For my 1SE video, I believe it went well and fits most of the list of expectations I established. I included 8/9 different clips of each day as I couldn’t for the expectation of one-second every day as the project was only a day so I had to modify it to create a 1-minute video of my week. I kept to the technical code of using my phone for filming which is what the majority of 1SE videographers use to create their video and what Cesar recommended as it simple to just whip your phone out and capture the moment you desire. In addition, one of the reasons Cesar developed this idea was for people to look back at their 1SE videos, creating a summary of their year, and for it to trigger memories and what happened that day. With my video, I feel as it accomplishes that as I am able to remember what happened each day, so one day I went to work then I saw my friends and then another day I went to college etc. I feel as it also triggers memories or feelings that I didn’t capture on film but I am able to remember by seeing a clip from that same day. Another expectation my video fits is capturing a range of clips, so not just all the interesting moments but the less interesting as well. For example, I included mundane moments like brushing my teeth, what I had for breakfast or just lounging about at home not doing anything in particular. Another piece of criteria I achieved was including titles. All of the 1SE videos I watched before producing mine included either the date or the month the clip was from. So in my video, I included the day each clip was from, giving the video structure and order. Lastly, I added music to my video as the majority of 1SE have music over the top or behind the original audio, I felt as this made my video more enjoyable to watch.
Overall, I believe my video was reasonably interesting but not the most exciting piece of film, as I found it quite difficult to make a week in my life seem remotely interesting when 5/7 days I was either at work or at college. But it does show good insight into the life of an ‘average’ teenager. I enjoyed filming during the production week as it made me want to do more interesting things so my life looked more fun than it is, however, I guess this goes against the list of expectations as you’re meant to include to good and the bad things. I think the upbeat music adds effect to the video making it more enjoyable and, without meaning to, goes with the outlook of the video “A Week in My Life” as the songs lyrics include days of the week. In addition, I think it was successful in its purpose as it includes one-second clips to show what I got up to in that week and summarise my week as a whole. Looking back on the video now, it also creates a more vivid memory of that week compared to others.
1SE or 1 Second Everyday is the concept of recording a second of your life every day creating a short film of a year of your life. Cesar Kuriyama first developed the idea back in 2012 when he started capturing a second of his life every day. In his Ted Talk Cesar explained the reason behind this concept, for Cesar this project was for him the remember what he did on that day so he can see that one-second clip and recollect the memory of that day. The visualization was a way to trigger a memory. As he continued to film, he discovered he was invigorated to wake up and do something interesting with his day. In 2013, Cesar developed this simple idea into an application (1SE), it is specially programmed to create a one second everyday film. Now anyone can make their own 1SE video and view what others all around were doing on a specific day.
Codes are a system of signs that are broken down into two main categories that have an agreed meaning and connotation to audiences. Technical codes are the equipment used to construct a piece of filming such as camera work, light, editing and audio. For instance, the shake of a camera could imply an earthquake. These codes are specific to media form and aren’t comprehended in ‘real life’, meanwhile, symbolic codes are. Symbolic codes are signs that convey meaning, for example, mise-en-scene, setting, acting and colours. These codes aren’t just part of media, as in ‘real life’ these symbols are conveyed the same way. For example, a character dressed in a suit would connotate a smart, sophisticated individual in real life as it would in a film. In addition, another format is written codes this includes spoken and printed language. Conventions are the agreed way something is done, the accepted processes of media codes. Different types of conventions include story convention, form convention and genre conventions. Form conventions are the arrangement of media, we expect films to begin with an opening title and end with credits – this is a case of form conventions. Storytelling is a key element of media products, narrative structures, cause and effect, character construction and a point of view are part of story conventions helping to create understanding. Genre conventions are creating a specific medium using characters, props, setting that would usually be associated with that genre, closely linked with audiences expectations.
The first 1SE video I looked at was a 1 Years Olds 1 Second Everyday for a Year , this involved a one-second clip of the baby (Daisy) from the very day she was born to her first birthday, going between the years 2018-2019. Unlike Cesar Kuriyama 1SE, where he filmed from his own perspective of his day-to-day life, in Daisy’s video it doesn’t exactly follow the conventions Cesar envisioned because it is someone else filming her. Obviously, this is because she is only a baby. The majority of the footage is shots of Daisy and what she did, usually including her parents. The technical codes for this short film, are the camera with a mix of use between a digital camera or a camera phone – an easy way to capture the clips. In addition, the approach to editing is one-second clip after one-second clip, these codes fit the conventions of 1SE videos, helping the purpose of 1SE to be captured. The first year of babies life always goes incredibly quickly for the parents, days merge into other days and become a blur. This 6-minute film captures that year perfectly, fitting the exact purpose of a 1SE video, to look back on it and be able to remember what happened day-by-day. It tells a story of growth and change in the first year of Daisy’s life.
