March 16, 2009

Having finished our film noir unit, we proceeded to our second unit: Portal Chase Scenes.

I had a general idea of what this unit would explore; I had watched last year's portal chase scene as well as "Jumper" (2008) which explored this concept of filming. A portal by definition means: A person or an object which enters through an opening (usually a doorway) in one location and exits in an another. However, although I know the theory and characteristics of "portals" I still have yet to know the camera and editing techniques to make the portals flow smoothly and seem realistic. Because portals don't exist, the effectiveness of a portal relies heavily on the execution of filming/camera techniques and the editing process.

Ms. Wong split us into groups, and we started work. I was very disappointed to have to work with new group members as we had experience working with our old group members. Now we would have to start from scratch. I hope that we would be able to choose our groups in our next project. In addition to new group members, we also assumed different roles. In the film noir project, I was the editor, now I am the camera person. My other group members are Henry, Joyce and Justin. With only a single period to work, we first devised a storyline for our film as well as some possible locations and type of portals we could use. Through discussions we decided on a student-teacher chase scene. This satisfies the requirements of a chase scene as well as add a sense of humor. Personally, i think that this is a very effective theme for our story because the audience will be able to relate to it easily. Having adapted to a more humorous approach to our project, Henry, who is our sound director, decided to
compose his own music which replicates that of Charlie Chaplin. This will greatly enhance the humorous aspects of our film. Adapting the theme of the "olden day silent comedies" we also plan on using "teletext" in which all verbal audio is negated and substituted with text.

In terms of locations and portals we had a list of the possible ones that we could do:
1. Through a classroom door and out of a bathroom cubicle. This will be quite easy to do as there will probably be little people in each locations. However the sudden change in lighting may pose a continuity problem.
2. Through a closet and out of a rubbish bin. This can also be easily done however will be difficult because we intend on using a rubbish bin which is in a public location and might startle the pedestrians.
3. Corridors: Probably most well known from Scooby Doo and the Matrix, portals could be done within one location. This is executed by having a long corridor with doors on each side. A person would enter in through one door and exit out a another. This would be very effective and humorous for our cause especially if we had multiple people running around at the same time. However, this would prove to be very challenging because all these portals would be taking place in ONE location. Because of this, the lighting for each shot must be the same or a continuity problem will arise. Through my experience with editing in my previous project, I learned that keeping the lighting constant in one central location can be quite simple. This is done through editing the first scene and copying the attributes to the others, thus producing a constant lighting.

I think that cohesion and relationship between the modern and contemporary setting and dialog of our film and the olden day technique of using silent movie soundtrack and "teletext" is a very unique way to approach our portal chase scene project and will no doubt produce a very interesting outcome.

As a camera person, this project will challenge my ability to adapt to different environments and situations. Especially with this project, being the using the appropriate camera techniques and angles is crucial in making the portals look convincing. This will exercise my "knowledge" as a film maker and a student in portals. To be able to "inquire" and "think" of ways to use my environment to my advantage in making the portals realistic. Working in a new group, it will also test my "communications" skills to be able to work effectively with my new group and to convey my ideas and actively contribute and discuss with my peers. Lastly to be a "risk taker", especially in learning something new, I think that as a IB learner it is important to take risks as it will not only have a chance of producing something really good but also will have a rich beneficial value. I am very excited about this new project and am sure that this will be a rewarding experience.