Typography Research

Serif vs Sans Serif 


Source: UrbanFonts.com

I think in my film I will be more likely to use serif fonts because they are more old and traditional, and my narrative is about an older person. 

Typography: Title Sequence and Credits

Here are some initial ideas I have had for the typography of my title sequence and credits.

UPDATE (MARCH 2018) 

For the opening sequence of my film I have decided to create synergy between all three of my products by using the same typography which is used in my poster. I have made the text fade out gradually to reflect how Henry's memory has gradually faded over time due to his dementia. 

Film Title Ideas

Reasons Behind Ideas:

"Grandad": The film is mainly through the eyes of the granddaughter as she walks back through memories of the past. It is all about her Grandad so it would make sense to have the film called that. 

"Lest We Forget": Two layers of meaning. 'Lest' = Incase. 'Incase We Forget' implies that Emily going back through the house and recollecting all the memories, both serious/sad and happier/light-hearted ones too' means that due to her Grandad's condition all they have now is memories but it's ok because they have them. Also has connotations of war and an era gone by due to 'Lest We Forget' being commonly linked with Remembrance Day. 

"Henry's House": The film is all set in one location, Henry's House, and all of the drama stems from there. However Henry is only ever referred to as Dad/Grandad in the script so this might not make sense. 

"Moving Day": The reason that the house is being packed away is because Henry is moving into a care home. "Don't You Remember?": A line from the script which is very fitting to dementia and the theme or forgetfulness. 

"Fading": A person who has dementia may describe their memory as 'Fading'. 

"Slipping Away": A person with dementia may be described as their old self 'slipping away'. 

"Seamisso": The name of the house in real life. Would give me and my family a personal connection to the film, however the name is not really mentioned in the script so this may not make sense.

UPDATE - 11/12/2017

I decided on the name 'Fading' for my film. 

Script Draft 1

There are a few scenes in the script which remain unwritten/unfinished at this point. I am going to carry on working on it and update the script at a later date before filming. To help me do this I am going to speak to the actors and see if they have any ideas, as well as speaking to my friend who has been a big part of my research because she has a family member who has dementia. 

Location Footage and Test Shots

Here I wanted to see how much the lighting differed from room to room for my tracking shot at the end of my film. As you can see in the shot, on the way out of the living room the lighting changes causing the camera to lose focus on the subject. This is something I will have to consider when I come to film this sequence. furthermore I want to film this sequence in the evening as part of the narrative to create an eerie atmosphere, which will mean there is no natural light from outside, so I may have to use artificial lights. 

In the bathroom I was trying to get a good shot of the character looking in the mirror as this is something I want to include in my film. I found it hard to get a good shot without the camera being seen in the mirror. When I am filming I will try this again, however I may also try filming from outside through the window. Also the light in the bathroom doesn't always work so I will have to try and get this fixed before filming. 

I also tried experimenting with pull focus. I did this by putting my camera into manual focus and turning the focus ring. I like this effect however I found it hard to do this without the footage being shaky because it meant I only had one hand on the camera. When I come to film any scenes with focus pull I will ask someone who is with me to be a camera assistant and pull the focus so that I can keep the camera steady. 

EXAMPLE OF MULTI-CAMERA SET UP (IN A STUDIO)

In the scene where you can see a conversation between the girl and a man, I had to experiment with the framing a lot. This was because in a medium close up I could not get the focus to pull so that it went between the two characters being in and out of focus. When I did more of a close-up shot I managed to make it so that I could pull the focus between the two characters and I really liked this effect. Here is the full video where I experimented with framing during the pull focus. You can see how I move closer to the girl so that I can pull focus so she is in focus in the foreground and the man in the background is out of focus, and I can also do the opposite of this where the man is in focus. 



However, because I only had one hand on the camera the footage was shaky so this is another scene where I will need an assistant. Also, in my script the conversation is quite long and I think using this same shot for the whole conversation will be quite boring, so therefore on the filming day I will film the same sequence from multiple angles and then cut it together to see what works best. I will do this either single camera or a multi-camera set up, depending on whether i can get hold of another camera. This is not in my storyboard however I think it will be better for me to over-film than to come to editing and realise I don't have enough footage. 

This is the original video that my sister took of the filming location when I couldn't get there. Despite this video being short and rushed, it reminded me of the layout of the house and helped me visualise my narrative more when I was still coming up with ideas and writing my script. 

