IB Text Analysis: Pan’s Labyrinth

“Director/Conductor” by La Chachalaca Fotografía is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Summary

A guide to planning, researching, and creating your IB Film Text Analysis

  • Follow the directions for each step below
  • Include for your notes, where required

Student Work

  • Justin’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Neil’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Satchel’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Dexter’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Sam’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Jadee’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography
  • Laari’s Post, Draft Paper, Bibliography

Guidance for Your Work

The TA is an exam. Failure to turn in the work within the 4 weeks, unless the teacher requests extenuating circumstances directly from the IB, should be considered a fail.” – IB Film

13.5 Hours To Complete

  • Please track how long it took you for each stage

Step 1 – Preparation: Spend 2 Hours

Total Time:

Step 2 – Pick a Film, Watch It, and Write Notes: Spend 4.5 Hours

Total Time:

The goal of IB Film is to expose students to films from all over the world and to increase their critical and practical understanding of film as a creative art form and reflection of its time period, society, and political and cultural environment. As a result, this class requires the viewing of a wide variety of films. In some cases, these films may carry an R rating, or, in the case of films made before 1968 and some foreign films, will have no rating at all. Please be assured that all the films selected for this course have a high degree of artistic merit and that many have won numerous awards and are considered part of the film canon. However, if you object to any film shown that does carry an “R” rating, you will always have the opportunity to request that an alternative film be assigned, and/or be excused from class and not view the film.

  1. Watch the trailers and pick ONE of these films (or the two episodes) (10 minutes)
    • Pan’s Labyrinth [Spain/Mexico] Director Guillermo Del Toro 2006 (Rated R)
      • Trailer
      • Available on Netflix and other streaming services
      • Google Drive (Film and Commentary)
    • Across the Universe [USA] Director Julie Taymor 2007 (Rated PG-13)
      • Trailer
      • Available on Hulu and other streaming services
      • Google Drive (Film, Commentary, and Extra Features)
    • The Handmaid’s Tale, Season 1 Ep. 01 and 02 [USA] Director Reed Morano 2017 (Rated R – Mature Rating on Hulu)
  2. Review Drew’s TA Guide Sheet (he scored very high!) (10 minutes)
  3. First Viewing: Watch the film and record your reactions (2 hours)
    • Take notes (below in this post)
      • How does the film (various scenes) affect you?
      • Remember every scene is like a mini-movie
      • Pay attention to which scene best represents the film, for you
      • Notes:
      • beginning scene mirrors final scene!!!
      • 1:50 – beautiful, magical, fantasy element
      • 3:31 – fantasy, mysterious, ethereal, bright
      • 7:04 – he’s bad
      • 8:03 – daunting
      • 11:38 – cold, warmth gone from earlier scenes
      • 16:03 – cold, violent
      • 19:53 – dark but magical
      • 20:43 – daunting, scary
      • 22:03 – creepy, magical, but friendly
      • 27:20 – warm, happy
      • 32:20 – fairy tale-like
      • 32:34 – scary
      • 32:58 – creepy, suffocating, claustrophobic
      • 33:59 – war
      • 38:19 – fearful
      • 38:51 – cold
      • 39:50 – elegance, decadence, pigs
      • 42:06 – sad
      • 45:50 – suspicious, creeeeeepy
      • 46:31 – contrasts previous scene of the rich feasting, shows the struggle common citizens are having
      • 47:20 – fear, panic
      • 50:08 – comforting
      • 55:00 – revulsion
      • 56:37 – daunting, fear
      • 59:57 – extreme sweating and fear for Ofelia this is one of the scariest and creepiest scenes I have ever watched in my life
      • 1:02:37 – warmth, sunny
      • 1:04:15 – evil
      • 1:08:16 – evil
      • 1:12:40 – suspense
      • 1:16:11 – sadness, revulsion, evil
      • 1:17:28 – fear
      • 1:18:48 – kindness
      • 1:21:51 – sadness, fear
      • 1:24:11 – proud, valiant, dignified
      • 1:26:00 – sadness
      • 1:32:21 – fear, then proud
      • 1:35:51 – relief
      • 1:38:00 – disgust
      • 1:43:21 – fear, pain, blood, panic
      • 1:47:11 – sadness but also happiness? weird pit in my stomach
  1. Second Viewing: Notice the cinematography, mise en scene, actor movement, wardrobe, sound (diegetic, non-diegetic, music, etc.) choices (2 hours)
    • Review the Big List of Film Terms for cinematic elements, mise en scene (what’s represented on screen), and sound
    • Write notes (below in this post)

Step 3 – Choose Your Extract, Watch It, Write Notes, and Research: 2.5 hours

Total Time:

  1. Open your TA Bibliography Google Doc (In Your IB Google Drive Folder – Mr. Le Duc created)
    • You will add your MLA sources as you research
  2. Choose your 5-minute extract (scene)
  3. Re-watch this scene numerous times and write notes in the Task Analysis Guide (below) (15 minutes)
  4. Research to support your notes (1 hour)
      • Cultural context Evidence: Textual analysis and sources
        • Answer these questions:
          • To what extent do you demonstrate an understanding of the cultural context of the film text?
          • To what extent do you support your understanding of the cultural context with research from appropriate and relevant sources?
    • Add to your notes in the Task Analysis Guide
  5. Re-watch your scene numerous times and add to your notes (15 minutes)
  6. Research to support your notes (1 hour)
    • Re-read Criterion B Film Elements Rubric
      • Evidence: Textual analysis and sources
        • To what extent do you evaluate how the extract makes use of film elements to convey meaning in the chosen film?
        • To what extent do you support your observations with the appropriate use of relevant film vocabulary?
    • Write notes (below in this post)

MY NOTES

    • 1:21:55-1:26:55
    • Sources:
    • https://humanities.byu.edu/entering-pans-labyrinth/
    • https://edspace.american.edu/worldcinema/2018-collection/spain-pans-labyrinth-el-laberinto-del-fauno-2006/
    • http://citadel.sjfc.edu/students/jf00059/e-port/Files/Pan%27s%20Labyrinth%20Essay.pdf
    • https://commonplaces.davidson.edu/vol1/mothering-relationships-in-pans-labyrinth/
    • http://midwayreview.uchicago.edu/a/9/2/qian/qian.pdf
    • https://www.chrispaulwalton.com/single-post/2016/11/24/Pans-Labyrinth-Conventions

