Evaluation

When presenting our film and sound piece we did discuss our evaluation, however there is no evidence of this on our powerpoint.

I think on the whole we did work really well as a group. We did struggle with a few communication issues which obviously made the task harder for ourselves, and meant we struggled with time. However I think we have all learnt from this task, and we all are aware our communication is something we need to work on should we work together again. However we did complete the task in the short time we ended up having due to Hannah joining our group late. I think we each used our skills to the best of our abilities, for example I really enjoyed the sound design aspect, and therefore took this role onboard, while Josh believed cinematography was his strong point, and editing being Hannah's. We did have some issues such as timing and shots being discoloured etc. However as a group we overcame each of these issues and I believe we have created something we can all be proud of.

PowerPoint from Presentation

MIND - Film link

MIND from josh beattie on Vimeo.

MIND - Sound only link

Telling Lies

Telling Lies is a short experimental film (by Simon Ellis)  which follows Several of Phil's phone calls following a night out the previous day. This film shows Phil and the other characters as lying to each other. The film doesn't actually feature any footage of the characters and just includes the texts of what the characters actually mean which is contrasted with the voice overs of what they are actually saying. The lack of any footage means the audience fully focus on the text's in which are being presented to them. This may have been used to make sure the audience weren't distracted by what was happening on screen and would notice better the lies in which were being told. I found Ellis's approach very interesting as it shows what cannot usually be portrayed through the traditional film making techniques.

The quote "Some film-makers set out to create films that challenge orthodox notions of what a movie can show and how it can show it' best describes Ellis approach to this film. I believe this as he doesn't follow traditional film making techniques, in terms of not using any live footage, but still manages to capture the attention of an audience.

Bordwell, D/ Thompson, K (2012) Film Art: An Introduction (10th Edition), McGraw-Hill Higher Education: New York

Mood Board

I believe the images above help to portray the content of our film. I think this as it portrays the effects that the media has on a woman's view on beauty, which is what we wanted to explore within our film. We wanted to explore beauty standards and the anxiety that this causes woman as they are expected to look and present themselves in a certain way. These photo's portrays the uncomfortable atmosphere we will try and create within our own film and sound piece. We will do this by using sounds which people would find grating, such as nails scratching a blackboard ect. We will also do this with the use of jump cuts and by cutting up shots which will put the audience on edge and make them feel uncomfortable. The photo of the girl wiping her makeup off has been placed on here because we have discussed having the females alter ego destroying the makeup the female has just applied, to show frustration with not feeling good enough.

Sound List

Sound List:

• Sounds of children playing
• Heavy breathing
• Oven Fan
• Siring of Pasta Sauce
• Salt and Pepper shaker
• Spice Rack (run fingers through the rack)
• Glass breaking (use keys)
• Sizzling Noise
• Cans being opened
• Kettle Boiling
• Hobs turning on
• Washing up
• People talking

Equipment List:

• Zoom H5
• Microphone
• Wind Shield
• Rifle Microphone (RM)
• RM Wind Shield
• XLR Lead
• USB Lead
• External hard drive
• Headphones
• Splitter (for when recording together)

Location List

• My Home 
• Josh's accomodation
• Sheffield train station
• Chapeltown train station
• Chapeltown park

The sounds listed will be recorded at these locations on the dates listed below:

• My home (recorded by myself) - 30th of october, here I will gather the sounds of the oven fan, siring of pasta sauce, salt and pepper shaker, spice rack, people talking, cans opening, kettle boiling, hobs turning on, washing up
• Josh's accomodation (recorded by josh) - 30th of october, here josh will gather the sounds of glass breaking, sizzling and heavy breathing
• Sheffield train station/ chapeltown station (either of us) - 31st of October, here the sounds of people passing will be collected
• Chapeltown park -  2nd of November, and finally we will collect the sounds of children playing.

We will then upload the sounds onto the isis the day following each recording, and we will edit the sounds together using pro-tools on the 3rd of November. All our sounds and our project will be uploaded to the isis and onto Josh's external hard drive.