The next 1SE video I discovered was a year in the life of a teenage girl’s senior year of high school: 365 – A Year in 365 Seconds by Elizabeth Brooke. This nostalgic film includes many symbolic codes to convey the life of a teenage girl growing up, experiencing life. From music concerts, lounging around a campfire, spending time with her family and friends, cooking, painting, going to fairs and carnivals to exploring cities, forests and beaches. These symbolic codes establish a creative, adventurous young girl because the activities involved are expected for this type of person. Technically, the girl has used a camera to capture these moments of her perspective, however, some films are of her self. This slightly goes against the conventions envisioned by Cesar, he wanted people to film their perspective, not themselves. Also, Elizabeth’s video follows the conventions of including a one-second video of every day of the year, including the days where they might not be as ‘interesting’ as going to a concert or going on holiday, which touches on another element Cesar commented on – this was not just recording the good things but the bad things as well. The video Elizabeth recorded may not be necessarily bad but may not be viewed as ‘exciting’ or something a person may put onto social media which is what Cesar aims for this 1SE video – to capture normal everyday life not just elements of your life which are ‘Instagram worthy’.
List of Expectations for 1SE videos (Codes and Conventions):
Must include a one-second clip of every day for a year.
Filmed from your perspective – however, some include clips of themselves
most use a phone camera within the 1SE App created by Cesar Kuriyama – however, some have used digital cameras.
Summarise that year, each clip meant to trigger memories of events that happened on that day, so people can look back on that year as a whole.
Can be both positive and negative, not just capturing all the good things but to capture to bad days as well – to be more like reality.
Titles including the date when the clip was taken, usually framed in the bottom corner of the screen. In addition, some may include the location of the video, for example, a country or city.
Majority of people upload their video on social media, such as Instagram, Twitter and Youtube
Audio – some people put music over their video others just have the audio from the video or they involve both.
Unit 5 is all about sound and audio, this unit is allowing us to develop our understanding of specific skills and attributes required for creative productions and technology in audio-based media platforms. After researching audio techniques such as ADR, wild tracks, Foley sound, Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds we must use what we have learnt to create in our own audio project. Our project was to be based around one of the most famous chase scenes in Film; the chase scene from Point Break 1991, this included over 150 shots. The process was to research and watch a number of chase scenes analysing the elements composed to create the scene, then to plan out our own chase scene – this was our pre-production. Next was producing the film, followed by editing the footage together to create a rough edit before recording and adding in the audio to our short film.
Research into Chase Scenes
First of all, I started off by watching, on youtube, a number of chase scenes from films to gain a wider understanding of how a movie chase scene is formed. I began with watching Point Break (1991). It uses a number of techniques used to devise a tense piece of film. For example, the actors are sprinting, creating a fast-paced action scene emphasizing a tense tone, alongside suspenseful music. In a scene like this actors must be fast-moving or giving the illusion they are running quickly otherwise it wouldn’t have the same effect. This section of the movie contains a sequence of short, quick shots to give a feeling of anxiety or urgency. The shots vary between following Bodhi (the masked criminal), a perspective of Johnny (the FBI agent), with close-ups of their feet, sprinting past; these shots are mainly close-ups or mid shots helping to the audience to feel closer to the action and more on edge. Throughout the camera is constantly moving. This is done by using panning, tracking, tilting and hand held camera. Camera movement is very effective in action or thriller movies, making it more exciting and intense for the audience. In addition, the way the characters are dressed and the props they use to layer up the level of intensity, the criminal was dressed in a black suit along with an uneasy mask, creates a mysterious figure and gives a stereotype of a ‘bad guy’. At the end of the scene the FBI agent is seen firing a gun this heightens the intensity of the scene as the events that have just occurred are serious as it possibly could have ended in death.
What I gathered from Point Break, that will help in producing our own chase scene, is the camera techniques used. We can use the movement of the camera to create a more exciting film with filming techniques such as panning, tracking and tilting. This will improve our film and give it the intense feeling this genre of film stereotypically sees. Also, we should plan our characters costumes and use props the add a dark tone, for example, our characters could be dressed in dark colours as this symbolises fear and death.
As Group we came up with “Man in White” a short film about Olivia Smith a 20 year old intern working at a small publishing company in a suburban town as she’s on her way to meet her boyfriend when a mysterious, masked man chases after her and tries to kill her. We then assigned roles, Ryan took the job of being producer and editor, Pelumi was assigned the main role in the movie – Olivia. Junior also played the other main role as the masked killer. And I was given the role of the camera opt. The tasks I completed for pre-production were the storyboard, the treatment sheets and I also worked on the treatment with the help of Ryan. In addition, after Ryan, Junior and Max went to complete the reccies of the locations we planned to film at. I wrote up the findings of the reccies and looked at the weather for the days we were shooting on.
