Documentary Pre Production

Purpose: The purpose of our documentary is to inform the audience about a world of children who are in intensive care and want to show their creativeness through the art of filmmaking. They are young and their lives are not as easy as it might have been for us all. Baykids is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of hospitalized children by teaching them a wide range of moviemaking skills and helping them discover the power of self-expression and they need as much help as possible.


Contacts: none respond back yet

Interview Questions:
To Adults:
How did BayKids get started?
How do the kids get funding for their projects?
How can BayKids improve?
What about your job is the most rewarding?
Are there only a certain type of patients that BayKids accepts?

To the kids:
What do you like to do in your free time?
How has filmmaking help you cope with boredom?
What type of movies do you like?
What type of movies have you made yourself?
What do you like best about making videos?

Shot List:
Opening
- LS and ELS of empty streets of SF
- LS of BayKids building

B-Roll
- MS & CU kids with video cameras
- ECU of the eyes of the kids
- kids sitting in bed
- kids going under regular check up (maybe)

Interviews
- MS/CU (don’t know the location yet so it is hard to imagine where everything will be placed)

General Flow:
The documentary will open up with quiet, empty streets. This emphasizes the loss of livelihood missing in the shots. What’s missing are the people and therefore, the children who are facing life threatening conditions in the Baykids hospital. It is very unlikely that the opening will be narrated because we want the interviews to speak for themselves and describe the situation. After the street, the BayKids building will be shown to establish the location and also to show the facility. Most likely, an interviewee’s voice would be heard already and the camera would go to that person describing the location. After an interview with an adult, we will talk to kids and ask their personal opinion on moviemaking. Revlevent B-Roll that we capture will be placed in every interview to illustrate the point even further. The documentary will end with a serious note and most like a text at the end saying that BayKids needs your help.

Scripts:
difficult to make because the contacts have not responded back yet.

Production Schedule:
We will film from the 7-9 of December and dedicate the rest of the week to editing the film to finish by the 14th of December.

Film Trailer Review - World War Z

I remember watching this trailer and this movie is going to be a great action movie or an over-the-top CGI heavy VFX boring time. The definitely got me exited especially because it built up so much tension, but I still have doubts about the movie. However, I will say the trailer of Word War Z did exactly what it set out to do, get the attention of the audience.

With the use of a dialogue sequence in the beginning of the trailer, the trailer manages to set up the back story on the relationship between Brad Pitt's character and his family and explains to the audience why we should care about this guy. The family is just sitting in their car just like thousands of other people stuck in a traffic jam in the city and they try to pass the time by playing some sort of "I Spy" game. We can see that the reason the characters are not worried about this whole situation is because they are not aware of the danger that is yet to come. Very quickly, the mood changes and things begin got change for the worse. For the most part, the trailer tells the story in the order those sequences occur in the film. This is primarily done through dialogue that juxtaposes with the family's struggle to go from a scene of peace (for them) to escaping a hoard of zombies on rooftop. Then it really does become a CGI showreel illustrating some of the major action scenes in the movie. The basic story line can bee seen but none of the big plot points/twists are given away.

Survivalism and destruction can be described as the Mis En Scene. I suppose the filmmaker took the term "wave of zombies" too literally when creating this because it somehow adds a dark humorous overtone to the whole trailer. To me, this literal wave of zombies seems just too much. Maybe the filmmakers were going for this, but again everyone has their own opinions. The film does appear to have a theme of fear and uncertainty as seen through the emotional performances on the rooftop scene and the line the Brad Pitt's character says "I'm coming back."

Cinematography shown in the trailer consists of incredibly quick medium shots, close ups, and POV, but action shots consist of low angles, light angles, long shots, and extreme long shots. For example, when the characters are in a what seems to be in a powerful dialogue shot, the camera is very uptight and personal. This adds a sense of intimacy and shows that the characters care for one another and therefore we, as an audience, should too. In contrast, the camera is placed far away in action shots such as when a truck tips over or a hoard of zombies are trying to climb of a wall. Also, the camera is always moving in these action shots. Even if it is a low angle, the camera will keep moving back as to the say to the audience to be as far away from the zombies as possible, just like the characters have to.

The quickness of the shots help build more tension to the every scene. The editing plays a huge role in setting up the mood for the film through this trailer. It is obvious that the filmmakers want to heighten the need for survival and they do this through quick shots during action sequences. The dialogue scene in the beginning seems it would flow slowly in the film, but for the trailer's purposes it appears to be sped up yet it still retains its initial reason to be in the film--set up the relationship between the family members. Only long shots and extreme long shots are held for more than 4 seconds. This is done to let the audience sync in all the new information being thrown in front of us.

Finally, the sound design plays as in important role, if not more, than the edit. It has a hint of that Inception large ship horn throughout the trailer. The trailer's music begins out almost non-existent. As more information in revealed though the images on the screen, the music begins to get louder and louder. The tempo increases until it finally hits the peak and there is quietness. At its peak, the visuals also are either incredibly calm or at the height of madness. Where the music is quiet, the actors are given the opportunity to deliver lines. Having no distracting music while the characters are delivering important lines emphasizes the importance of those crucial dialogue scenes.

