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Contextual Research Report
The Contextual Research Report is split up into three different sections: Similar Narratives, Real Life and Techniques. I am going to be talking about the ideas I have and how these areas have influenced my choice and my plans for the future of this Project, when thinking about techniques I will be looking to Experiment and Plan more in-depth.
SIMILAR NARRATIVES
What Was Lost
by Apex Inspired
The first Short Film I am looking into and inspiring the foundation of my film off of is What Was Lost. What Was Lost is a Film based around a woman embarking on a soul-searching journey after losing someone very close to her. Firstly, I personally love how they began this narrative with a voice god, it truly creates that emotional tension. ‘Voiceovers powerfully enhance film production by providing narrative clarity, character depth, world building, time compression, translation, emotional impact’
I completely agree with this statement off Linkedin, the term ‘emotional impact’ is something I’m looking to succeed with throughout my film, being able to connect with the audience within seconds of hitting play is something that will be thoroughly important in a film that wants to get a message across. ‘Munsterberg, one of the pioneers of film theory, saw this as early as 1916: 'Picturing emotions must be the central aim of the photoplay'’
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Emotions in Contemporary TV Series
By Palgrave Macmillan UK
Page 1
This statement from Munsterberg is the sole reason I’m looking at this film, I believe it pictures emotions so well, the narrative is simple but well driven, it has a steady and unrushed pacing a big factor for why I’m inspiring off this film. Pacing is a key element of any Film ‘It shapes the audience's emotional response and engagement’.’
An effective emotional response and engagement is exactly what I want to achieve with my film, I want them to engage with the film and really respond to the message I’m showcasing if it is something they can relate to in their lives. I personally believe creating a film is the best way to get a message across, and the Hypodermic Needle theory also known as the Magic Bullet theory backs this up. Harold Lasswell, the person who formulated the Magic Bullet theory in 1927, aruged through his theory ‘the originator of the message had the power to manipulate the intended audience's perception.’
It compares the content of the media to a bullet shot from the ‘media gun’ which is directly inserted into the audience’s head. ‘The phrasing "hypodermic needle" is meant to give a mental image of the direct, strategic, and planned infusion of a message into an individual.’
This is exactly what I want to achieve, I’m going to give my audience a mental image of the true and honest reality of what it’s like to suffer from suicidal thoughts and show people there is light at the end of the tunnel, you shouldn’t give up.
Where anyone can or should be able to watch my film at their leisure, I have one key audience in mind and these are people who suffer from the same suicidal thoughts as my protagonist. Bulmer and Katz ‘suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media.’
Their theory is known as the Uses and Gratifications and it follows five different elements that all explain a different reason for why you would choose to watch a Film, TV or any media source in general. ‘They use the media to satisfy their needs’
Why do we watch TV? | Uses and Gratification theory explained
by The Media Insider
00:58
Through the Planning and Final Outcome of my Film, I used the Personal Identity element as a key plot of the storyline, I provided an idea and solution to solve feeling helpless with thoughts of suicide.
The ‘needs’ in my film would be for the audience to not feel alone, and even find a potential way to deal with their problems, which all comes down to the Personal Identity element built into this theory. ‘Media texts shape our personal identity in lots of different ways. Following the ups and downs of characters in soap operas, such “EastEnders” or “Coronation Street, can provide us with ideas and solutions to our own problems in real life.’
Being able to really connect with that protagonist in my film, and understand that you are not alone can help to find or could be the solution that you need, and ultimately improve your wellbeing.
A theme of this film is seeking acceptance, acceptance is something I believe is important as its acknowledges the reality of the loss. It's coming to terms with the fact that the person you loved is no longer physically present in your life. ‘acceptance may not be hard, but when it is a loss or a 'mixed blessing' they will do their best to resist the change.’
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Bereavement | Studies of Grief in Adult Life
By Colin Murray Parkes, Holly G. Prigerson
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This quote from the book ‘Bereavement’ is something I truly believe and want to showcase throughout the message of my Short Film. Acceptance may not be hard, if you not allow yourself not to resist the change. It will be an emotional journey from the beginning to the end, but if you believe in yourself and especially have the people by your side, there is nothing stopping you from achieving acceptance.
Another element that truly makes this film powerful is it’s use of Cinematography and more specifically colour and framing. As someone who has been specialising in Cinematography this year, I find great passion in driving my narrative by pleasing visuals, and I’m astonished with what this film has produced.
Researching into Acceptance became useful when writing the therapist scene in the script. It gave me the opportunity to have the most realistic and heartfelt scene about seeking it.
Learning that having people with you will benefit you seeking Acceptance, is why I heavily brought attention to the 'Help is out there' sign in the Train Station at Timestamp (8:37)
You can see how I took inspiration from this shot when it came to Planning in the Storyboards and at timestamp (1:41) in my Final Outcome.
