Critical Evaluation of 'Loose Change'.

My aim was to create a film using split screen in order to convey my narrative on different platforms. The intension was to create a dark and hard hitting short film that focused on the lengths that parents may go to in order to support their children in keeping with a gritty style.

I followed a strict shot list and schedule which can be seen in my earlier posts and from this, I was able to film everything that I had planned. I filmed over a two day period and luckily managed to keep the child calm and relatively still.I aimed for viewers to go on a 'journey' through the daily, mundane chores that a parent must deal with when looking after a child and the aim was to contrast this with the child's relaxed and care free attitude. I was able to do this by using a wealth of Triptychs and split screen effects at certain points throughout the film. As well as comparing their movements, I also wanted to contrast each characters thoughts via their facial expressions to create a mirroring effect which I did through the use of split screen.

I aimed to create a dark style to my film that I was able to do through the use of lighting. I decided to only use one light instead of the four key lighting as this made the film look gritty and closer to true to life with little money, similar to the work of Shane Meadows in 'Dead Man's Shoes, 2004'. This particular use of lighting helped to convey the rawness of my story. Having a one year old running around near to hot lights did make this dangerous and I am aware that if I had a chance to re shoot, I would like to take at least one more crew member along to help with the setting up and closing down of equipment to ensure safety. The lighting in some scenes was too dark but luckily I was able to lighten it slightly in post production (something new that I have learnt along with exploring Premier Pro editing software). I would like to have taken a little more time on the lighting and would make sure to constantly check how it looks on camera before filming instead of how it looks in real life.

I used a Cannon 600D to shoot the film and changed between a 18 - 55mm lens and a 50mm lens in order to create a good depth of field for a more professional look to the film as opposed to being amateur. With this, I used a Slide Tracker for some shots for a cinematic effect. Unfortunately there was a few shots when using the Tracker that were a little shaky and so if I were to re shoot these scenes, it would be a good idea to have an extra pair of hands in order to pull the Tracker along more smoothly although I do feel the Tracker worked well.
I wanted to convey the feeling of the characters being trapped and isolated to the house and was able to illustrate this by shooting much of the film as extreme close ups, focusing on the eyes, feet, hands and mouth. I wanted to contrast one characters movements with another and was able to do this in the edit using split screen. I just had to make sure I filmed each piece for at least ten seconds at a time which was very tricky with a one year old! When in the edit this proved to be slightly challenging as there were some scenes that ended up being too quick, therefore I had to swap and change some scenes around. Therefore, if I were to re shoot, I would focus on smaller things such as the electric metre to portray the feeling of worrying about money and cut out other scenes as I feel they did go on for longer than they should have.
I aimed to shoot some scenes out of focus to express the disorientated mind set of the character such as in the 'waking up scene' at the very beginning and the cluttered/worried mind set towards the ending scene. There were though, some aspects to the film that should not have been slightly out of focus meaning in future, I will constantly check the focus is right!
I decided to use a Stedicam in order to shoot most of the film. The characters house is not the biggest and therefore with all of the equipment in it most began to get in the way, especially the Tripod! Not to mention it being very dangerous for the little one! As a result of this, I decided to keep to the Stedicam and was able to get up close and personal for those all important close ups. My hands are not the sturdiest and I am aware that there are some shots that do look a little shaky so I would like to re shoot some scenes and take a little extra time in getting the perfect shot.

I attempted to get all of the child's scenes done first so that we were able to put him to bed for the mother's scenes, this proved to be very stressful as once his scenes were finally done which had taken about an hour longer than expected, he was still full of beans and would not go to bed! I was aware that this would probably be the case and so when in pre production I fortunately gave myself extra time to shoot. I was also lucky enough here to be able to film pick up shots the following week but unfortunately the child was ill and so I had to work with what I already had. This did prove difficult in the edit but I ensured I had more footage of him than I needed in case a situation like this did occur.