SHELTER: A LOOK AT MANCHESTER’S HOMELESS (Documentary Review)

Shelter is a British documentary which uncovers the reality behind the homelessness issue that is continuously  affects major cities. In this documentary, the filmmaker (Mike Staniforth) only focus on Manchester's homeless residents. Not only does this documentary raise aware of the issue in Manchester, but also does a great job at getting insight on how the homeless feel about the city and their situation. Because of the government budget cuts, the homeless shelters are shutting down leaving more and more people on the street. It's not that these people just don't want to work, the issue is that they don't get the opportunity when these shelters are supposed to aid them shut down. It is clear that the Staniforth wants to set an emotional impact on the audience, which is does. By showing that these people are not the stereotypical "drunkards," but good genuine human beings who feel and are afraid of their situation, Staniforth is able to get the audience to his side. He is out to make people be aware of the situation and do something about it. At the end, Staniforth doesn't just write to donate food, money, or clothes. He also adds to just "Donate Something" which further drives home to point that doing anything to help others in need is doing enough. For this reason, this documentary is meant for anyone and everyone who is willing to do anything no matter what the age. Although it focuses on Manchester, the message clearly applies to nations all of the world. 

The filmmaker makes full use of the material presented in front of him. For example, he doesn't just sit in one location with with interviewee. There are multiple different locations showing the many different lifestyles of the homeless he has encountered. The locations range form a dark isolated deteriorating building to an open street filled with lights and people. Both of these locations show that they are definitely not the ideal place to even walk by at night. That threat of the unknown is always present. From an interview with one unnamed man, we can see that the filmmaker took advantage of whatever that was present in front of him. In the interview, we learn in detail how the man who never drank or did drugs ended up being homeless because he had no family and his company went bankrupt. This whole story was explained by the man in one continuous shot while he was walking, which really does add to the connection the audience makes with this man. You really get to feel for the guy. 

This documentary makes critical choices of what is being recorded in relation to the direct observation by the camera operator. For example, in multiple interviews the camera is set on the interviewee's hands while he talks. This doesn't take away from anything being said by the interviewee; instead, it adds to the weakness we should see in them because of their constant struggle. The hands represent the hard work these men and women on the streets have to do everyday just to keep living when all hope for their future seems to be deteriorating. Even the cover of the video shows a hand laying on what looks to be a rolling bag. Another thing the filmmaker focuses on are the locations. Not only does he show the filthy areas these people have to go, but it also juxtaposes them the beautiful imagery of Manchester. This shows just how much people tend to avoid reality. During interviews, the filmmaker constantly shows clips of police officers standing around the homeless people. This actually creates a powerful image that shows that the police, the men and women who are supposed to protect the people, are turning away the ones who need them the most. This image doesn't just apply to police officers, but also the rest of society as well.

This documentary film does not really combine recorded material with voice-over commentary too much. If there is any commentary, the commentary comes directly form the interviews and never from the filmmaker himself. However, the commentary begins at the very end of the footage which then leads to the interviewers being shown and completing his interview. When raw footage of the city or any other location is shown, there is almost never anyone talking over it. This helps the audience absorb the environment without being bombarded with new information.

For the most part the film keeps everything literal, but there are some examples of symbolic imagery in the film. One shot that I can think of is a low angle shot of light shining from above at night and affected the leaves on a tree. This shot is immediately followed by a light lighting up a sign reading "Caution Hazard Ahead." To me the light represent the future. The future is clear, but the road is not. The leaves being lit up at night symbolize the homeless trying to not just go through the day but also through the night towards an unsure future. The sign shows that the goal if evident, but so are the challenges that need to be faced. Accomplishing something like end of homelessness is not easy, but it could be done one step at a night.

Apart from one shot, the film mostly focuses on individuals and not on interactions. The only example interaction is between the same man who talked about loosing his job with another homeless man sleeping in a corner of a dark street. This is very brief. As he walks and sees a man on the floor, he yells out "Hello stranger" and smiles. There is a wheelchair behind the man sitting lying in the floor. This interaction does not show if these two are friends, but it does show the concern for one another. Although neither can do much to help with other with the situation they are in, the least they can do is show concern, which is all that matters. If we showed some concern, maybe we would be able to do something about it when they could not.

The documentary offers touching information from the subjects. There are no experts, just homeless people struggling to survive and all with a smile on their faces. One man in particular admits to being scared everyday. He believes one day someone will come in at night and just kill him. Through his facial expression, it is clear to the audience that this man truly believes in his heart that someone will kill him at night when he is sleeping. He begins to cry. One interviewee says that there really are good people who have been forced to live on the streets when they have done nothing to deserve it. Some talk with a smile as though they enjoy their life everyday, but that adds to the fact that they know and we know that life isn't so simple. The filmmaker gets his main point across simply through the people he is trying to help. With real life stories and real emotions, the filmmaker completes his job.

This documentary does not have any sort of illustration or any other form of suggestive material to get his point across. There is also no direct to camera address or voice over. The only direct message it does have is at the very end. The text simply explains the situation and pleads the audience to do anything they can to help the homeless shelters and therefore help the homeless live a better life.

