recording

Today I recorded the sections I had agreed to recored for our piece mostly the voices for man 1 and woman 2 as well as chair squeaking, does closing and other things more related to the kitchen.

images

these images are mind maps, scripts and timelines from our preparation for recording. though the original idea was steles we worked together to develop them.

Meeting

Stella and I have met with Debbie, Whom has advised us to rethink our idea as she felt that from her experience for pitches to do a piece in the kitchen tend to be boring. We discussed changing the idea to piece about something that involved a larger amount of characters but still had potential to have sounds of objects such as a bus drivers journey.

outline

Kitchen sound assignment outline

This piece will be used to show the varied noises a average domestic kitchen goes through in one day. Through the use of kitchen appliances, people moving and talking we hope to give a sense of space that this is a busy environment with a loving family at the centre of it. the sounds we intend to use and in which order are as follows:

Light switch turned on

Kettle on

Toaster on

Kettle poured

Tea stirred

Toast pops

Butter spread

Person humming

Toast chewed

Plates in sink

Jacket zipped up

Door opened closed

Clock used to signify passage of time

Door opens

Bag put on floor

Kettle on

Cupboard/fridge door opened and closed

Tea stirred

Radio on but fuzzy

Radio off

Door opens

"Hey how was your day" etc.

Fridge opens

Sound of packaging

Chopping onion

Sizzle in pan

Food on plate

Cutlery grabbed

Stuff in sink

Tap running

Washing liquid squeezed

Plates put away  

Ideas

Today I met with Stella to swap ideas both of us had come up with a few ideas and these were discussed until we agreed upon one idea, Here are some of our ideas.

1. The british countryside, the basis for this idea was that there are many different and natural sounds in the countryside that could be placed together to create a beautiful calming space, using things like birds in the sky and other animals to show space, However this idea was decided against as it was considered too difficult and too much based on luck to get decent animal sounds in the time that was available. We also planned to do similar things in a park but was rejected for similar reasons

2. The sounds of a classroom; this idea was considered easier than the previous one as research and use of props could be easily done inside the university itself. this idea would allow the sound to show the distance from pupil to teacher and perhaps who the pupils lack of interest in the lesson could be shown by use of fades to drown out the teachers already distant voice. This idea was rejected as it was considered too hard to organise an entire classroom of people to do exactly as told also we felt this idea would not be entirely helpful in pushing our skills as students as we would remain inside the university. Similarly we planned to use a library however due to the quiet nature of a public library this idea was considered too boring.

3. Another idea was to record sounds at a bus stop, Using people and vehicles to tell a story about neighbourhood gossip however this idea was rejected due to few sounds available to use.

Chosen idea. The idea we eventually went for was a piece about a everyday household kitchen and sounds it goes through on a average day, this idea will allow us to use a variety of sounds both mechanical and human sounds. We also feel this idea is best as it allows us to put a lot of action into the piece whilst being able to easily control the noises heard in the kitchen. Originally the idea was to use a restaurant kitchen as there are many different sounds in restaurant kitchen however stella suggested a more domestic setting for simplicity's sake.

Start of new project

Today we were given a new project based on the use of space in sound, for example to show somebody is far away with just audio and no visuals through the use of space in sound it is possible to make them sound far away regardless of their actual distance to the microphone.

For this project i have partnered with Stella Harriot. we have agreed to meet up tomorrow afternoon with ideas.  

finished editing

Today all editing was finished. I feel that we have made some major improvements from our last edit and i hope it is enjoyed by all.

re-shoot

Based on Debbie's advice I booked out the camera and tripod equipment and shot new scenes showing the rambler opening a shoebox and taking out the shoes I also shot scenes of the rambler taking off his old shoes however as these shots were blatantly in a kitchen i doubt it will be used. After setting up the camera i would then play the camera.

camera logs

rough edit sent in

Today Debbie was shown our work she critiqued it and gave several pointers on to improve including, removing fades, removing unneeded frames, remove shots that broke the 180 degree rule and others.

contributions

As a pair Emma and I edited together making decisions that we both felt benefited the piece, we were both on location and filmed together both taking turns with the camera. we also completed individual forms parashoot forms.

Individually I was solely responsible for the script as a whole however the original idea was more or less collaborative. i also wrote the treatment, brought all the props (and umbrellas) and i also casted our actor and i shared camera duties with emma.      

started editing

Today we began editing our piece. Which involved logging and capturing before bring and cutting clips in the timeline.

Edle shoot

Today was our filming for the Edale shoot. personally i feel that although we were let down by poor weather conditions forcing a darker feel than intended the overall technical aspects went excellent. i feel our actor performed appropriately for the silliness of the piece. i am also disappointed I was unable to find walking boots that were of a good enough size for our actor and was therefore forced to wear trainers.

release form

storyboards

Here are the storyboards that we made by me and Emma (Emma drew them I supervised. The first three were rough drafts of what we had planned however the ones that follow are the ones we actually used.

