Screen Arts - S2 Week 10

18/09/2019

Morph. (2015, May 22). THE TWO MOUNTAINEERS | THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF MORPH EP9 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtCjWC_ChdI

Morph was something I wasn't familiar, but when I watched it I think I have watched on TV at one point years ago.



2eggsplease. (2011, June 27). Nick park's creature comforts 1989 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmNymPocKro

Blue Chikuwa. (2015, May 1). Creature comforts (pet hates) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGhSxZLT1DY

Creature Comforts was ingenious using slice of interviews and applying them to animals in a zoo. It gave an anthropomorphic humanity and humor. We watched both the original short film and the TV shorts on YouTube.



brighteyepics. (2008, April 22). Bruce bickford's CAS'L' (excerpt) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkEV14A9KWw

Casl' is definitely a surreal affair that breaks the fourth the wall in a way I haven't seen before. This film made me think of an idea... Imagine a mockumentary about stop motion animation filmmaking from the perceptive of the claymation models in the style of Creature Comforts.



Seattle Channel. (2013, March 20). Art zone shuffle: bruce bickford [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFFBWc9WfcQ

Interview
Vinyl animation and graphic novels are other art forms done by him. He sees his stories as where the protagonist manages to get lucky escaping a world of fear and hellish nightmares, or crushed by the world around him. His work is mainly influenced by his childhood and early life, similar to the extent that is the inspiration behind my BSA231 short film. 
I would compare his work to Tim Burton and Suzan Pitt.



Eagle Rock. (2013, August 6). Frank zappa - inca roads (a token of his extreme) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqp71DOJ3aY

Inca Roads
It's one of a couple of collaborations with Frank Zappa.
Even back in the 1970's, he still applied macabre in surreal imagery of claymation. The live performance part of the music video goes for so long at the start that you don't expect for it go animated or dive into surrealism.



PSYCOFANT279. (2012, January 26). FRANK ZAPPA - BABY SNAKES #ZAPPA [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUzOpkdiChk

Baby Snakes
It's another collaboration with Frank Zappa.
The difference with this one compared to Inca Roads is that the animation is dominant in this music video and the surreal world seems to compliment the music much more.

The difference between Aardman Studios and Bruce is that Aardman is more story-based, whereas Bruce is more artistic and has an experimental video art aesthetic to his work.

What is my aesthetic as a filmmaker? Do I like family friendly stuff Do I like surreal?




Pegram, S., & Park, N. (2008). A matter of loaf and death [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: BBC.

This more recent Wallace and Gromit short has much more pun humour than I remember since I last watched it, which was when it was on TV2 in 2009 (when I was 13).
The lighting and music is what makes this short film look cinematic.
The character of Piella's dog, Fluffles is clearly victimized throughout the entire story.




Moll, C., & Park, N. (1993). The wrong trousers [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: BBC.

A Wallace and Gromit short film that acts as a plot-based thriller is a delightful childhood favourite. The weird thing that annoys me with this version of this film is the tune from Gromit's birthday card 'Jolly Good Fellow' instead of 'Happy Birthday' like I remember from watching this in my childhood on VHS. The same goes with the music that the Penguin leaves on to annoy and keep Gromit awake. Instead of 'Doggy in the Window', I think it's replaced with 'Take me out to the ball game'. But I guess that they may had hit a few copyright road bumps since the initial release.

What I like about Gromit in all the shorts is that through the claymation and visual storytelling, they manage to have him speak a thousand words with a single glance of his, without needing dialogue for him.



The penguin's eyes blinking like a LED light on an alarm system used to weird me out as a kid.

These parts used to terrify me as a kid

I didn't realized until now that the penguin was clearly out in the open in one of the shots where Wallace is being taken around town in the electro trousers

These parts used to make me laugh as a kid

Chat with Traci
The project is to be shown as a 2 minute segment (at most or at least one minute) of the sequence that could potentially reach up to five minutes. I could have the sequence entered into Think and Create. I am encouraged to document what worked and didn't worked on the day of filming and to try to convey meaning in the same sense as my influential filmmaker did (in my case, Tarantino). 