Step 4 – Compose A Rough Draft: 2 hours

Total Time:

  1. Watch Mr. Le Duc’s Convert a Table into Text with Editpad.org tutorial and do the following: (5 minutes)
    1. Copy and paste the two columns of your Text Analysis Guide notes (below) into editpad.org
      • This will convert your two-column table layout into a regular text document
    2. Copy and paste from editpad.org into your Google Docs TA Paper Template
  2. Thoroughly re-read and examine your work with the Text Analysis Rubric (PDF) (10 minutes)
  3. Compose your rough draft (1.75 hours)
    • Weave in your research the following
    • WHAT: Your observation about a film element in the 5-minute scene
    • WHY: Relate the film element to the shot or scene’s emotional or narrative importance
    • HOW: Explain how the film element works in the context of this scene
    • SO WHAT: Justify it with the cultural context, as needed

Step 5 – Get Draft Peer Reviewed: 30 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Get it peer-reviewed with the TA Worksheet (PDF) (30 minutes)
    • Peer Reviewer: Look for evidence of each section of the document
    • Look for WHAT, WHY, HOW for each statement in the paper
      • There should be at least one WHY or HOW or every WHAT statement
    • Look for cited research to support statements, where it makes sense
    • Write comments to help the author
      • Add them as “Add Comments” on the side, so you do not add to the word count of the document

Step 6 – Revise: 1 Hour

Total Time:

  1. Revise your draft (1 hour)

Step 7 – Get Feedback from Mr. Le Duc and Revise: 30 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Get feedback from Mr. Le Duc
  2. Make final revisions and check format (30 Minutes)

Step 8 – Finalize Paper and Cover Page: 15 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Clear cover page with the Title of Film & Timecode (5-minute film extract)
  2. Sans serif 12 point font
  3. In-text citations
  4. Less than 1,750 words maximum

Step 9 – Finalize Bibliography and Check Format: 15 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Update your TA Bibliography Google Doc (In Your IB Google Drive Folder)
    • Finish and check the format of your MLA sources as you research

Step 10 – Upload to Turnitin.com: 10 Minutes

Total Time:

  1. Upload your TA paper (from Your IB Google Drive Folder)
  2. Upload your TA Bibliography Google Doc (from Your IB Google Drive Folder)

Text Analysis Guide (For your 5 Minute Scene)

TASK COMPONENTS (INQUIRY)

NOTES
The extract may be up to five minutes in length and must be a single, continuous sequence of the film
Time of 5-minute clip PLACE 5 MINUTE TIME INTERVAL HERE…

PART 1 –  The film, your scene, why it is of interest, and how your scene relates to the whole film.

Brief Summary of Exposition

Writer, Director, Producer, studio, year released Main characters, conflict, identify the genre. Identify the aspect ratio.

Context of Extract in Film – briefly describe the scene

At what times does your scene occur, how it begins, and how it ends. Do not describe it further. The judges have seen the movie.

The Rationale for Selection – relation to the entire movie

Why is it interesting and why does this scene best illustrate the themes of the whole movie?

PART 2 – Remember to integrate the Director’s intent with each of the following areas in this section

Narrative

Script – Not just dialogue but in terms of being the spine of the storyExplain how this scene advances the plot. How do the events of this scene clarify/complicate matters? How does this scene affect/cause future events? What new information is revealed or suggested about a character? Is there anything deliberately withheld? Anything unusual in the dialogue? Word choice? Delivery? Accents? Repetition?

Cinema Photography

a) Camerawork – describe shots in specific termsShot size: ELS, LS (stage), full shot, MS, CU, ECU. Camera angles: bird’s eye, high angle, eye level, low angle or Dutch (oblique), camera movement: pan, tilt, dolly or tracking, handheld, Steadycam, or moving crane. Invisible V conspicuous. Are tracking shots motivated by character movement?
b) CompositionOpen/closed composition, aspect ratio, rule of thirds, Kubrick single-point perspective.
c) Depth of FieldConsider foreground, mid, ground, and background. Deep focus is associated with wide-angle lenses. Could be flat. Narrow ranges of focus may be the result of telephoto lenses.

Mise-en-scene – The overall look and feel of a movie

a) Position of characters and objectsIdentify the dominant, does movement guide our focus, character proxemics patterns (intimate,  personal, social, and public distances). How does the director add meaning to these choices? Is one character encroaching on another’s space? Watch for space being used to portray relationships/changes in relationships. Watch for windows, doors, parallel lines that frame people or objects.  Entrapment. Look for actor placement. Front – actor facing camera, greatest intimacy. One-Quarter Turn – very popular. Profile – character lost in the moment, a bit more distant than the previous two. Three Quarters Turn – useful to convey anti, socialness, Back of Head, most anonymous shot.  Creates a mystery or feeling of alienation.
b) LightingLow or high key. How does the director use light to focus our attention? Key, fill, and backlighting. What is the source of lighting in the context of the scene?
c) Color schemeHow does the director use color and what is the director’s intent for doing so? Look for color symbolism or color associated with characters. Color to suggest a mood. Color as foreshadowing. Contrasting colors ( the monolith v white room)
d) Set/location/propsSet design. Studio or on, location, describe props, scenery, what was the Director ́s intent for using them? How dense is visual information? Stark, moderate, or highly detailed?
e) Costume, hair, make upPeriod, class, gender (emphasize or diminish), age-appropriate, silhouette (close-fitting or baggy), fabric (plain, sheer, rough, delicate), accessories. Color is very important in relation to character.
f) Acting/body languageActing style, body language, blocking, period, or contemporary. Individualized (Joker), Stylization. Look for subtext (character says one thing but means something else). Consider typecasting as a shortcut to characterization.

Sound – watch scene w/o picture

Live sound, sound effects, and music. Sound can be diegetic, meaning characters would hear it, or non, diegetic, meaning that characters would not hear it, such as narration or music over the credits. Explore the relationship between diegetic and non, diegetic sound when appropriate.

Music

Is the music telling you what to feel?  Music can be used as a counterpoint to the action.

Editing

Ellipsis (time compression) and cross-cutting, fades, dissolves (fades between scenes), wipes,  matching cuts, straight cuts, dialogue overlap, and sound bridges. Consider how long each shot lasts.

