Music Mixing

On a better note, my friend Emma Denney who does music technology, specialising in composing film and television music has agreed to compose a track specially for my film. This is great news as I will have a unique piece of music for my film and will add a different element to my film rather than having one song. This also means that the music can reflect what is happening in the film and therefore add to the drama and the effect.

CRISIS

I'm am having a major problem, my photographer had to do something on the date we had arranged so I have had to change the date to monday, and people now cant make it. I have worked with my photographer before and don't want to change photographers so I am desperatly trying to find new models and make up artists. I am starting to realise how difficult it is to arrange everything and depending on other people, I am finding it a struggle. I have worked with a couple of photographer with them setting a brief and I find that a lot easier as I only have to concentrate on one thing. This project has however broadened my contact list and my skills with talking to professional companies and people.

Shoot:
Monday 4th April
Location: Sherborne School (Contact: Jan Harris)
Photographer: Jacquilene Bolton.
Make up Artist: Caitlin Palmer
Male Model: Ross
Female Model 1: Sophie Norris
Female Model 2:
Female Model 3:
Assistant: Katie Tremlett
Accessories: Zoe Purdom
Clothing: Clare Harmen

Test Shoot.

On Thursday I did a test shoot with my photographer, make up artist, model and some of the clothing I had already. I mainly wanted to test out different lighting and also a part of my film which I could see in my head but wasn't quite sure how it would look so we did a practice run of that. The part I wanted to practice was the bit with the girl in the corner with the jewellery and fabric moving up over her, I had a basic idea in my mind, below are the videos I have put together from the practice, one of them we moved the light around to produce a better effect. I am definitely going to keep this scene in my final film as I really like the look of the jewellery come to life, however I think I'm going to add a lot more jewellery and fabric to the scene, and also bring the bits in all together after another rather than one bit at a time. Also I wanted quite sharp jagged movements however I think this is too sharp quick movements so have the movements less dramatic on the final film.

Also below are images of the outfits, we were just experimenting with lighting here and I wanted to see what the outfits looked like. The green dress is Clare Harmens I do really like the pattern and shape however the model couldn't move her arms very well so I do think I am going to use that garment for the final film, however I do like the other two outfits and particularly the woolen necklace I made, I think it looks really good in movement, which is what I wanted it for.

Accessories

So after a distinctly poor response from the students on my course I finally heard back from Zoe Purdom, who makes amazing jewelley. She hand makes leather and beaded neck pieces and I think they would add to the strange styling I am going for this unit. She is happy to lend me the pieces and I think they will work really well with the bits I have already. I'm going to be using the second image and the 2 bottom ones as I think they are the ones that would work the best.

Prop and Accessory Making

Today I have been very busy making props and accessories for my shoot, I am doing a text shoot on Thursday so I'm preparing everything now to get a practice in first before the final shoot to get as much right first time. I am trying to make as much stuff myself for this shoot and be as creative as possible, I have never really approached a shoot like this before and normally relied on other people and buying things like props and accessories, however for this last unit I wanted to try and do something different.

I have made the tassel necklace which I mentioned before, however I chose grey as the colour and it reminds me a bit of a massive beard so I might have to re think the colour if it doesn't work. I have made the tassells mid thigh length and hopefully they will add a lot of movement into the shoot. I have also been cutting up a lot of black fabric for the bandages on the creatures at the end.

For the props I have made some balloon origami pieces to act a bit like bubbles and also to add a random element to the scene, I have kept them the same colours as the clothing to keep them in theme, below I have just played around with them moving and would possibly like them appearing and moving around some of the scenes. Also below I have experimented with a bit of the film I wanted with leaves blowing in through the door, I experimented with making origami leaves however that didn't really work so I thought making them out of felt would be easier, I like the bright colours I have chosen and I think they would look interesting on a dark wooden floor.

Sherborne School

As there was no enough room in my sketchbook to put all these pictures I thought I would put them up on here as well. Sherborne School was amazing! I would love to do my film there however my only reservation is that it is an hour away from Bournemouth, which is quite far to travel with everyone and everything, however if we can make it work I think Sherborne will be the perfect place to do my film, as it is so old and dark and full of quirky ancient things which would really make my film come alive.