It won't be easy since I wasn't 100 percent clear when doing the proposal when it came to the research part.

I received an email from one of my actors, Jenny Burke. She told me that will be unavailable to act in my screen project because of unforeseen circumstances. This has put me in a very complex and awkward situation because I have to find someone to take her place at short notice.

19/09/2019

I managed to tell Chris that I accidentally set one of the reservations for the equipment needed for my screen arts shoot for this morning. He told me he will sort it out.

I talked to Juliet in VFX class and she was keen to replace Jenny's role in my screen arts shoot on Saturday afternoon. I will send her the script and shooting schedule tomorrow.

I managed to collect all the film equipment that I reserved and had it stored in one of the editing suites. It wasn't until later that I forgot to get a slate from Chris. Tomorrow, I will see if SIT Productions has one I could use.

I updated the script to exclude me from acting in the shoot since I couldn't get a extra hand to help on my screen arts shoot.

I heard again from Jenny who is now suddenly available for the screen arts shoot. I rung her again later that day to clarify and just to be certain. I messaged my other actor, Jeromy and he was still keen and available for the shoot on Saturday afternoon. I informed him about where the shoot will occur and what will happen there, as well as about the shooting schedule and updated script.

I sent the updated scripts to the cast

I went back checking on the proposal that I submitted to remind myself what is how is the technique I'm experimenting with conveys meaning. How it conveys meaning is by introducing characters with vulgar dialogue and two-shot framing, as well as establishing a location.

I have finalised the shooting schedule and ready to send all those involved tomorrow morning. I will print out copies of the script for myself and the cast tomorrow at the SIT Library.

20/09/2019

Konstantin sent me an email this morning requesting for information about the screen arts shoot, which is fine since I will be sending him a shooting schedule shortly. 

I have also managed to print out copies of the script for myself, Vajka, and the cast (x 4 copies). I did send out the shooting schedule PDF by email to all the cast and crew and sent another email to inform Juliet that she won't be needed for the shoot, but I thanked her for her support though.

Slate
I went down to SIT Productions and they helped me track down Chris in order to get a slate and told me to come back before midday. I came across Chris a while later and he immediately gave me the slate.



Equipment testing
I did some testing with handling the equipment in advance of the screen arts shoot

Osmo
It was tricky thing since it's been months since I used this thing. The strange thing was that the focal lenses looked more intimate than last time I used. I reckon the focal lens has been changed since, there were other focal lens for this gimbal in the Osmo's case, but I hadn't change lenses on this type of camera before and I didn't want to take any chances.

The 45 mm lens on the Osmo will make it difficult to do shots for this shoot that I had in mind with using the Osmo.

X200
I tried to attach the shotgun mic to the attachment on the camera, but it couldn't keep itself stationary or stay in a position I wanted it too. So it looks like the shotgun mic will be put on a boompole for this shoot. I panicked for a brief moment because I couldn't find the camera batteries, but then I remember Chris had put in the sound kit. 

When I turned on the camera, it was very dark even with the lens cap off. I eventually found out it was dark because of the ND filter, which I ended up changing to see.

21/09/2019

I bought food from the supermarket this morning for craft services to feed my cast and crew this afternoon. I think I may have overdone it though

I informed a first year animation student who is usually in the Cell classroom that I will be filming stuff for this paper this afternoon. I have also put together a simple sign to have outside the classroom to tell them that filming is in progress.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv5hro0CS_c

Preparing Osmo Pro

I tried to find tutorials on the Osmo Pro to find out how to properly change lenses, but could only find how to place a lens onto that type of camera, not how to remove a lens from an Osmo. But I did find out and remind myself in a tutorial how to rig up your phone onto the camera. Going through the settings made me find settings I didn't know existed on the Osmo Pro like resolution (it can go up to 4K!), the framerate, and you can even adjust the colour balance!

I feel proud of myself using the Osmo Pro because asides from the lenses, I now feel that I know my way around this type of camera just as much as the Blackmagic cameras.