Part 3: Analyzing the Film as a Product

Sociocultural Context

In what way was this movie a product of its time? What does the audience learn about the culture or historical context of the film?

Target Audience

Teens/adults or male/female age group, college education art crowd, liberal, conservative, Christian

Generic Expectations

http://www.filmsite.org/filmgenres.html also research  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tropes

Themes

Man V Man, or one of the others, is this film an allegory?

Motifs/Symbols

What specific devices support your definition of the theme? Look for recurring elements.

Film Criticism

Both contemporary and current. Use brief quotes from two different sources. Record the details:  reviewers’ names and publication names/dates

TASK COMPONENTS (ACTION)

Compose Paper

Part 4: Sources

Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4
Source 5
Source 6
Source 7
Source 8
Source 9
Source 10

TASK COMPONENTS (REFLECTION)

Revision 1 Proofreader:
Revision 2 Proofreader:
Revision 3 Mr. Le Duc

External Assessment Criteria SL and HL

Peer Review Checklist

Comparative Study Worksheet 2020-21

“Film scripts for sale in Soho! #newyork #newyorkcity #nyc #movies” by Nat Ireland is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Summary

A guide to planning, researching, and creating your Film Comparative Study

  • Follow the directions for each step below
  • Include for your work where it is required

Student Work

HL

SL (or not testing this year)

Steps and Tasks

  1. Brainstorm possible films for the task. You must select TWO films from contrasting cultural contexts.
  2. Brainstorm and justify at least three different areas of FILM FOCUS for your two chosen films.
  3. Brainstorm and justify at least two different CULTURAL CONTEXTS for your two chosen films.
  4. Consolidate your ideas and develop at least three different RESEARCH QUESTION topics for your study.
  5. Finalize your choices and select your RESEARCH QUESTION. Choose two films for comparison.
  6. Develop the main arguments you will make about your topic.
  7. Collect evidence from the films that support your argument.
  8. Research secondary sources for information that supports your argument.
  9. Write your Narration and plan the audio-visual components of your video essay.
  10. Recordassemble, and edit your Comparative Study Video Essay.
  11. Create a Works Cited document (separately) once your Comparative Study is finished.

Guidance for Your Work

“Simple formative analysis of film elements, no matter how precise or insightful, won’t cut it which is why the research question needs to be crafted in such a way that it provides scope for theoretical and socio-historic exploration. It’s basically an EE in disguise but focusing on two very different textual sources.”

Comparative Study Task Components

For this assessment task, each student identifiesselects, and researches each of the following task components.

  1. TASK 1: One area of film focus.
  2. TASK 2: Two films for comparison from within the chosen area of film focus, one of which originates from a contrasting time (historical) or space (geographical) to the personal context of the student, and the other film identified for comparison must arise from a contrasting cultural context to the first film. Students are required to select films they have not previously studied in depth. The selected films cannot come from the prescribed list of film texts provided for the textual analysis assessment task and, once selected, the films cannot be used by the student in any other assessment task for the DP film course or the extended essay.
  3. TASK 3: A clearly defined topic for a recorded multimedia comparative study, which links both the selected films and the identified area of film focus. Each student should invest time in researchingdeveloping, and honing their topic (which in most cases is likely to be expressed in the form of a research question) to ensure it is clear, focused and concise, in order to provide them with the maximum potential for success in this task. The topic should seek to enrich the student’s understanding of the chosen area of film focus and should avoid a plot-driven approach to the comparison.

The assessment criteria for this task requires students to provide a strong justification for the choice of task components as part of the recorded multimedia comparative study. This includes the student’s justification for how films arise from contrasting cultural contexts.

1. FILM Choices List

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Which films are you considering for your final Comparative Study? List as many as you wish below as part of an initial brainstorm. Remember that you must select ​​TWO​​ films from contrasting cultural contexts for this task.e.g. CITIZEN KANE Year, Country, and Director of the film.e.g. 1941, USA, Dir: Orson Welles
Double Indemnity 1944, USA, Dir: Billy Wilder
The Dark Knight 2008, USA, Dir: Christopher Nolan

2. Areas of FILM FOCUS

Film Focus Possibility – identify the broad focus area and then add specifics (e.g. “THEORY – Auteur theory” or “GENRE – Horror”). Develop at least THREE options…you can create more by adding more rows. Justification for this Film Focus. Be as specific as possible.
Style – Film Noir Both films use similar devices used in film noir i.e. lots of lowkey lighting, dark plots, the femme fatale (sort of), etc. Film noir is considered both style and genre, but if looked at as a style I can talk about how film noir has evolved to be used in different genres like superhero movies, and how the style was originally created to express humanities darkest desires and thoughts originally through crime movies, though now it exposes those thoughts through glamor and technology which follows how now in the 21st century humanity’s darkest desires have changed.

3. Chosen CULTURAL CONTEXT

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  10

For this assessment task, “cultural context” involves consideration of some of the following factors, some of which may be blended (such as socioeconomic factors).

  • Economic, Geographical, Historical, Institutional, Political, Social, Technological
Identify at least TWO Cultural Context possibilities for your chosen films.
Justification for this Cultural Context. Be as specific as possible.
Historical Historically, film noir movies were made to fit what was going on during the time, like wars. Film noir has evolved throughout history to fit what was going on during the time, and now film noir speaks more to the technological age.
Social Film noir reflects society’s flaws, and is sort of a form of satire. They are meant to show people humanity’s worst parts, but both films do this in a different way because humanity has changed a lot since the 1940s.

4. RESEARCH QUESTION Possibilities

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  10

Consolidate your thoughts above and develop at least ​THREE​​ different research question possibilities. More are possible by adding additional rows to the table below. FYI these will be shared with the full class for discussion of strengths and weaknesses.

Film style How has film noir evolved over time as a style
Film style To what extent has film noir evolved to fit society’s expectations?

5. Final Decisions

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 

Using your topic options in the table above, select ​ONE​​ to be your final topic for this Comparative Study task. NOTE: There are examples from the IB of what this should look like below this table.

Your Chosen Area of Film Focus Film 1 Film 2 Contrasting Cultural Context Topic for Comparative Study practice task (written as a research question)
Film style Double Indemnity The Dark Knight Social To what extent has film noir evolved over time to fit society’s expectations?

6. Developing Your Topic

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Develop 3-5 main arguments that can be made about your topic based on your research question and chosen film focus. Brainstorm how you could support these arguments within your video essay.

7. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Primary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Identify at least 15 scenes from your chosen films that will help support the arguments you have outlined above. Screen clip a frame from each scene below. Write notes about how this scene helps support your argument. (These notes will help form your voice-over narration.)

*Add more rows as needed.

8. Selecting Supporting Evidence (Secondary)

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
Identify at least 3-5 secondary sources (articles, books, websites, video essays, etc.) which provide information that help support your arguments being made. In this column include the specific source citations. Summarize the detailed information from the secondary source that you can use in this column. (You can copy+paste if they are from online sources.)

*Add more rows as needed.

9. Writing Your Narration

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 

Using the information, scene choices, and external sources you have compiled in steps 6-8, you will now write your voiceover narration and match it up to your chosen visual examples.

Length (</= 10 Minutes)

  • For the final Comparative Study, your narration should be no longer than 10 minutes in length.

Remember that you need to:

  • COMPARE and CONTRAST your two chosen film using the arguments and evidence you identified in parts 6-8, above
  • Begin your narration with a detailed justification for the chosen cultural contrast
  • Use an equal balance of the two selected films.
  • Write in a third-person voice to construct your argument (similar in tone to your Extended Essay and other
    comparative analytical work you have written in Film class).
  • Identify where any WRITTEN TEXT will appear on the screen and highlight this (to reference during the
    creation/editing stage)
Which Visual Evidence/Scenes line up to this part of the narration? Voiceover Narration Ideas

Formatting Guidelines

Screenshot from Celtx.com

10. Assembling the Comparative Study

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 

Now you will collect all media resources needed for the task and construct your video essay.

REQUIRED STEPS

  • Import the digital copy of your chosen films into editing software
  • Identify and extract chosen scenes and clips
  • Place and edit clips into a rough timeline for your video essay
  • Record audio narration (both partners should participate in narrating this practice task)
    into an audio file using recording equipment (Zoom recorders, iPhone, DSLR Rode video
    mic, etc.)
  • Import your recorded narration audio file into your project timeline
  • Assemble, edit and fine-tune clips and narration until your video essay takes shape
  • Create and add any required textual information in the timeline (including black slate at the start)
  • Audio mixing of narration and movie clips (adjust levels so that narration and movie sounds complement each other)
  • Export the final video essay movie file
    • Upload Unlisted draft to YouTube for peer review

11. Create Works Cited

  • Set a timer
  • How much time did you spend:  ? 
  • Create Works Cited list separately (Google Doc)

Examples of Possible Task Components

Area of film focus Film 1 Film 2 A possible topic for comparative study
Film movement: German Expressionism The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Edward Scissorhands (1990) How and with what effect are specific film elements of German expressionism used within a chosen contemporary film?
Film movement: French New Wave Breathless (1960) Badlands (1973) The influence of the French New Wave on New Hollywood’s use of innovative film elements in its representation of youth and violence.
Film genre and film style: Black comedy No. 3 (1997) The Big Lebowski (1998) To what extent do “black comedy” films differ according to cultural context?
Film theory: Soviet Montage Battleship Potemkin (1925) Koyaanisqatsi (1982) To what extent are specific features of Soviet montage theory faithfully employed in a contemporary experimental film?

External Assessment Criteria SL and HL

Peer Review Checklist

 

TASK COMPONENTS (ACTION) Notes / Suggestions
__ Assemble Findings
__ Develop a personal and critically reflective perspective
__ Identify and gather appropriate audio-visual material to support the study
SCREENPLAY
__ Justify the chosen topic and selected films
__ Make sure that the text is in a formal academic register (can be in the 1st person)
__ The balance between visual and spoken elements
__ Make clear reference to your sources as on-screen citations (text on-screen)
__ Make sure the primary weight of evidence for the study from the two chosen films
__ Make sure each film is given equal consideration
__ Make sure film language information is communicated clearly throughout (avoid “to be” verbs – make statements like “blah is this.”)
__ Make sure information is communicated logically rooted in film language
__ Have another student highlight the WHAT WHY HOW in your draft screenplay
VIDEO ESSAY
__ Recorded voice and edited commentary numerous times until happy with the material
__ Make sure your name and the school’s name ARE NOT IN THE ESSAY
__ Make sure to have 10-second title card with:1. Area of film focus

2. Titles of the two films for comparison

3. The chosen topic

__ Include breaks in your recorded commentary to enable other audio-visual material included in the study to be clearly heard (if needed)
__ Make sure film clip length matches points being made
__ Make sure still images have citations on-screen if you have them
__ Make sure text on-screen is legible and spelled correctly
__ Make sure information is communicated audibly (levels are good for all sound)
__ Make sure information is communicated visually appropriate manner
__ Make sure background music is from Creative Commons and is cited
__ Make sure edits are clean
__ Make sure the presentation is 10 minutes maximum, including title card and credits
__ Make sure two films are listed in sources

A Day in My Life

CC image clock #2 by Kaz_Ngo at Flickr

Summary

For this project I was required to record how much time I spend on each activity/thing I do for 24 hours, and then to make a short documentary explaining how I use my time with visual aids such as pie charts and pictures. The purpose of this project was to show how my time is being spent, and to help me with my time management skills.

Font

CC image Font at Flickr

Color Palette

CC image Color Palette at Flickr

Pie Chart

CC image Pie Chart 2 at Flickr

Script

Hi, I’m Sam. A day in my life can get pretty busy and sometimes messy if I don’t use my time well, but my average day looks something like this. As you can see, school takes up the largest portion of my day. This isn’t surprising as I’m at school for almost 7 hours. The second biggest chunk in how I spend my time is sleeping, which also makes sense. I have to sleep a lot, especially during the soccer season, or else I physically wouldn’t be able to get through my days. One thing that did surprise me is that I spend more time playing soccer and working out (12.5%) than I do doing homework (10.4%). I’ve always thought that I spend way more time on my homework than my athletics, but after mapping out my day I guess I don’t. I’m not sure if this is a bad thing or not, but it is surprising. I also spend a good portion of my time doing nothing productive, or my leisure time. Usually during this time I will read a book, watch Netflix, or mess around on my phone. My leisure time isn’t taking up too much time in my life, and I don’t think I would change it as leisure time is important and helps to minimize stress. Finally, the last 3 portions of my day are spread out in my daily routine, which is like getting ready for school, chores, and more, transportation, either by bus or car, and eating food. I spend just as much time doing my daily stuff as I do my leisure time, which I think is interesting. Both take up 8.3% of my day. Transportation only takes up 6.3% of my day, which isn’t that surprising, as I only am traveling places in the morning on the bus and in the afternoon when my parents pick me up from soccer. Lastly, I spend the least amount of time on eating food. I don’t usually eat breakfast, lunch is only a half hour, and once I get home my mom will make dinner but my family doesn’t do big family dinners very often. I usually will eat in about 15 minutes and then get back to whatever I was doing. If I could I would change this so that I ate breakfast in the morning, as I know it’s unhealthy not to, and I would spend more time eating dinner with my family. All in all, I have learned that I spend a whole lot of time on soccer, school/homework and sleeping, and it might be time to focus more on the time I spend with my family and less on my leisure time or my daily stuff. And that’s a day in my life!

