Maybe the Edit Can Outsmart the Character

Very similar to the montage that will take place in Logan's secret room. 

The Imitation Game (2015)

From an editors perspective this film is fascinating to watch, it uses to montage theory to it's advantage to advance the story before the narrative itself. It's screen language of showing Alans face in a close-up whenever he has a Eureka moment but those moments that lead to something are always followed by subsequent close-ups of the rest of the team acknowledging something amazing is about to happen. It's like the film is a code in itself. It follows the main characters obsessive tendencies, there are close up montages of his work and his quirky habits. The film is edited to keep up with the pace of Alan's thinking, the film is smarter than Alan and shows you the pieces before he realises the answer. If only a machine can outsmart a machine, then maybe the edit can outsmart the character. 

You're never bored with what you're seeing, it moves fast but the viewer isn't left behind.

I chose to study this film because of the comparisons that can be made of Alan Turing and Logan. Both prefer to work alone, out of sight of other people. Both are obsessed over finding the correct answer. Both have to eventually share their ideas with someone who they don’t have a romantic relationship with. Both breakdown at the end of the film - the only difference is Logan can accept her revelation and grow, Alan never has the choice.

I believe I will return to this film a lot during the editing process so look for another blog post looking deeper into the enigma that is The Imitation Games editing methodology. 

Click Click Boom

So I could work on something other than a spreadsheet I set out doing a mini soundscape for Unmerciful.

This started with me and Mirella heading into the studio to do some recordings of the cards, plus the recordings of the door, leaves and general movement. The rest of the sounds used within the piece are sources online due to the fact that until very recently (like last 7 days recently) we didn't have a sound recordist and due to other commitments I wasn't able to go out and record foley myself.

Me in the studio. 

From here I spent a few days in Protools getting the general layout (mostly the flashbacks as, for now at least, I don't have a lot of sounds for the office). I played around with the atmospheres I could create using different card noises, joined with the glitch effects that the cards in the film triggers.

I tried to keep the guns to a minimum aka when they are actually stated in the script. As I have said previously I don't want this film to sound like just another war film because it isn't. This film is about the aftermath of war, war is the cause of the story not the story it's self. So you have children laughter, crunching leaves, enhanced everyday sounds such as writing, doors and clocks. 

I also added a music track behind it. Testament of Youth is a huge inspiration for this film and has orchestral music behind it, not all the time but enough to make an impact. I originally ruled out composing music for films this year because last year it didn't go so well. However when listening to the piece without music it felt hollow, like something was missing but I knew just adding more sounds wouldn't make it better. So I started messing around on the piano whilst the track was playing.

I originally had this piece spanning around 3 octaves but it was drawing the attention away from the sounds which isn't what I was going for. So I took some advice from James (from last years project) when he was telling me about an animation student who had composed an entire track from 2 notes. Simplified it. Then it just seemed to fit. Now I won't be composing anything for the actual film but I won't rule out searching for some music to enhance the sounds around it - war zones might not have music but offices/houses do.

A Testament of Youth (and 1st Year Rachel's Opinions)

Testament of Youth is one of my all time favourite films, visuals stunning, a literary masterpiece in it's own right and the sound design is phenomenal. The soundtrack is one of my go to pieces of music to listen to when I'm working. Whist this movie is a war film the sound design is actually quite beautiful. Orchestral music, lighthearted with a significant piano track. The sound design shows the horrors of war but that isn’t the main focus, it primarily shows the mindset of the main character Vera.

I actually wrote a review of this film when it first came out so here it is!

'When I first heard around Testament of Youth it was because of actor Colin Morgan, who I’m a huge fan of (See he's in the Merlin project and The Tempest project - I'm not crazy, he's just a great actor who apparently has similar interests as me). But for me to go to the cinema and watch it (therefore spending £10 on a ticket – it’s a serious commitment!) I have to do a bit of research around it first. I knew of the book before the movie was even brought up, a librarian recommended it to me when I was in school after I said I felt Private Peaceful didn’t capture the whole story, however I never got around to reading it. To 13 year old me Testament of Youth was just a sad story about a time I really had no interest in. 

