PRACTICAL / ASSIGNMENT 2 /  SINGLE CAMERA

DISCONNECT - Short Drama

Initial Idea / Planning
Since I read the brief, I always wanted to create a short film piece which would have a certain message for people to take away from it and make even a small impact on them.

I always jot down my ideas in a notepad and when looking through the notes for something I could maybe use for this, I came across an idea which was to create a film about global warming and the impact on our lives. So I thought it could be interesting to create a film which shows how much everyone is ignoring the clear signs of global warming, as they're too engrossed in all of their technology to notice.

I wanted to find a way to add in some stock footage, as I love to edit that. I wanted to edit together and create a short video with clips of various things polluting our earth which I could then stick at the beginning of the film as an opening title sequence, which would also intrigue the viewers and get them interested about the film they're about to watch. This process would also help me with inspiration for writing my script and thinking of locations for the actual film.

I decided that I wanted my friend, Adam to film as I know he's had a lot of experience with camera operating and he's a good cinematographer. I would give him the list of shots and he would shoot them. I also knew I wanted to play the character and narrate the voice over, as I knew exactly as I wanted it to be done and it was easier for me to do that, than to direct someone else how to do it how I wanted it, especially as I only had student actors to work with at this level and I had no budget to pay for professional actors.

Shot List

[REDCAR BEACH]

1. [close up] DISCONNECT written in sand- wave rolls over and camera pans across, following character’s feet and finishing in a [wide shot] with steel works in background.

[MY HOUSE]

2. [extreme close up] character’s eyes staring into lens. (mirror scene)
3. [over the shoulder] character looking at himself in the mirror, blank faced. he then raises a mask and places it over his face.
4. [close up] of character’s face, still looking into mirror. shot ends as he walks off out of frame.

[BORO]

5. [mid shot] character walking down an empty street.
6. [wide shot] side angle of character walking down a path from the other side of the road (joker graffiti).

[TRAIN STATION]

7. [wide shot] character standing on platform facing forward. train quickly enters frame.
8. [mid shot] character still stood looking across the platform as a train obstructs the frame. the character can be seen in the gaps between carriages as the train passes.

[ON TRAIN]

9. [mid shot] character on train, facing forward and holding rail. He turns his head to the side, looking at someone.
10. [close up] someone using their mobile phone.
11. [mid shot] cut back to character as he turns his head to the other side.
12. [close up] someone else using their phone.
13. [close up] on character’s face as he turns and faces forwards again, staring into the camera.

[BORO]

14. [wide shot] character walks through an abandoned area.
15. [close up] broken picture frame (alley behind pub) / danger sign (near college)
16. [wide shot] walking away from the camera, down an empty road (no connection girl graffiti).

[MY HOUSE]

17. [mid shot] door opening inside kitchen and character walks through door with torch.
18. [mid shot] character opening cupboard and searching through it with torch.
19. [close up] of cupboard. torch light scans empty cupboard and character grabs the last can of tuna and closes cupboard door.
20. [mid shot] character on floor eating tuna, looking blankly ahead of himself.
21. [mid shot] character laying underwater in a bath, with his eyes closed. (wearing the mask?)
22. [close up] character opens eyes and begins screaming underwater directly at the camera. (muffled audio)
23. [extreme close up] character’s eyes while he screams.
24. [mid shot] side shot of character splashing as he sits up in the bath (slow motion-maybe).
25. [mid shot] face on of character waking up in a shock, also sitting up.
26. [close up] shocked expression on character’s face. character begins crying.
27. [wide shot] character sits in the corner of the room crying to himself.
28. [mid shot] getting out of bed (sleeping bag on floor of room).
29. [mid shot] putting on shirt before walking out of frame.

[REDCAR BEACH]

30. [wide shot] character walking across the frame, on the shoreline with the ocean in the background.
31. [close up] character’s bare feet walking within the waves.
32. [mid shot] character walking away from the camera, in the direction of the steel works and then stopping and looking out to sea.
33. [close up] character’s face as he looks out at the ocean. he takes off his mask and takes a breath.
34. [wide shot] character is center of frame, looking out onto the ocean. the wind turbines are in the background.