One of the first establishing shots in the film contains the protagonist standing directly in the centre on this super wide-shot located at the beach. ‘Images Speak Louder Than Words’
This first shot has immediately backed up this quote, I could’ve turned off the sound and explained to the audience that this film has themes of someone dealing with loneliness and isolation through this one shot, that goes to show how effective and powerful Cinematography can really be. I want to take this idea from the film, because I want people to understand my narrative through the visuals alone. I’m not the best dialogue writer, so having powerful visuals will still ensure an inspiring storyline.
The Colour Palettes is such an important part of films, and especially when it comes to conveying emotion. Alien, a Filmmaker, told me 'Creating an image in film is the same as creating an image through paint. You make your choices based on taste and what you want to portray.'
This is why Colour Theory is so important, if you’re not utilising Colour Palettes in the right way I believe it could almost break the narrative of your film. However, What Was Lost does utilise the Colour Theory remarkably!
They start off by showcasing all the isolated and moody scenes with brown and very unsaturated colors. Where this is the fairly obvious theory, this film dives deeper with colors. “Brown confuses. Brown forms at the border of contradiction (the ability of language to express two or several things at once)”
Cinema and Colour: The Saturated Image
By Paul Coates
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I learnt this information in the Cinema and Colour book when I was researching more into Color Theory. What Was Lot utilises this ideology that brown could suggest a character is being presented with more than one conflict at once, the protagonist was sad and grieving but at the same time trying to heal and seek acceptance.
Where I probably won’t take this whole ‘brown’ ideology and copy how they used it in this film, throughout my Experimentation stage in my Final Major Project, I am going to look to experiment with different colour palettes and see which ones convey certain emotions in the best possible way.
To conclude What Was Lost, this film gave me a tremendous amount of inspiration for my own Film. It has certainly helped me discover new plots for my narrative and different techniques to demonstrate outstanding Cinematography. I’ve discussed above belove every point I made why, and how I will use inspiration from this within my own Short Film. I’m looking forward to building the foundation of my film with inspiration from this brilliant piece.
Wish You Well
by Annelisa Waltz
Wish You Well is a Short Film based around the protagonist who undergoes many mental health issues due to bullying and problems at home. I think this is a really important film to show to people, as people don’t think before they speak. You don’t realise the consequences your words or actions could have on someone in the long term. ‘Victimisation is also related to numerous interpersonal difficulties such as peer rejection, low peer acceptance, having few or no friends, and negative friendship quality’
Victimisation is the result of being involved in bullying and there is something key that I want to take from this for my film. Where my protagonist isn’t necessarily being bullied he will experience the same effects such as ‘depression, anxiety, fear, and withdrawal from social contacts.’
Preventing Bullying Through Science, Policy, and Practice
By National Academies of Sciences
Page 125
So instead of inspiring off the whole bullying ideology in Wish You Well, I want to showcase the importance of reaching out to someone or even a professional, to ensure an improvement in your mental health and overall wellbeing. ‘Connection is a basic human need. Besides our basic survival needs like food, shelter, and water, we need to feel a sense of belonging.’
Feeling a sense of belonging is important it ensures ‘we are more resilient, often coping more effectively with difficult times in our lives.’
This is something important I want take on board for my own Film, showcasing you should always be resilient even when life gets really low. Seeking support is vital.
From a Cinematography standpoint, there isn’t much I’m going to be taking from this film. However, the final shot of the film is one I found to be quite powerful and something I will consider within my Own Film.
Seeking support is exactly what my protagonist ended up doing, he initially in the script was seeking it from a therapist. However, I changed it in the Final Film where he seeks help from his wife, Sarah.
I like how it adapted that isolated feel due to its wider angle and long length of being stationary. It made me feel right there in the moment like I was almost witnessing it which, as a member of the audience, left me speechless. It creates all that emotion between the scene and the audience which in essence, shows that they bonded well with the message.
I want people who can relate to the message in my film to really take something from it, and taking inspiration from the Cinematography from Wish You Well will really help me to utilize it and showcase it through visuals.
Throughout my Experimentation, I looked into Experimenting with Finding Actors, as I felt they would be best at delivering that emotional depth I state here.
To conclude Wish You Well, I’ve learnt a lot about the effects of bullying and how this really correlates to losing a loved one, with both you always feel like you have to seek acceptance. I want to showcase visuals of being resilient and integral to hope that one overcomes the effects shown in Wish You Well.
There are many different ways to show the effects of grief, and depression. So something I might look to Experiment with in the Experimentation Stage of my Film is what ways really create that emotional depth in my film, and especially not leave the audience bored after watching. This will, in essence, help me create a fluid and breathtaking Final Outcome, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.
Empathy
by Jordan A Dudek
Empathy is a Short Film centred on a man who puts himself in the shoes of a father facing his child's battle with cancer. I thoroughly enjoyed the narrative of this film, I felt so emotionally connected with the characters that by the end of the film I had strong feelings of Empathy, in which the film was trying to achieve.
The pacing felt relaxed, almost deceivingly so, until the climactic twist near the end. At first, I was puzzled by the revelation that the child battling cancer wasn't actually the protagonist's own. Plot twists ‘create suspense and tension, and add an element of surprise’.
