Evaluation, Alex winter

For our film studies coursework we had to create an extract from a film, we had to come up with an initial idea then storyboard it, film it then finally edit it, we worked in small groups and each member had a different job, I took the job of cinematographer. The genre we all agreed to do was music/drama we were very inspired from films such as crossroads and august rush. our first idea was to have our main protagonist preforming to an audience and having various flash backs , but after feedback from this idea we realized we were telling the whole story with the flashback instead of it being a film extract. we then changed our idea to our main protagonist being an outcast and being bullied but plays guitar to escape the troubles of his life.

After we chose our genre of music/drama, having the role of cinematographer i decided to watch two films of that genre, crossroads (walter hill) and august rush (kirsten sheridan) both of the films gave me an insight into the conventions of my genre and a lot of ideas on the kind of shot types i wanted to use for our film extract this helped a lot when coming up with the more in depth narrative of our film, it also helped when it came to storyboarding as i had an idea of some shots i definitely wanted to use and also helped to keep our film within the conventions of our genre which is very important for both the extract and the audience.

these are the two films that influenced me the most throughout the project.

I was in a group of three and we all worked well together and there were no conflicts which made the project and enjoyable experience, this was also useful as when we were coming up with our initial idea for the narrative we thought of the idea as a group and it wasn't just one persons idea so we all had an in depth understanding of what our film extract was about and what we wanted to portray to the audience.

my first individual job as cinematographer was to storyboard our idea and make a shot list so when i came to film i had a good idea of what i was filming this is very important as it stops u filming to much which is annoying for the editor or filming to little, while i was storyboarding i was taking into consideration that i had to make sure i was portraying to the audience that our film was of a music/drama genre this was also the case when i came to film it. i did this by using generic shots and iconography from the genre for example in the guitar performance scene i used close up of fingers on the fretboard and another close up of the guitar cable being plugged into the amp, all of which are shots in films of the genre like crossroads this is important as when people watch the extract they can identify with the genre.

some of the shots I described above

I tried to use as many shot types as possible to make the extract interesting, for example i start with close ups for the waking up scene and the guitar scene then the walking to college scenes i used mid and long shots this was done partly for variety of shots which helps with keep the audience interested, but also as more of the narrative and the protagonist is revealed the more is shown in the shot. to get the most shot types in i decided to film a shot reverse shot set up in the conversation scene and not a two shot sequence as i think shot reverse shot looks more professional and suited are extract and narrative better. I had to work closely with sound because of our genre in other films like august rush the sound compliments the cinematography very well, i think we achieved this, the constant non diegetic sound of the guitar playing when perfectly with the shots.

One of many varied shots i used and described above

I think the filming went very well and the only problem was the lighting of the shots which couldn't be helped, but no one commented on this in the peer feedback we received, the peer feedback i received for my cinematography was that there was a good variety of shots and also shot composition was good, I am pleased that people liked are extract and also that i succeeded in my role of cinematographer.

overall i am pleased at how well are group worked as a team and at how well our finale piece turned out and pleased that i successful completed my role in the project.

Alex Winter

806 words

Final idea

we decided to change our idea for film extract because our initial idea gave away all the story and it would turn out into a whole film . our new idea is again going to be the opening sequence in which

How filming went?

All in all the filming went well, but there were some problems one was because it was in a house most of the shots had to be mid shot or close up as long shots were a problem because of cramped conditions .

Shot List

Shot 1: Med. shot
Props:Guitar merchandise,clock
Pan across chest of drawers, which is covered in guitar related products. (Picks, magazines etc) A clock is placed on the end.

Shot 2: Close Up
Props: Clock
Close up on clock, displaying '5:00'. The alarm is going off.

Shot 3: Birds eye view/ Close up
Props: N/A
Close up on Alex's face in bed. With a groan, he wakes up, rubbing his eyes.

Shot 4: Med. Close up
Props:Bed
Alex's legs in bed, swing out.

Shot 5: Point Of View
Props: Guitar, Stand
Alex getting out of bed, sees guitar in corner of room on stand.

Shot 6: Mid shot
Props: Guitar, Stand
Alex picking up guitar.

Shot 7: Extreme close up
Props: Amp, lead
Lead being plugged into socket. An exaggerated electrical crackle is heard.

Shot 8: Extreme close up
Props: Amp
Knobs on amp being adjusted

Shot 9: Mid Shot
Props: Guitar
Alex commences playing guitar.

Shot 10: Extreme close up
Props: Guitar
Close up on fretboard, more guitar playing.

Shot 11: Close Up
Props: Guitar
Close up on main body of guitar.

Shot 12: Close up
Props: Clock
Close up on clock, this time showing '7:00'

Shot 13: Close up
Props: Guitar ,Stand
Guitar is put back in stand.

Shot 13: Close up, Match on action
Props: Guitar, Stand
Match on action of previous, shot, this time form behind the stand.

Props list

1. Guitar: In the opening sequence in Alex's bedroom, we see him play guitar. The following props will be necessary for this
2. Amp
3. Guitar paraphernalia (In bedroom)
4. Guitar Stand
5. Clock: A clock in Alex's room '4:00' will show his dedication and commitment, both to his music and his father

Cinematographer

my job in the production of this film is to organize shot types and general shot composition i will be working closely with the editor, some films that has influenced me are

the doors


i like the use of camera angles and the way the band is shot to show there importance this is done by use of closeups on the lead singer and various reaction shots of band members

Preliminary Ideas for storyline

The basic outline of our story is a young child loses his grandparents, who are taking care of him. He inherits his grandfathers guitar, and is inspired to learn in his memory. We are going film the intro sequence, this will start with the main character playing guitar in a large concert,having made it as a successful musician. This will then lead on to a flashback of his grandfathers death, this is when he inherits his grandfathers guitar then various stages of learning and his life.

Ideas And Influences

there are many films that have inspired are decision on what genre of film we wanted to create some of these are:

Crossroads

August Rush

we have decided to make a music themed film