Music Choices

I have been trying to find some music which would be suitable for my film as there will be no talking. I want music which will match my dream theme and which follows the narrative of my film, as it starts slow and gradually gets faster paced, it has been quite hard and I don't think I've quite found the right music yet but these are a good start.



lighting and photographer

Here are some imagery I sent my photographer to give her an idea of the type of lighting and feel I am after. I have worked with Jacqueline before, and she has produced some amazing photographs so I am not at all worried about working with her. Also for her EMP she is doing a stop motion film too so I am confident she has the right technical abilities to achieve what I am after. Hopefully this conversation will also help give a better idea of the overall feel of my film as I am much better at explaining it though text than speaking it.

Using spotlights to highlight just the character 

Dark shadows over face and highlight contrast 

Heavy contrast and dark shadows 

Depth and downward lighting and angles which cause shadowing over face 

Possibly play with shadows 

From: 3164116 JACQUELINE BOULTON
Sent: 06 March 2011 19:49
To: 3183640 LAURA COLLINS

Awesome all the imagery and examples look swell, should we try and organise a test run in the studio for lighting etc. so on the day it will hopefully go pretty darn smooth? x
________________________________________
From: 3183640 LAURA COLLINS
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 6:48 PM
To: 3164116 JACQUELINE BOULTON
ok excellent, Ill send you some pictures on the next couple of days, here are some videos I have been looking at in the mean time, they aren't stop motion but might give you a rough idea of the general feel I am going for.

https://db2prd0103.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=c443a77d80a74c8bb2463f40420b2ffa&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dxA_FflBC1CQ - this film is a bit more floaty, fuzzy than what I am after but I really like the stop motion bits they use like the jewellery bit about 4mins in.

https://db2prd0103.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=c443a77d80a74c8bb2463f40420b2ffa&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dkLiglMW16xc - this is kind of the strange feel, so like a mixture of the two.
________________________________________
From: 3164116 JACQUELINE BOULTON
Sent: 01 March 2011 10:00
To: 3183640 LAURA COLLINS
Sounds really good :)
If you could send some imagery that would be real helpful so I can visualise lighting etc. I'm very excited :) x
-----Original Message-----
From: 3183640 LAURA COLLINS <3183640@live.aucb.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 12:48:14
To: 3164116 JACQUELINE BOULTON<3164116@live.aucb.ac.uk>

Hey right, this is kind of where I am right now.

I want to create a stop motion film based on surreal dreams, based on a few of my own personal dreams, I am currently in the process of storyboarding and writing a narrative.

I would quite like to shoot on location, i'm thinking about using an old boarding school my friend used for one of her shoots, i know that will be tricker than doing it in the studio but I think having a background will add to the effect, but if it really goes wrong we could rework it to do it in the studio.

I want the feel to be like a reality (not fuzzy and blurry like you see in a lot of 'dream' films) because when you are in a dream it is real, however with dark shadows/harsh lighting to create a creepy feel. Also some post editing to make it surreal such as photoshopping eyes/mouths out for example (all still to be worked out)

Also, adding random elements with props, things you wouldn't expect to see. The clothing will appear fairly normal however there will be couture aspects and big accessories to add to the surreal feel. I will have one main female character then characters appearing and disappearing throughout, just one or two probably.

I am looking to shoot a couple of weeks before easter, around the end of march, but we can work out actual dates later depending on everyones schedules etc.

I hope this sounds ok, let me know if your confused or would like to see any imagery. Also if you have any questions of things I might have missed out let me know
Laura

Clothing

Currently I am trying to find clothing for my shoot. This shoot involves multiple characters all with different looks so trying to organise each look is getting a bit confusing.

For the main character I am looking for long flowing clothing with big skirts, including some fringing to create the effect of movement. A pastel blue, grey, white, camel and black colour pallet. Also including some sharp exaggerated shapes and structure to add to the dream, surreal feel. I have been mainly browsing internet shops at the moment and found some good things on asos and also a brand called Aqua which is really good, later this week I will check out the high street as well as some vintage shops. I will also borrow clothing from the students on my course and make a few bits myself.

Here are some looks from asos I have been looking at for my main character:

Dress by Aqua

Possibly make a long tassel necklace...

Inspired by this look by Jil Sander.....



I currently haven't found any clothing for the black figures, however I want them in black leggings with a big baggy top with long sleeves, then I want to wrap them up black bandages around their face and body to create a more creature, creepy feel to their look. I likw the wrapped up look of the dresses on the angels from the Lynx advert.....