Nothing in the film seems staged. The only directed part of the film is probably the man showing the place where he goes to at night to sleep. Other than that, everything is recorded how it was present. The editing of the footage also has not affect to the overall message. Although the interviews are intertwined rather than having one long interview, there is no real connection between the interviewees other than the fact they they are homeless. There is almost no sound when no one is talking as to further emphasize the isolation from civilization. There seems to be no overall aim to guide the choices the filmmaker makes in editing the film as he did.

The camera movement is very minimal. For the most part, the camera only moves when the subject is moving. What the filmmaker does do is change not only his lens, but also the camera for the scenes. For example, there are multiple perspectives of a subject in one interview. While one camera stays on the interviewee's face, the other moves around to get interesting positions and a different view of how others look at the homeless. The lenses are only changed to math the location. During most of the interviews, the camera is very up tight and personal and the interviewee and this is probably when a lens with a long focal length was likely chosen. This creates a deep connection with the audience. As for focus, the only time the interviewee is out of focus is when he is talking and the camera is focused on something significant like his hand. Also, the filmmaker doesn't want to distract the audience with his cinematography skills or his use of color in any way which is why they don't vary too much which keeps the attention on the people being interviewed. This keeps the tone to be serious and shows commitment to this field.

Evaluating this film, I feel it did its job to spread the message it was trying to with great efficiency. The interviews played a major role in getting the audience to get attached emotionally. What I would have liked to see are some statistics or maybe an interview with the normal public to see how they feel about the homeless and what they have done. Although the film got its message across, it did not emphasize it as much as it could have. I know it succeeded in doing what it sought out to do because it made me think of how little I have done to help those who really need help and it motivated me to do something. For this reason, I feel this documentary can affect individuals not only in Manchester, but also in other cities and countries around the world.

Soviet Montage and Realism

Pudovkin's constructive editing stated that a new meaning could be created though the juxtaposition of shots. He believed that each shot needed to have information that made new point. This was Pudovkin's attempt to break the boundaries of the classical editing style that everyone had seemed to adopt. Pudovkin took shots (mainly close ups) and put them together to create a unified meaning. As a formalists, he did not like long shots because he believed they were too close to reality, but he also did not like Griffith's close ups  because they offered no meaning. This constructive editing manifested itself into film when directors, like Hitchcock, made the realization that material does not dictate what is artistic; instead creativeness comes from the way shots are taken apart and put back together.

Lev Kuleshov, Pudovkin's mentor, was an influential Soviet film maker. His "Kuleshov effect" showed that emotion is formed by the juxtapositions and not by the actor's performance. Once the irght objects are placed/shown in the film, the audience created this emotion by themselves. He believed that in cinema, by connecting small fragments of details in form of short shots, a unified meaning could be created.
In this opening scene from Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the Kuleshov effect is clearly illustrated. The two main characters in this scene are the two robots, C3PO and R2D2, who lack the ability to express emotion. With all the action happening around them, it is evident that everyone is in a state of distress. The bright lights, explosions, and the sound/music all help build tension and makes everyone seem cautious. Not a single  emotion was expressed through the robots.

Eisenstein' montage reflected Eisenstein's idea that life was about constant change. He believe editing a film was also art that is why he experimented with unusual techniques from which he came up with the idea of a "montage." He produced contrasting images and simply put them together. Critics argued that his films lacked realism and getting the real meaning is too difficult. In the Odessa Step sequence, everyone seems to be happy in the beginning. This is illustrated through specific shots of people smiling and waving. Suddenly, there are gunshots and everyone is in a state of panic. The rest of the scene is a collection of shots depicting the the destruction brought forth by our fellow man. By contracting two atmosphere and focusing more on the negative, the montage is successful at making a statement about society. 

Andre Bazin was an editor of a French film journal. He wanted to benefit the film industry. He argued that films should reflect the director's personal vision. He believed editing could destroy the effectiveness of a scene. He was a big fan of reality and claimed that formalists were egocentric and manipulative. He also said that classical cutting was also potentially corrupting because it forced the audience to follow a shot sequence without being aware of its control over us.

Realist filmmakers strive to preserve the reality of a scene as much as possible. They use wide angle shots and deep focus to let the audience pick what they are interested in. A realist's editing is also hidden. It is never attempted to stand out because the film maker wants to show that nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

One of the techniques realist filmmakers use is the lack of too many close-ups. Close ups go against reality because in real life, we never get as close to the person or thing as some film makers may show in their films though close ups; instead, we are farther away form the action and see it happen in one long sequence. Realists also try to use as little editing as possible because they want to include these long sequences to further contain a realistic atmosphere.

Realism, Classicsm, and Formalism

I had an incredibly difficult time finding a movie that incorporated realism, classicism, and formalism form of editing. When I found a movie that had incorporated one of the elements, it lacked one other or maybe even both. The problem is that I just haven't seen enough movies that use all three types of editing. After a bit of thinking, I began thinking about TV shows and the first to pop into my head was Breaking Bad.

Although this clearly is not a movie, it is ,however, incredibly artsy and unique in all aspects, especially the editing and cinematography.

