Jan 31, 2017

Directions - Research, Farren Blackburn

Today we had a masterclass with the British award-winning director (film and TV) and screenwriter Farren Blackburn.

Blackburn won, in 2012, the BAFTA TV award for Best Drama Series for "The Fades", a British supernatural drama TV series (6 episodes) written by Jack Thorne. He then went to direct 2 episodes of "Daredevil" ("World on Fire and Nelson vs Murdock) for Marvel/Netflix, he was the previous lead director on "The Interceptor" for the BBC and directed "Shut in", a thriller feature. He has also been involved in the successful crime series "Luther", the adventure series "The Musketeers" and the "Doctor Who" episodes " The ring of Akhaten" and the 2011 Christmas special "The Doctor, The window and the Wardrobe".
"I wanted to become three things when I was young: a pro footballplayer, a rockstar and a filmmaker - I managed to do two of them."

As young Balckburn was on the books of Cambridge United Football Club and represented England at youth level. In the beginning he didn't think too much about chasing the dream of being a filmmaker as he didn't find it realistic, but decided in the end to take a master degree in Film at Bournmouth. After that he went on to be a trainee on a two-year contract with BBC, where he spent a lot of time shadowing people, observing how they worked and making contacts. When the two years as a trainee was over he decided to leave as he didn't feel that staying at the BBC would help him making dramas and films.

Since Blackburn didn't want to be a runner he decided to make a lot of short films to get experience and to have something to show that he could direct. He also went to acting workshops to learn how it is to be directed (both good and bad) and watched films with the sound turned off to better focus on the directing - all to improve and develop his skills as a director. To get in contact with the right people Blackburn watched the credits on a lot of films and shorts to see who had produced, which company was it for etc and make contact with them to show his work.

2012 was a big year for Blackburn as winning the BAFTA TV award for "The Fades" made him more recognised as a director and enabled him to do work in America.


When having meetings with producers for new projects he often uses mood boards to show how he want things to look like and refers to different movies, but he never uses stills from movies and say "We'll do it exactly like this". Another thing Blackburn doesn't do is using shotlists or storyboards unless it's something big, visual effect. "I know my blocking and I know my action. I know what I want when I go on the floor and work with the actors, but I'm also flexible if they have any inputs. The reason why I don't do shotlist and storyboards is to avoid being locked to a set up."

Even though Blackburn tend to work on "dark projects" (crime drama, thriller etc.) and to recast actors he sais he doesn't think he have a specific trademark or a signature voice. "I used to worry about that in the beginning of my career since I felt that I needed to have a trademark to be a director. But I think that trademark and that "voice" is something subconscious that you probably won't even know that you have before you have done loads and loads of work." 


For this unit I've taken some inspiration from the crime series "Luther" and the episodes that Blackburn directed. The series consists of 16 episodes divided into 4 seasons, the episodes Blackburn directed being epsiodes 3 and 4, season 3.
In the series we follow the near-genius murder detective John Luther who's been separated from his wife. He's torn between an unrelenting approach to solving serial killings and his attempts to get back together with his former wife whom he still loves. Luther is an emotional guy who doesn't think twice about stretching the law to solve a case or save a life.



The reason why I chose "Luther" is both because it's a police crime drama set in Britain and because the main character is similar to Carl Hanratty (one of the main characters in 'Catch Me If You Can'), both that they both are separated with their wife and can't get over the person they love, their job being their life, and that the criminal that they are trying to arrest ends up working with them/becomes their companion.

Even though my adoption of 'Catch Me If You Can' is a period piece set in 1960 it's interesting to watch Luther to compare how the police acts in Britain compared to CMIYC which is American. It also helped me with the dialogue since I was struggling with the dialogue being too American.

Tec.spec: Luther was shot on Arri Alexa (Master Prime Lenses), Arriflex D-21, Cooke S4 and Angenieux Optimo Lenses. Aspect ratio 16:9 HD.
I really like the cinematography in Luther and Luther mostly alternates between establishing shots with discrete push in or out so we have time to situate the characters in their environment, (this is used through the whole series). The series is quite fast paced, and it's also filmed quite dark. Even in daylight or in lit rooms character's the faces of the characters are dark.



