Mistakes

This is a video I put together of the mistakes made whilst filming. To start with I was oblivious of the time and effort gone into filming due to not everything turning out the way you want it to. For instance, like in this video, the actors especially the youngest was very hard to direct and get her to do exactly what I wanted her to do, and due to them being friends and not professional actors, laughing was a serious matter. I managed to work around these obstacles to create my short film that had professional looking acting in it compared to what you can see in the video of bloopers. However, even in feature films with hollywood stars there is always mistakes made so this experience put me into practise for any other upcoming projects as I truly built on my directing skills. 

CHANGE in plot/script

NINA

~Scene 1~ Nina is sat on her bed watching TV when she suddenly switches the TV off and looks out of the window, which leads on to the flashback 

*transition to indicate flashback*



~Scene 2~ Walking along the street with cheat cuts for change of clothing of young Nina with voice over

Voiceover:  The sun comes up every morning, just like I walk along this street every morning. I am loveable. I am wanted, and that glimmer of sunlight that essence of nature. The sun, it is as bright as a scared child's night light. That's what makes all the difference, it not only gives me hope but, it tells me that someday, my summer will come.

*Happy flashback*



~Scene 3~ Flashback of young Nina playing in the park with her friends (fuzzy filter to establish that it is a flashback)

Friends and Nina:  Singing ring a ring of roses with high pitched laughter



~Scene 4~ Back to the street but Nina is dressed slightly more maturely to look older



Voiceover: It all comes back. Every word, every hurt, every moment. How could you ever understand where I come from? You can not hear or see or feel. You won't remember my story because you haven't walked my path, you haven't seen what my eyes have seen. My past defines me so this is who I am, I am
Unseen
Unheard
Unwanted
That is what I am, if even I am anything

*Slightly sadder flashback*



~Scene 5~ A flashback to the park again but this time Nina is sitting on her own and her so called "friends" are leaving her/making fun of her. (over the shoulder shot of Nina of the swing and friends in the distance)

(Sad, quiet music?)



~Scene 6~ Back to the street but now Nina is much older but she is still walking, this emphasises how her life is very repetitive.

Voiceover:  I still don't understand the purpose of my life, the purpose of my footsteps walking the earth everyday. My existence is invisible. In the end what we regret most is the chances we never took, but how can I take a chance if those chances are improbable, or an illusion to my eye.

*flashback*



~Scene 7~ Final flashback to Nina being picked up from school by her mother.



~Scene 8~  back to Nina on the street, she's about to approach her house, she receives a number of hurtful texts (texts appear on screen) and as the last text reads "turn around go on, do it i dare ya" Nina slowly turns her head to see what is behind her...




~Scene 9~ As she turns round if flashes forwards to Nina in her bedroom again like at the beginning before we get to see who was behind her. There is a close up of her eye wide open and in shock.

~END~


I changed my script and plot due to time and going over, I also felt as though my plot was a bit too confusing with a load of different character within a short amount of time, therefore, I decreased the number of characters also enabling me to keep within the time limit. 

Equilibrium, Disequilibrium, Equilibrium

The equilibrium, disequilibrium, equilibrium theory by Tzvetan Todorov is a conventional narrative structure use in many mainstream film narratives. This structure appears in five stages:

1. A state of equilibrium (stability) at the start

2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action (disequilibrium)

3. A recognition that there has been a disruption

4. An attempt to repair the disruption 

5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium (stabilised at the end)

For example, if I was to use this narrative structure on a short film called ReMoved, which was initially what influenced me to make my short film. 

Firstly, at the beginning we see stage 1 where the narrative is stable and we see the mother smiling and the young girl tidying the house. Suddenly we see stage 2 where the mother walks into the kitchen to see what appears to be her husband or boyfriend, who sharply looks at the little girl to then begin a fight or row with the mother. We then see the young girl dress what appears to be her baby brother which suggests that she has big responsibility as her parents may not be the best. We the have stage 3 which is clearly shown when we se another shot of the girls mother and father fighting again to then see the girl struggle multi task, as she tries to feed the baby, do the washing and her homework, as though she is taking the mother role within the household, at this point there is a definite recognition that there has been a disruption. This is a significant stage within this short film as it then continues when we see the little girl ask her mother why she doesn't want her, which is heartbreaking to see and hear from a young girl, it then continues again to see her and her little brother being put into a foster home, yet the two are both split up from each other. Moving on to stage 4 in attempt to repair the disruption we see the young girl trying to settle in a foster home where her foster parent tried to cheer her up by surprising her with new clothes. Although this is an attempt to stabilise the situation, things are still not the same as it is clear that the young girl misses her little brother, she gets moved into yet another foster home due to not settling in. Finally in stage 5 the situation is stabilised as we see the little girl looking out of the window to then see a car pull up, to then see her little brother get out of the car for them to be reunited again which is very heartwarming to see.

