Reel

Reel - 2015 from Ammon Miller on Vimeo.

Final

For my final project, I really wanted to focus on the dynamic between three characters. This was something that I discussed with Jeff. I thought that this scene has some interesting relationships and I wanted to try to show this even though one of the characters doesn't have many lines. I tried to establish this by putting the characters in specific places within the plane. For instance, I put Angela between Roy and Frank in the windshield shot because I wanted her to feel like she was the source of their issues. We also separated Frank and Roy by a light pole to show how they were divided. Line was important in establishing these relationships. This was one of the things that I tried to focus on. I think I could continue to improve the lines in the scene by working more with the backgrounds and making them more intentional.

One of the other visual elements I worked on was movement. This actually changed as the actors felt out the scene more. I had planned more subtle movements, but we adapted some of the shots to fit some of the performances. Hunter was more comfortable moving around the scene so we followed him as he paced, and that movement matched the next shot of the car. I am very happy with how the performances turned out. I worked with these actors a lot to shift the scene to be more serious. They goofed around a lot, but I think we all worked well together to turn that into positive, focused energy.

Overall, I feel happy with how this scene plays out. If I could do it again, I would work more with line and space to make sure that all of those decisions were more intentional. I would use the lines and spaces to show the relationships with the characters better so that the dynamics of the scene were emphasized more.

Master and Coverage

This project was difficult for a variety of reasons. It kind of came together at the last minute. However, I was very happy that I had sat down beforehand and looked at what were the most important moments in the script. I also made sure to talk about what literally happens in the scene. This was essential in helping me tell the most important parts of the story. I wanted to cover the communication between Starla and Bill and their being interrupted by Grant. After I figured these out, the next step was figuring out the emotional arc of the scene.

This scene features some sexual tension between Starla and Bill. They have a sweet connection, but it isn't allowed to progress because of the very real threat of Grant, which in the story of the film is exacerbated by his alien possession. The emotional arc led me to also make decisions in editing about when I would show the different characters' faces and how long I would hold on those shots. I also wanted to give the actors some space, so I gave them plenty of time to feel comfortable with each other and run through their lines. I also tried to be very conscious of what felt natural for them. In the end, I wish that the scene was lit better and that I didn't cross the 180 degree line, but I'm happy with what happened over such a short period of time.

One Shot

I chose my scene from the film Being John Malkovich. I mostly wanted to focus on the comedy here, so I knew that the shifting positions of the characters would be important to show the shifting powers in this scene. I planned dolly shots to keep the image interesting when they would stay still. I had a lot more movements planned out before I shot, but when we saw the limitations of the space, I kept the most important ones. There were some things that needed to be changed, and one of the things that was most helpful to me was the MacKendrick viewing which helped me realize that there needed to be a motivation for all the characters to make the movements that they did. I was very intentional in choosing the movements that I did, that they had both a literal meaning and that they meant something to the overall story of the scene.

One of the things that I wish I could have improved on would be spending more time to perfect following the characters with the camera. I should have planned more time to get that done so that it would not distract from everything good that's going on. I really liked how most of the compositions turned out, I just wish we got there sooner. I also feel that the whip pan didn't fit with the scene as much as I though it would. It did feel a little out of place, and so I think if I were to do it again, I would include more extreme movements like that, or take it out. Overall, I think that the scene turned out very well, because it is very funny and the relationship between the characters is very dynamic, which is important to the rest of the story. The exposition also feels more meaningful and doesn't sound like exposition as much as it could.

Photo #37

I was walking around my house and I really liked the shapes of this box in the back. I think the wires around them make everything even more interesting because they are so wild and untamed and contrast with the rectangles of the rest of the structure and the wood paneling on the house. Looking at it again now, I wish I could adjust the placing of the camera just a bit so that it feels more even. It doesn't look as flat as it should. But I still really enjoy the shapes. 

Photo #36

I don't know why, but I find trash really interesting. I think it's because I always wonder what the story behind it is. How was this person's day when they enjoyed this slurpy? I focused on the straw because I feel that its angle gives it life. It also makes the space a bit deeper and goes in an opposite direction than the rest of the lines in the photo. I also love the contrast of colors here from the earthy tones of the rest of the photo to the bright, unnatural colors of the cup and straw. 

Shot-For-Shot

The Fisher King is one of my favorite movies. I saw it over the summer, and it has continued to stick with me as a masterful film that really makes me feel closer to God. After a lot of thinking, I chose this scene because it is really fun, but because it also shows the beginning of the wonderful relationship of Parry and Jack, the main characters in the film. Jack needs Parry, but he doesn't know it yet. It takes forces outside of Jack's control and Parry's own goodness to help him make the changes he needs. 

In this particular scene, Terry Gilliam uses a variety of wide and close up shots to show the emotional state between the two characters. For instance, the opening two shots are close up. For Parry, this shows his enthusiasm and care for Jack. For Jack, it shows how hungover and uncomfortable he feels. I felt that I communicated these well. One thing that was tricky for me to replicate was Gilliam's lighting. The light in the film felt more natural, and I was not as successful at replicating that, especially since we lost one of our lights through the process. However, I feel that we did the best we could with what we had. 

The movement of the shots was also really important in conveying meaning. Parry is manic and excited about having Jack join his quest, and also in the middle of his thoughts, so he moves a lot. Jack is kind of frozen in fear and shock, so he stays still most of the time. However, in one important part when he moves to the shrine, we follow Jack. This adds to the tension of him trying to escape without Parry seeing, and makes the shrine feel more mysterious. I also learned a lot about orientation in planning out the scene. I need to pay closer attention to the space in movies and in planning things out to help with blocking so that my actors can spend more time on their actual performance. I totally misread the orientation in my scene, and this caused a lot of confusion for my actors and David. Fortunately, they were all patient and awesome as I figured everything out.

