Music used

We used copyright free music from:

Bensound.com - a small free music site with a wide variety of selection.

The Youtube Audio Library - includes works from Kevin MacLeod and more. This allowed us to mark possible song choices and download them when we wished.

Scene 2 Editing

Because Scene 2 was a dream turn nightmare, we wanted to make sure this was conveyed the best way possible. Our first thought was jump cuts, to disorient the audience, but then we thought about creating a hail storm to make the audience think "what the hell is going on?!".

Our first step was to grab a VHS, glitch style distortion video. We keyed out the solid black background, leaving grey graphical glitches. This was then overlaid on top the looped clips we had chosen. A robot like buzzing sound is playing underneath the entire nightmare crossover, looping several times in fast repetition to give an unsettling popping sound. This is repeated with the camera audio of the clips to make each cut even more impactful and obvious. As wide a variety of video filters were used to make the footage as strange as possible. This is something we improved and added to as we went on in the project.

The timeline of the dream/nightmare switch

Keying out the glitch footage by selecting the colour of the background

The transition onto the nightmare over, Eve's dad has disappeared. A fade transition into the real hellish nightmare that we wanted as download foley screams and cries crescendo into panic, finally ending with Eve waking up in a cold sweat.

The screams in the nightmare

Wakey wakey

Fade to switch to "nightmare filter"

Nightmare filter

Scene 1 reshoot

During the reshooting, we decided to reshoot Scene 1 entirely. This is not as difficult to do as the other scenes, as scene 1 is only 4 shots. We decided to do this because in our first attempt we had no portable outdoor lighting, meaning we had to rely on the street lights. This turned out very dark with bright orange highlights wherever the street light would shine through.
For the reshoot, one LED light was placed at a distance, providing general lighting for the shots and acting as the Fill light. While closer to the subjects, Stephen handheld the second LED light behind the car. This acted as the Back light, and in some shots the Key light.
In the new scene we also repositioned the camera as to make the cuts seem more seamless. The original's first cut was a jump cut, hidden only by the darkness of the frame. The new scene cuts from the side of the car, to the front, giving enough room to show Lucy exiting the car. The tire kick is used as an match on action cut just as before only it lower to the ground and the Key light is directed at the tire, so it can actually be seen.
This has all been improved further in the final version with slight colour correction shifting the highlights to a blue hue.

Editing the Clone Shots

The clone shots are a very easy edit. The hardest thing with them is making sure the two shots are as similar as possible.

The first step is the 8 point garbage matte. This layer removes the image outside the mesh. This is then overlaid onto a another video with the similar background. Increasing the feather hides the edge between the two videos. A problem we were not able to get around completely is the feathering feathers the entire border an image, meaning there is 

The timeline for the first clone shot

The last clone shot is different because it shows both Eve and Lucy, almost as parallels. Because Eyeline match was far more important in this BCU frame Stephen stood opposite Katy, who was told to directly ahead, equating to Stephen's chin. While for the word timing, I went through the lines of the opposite character to make sure Katy's timing was accurate for the shot. This was again in need of being extra accurate because this was going to be one single shot that ended up being 14 seconds long. The timing came out very well, Eve and Lucy are speaking over each other somewhat but this still works as it looks like they are actually bickering and interrupting each other. In this shot I had the option to hide the Garbage matte removing the need for feathering. A black PVC pipe is shot and aligning the matte's points with the darkest edge hides the difference in the two shots perfectly.

The garbage matte point position

The timeline

Initial ideas

These are the initial sketches, notes and ideas we had for the our film. Some of this we kept, some not.

We also created a youtube playlist in which we could share videos with interesting techniques we may want to attempt: PLAYLIST LINK

Character names:

Evee/Evey — Chloe — Rachel — 

Hallucination cues:

Walking alone, left to her own devices, starts talking to herself and recesses into her mind.

