Film Project

My film class has been a once a week experience of watching/analyzing films and studying cinematography and the process of making a film...all building up to one project, making our own film. The class has been split into six groups with each person in a group assigned the role of either director, editor, sound manager and camera operator. We were each given a genre. My group got horror and I am the camera operator. The film must be five minutes long and contain a mime or clown, a guitar, cheese grater and skull. Also, we must use the lines "Why is this happening to me today of all days?" and "It would be better for us not to talk about that." These rules apply for all groups.



I feel like if I were handed a camera and told to make a movie at the beginning of this semester I wouldn't have had a clue where to start. I'm actually shocked at how much I've learned so far. I can actually apply real cinematic techniques to our film now. I already have so many ideas flowing through my head. Since I am the camera operator and our genre is horror, my contribution to the film will be tremendous. Simply by the camera angle, I can make the audience feel uneasy or I can bring out the traits of a character. I've learned that a dutch tilt makes a shot very twisted and disturbed looking. This is when the camera lies on an angle to make the shot angled on the screen. Also, the lighting of our shots is going to be extremely important. In a horror film, we will likely utilize dark space and use light in a dreary kind of way. Proper use of lighting gives us the power of mystery and suspense. Another technique that could be utilized in our horror film is pov shots, meaning point of view. If the main character is sneaking through somewhere or revealing something mysterious, a pov shot will often be used to put the audience in the suspense.



One idea that my group has discussed for our film is to put the main character in a place of isolation, like a room that has no escape. Then introduce another character who enters the room and creates a horror-like atmosphere. We haven't punched out any details yet. We are having to ask ourselves, "What would be a creepy situation to find yourself in?" It's kind of cool to think about a story or scene and be able to actually portray it.

I have high ambitions for out project. I love scrounging things together and cultivating something out of nothing. In high school we would have dress up days and I would always invade Good Will for crazy costume stuff. I think the film will be similar. Creating a set, proper wardrobe and maybe some makeup will require a lot of raw creativity, which I think my group has. I hope to create something that we can be proud of and that I will want to show people I know and say "Yeah I helped make that."

My Techniques

We've reviewed plenty of techniques and types of cinematography thus far in my film class and the ones that appeal most to me are those having to do with camera shots. I enjoyed playing with transitions and visual effects in our project in which we had to put 20 short clips together to convey two words, but I would have much rather been the one filming the clips. A few techniques I can see my group using in our film project later in the semester are the rule of thirds, the strategic use of wide and medium shots as well as close ups and also unique camera angles that convey the mood of the scene.



I've never put my mind into the game of film making before. I always knew it was complex and artistic, I just didn't realize how fun it is. The simple use of a fade to white transition clearly conveys a flashback, cross-cutting is super fun to play with and trying to be suddel with a point I'm trying to get across as a film maker is like a fun mind game. It's cool because I have to be the creator as well as the audience at the same time. Whenever my group decides on a story, one of the first things we will have to do is decide what mood we want to come out of each scene, and then each shot. Working from big to small to very small is what makes a masterpiece.

I've been assigned to be the camera operator and the director in my group for the movie project later this semester. I'm actually most excited to be the camera man. I think it will be so interesting to connect the camera shots with the dialogue or mood of the scene. It will be fun to play with some focus effects as well. I love scenes with a unique depth of field, like the scene in Singing in the Rain when the woman with the long cloth is dancing. It's never just point and shoot. There's always a strategy behind every shot. If we're doing a scene with a simple conversation, I will watch a similar scene in a movie for a point of reference, then make mine better. If someone has to be running, I'll see how it's been done before, and make it my own.

I'm really glad I have this class to balance out my Chemistry II, Biology II and Physics II. I know, hectic right? I haven't been this excited about a class in a long time. In previous classes we've always planned to do a movie but never had time to pull it off, but I know in this class we can do it. I'm really gonna take pride in this. Come final day, people will be impressed. With the amazing editing of Cameron, the illustrous sounds by Kim and the acting/camera help of Erin, a cinematic miracle will happen! It's really gonna be so cool to watch a movie that we've made and be able to identify techniques that we've used. I feel so much wiser. :-)

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard was surprisingly interesting to me. I say surprising because when the movie first came on and I saw that it was a black and white from 1950, I expected a drab film with a boring plot line and cheesy acting, but what I got was different. Joe's snappy one liners and Norma's over the top dramatic acting was actually entertaining. I was interested in what was going to happen next.

The genre of the movie wasd film noir. I had never heard of that term before this class, but I had seen a film in this genre before. Actually, the day after we watched Sunset Boulevard I watched a modern film called Crash that had to do with racism. One of the main traits of film noir is that everyone in the story has a flaw and there are no heroes, and Crash was precisely that. One person would do something heroic for someone, then turn around and display evil in the next scene. Film noir gives the audience a very uncomfortable feeling...almost impatient. We've grown so accustomed to a resolution in stories and heroes defeating villians that there is something very unsettling yet intriuging about film noir. I love and hate Norma, find Joe charming yet cowardice and Max is just too twisted to discuss. I also thought it was really cool that the movie was done in black and white instead of color; it really added to the dreary and hazy feel of the movie.

The main motif of the movie was the separation of the two worlds. There was the inside of Norma's house and mind...beautiful, elegant and superior in quality. Then there was the outside world and the outside of Norma's house...free, but raggedy, social, but decaying. The scene where Joe goes to the New Year's party with the house full of people is a direct juxtaposition to the emptiness of Norma's house on New Year's. everyone is laughing, dancing and drunk, while Norma is content just being with Joe on a waxed dance floor in her rustic house. I was confused throughout the movie as to whether I should pity Norma, hate her or just find her annoying. This confusion is the essence of film noir.

Overall I really enjoyed the movie and especially the part of class afterwards when we analyzed it. I can tell by the time I'm out of this class I'll never leave a movie theatre in silence again.