Using split screen throughout my film meant that I had to shoot much more footage than I would with a standard linear film. I had to do this to ensure that I had enough footage in order to have different stories going on at the same time within multiple screens. Using multi screen engages viewers and is a good way for the stories to be told at the same time and I must admit that I did enjoy having this amount of footage because it meant that when in the edit, I was able to have a play with using the split screen effect and was able to tell my stories at the same time across different screens.

When it came to editing, there was a part of me that was very apprehensive although through my three years, I have gradually become more confident editing however have never edited a piece solely on my own. I am familiar with Final Cut and so aimed to use this however this software was not compatible with my new software on my Mac and so I had to use Premier Pro. Although I was out of my comfort zone, this gave me the opportunity to learn new software and so I powered on. Once I had gotten started I began to edit with ease and felt comfortable knowing that as I had given myself a week to edit, I had plenty of time to get to know the software and concentrate on my piece. I enjoyed that I had made this alone and so I had my own say throughout instead of being over talked by a team member. Whilst editing, my confidence began to soar and by the end I was extremely happy with my finished piece, it was also great to see everything finally in order.
There is room for improvement in the edit as I would have liked to cut out some scenes in order for others to be more effective, however when I did try to do this I felt that the story was lost a little and so if I were to re shoot, I would alter some of the story line and keep to a strict five minutes instead of nearly seven!

After searching through a wealth of music to fit the mood, I finally settled on an instrumental, ambient, electronic piece with a constant beat that would fit with the quick cuts and split screens. I aimed for the music to create a dark feel to the film by keeping a minimal beat but also eerie sounds and a good build up for effect and to highlight certain points in the film. I had to loop the song at certain points in order for it to fit the length of my film. Originally I wanted to have voice overs at points such as a baby crying which would snap the mother back into reality during the bath scene, but felt this would detract from the style and felt the music alone was dramatic enough. If I were to create this again, I would like to see if the message is still conveyed by using dialogue without music, or some voice overs and sound without music.

The feedback for my artefact was positive and constructive and I will take it all into account in future projects and work and from this, I will take extra time in the lighting aspect to film and will not be scared to cut out scenes that are not necessary. The film had a 'strong narrative' that I am glad was conveyed well and on reflection, I am proud to say that I am very happy with the outcome and have felt my confidence soar when using the equipment and editing software. I now know that using split screen can be very effective and will be sure to use it in my Final Major Project and in future work.

After all that, take a look at the finished piece 'Loose Change' below.

 Comments welcome! Enjoy.

Development

I have decided to stick with my proposal of a short film using split screen. I am wanting my style to be gritty and dark and so have devised a shoot schedule for tomorrows shoot.

Everything seems underway and I am really exited to start this. I was apprehensive at first because I am creating this all alone as opposed to always having worked in a team, however I must admit I do love the fact that it is all my own work and so I can change something if I am not happy about it, instead of being talked over by a team mate and going with an idea they think is worth good grade (which unfortunately has happened many a time before). I am enjoying having free reign on this project and feel it is helping me to become much more confident in using the equipment and eventually when in post production, the editing software I so often shy away from!

I have kindly been given permission to film at my friends house over in Chester (whom is acting in the film) and propose to do so tomorrow morning. I am aware it will be a long day what with making this alone, but I am confident that it will go to plan; having a clear outlined shoot schedule definatly helps with this!

I propose to film as much as possible tomorrow and then head back the following week for any pick up shots I may have missed which I can imagine will be a few as one year olds do not usually conform to what you are asking of them!

Below is a detailed shoot schedule I will be using when filming. I have highlighted the scenes where I will be using the child so that we can get his scenes shot first so as to keep him occupied enough so that he falls asleep, in order for us to shoot the rest of the film. I aim to have many close up shots of both characters so to give the audience that isolated feel. I also want the entire film shot in the house, especially the prostitution scene as I feel this gives the feel of character feeling trapped with no other way out.