Lack of sleep

Mental disorder

Sleeping (dreaming)

SPLIT PERSONALITY DISORDER

Scene Ideas

Hallucinating C. hears the panicked word “RUN!”. She starts running, hides behind a wall, looks back to see nothing chasing her. She slides down wall and crouches down into her legs. Heavy breathing Crescendos until cut black. Fade back in with sound and video.

Dreaming

Broken tap dripping slowly down into a bucket (metal). First shown at sunset, some water inside but not much. Dissolve/Fade to sunrise. Bucket is now filled with water.

Tap can be outdoor garden tap (Ben’s house) or 1950s porcelain sink with exposed pipes.

Neurological disease. Attacks the nervous system of Humans. The war took it’s toll, after the enemy used a biological agent, it got out of everyone’s control. Eve is immune.

Hourglass flashback removed because it would be difficult to film both past and present while keeping track of the plot and where in the timeline the film is at an given time

Protagonist sketch with Character tree. The tree helps us understand what the character would do in any given situation.

Dream ideas

Dream ideas

Ben - Homey Research

https://vimeo.com/52922853

'Homey' is a short film written and directed by Ben Garfield. It follows one child's success on the popular playground game, bulldog. The first shot is a Long Shot, Very Low angle of a small windmill. This is used to show the Production company behind the film, but it also hints towards the location. The windmill is very small and seems to be used in conjunction with a solar panel, this being something you would see on an eco-friendly household to save some but not all. So residential area. Furthermore, the grey, overcast skies can only be from one place, the UK. Nowhere else are there that many clouds blocking the sun. The following shot has a child's hand grabbing a chainlink fence. The Composition has the hand in the center in a Close Up, Eye level, with the child's body facing away from the camera in a shallow Depth of Field. In these two shot the Diegetic ambiance and Non-Diegetic Ambience Crescendos and levels off. The ambiance is being muffled as if the audience or the characters are just focusing on it. This later comes to be children playing, Complementing the setting of the film, a playground. While the Soundtrack is a very calm piano piece with gradual changes to complement the changing mood of the film. At the moment, the calm piano sets a pace The child's (now know as Eric, for sake of convenience) Body Language from what we can see, we can tell he is getting ready for something as he moves his fingers, itching to release. This ties perfectly into the game being played where players must run from one wall to another, being only safe from the catchers when touching the wall. The Lighting is very even in this shot, as it is the rest of film. This reflects the overcast lighting shown with the clouds in the first shot. However, additional lighting or reflectors has been used. This is apparent as some shots have a subject with additional light originating from the side. The next shot is a Close Up, Eye level of Eric's face. Very neutral as far as Facial Expressions go, but the squinting eyes show he is focused. This is clearly a serious moment in his life. He moves his head and his squinting eyes side to side, analysing what is before him. In these 'scanning' shots, the Cuts occur once Eric's eyes focus on something, providing an Eyeline Match to Cut to. The next Over the Shoulder Medium Long Shot, behind a new child, shows Eric's full costume. Very light in colour, only variation from beige being his white and blue shirt, fully buttoned up. His jacket appears sturdy and stylish, they also match his beige trousers. Overall, it seems very casual, I would not be surprised if it's the actor's own clothes. The other kids are the the same casual clothes, however it's less buttoned up shirts and more shirts and hoodies. This same Over the Shoulder shot also serves to confirm the setting as a playground when a group of kids run past in the foreground. Another child is then shown facing towards Eric. His Body Language, leant forward resting on his knees, shows he might be waiting for something and he's ready for it to happen. His facial expression is similar to Eric's focused but with a far more focused stare, like a predator ready to pounce. On the Shot-Reverse Shot, this stare is shown to be directed to Eric due to the Big Close Up of him looking just past the camera, again providing Eyeline Match with the 180 degree rule.

Cloud and Windmill Productions

Rearing to go

Eyeline matches for everyone

Kids running across the battlefield

Diegetic kids can't break his focus

This is serious

Our final two posters

We previously did a blog post detailing the posts and choices here.

These are our two final posters:

Little White Lies film review

Fading sound

Fading:

We learnt of this technique through this video.

The idea is to space the sound files on your timeline like a checkerboard, and then overlapping them just slightly so they can then as one line of dialogue fades out (Diminuendos), the next is fades in (Crescendos) to replace it.

Fading

Through this I was also brought to the attention that sound levels should be consistent throughout the film i.e. no sudden spikes to maximum eardrum piercing volume for dialogue.
This is the playlist with the rest of the videos (LINK)

For the opening shot of Scene 4, Eve begins by walking into the room and dropping her belongings. The recorded synchronous sound going with this worked very well and show all the sounds which would otherwise be filled with foley. To reduce the total runtime, we cut to the next shot with Lucy early, however Eve was still doing things. To make this flow better, the audio from the first shot was carried on underneath the second, then faded away in time for the third shot. This gives the appearance that everything is still going on behind the camera and audience.

Eve walks into the room

Cut to Lucy, previous shot sound continues

The timeline

Second Self - Final

Poster Research - Ben

1. Frank

Frank follows Frank (Michael Fassbender) in an eccentric pop music band. A comedic drama which pushes the eccentric tendencies of its characters with bright colours, especially here in the poster. Frank is centre justified with the A right in the centre of the poster. The title is a bold serif font in hot pink. It spans the width of the poster and is simple and straight to the point, quickly showing the audience what the film is with its high contrast colours. Above each letter is the name of lead actors which, going from left to right, ends with "and Michael Fassbender" so as to show his name as a highlight to the movie. He became a prominent actor after becoming magneto in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" and has likely gained many fans through such a role. Finish the main cast list with him is to show him off. This poster has two side borders; one for the actor's names, title and credit block, and another for the reviews on top of the poster, the later being the larger. While it is not a huge difference, it is there. This likely done because of the Frank's hand reaching up into the top of the poster. The star reviews are spaced evenly fit Frank's hand so as not to distract from the subject of the poster, Frank, and the title, 'Frank'.

2. Fibs

Fibs follows Naomi, a very young girl who is trying to get back together with her ex-boyfriend in any way she can. The vertical poster reflects this messy, engaging and mysterious plot well by fragmenting the poster and shifting these fragments, creating a cracked effect. This could most definitely be used is our film to reflect our own conflict in the film. The cracks displace the entire poster, this includes the border where it has been distorted and is no longer in a straight line, however all the contents of the border like the credit block and logos are still well within them. The title stretches down, nearly fitting the entire height of the poster. The slightly transparent red colour could be referring to the sexual themes of the short film, or perhaps the primary colour of Naomi's costume in a pivotal scene. It could connote the colour red as danger or bad, something very relevant to the film. Above the title, blank space is left for the director and awards won by the film. The fragments are separated in a way that still highlights the main character's face. The fragments have been moved to do this and have contrast where they meet, so it is obvious they are there. Excluding the face fragment, they are all rather uninteresting, holding only hair and a jacket buckle. This completes the image but is left largely as empty space where the title moves into slightly, again to bring attention to the lead actress.

3. Locke

Locke is a very simplistic poster, largely made up of text on a black background. The protagonist's picture is only a very small part of the poster, but it is highlighted. The name of the actor (Tom Hardy) is the second largest line of text behind the title. This is showcasing the the actor who played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, showing an image of him, likely relevant to, or taken from the film. This image, with its bright blue highlights, dimmer reflection (as if in glass) and shallow focus street lights and/or cars tells of the general setting of the film. The mix of dark and bright reds and blues further helps to show this film is likely set in a city in the dead of night. The text is very and tightly formed together. Being justified to the right, the Sans-Serif text is faded into the poster ever so slightly with an orange colour gradient. This evens out the colours of the film, instead of everything being a glaring white, acting as a distraction from the title. It is subtly blended into the poster, but still plenty far enough from black to be easily read.

