Directions Unit - Director Research - Phil Abraham

Few people have had as much impact on The Sopranos as Phil Abraham, who had held the role as camera operator (4 episodes), cinematographer (47 episodes) and even directed an episode. Though Abraham is more established as a cinematographer, Abraham has directed a total of 59 episodes across 29 different TV series including The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and most frequently Mad Men for which he has directed 15 episodes.

Abraham's directorial debut came with the iconic TV series, The Sopranos for which he only directed one episode across the whole series. However his role as director in this series would see him direct in a number of some of the most iconic TV shows of today. He even had the chance to direct the opening two episodes of the major Netflix series, Daredevil, which set the tone for the rest of the series.

Phil Abraham likes to challenge actors with some ambitious takes, he likes to stick to the script and likes to keep it that way, even if the shot is deemed too hard to shoot. One of the most iconic scenes Abraham directed was the one shot fight scene in the acclaimed Netflix series Daredevil, which saw Daredevil take on a room full of thugs in an epic 3 minute shot. There was not a single cut in this shot and to make this scene possible they made a few Texas Switches between the actor and his stunt double and took about 7-8 takes before the scene was complete. The cast and crew asked if they could do a few wipes as the scene was too complicated to achieve but Abraham was adamant that a one shot fight scene with no cuts would be better.

It was the one shot fight scene that got me particularly interested in Abraham and I am especially interested in his overall style. When he directs an episode, he wants to keep the episode on the same path as the rest of the episode but aims to create that special, iconic scene. He has done this with Mad Men, The Walking Dead and as mentioned earlier, Daredevil. I would like to implement a shot of great importance that is similar in fashion to some of the most iconic looks in TV, and Abraham is a great example of someone who did just that.

Directions Unit - Director Research - Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is a screenwriter, director and actor known for a number of films such as Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Django Unchained and Kill Bill as well as the TV series From Dusk Till Dawn.

Tarantino started his career writing screenplays for Video Archives such as Natural Born Killers and True Romance. He then left Video Archives for a production company called Cinetel. Tarantino was able to submit one of his first screenplays through a producer he knew. The screenplay was True Romance. Director Tony Scott was so impressed he decided to buy the rights off of Tarantino.

It wasn't until 1992 where Quentin Tarantino made his directorial debut with the film Reservoir Dogs. Despite the small budget, Reservoir Dogs was a hugely popular film globally and received high critical acclaim, making Tarantino one of the most talked about directors in Hollywood at the time. Tarantino also wrote the screenplay for this film and even starred as one of the characters. Tarantino's most successful and most highly acclaimed film to date, Pulp Fiction, was released just two years after his first film Reservoir Dogs. The film went on to win an Academy Award for Best Writing in 1995 and won the prestigious Palme d'Or a year earlier. His most recent film, The Hateful Eight, has received mixed reviews, some praising the outstanding dialogue and storyline while others criticise the excessive bloody violence and the use of racist remarks throughout the film.

Though Tarantino considers himself more of a screenwriter than a director, he brings his own directorial stamp into his films that separates him from the rest. For example Tarantino uses a wide range of camera techniques including crash-zooms, low angle shots and long takes. Another trademark of Tarantino's is his use of music, he has stated that he does not like to hide slow cinematic moments but should only be used to enhance the action. Though Tarantino's films are considered very violent, a lot of the action that goes on in his films tend to happen off camera. This is called implied violence. Below is a video showing a recurring shot in Tarantino's films, the trunk shot.

It is Tarantino's camera techniques that interested me most and is certainly something I can look at more closely in hope that I am able to replicate some of these techniques in ways that are relevant to my Drama Film. I also hope to add my own little twist to some of these techniques by perhaps blending two of these techniques together or perhaps pairing one with a more uncommon technique.

Directions Unit - Research into a self portrait - M. C. Escher

Maurits Cornelis Escher was an artist widely admired by mathematicians and scientist for his unusual artwork made with the techniques of woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints, all inspired by mathematics. Though Escher did not follow any movement, he was considered a pioneer of psychedelic art by the hippy counterculture in the 60's.

To the left is the ever famous Hand with Reflecting Sphere which is a portrait of Escher's reflection in a spherical mirror ball which also shows Escher's studio. This image can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on what the viewer sees or wants to see. For example one interpretation is that Escher has his life in his hands which conveys control. Another interpretation is that there are two reality's, one being Escher himself and the other being his reflection. This can symbolise how Escher sees himself, perhaps as a distorted characters with almost no general direction.

I can take the latter as a great interpretation of my character in the portrait film. My character will see himself as a distorted and directionless character that feels almost too different from everyone else in his surroundings. I was thinking about giving my portrait film a very distorted look in certain areas depending on what is going on in the characters head at that given moment.

Directions Unit - Research into a self portrait - Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was a famous artist known for his outstanding self-publicist acts and for his incredible showmanship. Dali is especially well known for a wide range of art forms, ranging from paintings, sculpture work, graphic designs and photography.

To the left is one of the self-portrait paintings Dali did called Soft Self-Portrait with Grilled Bacon. Dali argued that the most consistent thing about representation is in fact the skin rather than the spirit or vitality. The side of bacon is a representation of organic matter of the every day life.

The image consists of a number of crutches helping keep the character up and the colour tone is consistently dark and brown which can convey the every day struggles this character has to go through. I like to perceive the message as a character struggling though coping with every day life and despite these struggles he keeps on fighting. I see the bacon as a representation of the little rewards you will get after going through these struggles.