Shot List

 Jen -mother

Leo - child

WS – wide shot

CU – close up

MS – mid shot

Shoot for at least 10 seconds at a time

Opening scene:

CU Jen in bed

CU feet twitching

Cu alarm going off

MS Jen waking up sitting edge of bed

CU grabs dressing gown

WS walks into bathroom - from outside bathroom door 

Cut to 

Running bath –

Mid shot using tracker outside bathroom, Jen in dressing gown.

Jenny running a bath

CU tap running

CU jen brushing teeth

CU taps running - use split screen here

CU of jen’s feet, drops dressing gown on floor

Cut to

CU jen wiggling toes

Tracking shot of jen moving down into bath

CU using jib or stedicam over jen – puts head nearly fully immersed in water, slowly closes her eyes. Takes deep breathe

CU pull focus from behind empty bubble bath bottle

CU jen startled, opens eyes!

Complete silence - or use music throughout, determine this in edit. 

CU jens feet getting out of bath

CU grabs towel

Tracking shot of leo in room crying alone

CU water swirling down plug hole

Tracking shot jen walking into leos room, takes him from bed/cot

CU leos face on jens shoulder

Stedi cam follow jen leaving room to go downstairs carrying leo

Stedi cam stay at top of stairs

Tracking shot from bottom of stairs of both coming downstairs

CU leos hands or feet or eyes

Cut to - 

Downstairs scene:

MS places leo down or in high chair, he sits happily

MS jen turns of cartoons

Ext Shot - Split screen

CU of the door number 

MS of post being put through door

CU landing on the floor

CU of jen opening letters worringly

MS walks into kitchen

CU throws letters down

Split screen -  

CU boils kettle pull focus with letters in view

CU putting last piece of bread in toaster

CU putting coffee in cup – not much in jar

CU leo playing happily

CU takes milk from empty fridge nearly used it all

CU pours water into cup

CU jen holding cup to face, sipping staring vacantly outside

Jib shot of jens feet then pans out to her walking into kitchen, leo still in shot

MC opening cupboard to find hardly anything, and fridge

Place camera in one of the cupboards, opens looks sad, closes cupboard.

Rummages through bag for purse CU pull focus with letters in shot

Split screen - 

CU opens purse, few change. – shakes purse

CU takes letters

Tracking shot sits down

CU opens letters

CU eyes reading

CU still of letters overdue, rent electric ect

Cut to

Tracking shot her reading sat there

Over shoulder shot puts down looks over to leo – use jib for this?

Takes papers

CU pan of job pages –do about 4 of these

CU eyes  - sighs

CU marking one job with a question mark

MS pull focus on leo crying jenny walking over to him from behind, picks him up

CU leos face on her sholdour

CU jens face

Cut To

Tracking shot takes him upstairs

CU jens feet

Tracking shot walking into leos room – sits him on her knee

CU his face looking up

CU her face looking down smiling

CU looking for nappies,

MS pull focus behind empty nappie wrapper of jen changing nappie

 Follow with stedi cam down stairs

CU leos face on her sholdour

CU placing leo down

Cut  To

MS goes to kitchen

CU puts leos clothes in washer

CU uses last of washing powder

CU throws in bin

CU getting her own clothes out of laundry basket

CU smells it

CU head popping through t shirt took out of laundry

CU counts change on side in kitchen/table (letters still in focus or empty milk carton ect)

CU her putting on leos shoes

CU putting own shoes on

CU grabs keys

Cut To

Jib shot of jenny couting money from purse

CU counting change left

Ms Leo playing

Tracking shot of this from in front of the table too

CU jen re reading text from before

CU clock at half n hour before text time

MS looks at leo

CU leo happy playing

MS jen sits back in setea

CU looks vacant, hand over face – worried, anxious

WA camera pans out – symmetrical

CU leo swinging legs

CU his eyes smiling

CU jens looking anxious at camera

CU kisses leo on the head

Tracking shot jenny leaving leo goes upstairs

CU feet

CU hands anxious?