We planned to shoot our filming on Friday 18th January, however, it took us longer than we thought so extended our filming on to Tuesday 22nd January. As this happened we had to make sure we had continuity on both days, making sure the actors had the same costumes and hair and the weather was similar so wouldn’t be noticed in the end film. Luckily the weather on both days was similar so continuity was kept. And both actors were reminded to bring the same clothes and have the same hair. When shooting Ryan was the director and I was the camera opt, we worked together following the storyboard as best we could to capture the footage we needed. Together we discussed the most effective way to shoot the clips, for example where to place the camera, where the action would happen, if there was movement if the camera how it would take place etc. After the two days shooting we finished filming all the footage we needed. Next, we started editing. Ryan was our main editor alongside Junior, however, I also watched over the editing and suggested some ideas I had. Meanwhile work on the visual edit was being completed. Pelumi, Max, Junior and I set out to record the audio for our film. Pelumi and I recorded the wild tracks, audio from the car such as the engine, unlocking the car, opening and closing of the car door etc, in addition, we collected the sound of keys, footsteps, breathing, typing on a keyboard, clicking of a mouse and Pelumi’s dialogue. Also, I record all the dialogue from the script, using Ryan, Max and Junior, who were allocated speaking roles during pre-production. To record the audio we used the H6 handy zoom. Following this, we added the audio on the visual edit.
Behind the scenes image of shooting the car scene.
Evaluation:
Looking at our final edit, I believe our sequence was reasonably effective in creating a chase scene inspired by Point Break (1991). We had aimed for a short film with a slasher/ thriller genre and I feel as that our final sequence has accomplished that. From our research, we discovered different elements needed to create our chase scene and it can be seen we have used that knowledge to produce our final edit. We used various shots, such as close-ups, mid shots and long shots using panning and hand-held techniques to create a fast-moving sequence. In addition, the action, such as the chasing, that took place was quick, creating an effective action-filled sequence. Alongside this, another aspect of Mis-en-scene we took into consideration was the effect of the characters costumes and props. We had both characters dressed in black clothing to shape their persona’s and foreshadows how the story ends as black can be symbolised as evil or death. Similarly to Point Break, our ‘bad guy’ wore a white mask, emphasizing his menacing character and devised the name of our production ‘Man in White’. Nevertheless, it is not just the visuals that make this an effective piece of work but the audio as well. We included a variety of audio to our film, such as radio dialogue, characters dialogue, screaming and simpler sound such as footsteps, typing on keyboards, doors closing and many more sound effects. This help to advance our film a great deal as audio is a key aspect of filmmaking, one of which many filmmakers overlook.
One of the best parts of our sequence was a number of the shots in the actual chase. One of my favourites was when Olivia runs up behind the tree, looking around, and then the camera pans around behind her to reveal the masked killer is right behind her. I think this part works really well as it is a smooth pan and has good framing to it, also it switches focus between Olivia and the masked killer when the killer comes into shot. As well as this, the audio is really effective, for example, the breathing and the scream as it syncs up well with the acting of Pelumi. Furthermore, this section allows a quick pause, enabling the audience to catch up with the action before receiving a small jumpscare when the killer comes into shot, making a more suspenseful journey for the viewers. Another part I enjoyed was the shot of Olivia and the killer running through the trees, in fact, I believe this is the best shot in the whole sequence. It is really effective and gives the illusion that speeding through the forest and that the killer is right on her heels, heightening the intensity of the film. To create this shot we used quite complicated camera technique as we had to run with the camera keeping the actor in the shot, it was quite challenging but had a very effective outcome when edited together. The music choice used is also beneficial in creating the tone in the film and goes well with the visuals. As well as this, the use of sound effects throughout the sequence help to make the film more professional.
What’s more is that I can see that the composition as a whole quite good, even though we shoot on two separate days, the weather conditions were similar therefore the lighting stayed consistent through the film. However, there were a few elements giving a disadvantage to the continuity of the film. One of which was the glasses in the opening scene with Olivia she appears not the be wearing glasses but as she walks out of the building she is seen wearing glasses, moreover, as she is walking to her car the glasses disappear, this is because during shooting the prop was misplaced. To try cover this error we added in fades into black to show a passing of time, making it less noticeable. On top of that, parts of the audio such as the ADR didn’t completely look correct with the visuals. For example, when Olivia walks out of her office, the visual and the ADR is a little bit off. However, there was not much we could do about this as we could not re-record as we had a deadline to meet so we had to make do with what we had. A final part that lets this sequence down is when the killer is approaching Olivia as she scrambles on the floor as the shots of the killer are out of focus. Unfortunately, due to time issues, we were unable to reshoot this to get a clearer clip.
