Monty Final Project

The shoot was a huge learning process. I was covering every role: runner; assistant director; Sparks; gaffer; Director of photography; Producer; projection playback; props; continuity; wardrobe; and director. The shoot itself was three days, meaning my time was spent very thin on each aspect of the production which inevitably diminished my ability to direct.

The day before the first day of shooting I realised I did not have the time to shoot everything on my script and so cut one of the characters and her scenes from the script. This was very necessary but difficult as I did not want to disappoint the actress and I had already made all of the backgrounds for her scene. The first day of the shoot went well until I got home and realised I had shut everything onto high and ISO and as such had to reshoot everything. The morning of the second day one of the leading actress is called in sick. She offered to reschedule but because I was renting lights and relying on other people being available I decided I could not rely on having her there to reshoot. How character was Tracy, who has managed her mind with the machines and become a part of them. Her key prop was the headset which she had one in the previous film Circuit Breaker. I therefore made the decision to make Tracy a robot and draped a tablecloth over a lighting stand and stuck the headset to the lighting stand. I then had one of the other actors lying under the table waggling Tracy to give her a sense of life, I will do I voice-over with the original actress once I have a cut together.

The first day I shot a scene I had rehearsed with the actors previously, as such I was able to direct them rather than teaching them the lines. However, on the second day we shot scenes I had not rehearsed with them and they had not learn their lines on their own time. This caused big problems as instead of directing their actions my time was spent teaching them their lines and so rather than being able to perfect sense I had to use whatever take they got their lines right. This was massively disappointing and will impact the quality of the shoot majorly. The third day was very rushed and we had to do some re-shoots from the previous day which I had not given enough time to you on the second day.

After reviewing the footage at home I realised I had not got all the coverage I needed from being so rushed and the actors not learning the lines, and so I did a pic update wear short for half a day to get the coverage I needed.

The key lessons I learned were: have a crew and actors you can rely on; plan everything to a minute detail; have people around to help; and fully test all the equipment and ideas before the actual shoot.

What happens to the human soul when it is shared with machines

Is it possible for a person to loose their soul, and can a machine gain one.

How does power corrupt the soul

redemption. Each character has done wrong and is trying to do right.

Finding hope in a dying world.

A good death. Lewis’ motivation for killing Tracy is partly to give his wife a sense of purpose and hope before they die. Katy gives Nigel a good death by allowing him to reminisce on their past before she shoots him. Katy also comforts Tracy as she dies. Katy and Lewis choose to end the world, thus ensuring the death of their daughter, rather than allow it implode into them.

(Brief) Tracy has discovered a way to match her mind to the machines, trading her soul for their awesome power. She is not, however, able to control what she has created and the world is collapsing into her mind. Katy, and assassin who used to work for Tracy, must kill Tracy to prevent this from happening. In doing so she seals the fate of both herself, her husband, and her daughter, but saves them from the eternity that would be life inside Tracy’s fracturing mind.

Script

Process

The script has gone through many iterations and versions and if I had more time it would have gone through more.

Narrative Breakdown

Pistols

The guns in the film are all made by me out of old circuit boards, dismantled harddrives, and pieces of computers. The films narrative centres around the destructive and deadly consequences of allowing computers to take control, and so by making the guns out of computers this idea is reinforced. The style also lends itself to the otherworldy setting of the film, and allows the story to be accepted on its own terms rather than drawing constant parallels to our own world.

Nigel’s gun

The scene in which Katy shoots Nigel will require a very small gun because the characters are almost pressed against each other. As such, I made Nigel’s gun very small so they would be able to get close without it getting in the way.

Lynda’s Gun

I started out with this design, but I felt the gun was too bulky and clumsy to fit Lydia’s character, which is fashionable and pretty. As such I took it apart and rebuilt it to better suit her.

New design for Lynda’s gun, I think it suits her way better now

Katy’s Gun
Katy’s pistol is the gun Tracy used in Circuit Breaker, and also the gun Kat used in Killer Kat. The idea is to present Katy both as Kat, and as someone with direct connections with Tracy.,

Headset

In the story, Tracy upgrades the equipment used to control her to control the world. As such, I decided to keep the headset largely the same but this time use an arduino to add flashing lights and give it more scale.

Started with headset from circuit breaker

I began by testing a simple speeding-up flashing lights sequence

I then began soldering the lights to headset. Luckily the style of the film allows for me to have all my wires open and not have to worry about hiding the connections.

Still needs work but success!

Code also still needs work

I wasn’t happy with the flashing sequence so i rewired the lights and rewrote the code so the flashing felt more intentional.

I used elastic and velcro to attach the headset to my head!

I have very limited time and resources to create this film, as such any post-production must be kept to a minimum. I am shooting almost entirely in a studio and have no budget for sets, so all the world-building must be composited. Instead of using greenscreen or rotoscope CGi I decided to use projectors as they will eliminate most of the post work and ensure I have a better chance of being able to finish the film on time. I also think they create a very otherwordly feel. As such, I need to create the backdrops that will be created before the shoot. Each scene/character will have their own backdrop that fits the narrative and characters.