When filming my project I'm going to make it more fast paced and use more cuts that the original clip  ;of Catch Me If You Can', and also use some static establishing shots on a tripod and use push in (similar to what's shown in Luther). I'll also film the clips using a "colder temperature", making the characters less yellowy, and use more light and create more depth in the shot.


//Source material and Images\\



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Jan 30, 2017

Directions - Sound design

What is sound design?
- Sound design in film and television essentially describes the process of capturing, layering and mixing of individual sound elements to create one single Soundtrack for the project.
- Just as you shoot and edit the image part of the project, you also shoot and edit the sound part.
- Sound design occurs at all stages of a production, but it is essentially a post-production phase. The process is also called Sound Edit.

 "Point blank" (1967) by John Boorman is an example of good sound design and what you can do with it.



The sound designer
- Originally, all the sound editing of a film was completed by a sound editing of a film was completed by a sound editor or a team of sound editors. These were technicians who had little to no creative input in the project.
- In the 1970's, demand for increasingly complex sound-tracks created the need for Sound Editors to have creative input into the "design" of the soundtrack. This led to the role of the Supervising Sound Editor. One person who would oversee, and be responsible for a team of sound editors, and the producing of the film's sound track.
- This new Supervising Sound Editor position became known as the Sound Designer.
- The first film to credit someone with this new role was 'Apocalypse Now' by Francis Ford Coppola. The Sound Designer was Walter Murch.

Sound layers
- The job of a sound designer is to assemble a number of layers or tracks of sound, which are then mixed together to form one whole.
- On some productions there might be fifty tracks of sound, but most commonly there will be between 5 and 20 tracks.

There are about 7 different types of tracks. These are: Dialogue, Sync, ADR, FX, Foley, Atmos and Music. There can be any number of tracks under these headings, (you might have 6 FX tracks and 2 Atmos tracks). Plus, some productions don't use all the types of tracks available.

Sound tracks
Dialogue
- This is all the recorded dialogue from the actual shoot. Voice-over would be on a separate track.
Sync
- This is the recorded sound from the shoot that is NOT dialogue. I.E someone walking across the room or getting into a car.
ADR (Automatic dialogue replacement)
- This is all the dialogue recorded or dubbed after the shoot. Nearly all Hollywood films use ADR for the whole film. This is to get a cleaner, more controlled dialogue. Recorded in a soundproof room (no need to worry about wind, rain, background noise etc).
FX:
- Certain sound effects for elements such as car engine, a computer, or an explosion. These will either be recorded specifically for the production or more commonly they will come from a Sound FX library.
Foley Artist
- These are sound effects, created specifically by a Foley Artist, that cover personal action elements such as footsteps, breathing, body hits or a creaking door. Recorded in a special studio, Foley artists use various ways to mimic the sound needed.


Atmos/FX:
 - This is all the sound elements that make up an atmosphere for a particular location. This could mean weather elements like wind and rain, or room elements like the creak of an old house, or landscape elements, like countryside, city or jungle.
Music
- This is all the music in the film. Diagetic music on a radio or someone playing an instrument in a scene, and non diagetic which is all the composed music placed over the film - known as the score.

The sound edit
- Through the sound edit phase, the sound designer and his/her team (if there is one) will compile all the tracks, editing the various sounds to the picture, making creative decisions all the time.
- The sound is cut just like the picture and can be done in FCP, but more commonly will be done using specialised sound editing software like Pro Tools or Nuendo.
- On larger productions the individual tracks are handled by one person or team. So you will have a Dialogue Editor, an FX editor, a Foley editor etc, and their reasonability will be just those tracks.
- That's where the Sound Designer plays a key role, by ensuring all the various editors are working towards the same vision.

The mix
- Once the tracks have been compiled and the edited to the locked picture, the sound edit goes into its final phase - The mix.
- The mix is where the Sound Designer, along with a Mixer and other key members of the production such as the director and producer, mix all the separate tracks of sound together to form one complete sound track.
-This is perhaps the most creative aspect of the Sound Design process.