Throughout this project, I feel as I have learnt many new skills and developed a variety of others. My confidence with using a tripod has advanced and I have learnt how to use the tracker on a tripod to create panning shots. Now, I also have a better understanding of how to develop a story into a film as I worked on the storyboard to then working as the camera opt so I had a lot of time practising turning my envisioned in my head to actual visual shots. Other new skills I have acquired is how to use the H6 Handy Mic – which I have written about on my blog post; Using the H6 Mic. This helped me to grasp the importance of sound in a film as there are many sounds that one, as a viewer, wouldn’t generally notice when watching a movie such as ADR and foley sounds. Not only did I advance my practical skills but also my soft skills. As this project was group work, this allowed me to develop my teamwork and communication skills. As a group I feel as we progressed, as time went by we became more comfortable and confident working with each other, each of us bringing our own ideas to the table. Individually, I think I worked well with the group and had a slight leadership role in our group, alongside Ryan who was our producer, as I planned out a good amount of pre-production, assisted directing the actors and organised who was recording what audio. In spite of that, there was one element I would’ve liked to have had more experience with and this was the editing. I didn’t contribute to the editing as much as I had liked to, as Ryan was our main editor. Even though I’ve only had a small involvement in editing before, I feel like it would have been a fun and challenging thing to do. However, I did enjoy being the camera opt and learnt a lot from it.
One thing I would change in our film would include more visuals that include a handheld shot, as I feel like these a really effective in a chase sequence as it keeps everything moving, creating it more exciting for the audience making them feel more connected to the audience. Another process I would alter would be the way the work was spread out in the group for the pre-production and the post-production, as I feel as more of us could have contributed to each other’s work as mainly I worked on the storyboard I think it would have been better if we worked on the storyboard as a whole, because we would have had more of us feeding in ideas to the storyboard. In addition, the majority of the editing was done by Ryan, even though I did look over it a few times, it would have been better if we had more people working on it.
In conclusion, I believe our final sequence ‘Man In White’ was a success. We did well in giving it a slasher vibe and creating an intense action on screen. I developed a number of new skills surrounding camera operation and how media productions come together involving teamwork, communication, talent and hard work. If there was the next time there would be a few things I would do differently such as spending more time on elements I didn’t get the chance to this time, for example, editing. And other parts that would improve the production as a whole such as the effects of different camera techniques, continuity and ADR.
As part of Unit 5, we had to record our own ADR and Foley sound for our short chase scene film. Today in class we used the Zoom H6 handy recorder, we used this to capture the audio needed for our film. We worked in pairs to record sounds such as the opening and closing of doors, footsteps, breathing, dialogue and wild tracks. The Zoom was quite simple to use once taught how it works. To turn it on you hold and slide the power button and the small screen should come on. On the screen, it will show the input levels of each of the different channels this will show whether the audio is too loud or not picking it up at all. You can tell this as if the input level goes into the red than its too loud and if it doesn’t go up at all than the mic isn’t picking up th sound. When recording the sound you want it in the yellow/orange to get the input level. We used a stereo field microphone connected to the top of the zoom, using the left and right inputs. With this, you have the stereo control that is used to adjust how much audio is recorded. This mic allowed us to pick up audio without too much background noise as its a unidirectional condenser microphone. When used outside in windy conditions you may use a muffler to cancel out any unwanted noise from the wind and capture clearer audio. We also used the Zoom in the audio booth when recording the dialogue.
After planning, shooting and editing I finally completed my re-creation of Mia Wallace’s overdose film still. Here is my Final Edit. Below it is the original film still.
Final Edit
Looking at the Mis-en-Scene in my re-creation, all aspects have clearly been thought through and planned. Not everything is exact, but it has clearly been taken into consideration when recreating the film still.
Lighting:
For my lighting, I used two strobes lights, the key light on the right side above the subject and then the second light on the left side in a slightly lower position with lower power than the key light so it still creates the shadows on the left side of the face. This type of lighting is called Key and Fill as shown in this image.
Originally I had planned to use the Key with far away softbox with a reflector, which I used in my practice shoot but this created shadows on the subjects face which were too dark. So I changed this to use two lights resulting in more similar lighting to the film still. I feel like this worked well in creating the correct lighting as in the film still. As in my image, I have a well lit right-hand side face and soft shadows on the left side, similarly to the original. However, comparing the two images, the source of lighting is coming from overhead lights, such as ceiling lighting. I can tell this by looking at the shadow beneath the nose and where the lights are in the eyes, both demonstrating light is coming directly from above. Anyhow, re-creating that kind of lighting in the studio would be rather difficult.
One part that I did not notice until editing my image was how the hair blends into the black in the background because the hair is not lit properly. In hindsight, I should’ve added a third light (hair light) that would slightly higher than the head coming down that would light the hair, separating it from the background.
