Perfection: Short film deconstruction

 

“I’m just trying to make you more perfect.” – Mom

From infancy, an Asian American woman learns the game of perfection – but if your goal is perfection, will the game ever end?

This was a film which I’ve caught for the first time and i was truly mesmerized by the lighting and the filming techniques used to generate the moods and sounds. In particularly, a key prop was used for the film to help emphasize the essence of time and it intensified suspense gradually.

So the film takes you through the protagonists’s journey from a child till she grows up into a young talented violinist, and then into a wonderful woman with a good career. She was always taught of what’s right, what is accepted, and what is perfect in her life. Even with simple things such as gestures and greetings, she was brought up to have the mindset of a perfectionist.

As a child, our protagonist goes through the cycle of learning new skills, and she starts out from a little infant, learning how to piece perfectly shaped figures into the game board. It was only a toy but the protagonist’s mum subtly pushed for her child to start learning at such a young age. In addition as she transits into a young girl, the protagonist comes into many other situations where she just follows as taught by her mother, and in her eyes, those standards were perfect. These routines of  receiving awards, greeting with manners, playing violin superbly and the list goes on. ALL these routines were the norm in her life, and the protagonist watched herself go through all these perfect actions year by tyear as she grows up. And this was further emphasized by the scene of the protagonist piecing each shape into the game board as the time winder increases slowly, as she grows up.

Lighting:

Personally I think the lighting on the protagonist’s face was amazing. The shadows on the protagonist’s face were mild and it played really well with the black and white  color temperature of the film. Especially in scenes when our protagonist is up on stage playing the violin, the key light (spotlight) used to place emphasis on her was effective as it gives the illusion of her, being all by herself, and being perfect, getting awards and achieving good results.

Camera Angles:

I do admire the montage sequence where close up shots of the protagonist’s agony was captured as the music intensifies. Majority of the shots were Mid close ups or ECU shots; done with soft light definitely. Actually I am abit confused but hopefully i’ll get a go at trying this. If there are shadows on the protagonists face,  how was that effect created exactly. I mean, soft lights can create shadows and so will harsh light but is there a difference?

 

Anyways, in final:)

Based on my interpretation, In an asian culture it is a know fact that children are all expected to attain good grades and parents like to compare their children’s achievements amongst one another. I guess this film really made me, the audience, feel a sense of belonging? I was definitely able to interpret and connect with the protagonist’s pains and her frustrations silently, even without dialogue.

180 Degree Rule

The 180° rule is a basic guideline regarding the on-screen spatial relationship between a character and another character or object within a scene.

Crossing the 180 degree axis can be very confusing since the directions established for the viewer is changed. You should always shoot in a way where the same left/right relationship of your cast will be attained.

Example: Watching a football game with the runner going to the right and all of a sudden we cut to him running to the left. It would make the viewer wonder if he was running the wrong way or not.

Another aspect of the 180 degree axis is that the closer to the axis the camera is, the more the viewer’s point of view resembles the characters, and thus he feels WITH the character. This encourages the important identification with the characters which viewers should feel.

Instead of standard “Coverage” showing the inter-relationship of characters, another method of SHOT/REVERSE/SHOT can be utilized where the character’s Point of View is seen. This is sometimes referred to as the “Kuleshov Effect” and it suggested that what the character saw would affect what the audience thinks the character is feeling.

3 Point Lighting Diagram

file:///Users/loans/Downkey.jpgddd  Key Light This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.
Fill Light This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To acheive this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.
Back Light The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.

The Film-Making Stages

Triangle

1. SCRIPT

Focusing on story, dialogue, formatting, character, plot, theme, momentum and the document itself. For our script, we’re onto our 2nd draft already and I think what Paul said was really true – You’ll never get a final script cause on set everything changes. We’ll see:)

2. SUPPORT (Portfolio)

The producer and the assistant producer will be playing a huge role in this aspect. Additional focus on the film-making team – producer, director, cast, crew, and their roles and responsibilities. Other documents like budget, music, minutes and admin documents will be included.

3. STORYBOARD

Focusing on how to turn the script into a series of pictures and images able to be filmed. SToryboarding seriously aint my thing as you’ve noticed from my previous posts. HAHA.

4. STRUCTURE

Focusing on structuring and synchronising all aspects of the film before it is shot, such as the design, locations, make-up, hair, catering and any specific requirements of the film.