Overall, this project was great to start to figure out how directors can help the audience to feel and gave me confidence that if I put the time and effort into my work, and can portray the same meaning. Also, it reminded me that making movies can be really fun even when it is extremely stressful.

Pre-Production for Shot-For-Shot

Click Here for Shot List and Storyboards

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Original Scene:

Photo #35

 I unexpectedly found this photo. I didn't have to do much to discover it, but I loved how the colors interact with each other. Here we have the complimentary colors of the light blue and orange, as well as the affinity with the red of the apple and the red of the wall. It makes the apple look more appetizing and the line of the table also leads your eyes right to the apple.

Photo #34

So this was pretty cool. I loved the light and darkness here. It was difficult to capture the sharpness of the lights in this particular image, but I kind of like the ambiguity that the blurriness gives the image. I wanted to give a continuation of the purple light from the orange light to show that it had power, but it also seems to have a kind of symmetry that I also love, especially since purple and orange are almost complimentary, and it almost seems that they're competing. 

Photo #33

I mostly wanted to take this picture because of how cool the color was. The room I was in was bathed in green light, which masked a lot of different colors by making everything monochrome. The glow sticks, however, were resilient and maintained their colors. I didn't have much control over the placement of the sticks (people were throwing them around fairly rapidly) but I did capture them scattered at this moment, which makes everything look like something out of a science fiction movie to me.  

Photo #32

Following the theme of bugs, here's a snapshot of a friendly arachnid David and I discovered while filming his scene. I love the shallow depth of field because it makes everything seem distant and because the spider looks so small, it feels like he's on a great adventure. The ambiguous space makes it feel all the more epic and I also love the brown and white contrast of color here. 

Photo #31

This picture of the bee is definitely different than the one that I posted previously. This picture mainly captures the fact that the bee stung me right before I started taking pictures of it. In this way, it looks menacing, ready to pounce. This was the kind of image I was intending to take when I captured it. I think it looks this way because it's partially obscured by the leaf, making it feel more mysterious and threatening. It also looks big in relation to the rest of its world, making it feel more powerful. My arm is still swollen from the sting. 

Photo #30

Here's a little bee crawling around on the ground. What I liked about this picture in relation to the many other pictures that I took of the bee is the colors. I love how the bee contrasts with its immediate background, but matches the overall color pallet given by the orange and yellow trees that frame the grey surrounding the bee. It makes it feel like she belongs in the world and yet stands out distinctly as the protagonist of this picture. 

Photo #29

Here's another shot from the Velour. I love how the colors work here. Again this feels like the venue's own intentional design, but I wanted to use flat space to capture the work that would have gone into this. This effort would have been a lot of coordination, and I wanted to capture the textures and warmth of colors. I wanted this to be a portrait of this particular section, and I feel like everything is almost posing here. 

Photo #28

I saw this image while I was at the Velour, and I immediately had to capture this. I love how the big horse shadow looms above everybody else who seem so oblivious to such a character. I say character because I really feel like this playful horse becomes something real when it's contrasted with all these people in a pretty normal environment. What makes it stand out to me is how it stands out on the blank wall, which it wouldn't if the wall was covered.  Also, the disco ball adds texture to the horse and makes it more exciting. The intentional design of this building was beautiful. 

Photo #27

Here is another experiment with light and color. I really enjoy the variations that these pumpkins give us, and the middle pumpkin's contrast with the rest. It has a lighter orange than the rest, but the other pumpkins also have light areas that add balance and make the outer space more interesting. Similar to the last photo, I posted, I love the ambiguous space that darkness provides. The orange against it is warm and exciting, but the shapes make it spooky. Plus, it's just fun because it's HALLOWEEN TIME!!!

Photo #26

The light for this was super cool! I love how the backlighting creates a black surface where the windows pop out as frames, highlighting the beauty of the sunset outside. I love the hair lights that give the shape of the people inside the bus, making them sand out while still keeping them ambiguous. I felt that this was a great experience in using the limitations of an iPhone to make a really interesting image. If we saw every detail in the people, the windows wouldn't pop out and it wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

One Shot

This past week I was very sick and so my plans to go to the shooting range with one of my friends fell through. Thus, I got a new last minute opportunity to take my iPhone to follow Jesse Baird at work. This ended up being something that was meaningful to me because I used to clean restrooms in the HFAC, and I found it a surprisingly stress-relieving experience. I felt that the audience might feel the same thing if they followed Jesse as he did his job. I wanted to get a good variety of the space, and show how each individual thing that Jesse cleaned would contribute to the restroom as a whole.

            Needing to use my iPhone was an interesting challenge because on one hand it was good that I got a wide lens to show the full space, but on the other, I had to do a lot of walking back and forth to get the variety of shots that I needed. It also took a lot to stabilize the phone without the use of a Steadicam or gimble. However, I am pretty pleased with the results. I feel that in the space of three minutes we get a good variety of what Jesse experiences, as well as some moments where we see his reactions and focus on his job. I felt that there were indeed a few times when the camera is not focused on something. I was trying to find the balance between not having a camera that constantly moved, and yet always having something interesting to look at. This was difficult when Jesse was cleaning at a rapid pace and moving around a lot. I think in retrospect I would have used more wide shots to capture everything that he was doing, and only gone close when I saw that he stayed in the same place for a while.

Photo #25

Photo #24

Photo #23