Research and developing my ideas

Looking at different post-apocalyptic short films and scenes to see how they have shown setting. This will help with my own film ideas and ideas about props and camera angles.

Submarine - Cast

                                         
We had a hard time finding someone who looked similar to the character Oliver; so we went for someone who was available, willing and could pass for a distant cousin. Unfortunately Richard who had arranged the actor couldn't make it to the filming  so I was left to find someone who was on site, luckily one of the chefs from the pub beneath the apartment was willing and not to dissimilar from Oliver though a little older. This however limited my filming time to about 5 minutes so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked to get a really good shot.

Submarine - Filming and editing

                     
                                                                         Filming

In the bedroom I did a slow panning shot from one side of the room to the other, using a tripod to keep the shot steady and level. In the original I first thought the shot zooms in at the window, trying this proved hard to move the camera and zoom smoothly. however watching it again the camera actually moves and lowers to change the angle. For the close up shot I did a low angle shot looking up and then a more level shot. I would have liked to spent more time filming to try other camera angles but the wasn't possible.
Filming the outside locations was easier because it was just a still shot and living in the countryside meant I had access to many good locations. however timing was hard because sometimes cloud meant the sun disappeared earlier than you were expecting. Also the in the original the sun is captured just before it completely goes meaning it was all about timing.


                                                                        Editing

Adding the tittles in between the footage was   
really easy on premiere pro, unfortunately we didn't have a production company name so we couldn't add that in. For the footage between tittles I use two different shots and cropped them so they appeared to be one take. For the long shot of the window it was hard to get the exposure right and I had to spend longer editing the colour because at the window there was more light than at the start of the shot. The shots were actually a lot darker than I initially thought so I had to increase the exposure but  I couldn't change it too much because the shots needed to be consistent. I also used a warp tool so when the camera is panning it has a smooth motion.   The main part of editing was the sound, not just adding the soundtrack but also ambient noises like the seagulls, the ticking and general background noise which I all added.

Submarine - Setting and Location

                               

The opening clip from Submarine is set in a boys bedroom around the late 90s. For our location I knew an empty apartment which could have a suitable room for us to use to recreate the bedroom. We decided it would be better to use an empty room rather than one of our own rooms because then we have complete control over what went in the setting and we could add specific props. the one problem was there was no furniture we could use so the setting was abit bare compared to what we wanted. When designing the setting we really tried to keep it in the correct time period by adding older posters. Certain items we added was the lamp and the wooden ship which was the closed thing we had to a submarine. To make it seem more like a bedroom we added books and clothes. If I could have I would have spent longer on the setting as we missed out certain props like the telescope and skeleton.


 For the outside footage, I live in the countryside so it was easy to find places where the sun was setting but the sun was normally hidden behind trees and the settings are all very similar. In the original clip there is one of a town so I decided to try and film around Norwich to get a clip.

Game of Thrones - The Ruins of Valyria

 

The setting starts very dull with same colours and appears very uninteresting. The landscape is very flat and plain but also open and distanced suggesting the boat is alone. This setting deliberately focuses all the attention on the boat, to help this the boat has the only colour in the setting with the red sail. Though there are thick clouds we don't feel there presence because they are high and a light grey to show the vast amount of space in the setting. The boat appears to be large compare with what's around. The inside of the boat is also rather clustered with fishing nets and equipment contrasting from the setting shown outside.

The setting drastically changes as they enter old Valyria, the tall black, solid buildings over shadow the small, flimsy, insignificant boat. The building remains are shown on each side looking down on them. This starts to build an atmosphere of entrapment and anticipation as tension rises. The clouds change becoming black and creating a looming presence over the boat, while showing the light clouds behind them. As the dark consumes them we see a dragon this could be a warning as it flies towards the light or to symbolises the next setting change.

As they sail under the bridge the black water and two walls along with people dropping down from above we feel a sense of claustrophobia on the boat showing the fear reflected by the characters. All light is lost when Tyrion goes into the water and all space is gone from the original setting.