I find this very relatable to my piece as my portrait film goes into the details of how someone will claim these little rewards having had one of the most mistake filled days of their lives and almost looks as though nothing could possibly go right. These rewards can be conveyed in a number of ways, some more subtle than others, this can take the form of a piece of fried bacon (as presented in the portrait above) or a letter (as presented in my portrait film).

Directions Unit - Portrait Film treatment

As a part of our directions unit, I have been asked to create a short portrait film, roughly 1-2 minutes long, and should introduce introduce myself and my directorial vision. This can take the form of a certain style, approach or even a director while still remaining original and to our own.

For my portrait film, I have decided to take a similar approach to the one taken in the film Memento by Christopher Nolan. In the film the entire story is told backwards without giving anything away in the beginning.

Guy Pierce starring in the film Memento

In my film I have decided to have the film begin at the end of the day and finish at the beginning of the day, like Memento. However unlike Memento the story will still be progressing forward. Throughout the story the main character will be making countless errors and then by the end of the film will return home to find that their goal has been achieved. The idea is that the backwards day is a representation of what the characters day has been like (backwards) and the mistakes followed by the  achieved goal supports the message that if you keep making mistakes you will eventually learn from them and achieve your goal.

As for sound, dialogue must remain minimal and there can not be any music. I will feature a number of different ambient sounds throughout, all relevant to the story with scripted dialogue used only in the final 5 seconds of the film.

Directions Unit - Portrait Film storyboard and shot list

In order to help create my film to the best of my ability, I have compiled a shot list as well as a short storyboard.

Storyboard

This storyboard contains the six main scenes of my portrait film. Though the storyboard is ordered according to the film, I will be shooting the last scene first as this is the earliest point in the day and will be shooting the film back to front. Now that I have a good idea what I am filming I can start to think about what everyone will be waering, how I will shoot each scene and what will be visible in the shot.

Shooting List and scene details
There will only be one main character and a number of extras in this film.

In the first scene I will feature the main character as the focus point of this scene, as he will remain throughout the film. All of the characters in this scene will be wearing similar clothes as they will all be wearing football kits of some sort. Shots will include the character being tackled, missing shots and being annoyed with himself. This scene will take place in the night.

The second scene will see the main character walking out of a changing room with a new set of sports clothes and the day will appear lighter than in the previous.

The third scene wulill see the main character walking out of the main gate heading home. Once again the day has gotten brighter.

The fourth scene will see the main character narrowly avoid being hit by a character as he fails to pay attention to what's going on around him. I will achieve this by creating the effect that the object (the car) is closer to the subject (the main character) then it really is. I am able to do this by making use of the camera zoom and the positioning of the camera. If this does not work I can make use of the editing software I am provided with.

The main character is seen walking up to his house and entering in the fifth and sixth scene. Once again the day appears to be earlier than before. Upon entering, his dog begins to bite him on the ankles. Whilst this is happening a new shot shows a letter congratulating the character on making the academy team for a major football team. This is seen in the foreground while the character is seen looking very distraught in the background, clearly unaware of the letters existence. This sparks the only use of intentional dialogue where the character utters the words "this is the worst day of my life."

Directions Unit - The Director Workshop (11/01/16)

Yesterday was my first directions workshop in the studios with Simon and I was tasked with recreating a scene from the film Atonement with my own directorial stamp on it.

We spent the day looking at a number of ways of shooting a scene and learning how the slightest change in set/shot can make the biggest difference in how the viewer perceives what is going on. I also learned how to communicate with both the cast and crew and how we can organise them into their appropriate roles.

It is important to remember that the first thing I should be doing as a director on the day of filming is checking the location, making sure that you are happy with the location. If your chosen location is a set build in a studio or takes place indoors, you must make sure that all the props are in the right place and that they are appropriate with the film as well as the set itself. If you are filming at an outside location you must be happy with the location as it is and must ensure that nothing changes in the days following your first shooting day. In this case you may have to deal with a few last minute decisions, for instance if it's sunny on one day and rains on another.

Filming location for The Wire

The second thing you should be doing is checking that all the cast you need is on set. Once they are all there they should go for some run throughs of the script so that they know what to say. Only when they are confident with what they are reading can you start to give directions on how they should be saying everything and what their mood should be, get them into character. Another thing you should check is that you are happy with what they are wearing, you must ensure that what they are wearing is appropriate with the film.

Cast of The Wire on set

The third thing to remember on the day of filming is the crew. Are you happy with everyones roles and is everyone ready to film. you should be giving them a clear idea of what they are filming, how they should be filming it and what mood should come off of this scene. Everyone should be sticking to their roles primarily and that's it. Only you as the director has authority to command others in different roles.

Crew filming The Wire

Once we went through the basic rules of what a director should be doing and how a director can implement their ideas, we were given the task of recreating a scripted scene from the film atonement. We were put into groups of four and each had a go at directing, ensuring that everyones take was different. I was grouped with Troy and Nikki as well as Fergus who filled in as the fourth person (the camera man). I was the first person to direct in the group and because of that I found it increasingly difficult as I almost set the basis for everyone else. I felt I did alright towards the end of my turn and I got a decent amount of coverage with a number of different perspectives. Given that this was my first taste of directing, I feel that I am much more prepared for my final piece than I was originally was.

(Video pending)