CLC Workshop of sound

On the 14th of October we went to the CLC (city learning centre) here we took part in a work shop and learnt about different ways of learning about sound, different ways of recording sound. In previous experiences when using a camera, we did not fully understand how technology of sound could have a massive impact on the final outcome. We also discussed previous group work, and how they could be improved. From the workshop we learnt that sound is not all that it appears to be and takes a lot of time and effort for it to be of a good quality, especially during a big Hollywood film.

During the workshop we were able to test out a wide range of equipment, for example a boom. The Boom is a microphone used to record sound by being held up just a little bit above the action. The Boom will never been seen in any of the footage when being shown. This method of recording sound will make the sound more clear rather than what it would be when recorded off of a standard camera. One person is only needed to operate this piece of equipment, but it will need to be held very still so that the sound can record very clearly what is happening in the scene. A thing which can be attached to a boom is a wind jammer, this is to lower the background noise.

Whist at the workshop we also were able to test out other types of equipment, like Merantz. This is a piece of equipment which allows a microphone, to record and headphones to be connected so that you can hear a clearer sound to be recorded and be listened to. This is best used when recording a conversation between two characters.

From being able to test all of the equipment, and seeing ones which would suit us when filiming best, we decided that we would use a boom mic, although we would not be borrowing this from the CLC as one of our group members already has this piece of equipment. 

The narrative of our film

We had many different ideas on what the narrative of our film should be. The ideas ranged from, abuse, racism, religion, struggle, family relations, and drug misuse. We decided to come up with a few different narratives, and then pick the best one which we thought would work the best, considering we have limited equipment and cast. In the end we decided to choose a narrative which is about a older teenage boy, struggles with a theme or racism, in relation to his father. It will begin with a shot of a family sitting on the sofa, within this scene the father will make an underlying racist comment. In the next scene the boy is going to have a confrontation with his father, and will result in the boy leaving his house. After which he will go and get someone to get served alcohol for him and then head to his friends house. Whilst at his friends house, he is talking to his asian friend, and begins to get stressed as his friend is questioning him about the racism of his father. This will lead to the two of them having a fight. Following this the boy realises he has done wrong, and runs away. The final shot will be the beginning shot of him sitting with his family on the sofa. 

We are considering doing it in Tarentino style, of showing it in reverse. Although at the moment we are not to sure if the audience will be able to understand or weather it will be too complicated. We are going to decide the final order of the short film in editing, of if we going to show it in a normal or backwards style.          

About a Girl - short drama film from Louis Wong.

The film conforms to the traditional drama conventions. the film concentrates on a protagonists' struggle. this is what drives the narrative. her actions are also what drives the narrative. the film follows the Todorov theory of an equilibrium and then a dis-equilibruim. the film also looks very conventional. it uses lighting in a very dramatic way. the lighting is very dark and moody , creating the dramatic scenes the music also reinforces this.

By Maurice Enwright

Kelly's Research into chosen genre with "My name is lisa"

For this part of my research in to the short film i am going to conduct an analysis of short film. The name of it is "my name is lisa" This is in the genre of drama. 

My name is Lisa follows many of the conventions of short film drama genre. One of the things that supports my point is that it has a narrative meaning that it has a specific beginning middle and end. This is curial to any film, so they audience has a clear understanding that it is actually a film, and that the audience know that something is actually going to disrupt, and cause entertainment. Also it follows the conventions of the genre drama but tackling a real life issue. The issue in this film is a girls struggle with her mother, who at first seems normal, but then the discover that she is mentally unwell. By tackling a real life issue, it gives the film a more realistic sense over all. Another convention that this also follows, is that it mergers with another genre. The genre in which it merges with is, melodrama. Melodrama, is  sub-type of a drama, characterized by a plot to appeal to the emotions of the audience. Another convention that this film sticks to from the drama genre is, having realistic characters. Before the characters talk the audience already can guess who the characters are and their relationship. This is also a convention used short film, because as there is less time to get to know the characters they want to be quickly established. 

This films follows Todorov's theory of equilibrium it starts with an equilibrium then has disequilibrium then has equilibrium again. This is a highly used theory in the drama genre. My name is Lisa also follows conventions of drama because it is realistic. It does this by taking all the issues seriously, does not try to be comical. This makes the audience, believe the narrative more, making them connect with the characters on a higher level. 

First task

The picture above is an untitled photograph. One of our first tasks that we was asked to do was to look at an image. From this we had to brainstorm ideas, themes and concepts which we got from the picture. We came up with many different concepts from this, ranging from love/hate to poverty. From the picture we decided that one of our main themes will be racism, and relationships. This is going to be put with our chosen genre of drama.