MS jen sitting on bed

Cut To prostitution scene

CU painting nails

CU putting on eye make up

CU putting on lipstick

CU leo happy watching cartoon – jib shot him on his own walking about maybe

CU gets condoms out of drawer

MS looks at self in mirror – vacant expression – all done up

Jib shot of full-length jen dressed up looking in mirror or outside?

Tracking shot of door slightly ajar

CU throat gulping

MS Leo playing again

CU in contrast Leo’s happy face

CU Jens anxious face

Finishing shots

Jib shots of leo playing wide angle

Jib shot of jenny going into room and shutting door behind her. Looks at camera.

Zoom out slowly from door.

END.

Proposal and Research

For my final artefact, I would like to create a film using a multi screen effect, similar to those taught during the lesson that focused on Triptychs. Having completed a mini brief creating a short film using split screen earlier in this module, I feel I have good knowledge on how to create such an effect and would like to tell my story using this.

I propose to create a five minute film that will use split screen to expand the narrative even further and engage the audience more. I would like my film to have a gritty feel to it, much like the work of Shane Meadows' 'Dead Mans Shoes, 2004' and Lynne Ramsey' 'Morvern Callar, 2002' that I have thoroughly researched. I very much like the dark style both directors have portrayed throughout these particular films and want my film to have a similar style. I also enjoy the style of many Channel 4 documentaries such as Skint in which this documentary details how people survive without work. The style is gritty and raw and true to real life and so I propose to keep this in mind when shooting my own film. Click on the link below and take a look at the first episode of 'Skint'. You can see the reality style in which the directors wanted to portray:

Skint - Episode 1 'Family' aired Monday 13th May 2013

A particular scene stands in the film 'Movern Callar' which can be seen below. In this scene, I particularly like the way in which the camera is shooting from outside the bathroom door, as if spying on her. I like the close ups to portray the isolated feel she has at this point in the film:

After having researched into various films and documentaries, I have came up with an idea for my final artefact. I propose to create a film that shows the true struggles of parenthood and the lengths that some parents may go to in order to support their young children. Fortunately for me, I have a willing friend and her young child whom are able to act in my film. 

I would like my film to focus on the daily and mundane chores in which a parent cares for her child, starting right at the beginning of the day:

I want her to wake up, run a bath and sink under the water as if she is getting away from it all (at this point in the film you are not aware there is a child involved) and her to awaken quickly as is snapped back into reality. From there, I will follow her getting her child up, dressed and ready for the day. Throughout I aim to focus on his happiness as opposed to her worries.

I want to focus on her not being able to pay bills and having hardly any money, in which case she decided to do what every parent wishes they never do, prostitute herself. 

My aim is to use split screen throughout the film to portray stories all going on at once, just simple things such as running a bath, brushing teeth, putting on the kettle, right up until the prositution and her getting ready. I want to contrast her thoughts throughout the film with her child's and will be able to do so through the use of split screen. 

I am to devise a shoot schedule and storyboards so I am aware of exactly what it is I need to shoot because I am doing this solely alone and so I would like the day/days to run as smoothly as possible. I would also like to add here that there will be a one year old running around all day so I propose to film all of his shots first so we can put him to sleep to get on calmly with the other scenes!

I will also check all equipment is ready to use as to not loose any production time. Hopefully this will all go to plan...

YouTube Annotations!

YouTube has come a long way since first being founded back in February 2005 where then, it was utilised by viewers to just simply watch videos originally created videos. Since then, Youtube is now a forum where users can create videos, share and connect with others globally. A way in which creators and users have the ability to do this is via annotations. Where annotations are not a new 'craze', they are being used more frequently which I would argue is due the fact that we are becoming more interactive and creators are wanting their audience to engage further into the notion of interactivty. They are unique and can immediatly take viewers to more content which can increase the viewers numbers of subscribers and also increase the comments within a video which acts as a community, boosting engagment.

