Ryan's Blog

'River': Indoor Test Footage (Interview Scene) After trying out different exterior shots, we moved inside to play around with lighting, audio, close-up shots and eerie editing. This test footage shows the structure of a job interview scene that we are planning to include in the final film as a flashback. We used an external audio microphone, in order to capture the sound, and we synchronised it with the video. This works very well as the microphone isolates sound, creating a more realistic and clear sound. This footage also uses colour correction in order to correct the yellow lighting that appeared in the room. This scene shows shot reverse shot and diegetic sound with the clock ticking in the background.

'River': Additional Test Footage This is more test footage that we created in order to do another take on the focus pull.  For this footage, we used a DSLR that had a macro lens attached and this allowed us to achieve the manual focus pull. The focus changing  made a mechanical noise but this can be avoided with external audio. Being able to test certain shot types, throughout each of our test runs, has been incredibly helpful toward me, as the director, as this will speed things up during the actual production; now knowing how exactly I am going to block each specific scene, and film each shot.

'River': Outdoor Test Footage As the director, I thought it would be a good idea to test how we would shoot and edit certain scenes. This would insure that we would have less problems setting the scenes up, when it comes to the actual production. These tests also let us get used to certain production equipment. We did not use the final actors for the film due to time constraints, instead casting ourselves in the roles to save time. This footage is only to show how certain scenes play out, as we experimented with different camera angles and editing techniques. We used a Google Pixel 2 for most of the filming, but we did not use external audio as we did not need to test it at the time. Some of the footage was shot with a camcorder, which proved more difficult to use but had the advantage of attaching to a tripod. We do have a tripod holder for a smartphone, however we did not have it with us at this time.  Overall, the Google Pix...

'River': Shot List This shot list is a plan for when we begin filming. However, shots may be changed during the filming process. - Canted angle of intoxicated man, walking towards the camera. Camera close to the ground - Falls out of frame, hitting his head - Match on action for next shot, frontal close-up of Ron's face as he wakes up - Cut to close-up shot of printer - Medium establishing shot of room as he stands up to get paper from printer, held as he looks at paper and walks out of the room - Ellipsis of him getting ready, several close-ups of action e.g. coffee, coat, slippers - Medium shot of front door, Ron walks out, then out of shot - Medium-long shot of Ron walking into frame, looking at Kevin - Close-up zoom in on Kevin, camera twisting, stops when Ron slaps Kevin - Mid side on shot of both characters, Ron begins to read as Kevin stands up into frame - Ron begins to read script, switches to shot of Kevin looking dow...

Initial Audience Research When producing a film, it is important to understand who the audience for the film will be. The audience is a vital part of any film, as knowing your target audience helps you greatly when trying to market or advertise the film. To better understand the demographics that our film may appeal to, we constructed a survey; asking questions about short films, in general, and questions that relate to the themes being conveyed within our short film, 'River'. We sent this survey out over social media, to friends and family, in order for it to reach a larger variety of different social groups. From the statistics we can see that people from the ages of 15-21 appear to be more interested in viewing low budget films, as well as films that may represent death in a unique way. Also, these people usually find out about films through the advertisements, when watching Youtube and TV. Furthermore, most people appear to favour symbolism an...

The Story Behind Elysian Productions For the name of our production company, we decided on the name 'Elysian Productions'. The word 'Elysian' means: Relating to, or a characteristic of, heaven or paradise. We chose this word as heaven, or paradise, is something that we all strive towards; as we believe that it is a place so perfect, that it is worth going through hard times just to get there. The paradise that we, as a group, strive towards is a perfect film and, to get to that perfect film, we may also have to go through tough times in the filmmaking process, but that passion will still be shown, and that is why we are called Elysian Productions. We wanted to create a logo for our production company that was simple yet recognisable. We decided that we wanted to create a text-based logo, as most production companies go for this. This was the first attempt at the logo. We wanted the logo to be a window into the film, but the colours shown, and the gradie...

Possible Questions for Initial Questionnaire/Audience Feedback What is your gender? What is your age group? How interested are you in short films? Do you prefer low budget or high budget films? How interested are you in films that represent the process of death in creative ways? Would you be interested in a film that presents the process of death in a unique way? How do you typically find out about films? What do you prefer in a short film? The plan is for the questions to be sent out to trusted family and friends, across social media, in a multiple choice style format, in order for us to be able to properly collect, interpret and use the results.  

Location Research For our film, we need an urban, inner-city housing area, as it will be in this type of location that our lead character wakes up, having died from alcohol poisoning.  Twinbrook: This is probably the best area as it fits the tone and general requirements of the film, plus it is also practical, being quite close to all of the actors and crew members. For the film, we also need a river/stream area, which can be used to represent the River Styx from Greek mythology. This is the area where the journey and plot for our lead character must begin, as this river is the bridge between Earth and the afterlife, in Greek mythology. However, due to the comedic elements associated with our interpretation of The Ferryman, this should not be anything special or grand; it should be somewhat pathetic and laughable, fitting with the unenthusiastic portrayal of The Ferryman as an ordinary guy, just doing a job that he isn't exactly thrilled about. Twinbrook: Once ...

Director Research/Inspiration This is a collection of filmmakers who have inspired me throughout the process of creating our short film, 'River'. As our screenwriter and I worked on the script, I had to look to other directors for inspiration as I had no experience in directing this type of film before. We came up with the overall idea for the film as a group, but Ciaran was tasked with actually writing the script. My job was to develop a shot list from this, and to start thinking about actually crafting each particular scene. Yorgos Lanthimos:   After looking at our script for the film, I was instantly reminded of this Greek filmmaker, who has risen to prominence over the past number of years, with films such as 'The Lobster', 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer' and 'Dogtooth'. The reason that I was reminded of him, and am looking to his directorial style as a source of inspiration, is the fact that our film bares many similarities to his pictures...

'River': Script >

'The Life of Death' Analysis 'The Life of Death' is a short film, written and directed by Marcin Dubiniec, that chronicles the life of the character of Death, from childhood until death.  The film opens with a wide establishing shot of a densely populated New York graveyard, as the film's sombre, downbeat score begins to play in the background. We are immediately led to believe that this film will be an emotional drama of sorts. We then get multiple shots of mundane everyday life in the city, such as the passing of trains and taxi cabs, children and dogs playing, as well as the sounds of drilling and car horns. As a man begins to open up his store, Death walks into frame and the camera begins to track him. Death is dressed in the traditional grim reaper gear, scythe included. Numerous shots of him walking across the city follow, as he goes relatively unnoticed by pedestrians. We are led to believe that nobody can see him, and that he is in search of his n...

'Christian' Analysis 'Christian' is an Italian short film, directed by Roberto Saku Cinardi, and is a mythical religious drama set in one of Rome's roughest suburbs. The film follows a man named Christian over the course of a day, as we explore his routine and, somewhat unusual, daily activities. The film opens with a shot of Christian looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, as the film's ominous score begins to play. This is followed by a close-up of his hands, which we notice immediately are bandaged, as he prepares to take painkillers. The opening credits appear on screen as Christian journeys across part of Rome. This section of the film features a number of establishing shots, all of which expertly set the film's tone as bleak and hopeless, with the weather constantly remaining dull in each shot. It is also clear that this film takes place in one of Rome's poorest neighbourhoods, as the camera focuses in on large blocks of old flats and br...