Hair and Makeup:
For my final shoot, I did Lauren’s hair and makeup. I studied the original image closely to make sure I got as close to the same makeup look as I could. I believe the makeup I did was quite effective, the blood and the eye make up are very similar to the original and help to emphasise the Mis-en-Scene. One aspect that did not go how I hoped it would go was the hair. To re-create Mia’s look, I used a black wig on the subject. Unfortunately, I didn’t make sure that the hair was in the correct place when shooting leaving my subject with an unfinished look because the fringe was not in the right place.
Whilst the colour of the wig may have been a bit dark, this gave it an effective hairstyle emphasising the mis-en-scéne. During the shoot, I did not pay enough attention to where the hair was on the right-hand side of the face resulting in the hair being too far over and the shape of the face being slightly more rounded. The skin tones are pretty close, as I tried to get the look as close as possible, however, either in pre-production or production (i.e. makeup) I could have created a paler complexion.
Setting:
In the film, this scene is shot in the living room of Mia’s Wallace’s high-end 80s house. The most effective way of recreating the setting in this scene was to use a studio, instead of trying to find a place that looks the same as it was way more effective to use a studio. In the backdrop of the original film still, there is a white wall and a window which was black as the scene was shot at night, as this backdrop was out of focus meaning there was less detail to the setting needed. To recreate the setting, I used a blackboard and a whiteboard in the background to make it look like a window at night and a white wall. I thought this was quite effective as it only took something so simple to create the desired look.
Action:
It took some time to get the position of the subject correct with similar facial expression, I captured various photos while asking the subject to change a little bit each time, e.g. head little bit left, chin up, mouth with more open, eyes looking more up more to the right/left to create the desired look, whilst comparing my images to the original when shooting.
Overall:
In conclusion, I believe it was quite effective. I feel like I have learnt a fair amount and I was to do it again I would change a few things. For example, I would add one light for the hair so it would be lighter and stand out from the background. In addition, I would make sure, when shooting, everything in the desired place or have an assistant to help with details like the hair and makeup as I concentrated on the shot and the model. One of the aspects I believe was most effective in this recreation was the angle of the shot, as I feel like I captured this well considering it is quite a challenging angle.
After shooting my final shoot for my film still, I had to choose the image I wanted to edit. The image above is the one I chose to edit. First off I cropped the image to the correct size as the original film still.
Next, I opened the photo in photoshop where I started off by trying to get the same colour, brightness and exposure etc as the original film still. For brightness I increased it and bought down the contrast to lighten image as it was quite dark compared to the film still, decreasing the contrast made the image less vibrant. As the original film still has a slight red and little bit of yellow tone to it I used the colour balance to add a slight red and yellow tone.
Brightness/Contrast
Color Balance
This is how the image transformed after I adjusted to brightness/contrast and the colour balance. Compared to the raw image this is a lot closer to my film still.
The next step I took was changing the colour of the eyes, for this I was unsure how to do it so I looked it up on google and found a tutorial I could follow. Here is the website I used:
First off I used the Lasso Tool to select the eyes, then used the Hue/Saturation to change to colour of the eyes to blue. However, this created a bright blue which wasn’t what I was looking for. Therefore I played around on photoshop using the exposure, channel mixer, brightness and contrast until I got the closest colour I could get to Mia’s eyes in the film still. As seen in the image below:
Another feature I wanted to adjust was Lauren’s eyebrows, as Lauren’s eyebrows are much darker than Uma’s in the film still. To do this I used a similar process to the way I edited the eyes. I used the Lasso Tool to select both the eyebrows, then used the exposure to make them lighter. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make them as light as Uma’s but I made them as light as I could before it looked unnatural.
Exposed
Unexposed
When editing I noticed the fake blood I used in my shoot was a lot redder than the blood in the original film still, so I decided I wanted to change this. Similarly, to the eyes and the eyebrows, I used the same process the change this. I used the Lasso Tool to carefully select the blood. Next, I used the Hue and Saturation to make the blood more of a dark red/orange colour.
Hue and Saturation
Unedited
Edited
A few final touches I made was to the skin tone, the shape of the nose and to the hair. As Lauren’s skin tone is quite olive coloured I had to edit this to make more of a pale look, similar to Mia’s. To do this I selected all of Lauren’s skin and created a layer mask. I did this so I would only be adjusting the skin tone and not all of the photo. I used the brightness and contrast to make Lauren’s skin darker and pale and then I used curves to make the shadows a little brighter. The skin mask used levels out Lauren’s skin tone making it less vibrant and peachy.
Unedited
Edited
One of the final adjustments I made was to Lauren’s nose. In the original film still, Mia has a petite skinny nose. To make Lauren’s nose smaller I used Liquify and the brush tool to make it smaller and skinnier. As seen in the images below you can how I used to Liquify tool to edit the nose.