This is the first time I tried to do a tracking shot through the house. It is too fast and very shaky because of this. However it did help me to get used to using the DSLR camera and now I know that if I move the camera too quickly the footage will be out of focus and shaky. This is the first time I have filmed using a DSLR so despite the poor quality of the footage it was a useful experience. 

Here I tried to do a pan of the kitchen to see what it would look like in my film. I did it handheld and it was very shaky. I think when I come to film this properly I will use a tripod to make it smoother.

I did a shot of the conservatory through the window because it gives the impression of an outsider looking in, which is what my character is when she is looking back at her memories with her Grandad. I really like this shot and would like to replicate it in my film, however I  might try moving the chair and framing it differently. Like the conversation I talked about earlier, this is a scene I will film from multiple angles so that I have a lot to choose from in the edit. 

Again here I was trying to do a shot of the mirror. I think it was ok apart from it being very shaky, so I may film this on a tripod too. 

This is a tracking show showing the multitude of ornaments which are in the house. I filmed this so that I could right about them in my script. 

Animatic

Advantages of making an animatic:

• It gives a more visual way of showing the ideas I have for my film
• It can include sound to show the kind of atmosphere I want my film to have 
• It will be useful when I am making my film, because I can use it with my storyboard to see what kind of shots I wanted

Problems with making an animatic:

• It is time-consuming 
• It is mostly silent because I have not got the dialogue recorded to go over the top of it and I have not yet decided what non-diegetic sound (music soundtrack) I am going to use for the flashback scenes
• The timings of my animatic are not accurate because I don't know how long each piece of dialogue will be, so I had to guess based on how I imagined the line to be delivered. For most of the frames I made them all two seconds long just to get them in the right order, if I have time I will go back and change these to different lengths later on, 

Storyboard

Media Language Group Technical Task

Brief: 

Working in groups of four or five, you will need to produce a short viedo to illustrate the following technical aspects of your chosen form: 

• Editing to the beat
• Lip syncing using close-ups and tracking shots
• Shallow depth of field 
• Pull focus 
• Whip pan
• Tracking shot
• Montage Editing 
• Match on action 
• 180 degree rule and shot reverse shot editing pattern
• Lighting 
• Post production sound
• Variety of different camera angles and distances 

You must also include a director's commentary 

Developing My Narrative

In my short film it is important that there is a clear distinction between the scenes that are in the present and the scenes which are memories/in the past.

Part of my inspiration for the video is the music video 'The Day We Caught The Train' by Ocean Colour Scene. It's home video style is something which I like and would like to incorporate into my video. 

After talking to my teacher we also decided that when editing my video it would be good to experiment with having the past in colour (because they are happy memories) and have the present in black and white to connote that it is a sad time. However, I think this way take away from the realism of the film so this is something I can think about during the editing process. 

 

UPDATE (28/10/2017) - Whilst writing my script it has become clear that I want the past memories to show Emily's flashbacks of how Henry's dementia has progressed. Therefore with this being a short film, there isn't enough time to have proper character development where there could perhaps be some happier memories of before he had dementia. Because of this having the past in colour and the present in black and white wouldn't make sense or be appropriate because the flashbacks's are not of happy memories as the colour would connote. However, once I have finished editing my video and cut all the scenes together, I might experiment with having the past in black and white and the present in colour as black and white does connote the past and older times to have a clear difference between the past and the future. I could also experiment with different editing transitions too, such as cross dissolves and fades. 

UPDATE (13/11/2017) - I decided that I didn't want to use the home video footage style in my short film I think it takes away from the realism of the drama and it wouldn't be very conventional of a drama. 

Health and Safety Assessment

Carried out: 11/10/2017       

Location: The house

It is important that all risks are considered so that no one is injured and we can keep to our shooting schedule. 

WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS?	WHO IS AT RISK?	SEVERITY OF INJURY (SCALE OF 1-5)	CHANCE OF INJURY	PREVENTION
GLASS ORNAMENTS	CAST AND CREW	3	GLASS ORNAMENTS COULD FALL OFF THE WORKTOPS AND CAUSE INJURY	ORNAMENTS WILL BE MOVED AWAY FROM THE EDGES OF WORKTOPS SO THAT THEY DON’T FALL OFF
KNIVES IN KITCHEN	ALL ACTORS WHO HAVE SCENES IN THE KITCHEN	3	COULD CUT THEMSELVES ON THE	KNIVES WILL BE KEPT OUT OF REACH
ELECTRICITY	CAMERA OPERATOR	4	ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT (E.G.) CAMERA COULD BE DAMAGED AND HARMFUL TO PEOPLE IF THEY COME INTO CONTACT WITH WATER	ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT WILL BE KEPT AWAY FROM WATER
LOOSE TILES IN CONSERVATORY	CAST AND CREW INVOLVED IN THE SCENE	4	LOOSE TILES ARE A TRIP HAZARD AND PEOPLE COULD FALL OVER THEM, ONTO OTHERS OR EQUIPMENT, HARMING THEMSELVES OR OTHERS AS WELL AS DAMAGING EQUIPMENT	EVERYONE WILL BE MADE AWARE OF WHERE THE LOOSE TILES ARE AND ASKED TO TAKE EXTRA CARE WHEN BEING IN THERE
STEP DOWN INTO THE GARDEN	CAST AND CREW	3	IF WET OR ICT, THE STEP COULD BE A SLIP HAZARD. IT IS ALSO A TRIP HAZARD	CAST AND CREW WILL BE ASKED TO WEAR APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR
STEP INTO THE HOUSE	CAST AND CREW	3	IF WET OR ICT, THE STEP COULD BE A SLIP HAZARD. IT IS ALSO A TRIP HAZARD	CAST AND CREW WILL BE ASKED TO WEAR APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR

Mise-en-Scene

Cinematography

PULL FOCUS

Talent

In my short film there are three characters:

• Elderly man 
• Middle-aged woman
• Teenage girl

In short films it is important that the casting is good because there isn’t long to make a good impression, and the narrative has to be believable.

Melissa

I have cast Melissa as the teenage girl as she is about the age that I imagined the teenage girl to be. Also, Melissa herself has a family member who has dementia and therefore will be able to accurately portray the struggles and emotions that people who have family members with dementia go through. Melissa lives near me and therefore is easily contactable and will not have any transport issues with getting to filming locations, because she will be able to come with me.

Angela

I have cast Angela as the middle-aged woman. Angela is an experienced actress and has taken part in theatre and film in the past. Presently she is trying to build her show reel by doing work with lots of independent film companies and therefore she is happy to star in my film. It is a convention of short films for them to star young and/or amateur actors who are trying to build their experience and show reel which is another reason why I have cast Angela.

I currently haven’t yet cast anyone to play the elderly man, I have three potential actors.

I have found that it is hard to find voluntary actors, especially adults, as understandably if acting is their profession or source of income then a lot of people won't work for free. Also, because I haven't written my script yet I have nothing to show potential actors so they can see if the role is right for them and whether they want to be a part of the film or not. Therefore, I am going to write my script and then pass it on to people who I think may be interested. 

UPDATE - 31/10/17:

Finding someone to play the old man with dementia was something that was proving difficult as I don't know many elderly people and my grandparents do not have acting experience and did not want to be involved. Therefore, I put an advertisement in the Hull City of Culture 2017 volunteers Facebook group as I thought that these people would be more willing to take part and for free as they are already volunteers for something so it is in their nature to do things for other people. 

I had three actors interested so I emailed them all a brief outline of the film and the arrangements for filming which I was starting to gather. I got on reply straight away, however after a week I had still only heard back from one of the actors, so I decided to cast him as the elderly man as I wanted to move on and make sure that the actor had enough time to learn his lines before it came to filming. 

EMAIL TO POTENTIAL ACTORS - 18/10/17

John had previously contacted me and told me why he was interested in and suitable for the role. One of these reasons was that he has Parkinson's Disease which means he has some characteristics similar to a dementia patient, meaning his portrayal of the character will be more believable.   

Furthermore, John is an experienced actor. He has credits including 'Emmerdale' and 'A Royal Night Out'. This means that John will be professional and know what to expect from a film set. 

John

My Production Company

My production company is independent and will distribute films online. 

First I came up with some name ideas. 

I decided to call my production company 'Authentic Films' because I am making a film in the genre of drama and this is the genre which I enjoy the most and therefore would most likely only make films of this genre if this was a real production company. I decided to use the word 'Authentic' because the genre of my film is drama and drama's are supposed to be real to life and genuine, which is kind of what authentic means. Authentic also means to be original, and my short film is going to be original in the way I represent dementia.  

I then experimented with different fonts.

And images: