Call Sheet

Whiplash - Inspiring Close up shots.

Whiplash: Sounds and Close-Ups from Jorge Luengo Ruiz on Vimeo.

In my short film, I am using a close up a significant amount of times. This is because the attention to detail fascinates me and adds detail to the motive, message and to the audience of the film. The film "Whiplash" uses close ups in an interesting way. Above is a clip of all the closeups from the film. This is because the outcome of the film is created to be an intense ending. This is caused by the harsh use of closeups. The closeups in the film are detailed and beautiful as they create intimacy with the audience. This is what I strive for when I carry out not only my close ups but every single camera shot I do.

Short Film - Shot List

Location

My house 

River/nature

Radar Hill

Tate Modern Gallery

Tube Station

Road

Page 1. 

- Extreme Close-up

- Close up

- Close up

- Long shot/establishing

- Close up

- Over the shoulder shot

Page 2.

- Close up

- Establishing Shot

- Mid Shot

- Mid Shot 

- Mid Shot 

- Medium Close Up/POV

Page 3.

- Wide Shot

- Birds eye view (mid shot)

- Shot of sky (Long shot)

- Mid Shot

- Close up

- Medium Shot

Page 4.

- Medium Shot 

- Extreme Closeup

- Closeup (POV)

- Medium Shot

- High angle/long shot

- Close up

Page 5.

- Birds eye view/long shot

- Long shot

- Long shot 

- Close up

- Establishing Shot 

- Long shot/Medium shot/over the shoulder

Page 6.

- Close up

- Long shot 

- Medium Close up

- Medium Close up

- Point of view / close up 

- Extreme Close up

Page 7.

- Close up

- High angle shot

- Close up/POV

- Wide Shot

- POV/Medium long shot

- Close up

Page 8.

- Establishing Shot

-  Close up

- Over the Shoulder

- Over the shoulder 

- Close up

- Mid shot 

Page 9.

- Long shot/birds eye view

- Fade into long shot/birds eye view

- Close up

- Medium Close up

- Extreme Low angle 

- POV

Page 10.

- Two shot/Mid shot

- Wide shot

- Close up

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy (Pamela Lillian Isley) is a fictional supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, the character made her first appearance in Batman #181 (June 1966).^[1] Poison Ivy is one of Batman's most enduring enemies and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's rogues gallery.

Poison Ivy is depicted as one of the world's most notorious eco-terrorists. She is obsessed with plants, botany, ecological extinctionand environmentalism. She uses toxins from plants and mind-controlling pheromones for her criminal activities, which are usually aimed at protecting endangered species and the natural environment. Fellow villain Harley Quinn became her recurring partner-in-crime. She has proven to be one of Batman's more powerful foes, as she is one of the few members of his rogues gallery to display anything close to superpowers. The character has been portrayed as a love interest for Batman in some comics. In one comic, she was robbing a charity gala Bruce Wayne and Barry Allen were attending. Her first kiss was poison, the second its antidote. When they first meet, her toxic lips planted a seed of toxic rapture in Bruce. But when she later kissed a dying Dark Knight, she unknowingly cured her intended victim and established a budding romantic tension between them. - Wikipedia

Chiaroscuro Lighting

 "the arrangement or treatment of light and dark parts in a pictorial work of art" - Merriam-Webster.com

I am going to use this lighting technique created by Leonardo Di Vinci.  I will use this technique when experimenting with my photographs for my movie poster and movie double page spread.  As well as this, I will use this lighting technique for when I am filming my short film. This will add impact to the overall finish and create great amounts of effective scenes.

Chiaroscuro in art is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling people, places and objects. Similar effects in cinema and photography also are called chiaroscuro. Chiaroscuro also is used in cinematography to indicate extreme low-key and high-contrast lighting to create intense areas of light and darkness in films, especially in black and white films.  - this applies to my short film very well as mine will also be in black and white.

Brainstorming For My Movie Title

When brainstorming, I was thinking about what movie title would my target audience prefer and would be drawn in by. I took these ideas and took a characters name and put it into the title. This gives the audience a relationship with the character and they build a idea/opinion of this character.

Movie Double Page Spread Analysis'

Psychological Movie Poster Analysis'

Camera Workshop

In the camera workshop I learnt the features of a HD Canon camera in preparation for filming my short film. I put the knowledge which I learnt from this workshop to use and took many shots. I also practiced tracking shots, pan, arc and many other shots. This gave me a clearer insight into what filming my short film will be like and how these shots will enhance my film. As well as this, it also got me familiar with the equipment such as tripod and dolly, which will ensure that my filming will be smooth and will produce a clearer product.

Things I learnt from the workshop:

• Whilst in the camera workshop, I quickly came to find that the proximity of characters had to be closer than usual. This is because the distance of characters does not correlate to real life and it comes across as further away. In order to solve this, I positioned my actors to be closer together and to appear in the frame as they would in person. 
• In the camera workshop we experimented with over the shoulder shots and how they should be positioned in the shot.  I learnt that using rule of thirds made the shot look more professional and effective and also not wasting space in the background. I was able to make the viewer to be in the "point of view" position.  
• When filming, I noticed that starting the scene would have to be 3-5 seconds in after pressing the record button. This is because you need to leave yourself room when filming as it allows more cutting time and allowance. This leaves you with a professional finish and clean cuts. 
• To apply variation to your shots, I enabled that using a range of angles and camera shots it will enhance your final product as well keep it advanced.
• When filming I will ensure that I take plenty of shots and footage. This will make my editing easier as I will have shots to choose from and editing will come more natural as you have multiple takes of the same frame. 
• I also learnt about the importance of how you use the tripod and dolly.  Hand held shots can look messy and unorganised; unless that is the effect you strive for. So with  the tripod, the camera is held still. The dolly makes the filming glide without any bumps etc;.
• Lastly, I learned that when doing an over the shoulder shot, you have to film on the right of each character. This was because the shot will look out of place and it would be most effective on the right. 
• High angle shots will highlight vulnerability on a character and low angle shots will create dominance for a character. 
• The rule of thirds is an important feature when it comes to filming/taking photographs. This is because the appearance of a shot is highly important. This means the positioning and proxemics between characters is determined by the rule of thirds.
• As well as this, I also learnt that head room is severely important. This is because you should leave enough space above a persons head when filming etc;. 
• Looking/walking room is important as well. This is because you should leave space before someone when walking and talking. This is because it needs to look like they're walking/talking into a space rather than away from it.
• The lighting is very important when filming and taking photos. Use the light to your advantage. Also consider when you film depending on weather. - This is a vital thing to remember when you need to go back to the same place on another day to re shoot some footage.  
  

----This tracking shot and arc shot was done in our camera workshop group. Although this was done as a group we learned how to properly use the camera and the logistics of filming. 

Final StoryBoard

Whilst finalising my story board I wanted to take my target audience research and apply it to all of my frames and entire short film. From my research I gathered that to commence the film a extreme closeup of the protagonist's eyes would be the most effective. I also thought that the first few scenes being the protagonist would also be a good decision as the voiceover as well as the frames of Zara would establish to the viewer that Zara in the frames is also the person speaking the voiceover.

In the second page of the story board, it is just establishing who the two characters are and how the story is building up through these different frames. Furthermore, from my target audience research I gathered that the oblivion of what is going on is important and how the audience know more than what one of the characters do. 

As the story board pages continue, I have started to use more descriptive frames and open up into the protagonists life. 

I wanted to use a variety of camera shots and show many descriptive frames as I can.

Here, I used objects more in the frames to give the viewer a clear understanding of the Mise en scene. - this will give the viewer an idea of what is surrounding these characters and how their actions could be possibly impacted by this.

In this story board page, its slightly opening up the actual storyline and how the film progresses. 

In my survey the majority of the people who answered the survey said that a plot which unravels would be the most effective. This is what I am trying to portray in this story board page.

In my film, I wanted to viewer to have an insight into the protagonists mind and to see what no one else does see; Very similar to "Donnie Darko".

"Tension, drama and plot twists" is one of the answers that I have taken from my survey results to help me with this story board page. This is because the deeper into the film the more dark and twisted it becomes.

Some of these frames are slightly disturbing. But this is what ultimately moulds our protagonist into the perfect character. This character has a normal surrounding environment; however her thought processes are abnormal. This abnormal mind will be conveyed simply through simple frames.

This is the page of the story board which visually shows what the protagonist is up to and how her 'plan' is coming together. 

In this page, the antagonist's presence is taken note. Her features are exposed more and more and she is now a main character as her character determines the ending of the short film.