- The Mix enables all the sounds to be balanced with each other and the picture to create the perfect soundscape.
- You're not always trying to use ALL the sounds on the tracks, just the ones that work and add to the overall feel.
-This process means that quite often whole sections of a particular track of sound won't be used in the final mix.
- In the cinema and, now with the increasingly advanced home television sound systems, also some television programmes, the final stage of the mix will be creating a Dolby 5.1 (or similar) output.
- Unlike stereo which is just two channels of sound, the Dolby 5.1 system means you can have specific sounds coming from different speakers and creating a virtual 4D soundscape.
- For example you could have the sound of a helicopter coming up from behind you before you actually see the helicopter on the screen.

The Art of Sound Design
- The art of sound design is to add depth, feeling and emotion to the picture. It's not about making something sound LOUD, it's about making it feel right, so the audience believe in what they are seeing.
- Even if the story is set on an alien world, it should sound RIGHT.
- Great sound design can add details the audience can't actually see. A clock ticking in a room, a bird high up in a tree or a dog barking at night - all these add depth and detail to the picture.

Silence is golden
- To understand sound design, you have to be silent. If you want to convey the feeling of silence you need to add sounds that we normally don't hear. This can be breathing, fly, bird, elevator, clock etc. It's never completely silent.

Keeping it real
- A large part of sound design is about making the image come to life, making it real.
- Sync sound from the shot is often compromised, so the sound edit enables you to add richness to everything from breathing to a door opening.
- One notable exception is the scene from Michael Mann's 'Heat' where the sounds were real.
Atmosphere
- Adding depth and emotion to a scene doesn't always mean adding a piece of music. It can be done with sounds.
- A person alone in a house, scared... Add a distant dog barking, or a rumble of thunder to highlight their predicament.

Music only atmos
- Sometimes a single track of music can convey very complex ideas. Example, bar scene in Goodfellas.

The cut
- When you need to create a specific emotional moment, such as horror, fear or love, this can be done with sound design.
- A classic edit in horror or thriller is to cut from the image of someone about to scream to the image of a train or alarm clock. We see the picture change, but it's the sound of the train whistle or alarm that does the trick.

Sound design
- A production might spend 7 weeks shooting a film/programme, but they often spend double that amount of time on the sound design.
- You can have the most beautiful, clever and striking images ever captured on film, but if you have a thin, basic soundtrack all the work will be undone.
- When you are planning and shooting your production, always think about what the audience will hear too.

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Jan 28, 2017

Directions - 'Catch me if you can' adaption

For this unit I’ve chosen a scene from Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Catch me if you can’, which I'll be filming 10th and 11th of February. 
The film is based on the life of Frank Abagnale who before his 19th birthday successfully earned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan Am pilot, a Georgia doctor and a Louisiana parish prosecutor. His primary crime was check fraud and he’s the youngest person in the history to be on FBI’s “Most wanted”-list. 

In the clip we meet FBI-agent Carl Hanratty who’s been following a trail leading to a hotel where Frank is staying. He barges into the room ready to arrest Frank, but since Carl doesn't know how Frank looks like Frank manages to trick Carl into thinking that he is from United States Secret Service and that way manages to escape. The next clip is Carl being confronted by his boss, talking about the mistake he did in the previous scene. The last clip shows Frank buying an expensive suit showing his rise in power.

I’m going to make the film into a period piece set in the 1960’s as I feel modernising it would change the story too much. I also find it interesting doing a period piece since I've never done it before and it makes finding locations, props and costume more of a challenge. What I will change is the locations, number in actors and the sex of one of the actors. 

 Location: The main change will be that I'm changing the bedroom scene from being at a hotel to be at a B&B as I find this slightly more natural since I'm moving the film from taking place in the US to take place in England. 
The B&B that I have chosen is called Medway Little Townhouse, located in Rochester. The office scene will be filmed at Medway council, in Chatham, and the tailoring scene will be filmed at Penguins, also in Chatham. 