Audio Editing

CC Image audacity screenshot at Flickr

Storyboard

CC Image storyboard 1 at Flickr
CC Image storyboard 2 at Flickr

Video Editing

CC Image premiere screenshot at Flickr

The Documentary

What I Learned

For this project I learned how I spend my time in 24 hours, how to make a slideshow in Premiere Pro, how to edit audio in Audacity, how to make a color palette and use it for a pie chart in Google Charts, and finally, how to be a better public speaker (some notes on how to increase your presence when speaking are listed below). This project showed me that I spend a lot of time sleeping, going to school/doing homework, and playing soccer, and that I don’t spend enough time with my family. It also helped give me skills necessary for presenting in Premiere Pro. One problem I had to solve was figuring out how to make the roll on the credits at the end of my video go faster so it flows better. I Googled my problem and found a tutorial which showed me how to solve it, and the tutorial is linked below.

Public Speaking Notes

  • We are influenced by non-verbals
  • Non verbal expressions of power dominance
    • Making yourself big
  • When feeling pride/victory we open up, lift arms in V
  • When feel cowardice, we close up, hunch shoulders
  • Our nonverbals govern how people think and feel about others and ourselves
  • Our minds change our bodies
  • Do our bodies change our minds?
  • Powerful people have less cortisol and more testosterone
  • Changing your poses into powerful or powerless poses change your mental state
  • “Tiny tweaks lead to big changes”
  • “Fake it until you become it”
  • 7 things we need to get rid of when talking:
    • Gossip
    • Judging
    • Negativity
    • Excuses
    • Dogmatism
    • Lying
    • Complaining
  • 4 things to bring when you do talk:
    • Honesty
    • Authenticity
    • Integrity
    • Love
  • To increase how you’re heard change your:
    • Register
      • Speak from your chest
    • Timber
      • Sound smooth and warm
    • Prosody
      • Don’t be monotone
    • Silence
      • A little bit of silence when speaking isn’t bad, and it doesn’t hace to be filled with um’s and ah’s
    • Pace
      • Slow down to emphasize points
    • Pitch
      • Higher pitch = more intense
    • Volume
      • Louder = more excited/intense

Tutorial I Followed

Contrast and Affinity: Space

Summary

For this project we were assigned to create a film of our choice. The film could be made any way we like, but each individual had to focus on a certain element of film. I chose the element of space. Our final product is a short film called What Everyone Needs, and in it is evidence of controlling the cinematic element of space.

Terms and Concepts

Part One: The Primary Subcomponents

1. Deep Space

  • The Depth Cues
    • Perspective
      • One-Point Perspective
      • Two-Point Perspective
      • Three-Point Perspective
    • Size Difference
    • Movement
      • Object Movement
      • Camera Movement
    • Textural Diffusion
    • Aerial Diffusion
    • Shape Change
    • Tonal Separation
    • Color Separation
    • Up/ Down Position
    • Overlap
    • Focus
    • 3D Pictures
2. Flat Space
  • The Flat Cues
    • Frontal Planes
    • Size Constancy
    • Movement
      • Object Movement
      • Camera Movement
    • Textural Diffusion
    • Aerial Diffusion
    • Shape Change
    • Tonal Separation
    • Color Separation
    • Up/ Down Position
    • Overlap
    • Focus
    • Reversing the Depth Cues
      • Certain depth cues can be reversed and used to create flat space.
        • Tonal Separation
        • Color Separation
        • Textural Diffusion
        • Size Difference

3. Limited Space

  • Limited space is a specific combination of deep and flat space cues.

4. Ambiguous Space

  • Lack of movement
  • Objects of unknown size or shape
  • Tonal and texture patterns (camouflage)
  • Mirrors and reflections
  • Disorienting camera angles

Comparing the Four Space Types (Examples)

  • Deep Space
  • Flat Space
  • Limited Space
  • Ambiguous Space

Part Two: The Frame

1. Aspect Ratio

  • The Film Frame Aspect Ratio
  • The Digital Frame Aspect Ratio
  • The Screen Aspect Ratio

2. Surface Divisions

  • Dividing the Frame
    • Halves
    • Thirds
    • Grids
    • Square on a Rectangle
    • The Golden Section
  • The Surface Divider
    • The Purpose of Surface Divisions
      1. Emphasize similarities and differences between objects
      2. Help direct the eye
      3. Alter pictures fixed aspect ratio
      4. Can comment on story situation

3. Closed and Open Space

  • Closed Space
  • Open Space
  • Large Screens
  • Strong Visual Movement
  • Elimination of Stationary Lines

4. Contrast and Affinity

  • Remember principle of contrast and affinity can occur from start to finish or from sequence to sequence

Films to Watch

  • Klute
  • Don’t Look Now
  • American Beauty

Controlling Space Production

Video Without Commentary

Video With Commentary

 

What I Learned

For this project I learned all about how to control space cinematically. The main way I altered space for effect was by emphasizing longitudinal planes.

Film Sound Design Project

CC image Consola de Audio by Elias Estrada at Flickr

Summary

For this project we were given a video without sound and told to research how to make our own Foley to add to the video. We then went around the school doing random things like kicking a trash can or shaking a tree to get the sound effects we needed to add to the short video. We used Premiere Pro and Garage Band to edit the audio and attach it to the video.

