Preliminary Task (Shooting)

This week, we have been given a scene with a simple storyboard which made it possible for us to be quite original due to the various options to shoot it. Nevertheless, it required at least five different shots to make it effective and realistic: 

• A wide short first. It is always safer to do this in the beginning because if an unexpected issue makes the rest of the filming difficult, at least we can tell the story. (1)
• An over-the-shoulder shot from one of the characters' back and vice versa. (2,3)
• A close-up of one of the characters' face and vice versa. (4,5)

I was in a group with Celine, Emma and Adri and we were assigned the studio as the venue where we would record the scene. We were extremely lucky because we already had a set prepared as a consequence! Adri and I soon got in charge of the technical aspects of the sequence, assembling the tripod and camera as we had been taught some days ago: meanwhile, Celine and Emma went on learning the script, though in the end they decided to be spontaneous and read the actual pages in front of the camera... Not that I didn't object, but one gets tired of fighting with a group of people who are not willing to work. So yes, the acting could have been taken much more seriously so it wouldn't involve as much work as it is going to require in the editing process. We are definitely going to see the storyboard through the screen, and the actresses laughing a couple of time though, no matter how much we crop the frames. 

On the other hand, I am very satisfied with the job that Adri and I did. We performed our task with the utmost efficiency, recalling all the pieces of advice that Matt and Paul had given us about the use of the cameras. We carefully planned the order in which we were going to get the different shots and, each time we changed position, we focused the camera as we had been taught previously. Moreover, we extended or lowered the tripod depending on which person or object we were going to film to make it look smoother, and we used the appropriate terminology to get everyone prepared for a new shot. 

We did all the shots that were compulsory for the actual completion of the task in 10-15 minutes, and then we decided to explore a bit further during the time we had left —half of it—. We did close shots of the door, a piece of furniture which appears both in the beginning and in the ending of the short sequence so it conveys a feeling of familiarity but also of the superficiality of the action that takes place inside the room. We also carried out the scene from the floor, recording the pieces of script being torn by Celine and stepped on as well —more drama—. 

At all times, we respected the 180 degree rule, which establishes an imaginary line between the characters in a dialogue that we shouln't cross, and we tried to encourage our actresses to match their actions each time we recorded the whole scene again from a different angle. Honestly, I don't know what we will encounter when we have to edit this, but I hope that we can achieve continuity throughout the whole video as well as getting a funny result, at least.

My biggest regret is not having played a bit with the lines and transformed the basic story into a gripping one with some effort and creativity. I heard that many other groups came up with brilliant ideas for their tasks even though we all have the same storyboard. Themes as varied as pregnancy came along the way, in fact, thanks to the versatile lines that we were given. I have learnt, anyway, that I need to be more firm next time we film and implement energy and work ethic among my peers. 

Another important lesson that I took out from this practice was that, in any media text, people in front and behind the camera have to work with coordination and cooperation in order to get a good result, while before shooting the Preliminary Task I thought that actors and the rest of the crew, other than the director and producer, would barely talk during the process of making a film. Communication is key!

Tipping Point (review)

During Friday's class, we have been working in groups to make comments on a thriller which is called Tipping Point. It takes place in a basement with low key lightning, which makes us feel that something suspicious is taking place there. Within the first seconds, we are shown a scene where a young man is leaning with blood on his face. The gesture he makes shows fear; he is terrified and this obviously makes us want to understand why he feels this way and what is going on. The scene is dark, which contributes to an uncomfortably morbid setting. We can see blood on the boy's face. It forshadows that the boy is hurting somone or is being hurt himself. Before the boy's face is shown, we have also seen a knife on the groud, which implies that violence will be involved.  

Afterwards, we are showed a man who seems quite relaxed; he is eating popcorn in a sofa. On the contrary, the boy who is facing the task of killing the girl looks devasted. The man in the sofa starts to force the boy to finish his job and, although at this point we are unsure about the plot yet, we can assume it is some sort of a sick game. 

Then, he crumbles and, with a fake paternal tone, the arrogant-looking man who is eating popcorn tries to cheer him up while he asks for a gun. Soon, the apprentice is dead and the camera lets us have a glimpse of the scientists writing things down in their notebooks. After that, it is the turn of a second boy. It is implied that the process is going to continue until all the young killers-to-be die or one of them actually murders the girl and there is a change. That is part of the tension the thriller builds: will the next boy manage to kill her?

 

As the scene evolves, we  start to perceive what the thriller is about: a Chinese experiment is being carried out. It consists of young men being casted to kill an actress who gets paid to pretend that she is a victim.

We know about the story thanks to the visual support and the clever angles through which we can see the characters: the actress, the prospective killer/s, the watcher who is checking the experiment while he ironically picks at some popcorn, and the Chinese scientists, viewing everything from a window fitted in one of the walls of the basement.

  

                            

Tension is all over the place since the first second, in fact. At first we feel pity for the girl thanks to her dramatic gestures of fear and desperation. Then we jump in our sits while the watcher kills the apprentice in cold blood. Finally, we wonder what will happen. The reigning obscurity and the close shots of the faces of the characters add up to the feeling of insecurity and strain that we are already experiencing. The sound effects (gun shots, steps) or even the lack of them (the initial roaring silence) enhance the scene. The lighting, as well as keeping the scene dark as we already mentioned, give a sence of industrialised space and some blue and red lights are intelligently used to make the actors glow and see their gestures with more precision.

The acting really stands out in this opening scene. It is what makes us feel sympathy or disgust towards the different characters, as well as the script, of course. It seems so easy to worry about the girl and then blame her for being just an actress and making suffer the apprentices who believe that the are being asked to kill a real victim. It is also effortless to be implicated with the young men and to detest utterly the watcher who assassinates without emotion.