During my research I found out more about the principle cast and watched some behind the scenes footage so I knew what I was getting myself in for, plus I also knew not to get attached to many of the main characters. A mistake I’ve made too many times.

In the woods just before the 'meaningful' conversation.

My first opinion of the film was it was amazing; it captured the essence of Vera Brittins voice perfectly, almost poetic. Cinematographer Rob Hardy possibly over uses soft focus just a bit but other than that I think the cinematography was outstanding. There are 3 scenes that stick out for me

(well from my memory) the first in which Vera tells Ronald that she wants to be a writer and Roland becomes the first person to tell her that she should write. It’s rather minimalist, a two shot between Ronald and Vera in the woods but he shot is so tight on their faces with soft focus it is the literal viewing of ‘nothing else in the world exists’. 

The next shot is the eye opener for me. It’s a crane, tracking shot of Vera when she has made her way to the front line, it follows her making her way through the lines of men on stretchers in between the medical cabins. She seems pretty nonplussed by the situation having ‘turned her mind off’ at the recommendation of a fellow nurse, however once she has made her way to the clearing the crane starts zooming out, Vera comes to a stop yet the crane keeps going and going, showing rows and rows of injured men. It’s the final wide shot that really indicates the reality and the brutality of the war, something that the director seems to have skirted around.

Finally we return to the soft focus, tight close up, this is nearing the end of the film and shows Vera beginning to rebuild her life. It shows Vera back at Oxford being shown a new life by her new tutoring partner who also served as a nurse in the war. You see Vera walking around under a blossom tree, admiring the world around her for the first time since she first saw Oxford in person. 

Vera as a character is highly intelligent and stubborn, at the beginning of the film she is in constant argument with her parents over her perusing her degree in English, the only thing she has ever wanted. When she arrives you see the joy on her face, the sheer pleasure of being there and you feel it through the smooth yet quick camera movements making the audience feel fully immersed in Vera’s mind. When I came home I mentioned to my friend that if you don’t connect with Vera’s Character within the first 20 minutes then the rest of the film won’t have as much ‘clout’ as it ought to. I mean that in the sense that the camera movements mimic her train of thought immersing you in this world, exactly how reading her memoirs in the 1^st person would do.

I also mentioned that the film skirted around the gruesome brutality of war, something I didn’t realise when watching it, I only realise now having looked at some reviews, critics are using this against the film but honestly, I didn’t miss it.  I believe that war films have become pigeon holed when it comes to showing gore and active combat, now there was no shortage of blood in my opinion and you see your fair share of severed limbs and dead bodies. But something that must be addressed is this is a honest and detailed retelling of someone’s life that was deeply effected by war, not a war story with a female lead. 

I also read that people thought there wasn’t enough ‘raw emotion’, again I have to disagree. It is my personal belief that those who think that people must completely break down and cry immediately when a loved one dies have not had to experience it for themselves, much less experience more than one at the same time. Peoples minds work in different ways and shock and outright denial cause delayed reactions and this is what I think we see in Vera. However something most people seem to have overlooked is Vera isn’t the best at talking, within the first 30 minutes of the film she has already had a huge argument with her parents, and been pretty rude to the others in her life, with her actions speak louder than words. To deal with her grief of Roland being sent to France she drops out Oxford to become a nurse, when Roland dies she doesn’t react until she has found some hidden letters in his desolate uniform, when Victor dies she moves to the front line, when Edward dies she runs into a field and submerges herself in mud to try and connect to his experience – she delays her grief by trying to be as useful as possible. 

Now I have no idea why this film is still on my mind at 3:00am it may be because I admire it, it may be because I see far to much of myself in Vera than I care to admit but most of all, I recognise that today I witness the slow demise of a young woman as she became haunted by experiences that still happen today. And I don’t think that has quite registered yet, hence the post-film daze.'

Back to present Rachel;

My opinions on this film haven't really changed and this film has greatly influenced how I approach Unmerciful in a very positive way. War might be in the cause of the story but its not the main character - sometimes I need reminding of this.