Film Production

Vajka arrived a few minutes later, but she stayed in The Cell while I carried the gear over there because I needed someone trustworthy to look after the stuff as I was bringing it all over to the Cell. Konstantin arrived when I was halfway carrying the equipment over to the Cell and he helped with the last of it. Konstantin helped me setting up the tripod and X200. Konstantin and Vajaka sorted out the sound equipment. They both noted the Zoom sound recorder was smaller than what they have back in Germany.

One of my actors, Jeromy did text me when he arrived so that I could let him in the building for filming. The other actor I looked outside for a few minutes after filming was scheduled to start. I rung her while out there and found out that since she is a second year music student, she had been in the building for a while (the communal area on the second floor to be exact) and we had both missed each other.

It took some time to get the X200 to get the right framing. There was some discussions with the actors to get them right in the frame as I had envisioned from Tarantino. It worked, but it just took some direction from me to the actors in order for it to work. Otherwise, it wouldn't had turned out as perfectly.

I not only shot the scene in two-shot framing, but from two different angles that were almost over the shoulder of the characters like I did with my testimonial shoot for cinematography last semester, but this time took longer because I only had one camera (the X200).

What I discovered from doing the filming was that getting the characters introduced through the two-shot was more thanks to the screenplay than visually. To establish the location more, I will need to record sounds from the classroom full of chattering students as suggested in my proposal.

Both the cast and crew were a delight to work with and it was awkward for a moment when I asked one of the actors to take her shoes and socks off. It was necessary to have her barefooted because how is it a Tarantino film without a woman being barefooted. e.g. Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vol.1, Inglorious Basterds, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The other actor, Jeromy was over-the-top and more comical than I had envisioned in writing this scene, which made the sequence better in my opinion. 

In my mind, it read as more dramatic, but with Jeromy onboard to act, it became more comedy than drama.

By doing so, it made the genre, comedy-drama.

I had filmed parts and angles of the scene that weren't necessary for the tests required for my project, but I just did anyway to make it more cinematic and for potentially submitting it as a short film in Think & Create.

We managed to finish filming the scene way ahead of schedule. We started filming today at 2.20pm, and finished at 3.40pm (1 hour 20 minutes, but it felt like longer).

My crew very helpful in packing down the gear and I got my cast to sign release forms for me. We all hung out for nearly an hour and they ate some of the food that I provided for this shoot. The leftovers that aren't perishable will be used for my VFX shoot next weekend.

The cast and crew asked when they see the finished film and I told them that it would likely be uploaded to Vimeo at the end of the year and potentially in the Think and Create event.

Release forms

Ingesting sound and footage

I discovered on my phone that the footage taken on the Osmo Pro was corrupted. It was corrupted when I tried to play it on my phone and the same when I transferred it all to Google Drive and downloaded on a PC. I have no idea how or what could had caused the corruption.

I managed to import the X200 footage and Zoom sound files with no technical issues. I was completely tired after the shoot. I later received a text message from Jeromy, expressing his gratitude for working with me and for this opportunity. The message made me feel better about myself and the progress that I have made today with filming.

I went online in search of music that sound like it would be in the soundtrack of a Tarantino film, only to find that a lot of rock, pop, and nostalgic music on Filmmusic.io and incomeptech.com strayed away from what I had in mind, so it took some to find the right music online for my film like it normally is indie filmmaking.

Surf Shimmy

https://filmmusic.io/song/4448-surf-shimmy/

22/09/2019

I tried to search online for answers to how to repair the corrupted footage form the Osmo, but all the information was unclear. I did find software that could repair the footage, in which I installed it onto m own PC and used it, only to find once they repair is fixed, I have to buy a subscription.

I will need to consult with either Chris or someone from SIT Productions on the issues that I've had with the Osmo Pro this weekend.

I had a chat with Tyler Baikie and he couldn't figure out what could had gone wrong either. Jacqui told me about feeding your cast and crew is that it's better to have overdone it than underdone it

I spend time on Premiere syncing with the sound files with the footage in the Timeline. As for editing, I only had time to edit a rough edit of the full scene from the two-shot angle as I desired in my proposal.

Kahi, T. A., Winstanley, C., & Mita, H. (2018). Merata: how mum decolonised the screen [Motion picture]. New Zealand: Arama Pictures.