Film Before Foley and Sound Effects

Film After Foley and Sound Effects

Some sounds and how we made them:

  1. Rumbling of earthquake was made by two people pounding repeatedly on a wall that gave off a hollow sound
  2. Screeching of train breaking was made by recording a door squeaking in Mr. Leduc’s room
  3. Shaking of trees was made by recording us shaking a tree
  4. Crackling/popping of wires was made by recording someone stepping on a candy wrapper
  5. Train steam after earthquake was made by people blowing into the microphone

Sound Library

File folder with sounds labeled accordingly

Audio Signal Chain Notes

“Sound is Half the Picture” – Steven Spielberg

Signal Chain – At the source a microphone converts sound energy into analog electric signals. This signal is carried down a cable and into a preamp on an audio recorder or camera where it is converted into a digital file.

Recording Devices

Single System Setup (Combined Video and Audio Production) – Audio is fed directly into the camera and recorded with the image.

  • ADVANTAGE: Recording audio with video means there is no need to sync up the footage in post production.
  • ADVANTAGE: This can be a huge time saver especially in tight turnaround situations like the news or documentary.
    • With a camera designed for broadcast that has a robust and professional audio inputs and a preamp, the single system also avoids the cost purchasing additional recorders.
  • DISADVANTAGE: If you don’t have a camera with high quality audio inputs, like a DSLR camera the sound quality will be lower.

Double System Setup (Video and Audio Production) – Sound is recorded into a dedicated (it just records sound) audio recording deck, like a Zoom or Tascam.

  • Sound from the camera is still recorded if it’s available but used as a sync or scratch track.

Sync / Scratch Track – Audio recorded with the camera at the same time as an audio recording deck.

  • The camera audio is used as a sync or scratch track to line up the video with the audio from the audio recording deck.

Double System Quality

  • ADVANTAGE: It does not have to be attached to the camera.
  • ADVANTAGE: Higher audio quality.
    • Digital audio recorders have some great features that make for better recording.
  • ADVANTAGE: Higher sampling rate.
    • When an analog signal is converted to digital, the smooth analog curves of the wave signal have to be quantized
  • DISADVANTAGE: You will have to sync the audio in post production, but you can use slates to line up the audio on each shot or use sync programs, so long as you record a scratch audio track on your camera.

Slate or Clapperboard – A device used in filmmaking and video production to assist in the synchronizing of picture and sound, and to designate and mark particular scenes and takes recorded during a production.

Quantized – Analog sound wave that is split up into samples with the amplitude, or height of the wave (bit depth), measured.

Sampling Rate – Number of times the wave form is sampled, per second, determines how accurate the digital representation matches the original analog waveform.

  • More measurements = more accurate sound reproduction.
  • Measured in kilohertz (1000 Hertz) – not to be confused with the frequency or pitch of a sound wave.

Analog Signal – Analog recording methods store signals as a continuous signal in or on the media.

  • The signal may be stored as a physical texture on a phonograph record, or a fluctuation in the field strength of a magnetic recording.
  • This is different from digital recording which digital signals are represented as discrete numbers. – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_recording

Sample Rate Values (Low) – 11 kHz – 11,000 times per second.

  • Used for low quality internet voice transmissions.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Doesn’t sound very good, but barely OK for voice.
  • ADVANTAGE: Small file sizes.

Sample Rate Values (Middle) – 44.1 kHz – 44,100 samples per second

  • Used for CD quality audio.
  • 48 kHz is the standard for digital video.
  • ADVANTAGE: 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz reproduce the full frequency range the human ear can hear.

Sample Rate Values (High) – 96 kHz. Twice the sampling rate of 48 kHz

  • ADVANTAGE: The extra resolution just sounds better to many.
  • 96 kHz seems to be more translucent than 48 kHz.
  • ADVANTAGE: Having extra resolution makes post processing 96 kHz audio easier.

Bit Depth – How many different values of amplitude each sample can be.

  • With 16 bit audio – each sample can have one of 65,536 values – that’s 2 to the 16th power. Most professional cameras and codecs record.
  • ADVANTAGE: Dedicated audio recorders can deliver greater bit depth. They can record at 24 bit which gives each sample 16,777,216 possible values.
  • ADVANTAGE: 24 bit resolution contributes to a translucent, higher quality sound.
  • DISADVANTAGE: DSLR Camera’s, like the Canon EOS series, can only deliver 16 bit depth.

Sounds File Formats

Uncompressed WAV Files vs. Compressed MP3 Files

  • ADVANTAGE: Dedicated audio recorders also have the ability to record uncompressed or compress audio wave files.
  • ADVANTAGE: Always record uncompressed as WAV files.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Compressed audio, as an MP3, throws away a lot of useful information that will come in handy in the post processing side.
  • ADVANTAGE: Compressed audio, as an MP3 file, is about 10 times smaller than a WAV file.

The Deck

Preamp – Boost the signal of a microphone so it can be recorded.

  • Most preamps have a switch that can be toggled between line or microphone signal.
  • ADVANTAGE: Preamps in dedicated audio recorders tend to be quieter.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Preamps in cameras and cheap equipment tend to be noisier.

Line Signal – A strong audio signal usually coming from a mixing console or playback device.

  • Professional line out signals are designated as +4 dBu (1.228 volts root mean square, RMS ).
  • Consumer line out signals are designated as -10 dBv (0.316 volts root mean square, RMS).

Microphone Signal – Far weaker than line signal at only 2 millivolts (two one thousandth of a volt).

  • Preamps boost the microphone signal.
  • Preamps invariably boost noise and some preamps are noisier than others.
  • The more you pay the better the preamp.

Phantom Power – +48v supply of power down the microphone cable or line for condenser microphones.

Clip or Clipping – Looks like the top of the sound wave is being chopped off.

  • Avoid clipping at all costs.
  • 0 dBFS (decibel full scale) is set to the clipping point – the maximum loudness.

Headroom – The amount of dynamic range between the normal operating level and the maximum level, which is usually the onset of clipping <— bad bad bad.

  • ADVANTAGE: Enough headroom keeps signal from clipping
  • DISADVANTAGE: Too much headroom and there is not enough space between the recored signal and the noise floor, more noise is present in the recording.
  • SUGGESTION: Keep average level between -20 and -12 that way any sudden spikes and boost in loudness will top off at -6bB – well below the clipping point.

Sound Source and Ambient Background Separation – Recommend keeping at least an 18dB separation between ambient sound and the desired sound so that you can ensure recording a clean signal.

Analog Cables

Analog cables come in two varieties; unbalanced and balanced.

