A Level Critical Reflection

Here you will be able to view my final critical reflection of our product DROID:


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QIegEt8UTaCkBuDpajw42DyoEojBHn5Kk6JHLSNgAGY/edit?usp=sharing

A Level Short Film DROID

DROID Website

iamdroid.weebly.com

Final Poster

This is the poster I created for our short film DROID.

It includes the website URL for more information on the short film DROID, like about the cast and crew as well as the synopsis.

Working on the Website !

As we began to create the website, I came up with some designs to put online.

I used the background that I created for the poster to place onto the home page

 Then, for the synopsis we wrote about the short film and I added my original design for the poster without the text. The image shows the main subject of the film with pieces of machinery to go with the theme.

 For the about us page we wrote short things about each of us so people can get to know the crew better. The picture includes everyone that worked on the film, three group members and three others who helped with the acting.

Filming Day 2

This week we finished filming the rest of the short film. Our friends Stevie, Kristen and Carly came to help us with the project and acted it it.

I worked on the makeup for the androids and this was the final look I went with for the android girl :

I then added the makeup on the arms similar to the other android's arms.

Here are some photos from shooting the video!

Woking on the poster

These are the notes I took to come up with the poster idea. I drew the idea I had and then went onto photoshot and created it.

I decided to add the mechanical parts to the image to represent the android/machine theme of the short film. I then took a photo of the android boy and changed it to black and white because I planned to make the rest of the poster in black in white.

Critical Reflection

I have learned a lot from planning and documenting the project for the A level. The production process is detailed and needs a lot of planning before to come together in the end. I had a good experience making the short film and working with my other group members Rebecca and Elann. We learned from each other and were able to create the film smoothely working together to put all the elements together.

Planning the Website

I am creating the design for our website. My idea is to edit this photo of the Android boy to create an outline ofhis face and add bolts and screws outlines around the edges and place his face slightly off center. It will have symbols to represent the story.

Establishing Character Names

This was an idea for establishing the names of the characters and still relate it to the androids. We were originally making a silent film so we wanted to establish their names in a suble way.

My idea was to have their names on their ankle written in circuit design. 

Character Plans

These are my notes for planning the development of the characters.

Droid breakfast research

This is the research I did for the breakfast  details so the short film has a realistic look.

By using a mixture of chocolate and blue food coloring the color becomes a dark, oily color that would work for the droids breakfast. 

I plan on placing a large red oil can on the counter so the android can use to easily imply he is drinking oil.

Shot List For Filming the Short Film Opening !

Short Film Intro

This is our short film intro for DROID!
Enjoy.

Process and Creative Critical Reflection

Link to prezi on the Reflection:

http://prezi.com/_l5ucemubglw/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Character development through costume design

http://www.swide.com/art-culture/wes-anderson-fashion-style-tips-from-his-movies-and-characters/2014/03/11

1. The first part of creating the visual style is with costumes. It is important to have a color palette planned out for a film. These are some examples of cohesive colors from Wes Anderson films that we are getting inspiration from: 

Since our short film has themes of loneliness and isolation we decided to go with a grey color palette for the android boy. 

The android girl is a confident, lively character so we want her to be the complete opposite of android boy, she is proud of who she is and will be in bright colors

2. Next is to choose a key accessory that makes an impact to attach to a character. This can say a lot about them and when people see the item in other places it makes them think of the character.

3. Hats, glasses, coats or uniform are good key accessories for #2.

4. Accesores with a strong color that contrasts with their outfit is a good choice. Also, clothing with interesting textures or patterns work well. 

Movie Poster Inspiration

http://www.fromupnorth.com/awesome-movie-posters-1045/


I am planning to have our poster include the main character and his love interest.

Idea 1 -Emphasize his surroundings representing loneliness, the main theme of the short film.

Idea 2 -with his love interest in order to allude to the story.


For the colors of the poster I am deciding between black and white, gray, and maybe one with a color on the girl android in the story.

The loneliness would be focused with the black and white  and gray colors, if I add color it would be related with the girl in the film. Since she is a confident, proud character the colors would represent their opposite personality traits.

Makeup practice and results

There are 2 characters that I planned to do makeup on: the boy and girl android. Before filming I practiced the makeup on my sister. I tried to create a look that seemed to be faded into the skin at first, but I decided to change it because darker, harder lines created a better look for an android.

This was the first try on the arms 

After the arms I accentuated features on the face.

my group members and I decided to go with a more itense makeup look, so I used a black eyeshadow to create the lines.

 

Makeup Planning and Research

For our short film the 2 main characters of the story are cyborgs/robots so we want to create a look that will make them stand out from the other people around them. 

I want to create a different skin tone that seems slightly metallic since they don't fully resemble robots like this (but toned down): 

The main thing that will differentiate them from humans will be the pattern on their skin. The look i want will be created with darker skin tones instead of black so it looks more realistic then the photo below.  

The girl cyborg will have a confident makeup look representing her personality. The next photo shows a bold makeup look for the eyes that could work for the character.

What a silent film can teach you about screenwriitng

http://www.scriptmag.com/features/spit-takes-what-a-silent-film-can-teach-you-about-screenwriting

Silent films are known to be boring, but when they are watched in an analytical way people can learn a lot about the art of storytelling without dialogue.

Some thing a silent film should do successfully are:

1. Your script should tell a story without dialogue.

2. Leave a beat on the page for the audience/reader to react to your joke or dramatic moment.

3. Physical comedy is important.


- If a film makes sense when the dialogue is removed it is a sign that the visuals are effective to the extent that the dialogue in not needed.  If the visuals are strong enough to tell the story then you the film is done right. 

-Some sound effects are usually added to give a sign to the viewers to laugh or to dramatize a situation.