Edited
Unedited
One of the last adjustments I made was to the hair, as I used a wig it doesn’t have the same effect on camera as real hair. Unfortunately, there was little I could do to edit as the hair came out quite dark on the camera making it difficult to edit without it looking unrealistic or fake. What I could do was use the dodge tool to slightly lighten the hair so it didn’t blend into the background as much.
The very last thing I did was remove Lauren’s freckles on her face as Mia does not have any. To do this I used the spot healing brush tool. This left me with my final edit, as seen below:
On Wednesday 5th December, Lauren, Olivia and myself booked out the studio for the afternoon so we could do our final shoots for our film still. However, I think we underestimated how long it would take to do all three of our shoots, as when it came to do mine, as I was last, we only had approximately 30 minutes left until the end of the day. To overcome this problem, the three os us worked together efficiently to get it done in the time we had remaining. I did the makeup on Lauren, as I was using her as my subject in my film still, meanwhile Olivia with the help of David set up the lighting and the setting – as we worked together this saved time instead of one of us doing everything. My lighting set up for my final shoot was different than by practice shoot, as this time I used two lights on each side as using a softbox and a reflector didn’t lighten up the left hand side of the face like in the original film still. Using two lights, a brighter one of the right hand side and a less brighter one a bit further away on the left hand side to create a slight shadow on the left side of Lauren’s face. This took us about 20 minutes, and then I started shooting. Capturing the right angle and having the subject in the correct position, posing the same expression was rather challenging. Causing the shoot to go over the time limit we had.
Here shows the lighting used to light up the left hand side of Laurens face, as you can see its at a bit of a distance creating soft shadows on the face. David is holding the picture as a reference so I can get the correct angle and position of Lauren’s face.
Here I am doing Lauren’s makeup to create the same look as Mia. I used eyeshadow and mascara to create to same look of Mia’s eyes, as Mia’s makeup was quite minimal. In addition I used fake blood to create the bloody nose.
Here shows the set up of the shoot, I used a chair with a white sheet over the top to create the ‘sofa’ seen in the original shot. I then used a black back drop and white board to create the split black and white background. With the reference of the image attached to the tripod this made it easier for me to get the shot I was looking for.
In my practice shoot, I was focusing on getting the correct lighting to the shot of Mia from Pulp Fiction. In the practise shoot I tested out the softbox to create the look. I placed the softbox on the right in front of the subject to create the shadows on the left hand side of the face.
Demonstrated in this shot.
However, the shadows created on the subjects face are too dark unlike the ones from the original shot. So, I added in a white reflector board and placed it opposite the light on the left hand side of the subject to create a softer shadow on the subjects face.
This changed to shadows on the subjects left hand side of their face, so they are not as harsh. However, the way the subject is placed in the shot is completely off. Too much of the sofa is in the shot, in the original shot the back of the sofa takes up about 2/3s of the shot while in this the back of sofa takes up pretty much the whole shot. Also in the original shot the subjects face is more central, her right eyebrow is touching the top of the shot and the right eye is almost in line with the sofa when her head is tilted. I must make sure that these specifics are in place in my final shot.
Editing:
I took the best shot I got from the practice shoot and started adjusting it on photoshop to see what needed to be done to make it look like the film still. As the film still has a slight green tint to it I used colour balance to create a similar look. Also, I edited the brightness and contrast to darken the image, as my photo was a lot brighter than the film still. With the exposure I lowered it to make the image darker , but then kept the brightness for the face creating a similar skin tone to the original shot.
Then I added in a second layer of the original shot and aligned my shot, so the eyes were at the same angle and so was the rest of the shot. This showed me that by shot was too short and I will need to shoot wider in my final shot, therefore I can always crop it to the right size. It also showed me that my subject wasn’t in the correct angle.
For my film still, I have chosen to recreate the shot from Pulp Fiction, where Mia Wallace has overdosed on heroin. Mia is seen having a nose bleed after snorting Vincent’s heroin, while already being on cocaine.
To recreate this film still well, I must take into account the Mis-en-Scéne used in this shot. For example, the lighting, make-up, hair, angle of the shot, the setting must all be thought out and planned well in order to create a good shot.
I have planned out what I need to shoot and where I am going to shoot so I can get on with producing the film still.
Location and set:
Studio
Use a chair with pillows with a cover/blanket to create a sofa
A half black, half white backdrop
Costume:
White shirt
Hair and make-up:
Black wig – amazon
Fake blood to create to a bloody nose
Blue eye contacts
Eyeshadow, mascara
Lighting:
Lit from the left
Key with a far away softbox – one strobe, one lightstand, one 20-inch softbox. Position softbox above and to the left-hand side of the model, place six feet or more away (this will create harder shadows)
For Unit 6, we have to re-create a film still of our choice. For this we have to consider the Mis-en-scéne for each the still, including the setting, acting, props, costume, hair and makeup and lighting. These are all very important aspects when creating a film and emphasis characters, moods and the overall feeling throughout films.