Unbalanced Audio Cable – An unbalanced cable is comprised of two wires – one serving as a ground which is the zero point for the analog signal and one serving as the hot which is the signal itself.

  • ADVANTAGE: Simplest and cheapest type of cable.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Unbalanced cables are mainly used for short runs because interference can still sneak in and create noise in the signal
  • In a shielded low voltage cable, a metal foil or braid is wrapped around the hot and acts as the ground protecting the signal from interference from outside sources.
  • They have either one of these connectors:
    • Minijack (1/8th inch or 3.5mm connector)
    • Quarter inch connector (phono plug or tip sleeve connector)
    • RCA connector and are usually mono – that is one channel of audio

Balanced Audio Cables – A balanced cables use 3 wires and have either an XLR connection (microphone connector) or TRS quarter inch connection which is tip-ring-sleeve (this connector may also be used for stereo unbalanced signals).

  • Made of three wires: ground, hot, and cold.
    • Ground wire is often the shield.
    • The audio signal goes down two wires, hot and cold, with the second signal reversed in polarity sometimes called the cold signal.
  • TRS connectors – or Tip Ring Sleeve connectors do the same thing as XLRs except instead of having 3 pins, the different signals are handled by the:
    • tip (hot)
    • the ring (cold)
    • the sleeve (ground)
  • ADVANTAGE: When the signal reaches the end of the line, the polarity of the cold is reversed and added to hot.
    • The revising cancels out any noise in the signal.
  • ADVANTAGE: Balanced cables are capable of long runs without much interference.
  • ADVANTAGE: XLR input connectors are sturdy and will hold up to a lot of abuse.

Microphones

Impedance – Impedance is a measure of opposition a device has to AC current

  • Basically the combined effect of capacitance, inductance, and resistance.
  • Designated as the letter Z and measured in ohms or the Greek letter Omega.
  • Low impedance microphones, sometimes labeled Low-Z have impedance of less than 600 ohms.
  • Medium impedance mics have between 600 and 10,000 ohms.
  • High impedance is anything above 10,000.
  • ADVANTAGE: In the audio chain always go from low to high impedance.
  • ADVANTAGE: The microphone should be rated lower than the recorder or else you have degraded signal.

Microphone Placement – The first and most important thing to remember about audio recording is that sound dissipates according to the inverse square law.

  • The power of a sound wave decreases by the inverse of the square of the distance – if you double the distance between your microphone and the sound source, you reduce the power of the sound waves to a quarter.
  • Triple it, and power reduces to a ninth.
  • ADVANTAGE: Get the microphone as close as you can to the subject.

Proximity Effect – Cardiod microphones and other non-directional microphones exhibit a boost of the bass frequencies when the sound source is very close to the microphone.

Boom Mic – Booming is simply putting a microphone on a pole and holding the boom so the microphone is just out of the frame either from above or from below.

  • Often times a shotgun microphone is used at the end of the boom.

Shotgun Mic – They have a tight polar pattern like a supercardioid capsule.

  • A long interference tube that sits in front of the capsule and is what gives it a tightly focused pickup pattern.
  • Sound that travels on axis will hit the microphone capsule unimpeded.
  • ADVANTAGE: For booming outdoors, shotgun mics are a great option.
  • ADVANTAGE: Sound that is coming from the sides will be forced to go through slots and since sound waves will hit the slots at different times, they will be out of phase and start canceling each other out.
  • ADVANTAGE: The longer the interference tube, the more directional the pickup pattern.
  • ADVANTAGE: Shotguns work best when the unwanted noise is relatively different from the desired noise.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Off axis Sound from moving objects will not be filtered as well because the the wave is changing position as it is entering the interference tube.
  • DISADVANTAGE: Shotguns can behave strangely in really small rooms or in highly reverberant spaces where the off axis sound will become colored.

Lavalier and Pin Mics – Small microphones hidden on the source of sound, generally attached on or near the chest, to get sound closer to the source.

  • ADVANTAGE: Very small and can be hidden.
  • ADVANTAGE: Moves with the source of sound.
  • ADVANTAGE: Used a lot in live performances.
  • DISADVANTAGE: You just have to be concerned about unwanted rustling sounds depending on placement.

Foley and Sound Effects Terms

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

For this project the biggest thing I learned about was what Foley is and how to creatively use it to my advantage. I learned that sound effects can shape a story just as much as visual elements can, and the audio can create its own landscape all on its own. Therefore, the better sound effects and audio you have, the greater the effect it will have on the film. One problem I solved was when I was editing and adding in the sound effects to the movie in Premiere Pro, was that the video sounded really bland. To fix this I decided to add background music, but since I had never composed or made music of my own I figured out how to download free background music tracks. I added an intense track to my video and shortened it a little to fit, and even though it didn’t quite match the video it made it a lot more interesting to watch.

ADR Project

Summary

For this project I was given a video clip with bad audio, and an audio clip with 5 different loops of better audio. The assignment was to find the good audio clip that best matched the video and sync it visually in Premiere Pro, creating a new clip. The final product is a short video with much better audio quality than the original thanks to ADR.

Film Before Visual ADR

Film After Visual ADR

ADR Terms

  • ADR: Automated Dialogue Replacement: The process of recording audio in a studio to replace the audio that was recorded on set
    • Used to fix technical problems
    • Used to replace an actor’s vocal performance
    • Used to make a TV safe cut
    • Used for creative purposes
  • Post synchronization = dubbing
  • When ADR was first being done the film would play in a loop over and over again, called looping
  • Partial ADR – Must:
    • Match microphones
    • Match mic placement
    • Match environmental reverb
  • Visual ADR: actor visually matching lip sync
  • Audio ADR: Actor matches the sound of original audio

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

To conclude this project, I learned more about the ADR process. I learned a thing or two from the different YouTube tutorials we watched, and I also got hands-on learning experience by practicing syncing audio to video visually in Premiere Pro. This helped teach me the importance and steps of ADR. One problem I solved was when I was dropping the audio file into the work space, I couldn’t figure out how to drop the audio separately from the video. To solve it I Googled it really quick and ended up figuring it out.