SEA

Filming the sea is difficult as you cannot control it, or the sun, or the rain. This was my third time going down to brighton and it was perfect. The film above shows a few snippets from the day.

Universe

Outflows and shockwaves in the the crab nebula – Hubble’s view over the course of 1260 days!

Tracy’s backdrop will be the universe, representing the scale and enormity of her merging with the machines. I liked how the sea moved but there are no videos of galaxies or nebula moving; they take too long. As such, I decided I would make a still image move. I wanted it to move in a very natural way, and so I experimented with Blender to create a natural swaying motion, creating a sense of expansion and contraction and constant movment and flow.

Clouds

I have begun taking timelapses of the clouds to be projected over the interaction between Katy and Nigel.

Moving Backdrops

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I did my first rehersal. It went ok and it was interesting to see the scene being acted for the first time. I am unsure, however, how I should make the background of the scene. The options are: projected sea, composited sea, curtains, project a kitchen set, or make a kitchen set. I need to decide which will work best.

This first rehearsal was very useful in understanding what about the script worked and didn’t work. What was immediately clear is that the character of Lewis is far less developed than Katy. I need to think more about who he is.

This film Will be charged largely on its artistic merit. I have a very clear vision of how I want it to look, but I am also thinking about other films and art that I can draw inspiration from and that will inform the style in which I create.

STANLEY KUBRICK – A Clockwork Orange

Camera
Kubrick’s films greatly inspired me, and the style in which he directs and frames his shots Will transfer well to my film. Kubrick’s camera stay is largely static when filming dialogue aside from relatively small pans and tilts. Kubrick takes great care in his camera movements, and even though they are small they always have an impact. Because of the limited space and limited projector size, complex and large camera moves Will not be possible in my film. Instead, I will frame the shots carefully and precisely and use only minimal movements to capture action.

Directing Actors
Kubrick’s actors always give them most. There is no attempts at subtlety or realism, instead they are outrageously unrefined, in no way attempting to hide the characters personality. This appeals to me greatly. I am not making a documentary and I do not need the film to feel realistic. Instead, I am trying to capture feelings and sensations as any artist would. I find it strange how in film the tendency is often to attempt to capture reality perfectly, whereas in other artforms like painting or music artistic expression is valued far more highly. I would like my film to be judged as a painting or a song and not a documentary.

Characters
Kubrick’s characters are always larger-than-life and yet simultaneously entirely believable. They tap straight in to the source of the narrative and so no time is lost in subtley. They are also very interesting and exciting.

A Clockwork Orange
Kubrick’s film most relevant to this project is a clockwork Orange. The film explores what it means to be a man and the consequences of removing free will. Alex, a violent and sadistic thug is subjected to behaviour altering experiments in an attempt to subdue the violence inside him after he commits murder. Kubrick questions whether a man can be good if he has no choice, and further questions whether a society that attempts to remove a man’s choice can be good. These themes are similarly explored in my story. Tracy, who attempts to control the world by merging it with her mind, was once controlled herself. Scientists used brainwashing Technology to turn her into an assassin, it was only after this she felt the need do use the machines for her own power. Moreover, as Tracy begins to lose control over the machines the question is posed to what extent she is responsible for this. Is she a product of the experiments done upon her or is she acting on her own will.

Spongebob Squarepants

I have been watching a lot of older episodes of spongebob Squarepants recently and in doing so have learned a lot about framing a scene, editing, and character creation. The action always takes place on a wide and cuts to a medium or tight shot for reactions, depending on how significant they are. If characters move, the shot gently moves with them, keeping them in frame. Objects or characters of narrative significance I’ve given their own shot.

The characters, like Kubrick’s, are without subtlety all refinement. Each character clearly embodies very specific elements of humanity. They are clear in their intentions, beliefs, and characteristics. They are distinguishable and unique.

Frankenstein

Van Gogh

Test 1

Testing projections for waves of sorrow. I filmed the sea in brighton and projected it only a small set.

Test 2

I wasn’t happy with the shots of the sea so I went back to brighton and filmed some more. I then did another test, this time with the sea as the background behind me. I tried both projecting the sea onto a white sheet and keying out the white sheet to composite the sea behind me. I am unsure which I prefer.

Test 3

Testing lighting setups, lens, and projections

I am still unsure about keying the actors onto the background or sticking with projections, at the moment I am leaning towards the projections as I think they better capture the sense of disconnect and unreality.

This is a cut with some of my favourite takes, I think I will use projections for the film

I moved the projector back to give a bigger image so more of the backdrop will be in frame.

To create the CGI worlds , AI depth maps Will be made of photographs of nature. These depth maps will then be used to displace the photographs and to create three-dimensional spaces which can then be used as virtual sets