February 23, 2009

During this single period, having developed our storyline. We also started planning some camera angles and sounds that we could use.

At the start of the scene, we plan on having a medium range side profile shot of the man (Jackson) sitting at the bar. This shot will also be a rising shot starting from the bottom of the table to Jackson's face. The reason for this is, that the bottom of the table is dark and brightens as the camera moves up utilizing the gradually increasing amounts of light, this acts like a fade in transition. I think that this shot is effective because not only does it show Jackson's profile and surroundings but does so in an interesting manner.

Another unique type of shot that we plan to use are "Point of View Shots", usually from Jackson. This allows the audience to watch the scene through his eyes and will also be compatible with the voice over commentary of Jackson's thoughts. I think that this is one of the more effective shots because it integrates so well into our film noir atmosphere.

Lastly, we will be using the manual focus function on the camera so as to focus specifically either on close objects or far objects. This will allow interesting transitions between two separate parts of the stories to be depicted in a single shot. What we plan to do is have Natalia (the femme fatal character) close up to the camera but to the side with Jackson in the back ground. By shifting in out of focus, in one shot, the camera can focus on the goings on of both Natalia and Jackson.

As for sounds, we plan to utilize a vast range of both digetic and non-digetic sounds. During the bar scenes we will include soft music, laughing, girls squealing, footsteps the clink of cups and ice in drinks. All these will be non-digetic sounds and will help facilitate in creating the bar atmosphere. After filming we had planed to voice over all the dialog, however, we vetoed that idea because not only will it be difficult to mouth sync but also would be very time consuming.

Overall, today was yet a another productive lesson in which we worked efficiently and got a lot done. One of the skills I exercised today was "open mindedness" and "caring" of the IB Learner profile, in which I paid attention and gave feedback to the suggestions of other. We also "reflected" critically after every step, considering how a particular piece of dialog, cut or type of shot contributed to our storyline. Our group co-operated very well together and all contributed ideas to improve our film and have thus made good progress.