assignment 3 - creating meaning

For this assignment you will create a short sequence that tells a basic story and conveys implied meaning. 

From the suggested stories I've chosen Somebody makes a cup of tea - They are suicidal. 

Story board

1 

You'll see a close up of a tap, the tube is full and overflowing. Some red water appears into the frame.
Soundtrack - diegetic sound.

2

Then we suddenly change the scene, we can see a living room and the phone is ringing. A girl appears in scene and picks up the phone. She listens and seems shocked with the news.
Soundtrack -  diegetic sound. When it is obvious that she has received some bad news we'll begin to hear the noise of a TV with no signal.

3

Then we see what might be the image of whatever the news are... I want this to be quite abstract. We'll see first the close up of the sun (she is oblivious of what is happening) and then hear a crash, she turns her head and runs.
Soundtrack - still the no signal TV noise plus the crash noise

4

Running, camera is moving. Abstract, feeling of anxiety.       

Soundtrack - no signal TV noise

5

She makes a cup of tea. She is visibly sad. She has not much interest in the tea... it's like she is just preparing the tea cause she finds nothing else to do.
You see the kitchen, which is white. The kitchen light is fluorescent type, very white and dull. Camera pans from the kettle to her.
Sountrack - sad music.

6

You see the phone, not properly hanged. Semi-close up. 

Soundtrack - sad music.

7

You see the kettle, she didn't make the tea.  Close up traveling. 

Soundtrack - sad music.

Filming

Music by Alex Mackie, No Easy Way.

Evaluation

The aim of this assignment and section of the course was very interesting. Creating meaning with the images, with the sequences, what you show and you don’t. The specific subject I have chosen was not my cup of tea – someone suicidal – but roughly I think I have conveyed some sadness and anguish. Lets analyse scene by scene.

Scene 1

We see the shower open from above. I moved away slightly from the script, cause I’m back in Spain and water is very valuable, so I did not fill the tub.

Framing and composition - The camera is tilted and gives a sense of unbalance and instability.

Lighting - The light is artificial which suits the scene.

Sound - You hear the noise of the water running and suddenly the noise of a phone ringing comes in.

Meaning – in the shower you cannot see anybody (well, you can if you look at the reflection in the tap, but that is a beginners error), you only see the red water trickling into the frame, which is quite an obvious signal of somebody committing suicide.  But why? The intention of this scene right at the beginning is to give sense to the rest of the short sequence.

Next we see is a title frame indicating that what we have just seen has happened in the future, and the phone was ringing in the past. “…earlier that day…”

Scene 2

We see a woman picking up the phone and being shocked for whatever she listens in the other end.

Framing and composition – The frame is wide so you see the whole living room. There is no need, but this gives her a nice location in the frame (one of the thirds to call your attention), and we can see her movements clearly.

Lighting – Natural light comes from the background window and silhouettes her out.

Sound – Sound is diegetic sound, but when you see that she is shocked by the news, you begin to hear a beeeeep, like the one from an old analogue TV with no signal.

Meaning – most of the meaning in this scene is coming from the acting and non-diegetic sound., which gives a very strong sense of uneasiness. 

Scene 3

We see a close up of the sun, and then the camera changes and the viewer (subjective PoV) is running and falls.

Framing and composition – Framing and composition is not critical for me in this scene, as I try to convey a subjective PoV. The only important thing was that the sun needed to be isolated and quite in close up. Then the camera zooms out to show how the viewer is running.

Lighting – the light comes from the dazzling sun, which was quite high in the sky in a very clear and bright day..

Sound – TV with no signal to link this with the previous scene (see meaning). The plan was to include the sound of a car crash, which would have given a bit more sense to the scene, but I tested this and didn’t help much to the meaning of the scene and the result was a bit odd.

Meaning – This was a quite risky and abstract scene. The idea was to show how she was kind of oblivious (dazzled by the sun) to what was happening and then she wants to run away, literally, in anguish and frustration. I expected that the sound would help to give this meaning, this sense of being “inside” her head.

Scene 4

We see a close up of the kettle being set for a tea, then the camera moves and we see the woman seated, looking sad, playing around with the cup and the tea bag.  Then she stands up and leaves, not making the cup of tea.

Framing and composition – The close up works nicely and well in this scene. It allows you to see just what you need, you guess from the context she is in the kitchen.

Lighting – I planed I would use the artificial and bright, white light of my kitchen. When tested, I liked it better with the dim natural light coming from the terrace. She is in the shadows, the light does not lit her directly but rather from behind. It gives a nice look of sadness to the shot.

