Fiction adaption - Experimental workshop

Montage Research

5 types of ‘Soviet’ Montage
1. Intellectual montage
2. Tonal montage
3. Metric montage
4. Rhythmic montage
5. Overtonal montage

                                                         

Illusion of movement



Eadweard Muybridge - Muybridge is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotio in 1877 and 1878, which used multiple cameras to capture motion in stop-motion photographs, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip used in cinematography.

Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is an animation technique used by animators to trace over motion picture footage, frame by frame, when realistic action is required. Originally, photographed live-action movie images were projected onto a glass panel and re-drawn by an animator. This projection equipment is referred to as a rotoscope, developed by Polish-American animator Max Fleischer.

Fiction adaption - pre-production

Mood Board/ Shot ideas

 black and white with coloured componants

Dutch angle

Extreme close up of tear

Shot from inside the fridge

Slow motion of a drink filling up

Fiction Adaption - Reflections

Overall i am pleased with my project and how it came out, however there are a few things i think if added or improved would have helped further the tone/meaning. Firstly there are two shots that are less than perfect when you know where you are looking. The first being when the character comes in through the door and "turns on the light". The light switch in fact is non-existent, the light you see come on is actually george holding one of the LED lights and turning it on at the just the right time. The reason for this was i knew i wanted to experiment with black and white however if tht did not look right i would have to do it in colour, but the lights they had in the house were very yellow and did not look aesthetically pleasing. Due to George having to stand there with the lights you can see his legs on the stairs however it is dark so you would not notice unless told.

With the other shot i had to cut it short as the LED light would have come into shot as the camera pulled out of an extreme close up. We had propped it up on the table surface to allow for a cinematic look on the extreme close up however i failed to realise until post production that light had made it into the shot, so the slow pull out is shorter than i expected but i still feel that it captures the same look.

Another thing i would like to improve on is the final shot. As the camera pulls out i would like to fade George out as to reinforce the fact that he is a ghost-like entity and maybe add a meaning that because the main character didn't drive whilst he was drunk, the ghosts job is done for now. So he was posing as a kind of guardian angel.


I have also learnt that if you can afford it, actors are better than friends. Not because their acting won't be as good but because they will be more reliable. This also becomes a key factor in any member of crew/ cast if you present your proposal/ task to them with confidence and talking to them in a professional manor whether they are friends or actors.

Fiction Adaption - Breakdown

The piece opens with snow falling and a close up of a snow-covered bush moving slightly in the wind, this is the only part of the entire piece in colour. I did this because at the start of the sonnet it tells the reader that the narrator is the "...winds that blow..." and the "...glints on snow...". This both reflects the structure of the sonnet and implies that the person who is reading the sonnet (the dead soldier in this case) are both of these things. Therefore i felt it fitting to have his metaphorical existence in colour as a subtle attempt at symbolism.

There are a few hints to the main characters link to the military, one of which being the camouflage uniform in his wardrobe, to which he looks at and shakes his head in bitterness. I hope that at this early in the piece this would inspire questions in the audience about whether the jacket is his etc. Not only is 90% of this piece in black and white i also chose for their to be no dialogue as i feel it can distract the audience from the emotions/ atmosphere of the piece. I also find that with the lack of dialogue the viewer finds themselves subconsciously concentrating more as they are reading the actors movements etc. more intently.

In the next couple of shots the main character walks to a war memorial with poppies and poppy wreaths placed there to remember those lost in war. Another hint i hope people will pick up on is that he picks one off of the grass and puts it back on the memorial, suggesting that this is the poppy for his friend who died in the line of duty. I really wanted the red of the poppy to be visible however which is why i altered the saturation to let faint colours in throughout the piece and as you will see red is a recurring theme. This is another bit of symbolism to show that not only is he sad at the loss of his friend but angry that he has been left alone and that he came back but his friend did not. 

With the shot of the car as the camera pulls out, the house, the car and almost everything in frame doesn't look level, everything seems to be...off. This was a cinematic choice that reflects how the character is feeling and how distorted is life is at the moment.

There is a scene in my piece when the character gets up and walks to the door. I originally intended it to be because he thought his friend was at the door however he realises it was just in his head and returns to drinking. However several people have said that they thought he was going to go and get in his car, so they are on the edge of their seat as they know he has had a lot to drink, but then the tension is released when he turns away from the door. I have found that i like this view but i also like how people can interpret it how they want.

Fiction Adaption - Ideas/ Plan

Fiction adaptation

Do not stand at my grave and weep

By Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep:

I am not there; I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sun on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circling flight.

I am the soft starshine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry:

I am not there; I did not die.

I am adapting this sonnet to a scenario in which a man has been placed into the witness protection programme for a reason not given to the audience, but in doing so he must fake his own death and start a new identity. For this reason to protect his family they must think he is dead which I feel is quite fitting as I feel that when reading the sonnet it is like he would have written it for his daughter. Below is a short description of the shots and plot of the adaptation.

Scene opens with camera behind silhouette of a man sat at a desk, with two suited men infront of him on the other side of the table. He put his head in his hands in what looks like despair, then one of the men pass him a sheet of paper across the desk he pics it up and the camera show an extreme close up of the line “you are hereby placed in the witness protection act”. Camera then cuts to teary woman dressed in all black and saying good bye to young daughter then she turns and exits through front door.

Establishing shot of a house at night lightly covered in snow and noise of wind in the background, then a close up of a man looking through a window, his face illuminated by the light of the room, he looks lovingly through the window and gently presses his hand against the glass, the camera then moves around and pushes in through the window to reveal it is the young girl. She is sat on the floor looking at a photo of her, her mother and the man (her father). She looks up from the photo and turns to the window as though she knew he was watching, however he is no longer there. Screen fades to back and the lines “Don not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die” then those lines slowly fade to leave just the words “I did not die” then they eventual fade. 

UPDATE:

Due to unforeseen circumstances the narrative had to be changed. This latest idea is that the focus of the piece is a young army veteran that has had a friend killed in action however he is struggling to cope with that fact. He turns drinking with anger and loneliness overwhelming him. So now when you read the sonnet i feel as though the young man K.I.A would   be the one writing it to his friend to let him know that he is always with him spiritually.