In this thriller sequence, it could even be argued that the actors are the strongest part. However, we can still find all the elements of a sequence: it is clearly shown by a wide shot that the location is a basement. Moreover, the use of sound is effective: having a white noise at the start with no real sound makes the piece interesting as you wonder what is going to happen next and expect a climax. The scene, although it seems to present the stereotypical pretty damsel in distress,  is full of dark humour and fear, and nothing is what it looks like.

The idea of this deadly "X Factor" strikes me as a very original and effective one which keeps us on the edge of our seats. The thriller is left on a cliff hanger which can even manage to frustrate some of the most eager viewers. As the last character comes in, his aura of mystery certainly creates expectations. Will he be the protagonist? The tone and language suggest that the rest of the movie is going to involve a good amount of action, murders and betrayals. 

Having contemplated the aforementioned facts, we regard "Tipping Point" as a remarkable work which achieves what any opening sequence should do: engage the viewer and make them eager to continue watching.

                           

Vertigo, a mesmeric reverie

As this is a Media Blog, I am quite certain that you won't be surprised by the content of this post: I'm going to talk about my favourite film. And I will be listening to Bernard Hermann's music alongside; the choices are narrowed down. It sounds like Hitchcock, doesn't it? This afternoon, I have the pleasure to write about a piece of art: "Vertigo". It was released in the year 1958, distributed by Paramount Pictures and starred James Stewart and Kim Novak as the main characters. With a gross rental of 2.8 million dollars, some people would certainly label the film as a failure in Alfred Hitchcock's career. In fact, he himself seemed unsure about his vision of "Vertigo", and eventually blamed James Stewart's "old" appearance for its lack of success. However, others would stand up for it and even regard it as a classic. Personally, I do not share any of the two major viewpoints. 

From my perspective, "Vertigo" is pure poetry. It undoubtedly has those abstract elements which make a poem worth reading, as well as emotional depth and an outstanding aesthetic. Adding to this, we can find a great mastery of cinematography and an unusual script based on Boileau-Narcejac's novel "D'entre les morts". The main actors are very convincing and the choice of setting is regrettable —the original book designated Paris as the city where the action takes place, although Hitchcock decided to shoot the movie in San Francisco because, as mentioned by Aulier, "with its vertiginous streets and hilly landscape, the location perfectly matched the film’s themes. In a city where there were such extreme physical highs and lows, awful for anyone with acrophobia, the protagonist's vertigo became a character in and of itself"—. 

The storyline has an undeniable complexity: a retired detective, Scottie, is contacted by an old friend from college with the purpose of following his wife Madeleine, as he believes her to be under the influence of a spirit, Carlotta, an ancestor who committed suicide. Apparently, Madeleine wanders around town for the whole day with no other purpose than staring blankly at a portrait of Carlotta in an art museum or leaving some flowers in her grave, though it is known that she does not have any clue of the existence of her tragic relative. She falls into a state of trance on a regular basis and tries to commit suicide in various occasions. During the first attempt, Scottie is lucky enough to be around and saves her from drowning in the Fort Point bay. However, when Madeleine throws herself from a tower, by which time Scottie has fallen in love with her, he is unable to prevent her death due to his rooted fear of altitude —"Vertigo"—. She dies at the same age as Carlotta did, and everything seems to indicate that we are contemplating a ghost story with touches of romance and suspense. But this is just the first climax.

During the second half of the film, we find ourselves watching a devastated Scottie, living for the memory of his friend's dead wife. Each time that he sees a woman who resembles her, he runs into her in a desperate search for his lost lover. This happens until he finds Judy Barton, from Kansas. She reminds him of Madeleine with such intensity that he decides to drag her into an insane relationship in which he constantly asks her to change details in her behaviour and looks so that she becomes the perfect Madeleine. The second climax occurs soon. Scottie finds Carlotta's necklace, a recurring object which Madeleine used to possess and admire, among Judy's belongings. In an estate of manic rage, he urges her to return to the tower where Madeleine's death took place. The plot finally unfolds: Judy has collaborated with Scottie's friend in order to murder his unwanted wife by the means of a convincing story, some acting and a witness —Scottie—. In the middle of her confession, a nun appears in the top of the monastery's tower, and Judy, shocked and overwhelmed by her guilty conscience, falls into the void and dies, this time, for real. 

The ending is the only matter that puts me off when I want to re-watch the film. I much prefer the original idea, which Hitchcock altered in his adaptation of the novel: Judy dies chocked by Scottie, who acts in a state of blind outburst. I believe that this culmination is more logical and perfectly matches the characters and the general atmosphere of the film. 

Despite this elucidation, "Vertigo" is a masterpiece which would inspire any sensible viewer, containing strong images, unforgettable characters, clever plot twists and even psychological controversy. It is one of the few films I have watched which despises the dialogue for more than ten minutes and does not arouse in me any sense of boredom or impatience. I find the sentimental element unquestionably interesting: a man loves a woman who is an illusion, the real woman loves him, and he destroys both without being guilty of no crime. Furthermore, the technique is innovative and the famous "vertigo effect" was developed during the film —a zoom forward while tilting the camera backwards—, as well as the psychedelic approach which is chosen to depict Scottie's nightmares. 

Each shot is full of detail and each time you see the film you get to appreciate its nuances with more accuracy. The air of disorientation is successfully achieved by both of the main actors, who play characters that live in an uneasy discomfort, each one in different ways. It is a movie which requires your full attention but, once you commit to that, "Vertigo" will become an obsession almost as dangerous as Scottie's delusion.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertigo_(film)#Reception
http://mentalfloss.com/article/69070/11-dizzying-facts-about-vertigo
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052357/reviews?ref_=tt_urv