Sound – The beep ends and a sad music begins. Music is by Alex Mackie, No Easy Way.

Meaning – The music is sad and it gives sense to the scene. The acting, framing and light help to convey meaning. She is sad, she is helpless, she leaves.

Scene 5

We see the phone, nobody has bothered to hang it up. Then we see a picture of the woman and a man.

Framing and composition – The frame is a close up, the camera set at the height of the subject.

Lighting – Natural light.

Sound – sad music.

Meaning – A travelling moves from the close up of the phone to the close up of the picture. It does mean something, the two images are linked, something has ended, something is wrong.

Conclusion

I had the idea of ending with the cup of tea, again unfinished, but thought that was then two closures and didn’t include it.

The camera movements and framing I think work well. The subjective PoV of the abstract scene achieves the uneasiness I was looking for, and the travelling in the last scene works quite nicely in my opinion (although the travelling equipment can do with some improvement so the image does not jump).

On the other hand, the narrative is quite confusing, as I have tested with some friends. They don’t get the idea; they think somebody else has committed suicide, not the girl. The abstract scene (scene 3) is not understood within the sequence unless I explain it… but they do get a feeling of sadness. Fairly enough, next chapter is about narrative; let’s see what I can learn there.


Edit 29/11/15 to attach copy of my tutor's report:

project 13: non-diegetic sound - abstract image sequence

For this exercise I've chosen a song by Marlango. You'll hear a trumpet, and no music. I'll say no more in here, but in the comments, as this is about the feelings that the music evokes on you, and the concordance with the images (or not).




Music Frozen Angora by Marlango

project 13: non-diegetic sound

Non-diegetic sound is the sound that does not belong to the scene in a natural way. It is not ambient, or speech. Sometimes is music or voice over, sometimes can be abstract sound to generate mood.

Try to find some examples of the following:

• Intentional confusion of diegetic and non-diegetic sound - In There's Something About Mary many of the scenes are introduced by what could be a musical narration, that is in reality two guys singing the songs, initially outside the frame, but then you see they're in the scene, in a tree branch or similar. 
• Sound that is hard to identify as either diegetic or non diegetic - In Chef, when Martin (John Leguizamo's character) is cooking for the first time in the van, there's what would seem like non-diegetic music, but then he's dancing at (what seems) the rhythm of the music. 
• Music (non-diegetic) used to identify social and cultural references - In Gandhi film initial scene, when they show Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, the music is indian. 

     

• Music and other non-diegetic sound used to create, for example, atmosphere, tension and emotion
• Non-diegetic sound that sets the pace of a scene
• Non-diegetic sound that give clues or cues to action

      A bit of cheating here... I'm going to use the same two scenes for the three examples above.

In these scenes of 2001 Space Odyssey, we can see how the weird futuristic sounds set the scene for tension and mystery (creates atmosphere) when the apes find out the out-of-the-way object, and the music gains in intensity to grow with the scene (sets the pace). 

In the last scene, when the ape "discovers" the tool, the music is giving the cues for action. Is the music (and the slow motion) that emphasises the uniqueness of the moment. This is, probably, the most obvious example that one can find!

assignment 2 - feedback and reflections

I have received the feedback from my tutor, Robert Enoch, on assignment 2. In summary:

Well done:

• confident use of lighting and composition - This is a good improvement from the feedback received in assignment 1 about the use of lighting. 
• Scene 2 - well edited transition scene. Good use of dark and lit sides of the images. 
• Good use of 'absence of diegetic noise' when needed by the story.
• Under the sheets shot - Illness really can be isolating and makes one feel overly ‘in the body’ and this shot expresses this well. Good use of your imagination here. And the fade out works well to suggest a time has passed. 
• Last scene - excellent use of light as a symbol of health

To work on:

• story rhythm - The film is again, as it happened in assignment 1, a bit slow. I must keep on working on length of shots to generate the adequate rhythm of the story. 
•  The beginning is way too slow and empty 
• narrative - The film starts somewhat strangely in an empty kitchen - away from the main story of the sick man in bed. And that disrupts your use of a ‘narrative of light’ because you needed to begin the story in the dark room and then progressively bring the light in. 
• about the scene of the tea - Is this really meaningful? - No, actually it isn't. I thought it would be interesting to have an introductory shot, but, as also Robert comments, the kitchen is too 'domestic'. He's got a point, as this breaks the hospital environment I wanted to create. 
• acting - it's nice that Robert has appreciated the acting in both assignments. This is mainly thanks to Juan, main actor. Well done Juanito! and many thanks for your help!
• mise-en-scene - I could have improved the first scene if I had given more importance to the pills, which are in the scene but don't get prominence.
• camera viewpoint in scene 3 - should have been modified when she takes the thermometer and when she leans forward, to keep the focus on the sick person. Keep your audience in the privileged position of zoning in on all the key actions unless is a deliberate reason to obscure it. 
• Increase content in your Research section - so true. I should report much more my work.  