I Tried OK

I tried to make my own concept art however I'm not sure how well I conveyed my ideas...

Scene 1 Wild Man of the Woods

Here Emrys is trapped by the trees, constantly trying to get out but never succeeding until he becoming magical (shown by the orb beginning to glow). It is then he get's out of the trees and goes to the next scene.

Scene 2 Shakespearean Magic

Here Emrys is trapped in a circle (a nod to Shakespeare's Globe) it's set in space to show the vastness of Merlins legend. Next to it is a nod to the incarnation of John Dee by showing astrological constellations, these constellations shown are known for their longevity and are easily recognised.

Scene 3 Gandalf and Dumbledore

Emry's once again is trapped in the enclosure but this time is surrounded by representations of Gandalf and Dumbledore. The enclosure moves but does not let Emrys leave it's confinement - Emrys essentially watches the conversation between his 2 incarnations before freeing himself into the next scene.

Scene 4 Young Merlin

 Here Emrys is young and (seemingly) free. However he is surrounded by other incarnations such as Guais and The Great Dragon - these incarnations are prominent at first but then stay behind as the young Merlin gains knowledge and power.

Finally the animation goes through each scene backwards similar to that of Theory of Everything.

Before going back to a black screen where the original frame is shown - restarting the loop. 

This all matched up to my storyboards;

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Which then matches up to my script;

I split it into 2 columns as this isn't a regular film script, this script relies heavily on the visuals to make sense just as much as the visuals rely on the sound. It also includes the Middle Welsh translation of the poetry which will be mixed in the edit to be spoken at the same time as the English version. Keeping it too it's roots but also making it understandable to the English audience.

Here is a link to my presentation for assessment day where I give brief notes on the entire production.

Also I'm aware that my drawing skills aren't amazing - but I tried OK.

#1stADProblems

From Creative Skill set I've discovered some of the key jobs needed to be a 1st AD

'They are also in charge of a department of other Assistant Directors and Runners.'

I've been working along side Phoebe on bother productions and also speaking with Anne to find some first years who would she thinks would be a good 3rd AD and good runners who want to get some new experience.

'Overall, they provide the key link between the Director, cast and crew, whilst also liaising with the production office, and providing regular progress reports about the shoot.'

I've been to the majority of the production meetings (when the script started becoming finalised) and have provided regular updates within my role, predominately my concerns over time needed to shoot.

'Before the shoot, the Firsts' main task is to create the filming schedule, working in careful consultation with the Director.  When drawing up the shooting schedule, First ADs must also be aware of the budget, cast availability and script coverage.'

For both films the preliminary shoot schedules are complete, Wallpaper maxing out at 8 days shoot, 30 pages of schedule.

For Unmerciful, due to a change in budget, I've brought the shoot down to 4 days. Only 2 including actors covering 6 pages.

'Preparing the storyboard, overseeing the hiring of locations, props and equipment and checking weather reports are all key pre-production duties for Firsts. '

I collated all the storyboards for Wallpaper into one big PDF and named each shot/scene to match with the shot list for easy referencing. I also made a PDF and named all of the storyboards for Unmerciful.

This is as much as I could do for now, as the scripts are still going through minor changes I'm holding off producing any more documents that are going to have to be changed in the coming months. 

The documents that are left to be produced are;

Day out of days; List of crew needed for each day.

Line Script; Break down of each shot in conjunction with the script supervisor to make sure that all lines are said within the scenes.

Crew/Actors list (with photos): Not essential as I know most of the people on set, but it will be useful for some of the newbies. I remember being on set and forgetting everyones names it wasn't fun.

Script re-breakdown; I've been breaking down all drafts of the script between 1st AD and editor for a long time, however now the the scripts will be changing after assessment (Hopefully not dramatically!) I'll be re-breaking down the scripts as the final drafts are sent to me.

Being a 1st AD currently is pretty much collecting as much information as I can about the scene, equipment and crew as possible and making an education opinion on how we should shoot these scenes. As soon as I believe my role is complete for pre-production I will hand all the information I have over to my 2nd/3rd AD and they can finish off all the paper work needed on the run up to production.