Followed

By

Emma Tackney and Alex Coates

Alex Coates

2 Fidler Close

Bamford

Derbyshire

S33 0BZ

Phone Number: 01433 6500 52

Email Address: alexcoates1793@aol.com

FADE IN:

EXT. EDALE VILLAGE- MORNING

A man is walking past a sign for Edale. He is blonde with a normal but slightly innocent looking face. He is wearing a coat and jeans and an old pair of shoes. A rucksack is placed upon his back as he walks in his tattered pair of shoes.

He sees a shop and decides to walk in.

FADE OUT

FADE BACK IN

We see him walking out of the shop wearing nice looking shoes and the old ones in his hands. He then proceeds to walk to a bin and puts the shoes in the bin. From there he walks down the street contently.

EXT. THE COUNTRYSIDE NEAR EDALE-MORNING

As he is walking down the path happily, he walks past the camera revealing that behind him is the old pair of shoes. He continues on in this fashion not noticing the shoes as they are on top of rocks, hiding in bushes, generally being sneaky.

Walking along, the shoes have managed to overtake him and he notices them staring at him. He stares at them, a little freaked out but thinks its a coincidence and continues on with his travels

Later on he sees the shoes again. More scared, he quickly walks around the shoes and carries on going.

EXT. BEAUTY SPOT

He finds a small beauty spot and gets his lunch out. From here he continues to eat his lunch putting the sandwich and drink out. He turns away to appreciate the scenery and turns back to notice that the drink has been spilt and there’s a footprint in the sandwich. To which he then notices that near him are the pair of shoes he’s been avoiding.

He stares at the shoes and the shoes stare back.

Alarmed he picks the shoes up and throws them in a panicked fashion. He then packs up and runs towards the path. As he runs he notices the shoes all around him stalking him. Running, he manages to trip and he stares back to see that one of the 2 shoes has tripped him up he looks back and the other shoe is in front of his face.

Getting up, he picks up both shoes and stares at them wondering what they want. Feeling guilty about his old shoes fate, he changes the shoes and wears his old shoes leaving the new shoes he just worn on the path.

He continues walking

Zooming in at a weird angle it shows the new shoes in a weird light, making them evil looking.

And then straight back to him walking and you see instead of one pair of footprints there is two pairs of footprints.

END

Treatment

Treatment

The film starts with the rambler walking through the beautiful area of Edale, he walks past a sign to confirm this before walking into a shop. We see him grab a pair of shoes out of a shoebox before walking outside and putting his old shoes in the bin. As he walks through the village he notices the same pair of shoes seem to be following him. Freaked out by this the rambler throws the shoes and runs away. Calming down the rambler decides to have his lunch whilst taking a drink from said lunch he looks down to see a shoeprint on his sandwich terrified the rambler runs away only to be tripped up by the shoes. Defeated the rambler decides to change back into his old shoes and leave the new ones behind. 

actor casted

Today I was able to acquire an actor for our piece I fear he may be a little young but this is not a large issue. he has previous acting experience which i hope will make him confident in front of the camera.

call sheet

Call  Sheet
Production:	N/A			Shooting  Day:		1
Producer/PM:		Alex Coates		Date:	27/10/2011
Director:	Emma Tackney			Crew  Call:	all
Asst.  Director:		Alex Coates
SET			SCENES	PAGES	CAST  NOS.		LOCATION
Edale			1	2	Dan Hipwell		Edale
NO.	CAST  MEMBER	PART  OF		MAKE-UP		SET  CALL	REMARKS
Dan Hipwell				N/A		10:45
ATMOSPHERE  &  STANDINS			PROPS			SPECIAL  INSTRUCTIONS
			Shoes
			Shoe box
OTHER  CALL  TIMES:						VEHICLES  &  OTHER:
Director		10:47	Camera	10:45
First  A.D.		10:47	Sound	N/A
Second  A.D.		N/A	Grips	N/A
Prod.  Asst.		10:47	Electric	N/A
Craft  Services		N/A	Art  Dept.	N/A
Script  Supr.		10:47	Make-up	N/A
Dir.  of  Photo		10:47	Wardrobe	N/A
			CHANGES  AND  OTHER  INFO:

research into shoes

As shoes are a large part of the piece I felt that it would be important to research into the shoes that ramblers wear. simply searching "rambling shoes" however only gives results involving trainers. searching "walking boots" however does give results of better quality I hope to find shoes similar to these for our actor to wear.

first brainstorm

Today me and emma considered the plot of our piece as I had visited Edale before as it is close by to where I live I was able to use my experience of the area to come up with ideas. It occurred to me rather quickly that Edale and the surrounding area see a lot of ramblers and this may be a good starting point for ideas. I feel that i piece about shoes and what a pair of rambling shoes go through could lead to some interesting narrative and camera shots.

schedule of Edale project

schedule

9:45 meet at train station 

10:14 train station 

10:47 arrive at Edale

10:50 meet dan the man hipwell

11:00 pre-shoot briefing 

11:15 Go to a sign that says edale

11:30 film the sign the says edale

11:40 film shots of dan walking around

12:20 lunch

12:50 film sandwich footprint scenes

1:15 dan running away from shoes

1:45 dan trips 

2:15 dan gives up on shoes

2:45 shoe shop scene

3:00 break

3:15 him noticing shoes stalking him, so scenes of him walking past shoes in the background

3:45 filming of him throwing and running away from shoes (again)

4:15 close up of the shoes

4:35 dan puts shoes in bin

4:45 shoes perspective of dan a running

5:00 go back to rambler pub

On the 12th of October we were asked to write a blog report on one of the Dramas we had watched in the creative media seminar I chose the drama Skin Deep.