If you want to contract time in a scene, you can use either:
a) Jump cuts: cutting only the most pertinent and telling actions together.
b) Cutaways: cut away from your scene of making tea to a shot of something related, like a clock ticking. When you cut back to the scene, you have shifted the action further along: she’s finished the tea.  

Suggested reading and viewing

Mood and atmosphere is very strong in Ridley Scott's movies. He was one of the first directors to make excessive use of light and often smoke (it makes light 'visible'). 

To work on this proposal I've watched two Ridley Scott movies (the two ones available on my online TV subscription), paying special attention to the creation of atmosphere and use of light: Thelma & Louise & A Good Year.

Use of elements to "show" light
We can see some examples below of how Riddley Scott uses the elements (dust in the air, or water, or smoke) to depict the light. The result is kind of magical and not obvious if you are not looking for its effects.
Curiously see how even when he wants to film in rain, he is using rain as a way of showing the sunlight.

Edit 29/11/15 to attach copy of my tutor's report:

assignment 2 - creating atmosphere

For this assignment you’ll create a scene with a strong sense of atmosphere

The idea:

The objective is to film a scene where a person is ill and feeling bad, even a bit despaired. There’s someone else taking care of him. She is worried. Finally, when he begins to recover, both would show hope and happiness. The scenes would be lighted to suit the different moods, mainly the despair of the sick person and the peace of the final shots.

The light would be warm for all shots, but scarce sometimes. The colours would be based on whites as much as possible, to resemble a hospital and therefore the feelings associated with it.  Focus will be used to express not only depth, but also mood.

The storyboard:

Shoot 1: Someone prepares a tea. There's some pills close to the cup. 

I want this shot to be neutral and not to give away many things from the story. 

The mise-en-scène is pretty simple, the light is natural, clear from a sunny day. When the person who's making the coffee appears, she'll be wearing something white. The mug is also white. The only sound you hear is that from the kettle. 

Shoot 2: The person takes the tea and pills into a room which seems dark. 

The arrangement of elements is simple and straight forward this time, the viewer will see the door, the person wearing white getting into the room, into a poor lit room. There will be a change of light in this scene. All begins to become a bit gloomier. In this scene you'll hear only "silence" and the door opening. 

Shoot 3: In the room, there's a person in bed. By now the viewer would probably assume he's ill. 

The room light is very dim, natural light from the sunny day, entering through the cracks from the blackout blind. The bed cover is also white, as well as the tea mug and the "carer" clothing.

Shoot 4: The viewer listens a sound. It happens to be the thermometer that has the person in bed. 

Shoot 5: The focus is on the thermometer, so the viewer can see the sick person's fever. 

I'll use focus to show depth in this shot. You can see the unfocussed person behind the thermometer. The shot is an over the shoulder camera view. Colour is generally white (with the exception of the thermometer, that unless I buy a new one, mine is yellow with a Winnie the Poo sticker...)

Shoot 6: The person in bed doesn't feel good, therefore he covers himself with the duvet. These shot shows the person below the duvet. He'll look at the camera. I want to show his despair here. The kind of despair you feel when you are feverous and bored and tired. The light is obviously poor here. I'm thinking of lighting from outside the duvet with a warm light just over the scene, we'll see how that works. Hopefully light is diffuse but clear enough. Again the main colour in the scene is white, from the sheets, the person's shirt, etc. 

Shoot 7: The carer gets in the room. Her clothes are not white anymore, and she opens the window letting the light in. 

Shoot 8: She feels the person in bed forehead, smiles. The sensations are much happier now, just with the change of light. 

Shoot 9: She helps the now recovered man to wake from the bed. Sound needs to be more active. Probably the seagulls cries that from outside our flat. 

Evaluation 

While planning and filming the assignment 2, I have considered all the studied techniques to achieve creating atmosphere. See below a summarised analysis and some examples of the used techniques:

Colour: The main shade in the shoot is the colour white. The idea is to identify it with a hospital environment. Some colours, in certain contexts, would generate a mood. In this manner, something white in a natural lighted scene can express brightness and a light mood, but in a poor lit scene, with someone in bed, white can be associated with the, sometimes depressing and hopeless, mood of old hospitals (thankfully architects are conscious nowadays of the impact of their design in the ill person and modern hospitals move away from dimness and plainness). 