Actors: Instead of having 2 "followers", Carl Hanratty will enter the B&B alone while having 1 sidekick waiting for him in a car. Another change I'm making is having the B&B owner as a lady instead of a man. 

Props: Since this is a period piece I've been spending quite a lot of time getting the right props. So far I've gotten a Remington Ten Forty 1960's Typewriter, a couple of checks from the 1960's, wallet and old "vintage" sweets, ink, books and other background-props. I've also been in contact with a 3rd year studying Design for Theatre, Film & Performance at UCA, named Alex Oliver, who will make a 1960's Colt prop gun the project. 

 Other: Since the film originally takes place in the US I've had to change where some of the characters are working to adapt it to Britain. Carl Hanratty is therefore working for the police, not FBI, Chief special agent is now Chief of police and United states secret service is MI5. 

 Filming/style: I'll be using natural light, but make it less yellow-y and use more backlights than in the original film. I'll also be using more close ups and more cuts in the edit. 

Cast: So far I have only decided on who's going to play the tailor and the B&B owner. The tailor will be Gerald Newcomb, the owner of Penguins and the B&B owner will be Linda Rusell, the owner of Medway Little Townhouse. 

 I've put a post up on Casting call pro and might have someone to act as Chief of police and Carl Hanratty, but I'm still struggling to find someone playing Frank Abagnale since this is a difficult role and need to be played by a young actor. 


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Jan 27, 2017

Directions - Lighting workshop 2

In our second lighting workshop we were focusing more on creative lighting and the difference between naturalism and pictorialism, and high key-lighting vs low key.

Naturalism - Making the lighting look like a natural part of the set (lamp, window etc).
Pictorialism - Making the image look arty/cool, doesn's have to feel natural.
High key - Used to suggest an upbeat mood. Often used in sitcoms and comedies. Usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.
Low key - Heightens the sense of alienation felt by the audience. Often used in film noir and horror genres.
Pictorialism - Naturalism
High key - Low key
Property and usage
Property
Intensity - Bright or dim
Colour - Daylight or tungsten
Quality - Hard or soft
Angle - Placement relative to subject

Usage
Key - Main source of illumination
Fill - Contrast management
Back - Background separator

Later in the workshop we were testing out different lighting to see what would work out best for when we'll be lighting our own projects. For my project I'm going to simulate natural lighting, but use more back-light to create more dimension than in the original film because I find the characters a bit too "flat" in some of the clips. 



//All images from Google.com\\

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Jan 25, 2017

Directions - Directing workshop

During this and last week we have been focusing on directing 
master-shots with Steve Finn. We were all given different scripts and had to get a crew together and film it. The idea was to see how long we could keep the master-shot without cutting into it. 

The scripts consisted of loads of dialogue which made it hard to film it without making it boring and leaving too much space between the characters. I tried to film it using quite a bit of camera movements to make the clip more interesting but were told by Steve to focus more on the character's axis and to have more "motivation" behind the camera movement since a camera doesn't move like a person. 

I've found these workshops quite interesting as it has made me think of other ways to film my project than I first thought. It made me more conscious of the master-shot in a scene and how to make an interesting one instead of just using a standard wide shot. It has also helped me when it comes to what to look out for and focusing on when directing.  
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Jan 24, 2017

Directions - Lighting Workshop

In our last workshop with Fergus we learned about the basic of lighting and the effects of lighting a scene. We worked on basic 3-point lighting using Key-, Back- and Fill light and tested different ways of lighting people (e.g using spotting) and the difference in intensity by moving the lamps closer/further away. 
We also talked about exposure, focus and mood, and experimented with different colour filters to see their effect on the scene. 

I’ve been looking forward to having a lighting workshop since I missed working with lights on set on my shoot for the Storytelling unit. lt was interesting learning about the differences between the lights (Open face - more power and light, used for set lighting, Fresnel - more control, easier to spot, used for lighting people) and also what to focus on when lighting the set (temperature of the light, reflections etc). I look forward to using lights on my next shoot as this workshop has given me a couple of ideas to what I want to do. 


