Week 008 - Post Butterfly Romping.

Hours: 2-3.

We tested out some lighting issues using those shiny silver cover things you put
over the car windows to reflect sunlight. We decided that it was better with the
reflecty thingys (so technical) than without, it gave us a bit more light.

Peter managed to capture three butterflies on the weekend - those white fluttery
ones and a moth (though I don't know where he went...)

The first flew away before Kalli could get a focus on it,
The second had a broken wing so we could get close ups, etc, but getting it to
fly was a sad story.
The third cooperated with us for a bit but when it finally took off, we couldn't
follow it close enough.

We spent most of the other time chasing butterflies around the park while they laughed at us as they fluttered overhead.

We couldn't find the Monarchs... ? (black and orange ones) they seemed to have
left us, but as we were leaving, we saw them fluttering over the road.
Managed to capture one.
Peter is keeping it alive with a sugar solution (according to google: one part
sugar to nine parts water)

Next week we're planning to do proper filming, i.e Production. All up we only need about two days. We're still chasing up actors. If it rains next week - we'll do inside shots.

Also: we have some "digitalised" butterflies in the works. I believe Peter has
animated a 2D one in After Effects.

I have wrangled some 3D help and there should be a 'prototype' by the weekend.

Notes:
- Kalli thinks that the overexposed effect looks fantastic.
- I spoke to a friend about recording a 'draft' voice over for me, I sent her a copy of the story and told her to do a recording of it. She should be sending me a CD sometime.
- I should start working on music, but am yet to. I cut my nails: that's a start, so I'll actually not have an excuse to tinker with the piano. I must get into the lab and have a look at GarageMan, though I am pretty sure that it's similar to Music Master - and I say that MM is old simply coz I had a copy of it and it came in 2 floppy disks......

Week 007 - Post-Animatic.

Hours: 1-2hrs.

Things seem to be gelling together - well between me and Kall anyway, I think she finally Gets It. I had been speaking to a friend before about how I just felt that some people get what I am trying to portray in the story and some people just don't.
It was that way when I had first attempted filming it - it hadn't worked schedule wise since she was in Ballarat, but she got what I wanted and what was in my head.

... I guess something that isn't very easy to portray or explain when it comes to shifting it from something visual on a page to something not static and moving.

I think we're going okay.
I am a bit worried about how long it's taken us to get here - but we had other preoccupations. Anyway: lots of points had been brought up:

- color issue.
Thank you Ruben! :p I think it was the keystone in the issue being resolved.
I had spoken to her in week 5 about it being in color - I was adamant about it but she wasn't so keen. She was really set on having it in black and white - something I wasn't very keen on and didn't think it added any element to the film, not to mention that it just makes people think that it's all a memory thing - though I think La Jette was all in black and white? Black and white stills?

I wholly agree with her on the fact that color can make it look tacky and amateurish - but was considering in my mind on how we can achieve it and how we can get past it: I like pushing the boundaries and I think that's what Studio is about? I had suggested either washed out or to the "Lynch-extreme" making it too bright and unrealistic - both key factors in perhaps putting forward the perception of the character's mind - things are not right, she is not in a right frame of mind. So I am glad that at least this is sorted out.

- butterflies and moths:
I will work on getting someone to make me a 3D or CGI (must look up proper procedures on it) butterfly for sometime in the next week or a bit later since we will try to get a real one.
Peter is working on designing a 2D version sometime, and I will look up tutorials and things like that as Ruben had suggested - I'm also on the hunt for Illusion and Garage Man just to see what the programs are and to have a play with it.
I must also install After Effects and Premiere sometime. :)

- music:
I'm a bit worried about having to compose something and having to write down all the notes etc. I can usually get away with writing a few chords and progression arpeggios and what not and I will usually remember the song that I had tinkered with - but if I have to get down all the notes, and the phrasing - I feel I'm going to be a bit stumped - sad really when I've passed 7th Grade piano! Then again, different from Theory. If I remember (I have stopped studies in Piano, though I may pick it up again later) I think I was 4th/5th grade theory.
I suppose I can "employ" someone to give me a hand in notation - that will be time-consuming.

On a side note: Kall suggested that we get started on the music straight away, and I'm happy to do so - but also it's hard at this stage to gauge really how the film will progress, though I do have a very good idea and a few things in mind to try. I think I might try and see if Peter can lend me his MD player and just sit down at the piano and play and see what comes out.

In proper post production (I was watching the Gladiator extra stuff) the composer had the film before him and was inserting bits of music in via the mood the scene was taking.
Be nice to do that. :p

voice over is still an issue: I think I'll get in touch with my friend and ask her to record the narrative of it sometime and bring it in for the cheesy-test. :)

Week 007 - Forgot to mention:

Hours:2-3

Kalli wants to scrap the V/O narrative of the film: she thinks it might be too cheesy.