Light: The idea of depression and hopelessness would move mainly around the light. Even when it seems that it is a beautiful day outside, the feelings within the room are pessimistic and dark. Nonetheless, once the sick feels better, the natural light gets into the room, filling it with warmth. 

While he is ill, the light is coming only from one side, creating textures and shadows, increasing the sensation of uneasiness. Once the blind is open, the reflected light eliminates most of the shadows and the scene, creating an atmosphere of tranquillity. 

Balance: The rule of thumb has been generally followed for the shots, i.e. in the image where the viewer can see the thermometer, this is situated in the lower left grid point.  

Diegetic sound: I have re-recorded some of the sounds to eliminate disturbances and improve sound quality. I have also increased the sound of some elements, as the thermometer beep. In this case, the viewer would not know what is the sound until she takes the thermometer, but I have hopefully already grab the attention of the viewer to it. 

I have also used some very obvious sound effects in the last scene to increase the sensation of calmness, where you can hear some birds singing (my idea was for the birds to be outside, but some colleague has commented that it seems that the birds are in the room… I might have solved that opening the window, perhaps).

The result is, I think, only partially successful, not because the inefficiency or the bad use of the different techniques – I think they work quite effectively – but because of the atmosphere I wanted to create (despair, preoccupation, then move to tranquillity) is quite complicated. It would have been easier I think to show threat.

The first scene is neutral, introductory. The second scene, when she opens the door into the dark room, is effective in my opinion, as you can see her entering into the dim space.

The scenes within the room while he is ill might have worked better cancelling completely the natural light and using artificial, cold light, like a fluorescent.

The scene below the duvet I think that works quite well, thanks to the light colour, the dimness below the bed cover and the (very good acting) of Juan. For this scene I have also re-recorded the sight, to cancel every other background noise.

Finally, as mentioned before, the last scene is quite obvious: good warm, natural light, morning birds singing, equal tranquillity and peace. It would have been useful to insert some other colour into the scene to break with the white that was implying sickness, but I couldn’t think of a “natural” way of doing it. Perhaps a jumper that she could have left over the bed for him might have worked out. I changed the scene from the planned one in the story board, as this seemed a more normal action than getting up so suddenly from an illness. 

It has been a very enjoyable assignment, not at all easy, though. I find that I lack of some lighting equipment and, also, certain willingness to turn my little flat upside down and in that way create different stories with the adequate mise-en-scene. I have some ideas already… perhaps for the next assignment.

exercise: create a new soundtrack

OK,  I've changed my mind. It kind of felt bad not doing the exercise, and I really believe sound is half of the image (as mentioned in the course notes) so better practicing a bit... let's try and do the exercise. I have assumed the course notes make reference to the exercise in project 3, the feel of a frame, where we filmed the subjective point of view relapse of an alcoholic at home.
Here is the video, and below the list of sounds in it.

Note that describing sounds, not being an english native speaker, is not my thing. In the notes we are given some clues, like use a flavour, a smell, a colour, an emotion, physical texture...

• the coffee machine: Mechanical, loud, vibrant, sour, dark, frightening.
• the blinds opening: crispy, brisk, sharp.
• the sound of the book pages and the book on the table: soft, melancholic, earthy.
• opening the bottle: musical,  salty.
• pouring the wine: joyous, musical, soft, light. 

Create a new soundtrack

Re-recording the sounds and editing them in the video editor. We need to create a new soundtrack for our video. The next things have been changed:

• I have integrated the coffee machine audio between the two different shots, now the audio track is continuous
• The blinds noise is recorded new, the previous audio discarded. Before we could hear other noises from the camera or the opening rod, i.e. the audio quality was bad.
• In the TV shoot, I have introduced the sound earlier, when we are in the previous scene. I think this is cool, not any other particular reason. It helps to introduce a scene that is different from the previous, and quite different. 
• I have joined the audios of the TV scenes, extending the audio from one scene into the next one and mixing them at the same level, so it seems more continuous, without obvious breaks.
• I have eliminated sharp ends, i.e. when you stop listening to the TV, now it fades away instead of ending abruptly.
• I have re-recorded the noise of the book. before you could hear noises from the camera, and the quality was not good, as the sound was almost imperceptible. 
• I have re-recorded the sound of the steps. Again, the quality of the sound was poor, with some undesired noises. 
• I have deleted, whenever possible, the noises from the camera and my breath. I have recorded "silence" in the room and filled the gaps with it. 

The results are below: