Reflection - Making our Zhang Yi Mou Film

How did viewing of Hero change the way you are shooting your production? How is this shoot different from the last one?
Before watching Hero, I didn't know that the director needs to decide on the costumes, when they have to shoot the film and a lot more things. We had to think about where to shoot, when to shoot and the costumes and props before shooting to make a enjoyable and good film. I also understood that every single role is very important, director, cinematographer, actors, script writer, etc, are always needed in every film.

Not only about where, when and the costumes, the lighting, framing, shot sizes, colours are very, very important, too. They can change how the audience think about the film, for example, the audience could have different thoughts on what each colour means in Hero. Red may symbolises love or death and blue may symbolises sadness or romance. Therefore, when we are shooting our production, we have to think clearly and carefully about the colours we are going to use and what the colours show. In this shoot, we mainly focus on the colour. According to the story of our film, we decided on what colours we are going to use in the film. In the last one, we did not really focus on colours. We did not think about what colours we need to use. In the script of our film, we decided that the assassin who changed his mind and support the empress is going to wear clothes that has the same colour as the clothes the empress wears, to show that he is now on the empress' side. I understood that the preparation before shooting the film is really important and mistakes should always be avoided.

Since this is a Zhang Yi Mou film, we need more fighting scenes and also Chinese style clothes, props and places to shoot in. For the last shoot, we only wore our school uniforms, but in this shoot, we wore Chinese robes. However, none of us have Chinese costumes at home and I went to the drama studio at school to borrow some Chinese costumes. 

In our film, there are parts that are not successful and had to be re-shot, and there are also parts that worked well and successfully. For example, we sometimes can't hold our laughter and that scene has to be shot for many many times, and after practicing for a few times, we can finally shoot that scene successfully. 

We learnt a lot more about cinematography in this unit and we tried to use lighting, different shot sizes, colours and framing in this film. We knew that we sometimes need to shoot one scene in different angles, so when we are editing, we can use different shot sizes to tell the story clearly and easily.We also became more careful and cautious about what we need in our shoot. 

Now, we had more experiences of shooting and editing our own films. I am glad that I can make a Zhang Yi Mou film and learn so many new things.

Reflection on Film - Hero

                In these few lessons, we watched the film "Hero" directed by the famous Chinese director named Zhang Yi Mou.

                Before watching the film, we learnt about cinematography. Cinematography means "to

write movement", and is the art of telling a story visually with images, light and colour. A cinematographer can use different ways to tell a story, such as shot sizes, composition (where the subjects are placed within the frame) and also lighting. 

What do the colours represent?

                In this film, there are many changes of colours. Red, blue, green, and white had been in it. Each colour represents different moods and characters. I think that red represents the characters' passion, while blue means the characters are cold. Also, red also means that the characters in the film died, as it is the colour of blood. In one of the scenes, when the characters died, the sky turned a bit red. Additionally, the colours of the background in the film sometimes represented who was more powerful. In one of the scenes, which the man and the emperor fight, there were many green curtains in the place where they fight. The man was wearing a green costume, so the audience would know that he was more powerful and had a bigger chance to win at that time as the background showed the colour green.

                This is a martial arts film so there are a lot of scenes which the characters fight. When they are fighting, there is contrast in the colour of the clothing they are wearing and the background. One of my favourite scenes was the characters fighting in a place filled with autumn leaves that are yellow. They were wearing red clothes and the red stands out in that scene. The colour of the leaves gradually turned from yellow to red. That was a really beautiful and gorgeous scene.

What shot sizes are used and why?

                There are many different types of shot sizes. In this film, extreme long shots are always used to show where the characters are in. They always changed from one place to another, therefore to tell the audience where the characters are, the film used a lot of extreme long shots to show the background.

How does the composition of the shot tell us something about the situation?

                One scene that is the most unforgettable is when they show how far the emperor and the man were apart. They put the characters far apart, and shot the scene using an extreme long shot. This shows how difficult it is to approach the emperor. 

What is the lighting telling you about the character?
                Sometimes, the characters' faces are a bit blue. It is telling me that they are cold and unemotional. The lighting tells me the personality of the characters or what the characters feel at that time. 

                I think I am a thinker in these few lessons. I tried to think about why the shot sizes and colours are used in the film. However, I didn’t really talk much and express my ideas during the lesson. 

Y8 Film Lesson 15 17-10-2013

                 We had our 15th film lesson today. After finishing our edits, we did the screening and gave feedbacks to all the films.
                 When we were editing, my partner and I wanted to mute one of the clips' sound since the sounds are not relevant to the film. We asked for help and our teacher taught us to lower the volume of the sounds. Our teacher told us that we could come to the classroom during break or lunch so that we can have more time to edit our films. However, we didn't go during break or lunch. We finished editing at the last minute. We should have used our spare time to edit our films.
                 We then commented on each other's films and told what they did well and what could be improved. I have learnt a lot in this unit.
                

17th October,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 14 15-10-2013

          Today in film class, we finished all our shooting.

          First, we shot our film outside the classroom, on the corridor. We haven't finished all our shots that needs to be shot in this place and went to the cafeteria for another shoot.

          Ms. Rosati then told us to finish all the shots in one place first before moving to another location. This is more efficient and will save a lot of time setting up the cameras.

          We also learnt to do different shots in different angles even if it is only one scene. 

          We are going to do our editing next lesson and also the screening. Looking forward to the next lesson!

15th October, 2013

Y8 Film Lesson 13 10-10-2013

           The film my group shot during the previous lessons were edited in the lesson of 10th October, 2013 by one of the group members and me.
           While editing, we discovered that we sometimes didn't know how to control things in Final Cut Pro, such as muting the sounds, which at last one scene in the film ended up with voices of ourselves discussing about the video.
           After finishing the editing, our teacher played all the edited films and we gave comments to each other's edited film so that we can improve on it.
           Since this is not our final edit yet, we are still going to improve our film and end the film shooting next lesson. We had a fun time shooting and editing in film lesson!

10th October,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 12 8-10-2013

                         Today, we are filming some other scenes. This time, I had to act as I am one of the characters in the film!
                         First, we had to find the right location according to the script to film. We needed to find a place which is dark. After thinking for a long time, we finally went to the practice room, where you can practice piano and other music instruments. The room is dark enough that we can't even see each other. Then, in the script, one scene needs red eyes effect. We borrowed some red lights for the effect. 
                         After this lesson, I found out that making a film needs a lot of props and preparation. We must think of every single part of the script and prepare for it. Next lesson, we are going to finish our film and also the editing.

Y8 Film Lesson 11 2-10-2013

                            Today, we did some assembly edit on our film on iMacs using the application Final Cut Pro. In Final Cut Pro, there are four windows - the browser, the viewer, the canvas and the timeline or you can also call it sequence.
                            We were following a system called non-linear system, meaning that you are taking out what you want to the timeline instead of taking what you don't want to appear in the final film. Ms. Rosati taught us to render the clip every time we see a red line on the timeline. Also, we found out that we made some mistakes in our film and we might have to shoot it again. 
                            Assembly edit means not concerning if the clips matched, and that it just what we did today. It's just putting the clips in the sequence you want them to be in.
                            I hope we can do our editing well and make a good film.

2nd October, 2013 

Y8 Film Lesson 10 27-9-2013

                      I can't believe that it is already the 10th lesson of Film today. Time flies!
                      Today, we started filming. We went to the cafeteria and did the first scene of the script. I found out that this is not easy. You have to think of a lot of things before you can start filming a 20 seconds scene, such as where to film, who the characters will be, what kind of clothes for the characters to wear, what to say, what to do, etc.
                      I was in charge of the characters but I wasn't the main character of the film. I helped to be the camerawoman.
                      Filming is so fun and I want to be in film class again next year. I hope our film will turn out being awesome!!

27th September,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 9 25-9-2013

                           On 26th September, 2013, we decided on which script we are going to use for our films and learnt something about the camera. The camera we used is a Canon HF M300 and every camera has batteries, a view finder (the screen), the lens and the format of the camera (SD Card).
                           Ms. Rosati told us to set up a camera, first we have to open up the legs that stand on the floor. Each leg of the camera should be in the same length and never open them when they are facing somebody's head!!! To see if the camera is stable, you can see it by looking at a green bubble thing beside the camera.
                           The camera has a thing that looks like a handle of a door and you can pan or tilt the camera using it. Pan means going left to right, and tilt means going up to down. The camera can be moved for different angles.  
                           Next, we chose our roles for the production of the film. I chose to be the person who is in charge of the actors. I have to think about who the actors will be and what the actors will wear. 
                           I feel so excited! Looking forward to the next lesson!

25th September,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 8 18-9-2013

                   In film class today, we learnt about shot planning and storyboards. A storyboard is the first try at creating a visual of what the finished film will look like. Usually, it is created by the DOP (Director of Photography) and the director and it is used to talk about how the shots will be like with the rest of the crew.
                   Storyboards are needed because we need to understand if the shot are put together works in the final film. The other crew members understand what to do and create by looking at storyboards. 
                   After learning about storyboards, we need to make our own storyboard using our own script. It is quite difficult to do this as you might not have thought of how your film would start before. 
                   I enjoyed this lesson very much and I hope we can make a very good film!

18th September,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 7 16-9-2013

                  On 16th September, in film class, all we did was writing our scripts. We have to write about a teenager developing super powers and I figured out that writing a script is not as easy as I though. It is much more harder!
                  When writing the script, I sometimes forgets to capitalise the name when introducing a new character. Also, I usually use past tense to write compositions and stuffs, but in a script, I have to use present tense and it is sometimes hard to remember this.
                  In addition, we have to show but not tell out what happen in the script.
                  Time flies so fast when you are writing a script. I typed in a few sentences and half an hour had already past!
                  Writing a script is not easy at all!

16th September,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 6 12-9-2013

                  I am having my 6th lesson of film today and we are going to watch the ending of Gladiator today! 

                  Just finished watching Gladiator. Though I'm a bit afraid of the fighting scenes which mostly appear in the movie, the movie was awesome. At last, Maximus died but could return home in heaven. The slaves and gladiator were released from prison and had freedom.

                  Maximus was the hero of the whole empire! He was so great and he killed the evil emperor!!!

                  This is a really good movie!After watching it, we started to use a video camera and learnt about framing. We had to use the camera to do a close-up video of our partners. Then, Ms. Rosati taught us about that rule of thirds and the person's face should be in the right or left handed side of the thirds.

                  I am looking forward to the next film lesson! I wonder what we will do...

12th September,2013

Y8 Film Lesson 5 10-9-2013

                  So it's my 5th film lesson, which we almost finished watching the movie Gladiator. 
                  In Gladiator, I could see that the evil characters' eyes were extremely black and dark, and you actually couldn't even see it. Also, Ms. Rosati told us that one of the actors in Gladiator, Oliver Reed, as Proximo, died before the movie finished the shooting. Therefore he couldn't finish his part of the movie, and the teacher told us that the movie used the previous shots to finish his part of the movie. I didn't realise that one of the scenes was created by using computer and the previous shots while I watching!
                  Before watching Gladiator, Ms. Rosati asked me to research on some female action film directors. I didn't research a lot, but I discovered that most of the action film directors are male instead of female. One female director I found was Kathryn Bigelow. I have never heard of her before but she seemed to be a great director who received a lot of awards. She was the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director!
                  We have to write plot points for our "film" which we are going to make later. Additionally, we are going to finish Gladiator next lesson! Hurray!

10th September, 2013

Y8 Film Lesson 4 6-9-2013

                 It's my 4th film lesson today. In this lesson, Ms. Rosati taught us things about scripts.
                 I realised that scripts written for films are called screen plays. It is different from scripts written for plays and dramas. It is very important to know where the film will be shoot before the actual shooting as it will cost a lot of money going to different places.
                 A script is very important, too. If the actors don't have a script, they won't know what to do and what to speak in the shooting of the movie. To begin writing a script, the first thing to do is to write a story outline of the film. Then, write about the character, for example, what they like, what they eat, what they do, etc. However, it is different from how you will describe your character in the script. Next, you will have to write a basic outline, which is called treatment. You need to plan the things in sequences, for example, the first thing that happened in Gladiator was Maximus preparing for the battle and the next thing is... etc.
                 I also learnt that in a script, every time there is a new character, the name of the character has to be in CAPITAL LETTERS! Additionally, the special effects of the film should also be in BLOCK LETTERS in the script so that the people producing the film will know that it is a special effect.
                 Ms. Rosati also told us that 1 page of script equals to 1.5 to 2 minutes of the screen time! I wonder how many pages does a 2 hour film needs! In scripts, each location, what time of the day is always clearly stated, so everyone will know where to go and when to do.      
                 Next lesson, we are going to make our own script! I hope I can write a script well!    

