idea research
My initial inspiration for my film came from Abbas Kiarostami's 'Taste of Cherry' (1997), an Iranian film about a man on a quest to find someone who is prepared to help him commit suicide. The majority of the film takes place inside the main character's car.
What I really like is how quiet and understated the car scenes are. There is no music, diegetic or otherwise and so the only sounds are the dialogue between the characters and ambient sounds such as the car engine, the wheels on the gravel etc.
What I really like is how quiet and understated the car scenes are. There is no music, diegetic or otherwise and so the only sounds are the dialogue between the characters and ambient sounds such as the car engine, the wheels on the gravel etc.
Iranian films are often low budget, so cars are used frequently because they are essentially a 'studio on wheels'. They're cheap and given the restrictions Filmmakers have due to the Iranian government, a car offers more freedom as it draws less attention than a big film set would.
I've decided that I want to use this idea of simple, realistic sound design but i've noticed that the film only uses a very limited range of shot types and I think I'd like to focus mainly on close ups and out of focus shots of city lights.
I've decided that I want to use this idea of simple, realistic sound design but i've noticed that the film only uses a very limited range of shot types and I think I'd like to focus mainly on close ups and out of focus shots of city lights.
I've also looked at 'The Edge of Seventeen' (2017) and I really like some of the shots which use soft focus on street lights and this is something I'll try to replicate. I also like the way the raindrops look on the windows so that might be something I try when i'm filming. I also really like the colour palate in this scene - I much prefer it to the warmer tones in 'Taste of Cherry'.
The car scene in 'Hustle & Flow' (2005) has a really shallow depth of field close up which i'd like to try. I think for my own film I won't show my drivers face, just hands and shoulders as well as internal shots of the car and shots out of the windows.
The close ups in 'Baby Driver' (2017) are more the sort of shots I want to use myself. Mainly focused on hands, sharp focus etc. I also like the medium shot through the windscreen so this is something I will try.
MOOD BOARD
Synopsis
Black screen.
The sound of a car door opening and closing. Keys jingling and an engine turning on.
Opening shot inside the car. Laura is driving alone in her car. There is a lot of traffic. Her face is never completely visible. The low hum of the engine is constant.
It's a grey day, there are raindrops on the windows.
The radio is turned on, Laura changes the channel several times and decides on a news broadcast. It plays on and off throughout.
The drive is calm, quiet. The odd sound of an indicator or a siren on the street.
The sound of a car door opening and closing. Keys jingling and an engine turning on.
Opening shot inside the car. Laura is driving alone in her car. There is a lot of traffic. Her face is never completely visible. The low hum of the engine is constant.
It's a grey day, there are raindrops on the windows.
The radio is turned on, Laura changes the channel several times and decides on a news broadcast. It plays on and off throughout.
The drive is calm, quiet. The odd sound of an indicator or a siren on the street.
I've decided that I want my film to be more mood based than narrative so I won't use a script. I will have a list of shot types that I want to use and I'm going to record the sound myself instead of finding effects online because I haven't had much experience with sound recording yet.
kit list
- Canon 70d
- Canon 50mm lens
- Canon 24-105mm lens
- Boom
- XLR lead
- Zoom
Final edit
EVALUTATION
What I primarily to make was a mood piece short film with little to no narrative. I wanted to focus mainly on cinematography and sound design. I wanted the film to feel very quiet and real. This is why I chose not to have a non-diegetic soundtrack. I wanted the shots to be mostly soft focus and sharp close ups to create a dreamlike look.
In terms of pre-production and planning I did things slightly differently this time and didn't write a script or a shot list. I worked mostly with mood boards and images I liked. Since I wanted the final look to be the most important thing I didn't have much of a storyline or backstory. I really enjoyed this style of working where I didn't really have a solid plan. Obviously for a more professional project with a budget and a large cast and crew a film would need a lot more pre-production and structure.
I think that visually, i achieved exactly what I wanted in terms of shot types and the general look of the final film. I was pleased with the range of shot types and I really enjoyed using two different lenses to experiment with depth of field and focus.
The actual filming process, although unplanned went really well however the post production was a bit more difficult given that I'm not very confident with editing and sound design.
I used Adobe Premier to edit my footage because I know the basics of the program better than Final Cut Pro. The overall editing process took a long time because I didn't know how to do transitions such as fade in and out and these we're things I learned as I went along but I think I am going to try and find a beginners tutorial so I can feel more confident next time.
In terms of sound I recorded the general ambient sound inside the car using a boom mic. I wanted this to play over the visuals all the way through the film and then I also added some recordings of the radio as i changed the stations as i thought this would break up the silent and make it a bit more interesting without adding my own dialogue.
What I originally wanted to do was have a song playing on the radio towards the end of the film which went from diegetic sound to non-diegetic by adding in the songs original soundtrack in the last few seconds in order to close the film. In the end I just found this too difficult to cut together at exactly the right time to I just faded out the radio recording instead.
Overall I am happy with my final piece but I know that if I had planned ahed more and perhaps come up with more of a narrative then the film may have been more cinematic and interesting.
In terms of pre-production and planning I did things slightly differently this time and didn't write a script or a shot list. I worked mostly with mood boards and images I liked. Since I wanted the final look to be the most important thing I didn't have much of a storyline or backstory. I really enjoyed this style of working where I didn't really have a solid plan. Obviously for a more professional project with a budget and a large cast and crew a film would need a lot more pre-production and structure.
I think that visually, i achieved exactly what I wanted in terms of shot types and the general look of the final film. I was pleased with the range of shot types and I really enjoyed using two different lenses to experiment with depth of field and focus.
The actual filming process, although unplanned went really well however the post production was a bit more difficult given that I'm not very confident with editing and sound design.
I used Adobe Premier to edit my footage because I know the basics of the program better than Final Cut Pro. The overall editing process took a long time because I didn't know how to do transitions such as fade in and out and these we're things I learned as I went along but I think I am going to try and find a beginners tutorial so I can feel more confident next time.
In terms of sound I recorded the general ambient sound inside the car using a boom mic. I wanted this to play over the visuals all the way through the film and then I also added some recordings of the radio as i changed the stations as i thought this would break up the silent and make it a bit more interesting without adding my own dialogue.
What I originally wanted to do was have a song playing on the radio towards the end of the film which went from diegetic sound to non-diegetic by adding in the songs original soundtrack in the last few seconds in order to close the film. In the end I just found this too difficult to cut together at exactly the right time to I just faded out the radio recording instead.
Overall I am happy with my final piece but I know that if I had planned ahed more and perhaps come up with more of a narrative then the film may have been more cinematic and interesting.