I think it may need something extra for the audience to focus on. If we didn't have a voice over - which might add something to the film without have a voice narrating, but that means the focus will be on composing something - and that falls onto me because of the four of us, I'm the one more musically enclined: I like playing with audio programs, I've mixed songs together for fun (Traktor DJ is cool!) and I'm the only one who plays an instrument (piano and a bit of violin a long time ago) and while I've dabbled in composing and have done some with a friend (who's now taping or working on her demo) I'm not that confident in my ability to produce some music.

... I know we're meant to push our boundaries, and I am happy to give it a go - but at the same time, I would feel better that the music wouldn't be the sole focus and ambience for the film.
(there are also recording problems: if I do compose something good and the likely hood of the music being in piano, how are we gonna achieve it being not sounding echoy? There was talk of samples - transfering the music from piano to bits and bytes, but it never sounds organic enough and always sounds bleep-bleep to my ears, though I suppose you could make your own samples...)

There was the suggestion that we just use sound effects, etc - and that's fine, but having watched that DVD of Unbreakable and seeing how much the film does fall short without some kind of backing track, I'm afraid that we would fall in the same category, and we're amateurs.
Unless: we use the sound effects as a kind of music...?

I did watch American Beauty over the weekend (I love watching movies as homework! :p) and that had a voice over - which worked well and wasn't too cheesy in my opinion.
We just have to find a voice and I'm confident that my friend can achieve it.
Maybe I should just email her to record something when she can and just bring it in.
Though Kalli seems very adamant against it.
(sigh)

I guess we're having a bit of creative-juice hitchs.
I'm sure something will work out though.

Week 006 - Post Animatic.

Hours: 4-5 hours.

I'm not sure I'm too happy with the animatic.
We took too much time with the details.

Peter was originally the 'girl' - but somehow during the film I got roped into being the girl... which was fine but Kalli was stuck trying to get the one shot (we were in the park) for so long that by the time it was getting very very late.

Then Kall's battery died.

So we ended up shooting back at Kall's house - which I wasn't completely happy about either, being that it wouldn't be a "real" animatic being that the majority of the film was in daylight and we were doing it all in a house (and some driveway) and in the night.

I'm also very afraid and a bit 'prickly' that I feel I'm losing a lot of the creative control to Kalli.
I know she really wants to be the filmy person, the one behind the camera, but she and I disagree a lot on the creative vision of the film.

She probably is a better eye than me behind the camera - she probably is a bit fresher, whereelse I need a bit of a refresher course and they do confer to me on certain things while they might not agree on anyway (group scenarios, I suppose! :p) and we had chatted about it and decided that we could share the camera - and she had been having some troubles one time with getting a shot and I asked her if she would like me to have a go, but she was adamant about being behind the camera and that she was fine.

I don't want to push the issue because I don't want to upset the group dynamics - we have a pretty good one.

Personally I think that the film can add a whole dimension without showing any identities of people: people are less likely to take in contexts and pass judgement. But not only so, because we aren't using 'professional' actors I really fear that whoever (friend) ends up acting, just won't have the facial expression or know how to feel in the movie - and it's all going to come out on film. It's not the easiest emotions I've written and for them to pull off and interprete.

It might work, I don't know.
I saw a film that Kalli had made last semester - of her boyfriend Nathan and her friend Hannah. Nathan was fantastic, the camera loves him - heehee, and he looked really natural.
It would work if we had that in girl form.
But because we're behind schedule, and because I've seen how long it takes to set up shots and get it on the camera - I don't know that we have the time to waste stopping friends from giggling every two seconds.
I know they'll be as professional as possible - but it is inevitable.
We want to film all the bush scenes in a day.

I don't know.
Maybe I'm just a worrywart - and things will eventually iron out.
We were all a little stressed that day - worrying about other subjects as well.
I don't like having a lot of the creative control being taken away from me - but it is a group situation and I just have to deal. Kalli just has a different vision to me about the film (though some of it is quite similiar) and most of the time I just put deference to her so that we don't waste time and we just film the thing.

It is hard being the nature of the film - the animatic did really hit home however, about the approach we are heading towards and what we're looking for.
The film can go many ways and we'll just see where it all heads.
It is all about interpretation after all!

And despite my complaining and worries - I am lucky to have these three people as my group members. They're great fun - I had immense fun struggling with Peter while he tried to keep me from leaving the car even though he bopped me in the lip (I think he got a little TOO into the character. :p).
We have lots of laughs - so it's good that despite our creative muses bopping heads, it still doesn't affect the fun factor.

Week 006 - Doco and filming.

Hours: 3 1/2

Well, finally got all the pieces of the documentation together.

I'm still a bit wary about the user requirements (as I am doing Detailed Project Requirements) but I suppose it can't hurt to have it in there.

I wasn't too sure what Kim was trying to say in his section - but I got on as best as I could.
I reformatted Kalli's budget section - she didn't really specify how many hours certain processes and personnell are needed for and I think you need to add that in. I've sent it to Peter since he did the Timeline and the Gannt Chart, he'll fill in the blanks re hours and will add up the costs for me - so I don't have to. :D Not that I can't, but nice to throw some responsibility to someone else.