To help pick a film still, we had to choose five possible film stills we hope to recreate and analyse the mis-en-scene in the shot.
1: Pulp Fiction – Mia’s Overdose
In Mia’s overdose scene of the film; Pulp Fiction (1994), we see Mia having a fit after overdosing on heroin, which she found in Vincent’s coat pocket. At this point Vincent had left Mia on her own and did not know this was happening until he came back into the room later on to find Mia unconscious on the floor. The shot is set up in Mia’s living room, a stylish and elegant environment with big double glassed doors, white leather sofas, a glass coffee table, fancy ornaments, flowers and a deluxe record player. This reflects Mia’s character as a fashionable, high-class women who is married to a multi-millionaire gangster. This scene is shot a night when its dark, adding more suspense and creating a stronger mood to the scene as if it was shot in the daylight the mood would be completely different and would not be as tense. The lighting is slightly dark as it gives the illusion that it is lit by inside lighting which has a sort of orange/yellow tint to it. The shot is lit from the side creating soft shadows and more depth on the characters face, these shadows are then subconsciously read by the audience as something bad is occurring. The close up shot emphasises on the details on her face. Make up has been used to create the bloody nose, smudged eye shadow and red eyes to create an overdose look without this it would not be obvious to what has happened, as well as this it intensifies the trouble Mia has got herself in, causing a shock to an audience. Another significant aspect to Mia’s look is her hair. Mia was dressed in a short, slick, black wig with a fringe, helping to build Mia’s character with connotations of a fancy, smart women from the 90s. The darkness of the hair could portray her bad side beneath her high-class reputation. Another important element of ‘mise en scene’ is the acting. In this shot, actress; Uma Thurman (Mia Wallace), is leaning back while sat on the sofa with her eyes looking up / rolling back, her mouth slightly open and her head tilted to the left to give a realistic look of a drug overdose.
To recreate this shot I would use the studio, as I would be able to create the same lighting using the studio and the lights. I would use a black and white backdrop to create the set and get the subject to sit in a chair with l=cushions and a blanket to crate the look of the sofa. Obviously, the subjects makeup would have to be done specifically to create the bloody nose and the same look as Mia, also I would purchase a black wig to create Mia’s hair.
2: Romeo and Juliet – Romeo and Capulets fight
This film still is from Romeo and Tybalt’s fight scene in the film Romeo and Juliet (1996), this is the shot where Romeo opens fire on Tybalt in anger after Tybalt killed his best friend; Mercutio. It is set on the streets of Verona around late evening while it is dark. The darkness of the night conveys a suspenseful mood, in context with the death of Tybalt and the regrettable brawl between Romeo, Mercutio and Tybalt. In the shot, it can also be noted that, the street is wet suggesting that it has rained, creating a pathetic fallacy, reflecting the stress and anger in the characters feelings. There is only one prop in this shot, which is the gun held by Romeo as he shoots Tybalt; multiple times. With the gun blurred this allows focus of Romeo’s face, drawing the audience’s eyes to his expressions, illustrating anger and possibly pain in the actor’s emotions. In this film still, the colour grading has a slight blue tint, conveying coldness or sadness, this is subconsciously read by the audience making them feel a certain way. The lighting in this is quite low-key, it is clear that the subject is being lit from the right-hand side creating shadows on the left and the left of the subject’s face. In addition, there is a light in the back behind the subject which could also be lighting the subject, giving the illusion the character is being lit by a street lamp. The lighting it this shot illustrates that it is in a night time setting, and builds up suspense within the scene. The way the subject is centred slightly to the left, communicates to the audience his significance. For costumes and make up the character is wearing a dirty white, unbuttoned shirt, this was originally with a suit and tie but after Romeo got into the fight with Tybalt, costumes designers have adjusted his costume to suit the action taking place. For makeup and hair, designers have created a sweaty, bloody look with damp looking skin and blood streaks running down his cheeks to create to look of someone in a brawl.
To create this film still I would probably use the studio as this harsh lighting would be difficult to do in an outdoor setting, however finding a backdrop like the one in the still would be hard as not only is it a brick pavement but you can also tell the street is wet with puddles. In addition the angle of this shot its from high up looking down on the subject, which would also be difficult to achieve. Recreating the costume would reasonably achievable as is just a white shirt thats a bit dirty.