It manages to effectively bring drama to this documentary by showing humanity to the subject as the filmmaker is discovering it about her. It expresses social issues that Merata Mita tackled in her life like racism, domestic violence, poverty, abortion, contraception, gender roles, oppression from police and government, and family tragedy.

She got into filmmaking because for one, future generations could learn about the struggles of Maori at that time, visually documented on-screen and not in some history book.

The other reason was that she felt that Maori culture and everyday life should be shown on-screen more since it's dominated by Pakeha.

It was interesting to see Nga Taonga Sound & Vision directly associated with a film

Merata was a liaison for overseas crews in a international production, which was a documentary on Waitangi.

It took Merata two years to edit her short film, Basation Point Day 507 because no one wanted to support it as a result of the Maori involved in the even being vilified in the media. She did manage to get a small grant from the QE2 Arts Council.

I like the film overlay that is placed over some of the archival footage in this documentary

During the production and post-production of Patu, Merata and her family were harassed on a daily basis from the police and Muldoon's National government made attempts to stall the completion of the film and the QE2 Arts Council tried to withdraw their funding towards her film. The matter over the completion of Patu was even a discussion in Parliament at the time.

The Springbok tour and Patu had negative effects on her whanau to this day like never trusting the police

In retrospect, Merata would never had made Patu because of the high personal cost to herself and her whanau.

She was welcomed with open arms in Europe and overseas, concerning Patu.

Anti-apartheid figure, Desmond Tutu was deeply moved by Patu and it affected his views on New Zealand.

In her films, Merata expresses issues where everyday New Zealanders would be divided over and are issues that would otherwise be suppressed. Issues that are universal, not just exclusive in New Zealand like racism and post-colonialism. These are filmmaking traits almost similar to Michael Moore and here I was thinking Bryan Bruce was New Zealand's Michael Moore.

Merata was one of the two only indigenous filmmakers in a 1984 Canadian film festival.

Her philosophy of bringing hard issues to screen is not far off from how I view on my future style of documentary filmmaking.

The director of the Indigenous Screen Office of Canada acknowledged Merata as a significant leader in indigenous cinema, just as much Godard for French New Wave cinema or Lumiere for the birth of cinema.

Merata was a significant figure in connecting Maori cinema with Native American cinema to be part of indigenous cinema. It made the Native American realise that 'indigenous people' is not only limited to themselves, but is extended also to Maori in New Zealand.

Merata wanted to decolonise cinema by changing history for future generations and change how the world saw Maori.

She mentored many Native American filmmakers and was involved in producing and the script development of Boy.

This documentary has made me realise how significant Merata is to New Zealand cinema, beyond just being the first Maori female filmmaker.

Merata had plenty of projects that were left uncompleted at the time of her untimely death in 2010. 

I believe Hepi Mita did justice and made a respectful tribute to his mother, and a compelling and moving documentary in the process.

In 2016, the Sundance Film Festival established a filmmaking fellowship for emerging young indigenous filmmakers, in Merata's honor.

There is a quote from Merata Mita included in the film that I found insightful

23/09/2019

Equipment

I informed Chris about the issues with the Osmo over the weekend and he is going to try and get a Micro SD card reader for the Osmo.



Blog task
I like children's animation because of its nostalgia and storytelling. Adult animation for its humour, relatable characters, and storytelling. I like them both equally, but with an emphasis on story.

As a filmmaker, I tend to lean towards the surreal because it's my favourite art style, and I like to express and experiment with that. I find it challenging to have family-friendly because it consistently lacks realistic drama and is also inconsistent with my style of screenwriting, plus the complex legal and ethical requirements when having children cast in your film

24/09/2019

I spent some time in last two days, editing a cinematic version of the scene for Think & Create. However, I also included the letterbox aspect ratio to the two-frame version as well. Because it was shot with only one camera, there are jump cuts on sound and picture. As of today, I managed to edit the first half of the scene.

I also did a five minute audio recording of my research class today because it was quite noisy and it was needed as part of my tests in my presentation. I will import it through Google Drive later because my PC at home has the storage necessary to go onto my hard drive.