Light workshop from Trine Hagan on Vimeo.
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Jan 23, 2017

Directions - Editing

In this lesson we learned about editing and how it has been developing over the years. We watched some clips from different films and were asked to focus on the editing and cutting of the scenes. One of the clips was a car scene from Steven Spielberg's first feature 'Duel'. 


Editing in 'Duel'
- The speed of the editing goes up as the car goes faster. 
- The shot of the speedometer gets tighter as the car goes faster and the situation gets tenser (effective framing). 
- Effective use of the sound (uses sound from the cars and machines). At the end of the clip there is no music which gives a "thriller-feel" to it. 

Editing
- Editing is the art of joining separate shots together (to create longer sequences that make up the complete story of the film/programme) and to create emotion, drama, rhythm and action (through the combination of shots). 
- It is the only part of the production process that is unique to filmmaking, and is often referred to as the "invisible art"; because when done well it is so immersive the viewer doesn't notice the edits.
- The very first film to use film editing as a storytelling device is 'The Great Train Robbery' (1903) by Edwin S. Porter.
- The language of film editing has developed over the years, refining with every generation, but essentially it still holds true to 'The Great Train Robbery'.
- What HAS changed dramatically is the technology of editing software. 

- Up to the early 2000's all films were edited together using a machine called Steenbeck, splicing the film together with sellotape.
- Making a single cut using Steenbeck could take a few minutes, which meant every cut had to make a difference. It taught you economics of storytelling.
- Though there are exceptions, if you look at films from before 1990's there is always a lot less cutting in them. This physical difference had an impact on the storytelling (films were "slower" in pace and story).
- Films cut in the digital age are on the whole "quicker", with far more cuts.

Video Linear Editing
- With the advent of video technology, linear video editing was developed.
- Linear video editing is the most basic kind of editing, only allowing you to place one shot after another in order. You could not move shots around, and start again (without starting all over again).
- video linear editing developed further, whereby you could have a bank of machines with your source material, allowing faster access to shots and allowing for mixes and dissolves.
- This development sat along side that of MTV and the ever increasing demand for fast cut videos.
- This creative shift found its way into films and television programmes with cutting becoming faster and faster.

Digital Non-linear
- The advent of digital technology brought with it true non-linear editing. This combined the freedom of film editing and the speed of video editing.
- You could now move shots wherever you wanted, keeping sync and making cuts in a fraction of the time you used before.
- Though there was resistance at first from editors to move from Steenbecks to non-linear, by the early 90's all but a handful of films were cut digitally on non-linear software.
- The most common professional system at the moment is Avid. This is track based and similar in layout to Premiere.

Continuity editing
- The predominate form of editing style in narrative film and television is referred to as Continuity editing.
- The idea being the main purpose of editing is to take discontinuous shots and create a continuous whole.
- This doesn't always mean a continuous story, or scene, as editing can be used to create a scene that disorientates the viewer (e.g. Memento).

Alternatives to Continuity
- The French New Wave rallied against the classical Hollywood system and would often cut their films in a discontinuous style; deliberately crossing the line and jump-cutting.

Continuity editing - Story
- The first layer of continuity editing is creating the continuous story.
- This doesn't mean that you have to include every bit of action within a story, you include the bits that tell the story.
- Cutting out material you have shot is the hardest thing to do - especially when you have spent a long time shooting it. However it is crucial for good storytelling to only leave in the elements that propel your story, that add to it.
- The simple rule of "less = more" applies all the way through the editing process.
- The biggest and easiest mistake to make is to leave too much in (too much material).

Continuity editing - Drama
- The most creative layer of editing is creating the drama of a scene through pacing, rhythm and emotion.
- The main thrust of pace is created through how quickly or slowly you cut from one shot to the next, and from one scene to the next. (It does not mean fast cutting.)
- Getting pacing right is absolutely key to creating a great film. A film paced too quickly will make the audience feel left behind, and a film paced too slowly will make the audience lose interest.

