Sound Video Ideas

I am using a piece of audio that I am creating myself. It is pieces of several of my songs, which are manipulated in many ways to create a slightly disoriented feeling. I want to use several effects in this video to compliment the sounds. I plan on using layers of video on top of each other in a few ways. I want to experiment with the feeling created when one layer of video is zooming in while the other layer is zooming out. I also want to try layering different points of view of the same scene on top of one another playing simultaneously. I want to experiment with the motion of the camera and the objects in the shot to somewhat mimic the movement of the sound.

The main video layer will be a person trying to find his or her way home. It will show several angles of the person walking in different places. I plan on trying to show first person view, medium shots, long shots, and close ups of the person walking(at least two angles simultaneously on layers). I plan on doing things like zooming in on a close up in one layer while zooming out to a longer shot in the other layer. To emphasize that the person is lost, I will show them walking through two or more different scenes in different settings simultaneously using the layers. The opacity will change fading certain parts out and revealing others.
When the character is in the city, I plan on fading in shots of blurred city lights and cars driving past the character(seeing from the cars p.o.v.). When the character is in the country it will be really dark so I plan on fading in layers of the shot during daytime. In the country, there will be only one car that drives past the character at the end showing him passed out or dead on the side of the road. This will be the last shot as the car continues to drive on without stopping.

Outline
1. Person leaving through a door and walking into the night.
2. Person walking through town or city. Layers of city lights flashing across screen.
3. Person walking through the country, hardly no lights. Daytime shots of the same area will fade in and out .
4. Most disorienting scene showing layers of different places at the same time fading in and out.
5. Final scene person is passed out (or dead) on the side of the road. The only car that passes him in the country passes and sees him laying on the side of the road and doesn't stop. All layers fade out but the point of view of the car continuing to drive on down the road.

Write Up: "HOW TO DANCE FOR PROM"

I shot all my scenes in one day. We didn't have a long time to shoot before dark so I didn't get quite as much footage as I wanted, but I still got enough. The special effects with the teddy bear worked out great. The dry ice didn't smoke up as much as I wanted. The roadkill was very very grotesque and the worst idea I have ever had, but we still got a couple quick shots. They are limited in angles because the smell was unbearable. Roadkill was not a pleasant prop, but I hope it will be shocking to the viewer considering the suffering it put us through. The dancing beside the interstate was perfect and will complement the morbid actions quite nicely. I cant wait to edit this and see how it looks together.

Quiz #2

Describe a standard 3 point lighting set up.

Three point lighting obviously has three lights arranged around the subject.  These lights include the key light, the fill light, and the back light.  Usually, the brightest light is the key light, which is usually placed slightly to the left of the camera.  The fill is the next light which eliminates the distracting nose shadow.  It is placed to the right of the camera.  The final light is the back light which lightens the edges of the subject.  This light is placed behind the subject. 

You could lower the contrast by changing the Iris on the camera, and maybe use a black bounce card on the subject.  Try to shoot in the shadows if possible.  

Revised Storyboard

I changed it up quite a bit but kept some aspects. I am going for pure absurdness, although I decided to take out the gut eating. I added a new character which is a girl who is somehow created by the absurd mixture. The new title will be How To Dance At Prom.

How To Fish Outline and Storyboard

HOW TO FISH

Location- small pond (hopefully dry) beside the interstate, if its not dry  I will not show the water, only the trees and interstate.

Actors- one person showing the viewer how to so called "fish"

Action- the person will be taking stuffed animals and ripping guts out of them.  The person will be putting the guts in a large pot and mixing them together, and eating some things raw.  The person  will show the viewer everything step by step as if they are expected to participate.

Props-large pot, stick to mix with, stuffed animals, guts

How To

I really liked how the scenes looked and how they were cut.  I think location being in the woods and the sun shining through the trees was very aesthetically pleasing.  The actors did a pretty good job of communicating without sound, and made it kind of funny.  The video is straightforward in its instructions.  Overall, the main thing that drew me to this video was the way it looked.

Manifesto

I hate how so many movies made now are just remakes of older movies just adding special effects and CGI. I am sick of seeing movies about every super hero ever written about in comic books. I am tired of movies being so predictable, and always ending happily ever after. I hate seeing actors that act the same way in every movie they play in. I am tired of safe, accepted, censored, and popular, I want to be shocked, disturbed, and consumed by my friend the beast, the shadow.

