Technique of the camera. The first film cameras were fastened directly to the head of their tripod or other support, with only the crudest kind of levelling devices provided, in the manner of the still-camera tripod heads of the period. The earliest film cameras were thus effectively fixed during the shot, and hence the first camera movements were the result of mounting a camera on a moving vehicle. The first known of these was a film shot by a Lumière cameraman from the back platform of a train leaving Jerusalem in 1896, and by 1898 there were a number of films shot from moving trains. This research has helped me develop my own ideas and my ways of filming with the equpitment at hand.
Top 10 Highest Paid Actors
- Leonardo Dicaprio earned $77 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Johnny Depp earned $50 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Adam Sandler earned $40 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Will smith earned $36 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Tom Hanks earned $35 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Ben Stiller earned $34 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Robert Downey Jr. earned $31 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Mark Wahlberg earned $28 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Tim Allen earned $28 million from July 2010 - July 2011
- Tom Cruise earned $22 million from July 2010 - July 2011
Highest Paid Actresses.
- Sandra Bullock 2010 earnings $56 million
- Reese Witherspoon 2010 earnings $32 million
- Cameron Diaz 2010 earnings $32 million
- Jennifer Anniston 2010 earnings $27 million
- Sarah Jessica Parker 2010 earnings $25 million
- Julia Roberts 2010 earnings $20 million
- Angelina Jolie 2010 earnings $20 million
- Drew Barrymore 2010 earnings $15 million
- Meryl Streep 2010 earnings $13 million
- Kristen Stweart 2010 earnings $12 million
Highest paid directors
- James Cameron 2010 earnings $257 million
- Steven Speilberg 2010 earnings $80 million
- Christopher Nolan 2010 earnings $71.5 million
- Tim Burton 2010 earnings $53 million
- Todd Phillips 2010 earnings $34 million
- Jason Blum and Oren Peli 2010 earnings $26.5 million
- Tyler Perry 2010 earnings $25 million
- Jon Favreau 2010 earnings $24 million
- Brian Grazer and Ron Howard 2010 earnings $21 million
- Martin Scorsese 2010 earnings $17 million
The silent era
The silent era was invented around the early stages of the 1900's. The films were completely silent. However, they were sometimes accompanied by live musicians and sometimes sound effects and even commentary spoken by the showman or projectionist. I researched the Silent Era as quite a lot of my film is silent other than the music. I wanted to have the same conventions as a silent movie as a lot of the movements in my film are over the top and the body language is always very strong, which is simlar to the silent movies I have viewed.
Short Film Research
As I intended on creating a short romantic film I wanted to research typical romantic films. I found some short films, such as 'Love Sick' and 'Signs'. I wanted to ensure that I was using the right codes and conventions and also that I had picked the right genre for me, I wanted to know that I would be able to do something similar. I originally wanted to do something scary, like a short horror film, but after watching some of the attempts, it looked extremely hard to do. I knew that romance would be a challenge but I didn't want it to end up looking ridiculous like some of the horror movies did.
Some longer films I watch inspired me, such as 500 days of summer. I am not a big fan of the film, but the music and animation sequences really intrigued me and captured my attention. I thought the films had great storylines although predictable, they ultimately had a happy ending. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM 500 days of summer trailer - 1.02) As you can see on the trailer, there are clips of numbers of days when Tom and Summer met or had relationship problems. I really like the music used on this trailer and throughout the film. What really grabbed my attention though was the animations, they are simple yet effective.
Signs
The Black Hole
Teeth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87AkewNcgwU
This particular film is very short, only 2 minutes and 8 seconds. The film may be short but it uses a lot of techniques. Good shots, seeing the picture above shows you one of my favourites. A long shot of the two men in the boat, the sun shining on the lake and there fishing rods in the water. I really like the opening shot, a long shot of the mountains and the lake in the middle, the music is also very enticing. It doesn't give you any idea of what is about to happen but intrigues you and makes you want to watch more. The opening credits are also extremely simple, Teeth in italics, again gives you no idea as to what is about to happen, yet makes you want to watch on. I like that there aren't many colours only slight twinges of colour but the majority of the film is set in black and white. When the man knocks his teeth into the water you can tell that that is the end of the scene and the next one picks up when the man who still has his teeth is facing away yet still laughing. It has clearly amused him and he laughs for a long period of time which slowly turns into giggling as scene changes. This film is definitely following the codes on conventions of a comedy. The simple things like close ups of somebody laughing and also the large props i.e the boat. The music also follows the conventions of a comedy as it changes when an idea pops into the mans head, also when he begins to put the teeth in the fish's mouth. The music changes showing that the atmosphere is going to change. The only thing that lets this film down is that there are no end credits. It would have been nice to know if it was all one person who shot and edited this film or if it was a groups job. However, on the other side it is a quick ending and allows you to linger on at what the two men have just done, which is also quite clever.
Short Film Research
As I intended on creating a short romantic film I wanted to research typical romantic films. I found some short films, such as 'Love Sick' and 'Signs'. I wanted to ensure that I was using the right codes and conventions and also that I had picked the right genre for me, I wanted to know that I would be able to do something similar. I originally wanted to do something scary, like a short horror film, but after watching some of the attempts, it looked extremely hard to do. I knew that romance would be a challenge but I didn't want it to end up looking ridiculous like some of the horror movies did.