Skin Deep is a Drama from 2001 that explores the themes of racism, conflict of identity and the difficulty of helping family, This starts by showing a quick introduction of the main character Romo's family history as it turns out he is mixed race with his father being pakistani and his mother white british (he has inherited her white skin), he also has a sister with darker skin closer to their fathers. Unfortunately for Romo he lives in an area that is a deeply racist part of Britain in 1982. The main focus of the piece is Romo hiding his family history in the hope working with deeply racist workers at a garage. The drama is about Romo's decision to hide his ethnicity, the conflict he feels and the fear of discovery.


The drama takes a clear negative view of racism portraying the racists as moronic thugs with no redeemable qualities while at the same time showing all non racists as decent people struggling to cope with discrimination in the area. Although the film does show several scenes of Romo enjoying himself with his new co-workers and shows that he has easily won their respect the ending shows that this is tearing romo apart even causing him to self harm with little to no attempt to stop. This is clearly the intention of filmmaker Yousaf Ali Khan as someone who is not of white british heritage he would most likely find this topic easy to identify with and pick a clear side. It is clear that Yousaf succeeded in getting his point across as I find it difficult to believe anyone with a basic understanding of race and racism would not understand his intention.


Personally I did not enjoy the film as although I agree with the principles of the film and sympathies with the protagonist the way the story is told makes me feel very uncomfortable and made me have fear that Romo would be discovered at any moment, Though giving the audience this fear is most likely on purpose, very commendable and clearly a tone that fits in well with the film it did not make me want to keep watching to see if romo was discovered but rather made me want to stop watching or have it suddenly end with everything suddenly being ok, Something that no decent filmmaker would do. I do feel  though that the acting was excellent particularly from Darren Sheppard who played Romo he was able to excellently show us his pain while at the same time convincingly masking it from those around him.  


One element that particularly stood out for me was the way all characters felt well rounded and written as even characters that appeared with little screen time seemed very real with different likes and dislikes to others around them. Another element that stood out for me was the slow reveal that Romo was using racist abuse from his childhood to help prepare himself for hiding his identity as well as being a metaphor for romo's self loathing and hatred of what he has forced himself to become the scared and angry boy he is.

love takes documentary

On the 6th of October we were asked to write a blog report on one of the documentaries we had watched in the creative media seminar I chose the documentary Love Takes.

Love Takes is a documentary from 2003 that interviews people of varying demographics on their opinions on the subject of love. The main focus seems to be how people deal with love, This starts by asking children about love and moving on to increasingly older generations. The questions the interviewees are asked vary from describing what love is to dealing with starting to love someone new at an advanced age. The documentary also focuses more on the emotions and feelings than any kind of physical input of love nor does it focus on etiquette just the feeling one gets.

Overall the documentary seems to take a rather positive attitude to the subject of love as although the documentary deals with themes such as rejection, fear and loss it seems to focus much more on the positive side such as the overall happiness one tends to feel when in love, This is clearly a choice that filmmaker  Jeanie Finlay directly chose as it would be just as easy to make a documentary that solely focused on the good or bad, I would speculate the reason that Finlay chose this slightly more balanced view point was to help the audience relate to the piece more as a piece that was biased for or against love may make the audience feel cynical to the film's one sided viewpoint. When looking at whether Jeanie Finlay has succeeded is documenting people's feelings on the topic of love I feel she has as the piece is both entertaining and informative which in a documentary that seems to be more documenting on love than convincing the viewer of any one opinion then really the filmmaker can not hope to do much more.

I enjoyed the film because as stated before it is easily relatable it does not say anything that the average viewer would disagree with. I also enjoyed seeing different people from different generations talk about their feelings on love which I found their opinions to be easy to understand and believe. The documentary also paced itself well as it always felt like it wasn't rushing things but at the same time also it doesn't feel too slow.  I also enjoyed the children's sometimes humorous responses but was also interested in the more mature responses that people gave as the film went on.

One element that particularly stood out for me was the slowly more serious tone the documentary took as it went on to more mature interviewees as if the film was maturing at the same rate the subject and interviewees were this structure fits in well with the rest of the piece and compliments the simple style the film has, As the parts of the screen that aren't covered by those being interviewed have a red and black background effect that is most likely to keep the audience in mindset of love as red is often synonymous with love. as well as the interesting approach of the film maturing with the subject and interviewees I also found the way that the film would flash up words and sentences that the interviewees had said as if the remind the audience how important these parts of love are something that i feel works well as it is clear to notice but it's intent is subtle.

created blog

Today on the 6th of october 2011 i created my blog.