Finally, the film ends but with quite a sad tone. This will leave the audience in shock and ultimately feeling self reflective. The film will end with a black screen but with foley sound of a splash. This is a disturbing frame within itself.

Story Board - Draft

This is my draft storyboard for my short film.  The story board includes 37 frames. However, these timings will be altered as I edit/film the short film. This is because the shots I will use will be a variety and I want this to be reflected in my short film. Comparing to trailers, short films tend to have less frames as each frame will be longer and more descriptive. 

Psychological Short Film - Survey Results

From my survey results, I concluded with some further decisions. This has made it a lot easier for me to determine how my short film will be executed. This gives me a clearer idea of what my target audience desire to see in the final product. 

An Extreme closeup will be the first frame of my short film.

I will have scenes where you can sense what's coming and insight into the characters diegesis. 

I will have a plot that will unravel.

I will have a few characters (2/3).

I will include dark, dramatic scenes which will include a death.

The music will be calming/soothing but have connotations of evil intentions.

My short film will include, tension, disturbing characters, disturbing subject and a plot twist. 

I will have a voiceover and music in my short film.

I will have a female teenager as the main character in my short film.

At the end of the short film, I strive for the audience to feel self-reflective, surprise, and the story will be playing on their minds.

Psychological Short Film Survey

Create your own user feedback survey

Short Film Analysis - Guilt

Camera Shots

To commence the short film, this use of a long shot within the car is a effective camera shot. This is because it gives a small idea of where the film is set. It has also gave connotations of a thriller; hence the blood on the window screen. Furthermore, in the shot, we associate the driver as a murder. This makes the audience's opinion on the main character to be negative. 

Additionally, this over the shoulder shot & long shot creates more tension within the film. This is because you cannot see the other character; the identity hasn't been revealed. Furthermore, the long shot shows the mysterious surroundings more than the characters.

Lastly, the Close up shot lets in the suspense within the short film. The close up gives more detail to the audience and represents the genre of a psychological thriller successfully. 






Sound

Music - Throughout the entire short film, the same hollow music is played. This adds apprehension to the film and for the audience. This non diegetic music creates a sense of mystery and an upcoming climax. The music enhances the sense of the unknown and adds to the suspense. Additionally, the music helps to highlight the genre of psychological thriller. As well as the mis en scene hinting a thrilling ending, the music implies this also. 

Dialogue - At 4:30 the injured man repeats the words "you sorry?". This adds a plot twist to the short film. A plot twist is essential for a psychological short film as it messes with the audiences minds and adds an inevitable doom. This is highly effective as we felt empathy for the other male previously. Now we know the injured man may possibly be the protagonist. Secondly, the words "you sorry?" highlight guilt and irony; hence the name of the short film.

Foley - In the short film, at 4:51 the sound of a glass bottle breaking is emphasised. Not only does this create chaos and mayhem the accentuation of the bottle breaking connotes a tragic ending for the un injured man. The bottle breaking also represents the pain and impact an accident has on the victim and will always have on the suspect. This use of foley ensures that the thriller aspect of the film is displayed clearly.

Mise en scene

Setting - The short film being set in a mysterious under ground car park, instantly sets the scene to be a thrilling one. This is because the audience knows nobody is around and it is late at night. The dark gloomy car park also implies that something bad will happen soon. The fact that nobody is around highlights the inevitable danger the male will be in; as no one will be there to rescue him if he is in any danger. 

Costume - The males attire is causal, dark and seems laid back. However, this laid back image is not portrayed in his mood/personality in the short film. He is on edge and seems uptight. The attire we view however does display a lack of interest in what he has done and represents the hegemonic stereotype of a young rebellious male.  This casual plain outfit does not reveal too much about this male; so us viewers cannot make assumptions on what type of person he is.

Editing


Shot reverse shot - In the short film, a shot reverse shot is used. This is included just to show the diverse camera shots and extreme emotions on each of the males faces. It switches several times to create a flow between the two. - they may be similar in age etc;. 


Jump Cut - A jump cut is used throughout the short film from the main character's face to the other male in an establishing shot. This jump cut creates suspense and carries on the conventions of the psychological thriller aspect. This jump cut also creates a jumpy mood and increases the thriller aspect of the short film. A jump cut is essential in a psychological thriller.