Some longer films I watch inspired me, such as 500 days of summer. I am not a big fan of the film, but the music and animation sequences really intrigued me and captured my attention. I thought the films had great storylines although predictable, they ultimately had a happy ending. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsD0NpFSADM 500 days of summer trailer - 1.02) As you can see on the trailer, there are clips of numbers of days when Tom and Summer met or had relationship problems. I really like the music used on this trailer and throughout the film. What really grabbed my attention though was the animations, they are simple yet effective.
This is one of the first short films I looked at. As soon as I watched it all the way through I had to watch it again and again as I thought it was so simple but great. There is no speech only a soft song playing in the background and the diagetic sound from his movement. The only bit of dialogue is from his boss who is making a joke and also his mother and father who ring him to wish him well. I liked the fact that throughout the film the man is so lonely and is always hoping to find love in the simplest ways. He smiles and looks at everyone around him but nothing seems to happen for him.
The genre for this film would be romance and this is why I particularly like this film as it uses the same conventions as what I would like to create for my short film. I liked the fact that within 4 minutes of the film the man had been shot down by 3 different women and then when he went back to his office he noticed a woman in the next building through the window. He is wearing a white shirt which shows his innocence with a burgundy/dark red tie. I think the red is there to show his lust for love. Red connotes hearts and love which is what he is looking for.
I wasn't too keen on the title sequence for this film, the text used was very small. I liked however the fact that his alarm was going off at the beginning of the film and the alarm sound started on the title sequence, that added to it, but the text did need to be bigger as it was extremely small and hard to read.
Throughout the film there is a mixture of shots. It varies from extreme long shots to close ups. Which is allowing you to look into the mans life and see things in his perspective. I really liked the different songs played throughout the film, they added to his eagerness. Each day when he heard his alarm he got up faster and faster which grabs your attention even more as you want to know whats going to happen. The end credits are also very simple, but they work. They just tell you the simple details and aren't too fast which allows you to read them. The lighting throughout the film is very bright and is used to create a happy atmosphere when he is near a girl and slightly dull when he is at home on his own. In contrast the music is there to set the scene, the music plays as a different mood begins. The lack of dialogue in this film works as it allows you to concentrate on their facial expressions.
The non-diegeitc sound starts at the very beginning, you can here the printer printing. The opening title, comes out of a black hole, which is clever and works well as that is the title of the film (the black hole). It is a quick opening sequence and jumps straight into the film. The man is blurred out as the camera pans towards him and goes from a long shot to a medium close up of his face and shoulders. You can hear the man sigh and clearly see, even though the lighting is quite dark, that the man himself is very tired, exhausted and just generally looks unhappy. When he prints out the 'black hole' he thinks nothing of it and puts it down after a close up of his face. When the man figures out what he can do with the piece of paper, the 'black hole' he looks towards a vending machine and takes a snickers, which originally made me think of a snickers advert, I thought it was trying to fit it in and then shock you at the end. He then looks towards a 'keep out' door this gives you a sense of his job title, he is clearly not allowed in that room and as he has the tools to do so, he is using them and taking advantage of them. When he enters the room at 1.44 the lights flash and you can see how eager and happy he is to be in that room. The lights flashing show a sense of doom yet at the same time positivity as he has entered the room without any right to. This would keep the audience in suspence at the posibility of him getting caught. The ending is completely unexpected as he enters the safe and gets stuck as the 'black hole' drops off the side of the safe. Overall I really enjoyed this short film, it gave me a lot of insight on different camera angles. It has also shown me how to stick specifically to your codes and conventions and this is through using the right lighting and also the right actors/actresses. This film has no dialogue at all only uses diagetic sound. Even without any dialogue it is so cleverly filmed and the expressions of the actor manage to keep you entertained, which makes you want to keep watching to see what happens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87AkewNcgwU
This particular film is very short, only 2 minutes and 8 seconds. The film may be short but it uses a lot of techniques. Good shots, seeing the picture above shows you one of my favourites. A long shot of the two men in the boat, the sun shining on the lake and there fishing rods in the water. I really like the opening shot, a long shot of the mountains and the lake in the middle, the music is also very enticing. It doesn't give you any idea of what is about to happen but intrigues you and makes you want to watch more. The opening credits are also extremely simple, Teeth in italics, again gives you no idea as to what is about to happen, yet makes you want to watch on. I like that there aren't many colours only slight twinges of colour but the majority of the film is set in black and white. When the man knocks his teeth into the water you can tell that that is the end of the scene and the next one picks up when the man who still has his teeth is facing away yet still laughing. It has clearly amused him and he laughs for a long period of time which slowly turns into giggling as scene changes. This film is definitely following the codes on conventions of a comedy. The simple things like close ups of somebody laughing and also the large props i.e the boat. The music also follows the conventions of a comedy as it changes when an idea pops into the mans head, also when he begins to put the teeth in the fish's mouth. The music changes showing that the atmosphere is going to change. The only thing that lets this film down is that there are no end credits. It would have been nice to know if it was all one person who shot and edited this film or if it was a groups job. However, on the other side it is a quick ending and allows you to linger on at what the two men have just done, which is also quite clever.
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