The Reluctant Blogger

The concept for this assignment was to create a one minute film using two characters and 1 light. The camera was handheld throughout, and captured one character’s point of view for the purpose of building an atmosphere of intensity. The chosen light source was a torch – which directly interacted with both characters – and was used to reveal things hidden in the darkness and create ghost-like reflections. Sound effects were recorded on location using radio mics, and additional recordings were made (such as footsteps) for foley design. These were the intentionally added in order to achieve the desired effect. In post-production, a static effect – which both incorporated the visual and audio aspects of the film – was added to help achieve a ‘poor quality’ look that also provided a way of piecing the footage together. As we filmed the short in a ‘haunted’ part of an old Pub, it was a little terrifying at times. There was little natural light to film with, so we had to ens...

THE BRIEF:   Advanced Film Production Module - Assignment 1: 'For this assignment you will need to shoot, edit, grade and sound design a short film detailing the journey from dawn to dusk.' Dartmouth Park Considering that 2014 was the 100 year anniversary of the end of the First World War, I wanted to create something that tied in with that theme. Although I wanted to concentrate on the First World War, I also wanted to remember every soldier who fought for our country in the many wars previous and since. I researched many of the cenotaphs and memorials around the Black Country, and decided to visit and 'catalogue' each one. FILM DESCRIPTION: Dawn till Dusk is a short 2 minute film that takes the audience on a journey around the Black Country, visiting all of the War Memorials in each borough over a period of time. The phrase 'Dawn till Dusk' is taken literally in several ways: the period of time; the beginning and end of the First World War; the na...

Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter, playwright and producer who is perhaps best known for writing the TV series Utopia (2013) and Black Sea (2014). Last Friday, a group of Year 2 Film Production students were given the opportunity to talk with Dennis Kelly over Skype, specifically focusing on script-writing. Dennis shared his writing experiences with the group, and gave tips and advice on how to better their writing skills. Here are some of the notes I jotted down from the conversation: I'm not interested in what other people want me to do. Part of the (scriptwriting) process is not doing anything and messing around. If you sit in front of a piece of paper for two hours, eventually something will appear on it... I think. I tend to hear character's voices. I don't know a character until they start speaking. Sometimes the situation determines who the people are. Each character needs to be bespoke, not stereotypical. You write accordingly to what the characters s...

David Warner, best known for his roles in Titanic, The Omen, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Planet of the Apes and TRON, shared his experiences, acting history and his opinions on competing for acting roles with the audience at Comic Con in Cardiff earlier in 2014. Q:‘Who do you admire most out of your fellow actors?’ “What I admire about my fellow – I’m in a very interesting group, of my age group, of competition, (which is not the question you asked) but my competition at the moment when we compete for parts – and that’s why I don’t do so many anymore – are, my age group: Patrick Stewart, Ian Mckellen, Michael Gambon, John Hurt… well, you know what I mean? As we get older there aren’t so many parts for people like us. But these are all people that I know and I admire. I have no problem with admiring my contemparys even though they might get the jobs that I might want, cause I’ve been round long enough to know that that’s how business works. They’re the t...