My past works were all silent videos focusing on dreamlike landscapes and mostly characters who, with little or no motive commit violent acts toward one another. In addition to my love for high contrast in color, I always tried to consider contrast in as many aspects as possible, such as a pretty girl stomping your ass with a smile on her face.

My videos had a linear timeline for the most part, which is something I want to change. I hope for the stories in my videos to become more developed, which would also make my characters more developed. I want to try to find ways to shock or disturb the viewer besides just showing beatings and murders. I want to take contrast to the extreme hopefully getting away from the stereotypical. I want things to be more absurd. For the most part I want my work to shock the viewer, I want to effect them in a way that will stick. I want to entertain the primal monster inside.


Manifesto

-Must strive for a beautiful absurdness that is unpredictable
-Contrast must be integrated into as many aspects as possible
-Composition and aesthetic qualities must be carefully considered including camera angles and cuts
-Location will always be important
-Time should not be linear or "real time," its boring. The viewer should not have to wait too long to see some action.
-There must always be a party scene for everyones sake even if it isn't used.
-If there is blood there will be plenty
-What is popular and safe should not be considered.
-Rebel against the pre-existing template

Quiz

What is white balance and why is it important in movie production?

White balance is the way the camera reads the darks and lights of a scene.  The white balance determines what is the whitest white and darkest dark.  Usually the camera will also have different settings for outdoors and indoor lighting so things wont get weird tints from lights or the sun.  This is important in movie production because one can manipulate the appearance of the video a lot before recording by using white balance.  By setting the white balance right, the video will have a lot more contrast and make the lighting pop.

Genre Film

I watched Edison and J. Searle Dowley's Frankenstein part 1 and 2.  It was  one of the earliest horror films made in 1910.  Frankenstein left for college and later found the secret of life and death.  He attempts to make the perfect human but instead creates a monster.  Its the classic mad scientist story.  They used black and white and sepia tones during moments of terror.  The lighting in the scenes gave the film a ghostly appearance.  They used makeup and costumes to create Frankenstein's scary monster, which is a common horror convention.  The character became a sympathetic antagonist by the end so the viewer almost "roots" for the monster.  They also did some special effects with the mirror by making the monster's reflection appear to be Dr. Frankenstein.  Overall, I believe Edison and Dowley used many of the horror conventions to create a successful film, especially for 1910.  

Video Portrait Concepts

1. Person who is independent, confident, happy and content with their self. Depicted in the late afternoon sun when everything has a golden glow. The sun would act as a key light and maybe a reflector for the fill.

2. Person who's inner thoughts are unknown and mysterious. One harsh backlight, or outside during sunset so only a silhouette will be seen.

3. Average working class person who puts on a front to appear strong but inside they are tired of the mundaneness and repetitiveness of life's struggle. Depicted indoors in a softly lit room, such as a living room with one lamp on at nightime. Person will not be very close to the light.

Dogme 95 Response

Von Trier's concepts of cinema goes against the overproduction and "unrealness" of modern cinema. He believes that now days movies are too full of illusions and trickery which take away from the story. He thinks cinema should consist of well developed characters that are believable along with their surroundings.
Trier wants to take the "individualism" out of movie making by not crediting the director, but the whole crew. The director must not rely on personal taste or use any kind of effects. He thinks the movie should take place here and now without using any superficial action such as murder. Trier also believes that the sound and lighting should be natural.
Overall the Dogme 95 movement's main goal is to create a good story with believable characters and places that are well developed. There should be no distractions from the story and characters. I agree with Trier's idea that modern movies rely on effects and illusions too much. I also believe that Dogme films have a real or believable quality about them compared to most movies, which are blown out of proportion.

Whatever It Takes Video Write Up

I did my video using the video setting on my digital camera.  After editing the scenes a little, I had to record the movie playing on the computer screen to get the right file format.  The video is about a guy who is isolated in the middle of nowhere.  After being alone so long he begins to go insane and trys to find ways to pass his time.  He wears a gas make to symbolize his change in mindstate.  Eventually the boredom and dullness of his life becomes too much for him to bear.  I really enjoyed the freedom of this assignment.