Monologue

“and then, all at once, it’s gone.
the absence seems more substantial, more alive, than the presence ever was.
you wonder whether it was always this way,
whether absence was ever as noticeable before this particular occasion,
you ponder for a moment, peruse your past experiences of absence.
you think you remember,
and then all at once, it’s gone.

There was a time, I think, when this bitter chill didn’t bite so hard.
It’s always been present, but more rooted in an internal sense of impending doom than with its claws in reality.
There were warnings, of course, and the more switched on amongst us knew that change for the worse was a sad inevitability, but I think even those who specialised in worst case scenarios believed it to be a horror story for future generations to live through.

the change arrived suddenly and without warning; a snowball effect perpetually growing in severity until everyone was living their own personal nightmares. The landscape acted as a bleak, blank canvas for one to project their worst nightmares onto.
loneliness. a lack of security. basic shelter became worth more than all the money one could own in the old world.

not many dare to venture outside anymore. arguably a wise choice in the interest of self preservation. But logic dictates that even this infinite ghost town must adhere to the basic laws of infinite probability. 510 million square kilometers of earth out there. there has to be something left untainted by the cancer of human interference.”

Risk Assessment
The locations that I have decided upon have increased the risk of the film slightly, the locations such as the beach and train station add potential risks of their own. Also, the scene which involves me submerging my face underwater for some time needs to be controlled properly to avoid injury.

Editing
I edited this video using Premiere Pro, which I love. I chose this editing software as it was one of the only ones I had access to and i also just love using that software.

Evaluation
I really like how the film has turned out and I believe I was creative in how I approached the task. If the task had to be done again, I feel like it could have been a better film if I hired some professional actors to play the role instead of me and also someone else to voice the narration throughout the piece.


Final video:

Single Camera Technique Theory

Single Camera Theory

Single camera productions in TV, film and web series tend to stick to using only on camera in order to tell the story. However, some situations must rely on multiple cameras to gain the best coverage and angles. This could include scenes, which involve explosions or blowing things up, as there may only be a limited number of times the explosions can happen. Some other directors also like to use a second or third camera, which may not have the best angle, but is always there to help out the editor if needed. Some call this the 'safe shot', I recall watching a documentary which included a piece from Quentin Tarantino mentioning these extra cameras that some directors use and he didn't like to use them on his films. He only uses the one camera, as he planned the film shot for shot and that's what he sets out to achieve.

Formats in Dramatic Storytelling 

In this essay, I will look at the different types of formats and explain what can separate one from another. I will also look at how they are all put together.

Serial Drama / Soap Opera

Serial Drama is basically a form of TV entertainment, where a story is carried over a series of episodes, giving more and more information towards the narrative as the program progresses until a finale at the end of the season. Soap Operas also fall into the 'Serial Drama' category, however they tend to not have a finale and will continue endlessly, such as Coronation Street, Hollyoaks or Eastenders. Soap Operas will usually go into much more detail and have lots of on-going stories within the story. Today, in the age of platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, it is so easy to watch anything at the touch of a button. Serial Dramas allow people to immerse themselves in a story, which is on-going. Unlike a film, the audience can look forward to the next episode, chat with their friends about where they believe the story will go. Some series can last for 10+ episodes, which adds up to a large amount of time. The longer periods of time can allow audiences to become more connected with characters and events within a story, as there is more time to build character backstories and provide in-depth details of certain sections in the story.

Single Drama

Single Drama is the opposite of Serial Dramas. Single Drama is where the entire story 

and narrative is told in one episode, which is normally not long enough to be a feature film 

and will go straight to TV. These are done for a number of reasons, for one it's a chance for 

a writer and creator to make something as a stand alone piece that has the potential to be 

adapted into a full series. While Single Dramas were more popular in the past, the cultural norm has become watching of the episodes of a series in one go and there is a lot more money in it that way. 

