for the creative delicious that I want toa include in this final scene. I want to add a flare that adds emotional depth and audience immersion by lighting or shooting the scene in a particular way, most likely by making one shot look as if it is taking place in a dream. I also plan on the subjects looking into the camera, immersing the audience more into their position, and making them more in tune with the character’s emotions.

*Connect –* The lighting here catches my eye. It adds a neo-noir flare to the scene, which I like a lot, although I do not know if this will fit with my film or not. As this is at the start of the film, I may try to avoid making it romantic via the lighting and cinematography, instead setting up the potential for a romantic relationship. I will probably emulate this or *Stutterer’s* lighting towards the end, when the protagonists finally look into each other’s eyes, and it is more fitting. I am more likely to emulate *Stutterer’s* lighting, as it is more natural, romantic, and somber in tone, matching that of the story’s.

Although I had to reverse this shot as the actor refused to do a re-take, I plan on the final shot looking like this, if a bit more drawn out.