I believe this twisted ending has added depth to the emotion and that element of surprise well. A quote Ponyomagic stated from Reddit was ‘an emotionally fulfilling ending is all that I look forward to.’
An emotionally fulfilling ending is exaclty what I ended up showcasing when fleshing my idea in the Planning Stage. I chose to go with a wholesome moment of them scattering Sophie's ashes.
This quote is something I could not relate to more, if the ending isn’t emotionally fulfilling I don’t think the film has done it’s job properly. This is something I need to ensure I can when it comes to my Final Outcome, I could either go down the route Empathy has chosen and provide a complete twist in the narrative or, a suspenseful but still emotionally driven end would work perfect as well.
The biggest part of inspiration I’m taking from Empathy is the use of Colour and Framing. I love the use of anamorphic lenses, in short they make images ‘Squashed and compressed. It mushes up the images a bit more. It makes it more ‘filmic’ if you will.’
What is an Anamorphic Lens — Anamorphic vs Spherical Lens Explained
by StudioBinder
00:11
There are many different elements that go into an anamorphic image, but the one I like in particular is the Anamorphic Streaks. ‘Anamorphic streak is a form of lens flare that appears as horizontal lines extending from bright light sources and specular reflections.’
As you can see from the first shot, it contains a few orange streaks around the center and left side of the Frame, and I love the look of this! As someone who has been specifically specialsing in Cinematography and Colour Grading this past year, I respect how much it visually enhances that ‘filmic’ look Jordan was going for on this project.
The ‘filmic’ look has been something I’ve loved experimenting with this year as well, on my Pick-Your-Own Project I took this to another level and researched in-depth about budget friendly techniques to achieve this certain look. However due to budget issues again, I won’t be able to get my hands on an actual anamorphic lens as these can be pricey. But when it comes to my Technique stage I will look into different ways I can replicate this look.
Another shot in particular I really liked the look of, was when the protagonist was lying down on the bed.
This lowkey lit shot bonded seamlessly with the somber emotion that Jordan aimed to convey, with a big help from the use of the Colour Pallete as well. Whilst looking into the Behind-The-Scenes video Jordan made on how he created Empathy, I learnt a lot of this had actually to do with the Time of Day and White Balance Settings, two elements I would have never thought me to think about. In fact, from looking into Empathy it has really taught me the importance of a Production Schedule, and definitely something I will be implementing a need for in my Final Outcome.
How I Shot This Simple Short Film | Cinematography Breakdown
by Jordan A Dudek
Jordan captured this stunning visual by shooting at the Blue Hour. The Blue Hour is ‘the period of twilight when the Sun is at a significant depth below the horizon. During this time, the remaining sunlight takes on a mostly blue shade.’
Within my Final Outcome, I used this information I learnt from Jordan about shooting at Blue Hour and captured my protagonist staring out the window in the Blue Hour.
I want to use this in my film to express my protagonist’s moody and unhappy state, as it showcases that somber state well. This is also a good technique to plan out and try in the Experimentation Stage of my Final Major Project, as I can then figure out if this will work out in the Locations I am choosing to shoot my Short Film in. Jordan said it took him ‘5 or 6 times’ to get the Blue Hour Shot right in his Behind The Scenes, so experimenting with this beforehand will be absolutely necessary.
To conclude Empathy, Jordan’s eye for Cinematography was the element that impressed me and gave me the most inspiration. I’ve learnt a few techniques with the Colour that I want to implement into my Final Outcome so, I will make sure to experiment with these thoroughly in the Experimentation Stage beforehand.
REAL LIFE
For this project, as I am going with the topic of grief and learning to seek acceptance, this will be best done by showcasing the audience a message. If I want the message to be taken seriously, the audience to have a genuine reaction to it and most importantly, for it to help. I am going to look into ways of ensuring that this is done in a realistic way and ethical manner so I do not offend anyone that can relate to the message I'm showcasing in anyway.
Ethics
The first element of my Real Life Section that I’m going to be talking about is Ethics. 13 Reasons Why: ‘the story of Hannah Baker, a teenager in high school who has died by suicide. The reasons for her suicide are outlined in a set of tapes that are mailed between the people that she feels were involved in her decision.’
This film created masses of controversy when they included the scene of Hannah slitting her wrist, giving the audience the true representation of what it was like to kill yourself. The media saying ‘it glamorised suicide and went into too much detail about how the Hannah character killed herself.’
This is important because when it comes to films like these, they have to really focus on ethics. ‘We need ethics not to decide who is good or bad, but to build social infrastructure that, like physical infrastructure, is vital to getting anything done.’
Taking Ethics Seriously
Why Ethics Is an Essential Tool for the Modern Workplace
By John Hooker
Page 7
This quote is important to note because ethics builds social infrastructure and this is necessary to ‘contribute towards a good quality of life.’
So without an ethical film, I will risk my audience reacting to my film in ways that presents them missing on that ‘good quality of life’, which infact is also the complete opposite to the message I’m trying to present. I want my film to be a reminder that even when life can get tough suicide is not an option, and it will be very important to ensure I ethically do this, setting the right example for the audience.