Pacing, rhythm and emotion
Two people talking...
- The obvious choice is to always cut to the person talking back and forth, but what if you hold on the listener? Suddenly you change the pacing and emotion.
- Someone saying "I love you" - show the talker or the listener? Both have very different outcomes, both achieved through editing.

Pacing
- Ordinarily, a scene starts wide and slow and then gets closer and quicker.
- A SLOW stilted conversation becomes more free flowing and ENDS abruptly. What if you start with a BANG and end slowly? This can still work if the pacing is right.
- Always cut for a reason, never to just cut. The cut must ADD something to the scene.

Emotion
- Creating real dramatic emotion in a scene is the cornerstone of great editing and hardest skill to pull off. You can create love, sadness, danger, tension, comedy, all through how and when you cut.
- When you make a cut,
always ask the questions: What are you showing? How are you showing it? WHY are you showing it?
- As a general rule: in an emotional scene you will hold the shots longer (slower). In an action scene you will cut quicker.
- A scene of tension is created by moments of holding shots and then quickly cutting. The timing is the key (e.g Atonement).

Pov
- Where you position the characters in a scene is crucial in editing - whose story is this? Where is the focus of the story? Whose e
yes are the audience seeing the story through?
- Someone could be doing all the talking, but if you focus on someone else in the scene (who isn't talking) where does the power shift to?
- A close up of a person followed by their POV puts the audience right into their position. Very different to showing them looking

Match-on-action
- Match-on-action is a very useful creative tool in editing, allowing for dramatic and artful shifts in time and spatial narrative.
- Essentially the idea is to match one action with a similar action in the next shot.
- One of the single most famous edits is a match-on-action in 'A Space Odessey' - when the bone turns into a satellite.

Cross-cutting
- Cross-cutting is an editing tool that can create great suspenseful action sequences.
- Essentially it is the cutting between two or more scenes that are occurring at the same time in the story. This allows the editor to open the story out onto many levels (unique to cinema).
- It's also possible to create moments of sadness, irony and symbolism (e.g cutting between a scene of death and survival).

Montage
- Different to the Russian theory, a montage is a collection of shots, often used to music, which presents a series of similar events over a period of time. For example someone trying on lots of different wedding dresses.
- It's a very useful tool to show time passing and characters developing without going into so much detail (e.g running scene from Rocky).

Fade/Dissolve
- Fade is one of the oldest creative tools in editing.
- You fade to black in one scene, and then fade up to the next scene. It was originally used at the end of each act (like a curtain coming down), but it cats used to show time passing too, or the end of a significant sequence.
- The dissolve os the merging of two shots, usually to show time passing. Done well it can be a very useful tool, especially when combined with a match-on-action.

Editing stages
Log - Log and arrange your rushes (so you know where they are and which shot they are).
Assembly cut - All the scenes (just one shot from each), assembled in the right order. Usually 4 times longer than the finished film.
Rough cut - Cutting into the assembly, adding in shots to the scenes, cutting and removing. 2 times longer.
Fine cut - Cutting into the scenes and creating the drama. Close to the finished length.
Final cut - It's all done. Thoughyou keep tweaking. 



//Images and clips\\
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Jan 19, 2017

Contextual Studies - Metaphor & meaning

Today we watched the first episode of Jessica Jones - season 1, which is a 13-part American web television series (drama) created for Netflix. It's based on the Marvel Comic character with the same name, and although grounded in realism, the TV series acknowledges in-world superpowers, Marvel Universe and comic book roots.

What is a metaphor?
- Traditionally in literature, a figure of speech in which a word or phrase makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that appear unrelated but share some common characteristics.
- Shakespeare's "all the world's a stage..."
- A creative means to stimulate audience by getting them to think new ways.

Metaphor or allegory? Allusion or analogy?
Allegory - An extended or complex metaphor, or connected series of metaphors.
- An allegory usually has two meanings: literal and symbolic (or metaphorical).
- Alien is regarded as a feminist/Freudian allegory, using visual sexual metaphors.
Allusion - an indirect or passing reference, usually with no metaphorical intent.
- Often used as homage or nod to a related show or film, or writer/directors' inspirations.
Analogy - a literal comparison without further meaning (a metaphor uses analogy with greater meaning).
- Forest Gum's "Life is like a box of chocolates".

