DIRECTIONS; TV DRAMA RESEARCH - THE WALKING DEAD

The Walking Dead has a very specific directing style; due to the nature of the show, i.e. locations and adult themes. The show itself has many different directors come in and out, whilst production assistants and writers stay the same, the directors change dependent on episodes; some come in just for a one off stint whereas others do some more longer episode directing arcs.
David Boyd has been a director of photography for at least 10 episodes of The Walking Dead, so far. He directed the episode entitled 'Secrets' (Series 2 Episode 6) Boyd notes how he had an upper hand directing this episode, as he previously has been on the set as a cinematographer he is the first director of the show that has a real feel for the tone, image and style of the show because he has worked on in since its inception, just not as a director.


Within this, Boyd opted to use 3 cameras, rather than the traditional use of 2. This is because the 3rd camera is used to get more abstract and unique angles that directors normally do not have time for, it was a belief that with the 3rd camera he could get 'something odd, something that shows you really getting into he characters head'. More widely to the show as a whole, Frank Darabout,  one of the creators, opts for traditional dolly use to enable a smooth and tight shot, in the episode Secrets, Boyd wanted to use whatever he felt right at the time for that shot, whether that be a dolly or handheld.

If we were too look at the directorial style of The Walking Dead in a wider view rather than this episode specifically, we would find that a recurring theme in the show is long, wide and birds eye view shots. The Walking Dead is obviously a fictional programme, and so its imperative that the locations used be engaging and aesthetic, especially considering this show is adapted from a comic book, the audience will want to see these recognisable elements of the location and many of the directors use these different type of shots to illustrate these recognisable elements.


Furthermore, extreme close ups are a recurring element in the Walking Dead, particularly one shot of a zombies cataract eye. This type of shot is extremely effective, it adds value to the costume/SFX and acts as a common symbol/iconography to the show. Also fast editing is something that is always a high presence in every episode, the creators want the audience to feel as though they are a part of the journey these characters are going on, rather than purely watching it, and so this fast paced editing is effective and it brings the audience in on the action, paired with the array of camera shots used by the directors.

One way in which the directing style of The Walking Dead defiantly influences my own work, is the establishing and master shots that they use to set their location. I believe, as a viewer, that these types of shots set the scene and sets the tone of the show. For example the shot above of Chicago, a promotional shot for the 1st season of The Walking Dead, really illustrates the tone of the show, through the colour that is used (dark murky colours) and the small image of a character we can see walking toward Chicago. Fast paced editing is something that I also see here and influence my work. Fast paced editing, in my opinion, is one of the most engaging thing a programme can do, it serves a purpose to keep the narrative going and the audience interested. It is something that when making Nerve, i hope to use.

DIRECTIONS UNIT: ARIEL SCHULMAN

My chosen director for this unit, is Ariel Schulman, an American director and producer. Most widely, he works on all of his productions with friend and fellow director, Henry Joost. He first gained recognition for the documentary Catfish, in which he followed around his brother who was talking to somebody online and when they first met, she was not who she said she was. Together, Ariel and Henry have founded production company Supermarch, through which they have directed many feature films as well as number of short dramas.
List of main film credits
                 - Paranormal Activity 3                                     -Paranormal Activity 4
                 - Nerve                                                               - Catfish
                 -Viral                                                                

Key Works/Trademarks

The most recognisable directorial trait that I identify from Ariels work, is the genre of found footage. All of his films in one way or another, can be linked to the idea of POV filming from a handheld camera or camera phone. This idea dates back to Catfish in 2010, whilst this was a documentary, it still featured the use of these cameras, the way in which this is filmed is much more personal and suits the documentary genre very well. Catfish, because of the way it was filmed and the genre, was accused of being fake. In defence of this, Schulman said "We're basically in an age where cameras are so available and people are filming themselves more than ever. We started doing that on Catfish with just small cameras and we had them out all the time, the cameras weren't popular enough that people believed it was possible, and so they came to the conclusion that it was fake". This way of filming is a really engaging for an audience, because it allows for abstract cinematography and also gives the audience a sense of they are in the middle of the action, they aren't just watching, this way of filming gets them involved. 

Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost helped to bring about the collision of this way of filming from phones and handheld cameras too the horror genre, through their direction of Paranormal Activity 3 & 4. Schulman decided to use a multitude of different cameras within particularly Paranormal Activity 4, the use of a macbook to film (using both the webcam and screen recordings), an Xbox Kinect and an array of smartphones (iPhone). This again adds to Ariels trademark directorial skills, doing something no other directors have done before with the horror genre. Within his work, Ariel recognises that times are changing; "cut to five years later and everybody has a HD cameraphone in their pocket", this modern components are what Ariel uses in his work and one of the main reason i am so interested and engaged to his work.

Within their latest feature length, Nerve staring Emma Roberts, they utilise some of the trademark efforts we have seen in a different genre, thriller. Evident within Nerve from their work, is the use of modern technology (macbook by which main character Vee uses to talk to her friend on Skype). The main story of Nerve revolves around young people playing a game where they either complete dares set by 'the watchers' or they watch and set the dares to the players. This game is played through a mobile phone and thus involves the participants to film themselves as the complete a dare. Vee's friend often teases her about how she lives within her comfort zone and doesn't challenge herself, to disprove her friend she signs up for the game and competes dares, ending up top of the leaderboard. The collection of scenes that i have chosen to recreate demonstrate Vee in her journey about what makes her decide to sign up as a player rather than a watcher. I choose this scene because i believe, through minimal dialogue, it opens up the entire narrative, every story is started/mentioned/referenced within this opening scene, for example introduction to the game nerve as well as the college application.

DIRECTIONS UNIT: RED RIDING

For the beginning of our new unit, Directions, Simon have given us a short portion of the script for 1974 film Red Riding, and in order to get us in the mindset of being a director, we are tasked with directing this portion of the script that we have. Mainly, i have been thinking about both the cast i would use and the locations, as well as the certain type of music that i would want in order to create the atmosphere that i sense when reading the script.

The opening of the script is very atmospheric, the location is detailed as a dark night with an icy and cold feel. I imagine this also as being in a big city, so though it is cold the scene would probably be very low lit, for example bright street lights would clash with the back screen darkness that we see. However another idea woud be to use a low populated area, a country road for example, that would further emphasis a sense of mystery and also portray wintery feel through the view of ice/snow - more likely to see in a country are rather than city. Below are example of both different locations i believe i would like to use.











Furthermore thinking about location, the conference room of which the investigation brief takes place within the script. I would use a small room, something that perhaps feels a bit claustrophobic and vulnerable; this is about a police investigation and a missing young girl, this sense of vulnerability portrayed would add to the story, indicating that theres no where to hide and the investigation will be solved. I also would use a room where chairs are face opposite each other around a table, rather than chairs in rows looking forward. This again gives a more personal approach, rather than being spoken too its almost like a discussion, this can be further emphasises by the conversation between the detectives later in the script.

In terms of cast, i picked actors for the three characters of -Eddie Dunford -Bill Hadley and -Bill Molloy. Mainly i picked them based on the description that i saw within the script. Bill Molly is described as a 'big and evil man' and so i picked John Goodman. Goodman was the main actor in Cloverfield Lane and his character within this was very evil; a turnaround from his most common roles in film history, and this is my main reason for picking Goodman for the role of Bill Molloy. Eddie Dunford i picked Ansel Elgort, a young up and coming actor who in my opinion would fit the role of a 'young and ambitious person' perfectly. Finally i picked George Clooney for the role of Bill Hadley, a bit of a different character than Clooney's normal roles, however in more recent times and with George Clooney not playing his most common younger roles, i think he would be a good fit for a respected character.

Ansel Elgort

George Clooney

John Goodman

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: 500 CRTICIAL REVIEW - SHERLOCK

The BBC's modern adaptation of Sherlock, uses a range of different codes and conventions to appeal to its audience. Examples of cinematography, mis en scene, sound and editing can be identified as to portray how this adaptation is effective. Sherlock is a crime drama television series broadcast by the BBC, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. A lot of the different conventions that are used are widely connected to the crime drama genre.

The editing of the show is very fast paced. For example within the first episode, when Sherlock is rushing to get somewhere to meet a killer, a range of different shots are used that a tightly edited together to reinforce the rush that the character is in. There is also an idea that the fast paced editing reflects the personality of the main character Sherlock. Sherlock as a character in this adaptation is an extremely quirky character; who acts, talks and thinks extremely fast, this paired with the fast paced editing that we see, establishes the fast paced narrative of the show as a whole and sets the pace for the series as a whole.