6th September, 2013      

Y8 Film Lesson 3 4-9-2013

               I had my third film lesson today. As I said before, we watched the action movie Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott.
               Ms. Rosati taught us a lot of things, such as eye light, different shots from different angles and the magic hour. She told us that there is eye light in some characters' eye, to show that she or he is a good person with a kind heart. Their eyes look as if they were glowing. Compared to the character with no eye light, their eyes aren't as dark as them.
               Then we also learnt about different shots. There are close-ups, medium shots and long shots in every movie. In Gladiator, Maximus, as a gladiator, won the people who fight with the other gladiators and himself. Next, he became the leader of the gladiators, and was surrounded by crowds of people. At this time,  the camera gave a medium shot so we could see the people surrounding Maximus.
               And finally the magic hour. The sun is the most beautiful at that time, and so when the sun shines on a person, it seems like the person has gold surrounding on their body. However, the magic hour is really short, so when they do the shooting they have to be fast.
              The colour of the movie is sometimes warm (yellow), sometimes cold (blue). Ah, I forgot to mention one thing Ms. Rosati taught us. To show that Commodus was an evil person, in one scene, part of his face was bright, but the middle part was extremely dark. However, the emperor's face had no shadows. This shows that he was a fair person.
               I have learnt a lot today!

4th September, 2013

Y8 Film Lesson 2 2-9-2013

              Today, in film class, we continued watching the action movie Gladiator, which we watched some of the first part last class.
              In the movie, the man called Maximus, who led the army, won the war and so the emperor was happy and wanted him to lead the empire after he died. During the scene of the war, the camera sometimes shoot from a higher place and what we could see was the whole forest on fire and soldiers fighting. In addition, when the soldiers killed someone using their sword, the camera usually goes slower on every single killing.
              Knowing that Maximus would be the one leading Rome, the emperor's son, Commodus got jealous. The emperor soon got murdered. Every scene of the movie was very dark, grey, sad and gloomy, giving me a depress feeling.
              Maximus went home, and his wife and son were being killed. He was very sad and cried, and soon fell asleep. Then, he was brought to somewhere to be a gladiator, having to fight with people while the audience yelled and clapped.
              In this movie, the camera shot from different angles and places, sometimes from a higher place, sometimes from a far-away position and sometimes really close to the character's face. I could also see who was the good person and who the bad one was, from what they spoke and what they did. For example, Maximus was a nice person who cared for his family, as he cried very hard when his family died and he tried to save them while Commodus was a evil person who murdered his father.
              Again, I am looking forward to the next film class!

                                                                            2nd September, 2013

Y8 Film Lesson 1 29-8-2013

        Today, 29th August, 2013, I have my first Film class. When I got in the classroom, what first came in sight were the enormous iMacs and I was getting excited. 
        During class, our teacher, Ms. Rosati, played an action movie and we watched some of it today.
        The movie started with a man's hand touching the yellow golden weeds, and I could actually hear some children's laughter when he was touching them. I guess the man was thinking about his family or his home.
        Then it changed to another scene - the man's face. The whole scene looked so blue and gloomy. Compared to the previous scene, it was a lot colder. When he noticed a bird, he smiled at it. Ms. Rosati taught us that this was the 'Save the cat' moment, which the character shows his gentle, nice side of his character.
        After that, he walked around the battlefield. Giving smiles to the soldiers, he seemed to be encouraging them to not give up and to do their best. He then said things to them and one of the lines which was the most unforgettable was,"What we do in life echoes in eternity." This was so meaningful! I understood that if we did bad things, bad things will happen to us in the future. Therefore, we shouldn't have evil thoughts and we should never do bad things to others.
        I hope I can watch the rest of the movie as it seems to be interesting! In addition, I start to have some interest in Film class. I think I will have a lot of fun while learning a lot of things. I am looking forward to the next lesson! 

29th August, 2013