Realism

Realism is all about showing the truth. This is done my not altering the sequence in any way. In other words, a shot is held for an incredibly longer time period than really necessary to convey a message. This preserves all the realistic factors we find in real life. When trying to preserve realism, the shot is just one long take and the there is no editing done to alter the reality.

In this scene, Jesse is explaining his situation to Walt. Through the entire dialogue between Jesse and Walt, the camera is fixed in one position. The reason for doing this is to preserve the mood and the realistic factors of the scene. In one long take, we can see that Jesse is struggling to explain what his new responsibilities are going to be and what the cartel expects him to do. If this was edited in separate shots, it would take away from the realism. When we talk to each other in real life or hear others talking, we are also fixed in one position and only see from one angle. Also, when someone is talking we can easily hear them stutter. A realism edit simply tries to reflect real life as much as possible.

Classicism 

Classicism condenses all of the action without leaving any crucial information out. It is quick and right to the point. This is the style of editing used in most productions. It tries the tell the story the best way possible and focusing only on the characters rather than the filmmaker's techniques.

This shot is great example of classicism in effect. The perfect example is when you don't even see the cut happen.  In this scene, Walter is telling Jesse to get a list together so they get begin cooking. This scene is edited in a way that it is quick and right to the point. The cinematographer does not try to to wow the audience; instead, he/she is keeping it focused on the characters. This quick style of editing is a great tool to glorify the humor in a scene, which is exactly what is being done here.

Formalism

Formalism is the director's style to bend reality. Formalist directors don't want to preserve reality; they want to show the world through their own eyes or the eyes of a character. Most of the time, formalist shots,scenes, or sequences make no sense to the common person so they come off as a bit disturbing. 

In this sequence, we can see a series of shots that make no sense at all. First of all there is a grown man, Gale, singing his own version of a song in front of a green/blue screen. Along with that, he is trying his best to dance, but can't seem to make out any moves. The lyrics are absurd, there are galaxies exploding behind him, there are cars driving behind him, there is a rocket, waterfalls, and animals; however, none of them seem to connect together in a logical way, just like lil Wayne's music. By using this technique, the director is simply satirizing people and what they do in their free times and also trying to keep a comedic tone throughout the entire song because how outrageous it is.

Story Elements to Step Outline

Character

The main character is nice guy, but considered a loser in school by the "popular" kids. He lives his life in solitude. He wants to meet new people, yet does not make any efforts in doing so. He often gets bullied, but never crumbles because he has dealt with and is used to years of torture by his classmates. 

Relationship

There isn't a single person in the world who he believes could save him from his miserable life except the girl of his dreams. He draws her and stares at her all day long. For this reason, his grades are low. He believes he loves yet the girl doesn't even acknowledge his existence. She seems kind, but never directly addresses the boy.  

Setting

The story is set in today's time. Some shots in the film will include:

- classroom (s)

- hallway

- mountain or any deserted exterior area

- on the stairs

Backstory

The boy is considered a loser because he fails at everything he does and he really does annoy others sometimes. Weather it is sports or school work, his focus is somewhere else, mainly on the girl he wishes to impress. At school, he is routinely bullied. It is so constant that he has completely realized that telling other will only result in more beatings. Him acting obnoxious is just a way for him tell the world that punches he received to the face did not really effect him at all. It is clear that it is a lie because he secretly cries at night and in the bathroom. It is also later revealed that the bully is gay. 

Goal

His goal is to impress the girl of his dreams and become someone influential in High School or in the World. 

Obstacle

The main physical obstacle in his way is the bully. The bully has been harassing him from very early on in his life and has continued to do so in High School. Also, the girl he wants to impress is "dating" the bully who injures him. The internal obstacle for him is getting over his self-esteem. He thinks very low of himself and his life. In this film, he even tries to commit suicide, but cannot bring himself to do it because he is a coward. 

Time

The story is not in chronological order. But it is for the most part. The film will most likely begin with the character trying to commit suicide and not being able to do it. There will also be a dream sequence where all his goals have come true. 

The Unknown

After his attempt to kill himself, he will curse at himself for not being man enough and being to much of a coward to kill himself. He cries and begs and asks God in desperation for something in his life to give it meaning. He wishes for something that could bring him out of his misery. 

Discovery

When the bully is trying to beat him up, he is afraid to get hit again and says "no, please no, STOP!." The boy realizes that time itself has frozen. He is able to move, but the others are stuck when he said "stop." He uses this newly discovered power in a way that is only beneficial to him and is actually incredibly selfish. He explains his new power to the girl who immediately decides to be his "girlfriend" and they could get rich and she could have all the new bags and shoes in the world. The boy is extremely happy and returns home. This is where the climax occurs where he accidentally freezes himself. 

Mood

The mood of this short film needs to be dark. It could with bright colors and slowly move to darkened colors to highlight the mental and some physical changes within the character and as the audience gets more of an understanding of the boy. 

Scenes:

1. Extreme close-up (almost macro) shorts of the actor saying things like "Do it! Just do it!" before the opening reveal shot.

2. At school, the boy tells the bully who is pushing him around "go back to your group of boyfriends." They bully is bad says "you little..." and begins to punch him until he is stopped by a teacher.

