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