These interactive Youtube videos are being used in ways to simply play games, answer quizzes, link to a video related to that of the one you are watching or to promote a buisness by linking to a website ect. Another interesting choice of interactivity through the use of annotations is creating stories with multiple endings.  Users are able to engage with the creators by choosing their own ending thus putting a spin on the creators own narrative, similar to that of adventure books where choosing the route you take determines then ending of the story.

Creating annotations within Youtube is not new, however it is something that is being used on new levels. Creating content in this way can be time consuming as in order for the annotations to link to each video, you have to create a serpeate video that would link the annotation to a website or video.

It is easy to do once you have uploaded your video to Youtube, from there you simply add annotation from the menu, create your link and save and publish!

An example of Youtube annotations can be seen below:

We were asked to create a short, engaging and not forgetting interactive video that would involve the use of annotaions via Youtube. My group and I decided upon a two camera set up at our flat and began to film a short sequence. The sequence consisted of adiscussion between two flat mates about doing the washing up. The user would watch the video and be able to interact with it by choosing and clicking on either answer A or B similar to that of my horror project for Isadora whic i dscussed in an ealier blog post. We wanted to make our peice humourous by adding sound and music which I feel really worked and brought the project together even more. I enjoyed creating this piece and was able to get my hands on some editing software! Editing has never been my strong point, but through the course I have carried out extensive research via Youtube tutorials and found that once I begin, I have the ability to edit to a good standard. 

The whole group helped to edit our piece together using Premier Pro becasue Final Cut was not unfortunatly not available at the time but we soon had it finished with time to spare, probably due to editing it untill 2am! The only time consuming part was the rendering and exporting and then Premier Pro decided to force quit for no apparent reason...luckily we had it saved!

The feedback from peers and lectures was good overall. I am pleased that I was able to create an interactive piece that worked and will use this skill in the future.  

Take a look below at our interactive video 'Washing Up'. We hope you play along and enjoy!

Isadora!

I have recently learnt how to use a new software package called 'Isadora' which to my surprise, I found that I was able to use with confidence as apposed to the usual confusion regarding new software that has been presented to me in previous modules...

Isadora is a programme that enables users to change the direction of the content they are viewing, whether that be in film or performances such as dance created by Visual Artists. In many ways, film is no longer fashioned in just a linear narrative and with cinema now in a digital and electronic age, filmmakers are able to interact with their audience in a way that suits them. Using Isadora is just another interesting way of being able to interact and engage with their audience on a different platform.

Isadora can be seen in all it's glory within nightclubs and is also used by Video Performance Artists to create and manipulate images in real time. Concerts and nightclubs use Isadora by synching together images and music that is then played over huge televisions/projectors to the audience.

It can be seen below at festivals such as Glastonbury:

I discovered that when using Isadora, the possibilities of what you are able to create by manipulating images and video is extensive. Even though there are still many building blocks that I have yet to discover through the programme, I was able to create a short interactive narrative experience that worked! 

Having been set a mini brief and with keeping to the Halloween tradition, I was (in groups of four) to research and come up with a narrative based on this theme. This was only a little test in using Isadora and so I was to keep the narrative short whilst it still being interactive and engaging. 

When hearing the words 'as limitless as your imagination', I would normally panic and go blank for a few seconds however, recently I have kept my calm and focused on the task at hand. I guess this is due to being in my third and final year now and I know that panicking at this point would be the worst thing to do...

So within the group we decided upon the notion of a point of view haunted house trail. The user would click play by hitting the space bar which would 'enter' them into the interactive experience. The experience is essentially then a point of view of the user in a haunted house ride. The user then 'hops' into the haunted house cart which rides along until it hits a point and stops. The screen then pops up asking if the user would like a 'trick or treat', to which the user selects 'A' or 'B' according to what option they would prefer. From this, the user would them either get a terrifying scare or something as cute as a cat dressed up as a banana. Either way, the experience is interacting with the audience and engaging them on a different level other than simply watching a film. This experience would then repeat itself another three times where by there would be different scares and delights, depending on your horror threshold. 