However, in my short film I wanted to experiment so I have decided to end mine on a disequilibrium where we don't see the situation resolved. So, in my short film stage 1 will be where we see the girl walking in to the counsellors office to get help which is the situation stabilised. Stage 2 will be when the girl doesn't reply to what the counsellor is asking her so we know something is wrong. Stage 3 is when we know something is definitely wrong as we see a flashback of the girl when she was younger as we hear a voiceover of he talking about how she feels. This then continues when we see a further flashback of her being bullied by her friends and being left out. Stage 4 will be when we see her back to present time with her in the counsellors office as we hope the situation will be fixed and repaired. Stage 5 will be slightly different and instead of the problem being resolved, the problem gets worse as it is payback on the other character (counsellor) as it turns out that the counsellor was the bully when they were younger. 

Editing - Colour Correction

I filmed a scene with my actors Lexi and Nathalie on different days so the weather was very different on everyday. Planning was not very successful either due to the unpredictable british weather. As you can see above I filmed my actor Lexi when it was very sunny so this affected the colour and quality. I uploaded the footage onto FinalCut Pro and it was then that I noticed the difference between this footage and my other footage where I had filmed on days where it was not so sunny and instead it was getting dark. On FinalCut Pro I selected the footage that I wanted to edit and I clicked on the colour correction which enabled me to change and play around with the exposure, shadows and highlights. I needed to edit the colour as the picture was very bright so it did not match my theme and atmosphere of my short film, the bright colours may connote mixed messages to my audience.

I then tried to match the colour up to another screen shot of my short film. I got two pictures up side by side so it made it a whole lot easier of me to correct the colour and make it seem as though it was all filmed on the same day. I played around with the exposure and then I was able to match it up with my other footage of my other actor Nathalie. I matched the colour up as best as I could and above is a picture of my footage after I had corrected the colour to match it up. Now I have sussed how to correct the colour I had keep it consistent and professional. 

Feedback on Short Film

I left my short film on the screen of the Mac I was using and everyone in my class watched it and below is some of the feedback. I felt as though gathering feedback and criticism from people in my class rather than my close friends gave me more of a reliable and truthful feedback to take in and work on.

"The music used fits really well and the opening shots are really effective due to their high quality. Really good range of camera angles and effects of the text helps build a sense of variety."

"I like the music in the background as it suits the theme of this film. The music the  audience in suspense as the story unfolds. I like the use of the tracking shots, it gives this short film a professional feel."

"Very well edited, the shots were well constructed and flow together nicely. I love the concept of the character ageing. I think you've portrayed this very well by keeping similar clothes/location. The music fits well, well done."

"I like title and how it comes up, however, maybe some narrating at the beginning although it is also effective how it is already."

"The end is slightly confusing, could make it a little clearer. The camera shots and music all work really well together and there is a clear symbolisation of the flash backs."

"I like the use of music, especially the heartbeat at the end."

"Perhaps use a quick cross fade between actresses"

Updated footage

Deconstruction is a philosophy form of philosophical and literary analysis derived from Jacques Derrida's 1967 work of Grammatology. Philosophy implicitly relies on a metaphysics of presence where intrinsic meaning is accessible by virtue of pure presence. 

Deconstruction denies the possibility of a pure presence and thus of essential or intrinsic and stable  meaning - therefore there is no absolute truth or unmediated access to "reality". Nor is any reading more valid than another. 

Whereas, for my text the reading would be multiple reasons, people are free to interpret it in their own way. For instance, if people would relate to the situation as they have lived a similar life when they were younger, or they might have felt the same at one point in their life. Other people may interpret it in a way to raise awareness of bullying or child neglecting.