Whilst looking into the ethics of 13 Reasons Why, I found a Case Study written by Morgan Malouf. She found out that ‘In a case of life potentially imitating art, 15-year-old Bella Herndon committed suicide three days after she binge-watched 13 Reasons Why.’ This was really important to find, as this was before the Bathtub Scene got removed, telling me how unethical it was due to viewer responses. When, or if, I showcase suicide in my film learning about this has really created a huge impact on my visuals. I need to ensure I don’t give the audience the sense that I’m glorifying suicide, yet instead focus on the grief aspect of the film, and make this the main factor when it comes to the narrative.
I ensured my film was ethical as I prevented showcasing any gruesome or raw detail of someone killing themself. This in essence protected the well-being of my viewers as I didn't want to do more harm than good.
Knowing someone has committed suicide due to the series you’ve written can not have a good effect on the writer. So I need to make sure all my Ethics are in place to ensure nothing like this could happen to me and to protect my mental well-being as well.
Suicide Prevention
I believe teaching people about Suicide Prevention, especially for those who suffer with suicidal thoughts, is detrimental. A message I want to portray throughout the whole of my film, is you should NEVER give up. ‘When people feel like giving up on something, it’s because they believe that the pain will disappear.’
This is something I couldn’t agree with more. To keep it simple, the reason I have decided to explore this topic for my Final Major Project is due to Personal Experience. I have witnessed people in my life experience these exact same thought, and something I can tell you is that pain does not disappear. The thought of someone you love killing themselves in essence transfers all that pain to you and your surrounding ones, the pain does not just vanish.
“Suicide doesn't end the pain, it just passes it to someone else”
This is the quote and meaning I want to explore throughout my film, the reason for choosing was because I think it brings up some important points, and solely due to Personal Experience. Whilst looking into this quote, I found some mixed opinions about it. Shreeya states ‘Suicidal thoughts and urges can't be controlled so easily. And if you try to make suicidal people feel guilty for the things that they are not able to change so quickly.’
However, on the other hand, Ron states that the quote ‘is a metaphorical platitude, but it still makes an important point. Of course pain is not some substance that can literally be passed from one person to another; it's an experience. But it's an experience we can cause other people to have.’
I think these are two things to note, the quote makes an important point as Ron states, it’s something people need to think about. However, throwing this in the face of someone who suffers from suicidal thoughts can have a negative effect as they may feel this sense of guilt or shame from these thoughts, which could internally make the more likely to go through with it. This is most definitely something, I do not want to achieve with my Film and I will back to my section at Ethtics. I need to make sure I’m focusing on ways to achieve that ‘good quality of life’ which will best showcase to the audience that the quote about Suicide doesn’t end pain, actually takes on a good meaning and represents it gets better after you decide not to go through with the choice of killing yourself.
When Matt and Sarah are having a conversation in my last scene, she states 'I can't lose you too Matt' whilst deeply crying. It shows how much him killing himself would've affected her. Which is what I stated above.
I saw a comment on a TikTok about a tweet talking about how suicide isn’t selfish from ‘Keep Scrollin’. He states that the pain after suicide ‘is shifted to your family and friends, they question their actions and destroy themselves trying to figure out why it happened.’ How it affects others, is a crucial part of what I want to convey in my film, and I believe that this (in an Ethical manor) will showcase well to people to who or have suffered with suicidal thoughts is what happens and in return, I hope a positive effect comes from this.
Biggest Factors of Suicide
Portraying a realistic character of someone who is suffering from suicidal thoughts is one of the most important factors in my film. If this is not done correctly, it will not have the same effect I want it to have on the audience. In this video, Patrick said there was some controversy on his last video where the majority of his audience disapproved of his point where he stated that he believes Marvel Films should be much more vibrant. His audience stated that vibrant colours would make it feel less realistic, and if it wasn’t realistic they couldn’t ‘emotionally connect’ with it. This backs up my point a lot, as the whole goal of my film is to really connect with that audience, especially the ones who can relate.
So without realism, your film showcases nothing.
Why Do We Care if Movies Are "Realistic?"
by Patrick (H) Willems
00:26
So, I looked into a study about the Groups with Increased Suicide Risks. One of the first ones on there were individuals bereaved by suicide, this was important to find out. ‘The impact of suicide can be profound and sometimes devastating for those who are left behind.’
2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action
By Office of the Surgeon General
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This ties in well with the message I’m trying to convey where ‘Suicide doesn’t end the pain, it just passes it onto someone else.’ Knowing this information has really helped me to start developing a Character Outline and backstory as to why my protagonist has driven himself to think about suicide.
I used the information from this book to begin the Character Profiles as I found men were more likely statistically to kill themself. So to ensure I had realism in my film, I chose the protagonist to be a male.
This book has also stated many other different groups that have an increased risk of suicide, a few I could definitely present would be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and men in general. It may be important to look into how members of the LGTBQIA+ are being treated however, I do not want to overcomplicate my film too much. So, I believe going down the route of only one of these (such as losing as loved one as stated in the first point above) would be perfect to really present the backstory as to what drives one to be presented with suicidal thoughts.