Metaphor in TV and film
- While writers may use verbal or literary metaphors, most metaphors in film & TV will be visual.
- Metaphors generally need to be constructed of familiar visual symbols and references, and cannot be overly complex.
- Like a verbal metaphor, they will break down if there are too many analogies to process at once. But there needs to be enough detail that the metaphor is recognisable and easily understood.

Metaphor in Jessica Jones
Dominant narrative theme is power and control.
Dominant narrative metaphors illuminate theme of power and control.
- Rape and PTSD
- Child abuse
- Addiction: drugs and alcohol
- 'Superpowers': externalise character's interior trauma and struggle.

Abuse as metaphor
Kilgrave's sexual abuse/control of Jessica is both explicit and literal in the original comic.
- TV series uses Kilgrave's mind control and Jessica's PTSD as broader metaphors for abusive relationships. (Does it more subtle and visually).
TV series also expands abuse metaphor further than source material.
- Jessica's friend Trish (a former TV child star) is a victim of childhood abuse (physical and drugs) by "showbiz" mother.
- Killgraves new backstory reveals him to be a victim of abusive childhood medical experiments (they are both control freaks - similar backgrounds can produce similar characteristics, but use them different ways).

Addiction as metaphor
Addiction/substance abuse becomes a metaphor for both control and loss of control.
- Jessica's alcohol abuse as coping mechanism.
- Former soldier Simpson abuses 'red pills' that gives him superpowers.
- Jessica's addict friend is made to stalk her by Kilgrave in return for drugs.

Surveillance as metaphor
Stalking and surveillance (voyeurism) are also used as metaphors for abuse and control.
- Jessica's surveillance work is an expression of her need to control.
- Kilgrave stalks Jessica by surveillance and, when discovered, forces her to self-surveillance by sending pictures.

Superpowers as metaphor
Superpowers are not just a physical manifestation of control, but metaphor for 'the other'.
- Mrs Eastman's attempt to kill Jessica is motivated both by revenge and fear of 'the gifted' (or 'other')
- Marvel's X-men have been interpreted as a metaphor/allegory for civil rights struggles and LGBT issues.

Visual metaphor in Jessica Jones
The cockroach scenes that bookend Episode 2 are examples of visual metaphor.
- At the beginning of the episode, Jessica looks at a cockroach while thinking about Kilgrave's capacity for survival.
- By the end of the episode, Jessica has reconciled to confront Kilgrave, and symbolically crushes the cockroach in the sink.

Static vs dynamic metaphor
The cockroach scenes are examples of static metaphor.
- Static metaphor: a metaphor whose meaning is obvious and constant (like using red to symbolise sexuality) usually reflects one characteristic and one character.
- Dynamic metaphor: provides new information as the narrative continues - often shared with other characters and/or found in new situations or locations.

Why filmmakers might use metaphor
- Aesthetic/artistic - to provide another level of meaning beyond the literal or superficial.
- Freudian/psychological to provide an alternative means of interpretation beyond the conscious.
- Political allowing filmmakers to tackle a difficult or controversial subject within an allegorical framework.




//Images from Google.com\\
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Jan 16, 2017

Directions - Steve Finn

Steve Finn is a director of drama and has directed some of UK's biggest and longest-running dramas including EastEnders, The Bill, London's Burning, Casualty and Holby City.
He started off as a runner and worked his way up to assistant director and later as a director. He now also teaches on the BBC's famed academy training courses.
One of Steven's specialities as a director is doing the storytelling through working with actors and crew under a very tight schedule and incredible pressure.

"The key thing that I've learned by watching other people direct is - If you're going to be a director direct. You need someone in charge on a set and it's important that that person is in charge."

Being prepared and having everything planned for the production is important to keep everything flowing and to avoid falling behind schedule. An important part of being the director is to see the production as a whole and seeing the come to life before getting on set.

"The role of a director is important. If you didn't have a director on the production wouldn't work. It's like having an orchestra without a composer."

