Reflection of Poison

    

 Portfolio & Reflection

1. What have you done?
2. Why
3. What meanings have been created?
4. Any problems? How did you overcome them?

Film Production Role : Cinematographer (Elisabeth)
The cinematographer's role involves the overall composition of the onscreen image. The cinematographer's primary role occurs during the production phase but also plays an important role in the pre-production and post-production phases. 
The cinematographer works closely with the director and editor throughout the film, and are responsible for the set-up and use of any necessary equipment needed for the capturing of the image (including tripod, camera, lights and dolly).   
 
Throughout the phases of filming the film, roles has been switched up, as i'm the cinematographer and Topias's the Director. Suddenly I've realized the role of a Cinematographer and Director are similar as they work together contently, and so i was also working as a similar role with the Director and Topias had become the Editor due to the challenge was we were only allowed to have 1 character. However, we've included 2 characters where i'm included, where we have to have me in it due to the our storyboard. It turned out alright.
As having the role of a Cinematographer I wanted to explore as wide a range of Cinematography as possible. I've started by learning on how to set-up a camera with the tripod, and it wasn't easy the first time, but I got more confident on using it after a while. 

Cinematography responsibilities: 

• camera framing

• lighting the set and actors

• composition

• setting up and moving the camera

• selecting appropriate lenses and film stock for each shot

• creating the "look" or visual style of a film. 

Storyboard

As the cinematographer, my responsibility was to make the storyboard, and had to provide the correct mis-en scene, plot, location etc.

My group was inspired by the movie Momento's use of narrative structure, and colour grading (As Topias's the Editor he'll be explaining that at his own blog). I really loved the use of technique the cinematographer Wally Pfister has done. Where the film was filmed in two alternating strands, the colour sequence going backwards and the black and white scenes going forward. However, I've wanted the whole film to be in black and white, but the flashbacks to be in coloured scene. So basically i wanted the flash forward to be black and white to make the case as a black and white, and to make it look much more interesting, so i'm techniquely doing the opposite of Momento's narrative structure.

Description:
My attend to the film was to try and approach a scene which where the audience would feel engaged and still get the message towards the film. The plot was two characters who made a schedule of trying to meet for an agreement. However, whereas one of the character who felt some kind of emotional anger and jealousy, and tried to Poison the other person. Accidentally the plot twist was that he has poisoned himself, instead of trying to poison the other character. At the beginning, as the other character walk in the room, he finds her friend laying dead on the floor. As she didn't expect that happen, as their "friends".

Location: 
- Miss Young's office room. The original location was suppose to be the common room however, there were too many people, and so we have to relocate. Unfortunately the room we have chosen last minute in miss young's room wasn't the best, as we didn't get the perfect lightning and the story kinda shifted alot more than we thought off. So in the future i would need to find a better location for further film making.

• Beginning  - Poison (title)

• 1st Scene: Black & White - Two characters, one of them walked into a room where they're suppose to be meeting, however, the character walked in seeing the protagonist laying dead on the floor. - Showing a shocked expression. (Bird's Eye-view & Long Shot)

• 2nd Scene: Black & White - Slowly focused and zoomed into the characters face to show the shocked expression, of seeing the protagonist laying dead on the floor. (Close-Up)

• 3rd Scene: Colour scene - Of the clock going anti-clockwise (Extreme Close-up)  

• 4th Scene: Normal - During this scene the protagonist waits impatiently for the other character. (Long shot) And on the front of the table shows the two glass of water, which one of them contain a poison substance and the other is normal. 

• 5th Scene: Normal - Was trying to attend multiple of shots of the protagonists looking at the clock ticking, his watch, and the glasses of water. I wanted to represent this by making multiple of close up shots of the subjects and having it being zoomed as the audience would feel what the protagonists is feeling. However, I wasn't able to present that in the film due to the short times, and the actor not having the proper equipment.

• 6th Scene: Black and White - At this scene is when the protagonists starts off getting thirsty, and doesn't realize that the glass of water he drank from was the poisoned one. (Mid Shot)

• 7th Scene: Coloured Red Hue - At this point the protagonists starts to suffocate and eventually fallen to floor, and ends up laying on the floor dead. (Long-shot but later zooms to the character)

• 8th Scene: Flashback Green coloured hue - A Midium Long shot of the protagonists having to pour the powder substances (which is poison) to one of the glasses of water. I chose to have this scene to be green, because i want to represent this colour as a mysterious and disgusting atmosphere, which who his friend was suppose to have that glass of water that had the poison. I want to include the feeling of 'disgust' and toxic relationship between each other.  

• The End...

Cinematographer Filming Set-up - 

 

• A setup of me filming a scene and making sure the position is in the correct place and the lighting is right and as the objects are where their suppose to be 

• And the handle on the side of camera, I've used that part of the tripod for the camera movement i wanted to explore from the cinematographer called Matthew Libatique. I loved how his technique of using the camera of him using the handle, and doing a speed movement, to produce two scenes of two perspective of the two characters between the ballet coach and the "Black Swan" character.

•  There were lots of challenges of trying to explore of being a cinematographer. Such as, trying to find the correct location, focusing and sticking with the storyboard, finding the right camera movement and as well as time managing.