3. He looks at the girl and goes into a dream sequence. 

4. At night he cries.

5. He uses his power to punch the bully while he is frozen.

6. He is stealing money.
7. He freezes himself by saying freeze and pointing at a mirror.

Dramatic Intent:

1. Build suspense and make the audience want to know what is happening. 

2. Shows that bullies beat the boy at every chance he attempts to put them down. He is in a way used to the punishment because he knows he has to run away and once caught he does not fight back. He had admitted defeat already.

3. This illustrates his desires and they are not easy to achieve, especially for him. 

4. This reveals that he tries to hide his emotions from the world because he feels no one will care. 

5. The audience is satisfied because he finally has the opportunity to express his suppressed feelings. 

6. Make the audience know that his power is getting to his head
7. Reveals how abuse of powers can lead to consequences. 

Characterization - Tyler Durden

If you haven't seen Fight Club, it is highly recommended you check out this masterpiece directed by David Fincher. This analysis is spoiler free of what makes that move great.





Tyler Durden is a character in the cult classic film Fight Club, which is based on a novel by the same name by Chuck Palahniuk.

Tyler Druden is unique. He is the sole definition of chaos. Throughout the movie, he serves as a foil to the narrator because he isn't just the person the narrator wants to be, but also what society thinks a  real man should be. Tyler describes himself as "smart, capable...[and] free..." He walks and talks like there is no tomorrow; he accepts that his life will end someday. He's the type of person who will pee in your soup, which he does in the film. He is the type of person who dresses with nice shirt and leather jacket with a businessman's suitcase yet jumps into a convertible and takes it for himself.  For these reasons he is idolized by every character he meets in the story especially the unnamed narrator. With all these things in his favor, you'd expect the man to give in you his societies expectations, but that's what makes him unique. Tyler Durden is charismatic which is why he becomes the creator of a dirty underground club known simply as "Fight Club."

Durden knows from the very beginning that he is not the center of world nor is any other "average" man who keeps to his own. He is willing to do anything he can to prove to society that their lives are meaningless to everyone else. Only after this, men will be able to live as free men. This is clearly evident in a scene where he speaks through a megaphone to his new "project members" and says:

"You are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else."





In a sense, Tyler is also extremely psychopathic, even for running an underground fight club, leading a group  that causes mayhem in order to complete what he calls "Project Mayhem." He is an anarchist, willing to use lethal methods to convey his message.

The scene I decided to look at is called "Human Sacrifice." This scene clearly illustrates the disturbing yet somehow caring nature of Tyler Durden.



What Tyler wants to do is make people realize that they are not important to anyone else in the world. He wants them to understand this and accept it and only then people will began to live their lives to the fullest. In the film, he says "First you have to give up, first you have to know...not fear...know...that someday you're gonna die." He also wants to take the focus off of the movie stars and celebrities we look up to and look at ourselves first. "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." This is clearly evident in this scene. Tyler's goal is to make the man being robbed realize how easily life an come to end. Throughout the whole movie Tyler lives his life likes its his last day, which makes every moment exciting and meaningful for him and that's how he wants this man to feel for the rest of his life. He highlights that you only get one live, why not do what you want to do.

Not just in this scene, but the whole movie, Tyler is struggles between how to convey his message. Although the audience doesn't see his struggle, it is evident from how many different ways he has tried. In this scene, he threats the man by pointing a gun at his head and making him realize how working at a convenient store will not take him anywhere. The threat of pulling the trigger makes the man realize that he need to reflect on his life and go back to get education to do what he wanted to do in the first place, which is to become veterinarian.

Panasonic announces the GH3

This past week camera companies have gone on a rampage and announced quite a few cameras that they will be releasing in late 2012. The one that stood out to me the most is Panasonic, who announced the much awaited GH3. The GH2 became a giant in the indie film making community because of its hack which game the camera many features found in more expensive video cameras, but the most important being the ability to shoot at a much higher bit rate than intended. Because of this hack, the GH3 video was even compared to the RED Epic, which is a much better cinema camera used to shoot movies such as The Hobbit and The Amazing Spider-Man.  Along with many new features, this new GH3 also has the ability to shoot 60 frames per second at 1080p, which even the full framed cameras like the 5D Mark III and D800 can't even do. This 60fps at 1080p seems like the future standard of all new DSLRs. 

An image taken with the GH3. 

A short film shot with the GH3. 


For more information about the Panasonic GH3 and some other new cameras released, watch this video

Or you can visit - http://www.slrlounge.com/new-panasonic-gh3-heavyweight-mirrorless-hybrid-stills-motion-camera-in-lightweight-weather-sealed-body


Also, Hasselblad announced their new H5D series medium format camera which "will be available as models with 40, 50, and 60 megapixels as well as 50 and 200 megapixel Multi-Shot versions and will start shipping in December 2012," according to fstoppers. The cameras can only shoot photos, but if you're interested in buying one, be ready to cash out a lot of money because the cheapest comparable model to the H5D-40 is the H4D-40 and it begins with the low-low price of $17,000 without the lens.