Steve later explained to us that acting can be defined as "doing". What people are doing is what makes drama, not what they're saying. The best scripts don't have the story in their dialogue but in their actions.

He ended the lesson by talking about master-shots. The point of a master-shot having a wide shot that develops. If it doesn't develop it's just a regular wide. If the master-shot is good master you will stay on it longer, using less coverage. The defenition of a good mastershot is a shot that you would want to use again and again ad again (or you don't want to cut it at all).

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Jan 15, 2017

Directions - Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg is an American producer, screenwriter and director. He's classed as the most successful director in Hollywood ad one of the wealthiest filmmakers in the world.
He's born 18th of December 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His interest for film started early as he in his teens used an 8mm camera to make films with his friends before he later on became an intern at Universal Studios.
Steven's first directorial debut was in 1971 with the film 'Duel'. Since then he has directed 30 movies, won 3 Academy Awards, 4 Primetime Emmys, and 7 Daytime Emmys.
'Jaws' (1975) became his first "summer blockbuster" and was the highest-grossing movie of all time until 'Star Wars'.

Steven has always been very protective of his name. If his company, Amblin Entertainment, is working on a film that he doesn't feel is up to his standards he will remove his name as a producer from the credits.


Best reviewed movies:
- Jaws (1975) - Director
- Raiders of the Lost Ark - (1st Indiana Jones) (1981) - Director
- E.T the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - Director and producer
- Schindler's List (1993) - Director ad producer
- Catch Me If You Can (2002) - Director and producer

When Steven was asked which of his films he'd want to be remembered for he said E.T the Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler's List.


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Through the many years he has been directing Steven Spielberg has gotten quite a few trademarks as a director. This is for example using images of the sun (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), The Color Purple 1985) and Saving Private Ryan (1998), frequently casting Tom Hanks, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Frank Welker and Tom Cruise and using a lot of music by John Williams.
But his more famous trademarks is parent issues, use of reflection shots and "The Spielberg face".

Parent issues
In a lot of Spielberg's films the main character has some sort of issue with their parents (usually the father), or they have kids whom they don't get along with. This has been a trend in his films ever since his second film 'The Sugarland Express' which revolves about 2 parents running from the law to try and prevent their son from being taken to foster care.
'Close Encounters' (neglectful parenting), 'The Last Crusade' (Indiana Jones' bad relationship with his father), 'Jurassic Park' (kids lacking parents), 'War of the Worlds' (father tries to reconcile with his kids) and so on...



 Reflection shots
original5Spielberg is also known for using complicated camera movements and angles. One thing he often does is using a mirror or window reflection to capture his characters indirectly.

This technique is used to show the face of a character when the camera is located behind them and allows the audience to see details of a scene/setting without losing the connection to the character.


The Spielberg face 
This is is a technique where the camera operator zooms in on a character’s face as they are looking at something. The thing that they are looking at isn’t revealed to the audience until after the character shows their expression. This is used to focus on the characters face first, rather than filming from an angle behind him. That way you're able to create a better human connection. The Spielberg face was first used in Jaws and has later been used in almost all of Spielbergs films as well as adapted by a lot of other directors. 


Chosen scenes
I have chosen to do 3 scenes from 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002) which is based on a true story about Frank Abagnale Jr who before his 19th birthday were able to successfully get millions of dollars' worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor and legal prosecutor. 

First scene that I've chosen is where Carl Hanratty, played by Tom Hanks, meets Frank Abagnale, played by Leonardo De Caprio, at a hotel ready to arrest him, but Frank manage to convince him that he's from United States secret service and gets away. 
Next scene is Carl sitting in the police office talking about his mistake in the previous scene with his boss, and last is a scene of Frank buying expensive suits at a clothes store trying to become like James Bond. 

The reason why I chose these scene is because I feel it tells a fair bit of the story of the film without necessarily spoiling too much. The scenes also doesn't involve too many people and therefore wont be too hard to make.  
I also like the scenes cause they have a bit of action in them and allows me quite creative both when it comes to camerawork, editing and style of directing. 




//Images and source material\\
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