Eight*

Sushi Express 5D mark II 720p from sushiexpressthemovie on Vimeo.

Rad use of a Canon 5d Mark II! Found this very inspiring and intriguing (regards to research for my filming methods for my short film). Even though it was in French =

Stumbled across this in a 3D World Magazine that I bought today. The style is awesome! And I must say I am a huge fan of the replacement of the actors head with a CGI head - looks absolutely fantastic! The character art featured in the magazine (January 2010 Issue) is quite abstract and a little Tim Burton-esque (a little). 

Check out the Sushi Express Site.

Seven*

Tron notes.

Tron definitely broke boundaries in technology and pushed it above and beyond it's capabilities at the time. This is often viewed as the greatest achievement of the film - and the story is ignored.


Tron has a distinct visual style, which is a direct result of using computer graphics extensively for the first time. The film's graphics were radical at the time when video games such as Space Invaders were what the public audience saw as the pinnacle of state-of-the-art graphics.


Issues over time with the aging of the film may reflect poorly on the 1982 film once the 2010 sequel 'Tron Legacy' is released.


Inspiration/Reference points:


In alot of ways Tron represents some things I would love to achieve and many I would like to avoid in my short film. The emotional detachment that I felt from most of the characters is something I want to avoid - but admittedly it is difficult to care about characters who are computer programs. The thing I love is how Tron established a unique and instantly recognisable graphics style.


That's the dream.

Six*

The Spirit notes.

The film felt like a graphic novel; the editing, pacing and framing.

The opening credits interplayed into the footage effectively; particularly the “Samuel L Jackson as The Octopus” frame.

The exaggerated character created an undertone of humour and eccentricity. Specifically the character of The Octopus.

Costumes and dialogue nuances were era-specific/appropriate.

Visual effects were sensibly styles to the graphic novels styling, but no detail was removed – the detail lost in the shadows was still created in case it was necessary.

Stark contrast in grading was effective yet only in this particular style of film i.e. Sin City, would not work outside of the noir genre I fear.

Shots of The Spirit running across the rooftops of the city (silhouetted) were effective and fitted the tone, the general look of the city and the silhouette was fantastically effective.

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Inspiration/Reference points; 

The main inspiration/reference from The Spirit was the cinematography; the unique framing of the scenes and the way that these were executed in a way that was fitting the genre. I also drew inspiration from the characters, whilst I am still uncertain at this point whether or not I am wanting a dark or light tone to my short film (as the story reworks itself in my head from day-to-day) the characters here were eccentric. That is something that I particularly enjoyed and would like to explore in some aspect.

Five*

James Cameron was recently interviewed by Charlie Rose, the link to the interview is at the bottom of this entry. It's around 30 minutes long and there is a general discussion about Avatar in regards to what Cameron had hoped to achieve with his project, and the level of the success that it has had. Cameron stated in the interview that he had wanted to pull all the stops out and blow people away with something that they had never seen before in the cinema. This is an awkward task with today's films so saturated with CGI and unnecessary VFX that the task of 'wow-ing' the audience with something new was near impossible.

The majority of the interview is spent discussing reviewers opinions of Avatar and to make a point for the film to force the audience to view humanity the way that nature perceives us; as a foreign intruder (a view which has caused some audiences to feel moral outrage at being portrayed as the 'bad guy'). These discussions combined with his suggestions on how to create a story that  finds a key to the audience's heart; keeping the story simple and relatable through exploring the universals of human experience (common ground) and express them in new ways.


Watch it. Or rather listen to it. Definitely worth it.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10866#frame_top 

Four*

 

Alien Nation notes.

The premise of the film is similar to the base of my initial masters proposal.

The background of the story was established in the very opening scene of the film through the use of news reports and very similar to the thoughts that I have had for establishing the background for the universe in which my film will be based.

Scenes of aliens succumbing to the foibles of the human condition; robbery, shootings and heavy drinking (off-milk as opposed to alcohol).

The aliens had not been allowed to participate in the human law enforcement until the events of the film.

The aliens are simple – different head/’hair’ to humans (simple effective and mass producible makeup).

Real-world effects are used, not otherworldly – the film took place on earth – an alternate present.

The film introduced the ideas of simple things that humans take for granted which the aliens cannot process i.e. salt water.

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Inspiration/Reference points; 

The main inspiration/reference points that I pulled from watching this film was the style that the background to the story was prepared and presented to the audience. As I mentioned it is similar to some ideas that I have and watching this film proves that it would be an effective method in establishing the story's background. This is of course dependent upon the effective implementation of this technique and also the scenes that I select to include.

Also the politics of the intermixing the aliens into the human occupations was a very interesting story point.

Three*

Mad Max notes.

The setting of the film was relatively simple, an arid post-apocalyptic wasteland which simply made use of the wide open spaces of rural Australia without having to alter them overly much to achieve the sense of vast open ‘dead’ spaces.

The timeline made use of the current technologies (mostly automotive) and presented them in a light that made them appear futuristic. Not in the sense that they were a more advanced piece of technology but rather that they had a different ‘life’ to what the audience would have experienced.

The dystopic future was not established in a direct way; more in the appearance of the film – the costumes, sets, vehicles, the activities of the wastelands inhabitants.

Due to the lower budget the film felt DIY, but achieved a professional cinematic experience through the cinematography.

Slow paced film for the most part, despite the 95 minute running time; it id pick up in the latter 30 minutes.

Lighting of the film was very natural, harsh almost in parts – little artificial lighting or grading appeared noticeable in the exterior shots.

Made use of a variation of environments; several sequences appearing to be shot in at least 4 different locations – this allowed the filmmaker to create an a world unlike that which the audience was familiar with. A very simple resolution to an issue that in modern time would be solved by green screen and CGI technologies (for the most part).

The story was simple and straightforward – to the point.

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Inspiration/Reference points;

The use of varying environments to achieve the sense that you were somewhere alien was an incredibly effective way of achieving the effect. My project being visual effects based will make use of more effects (matte painting etc) than these sequences did, but I am now mindful of keeping the choice to create something through use of that technique. Also the use of the space (without alteration) is something to take not of.

I am wanting to achieve a natural looking film, with little artificial light (where possible). Especially for the outside shots; I realise this will make shooting the film more difficult – especially reshoots, but I maintain this as a goal.

Two*

 As a part of my research I have been looking into alternative methods of filming and remembered an article I stumbled across in December last year, which I posted an entry about on my personal blog so I thought I would repost it here;

The article was on photographer Phillip Bloom and his recent visit to Skywalker Ranch to demo some camera's to the Lucasfilm crew out there, namely George Lucas, Rick McCallum and Mike Blanchard. The camera's that he was giving the run down on were the Canon 5DmkII and the Canon 7D - but focusing on their potential for use in film as opposed to still photography. As someone who is looking to make a short film over the next 2 years  I was very quickly very interested in this article and followed it to Bloom's personal blog which went more in depth into what he did whilst out at the Ranch for 5 days.

Skywalker Ranch from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

It's amazing what can be done with a digital slr, I must say that i was unprepared for the superb quality of the video. No wonder ILM/Lucasfilm are looking into the cameras, moreso Lucasfilm than ILM. Lucasfilm just finished up principle photography on Red Tails and are looking into the cameras for use in shooting some cockpit scenes (WWII Fighters) which sounds as though they are once again moving ahead of the times. The maneuverability within a cockpit with a slr opposed to a full size film camera is of a definite advantage to the film maker - obviously allowing them the freedom for new angles, perspectives and techniques that the physical size of film cameras immediately dismiss. As Bloom mentions in his blog, they are also considering the cameras for some work on the upcoming live-action Star Wars TV Series; which I am very curious to hear/see more about but that will not be appearing on our radar for a while longer. Obviously the range of the applications for these camera's is of obvious interest to those in the film industry looking to further the techniques of filming, or at least alternative methods. I think there would also be interest from the Indie Film Community due to the camera's portability and it may be a cheaper, more cost effective approach for some.

Following this train of research has given me something to think about in regards to my Master's Short Film. There is an accompanying seminar that is to be written and given in the latter part of the course's duration which focuses on your project and area of focus. I think I will look into new and alternative methods of filming and incorporating visual effect.

One*

Welcome to my blog! This is where I will be keeping track of my progress on my Master of Arts Practice (Visual Effects) Project for the next 2 years. It's very exciting, starting something like this - I hope you will enjoy the progress as much as I will!

Below is excerpts from my original proposal, dated 27 November 2009. I have since been accepted as a Masters Candidate and though the official University study period is yet to start, I thought I may as well begin it in some respect.

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Excerpts from "Master of Arts Practice (Visual Effects) Project Proposal" - Dane Kirkland. 27 Nov 2009. 

Introduction

My aim in undertaking a Masterʼs Project in Visual Effects is to create a short film that explores the nature of the human condition when dealing with a myriad of emotions with a focus on guilt and hope. I intend on exploring this through a short film, making use of such storytelling techniques such as surreal dream sequences and flashbacks. The process of creating the short film would also perform in a way that would encourage me to develop my skills in special effects further and implement them in new and more efficient ways than I have previously. The end result would be entered in both national and international film festivals and competitions.

Story Outline

The story would be set in an alternate present focusing on a young man attempting to deal with watching the changing world and those changes in society that are for the worse (war, death, corruption, social decline). Focusing on his guilt over the fact that he could be doing something about these changes due to the recent manifestation of the super-human ability to influence, persuade and manipulate people’s actions. His guilt is amplified by his observations that there are a few others in his proximity who are also developing abilities and using not applying them in a beneficial way. Climax of the story is his decision to make a difference and use his power to change society and this decision coming too late as the city in which he is living is attacked as a World War is announced. Dream sequences would be used to portray his ideal world and the flashbacks would provide a history to the character (including a background in the armed forces).

Rough Timeline

As I intend to undertake the Master of Arts Practice Part-Time and by distance education I plan on spending the first 6 months writing the script and storyboarding the film, as well as producing a rough animatic of the film. Whilst doing this I would also focus on pre production; scouting locations to film, finding actors as well as learning and mastering new techniques. This stage of the preproduction would extend until November 2010, which is when I would ideally like to begin principle photography. The aim is that during preproduction I would trial different techniques and decide upon which will be used in the final product, and ideally some effects created during pre-production would be easily transferrable into the final product with some minor touching up. With this timeline I would hope that filming would be completed by December/January at the latest and then the entirety of 2011 would be spent in post production, developing an edit and final visual effects, with the film ready to submitted to festivals by the end of the year.

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Some other things of note;

I will be watching a number of reference feature films as well as any short films that I come across that are applicable to what I am doing. At this point upon reflecting on the base story that I presented as a proposal I can see that there will be significant reworkings as well as a clear defining point to the film. Along with the short film I need to complete a written component, so the first stages of the script writing will definitely involve narrowing down the my focus area in regards to;

- Story - 

What it is I am trying to achieve with the short film in regards to the audience's response and what I personally am trying to achieve with the film. As it stands I'm uncertain about the direction I want to take - looking at my initial outline there are certain stereotypical things that I am attempting to avoid. Right now my thoughts is that I want the film to evoke an emotional response from the audience. I just really need to nail down what I want to achieve.

- Technical -

I am looking into new techniques in filming and plan on applying some to the short film - attempting to create something which is with the current/or next trends as opposed to an older technique.