"When You Find Me" Review

Setting

The setting is the time and place a work is set in. The short film is set in the past (1991) and the present. The past represents the imagination of a child's mind. This imagination is visualized through Lisle's playfulness from the beginning to her attempt to visit her mother in heaven by traveling in a spaceship, which in reality is a crashed plane. The present represents the cruel reality of the world which Lisle is living in as a grown-up, yet still thinking about her childhood.. The crashed plane is the one place which serves as a portal to the unknown for Lisle. The plane serves to create a unique environment for a child's imagination to bloom. Although its is broken Lisle's imagination makes it seem like it turned on and transported her to her mother. This is point in the short where her dream to meet her mother in heaven seems like it could finally become a reality.

Character

A character "can be anyone or anything,"and in this short film the main characters who drive the story forward are Lisle and Aurora. After the death of their mother, Aurora forms hatred towards Lisle who she blames for not being able to see her mother for the last time in the hospital. This newly formed separation is illustrated by the wooden pole placed in between the sisters. The young Lisle serves as a gateway for the audience into the story; her naivete of the world reflects the audience's curiosity towards the story. She is motivated to find her mother, but she doesn't understand the sad truth of the situation.  Her older self is present to bring closure to the story line and tie in all ends together involving her relationship with her sister and mother. Where Lisle is too young to understand, Aurora is old enough to have to live with the burden of how she treated her mother the last time she was alive. This hatred of herself is expressed on Lisle's actions and stays inside her until she is finally ready to let go of it as an adult. It is Lisle's innocence and the strong character motivation of both of the sisters which makes them well developed protagonists.

Backstory & Relationship

Apart from the relationship we see between the sisters, one of the most important has to be the relationship between them (specifically Aurora) and their mother. The still body of their on the shoulders of the girls' father indicate the passing of their mother. The scarf on the mother's head and the lack of hair indicated she had been fighting cancer, but this is never confirmed (maybe because it doesn't need to be). The dark circles under the father's eyes as he looks at his daughter also show his devotion to his wife. While his young children were at home, he stayed by her side until the very end. The lack of emotion for him in this scene is only a cover-up to not let his children see him in such a way, which could set a bad example for them. He wants them to stay strong, which is why he pulls out the curtains to hide the truth, even for a very small time. These bottled up emotions are never good and his breaking point in the film is every evident. When Lisle becomes lost, he is furious and the only person to let his anger out on is Aurora, who is partly to blame for the happening. He shows this emotion because he has just lost his wife just the thought of loosing a child hurts him. He couldn't do anything about his wife' s situation, but he is determined to do all he can to protect his children.

Goal

After learning that her mother has gone to heaven, Lisle makes it her goal to get to outer space to meet her mother in heaven for one more time. Obviously the is outrageous, but in her eyes anything is possible. In a dream, she sees herself traveling into outer space on a rocket ship where she finds a squid. The squids opens up and reveals a bright light from where her mother emerges. The whole sequence was made with 2D animation rather than real actors in a 3D environment to show how unrealistic her dream is. All of this signifies Lisle's behavior because it highlights for the audience to remember that Lisle is really just a little kid. When Aurora learns of this personal goal of Lisle, she is dumbstruck and doesn't understand how to explain the situation to Lisle. This situation also reminds the audience that Aurora is also a young girl and her decisions need to be looked at with that fact in mind. 

Time

Time plays a major role in this short film. The story form the girls' childhood is still very much a reality in their adult lives. All the things that needed to said have not been said and all the things that needed to be done were not completed. Lisle lives her life, but what bothers her is that she never told anyone about her experience in the plane. As an adult, she expresses her memory and how she felt in an emotional scene with Aurora. Aurora does not believe her, but it is more important for Lisle to say what she should have said many years ago than hear the acceptance from her sister. Aurora also comes to accept at the end the reasons for her anger and frustration towards Lisle as kids when their mother died. It is the anger she feels toward herself but at the time needed to find someone to blame it on. Through the passing of time, the sisters build a stronger relationship between one another. From the way Aurora complained about her job, it can be predicted that this secret was the reason that held her back form living her life to the fullest; instead, she could never find a way to forgive herself for talking to her mother in such as brutal way as a child. 

Obstacle

The obstacle in the film is portrayed not only by the gate in the graveyard, but also by the emotional scene that follows. For Lisle, the gate is point she needs to cross to get to her "spaceship" to head to outer space and find her mother in heaven. For Aurora, however, the gate is the bridge she cannot allow to cross because it only leads to more desperation. Sadly, but in a way thankfully in a way, Aurora gives in and helps her sister cross the gate to
"get to the other side." It is possible that Aurora also believes, or at least hopes, that Lisle could find a way to talk to her mother because she desperately needs to talk to her for the one last time. When she finally realizes that such things cannot exist, Lisle is out of her sight and deep into the darkness of the graveyard. The shot that follows shows Aurora behind the gate unable to get across. This shot symbolizes that Aurora feels like she is locked up behind bars because of the lack of options she has to do anything to protect her sister.