For the girl who gets covered in bits, I want her to start out in basic underwear or a slip depending on how comfortable the model is, then I want lots of long and large jewellery as well as a big flowy dress to move up over her, I might possibly drape some fabric over her for the dress to create the scene I am looking for as it will be easier to get the right look than trying to find an appropriate outfit.

For the male character I am looking for something sophisticated and smart, like hes a character from a different era. Possibly with braces and a bowler hat, I want him to have a large pocket watch hanging from his hand.

Tutorial

Yesterday I had a tutorial with Tiffany, points she mentioned were that I have to do more personal development and have a clearer storyboard. She said she didn't understand my concept, but that's because I find it extremely difficult to talk to her and struggle to explain myself properly, she suggested taking photo's for my storyboard to give a clearer idea and I think that might be the best way to explain myself without having to use words. Despite what she might think I do have a clear idea of what I am looking for and trying to achieve and as long as the team I am working with understand me and my concept then I am happy. For once at uni I am doing a project I enjoy and really excited about completing and I'm going to try and carry on and not get dragged down like I usually do. I am looking to do my film before Easter so I have plenty of time for editing and re filming if necessary, I am extremely organised person and I feel I am well on track for completing this project well in time.

Layered Stop Motion

Here I wanted to create two stop motion images overlapping each other to create a different effect. I like the way the skin of the eye creates a different tone to the background images making it a bit more mysterious. I also like using the extreme close up of the eye next to the full figure in the background. In places it looks like the eye is following the figure, I quite like this and I think it could work well in my final film if I get the eye to follow the figure properly.

Inanimate Objects Come to Life

Here I have tried to test out the thing that stop motion is best known for, making inanimate objects move and come to life. I want to recreate the scene in the spell video before with the girl getting covered in moving jewellery but add my own spin on it. In the absence of a person to test it on I have used a mannequin and used various accessories moving up the body and falling into place. I think this would look much better on an actual person, however I do like the objects coming to life and winding their way around the body, I think this is really interesting and could work very well, especially if I used a lot more fabrics and bigger bits of jewellery.

I am finding that for the film to give a realistic image of movement each frame has to be 0.50-0.60 seconds long to work correctly, this means at least 70 images per minute of my film, this is going to be long, but worth it I think.

Line in Dust Stop Motion

In my film, I want the feel of the house being old and unused, so I liked the idea of drawing a line in the dust, here I have experimented with doing this to see how it would work with stop motion. This has been quite successful and I think in a wider shot it would look really good and have an artistic feel to it.

Opening Door Stop Motion

Here I have tried filming opening a door, I did this myself with my own hand so looks a bit strange with just an arm coming out into shot but I think with more of a body attached to the arm would look less strange. I am wanting an opening door scene to represent moving forwards, however in dreams it is not important to show the figure moving from place to place as in dreams you suddenly move between places without explanation.

More Experimentation with Stop Motion

Today me and Lauren went scouting around for locations for my film, and weren't very successful, however, while we were in the new forest we played around with some stop motion, there are 3 different parts and the first one is the kind I want to use in my film where the character jumps around the frame getting closer to the camera and then ends up right in front of the lens, I think this is good for adding the strangeness in dreams. The second and third shots are just us playing around and so I can further get the hang of stop motion. I am really enjoying stop motion as a way of filming, I think its really fun and really exciting when it all comes together. I also like it when its a bit rough and jolty, I think it adds to the quirkiness of the technique.

Experiementation with a spinning clock

Here I have tried experiementing with a spinning clock, for my film I want to draw on my dream I have on spinning clocks by representing that in real with my film. This is a lot tricker than I thought it would be and takes a very long time to photograph each stage of the spinning clock. Also as you can see herw I have tried out two speeds, the bottom one is less than 0.5 of a second per frame, this has shown me how many images I would actually need even to fill 1 minute of film.

Experimentation with shrinking pupils

I thought I would try out the pupil in the eye getting smaller, as when you are scared your pupils dilate and become smaller, I think this would give the impression that the person is scared, as my film wont have words so actions will have to explain the emotions.

Lula Magazine: Spell Video

This is great video from Lula Magazine, I finding Lula actually create quite a lot of videos which I didn't realise. I really love this video some bits are even done in stop motion, I can see lots of things which I could take and adapt to my own work, such as when shes putting on the jewellery strangely and when the covers are being pulled off the bed. I think this is a wonderful video which will probably be a heavy inspirational part in my work.