I think a lot of us are tired, bit stressed and personally, I'm a bit under the weather (I sound like I've got my head stuck in a bubble) and I wished that I could have collated everything last weekend and just not thought about it at all and focus on two other things that are due - but ahh well. People have work commitments, other commitments, and nothing is ever to plan so can't be helped.

It's still within schedule and pretty much completed.
I've printed out a draft section to look over a bit later (when it's not so fresh in my head) and check for grammar but I think everything should be fine and ready to print by later on tonight.

Tomorrow is animatic - we're meeting at Studio first and saying hello to Ruben, just so he knows we're alive :) and handing in our documentation.
I'm a bit worried that it won't leave us too much more daylight to film in - but we'll see how we go. The gates might be locked too - who knows. I guess we'll deal with that as it comes.
At least the weather will be fantastic!
(Now saying this, Melbourne will suddenly have a freak blustery wind that will push thunderstorm clouds over us to pour down on us tomorrow... :p)
Why did I have to set the story outdoors???

Week 005 - No Animatic.

Hours: 4.

Driving takes a lot of time.
Kalli came to pick me up and we went together to Uni to pick up the Insurance forms that she had waiting for her.
While we were driving, I was filling out the RIGHT (there's a difference between photography and filming permit applications... and I just realized that morning as I was filling it out, that it was completely the wrong one) form. We decided to leave Kalli as the Liasion and the forms under her name, as she was the main point of contact for Parks Victoria.

When we got there - they were closed. :( I supposed that they were on their lunch break, so we went off for some lunch at Fountain Gate and a wander around to kill time.

After coming back and picking up the form, we headed to Lysterfield park and where the Park Office was.
Met up with Michelle Mueller - she seemed really strict and a bit concerned, like we were a bunch of teenage kids that was going to vandalise her park.
Also a bit concerned about VB's subject content - which left both Kalli and myself trying to convince her that it was all proper, and there wasn't going to be anything explicit about it at all, that's not the point of the film anyway.

I ended up having to sit down in their office and type up another paragraph or so, detailing that we were filming trees. :D Also had to detail that we weren't going to use the Park name in any way, no signage, etc.
Somehow, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but shake my head at all the formalities and legalities we are going through for a student, No Budget, No Profit, Only for Assessment film.
(Okay, we are putting it into In The Bin, and there is a possible cash prize at the end of the horizon...)

I know we're meant to do this and it's proper to get our actions and everything legalised. It just really caught me off guard that there was all this, pardon me, whoo-haa into our film and so much concern and worry.
I wonder, if all the time I was running around with a camcorder with friends in the Botanical Park - should I, did I, have to get a permit for that? I'm not making any profit out of it, and it was just me filming anything I felt like - so I suppose it doesn't count as a "real" production.

We then went to explore Churchill National Park a bit more - just to scout out locations and find out good places that we could film.
There were quite a few, it's quite "jungly" out there, so should work well.
In some ways, I wished it was a bit more green and lush - but would have to go into the city for that. It's a bit more bushy out at Churchill.
We threw around some shot ideas, wondered if we could capture a butterfly and film it on a blue-screen (does that count as harming wildlife?) and both agreed that we shouldn't take more than a day to do the Day shots.

Also threw around some shot ideas, effects, and worries we have about doing it in color - Kall suggested Black and White, I'm not too keen on it.
I'm more keen on either washed out or over exposed effects - they would really help to enhance and convey the mood that the character is feeling.
We also talked about timing, getting the shot long enough for the voice over to match. Kalli was worried about overusing tree shots - but I think it would be fine since there will be many intercuts. The audience won't be bored.

So hopefully next week Animatic.
Well sit down and really document all the things that we're going to shoot and come to an agreement about what is the look and feel of the film.
I'm worried in some ways about the creative process and vision being taken away from me - that my vision of the film and how I feel it should play out and that it won't come into agreement with Kalli's vision. Hopefully we'll all come to some consensus that we all can live with.
A lot of Peter's previous ideas that he had are quite similiar to mine - so hopefully when we all sit down on Tuesday, everything will be fine.

Here's hoping for good weather.
Otherwise it'll be paperwork.

Week 004 & Mid Sems - Update.

Hours: 2-3.

I've done most of the sections of the documentation - save for the really big one, which is user requirements, etc. I'm not entirely sure what to do there, but I'll try and plod through. I'll stew on it a bit more and come back to it.

Peter found out that we might have to get council/police permission to film in the park - and we manage to lcoate some information regarding it: I had a look through and it looked rather formal and not particularly related to us, in that they were speaking of location managers, and other like crews.

Still, Kalli is trying to chase them up but hasn't manage to get hold of anyone as they seem to not be at their desk.

Tomorrow: the animatic at 11am.