Mood & The Unknown

With the very first shot of the film, the mood seems to be calming yet depressing in a way. The film manages to begin in the middle of an action. This is a bit confusing to the audience which is part of the reason why the audience becomes interested. It s shot of a large white tree within a beautiful scene. The colors are abnormal, which takes it out of this world. All the greens  have tuned into whites. White is color usually associated with the after life, which is major motif in this film. The girl in the shot, Aurora, is wearing white to indicate that she is almost a part of the environment around her. The lack of colors and different textures makes the shot feel incredibly simplistic. This simplicity further brings the audience to a place of serenity. The color white also brings forth a positive connotation indicating that although not much is known, everything will be alright. 

10 Themes of Story Telling

This image explorers the theme of mood. A mood can be anything that can make you feel a certain way. This image creates a mood of peacefulness and serenity. This is created though the calming clouds that merge in with the morning fog close to the center of the bridge. To create this image, the photographer most likely went on location to the Golden Gate bridge during "magic hour" because the lighting from the horizon, as well as throughout the entire image, looks natural. The lighting is the most dominant feature of this shot. This was most likely achieved this by shooting the image at three different exposures (over, normal, and under) and then combined together in an editing program; therefore, it is an HDR image. To shoot this, the photographer used a wide angle lens and most likely a tripod to take three different images (for the exposure) without having to deal with any ghosting.  It is also possible that the photographer used a glow effect to enhance the image even further. The photographer also framed the image in a way that it would follow the rule of thirds because the very first thing the eye goes to is the bridge.

This photo covers the theme of a goal. A goal can be anything someone is desperately trying to achieve. In this shot, the goal seems to be to win a race. To create this shot, the photographer most likely used something close to a normal lens. Although it might seem that the background is not in focus, the photographer possibly used deep focus. The illusion of the background being out of focus was created by using and low shutter speed (but not too low) shutter speed while moving with the cyclists. That way, anything that is still appears to be out of focus or stretched. This effect helps the viewer focus more on the people riding the bike (especially the expressions) rather than the distractions around them. The facial expressions help immensely to show that this is a competition. The viewer can see the ambition on the face of one of the subjects. Also, the bicycles in this image act as a motion vector, indicating that the action is moving forward, further indicating that they need to reach a certain goal. The lighting in this shot seems natural, but the shot seems a bit overexposed which could have been done for artistic purposes because it doesn't take away from anything in the shot; instead, it highlights the riders.

This image explores the theme of a backstory. Backstory is a history of a photo or film that creates a better understanding of the narrative. This is image, the backstory reveals that the murderer of the girl's mother was really the man she is going to for security. To make this image effective, the photographer used selective color; the photographer made all of the image black and white and left the blood red. This makes the viewer focus more on the blood first rather than the people around it. Although the blood is terribly fake (since it was done in editing), it still has the same effect as it would if it was real. The photographer used the rule of thirds and focused out attention on the knife, the blood on the man's shirt, and the little girl's expression.

This photo dives into the theme of a character. A character could be someone or something. Anything with human-like traits could be character. In this shot, the dog is clearly a character. The dogs tells a story through the emotion we can see in its eyes. The American flag could indicate possibly the death of its owner in the military. In this shot, the photographer lines up the dog's eyes to follow the rule of thirds to make the viewer focus on the eyes first. The second most obvious thing is the American flag, which could indicate that those two things have something in common. Some color in the shot has also been taken away to further symbolize the loss of life. If natural light was not used in this shot, then it is most likely that a softbox was used because there is hardly any falloff.

This image uses the theme of an obstacle. An obstacle could be anyone or anything standing in the way of the character. From this shot we can tell that a disability is the challenge standing in the way of a person who needs to use that chair to go down the stairs. The photographer uses selective focus to put the viewer's attention on the the chair and only part of the stars indicating that getting all the way down the stairs is an impossible task. The lighting from this shot comes from the window located at the top left of the shot, the door at the bottom, and most likely a flash facing the chair. The photographer also used the rule of thirds by placing the chair in a place where it hits the lines of the grid and is most appealing to the eye.

This image illustrates the theme of a relationship. A relationship is a bond between anyone or anything. Although this image looks like a basic snapshot, it tells a story of a relationship. What looks like to be a homeless man is using his own blanket to keep his sleeping dog warm in his lap. This is a great example of how great content can overshadow an average looking image. There is nothing special about this image; the photographer didn't focus on the rule of thirds, there is no selective focus, there is no artificial light, even the colors have not been altered with. Just the simple deep focus of the image showing the man and his dog so close together makes it such a great image that the other factors are just not considered.

This image is an example of the theme of setting. A setting can be any location or environment. In this case, the setting is of a beach. This indicates that, in a film, anything that comes after it must have something to do with the beach. In this shot, the photographer used a tilt-shift lens to create a fake miniature effect that causes the everyone in focus to look like a miniature. The image is turned black and white probably because it looked blandly overexposed in color. The photographer also paid attention to the pattern of the umbrellas and tried to line them up in a creative and appealing way. The rule of thirds does not really apply to this image because almost everything that is in focus is located directly in the center of the photo.

