Cinematic elements; Notes from Director, Production design, Cinematography, Sound, Editing

Direction:

As the director of my group, its important that I have a good grasp for film and an artistic vision that I am prepared to execute. It was brought to me that we could enter for the cinematic hallowee'en rising star award which was great as it gave me strict criteria to work with deadlines. I started working on the treatment package with my production crew, this insured we had a basic plot, a bottom line and a storyboard. From there, I started working with the screen writer on drafting the script and we came up with the title "Zombiequality". Before the shoot, we are fine lining details and planning what each individual specialism  will do. I am going through the script with each individual unit (e.g. sound, cinematography) and annotating it with ideas, references e.t.c.

Cinematography:

here are many definitions for the word 'cinematography'. Here are some of the most common:

The art of photography and camerawork in film-making.

The art or technique of motion-picture photography.

The job or skill of making films.

The act of capturing photographic images in space through the use of a number of controllable elements. These include the quality of the film stock, the manipulation of the camera lens, framing, scale and movement.

The Cinematographer

Another name for the cinematographer is the Director of Photography. They are responsible for all of the visual elements of the film. They are in charge of making every creative choice related to composite, lighting and camera motion. They decide everything that the audience can see in each shot. They determine everything from colour to depth-of-field, from zoom to the positioning of people and objects within any given frame.

They must realise what the director is thinking and find a way to make the director's vision a reality. This creates a consistent look for the film and images that are created will help to tell the story. It is getting images that will push the story along that increases the audience's interest and makes them want to watch.

Production Design:

Costume and make-up for each individual character:

Zombie Steve:

As he is being played by a 17 year old we didn't know wether or not to have him dressed like a hippy activist or to have him dressed as though he was slightly older and more established. Before hand we wanted the protagonist to be older however, when working with the short amount of time we have, we decided it would be better to go with the easier and more reliable option. Regardless, we wanted to go with the stereotype of an activist. The makeup for zombie steve also has to be very good because at the start we are giving the illusion of a scary Zombie. Below is a mood board and a tutorial on Zombie makeup from youtube.

Frightened Woman:

Casual work clothes. Can be any age from 15-50. Needs handbag as prop.

President/Prime minister:

More formal clothes, e.g. a suit to distinguish him as a political leader.

Smick:

Needs to be a male with a very authentic Belfast 'Smick' voice. Preferably tall and skinny with a short hair cut to suit the character. Wears tracksuits and snapbacks.

List of props:

-Hangbag

-Kettle

-Radio

-Bed

-Placards for the protest

-eyepatch

-zombie hand to fall of Steve

-Geek Glasses

Shooting Locations:

Wellington street, Belfast 

House at Rugby Avenue (Incl. Bedroom and kitchen)

Belfast City Hall

Old dining room in the convent area of our school

Green screen used in media studies class room

Sound:

I worked on the sound design for BFI production 'Afterlife' so therefore, I knew a bit of background knowledge. I knew that I wanted the sound to come across immediately like a documentary, quite raw and rough with sound coming from behind the camera. We weren't able to get better recording equipment so mainly we used the internal mic from the camera. As well as this, we used the internal IPHONE 5S microphone to record radio voiceovers. 

In terms of layered sound, I added in a reverse piano which was edited on music software, logic pro X. I also added in a heartbeat to the title which was ironic as Zombies aren't living. `however, this sound could also be used to represent the sound of the boy's heart who is running away at the start.

Editing:

I wanted the editing to be really fast and pacey, therefore I looked for further references in mockumentary and comedy style films. One that I remembered seeing was 'What We Do In The Shadows'. I had to use Final cut express and iMovie mainly. I added in keyframes and made quick cuts, e.g. in the end when the HAZE member walks toward the house, to minimise the time he had walking, I cut it up into three sections.