film-evaluations 22nd of december

22nd of December

 

On the 22nd of December we arrived at the location promptly at 10 o'clock in order to set up. As a group we decided that we wouldn't do any filming as we didn't have our actor who couldn't make it on the date, but we were together to take polaroid pictures and set up for the 2nd of January. We had planned to do the last scene which doesn't involve the detective, however due to the weather being unpredictable and wet, we decided against it.

 

We were using the corner for the brick wall background, which Zayanah set up by installing a chair to the place where we can't see the garage door.

 

Unfortunately, we did not have a tripod on the day and we couldn't find a person with a tripod that was nearby, so to do this we used step ladders in order stabilise the camera and balance it at the right height. Eventually we decided on the taller step ladder, as it had the right height, which allowed the camera to capture the right shot. Despite the lack of tripod we worked well to move past it and work with our resources.

 

This was part of the wall that the camera had taken, which was the right sort of shot we wanted.

 

 

As I was the victim, Hazel had helped me with my costume and did my hair, ready for the picture. Zayanah held the garage down as it kept rattling and opening, and Xena took the pictures.

The last part of props was the whisky glass for the pictures, we used a small glass in which we diluted coke in water to give it some colour.

Photos

Our first set of photos were of the victim in the kidnappers location.

The next we had done were of stalker like pictures which suggested a long obsession. This fools the detective into thinking that she's a real victim.

 

 

Lastly, we finished the day with regular looking photos of the victim, we then chose the best two to put on the evidence board.

 

 

Although we had a few set backs such as the weather and no tripod, we persisted as a group, and got as much done as possible, though we then had lots to do the next time we were together. However, seeing the layout of the rooms and area we were filming prepared us for the next time when we were filming.     

Practical Task - Props

Detective's Office Practical Task

Using ideas I had previously explored in my first prop experiment, we created the scene which would be used as the detectives office. Many of the items seen in the previous post were also used in this, such as the water with the tea bag to resemble alcohol, the ashtray and the old phone. As the camera was on the tripod for filming at the time these were taken, I took them on my phone instead so they're not of the best quality.

Several extra props were also used that were found inside the house and we felt would look suitable. We placed a load of old books on the desk, including two bibles and religion often played a bigger part in peoples lives during the 50s than now. A desk clock embedded in a pine-cone and an old photograph were also on the desk to fill out the space a bit more. The main item was a large typewriter provided by Mindi which served no real purpose but was a great prop which makes the desk seem more authentic. 

We also had some props specific to our storyline, including the tape recorder which can be seen above and the package addressed to the detective. 

Hidden around the room were also fake documents, fake money and jewellery which would later be removed by the detective and placed into the briefcase. The documents and jewellery were inside a filing cabinet which we got some shots of.  

The money was hidden both inside the lamp and behind a photo frame. This was to mimic the creative hiding places often seen in classic detective films.

Here is a picture of the full set-up, including the evidence board which was stuck on the wall with copious amounts of blu-tac. 

Overall, I think our scenery looked good and props such as the type writer and a vintage looking lamp made it seem much more realistic to be set in the 50s rather than in modern day. There are a few wires hidden behind the bin which I was unable to remove, however we were careful not to include any of these in the shots.

Practical Task - Evidence Board 2

Evidence Board Practical Part 2

Now that we had confirmed that Mindi would be our actress I was able to create the real evidence board that would be used in our production. We began by taking polaroid pictures that would fall out the package and later be pinned to the board. There were three types of polaroid we took. The first were shots of her tied up after she had been kidnapped. 

The second were shots designed to look as though they'd been taken by a stalker. I did this by including part of whatever I had been hiding behind when taking it to show the stalker was trying to stay hidden, in this case, the side of the door frame.

Finally, we took regular pictures implied to have been taken just during her daily life. 

This time, instead of just scrawling notes and pinning them to the board I cut out small sections from a newspaper and pinned them up. As the board is just used as a background prop and there are no close-ups of it, the articles are random and make no sense to the actual storyline. I left the map from last time up as I liked the idea of linking pictures and stories to different locations with string. Here is a picture of the finished board.

I feel as though it looks much better than it did last time however it could still be more detailed. However, it still serves it's use as a background prop and looks pretty effective in the footage we got. 

Practical task- Briefcase prop

Mise-en-scene practical task: Briefcase Prop

As part of our film opening we wanted to include a ransom demand, which will be delivered in the detective's briefcase. To start off I rummaged through the house and found a briefcase, which was old and dusty however I dusted it to make it look newer, but overall it was in good condition.