Chocolate! – Post-Production Journal

Summary

For the post-production segment of this project, each person individually edited the footage their team had filmed with Premiere Pro. We went into greater depth with editing on the eye/blink, making it so the edits aren’t noticeable and perfecting our editing workflow. This helped get the project done quickly and efficiently all without losing an ounce of creativity. The final product is a short 30 second film about a couple arguing over chocolate. (Shown below)

The Film Final Edit

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

All in all, I learned the most about organizing my workflow. Editing is a tedious and somewhat complicated process that requires immense attention to the smallest of details. This makes your workflow so important. Before this project I hadn’t really had a workflow, as I had just done things in a wonky way that got the project done. For this project, I followed a set of steps which helped get my project done a million times faster. One problem I solved was that I had no idea how to sync audio to video before this as I’d never done it. To solve that problem I had to look on YouTube for tutorials on how to do it, which helped me solve that problem.

Chocolate! – Editor Pre-Production Journal

CC image chocolate! by LongitudeLatitude at Flickr

Summary

During pre-production I made the storyboard and figured out with the help of my team where each cut should be placed. I also helped find the location and figure out where the camera will be placed. During production I will be taking notes on each of the clips and help with staying organized, and finally during post-production I will be editing. When it comes to editing this film, I will be using Premiere Pro. Like most all films I will go through the basic steps of downloading the audio and video clips, putting them into Premiere Pro, cutting out parts I don’t want and adding edits to where I do want, which are planned out in the storyboard. I will then fix up the audio and add in any extra sound effects. After that I will go through and correct the colors of the video. Lastly, if I have time, I will redo the dialogue and add it to the film so it sounds better.

Cinematic Storytelling elements:

  • 25: Smash Cut: After the film cuts to black there is a super quick cut to a half-eaten chocolate bar
  • 19: Assembly Editing: After Kirsten asks “more than chocolate?” there is a small assembly edit with Chris, the bag of chocolate and Kirsten used to increase tension.
  • 59: Extreme Close-Up: When Chris is realizing what is in her hands, the extreme close-up is used to intensify his fear.
  • 69: Tilt-Up (Character): After the extreme close-up, we used a tilt-up to reveal the bag of chocolate and Kirsten’s angry face.

Test Shots

The two different lenses we are using for our film.
Me figuring out where our camera should be placed and what should be in the frame.
Here is a small panorama showing our filming location. (The stack of chairs will be moved when we film)`

Planning With Cinematographer

Our cinematographer was gone all but one day of pre-production so I chose what shot types we would use by myself. (Shot types listed on storyboard)

Influences From Films

CC image Psycho by Danny Wedding at Flickr

George Tomasini

Films:
Rear Window (1954)
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)

Tomasini edited many of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, like the ones listed above. He was known for his stylish and experimental cutting, which further extended the depth and intensity of each story he edited. The infamous shower scene in Psycho is in a way the inspiration for one of our scenes. Our scene is much shorter and doesn’t include nearly as many shots, but the way in which the suspension and intensity increases with each cut to a different shot is where we find similarities to Tomasini’s Psycho.

Storyboard Notation

I drew the combined storyboard using everyone else’s storyboards on my team.

Combined Storyboard Pt. 1
Combined Storyboard Pt. 2

Editing Program

The first tutorial helped review the basics of editing and also help extend my knowledge on things like color correction. This was helpful because my memory isn’t the best and I had already forgotten a couple of the keyboard shortcuts, and this video helped review those things. It was also helpful to see editing on a video other than an interview, which is what most of the tutorials I watched last project were about. The second video was just interesting to watch, and I figured why not include it.

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

I learned and got better at managing my time. During pre-production, I had to plan out when I would do things and it helped a lot having a steady and reliable schedule. By having things planned out, it made the process go more efficiently.
Our filming location is in A-Pod and we are using a teacher’s couch, which means we have to drag it out of his classroom to use it. One of the problems we had to solve was moving the couch out of the door. The couch was to big to move normally so we had to flip it sideways to get it through, and when we flipped it sideways one way it didn’t fit so we had to fit it going sideways the other way. I ended up hitting my thumb in the door frame while trying to squeeze the couch through. (Video featured below)

Art of the Interview – Citizen Kane Research and Analysis Project

CC image Citizen Kane Poster by Phil Nelson at Flickr

Summary

The goal of this project was to use our knowledge of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, audio, narrative, genre and more to create an analysis of a scene of the movie Citizen Kane. After analyzing it, our team of three (screenwriter, cinematographer, editor/audio guy) made a short documentary going into depth in one of the fields. Our team decided to talk about the blocking of the actors, which falls under mise-en-scene, and we analyzed Scene #2 of the film. To do this we made a screenplay telling what we would talk about and what clips from the film we would use. We then shot and recorded the clips we needed for the documentary, and afterwards we edited them and added in clips from the film. Our final product is a short documentary on the blocking of the characters in Scene #2 of Citizen Kane.

The Film

Screenplay/Shot List

As the screenwriter, I wrote the screenplay for the documentary we created. The screenplay is in audio-video format, and includes a plan of the shots we used in the final product. In this sense it also acted as sort of a shot list. Even though we only filmed one shot (which is listed on the screenplay), we also used clips from the movie Citizen Kane, and the times of the clips are listed on the screenplay to make it easier for the editor when she adds them in. Below are screenshots of the screenplay.

Camera Position/Movement

As we were filming we decided to add in another angle (which wasn’t in the screenplay and was just an on-the-spot decision), and we decided that a side angle would add some depth to the documentary. Below are some pictures of the different angles we used.

Reactions to the Final Version

After viewing our video, some of the reactions I received from other screenwriters were:

  1. The dialogue/narration had a really nice flow to it and moved and fit together nicely. – Dawson
  2. Using different camera angles added an aspect of depth that was cool. – Drew
  3. The analyzation of the scene included some “why’s” and “how’s” along with the “what’s” but needed some more. – Jordie

What I Learned and Problems I Solved

By doing this analysis of Citizen Kane, I learned a lot about the filmmaking process. As a screenwriter, I had to work on my writing skills. I learned more about writing a screenplay in the audio-video format and I got much better at that. I also improved in my decision making skills because as the screenwriter I was in a way the director of the project, and I had to decide what clips we used and what we would talk about in the documentary. Lastly, I learned more about how to analyze a scene of a film and what details people pay attention to when they make a movie. Along with learning things, we also had to solve some problems along the way. One of them was the fact that I was too short while filming and the tripod wasn’t able to go any lower, so we stacked six chairs on top of each other and I sat on those to make myself taller.

Resource I Learned From