Meat Factory Analysis

The meat factory audio piece is one which describes a man's work life in a meat factory and his experiences while he worked there. I think the piece is really uncomfortable to listen to as he goes into detail about his experiences, such as the bloodbath, in such a indifferent tone.

 There are many sounds in which can be heard throughout this piece, for example he plays songs he remembers listening to on his way to work etc, knives sharpening, sounds of cows mooing and sounds of the factory. All these sounds allow the audience to put themselves in the environment in which Richie Bernie is trying to simulate. There is the a voice over, Bernie himself, which describes the conditions, and tells his own stories from his time in the meat factory. Silence is often used within this piece as it helps create tension for the audience and emphasises what he has/is saying at the time. Bernie uses the silence as punctuation, to empathises when one section has ended and when he is moving onto another topic. The use of silence in this way helps create an uneasy atmosphere within the audience, while also allowing the audience to understand where exactly in the story they are.  This is contrasted with the cheery music which is injected into the piece at times. This combination of sounds makes the audience feel on edge and quite uneasy, as what he is explaining and some of the background noises you can hear are very uncomfortable, the upbeat songs being injected confuse the audience. 

 Overall I think the piece is successful in creating an atmosphere in which is uncomfortable for the audience, but the piece is still interesting enough to keep the audience wanting to hear more. I think the use of the music clips within this piece allows the audience to connect with the piece more, as it helps them realise that the narrator is just an ordinary person like them. therefore I would say this piece is successful in its aim to provide an insight into what its like to work on a killing line in a meat factory.

Gasman (1997) short film analysis

Gasman is a film by Lynne Ramsey which explores the theme of a broken home and the end of a child's innocence. The film is presented through the eyes of the child Lynne. By calling the chid Lynne, Ramsey gives the audience the impression that this film could be a biography of her own experience as a child. The narrative explores the child's struggle with jealousy and with the realisation her farther may not be the man she has built him up to be in her head. This film could be described as a coming of age film as the main character Lynne begins to grow up and think more about her actions and consequences. This film must have undergone a lot of pre-production research, as the film is based on a very sensitive subject, and therefore must be approached in a thoughtful manner.  Also  there are ethical issues in which are linked to working with children, therefore in the research and planning stage, Ramsey will have had to taken out any risk assessments linked with this factor. Ramsey has also created a film in which was set in the 1970's, therefore she will have had to have had some form of art direction to make sure all the set and costume design looked authentic. She could have watched films/TV from the time, looked in newspapers/magazines and even archives to create the most accurate set possible.




 I really like the shooting style of the opening sequence of this film. The opening scene is uses a mid shots which show's the child's face, while keeping the mothers face hidden. This is used to show the film is been presented from a child's view point, while also keeping to mothers face hidden. The fact her face is hidden shows she is in the dark about what the father's second life so to speak. I really like this technique as I believe it subtly portrays what the audience doesn't already know. Also shooting from a child's eye-line allows the audience to connect with the character more as they feel distanced from the adult characters. I think in this film it is very effective.

I also think the sound in this film is very effective. There is very little sound actually used in the film which makes it even more interesting. Ramsey uses silence to her advantage and uses very little dialogue throughout the film. I think this is very interesting as it means the clips portray the majority of the meaning within this film. However there are subtle sounds, such as in the opening sequence where the father's voice is droning. This could be perceived as him being afraid and vulnerable, which we later discover that he is.

Overall I think this is a very effective film and I really enjoyed watching it. Ramsey successfully created a coming of age film which follows a child's struggle with loosing her innocence and coming to terms with the fact people aren't always who you build them up to be.

What inspires me as a filmmaker

Since being young, the idea of being able to combine visuals and sound to portray a story has always been of interest to me. It wasn't until I started studying at college that I realised that this was a passion of mine and that it was something I wanted to learn how to do myself.  Directors such as John Carpenter and Wes Craven inspire me as a filmmaker. Craven’s style of making you fear the ‘unknown familiar’ and use of real life to scare audiences, with films such as Nightmare on Elm Street which was based on high school bullying, is something I aspire to do in my own films. These directors created the basis for modern horror films.