The unknown can be anything unexpected or a twist in the story. In this image, the great yellow light is the unknown. From the evidence give, it can be predicted that that light is the entrance to the after life. This can be concluded because we can see an elderly male walking alone towards the light. The green leaves and no dead plants in the shot also indicates the beginning of new life. but again, it is not fully clear. This shot uses a normal lens and includes a foreground object (bushes) that are out of focus and everything after it is all clear. The only thing that follows the rule of thirds is the light, which is placed on the upper quadrant of the photo. The only artificial light that can be seen is the light the man is following, if it is not really the sun itself.

Time is a theme that represents time of day or time period within history. This image illustrates how time ends for everyone. Death is the sad part of life that cannot be escaped. Everyone's time will come and we have to learn to live with it and accept it. This image is a great representation of that. In this shot, the photographer uses selective focus to get rid of all distracting objects. The lens looks like a macro lens. The photographer doesn't exactly use the rule of thirds in this picture because the image works the way it is. The photo is taken from a higher angle to show that the butterfly is weak and is dead or dying. The lighting in the image looks to be mostly natural, but there could have been a soft light coming form the left side of the photo.

Buried (2010) - Claustrophobia in the form of a Movie

             

         Imagine waking up in a buried coffin with your legs, hands, and mouth tied up. No matter how much you struggle or how hard you scream there is no one around to hear you. Paul Conroy is an innocent American truck driver working for a company by the name of CRT in Iraq; he wakes up in darkness to find himself buried somewhere in the vast Iraqi desert. His only source of light is a zippo lighter and two green glowing sticks, but the only item inside the coffin that gives him the chance of getting out of this nightmarish reality is a cell phone provided by the Iraqis who put him there. When he receives a call from his kidnappers, Conroy discovers that the man calling is not terrorist, but a desperate criminal who wants "five million money." If Paul is unable to arrange five million dollars in the next two hours, he will be left to die in the coffin. 

             Buried is an original screenplay written by American screenwriter Chris Sparling. The idea of a man trapped in a coffin is so simple yet it has never before executed on a scale like this before ever before. What sets Buried apart from anything else in its genre, such as Caste Away and 127 Hours, is that the entire movie was shot in one location — a coffin. Every single frame of every single shot is inside the coffin. 

            Ryan Reynolds, who plays Paul Conroy, is perfectly believable as a man in dire to need to get out of that claustrophobic coffin.  From the opening scene of the movie, you immediately feel for Reynold's character. He is able to use his experience from past work in romantic comedies, such as The Proposal, to deliver some dark jokes in the middle of this tension building thriller. His sarcasm is the only relief the audience gets, but Reynolds is able to bring out the best from it. As he goes through inferno, Reynolds makes the audience want for him to get rescued as quickly as possible. Ryan Reynolds deserves a lot of credit for taking on this role especially because staying in a coffin for over 90 minutes is not an easy task to do.One of the reasons for this is Ryan Renold's phenomenal acting portrayal of Paul Conroy. It is also fair to credit the director, Rodrigo Cortes, and his decision to only show Paul Conroy. Throughout the movie, there are no flashback; the only character properly seen in the movie is Paul Conroy. This decision emphasizes the importance of voice acting and at the same time allows the audience to focus on Conroy's situation by juxtaposing the visual and oramediums of storytelling.   

      

    Although Buried is mainly a quiet film when it comes to music, but music still plays a major role in building tension. Whenever tension is being built up, the dramatic music can be heard very quickly which further makes the scene feel more important. During dramatic moments in the film, there is quick zoom (almost like a jump cut) that puts the audience right in Conroy's face in order to get into the character's head. With zoom, the music gets louder and louder until it burst and there is silence again. The director uses this technique to stress the importance of that scene. Although this technique is repeated a few times in the film, it still works. 

         With a budget of 3 million dollars, the director with his cinematographer, Eduard Grau, do their best to get what they can out of the limitations they had to work with. The cinematographer is able to get some creative and dynamic lighting with the resources Conroy finds in the coffin. The lights include: a zippo lighter, a cell phone, a flashlight, and two glowing sticks. Obviously those were not the only lights used in every shot, but every light used gave the illusion of light coming from those four different sources. In an interview, the director said that  "when we shot with the Zippo, 70% of the time it was just the real zippo and nothing else. And you can’t improve upon the magic of a dancing flame that you cant completely control." Unlike most movies, the darkness was pure pitch black darkness, which helps keep the movie realistic. When there is darkness, it feels there is no way out, just like Reynold's character. 

      The movie is about 90 minutes long and at times, it could feel slow, especially in the beginning. It feels like everything is being repeated and over again to make sure the audience understands the situation, which honestly was not necessary. Despite that little hiccup, the movie seems to have no other problems that seemed to bother me. Although the story place in one coffin, there were actually seven coffins made for the cinematographer to get the shots he wanted and also for the artistic visuals. For example in one shot, when all hope seems lost, the camera moves up into dark space where the coffin seems never-ending. The director does this to make the audience feel like there is very little that could be done for Paul anymore. It is because of the decisions made by the director that makes the audience step into Paul Conroy's shoes and feel claustrophobic throughout the film and feel sick by looking at Reynold's character struggle, but still not being able to look away because of all the tension that is being built up. Buried is a thriller and a more unique one than I have ever before.