On the whole, the Real Life element has been a detrimental part of the development of my film. This research has provided me with ways to ensure my film follows standard guidelines and does not insult anyone with the misuse of Ethics. The foundations for the story and characters have also commenced, ensuring every part of my film is as realistic as possible, meaning the audience can take something from my film and potentially create a good impact on their wellbeing.
THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES
Planning - Casting Actors
Actors are an essential, if not the main part of a Short Film as they play the characters in the story you're telling. ‘Hiring the right actor for a role can help the audience become immersed in the story.’
This is why I believe that a thorough plan needs to be developed when it comes to casting. Throughout my previous films on Film and TV, I have never once thought about hiring actors. However, I am making my project complex this year by finally taking action, and acquiring those talented actors that have the potential to deliver my message to the viewer well. The message I want to to convey throughout my film is important and not easy as it requires realism, so with the help of experienced actors this should be much easier to do.
METHOD 1
The first method of casting actors is through Casting Calls, These are ways to find actors by putting out posts through places like Social Media, Newspapers or even word of mouth. ‘Casting directors want to find the best person for the role’.
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Breaking Into Acting For Dummies
By Larry Garrison, Wallace Wang
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This is why I need to ensure when experimenting with Casting Calls, I use a wide range of different platforms to get my Casting Calls out there. This in turn will provide me with many different options for roles, and help me to find that perfect person for a certain role.
To achieve successful responses to my Calls, I need to make sure that they look professional and presentable. ‘Getting common industry terms right, such as avails, pins and holds, eliminates confusion for actors and agents and establishes faith in the production.’
This will let people know that the production is legitimate and not for a joke, which should entice more people to become interested. A positive side of these calls is that you can find absolutely anyone. This can range from - students to industry professionals. For some roles like background characters, students would be perfect and for leading protagonist roles it’s best to have those professional actors if this is possible.
Learning about how to create a successful Casting Call here, I believe was one of the sole reasons I received so many responses in my Planning Stage. I had created a clean and professional sounding Casting Call, which enticed people more.
However, the downside to these styles of Casting Calls though is as Students, the budget is limited and people can be far away. People don’t tend to apply for free or cheap acting parts, especially as industry professionals. So, this will definitely be a technique to try experimenting with however, I don’t think I can rely on this completely. I need to ensure I have at least one backup plan if finding actors with this method does not go to plan.
METHOD 2
The second and last method to cast actors is through Stage Schools and College Acting Courses. As a college student myself, I know we love to jump on every opportunity we get to work on something in our field, so I can imagine this goes the exact with acting students wanting to work in Film. ‘Working on a student film helps you gain and grow your on-camera skills.’
This is important for students as the main element we lack when leaving college, is real experience on set. So even if it’s for a student film, students see it as a positive to get some experience in a film production environment.
What makes going for students so great is the budget, students will always be happy to take the experience and credit for the role. ‘Traditionally, that would be the 3 C's: Credit for their work in the movie, Copy of the finished product (can be digital), and Craft services, aka feeding them while on set.’ These are the traditional ways of ‘payment’ for a Student Film.
Another point that makes going for Students or Performing Art so useful is you have complete control over location choice. You know what college that student is based at, you know where that Performing Art’s School is based at it makes travelling and picking up your actors budget friendly and also time-saving. Having to travel many miles to pick up actors wastes so much of the little time frame we get for Production.
However, the obvious downside to using student or young performing actors is simply the quality. They are an improvement over using friends and family, but the difference compared to the industry professionals will be vast. I can’t speak for every student actor though as just like student filmmakers, you get a wide range of ability levels. So, this will be something to look at Experimenting with, connecting with student actors asking for auditions and just putting them side by side with the professionals to see if they have what it takes to put themselves in a role of challenge.
To conclude Casting Calls, I have found two very effective ways of finding actors, both with their benefits and flaws. These are two different methods that I am going to need to experiment with further to see what works best for me. If I can get my hands on an industry professional that within a few miles willing to shoot on set for a few days then I might be in luck, but one thing I know for sure is this will not be a controlled experiment, a lot of this will be a game of luck and hopefully from this I can find myself the right actor for the role, wether this be an industry professional or a student.
Planning - Storyboards
One technique I will definitely be using within my FMP is Storyboards. Storyboards are one of the most useful forms of Planning, without them you'll get to Production Days and spend so much time figuring out the shots you want, but Storyboards make your life so much easier and more efficient.
METHOD 1
For the most efficiency, the first way I picked out to Storyboard was Hand-Drawn ones. These provided a basic sketch, including potential lighting, angle, and sound details below. They are super helpful to give you a solid understanding of what shot you wanted to acquire and were fast too. These could literally be drawn with stickmen, they were just a quick form of Planning to get all your ideas down on paper quickly, but effectively.
The downside I would have to these is even though they are only stick figures and very simple drawings, my drawing skills are rather underdeveloped. This could play an issue in understanding what is happening throughout a scene. Same goes with my hand writing ever since secondary school I have been known to have terrible handwriting, which I why I did a lot of my work in secondary school on a computer as it unreadable to everyone even teachers.
As I stated here, my drawing skills are rather underdeveloped. This is why I didn't use my Storyboards when it came to production as it seemed pointless.
METHOD 2
The second method of Storyboarding my work could be through Picture Storyboards. Picture Storyboards were a great and in my opinion, the best way to map out the Cinematography. They also provided a way to see if your location could work beforehand too if you decide to take the photos on set.
Where in Hand Drawn Storyboards you have to write the shot information out, when it comes to Picture Storyboards made digitally you can type this out on a computer which for me, would be beneficial due to appalling handwriting.
However, this is where the positives stop for me. I think the biggest element that would put me off using these is how time-consuming it could be. At a first glance, it seems to me these would take a lot longer. You have to take in account planning and heading to the location, taking photos, then heading back and putting them into the Storyboard. Where Hand Drawn ones can all be done from the comfort in your own room and it can take a matter of seconds to draw and map a single scene out.
I believe it is going to be necessary to Experiment with these two beforehand to find which method is most suitable for me. I could prove myself wrong and find more success in time with the the Picture Storyboards, but I find this hardly likely.
Production - Colour Grading
The first technique I will most certainly use throughout my Production is Colour Grading. As this has been a main part of my specialism this year, it has taught me the importance of a good Colour Grade. ‘It plays a huge role in how audiences emotionally respond to what they see and experience on screen.’
If you fail to ensure your grade matches the tone and style of your film, you're almost giving your audience a false impression of what is being shown. ‘Creating an image in film is the same as creating an image through paint. You make your choices based on taste and what you want to portray.’ This quote from Alien, through a discord discussion, backs up the points further. I’m creating my image based on the emotion I want to portray.
METHOD 1
The first method I am going to Colour Grade my Film is by using the industry-standard software for Grading which is DaVinci Resolve. ‘Davinci Resolve is known to be the industry-leading in Colour Grading but I feel for my Projects, I will always favour using Premiere due to its basic and easy-to-navigate controls to grade my projects to my Standards in a matter of no time.’
This is a quote I stated in my last Final Major Project, I didn’t believe my time was worth using DaVinci. However, to make the project more complex this year I believe the switch to DaVinci was worth especially in the long run as it provides me with a lot more tools to increase the professionalism of my Short Film. DaVinci, just like most similar editing software, provides simple colour wheels and curves to grade your footage. However, where DaVinci performs over others is in ‘the level of precision and control it offers when it comes to achieving the desired color accuracy. Whether you’re aiming for a natural and realistic look or a stylized and cinematic appearance, the software provides the necessary tools and controls to achieve your vision.’
I used DaVinci Resolve throughout my Experimentation as I wanted to see if I found that level of precision was the case, and it definitely was. The Look I was able to achieve in my Film because of DaVinci
Resolve, I was so proud of.
As a Colourist, I can’t thank DaVinci enough for the amount of tools and additional plugins they have on offer to achieve a look. It enhances how ‘Cinematic’ I can achieve with the option to add Halation, Glow, Bloom all of which other well-known software such as Premiere Pro (what I used to use) does not have to offer.
I chose in my Final Pitch that I wanted to use a Film Stock, and having completed this Research, I used Magic Bullet Looks in my Final Film to simulate the Eterna 500T
Film Stock.
Colour Grading through DaVinci also allows me to add third-party plugins to enhance the grading experience. One in particular, is Magic Bullet Looks. Magic Bullet Looks is a powerful set of colour tools that gives you everything to make your footage look great. ‘Go beyond color correction, with accurate simulations of lens filters and film stocks.’
I aim to try and make my visuals look as ‘Cinematic’ as possible and Magic Bullet Looks plays a massive helping factor in this. A style I’ve been I’ve been taking an interest to with and stated throughout my Similar Narrative Research that I wanted to experiment with further is the ‘Film Look’. ‘Using Magic Bullet Looks is a great way to experiment and explore with the Film Look.’
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DSLR Cinema | Crafting the Film Look with Large Sensor Video
By Kurt Lancaster
Page 134
It features a numerous number of realistic Film Stocks and additional plugins such as Halation, Bloom, Diffusion which all contribute to achieving the ‘Film Look’. I would argue that these plugins are much more powerful than DaVinci’s own ones and achieve a more realistic film look, from my experience DaVinci’s own plugins can create a very surrealistic feel.
A downside to using these Lens Filter Effects opposed from the real Lens Filters, is issues within the Software. When applying all the filters ‘Magic Bullet Looks causes AE to become very slow with rendering each frame and export’.
Especially when stacking many effects on top of each other, it is known to make the playback and render really slow. This can causes issues throughout Production Week as my time-frame is very small and I don’t have time to waste hours and hours rendering if I need to go back and change things.
DaVinci Resolve also gives me that full flexibility with BRAW footage that I shoot on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. ‘RAW offers the professional videographer control over the images in the edit room, RAW video means all the data that hits the camera’s sensor is available for control in editing without a loss of image quality.’
So RAW allows room for error when shooting on the wrong White Balance and Exposure as you can adjust all of this in the Post-Production and produce the exact same result as you would from having all the settings correct in-camera, in the first place. DaVinci Resolve is one of the only free editing software available that allow RAW-Workflow and BRAW (Blackmagic RAW) is even better than standard RAW as it has been optimised to playback more smoothly only on DaVinci Resolve.
METHOD 2
The other method I can use to Colour my Film is within the actual Production Stage. This can be through the use of Colour Gels on Lights and Physical Lens Filters. ‘Colour gels are transparent coloured material used in photography to create special effects or moods’
They offer a very professional grade to your image, and can be used to colour just your subject, the background or even both very easily. What stands out about using Colour Gels is how quick they are to setup all they require is taking the existing lighting rig and clipping them in, this is definitely the most positive element about them. ‘Production is typically as brief as possible because the longer it goes on, the more expensive it can become’
Film Production Explained — Each Step of the Production Process
by Studio Binder
02:06
This is very important to consider as Production Time can become very expensive, so finding techniques that can improve my workflow when Shooting, like Colour Gels do, is always something I need to consider.
However, there is a large downside to using Gels whilst Shooting, and that’s once you’ve shot your visuals with this certain colour, there is no way to reverse it in post without ruining the image. This is the same ideolgy as not shooting in RAW, if you don’t shoot in RAW all the White Balance and Colour is baked into the image, making it harder to change and grade that image afterwards. So ultimately, if I decide to use Colour Gels there is no room for me to change my mind when adjusting the look in post.
The other practical method of Colouring the look of my Film is using Physical Lens Filters. ‘Lens filters are an incredible an sometimes necessary tool for filmmaking to help with different things like exposure, reflections or even to provide creative looks.’
Lens Filters 101 | Top 5 Filters You Need To Buy
by Tomorrows Filmmakers
00:13
There are various types of Lens Filters however, the ones I am going to focus on looking at to enhance my visuals, are the ones that provide a creative look.
The first one being Anamorphic Bokeh & Flare Filters. These are a great way to achieve the ‘Anamorphic lens looks, without using an Anamorphic lens.’
I stated previously in my Similar Narratives that ‘There are many different elements that go into an anamorphic image, but the one I like in particular is the Anamorphic Streaks.’ Whilst looking into the film Empathy, its use of anamorphic lenses, especially the streaks, got me overwhelmed to want to use this and experiment with it myself, and where anamorphic lenses can be upwards of £700, a lens filter such as ones from CineMorph can provide you with seemingly close results. The streaks this lens are perfect, and they don’t fail to lose clarity either. Lens filters can typically provide ‘a lack of contrast, or a generic washed-out appearance.’
Which is why I’m shocked of how sharp and detailed the images look through this filter. They replicate realistic Anamorphic Streaks so well, it’s hard to tell the difference.
These results for £40 are incredible, it increases the beauty of visuals by a lot and in my opinion it gives the video a much more ‘Cinematic’ feel to it, and as a Colourist this is something I’m always striving to improve on.
The other type of creative lens filters that I am going to be looking into are Mist/Diffusion Filters. These are ‘a piece of glass that is designed to diffuse light and create a hazy, dreamy effect in your photographs.’
A style of Cinematography I’ve been extensively experimenting with and especially noted throughout my Similar Narratives section is the Film Look. There are many different features that go into creating a Film Look ‘Film emulation process as four basic operations: color response (achieved via a complex color transformation), grain, halation and gate weave.’
One feature that caught my attention was halation, ‘Pro-mist filters give a glow or halation around intense sources of light that are in shot.’
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Practical Cinematography
By Paul Wheeler
Page 131
Pro-mist filters creates halation, one of the key characteristics of the Film-Look, without having to replicate them in post. Nisioptics states that these filters create a more dark, ominous looking ‘creating a moody and atmospheric look to your images.’
Throughout my Similar Narrative Research, I was looking into films that follow consistent themes of sadness and moodiness ‘They start off by showcasing all the isolated and moody scenes with brown and very unsaturated colours’ (This is my analysis of a film in which contains moody scenes). Learning that Pro-mist filters give a sense of moodiness, and knowing this is the emotion I want to convey heavily throughout my film, I will undoubtedly be attaching this filter if I can get my hands on one.
Overall, Method 1 is an element every filmmaker has to go through, ‘Without color grading, your video may either have color or exposure issues’
You can’t rely on the video straight out of the camera to have perfect colour or exposure, there are always little tweaks that need to be made after in post.
However, I believe with Method 2, Colour Gels seem to be something I may stay away from. They can produce a professional visual, but you get no flexibility with it. What you shoot is what you get, and I am going to experiment more with this to see if I can bring that flexibility back maybe with shooting on different formats or exposure levels. This is something I am going to heavily explore within my Experimentation.
Lens Filters, on the other hand, are something I would love to incorporate into my Equipment List, they offer a simple and effective way to give a visual more of that ‘Cinematic’ feel to it. However, due to being a student I have a really low budget going into this Film. This means I am going to have to rely on personal savings to get my hands on one of these.