4. Versus

The poster for Versus is centrally focused on this character. Presumably the a key character in the plot, the movie follows an assassin as he is hired to kill the murder of a mafia member. The poster reflects the finding of the truth in the film by hiding the character behind the drapes, peeking in with a scowl as if saying "I didn't sign up for this". The high contrast image shows the colours of a micro thriller with deep black and blue tinted whites. This plain palette leaves plenty of strong colours to place the text, which here as been justified centrally. The text is very minimalistic, with only the title, tag line and review standing out. The rest, like the block and the actors are a darker grey, hiding in the character's black coat. This brings more attention to the title by decluttering the space around it, thus removing the need to make it any larger.

LWL layout conventions - The House Style

The layout is justified in the center, with the film title, film credits, picture and center column. The outer columns are in line with the edge of the picture above. The picture itself is there so to fill space, holding just over a quarter of the page.

The actual review begins each new paragraph with an indent, excluding the first where a San-serif Drop Capital is used to start the review. This drop capital spans three lines and is in the same font as the film title, Century Gothic.

On the side, a "REVIEWS" line is written vertically. In the magazine, this signifies to the reader which section they are in. It is written in the font Microsoft Yahei. 

The centered film credits are written so that the job title is Italic, while the name of whoever was involved is in All Caps, Bold, all the font of Aparajita.

The review has the same font as the film credits, which all together is in Font Size 9. The text is justified to meet to the edge of the column for each line, excluding paragraph end lines. The Writer's Name comes to the edge of the column and is Bold in All Caps.

The final 3 tier review is placed at bottom of the third column. The numbers are justified with the right side of the column and the short review to the left. There is often a lot of blank space between the numbers and the text.

What is LWL and Who reads it

Little White Lies is a small magazine which focuses on Film. The quality of the magazine is high therefore the price has to also be high in comparison with other leading film magazines. There are less ads than cheap magazines such as the cosmopolitan glamour and even Empire!

The language used makes it targeted at well versed audience in terms of literature. These people often show a strong interest in film shown by the expensive price tag which may deter those who do not have the same attraction.

Language conventions of Little White Lies: Nigel

Each of these reviews that feature in Little White Lies use advanced language which suggests the reader has prior knowledge of the film industry or just general knowledge around this subject.This isn't just a opinionated piece but a creative one, there are English techniques which build character and make it more enjoyable for the audience to read. The content of each paragraph is unique but usually talks about either director or actor, the narrative themes and their opinions after watching it, there usually are 5-6 of these paragraphs. The example below isn't correct as it is from the website, usually they are done in 3 columns and are roughly 550 words each.  

Language conventions of Little White Lies: Stephen

The typical convention that reviews follow are:

• Context of the film
• Infomation about the protagonist
• key themes/issue and plot
• narrative devices and an evaulation over the use
• use and adaption of genre conventions
• authors experience of the film
• summary sentence

Each review also uses complex language to fully grab the reader and emphasise the points that the author is making. Nouns are often used in all works of literacy, so it's expected to see them in a review. Metaphors are used often to show the authors response to the film, either positive or negative. Complex sentences are used throughout to compress the review into a much smaller size, allowing for more content and less repetition. 

 This is a review that follows Little White Lies' conventions of what a review should look like.
(Ignore formatting as this is taken from the website version. Typical reviews from Little White Lies come in 3 columns.) 

Paragraph 1: An introduction to the film-maker and context to the film.

Paragraph 2: More on the film-maker and also on the themes of the film.

Paragraph 3: More on the film-maker, a bit on the themes of the film and their desired demographic (dad film) and a bit of plot.

Paragraph 4: Introduces main characters of the plot, and their roles.

Paragraph 5: Themes and Genre of the film.

Paragraph 6: About how it conveys its themes and the job the writers played.

Paragraph 7: Steve Neal's repetition and VARIATION mentioned; "see through all that cloak and dagger bullshit", shows a change in the genre of spy films. 

Paragraph 8: Conclusion; "Call it the banality of goodness"- the author (Mentioned at the top instead of at the end, a divert from the written copy of LWL)- it shows that the goodness in the film is overused to a certain extent, however it's a good thing in this case- enforced by the ratings that back it up.