-Because a succesful story doesn't require dialogue, the physical comedy is important. Many contemporary comedies use dialogue to make a joke. Not many directors know how to create amazing visual comedy, but Edgar Wright is one of the directors that does. He gets creative with comedy and uses visual techniques to make people laugh rather than be lazy and go with a sinple joke through dialogue. This is essential to creating a succesful piece through visuals.

Lighting Techhniques- The Importance of Lighting

http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/filmmaking/film-lighting-tips.html



Some important techniques and tips to get inspiration from and potentially use in our project are: 

1)Soft front light / hot backlight

A popular technique in film lighting is to use a soft (diffuse) light source from the frontand a stronger, more directional light from the back, so that your subject has a hot edge. The soft frontal light is known as the fill light; the strong light at the back is known, unsurprisingly, as the backlight.

This technique can help to create a specific mood and gives the visuals a cinematic look.

2) Mixing color temperatures

This helps to create a strong visual style and can portray themes through the use of colors.

Film lighting techniques: examples 

1. Putting real film lights outside windows instead of relying on natural light – always worth it.

-This tip can help when more light is needed to look earlier in the day or to take away from unwanted shadows in the windows. It is a also a good way to redo a scene at a time that isnt during the day when the sun is out. Also, there are many times during the day when the sun changes position. 

2. No color in your shots must ever be an accident.

-If a certain tone is to be portrayed visualy it is important to keep a constants color theme and that it fits with the story. For exampe, if you want to portray sadness then bright colors shouldn't be used. Bright colors can be confusing if thw goal was to portray a dark or sad tone visually. 

---Exampleof controled light-

 ~A beautiful blue can be achieved with HMI lights and a digital camera set to tungsten balance.

"We did it by using HMI lights and setting the camcorder (Canon XL1) to a preset that the Director of Photography had worked out in advance, but essentially the camera was set up more or less on tungsten balance, which means that it read daylight-balanced light as blue rather than white."

-good way to create a strong cinematic look.

~ A beautiful “Matrix”-style green can be achieved by shooting with regular fluorescent lights with the camera set to tungsten balance.

_settig the camera to tungsten balance creates the perfect green color. 

~Soft pools of light on actors’ faces can produce a very interesting look.

The direction the light is going can be controled by using objects to block certain areas of light from going through. This creates a controled visual technique that can enhance an image.

~ Daylight-balanced light in the background with tungsten

light from the front, with the camera set on tungsten balance.

"This can be achieved if there is daylight in the background, tungsten light from the front and the camera is set up on tungsten balance, which means it will read daylight as blue and tungsten light as white."

~Backlight vs. no backlight

Using a backlight can hide inwanted shadows from coming out in a visual.

More of the shadow is placed on the face and than in the background.

~Bokeh-

is when there are certain blurred points in the visuals. This creates depth if feild and focuses on a point of interest.

How to Do Visual Comedy ~ Edgar Wright style ~

https://vimeo.com/96558506

In this video, Edgar Wright suggests ways that film makers can go about creating interesting and funny scenes in an artistic way. His films show people that they can find engaging ways to present a comedic scene. Modern American comedies are lazy and just go with basic shots and dialogue to show comedy, but Wright likes to use visuals as a way to express visual comedy. This shows precession in film, but directors who just choose to go with simple dialogue aren't using the film media to its full potential.  It's important to remember that each frame is important to the plot and can move the story forward.
These are some good tips for creating a comedic scene in an engaging and unique way that we could potentially incorporate into our short film project.

1. Things Entering the Frame in Funny Ways can make a shot more comedic, the unexpected elements can be very effective in creating this. 
2. People Leaving the Frame in Funny Ways for example someone can unexpectedly fly out of a room. The unexpected element is important in creating visual comedy. Example: jumping out of a window, running into a helicopter to fly away from an awkward moment (as seen in the video).
3. The "There and Back Again" to reassure them of something that is still occurring.
4. Matching Scene Transitions are funny for many situations and can create a quirky look for the film .
5. The Perfectly Timed Sound-Effect will create a funny exaggeration that could easily get a laugh from viewers.
6. Action Synchronized with Music exaggerates an action taking place.
7. Super Dramatic Lighting Cues can create an obvious exaggeration that will emphasize a moment taking place. Example: A light reflected in a knife combined with a low angle of the person holding it creates a dramatic look that is perfect for a comedy.

Making a film look Cinematic

http://www.videomaker.com/article/17673-make-scenes-cinematic

This article talks about some important things for film makers to consider in order to create beautiful images. Some of these key elements are:

1. Composition: The camera placement and everything included in the frame are vital. Some films plan this meticulously in order to create the exact look they want to create for their film.  

-Stay away from flat shots, create depth by showing background.

-Move around and look for the best angles.

Example- "Consider the context of the shot. Are we sneaking around? Are we a shooting a teenage couple who have ran off and are sneaking back into the house? Well, maybe we should film between the bushes to give a sneaking feeling. Also ask yourself, if we want to make the figure powerful or weak. Use low or high angles to complement your answer."

-cotrol depth of feild to let viewers know what to look at.

2. Colors:

-colors build relationships between the characters and other aspects of the scene.

-Allow colors to match a scene or background.

-"something looks off when the colors of the character — including hair, eye color, skin tone and clothing — do not match the scene."

-Color relates to mood and character and theme. 

3. Lighting:

-Control the lighting as much as possible.

- Study lighting techniques.

-This is essential for creating the mood.

4. Music:

-"Don’t rely on the music to push the story. The story should be strong and come across that way even if the film was on mute."

-When the right music is added it can perfect a peice.

-Remember visuals are key, sound is secondary.

-Sound effects direct focus.

-Sounds should be emphasized to show what is happening in a scene.

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These are some important things I will consider in the making of our short film.