Production - Lighting
The second technique I want to use throughout my Short Film is lighting. I asked a question in a discord forum of Filmmakers about what they thought was the most important part in creating the look of your film, Liska responded with ‘Light’. To back this up this video states that ‘The light is one of the most important languages when we talk about a conversation between the viewer, the creator, and the world.’
Film Lighting 101: Importance of Lighting in Film | Andbery x Wedio
by Wedio
00:17
The point of lighting within a film is that it ‘supports the emotional moment of the scene, contributes to the atmosphere of the story, and can augment an artistic style.’ Without lighting, we wouldn’t know where to focus our attention to and without the correct lighting, just like Colour Grading, we may not know what kind of emotion is trying to be conveyed. ‘The story could be the greatest in the world, but if the lighting is poor, viewers will assume it's amateurish and not take it seriously.’
Lighting for Cinematography
A Practical Guide to the Art and Craft of Lighting for the Moving Image
By David Landau
Page 131
This must be done correctly to ensure the audience isn’t thrown off.
METHOD 1
The first method of Lighting is a One and Three Point Lighting Setup. This consists of three lighting sources: a Key Light, a Fill Light and a Backlight. ‘Key lights are essential in creating mood and atmosphere and can emphasize the subject’s features and emotions.’
External lighting has been something I’ve never really used outside of Experimentation and Workshops, so by implementing an actual lighting rig into my Final Major Project, this is making it much more complex than just using room or lamps that I typically always use to light my visuals. I want my film to focus on a lot of that raw emotion my characters are feeling, so key lights will be something necessary to showcase this, especially when I place the camera close up on their face. The flexibility within a Three Point Lighting Setup is great ‘you have complete control on how the subject is illuminated’
This is necessary when you have a distinctive background from the characters, this is something a one-point lighting would fail to achieve good results from as it’s only capable of illuminating one particular thing.
However, an example of where one-point lighting has achieved success in cinema would be this shot from The Godfather. The technique they have created with the single-point source light is known as chiaroscuro. ‘the chiaroscuro lighting technique can be defined simply as high contrast lighting. You use the extremes of dark and light to create an arresting image.’
The chiaroscuro technique was something I implemented within my Final Outcome at Timestamp (1:56)
In this shot specifically, it was ‘used to create suspense’ with half of the characters face being obstructed from the view, it gives off the sense that you don’t know what to expect next.
This is a sense I want to implement into my film a lot, and by using this technique I will be able to successfully convey suspense and moodiness in my film just from the use of Lighting.
METHOD 2
Another technique I can use to light a lot of my sources is Natural Lighting. ‘Natural lighting involves using the sun, moon, or any other natural sources to light a scene.’
Natural lighting is great because it is a budget-friendly way of getting great exposure, for the most part. It can have its flaws with exposure as sometimes it is difficult to expose perfectly for the subject and sky at the same time without the use of a reflector. Reflectors also known as bounce cards are used ‘to bounce some of the light back onto them’. This keeps both the subject and background exposed the same.
Outdoor Cinematography Tips | Shooting with Reflectors
by Stray Angel Films
02:03
An element of natural lighting that interests me the most, is the Golden Hour. ‘The golden hour refers to two hours: the one just before sunset and the one just after sunrise.’
I used the Golden Hour throughout the close-ups of my protagonist in the Church Scene at Timestamp (1:11)
I loved how this looked whilst analysing the short film Empathy, in my Similar Narratives section. He incorporated the Golden Hour differently though, where people typically take that golden, warm look that it creates, he took it a step further and transformed it into a moody muted blue look. I love this because he shows the Golden Hour can be used for much more than that romantic relationship stereotype that everyone sees it as. ‘ These tones harmonize beautifully with the warm, golden light and create a romantic ambience.’
It is a powerful lighting technique that is sure to transform the Cinematic Feel of my film a lot especially, having the powerful sun beams and rays combined with the Anamorphic Look I also want to experiment with.
On the whole, Lighting is fundamental for making a film. Without sustainable lighting, the look of your film is broken. Without Lighting, the Colour Grade will always lack its full potential. Whilst looking into these two methods I am certain that I will use them both in some way, I want to incorporate that dreamy feel the Golden Hour provides but also use it as a way to showcase isolation with a hint of grading on it. The three-point lighting is something I have never really used inside of my Short Film, so this is what makes this project rather complex, and this element is something that I’m going to need to explore extensively throughout Planning and Experimentation, to ensure I can provide a professional outcome of this, for my Final Film.
To conclude the Contexutal Research Report, I am happy with the foundation I have created when it comes to fleshing out my idea. I am going to ensure that I make this project complex by undertaking new planning processes such as Casting Actors, as I stated above, to include external actors that have experience instead of using people such as my friends and family to fill in the roles. This will ultimately provide me with the chance to have a much more professional outcome as I can properly display emotion within the narrative. When its come the practical element, the complexity of this project is mainly due to my new methods of Colour Grading. I have spoken a lot about DaVinci Resolve and how useful this advance software is when trying to achieve the look you desire.
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