I downloaded all of the footage used from YouTube and created the font from a website called dafont.com which looked like so: 

After getting our heads around the software, I found Isadora quite fun to use. I liked the possibilities of being able to manipulate images to what you want and also, being able to synchronise it along with music of your choice. The only downside to it was that we were not able to save our work because it was only a demo so I am unable to post my work up on here for you to use my interactive experience, however I do have a couple of photos that I snapped with our finished piece. It looks confusing and it was, at first.

QR CODES!

I would argue that QR codes seem to be used rather frequently today by most. It is something that is slowly becoming more and more popular as new technology is developing.
I recently watched a short youtube video based around the new concept on using QR codes as a way to virtual shop rather than actually going to the supermarket and chaotically running around with countless products and bagging the items in a trolley - seems a good idea to me!
This idea has come about in South Korea where the supermarket 'Tesco' has a new name for itself; 'HomePlus'. After an in depth study, Home Plus decided to create viral stores and with using their smart phones, Korean's scan their items of choice using the QR codes scanner app, which then immediately adds their shopping into the HomePlus virtual basket. The items are then delivered straight to their front door. Simple.

Take a look. It's almost like the real thing! 

Another use of QR Codes that I found very interesting and a great idea was that of inside museums and how paintings are able to tell a story and engage users. A Polish museum created a campaign using the innovative idea of making paintings 'come to life'. In doing this, the paintings are able to 'interact' with the audience. Users simply scan the QR code next to said painting and up pops a story on your smart phone or tablet! The audience instantly engages more and i find this is a great way for users to find out more about the painting or statue ect, instead of just looking at it. I also think this a great way to be able to interact with children and being able to let them learn on another platform.  

In keeping with children, QR codes can be a way of connecting adults as well as children to our own surroundings by simply scanning a code and are just another creative way of telling stories across different platforms. Children are able to interact in this way by scanning a QR code on the side of a Dutch milk carton called Tine Melk. Children can be told a story via this and our able to engage by watching imagery pop up of cows, perhaps this can lead them to imagine how milk is made?

Check out an example video and photographs of this below:

Tine Melk!!

Another interesting use of QR codes is using it as a safety or tracker device. At SafteyTat, parents are able to use a stick on 'tattoo' (which easily comes off) on their children in order to be able to keep them safe by tracking them if for example, they were busy shopping and the child had gotten lost. Simply using the QR scanner on the temporary ID, the user is then delivered information and contact details for the child in order to get him/her back to the safety of their parents! 

Creative Media Practice!

The Creative Media Module is not nessacerily designed to be based solely on technology, but to help us engage with it easier and come up with new, innovative ideas as to telling stories across different narratives. We are tying to engage better with technology using these forms of storytelling by entertaining in a different way, more than just video.
We are taught in a six week block and in that time, we focus on different ideas. The first has been Triptych and multiscreen.
Triptych is something that has derived from an early era where people would tell stories using multi screen and describe them as 'a spatial or window montage'. Experimenting with Triptych can be seen in many places more so than the cinema, such as concerts, museums and churches. It is strange because since we have began our lectures on this subject, now everywhere I look I see multiscreen montages! Just like on my laptop right this second;

Screen shot of my laptop and its four windows open

Triptych in photography

Triptych in early paintings

Check out below a triptych video about a girls hands. I find this a calming and relaxing video.

'Hands'

Within Triptychs, each window is associated with another, thus telling a story across various screens. I was asked to create, in a day and a half, a short Triptych myself. I came up with numerous ideas within my group before we settled on one. We wanted to tell the story of waking up in the morning, brushing teeth, making breakfast and leaving. We made this more interesting with a piece of music that had a slow beat to it, and added some sound effects such as an alarm clock. 

Have a little look at it below!