5. SHOOT

I hope on set, we will work awesome as a group:)) Looking forward to it! We will need to be focusing on the shoot itself; and  things to consider and be aware of would definitely be environment sounds, production design, weather conditions.

6. SHAPE

Focusing on the post-production stage including the editing, music, sound effects and pick-up shots required. Not to mention FOLEY sounds! I guess our production will have alot of problems or experiences with this area – especially since we’re using stopmotion? So our flower movements will be done in post-production and Danni He will have the time of her life! (with our help of course)

7. SCREEN

Focusing on putting your film in front of an audience and using it as a ‘calling card’ to get into the industry. Cant wait for the critics!

Old Fredrick Inspiration

Inspiration for  Old Fredrick. I was thinking of getting Old Fredrick and the flower to lie down on the floor and we will use the camera to our advantage and film from topview. Maybe because for now, stopmotion still seems a little tough to work with. Anyhow my objective for wanting to try another angle for shooting: different perspective maybe? Yeah.

 

xoxo.

Drunkonhelium

 

 

Best postproduction/animated film ever

Student Award Winning Film: Viola

Please please check this out:) Really deserves some more fans! HAHA

Well this is just mind-blowing and I literally feel so refreshed. This idea and the film was definitely abstract and i thought it sort of had the feel of our project “Old Fredrick”. In terms of the abstract flower scenes. Definitely could learn a thing or two from the post production work done in this film.

My favourite part? 3:30-3:45<3 I LOVE IT.

I liked how the shadows became the subtle point of focus and it brought the characters together. It was just so unexpected and really refreshing to watch.

Lighting Tutorial: Key Lighting

Found an online tutorial dedicated to lighting for film:) In this tutorial, i must say that it is true even in the sample portraits, the different angles of lighting and the light intensity played such a huge difference in terms of feel, mood and purpose. Every portrait seem to portray a different character. ” While light is used to illuminate the scene, it is shadow that creates depth and the illusion that what the viewer is looking at has dimension.” This is so true, in tutorials we tend to be wary of shadows and zebra lines, overexposing, under exposing etc. Likewise, shadows might or might not complement the film cut but nonetheless it doesn’t hurt to give it a try:)

Check the tutorial out, lights!

The placement of the key light can radically alter the shot and how the viewer perceives the environment, the subject, the shot, etc.

Noah and the Whale: Lighting Adoration

Let me introduce you to my favourite music video of all time. I absolutely love this music video. Applause for the lighting engineer/designer:)))

NOAH AND THE WHALE: L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

Okay so my reason for blogging about this music video is because of its lighting technique and style. In my opinion, the lighting was directed to the messgae that lige goes on no matter what. Despite our daily routines, our unhappiness, our troubles? life goes on and hence the dimmed dark lighting throughout the entire music video. I especially loved the scenes where the female lead transits in and out not via fade in or fade outs but via the play-work of lights. I think it definitely complements the band and i like how it signifies the message of the song where she’s out of focus in the background and he expressions arent clear but through her body movement and lighting? One can depict her fatigue and disappointment with her work and wig. But that’s my opinion at least.

Throughout the music video there are many other more scenes where probably a backcross of key  lights were used to focus on just a rough half view of the band’s face as they sat on the black couch to sing. I thought this lighting made the scene really amazing to watch as the lyrics played on and on. Likewise for film, i guess many people do not take into account of the importance of lighting and this music video sure makes me inspired to create the ideal scenes (with the right framing and lighting styles of course).

 

xoxo

drunkonhelium

Stopmotion – Human Tetris

For all those eager to learn stop-motion (well im one one them for sure): This is one heck of a cute video. I must say I’ve been watching endless stopmotion videos and its way too cool but intensive amounts of work sure goes into it. This was a stopmotion video made in abstract to the game ‘tetris’ The organisation and colors sure works for me and but i think it would have been better if they had just filmed it against an entirely white or black background instead. Nonetheless, such an amazing piece of work.

 

Hilarious short film adventure – Literally an adventure no kidding

Oh guys please check this out. Yes  i do admit it does not give much knowledge on filming or production but i must say the dialogue is adequately  hilarious and lame. And the idea of multiple short films in one was pretty interesting to watch. This film had out of focus shots, predictable dialgue, epic twists, terrible actors (which somehow complemented the idea). Finally i can say, a bad movie worth watching. Irony much? haha.

xoxo,

Hope you enjoyed it. Well i did!

Charmaine aka drunkonhelium