3: Trainspotting – Mark Renton
This film still – starring Ewan McGregor (Mark Renton) – is from the movie; Trainspotting. In this scene Mark is at a club on a night out in Edinburgh with his mates. The use of lighting helps to set the desired look of a nightclub, it creates a fun, lively atmosphere, as well as this the lights and the confused or a moment of realisation expressed by Ewan McGregor conveys an interesting contrast, drawing in the audience as it makes them wonder what he has seen or what he’s thinking. In addition, the lighting adds shadows to McGregor’s face, as a pink coloured gel has been used to light the left side of his face, meanwhile a green coloured gel is lighting the right side, there is also a green light in the background which could be lighting the left pf his face as well. This gives the illusion the subject is being lit by the club lights, generating a range of depth on the characters face. Another important part of Mis-en-scéne to produce this shot is the use of props, costumes and HMU. The use of a cigarette is relevant to this film as its crime based, riddled with drug abuse, this may develop the dangerous and daring character that Ewan is playing. The style of the subject’s hair; a buzzcut, stereotypically portrays a more dominant, confident and masculine character. Along with this, the hoop earring in his right ear depicts more of a troublemaker impression. The top Mark wears in this shot is a tight yellow graphic tee, slightly cropped. One may think a cropped tee for a guy is an unusual look, however it makes Renton’s character stand out, differentiating him from others. Marks hair, accessories and outfit all build up the fact he is a heroin addict as it connotes a grunge look, and someone who isn’t financially stable which a lot of heroin addicts aren’t.
To recreate this film still I would use the studio with the different coloured filters for the lights to recreate the coloured lights of the club. Recreating this shot would be quite challenging but it would be fun to play around with the different coloured lights to get the right look, however finding someone who looks similar may be difficult as Mark has an unusual look.
4. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off – Trip to Art Gallery
The film still is from the movie; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The scene this still is from is where the trio; Ferris, Sloane and Cameron, visit the Art Institute of Chicago; a high-class art gallery in the city of Chicago. In this shot there are 4 paintings on the wall, with gold, detailed frames connotating these are expensive paintings in a posh Art Gallery. This creates a contrast between the setting and the characters, due to the way the costumes have been designed; the casual, teenaged, laid-back outfits make the characters diverse from the smart environment, almost like they don’t belong there. The outfits give a youthful look, ranging from Cameron wearing a Detroit Red Wings (a professional ice hockey team) jersey, Sloane wearing a frilled denim jacket with boyfriend style shorts and Ferris wearing a leopard print sweater vest. All these outfits fit the style of the movie as its set in the 1980s, it also emphasis the friendly and lively nature of the characters. Additionally, the three main characters contrast with the man dressed in a suit in the background, this shows the type of people who would normally visit this gallery emphasis accentuating how the trio are out of place. In this still Ferris is positioned at the front of the frame to the right-hand side, signifying him as the main character. Sloane is placed in the middle of the two boys, behind Ferris on the left and then Cameron behind Sloane. All subjects are stood posing with their arms crossed with a stern look on their face, expressing a “I can do want I want” feeling, reflecting the storyline of this movie – as they have secretly bunked off school to have a day out in the city of Chicago. The lighting in this shot, gives the illusion its lit from the lighting in the gallery, there is a very slight shadows on the right-side of the subjects’ face, suggesting its being lit from the left.
Recreating this still would be pretty challenging, finding a similar location where I would be able to shoot, is quite unrealistic. In addition, getting the same costumes would be costly and finding similar looking people would be difficult.
5: The Breakfast Club – Brian
This film still is from the movie; The Breakfast Club (1985). This shot stars Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) the nerd of the group, in the scene where John, Claire and himself are sharing a cigarette while attending their Saturday detention. The setting of this still is in their high school library, this clearly indicates that it is set in a school creating a youthful atmosphere, enticing audiences of a young age. The sunglasses used in this shot are a rather important prop that create the shot, the stylish shades worn by Brain contradict his nerdy character as the glasses give off a trendy connotation, which Brian is not. Audiences may interpret Brian as someone who is trying to be cool or may just find it humorous. Also, the sunglasses don’t fit well with the rest of his outfit; a plain green sweater, this emphasis his personality because as it’s a basic look, similar to a stereotypical ‘school geek’. Additionally, the glasses could also represent a development of the character as his comes out his shell as the film progresses. Another part of Brain’s look is his watch suggesting that he likes to keep organised, emphasising his charisma. Brain is position in centre in a mid-shot, with his arms by his hands as he adjusts his glasses, his arms and hands work as conversing lines that draws viewers eyes to his face – the centre of the shot. The lighting of this shot seems to be lit from above by ceiling lighting in the school library.
The only thing that I wouldn’t be able to recreate for this shot would be the setting, finding another remotely similar or recreating it would be quite difficult. However, the costume (a green jumper, a watch and the black sunglasses) would be achievable, in addition my brother does look quite similar to Brian, so I could use him as the subject. The lighting may also be achievable as I believe that indoor lighting has been used but getting the same tone of colour may be difficult.
After shooting my final shoot for my film still, I had to choose the image I wanted to edit. The image above is the one I chose to edit. First off I cropped the image to the correct size as the original film still.
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