Analysing Settings

The Duchess

The Duchess clip uses 4 different settings to show a change in mood and atmosphere. Before the first setting the camera travels under an archway this is a metaphor for us looking into her life so we see the following settings as she does and we experience her mood and feelings. The first setting is a crowded, busy street crammed with people and noise. We see people trading goods and running along with the carriage showing the life outside the carriage which she is separated from and we get a mood of longing from her. This is a long shot to create a real high contrast between outside and inside the carriage. The wide angle shot and busy streets highly contrast to the small and quite interior of the carriage.
The setting changes to a wide and spacious view of a courtyard. it is very empty and silent compared with on the streets and suggests her separation with the rest of the world and the walls of the courtyard acting as a cage or prison trapping her to her new husband. The archway at the beginning and end of this setting symbolise a new atmosphere. In the courtyard her mood changes to ore while still being intimidated by her surroundings.
Inside the hallway her feelings change to more of unknowing and uncertainty as well as feeling overwhelmed, there's also a sense of realisation shown by the grand, tall large setting which makes her look small and insignificant.
The bedroom is completely unrelated to the other settings because it is small and dark. The mood is completely changed to feel claustrophobic and slightly sinister creating the start of tension building up, adding to this is that the main colours in the setting is black and red which tends to mean danger. The contrast between the small, dark, intimate room and the grand, white courtyard shows how the director has used the settings to reflect different sides of their relationship.

The Last King of Scotland

The mission station appears as any normal building made of wood, only one story and is a pale brown colour. the room we first see is completely black apart from the window which is a square of light, this show that change is about to happen when he turns towards the light. This setting appears very basic and rural. Through the car journey we start by seeing vibrant green mountains and a very rural setting, then it progresses into a village with basic huts still very natural. Then the setting completely changes to a city with tall, white buildings lots of noise and people. This totally contrasts with the mission station in several ways, for example the colour goes from natural browns and greens to article white and very sterile and man made. The buildings become grand, tall and the foreground of the setting, where at the mission station they blended into the background.


Settings - Mise en scene

         Settings give us three main incites into what we are watching. First the mood and atmosphere, for example a setting which has little lighting or colour can create a mysterious, scary and cold feeling to the viewer this is important to create tension and fear in horror movies. The setting is also important for us to tell the time period of the media text, for instance if the setting was  modern we are likely to see modern technology and cars compared with an old fashioned setting which would probably see a piano and a horse drawn cart. The final thing a setting can show us is the genre of the text, an example if the setting is abstract or set in outer space the genre is most probably science fiction.


Any furniture is old and mostly broken

The setting of a poor a destitute couple in the 17thC is likely to have a lack of furniture and they're probably living in one room. I imagine there's insufficient light which would reflect there mood of hopeless and desperate, I doubt there would be many if any personal items, showing their low status.

For a middle class couple in 1940s I would have a fire place and lots of candles in the setting, a bookcase containing well read books also some photos of family and friends to create a sense of life and pleasant atmosphere.



Money and passport to show the
 setting is temporary

A spy is likely to have a plain and simple setting with a distinct lack of personal items like photos for a setting to create a atmosphere of mystery around the character. there might be several passports and money lying around or in a safe and, of course a hidden room full of weapons these show the modern time period of the text.

A businessman or women is likely to have a untidy setting with a noticeably large desk covered with paper work and expensive desktop or laptop a lot of empty wine glasses and takeout packs lying around this sets a mood of importance about the character. There's probably business clothes like suit jackets and a posh leather briefcase.

Students are likely to have more character to their setting than say a spy, I would imagine lots of study books and sports equipment, posters on the walls, the setting is very messy with empty beer bottles and pizza boxes. These suggest a modern time period and an intrigued mood into the students busy life.
Comedy- The setting is likely to be more colourful and cluttered with more going on than others.
Horror - Dark setting will little objects or colour, its likely to be small and seem almost claustrophobic.