During our story board planning we decided to film from inside the briefcase as a point of view shot. 

So, I took pictures from inside the case in order to establish what the frame would look like.

• On the left, the camera is upright and you can't see the case but you're able to get a clear view of what's in front and who's opening the case.
• On the right I tilted the camera upwards so part of the briefcase is still in frame so you know that you're inside the briefcase, however by doing this we are limited in what you can see, and this may hinder the action of the actor in the scene, as we would only be able to see part of their head.        

 

Next I created some documents which resembled an old police case file, which I got off the internet and filled it in. I then put it in an envelope but partially hanging out so it looked like the actor(detective) had recently been in his briefcase to look at it, but also clarifies his character. This created more naturalism to the appearance of the prop.   

In our initial scene idea, we wanted some cash that would be used as part of our prop that goes inside the briefcase.  I looked up this image of money being piled into a briefcase, and noticed that you can't really see the notes underneath the first note. So, to ensure that I didn't waste ink, I only printed a few $100 notes. 

Once I printed 100 dollar bills from the internet I cut them out.
The printer ink ran so it left it discoloured. However, I didn't think that this was much of an issue as we're going to put a filter over the footages anyway.  

Next, I cut out paper that were similar in sizes, and tied them behind the $100 notes so there were no need to print out more. This made it look like there were a lot more than there actually was. 

Lastly I arranged "diamond" jewellery to be placed next to the fake money, as part of the ransom demand.    

Next I put a black and white filter over the picture, just to see what it would be like when we put a filter over the footage during the editing process.  

After I had gotten the props together, I decided to experiment with camera angles and film the inside of the briefcase whilst it was being opened. This was done when the camera was facing upwards, allowing the camera to capture the top of the briefcase at the end and opening it up from darkness in the beginning. Overall, you can tell that you're opening something up.  

 

Evaluation

Things that went well:

• The props themselves looked good as an end product when they're all together.

Improvements:

• Next time I think that I need to make the stacks of money thicker to create the illusion of a higher quantity of cash.
• I'm concerned for the jewellery in the briefcase when it's being carried, and they may tangle or break, and to prevent this we should put it into a protective bag before the actor begins to carry it. However, it's only going to be in for a few frames, so we could just take it out.



Practical Task - Props

Practical investigation - Props

Inspiration

Firstly, I looked to YouTube for any film noir openings or trailers which could inspire me, however selection was very limited due to the uncommon genre and most of the available videos didn't focus at all on props. After searching for a while and still coming up empty handed, I turned to Google images where I found many pictures showing a selection of props on a table, such as the ones pictured below. These were the main source of my ideas and inspired me to create the typical desk of a film noir detective.

Finding the props

I decided to use some of the objects in the pictures I found. I instantly recognised the hat as a fedora and knew I had a similar one, so pictured it hanging from a hook.

Some other common objects in the pictures I found were alcohol and cigarettes. My mum allowed me to take pictures of her ash tray, but as we had no alcohol in the house I had to improvise. I used an old whiskey glass and made some watered down tea to look like alcohol. 

Most of the other props used were items found around my house which looked old, dated and messy and worked perfectly with the look I was going for. These included some old family photos in worn out frames, a very vintage camera and pair of binoculars and I also tea-stained some paper to create the image of some old faded documents.

I also took pictures of a waste bin full of old papers and cigarette packets, and a close up of the filing cabinet I used as the desk.

Finally, although not a prop, a messy looking shelf in my house looked like it would fit in with the office of an overworked detective. However, when I came to edit it, I saw there was a bottle of nail varnish on the shelf which looked very out of place. I attempted to Photoshop this out using the clone stamp tool.

Editing

I took this opportunity to practice my photo editing skills which may come in handy later in the process. I used Photoshop CS5 to edit the pictures. I first desaturated all the pictures to make them black and white. To make them look even more dated, I used the texture below in soft light, and altered the opacities for each image until it looked right.

Finally, I painted over each image in a new layer, also in soft light, in the colour #ce9f00 and set the opacity to 27% to create a slight sepia effect. Below are pictures of the finished desk before and after editing.

Evaluation

The process of finding and organising all the props took roughly 40 minutes, whereas the editing took about half an hour. I think many of the props I found will be helpful when it comes to filming our film opening and will provide inspiration for further props. Some however, such as the cigarettes and alcohol may be impractical as we are all under 18, however the improvisation I did with the tea was very realistic and can easily be recreated. I did attempt to teastain the paper, however I didn't leave it to dry long enough. In our actual thing this would be a good technique to use to make paper look old and worn.