Filming the scene!

With the script finalised, I organised the shoot for Tuesday the 13th. We started off by going briefly through the script together to get a clear joint idea of what we would be doing and then we quickly got going. 

We shot in chronological order for most of the day, only shooting out of order if there was the need for a lens change for a couple of shots together. I used two lenses for the shoot; predominantly a vintage 50mm F1.8 which gives a much more cinematic depth of field (along with an anamorphic bokeh filter that I added to the back of the lens), and the other was my 15-45 kit lens for any shot in which I wanted a wider angle to show the isolation of the character. 

I shot the scene in 4k resolution so I have maximum image quality and flexibility in post. I tried to slowly increase the amount of handheld shots as the day went on in an attempt to create more unrest in the viewer. Liam Shevill was great to work with again and played the role nicely as well as offering suggestions. I am really pleased with his performance and contribution.

The only issues were that we had to re-shoot a couple of shots the next day due to the originals being far to noisy as a result of the high ISO to compensate for the sunset. This wasn't a problem and I am actually more happy with the new takes from a cinematic perspective as well as they are framed better (as well as lit better).

Scriptwriting for the short scene

Once I knew the location the scene would take place in, I could start scripting. 

Choosing shot types was something I put a lot of thought into, making sure that each shot was motivated and telling the audience something with visual communication. There were only 2 spoken lines in the script, both of which didn't even stay in the edit. The shots also get tighter and quicker as the story progresses to accentuate the tension. The way I visualised the difference between the VFX shots and NO VFX shots was intuitive and made a clear distinction.

I think that I could have done better in making action details more obvious when reading the script. There were a few times during filming where I would really have to read shots before and after in order to remember exactly what each shot was. This wasted time, and could have been easily solved by adding those details and maybe putting them in bold.

Here is the final script that was used for filming...

Location Decision

Yesterday, Me and Dan did a scout of the locations he has shortlisted for his creature. While Kirkstall Abbey does provide some interesting visuals and opportunity for creative shot types, it would be logistically much more complex to film there. It also doesn't provide any height difference for high angle shots. There are also signs everywhere with history information, which take away from any mystical atmosphere. 

We decided that the woods would be the location that would likely offer the most variety and freedom in shooting, while also being much easier to film there; with it being close to our house and not needing permission. Now I know where the scene will take place, I will finalise the script ready to shoot as soon as possible. 

Practical Development Update

I have decided to drop the idea of a practical version of the scene since it doesn't actually add all that much to my argument and it would be hardest version to film and create. As I've done more research, I've refined the idea to be more about the impact of digital visual effects, rather than any other method of tricking the audience.
There are many more ways to trick an audience but I just want to explore the digital visual effects side of things.
Dan is currently shortlisting locations for his creature to exist in, and once he has decided, I will finalise the script and film all footage I need to. 

Digital Storytelling - Uses of Visual Effects Research

In reading 'Digital Storytelling' by Shilo t. McClean, I have been informed on the categories of visual effects usage. This has made me think about how I am going to go about my practical scenes a bit more.

• Invisible (everything within the shot could be done for real, must be doable. Maybe it's just easier, cheaper or safer to do with visual effects)
• Seamless (audience can’t tell that it is vfx, however, they know it must be. The example the book gives is 1945 Warsaw, the audience knows that they obviously couldn't have filmed there, however it looks convincing.)
• Exaggerated (between real world and extraordinary, often used with comedy and action as pace ramps up. Used to push the boundaries of what is possible)
• Fantastical (something that simply couldn’t be real but made to look it. Alien creatures, magical effects, ect.)

So there may be less of an argument to be made there about if effects are really needed because some elements of the story simply couldn't be shown at all without effects. This means that for my scene without effects, I would have to film it in a very different way altogether.

A solution to this dilemma could be to have a few different effects (the creature being fantastical, other shots having seamless effects that people genuinely could believe are real). This adds a bit more variety to my argument since some effects might not even be noticed so we can see if they actually do change the impact of the story at all.

COP3 Proposal

Visual Effects and the audience's perception of story in contemporary TV drama.

In my project, I want to explore the power of how a story is delivered. Most people would agree that in TV and film entertainment, the story is paramount. However in modern content, you’d struggle to find a show or film that does not utilize visual effects in some shape or form. Whether it is used to establish a scene in a matte painting or to have a full on CG character/creature, it is used usually used to aid the story.

Popular opinion is that visual effects are being overused in movies to the point where it is actually a hindrance to the story, that the filmmakers are being lazy in telling their stories because they know they still have visual effects to make it look interesting.

I wish to learn and evidence that it is not so simple as that. If visual effects are used well to the service of the story they should be seamless in an effort to immerse you further into the story.

For my practical, I am planning to create a scene three separate times. The first without any visual effects (filming around the need for visual effects). The next version will be done with simple practical effects to at least tell the story in a more visual manner. Then the final version will be that same scene but with visual effects to the best of my ability. They should all fundamentally tell the same story, however the delivery of the story could also make an impact on which version people prefer and which they feel communicates the information needed more effectively. This should hopefully help me learn about the differences needed to tell a story and also how to work around the tools we have at our disposal.

At this moment in time, I am still in search of what scene I am going to make into my three clips. I will choose based on how much information is communicated in the scene and how complex of an effect it would be.

For case studies I will be selecting drama that involves good story and less so effects, and then something else with a rather lackluster story but with stunning visual effects. I can find a few examples of both and compare how they sit with popular opinion.

Some books I am using to aid in my research are:

• Story - Robert Mckee
• The Hero with a Thousand Faces - Joseph Campbell
• Digital Storytelling: The Narrative Power of Visual Effects in Film - Shilo T. McClean
• Digital Visual Effects in Cinema: The Seduction of Reality - Stephen Prince

RocketJump Video Essay

This is a video essay from the YouTube channel RocketJump which I felt was pretty relevant to my research. RocketJump started out as a YouTube channel making silly skits and shorts involving many visual effects, however in the last few years they have started to branch out into much more long form storytelling with shows of theirs getting onto Netflix and HuluPlus.
Some key quotes mentioned within are:

‘Great visual effects serve story and character, and in doing so are, by their very definition, invisible’

‘Even classics, with practical effects that might look dated to our modern sensibilities, we don’t really seem to mind those and audiences certainly didn’t at the time. Maybe it’s because we don’t have much to complain about when it comes to great movies, the craft and storytelling so enchants us that we’re not in the back of our heads looking for an easy scapegoat’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL6hp8BKB24