In terms of the cinematography, Sherlock uses a range of different abstract camera shots, this instils a sense of difference for this show. Sherlock is a widely known brand and there have been countless adaptations of it; in both film and TV. Creator Steven Moffat wanted this to be different and shine a new light on an extremely well known character, the abstract camera shots reinforce this idea of difference. For example, a low angled shot of Sherlock looking into a magnifying glass illustrates the characters intrusive nature and directs conveys this to the audience, through the fact he is staring directly at them. Many critics of the show highlight the Sherlock's child like nature and some of this can be directed toward the cinematography. For example, a long shot of him standing in front of a fire denotes a sense of danger 

There is mainly diegetic sound within Sherlock, as everything that we see is implied. We hear gun shots and explosions but we see these on screen so the sound itself is implied and fully expected by the audience. The non diegetic sound wouldn't be something the audience expects within Sherlock as everything is mainly socially realistic. 

The Mis En Scene within Sherlock is very important to the audience. As discussed, this adaption is a merge of the old brand and ideas of Sherlock, with more modern concepts, therefore it is important for the audience that they see both old and new iconographies. Firstly, there are two things that we see on screen that could be described as old iconographies of Sherlock, the hat that we see him wearing is a significant part of all Sherlock adaptations and seeing him wear it will make the audience instantly recognise who and what they are watching. Furthermore, the flat that Sherlock lives in looks the same in this adaptation as in them all, when we see long shots of the flat we see recognisable features, such as a brown arm chair and a very cluttered living room. Part of the Mis En Scene, the location of which the programme is set, stays the same, London. However the modern concepts comes from the establishing shots we see of the more modern London buildings, such as the gherkin and canary wharf. 

FINAL VERSION - REVELATION

Final version of my opening two minutes of 'Revelation'

                                                    https://youtu.be/OWN_Pafvbt8

SOFT TRAILER EDIT

Using the footage of the 14 minute short drama by Simon Ellis, 'Soft" we were tasked with editing a trailer together for the film. I found this exercise really useful as firstly it allowed me to get more to grips with using Premier Pro for editing as well as having a lot of footage to edit.

My version of the trailer can be found at -

                                               https://youtu.be/wsyHbpf-sCU

PROJECT CRITICAL EVALUATION

Throughout this Storytelling unit, i have learnt a lot about both the technical and written aspects of television production. I hope that throughout my work this term, i have effectively applied what i have learnt, such as the 180 degree rule and exposure.

Within my 2 minute opening, i feel that i effectively used a wide range of shots, such as close ups, wide angle and low angle. Throughout various screenings we had we identified a range of different camera shots which i took inspiration from and hoped to replicate within my own work. My opening included a lot of different shots all cut closely together, as we watch the main character 'Amanda' walk in to her living room. The succession of shots that i included i wanted to demonstrate an element of exposure and focusing, for example shots that focus on her feet whilst her shoes are coming off, or her hand she opens the living room door. I wanted them to look very clear and be tightly edited together. I believe that this is a strength of my opening as i think i achieved this.

There were a few things in my project that didn't go entirely to plan,  however it is good that these things happen so that i watch out for them more carefully next time and will not make these errors again. There were some continuity errors within my opening, for example as "Amanda" is looking at the photo of her father, the close up shot that i got of her picking the photo up (whilst in the other shot she is on the phone) she uses the wrong hand in the close up to pick the photo up, whereas in the main shot that same hand is being used to hold her mobile to her ear and the photo is in the other hand. Moreover, something i also thought i could improve was the main shot that i cut between during Amanda and Marks conversation. Mark was slightly cut off during some of it and he changed positions and i believe a straight shot looking direction at them would have probably been better. Something else that in hindsight i would have liked to have done, would be to add an extra scene showing Amanda leaving the house, as at the end of my opening Mark cannot find Amanda and it is inferred that she has left their house, however after watching it back i believe that it comes across as very ambiguous and an extra scene may have explained it better. Also another continuity area that i made was during Mark and Amanda's conversation, the living room door is open in one shot, closed in another and then back to being open. 

Through writing my script, i changed the story many times, adding in different characters, adding and deleted certain scenes etc. Mainly this was due to me telling too much and not showing enough, as identified by Steve Coombs in one of our feedback sessions. The main change i did was the introduction of Dave's daughter Connie, because it allowed me to add in extra scenes where Amanda meets her sister, this opened the door to have less dialogue and more 'showing'. Overall i believe that the storytelling unit for me, was a success. I learnt a lot about technical aspects of television and can now confidently identify control the Sony camera, as well as this i have learn't to correctly format and write a script, using the golden rules identified by screenwriter Steve Coombs. I hope that i managed to demonstrate this learning within my own work.