Realism

Realism is where the story is as realistic as it could be and the audience believe they are

watching something genuine, this is done through a multitude of techniques on all creative

sides which I will discuss later on. Realism in simple terms is just something that could

genuinely happen without 1000 questions as to how, an example of something that would

not be realism is Superman. An example of a film that does show realism is 'Warrior', which I recently watched. The film wasn't so much about fighting as it was the evolution and desperation between two brothers with completely different lives, the contrast made for an emotional, yet thrilling film and a brilliant final scene. It's in no way out of this world when it comes to reality and it is an incredibly plausible storyline with very believable performances. These kind of films generally rely on a much more emotional connection with the audience, instead of explosions every two minutes to keep the audience's attention. These types of films can still use CGI, but it's mainly used in little sections and rarely in your face to the extent of Non Realism.

Non Realism
Non realism is the use of themes, stories and also ideas that could not possibly happen in real life. People tend to enjoy these films because it takes them out their everyday lives into another world for a couple of hours. The films tend to be relatively heavy on the CGI, however some more so than others. CGI is done best when it's not even noticed at all and is just seen as part of the set and doesn't look like an 'effect'.

Linear
A Linear narrative structure is one that follows a standard and cohesive plot which means that one scene flows into the next until the film ends and there won't necessarily be any kind of crazy flash backs to give you the crucial plot details. Each scene will be sequential with a few surprises of that kind. Films are usually laid out like this to make it easy for the audience to follow without having to pay a great deal of attention to the film. This kind of film can be great for younger audiences or viewers who just want something to watch without having to think too much.

Non Linear

Non linear storytelling is when the story is told in an unconventional way following an unusual

sequence, to the audience it may seem almost random however every scene is placed exactly

where the director wants it. When a story is told in a manor that is not chronological it requires

the audience to pay much more attention to the film since if you miss one scene you'll lose the

story. A non linear story can be much simpler than that, it doesn't have to be in a very jumbled up

order it can be something as simple as a flashback to reveal some of the characters backstory.

Technical Requirements

Technical aspect of single camera drama are how the director uses lighting, sound, editing and 

their unique style is put into their work, I will explain some of these bellow:

Lighting
Most of the time when filming on a large production, the lighting can be however you want it to be, as the budget is probably a lot larger than the smaller productions. The lighting for a scene can be really important, as it can set the tone for the film or can be used to reflect a character's mood.

Sound
Sound design is another great tool used to create a mood/ ambiance in a scene and can be used by directors to help tell a story or reflect how character's are feeling. Here's a great scene from the film 'Her' which shows that sound can help tell a story on it's own, even without visual. Infact, there's something quite gripping and also unsettling at the same time about how the director has chosen to use the sound in this scene.

Ambient Sound
The reason ambient sound is used is to provide continuous audio throughout gaps that would have been silent. It is also great for creating an atmosphere within a scene and can grab the viewers imagination and pull them into a scenario, where it feels like theyre in the environment. The Revenent is a brilliant new film, which constantly uses great ambient sounds to make the story flow and the film become more immersive. 

Dialogue

Dialogue in film is something that can be used to progress the movie forward

while simultaneously giving information about the characters and their backstory. When

done well dialogue can be subtle and clever but when done poorly it just becomes

exposition because it's the laziest way of revealing information. 

Sound Track

I absolutely love soundtracks when done well in film, a good soundtrack will not only boost 

the films popularity but help it stand the test of time. The Exorcist is now famous for it's 

track used in the film as well as many other such as John Williams' input to Star Wars. A 

good example of this I feel is in Chris Nolan's film Interstellar, the soundtrack for that 

movie I think perfectly captures the emotion of exploration and nervousness during the 

film. It has stood out as a soundtrack having many covers on youtube since it's such a 

hard and respectable piece to play.