In this document I will be outlining my plan and method in directing the 20-minute short film Tributaries. I shall talk about all manners of the production including pre-production and post production.

 

Pre-Production

In pre-production there are several areas I will touch upon and things I will do in order to achieve the end goal and lead me smoothly into the production phase of our film. I will be doing test shoots. Once casting has been done, I will be practicing with my actors on how to film the scene to see what works but also how certain performances come through on screen. The test shoots will allow us some practice not only in seeing how our actors work together but also if any locations are impractical in ways we had not thought of or visually do not work.

 

Style
For inspiration for the look and feel for Tributaries I have been looking at a number of films and filmmakers. The Lobster has been a key influence with it colour palette as despites its surrealist plot line the palette is neutral and realistic. This lends itself to the story telling as the tone is bleak. While our film has a progression that is hopefully positive there is still a tension and an air the unresolved hurt that a similar colour palette would reflect without taking you out of the film.

 

 

 

 

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The second colour palette is one that I created which is similar to the colour palette from the first palette from the corresponding scene from the Lobster. I kept my palette neutral too with less richer tones and with slightly fewer stark differences.

 

 

 

 

The colours we use in film can affect how our audience feel with blue being a colour I will emphasise, blue can mean “BLUE – calm, stability, trust, truth, cleanliness, order, sky, water, cold, depression” (Hellerman, J. 2019). As High Tide is set by the sea in Herne Bay with water and depression being key components of the story. Camera movement is also a big one for me as I am very certain that I want the it to be all hand held as this lends itself to the realist theme of the film. To me the most influential example is in This is England which is directed by Shane Meadows. The film uses both stationary shots and moving shots but most importantly uses hand held camera work. This adds to the realist tone of the film but also brings you closer to the characters.  I don’t want the film to ever feel unreal or take you out of reality. Everything that is included in this film has to be keep the audience engaged and feel the struggle between
father and son.

 

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Lighting

As this film will be about a very real subject and having more of a focus on performance therefore the lighting will be very natural. I will be looking in how best to make use of any natural lighting for scenes outside during the day while using test shoots to test different lighting situation in order to maintain a consistently throughout Tributaries. There will be lighting for inside scenes I will be exploring how to keep the visual style consistent as artificial lighting can massively change the look of a scene

 

Performance
In order to truly get the most from my actors I will be looking at a range of acting techniques in order to truly understand how an of my actors will be performing in front of the character and therefore get the best from them. There are a number of techniques with Method acting being the most infamous. There are even more bizarre routes where directors like Yorgos Lanthimos however that technique will not benefit the performances I wish to gain from my actors. I want to truly be able to trust the actors involved and us to understand the other perspective ad therefore I have decided to take a more involved part in the casting process. One director I have always thought gets amazing performances from her cast is Lynne Ramsay. She’s very hands on with her cast by both trusting in her actors but also putting herself in similar situations as them for example “ Seeing that Phoenix was physically suffering during an underwater scene in her new film, Ramsay dived in with him.” (Hasted, 2018).

 

Sound
Sound is not something I have particularly paid a huge amount of attention to however after studying films such as You Were Never Really Here there is much that can be gained from thing more in depth about sound. While Tributaries is not as intense visually or tonally as Lynne Ramsay’s 2017 masterpiece the adding of either non-diegetic sound or intensify diegetic could highlight tension. Fr example in a hotel scene there is a warped music behind the scene at first as the danger makes itself known then as the fight scene continues the sound of the television is brought forward still with the warped music making the scene feel very anxious.

 

Locations

When scouting out locations into actually filming at them I will be doing a comprehensive review of all locations. This will be included checking for components to make a location viable but also check how I can use the space visually and how it makes me feel. All three of these components will help make the best of any filming.

 

Production

All the areas of pre-production are designed so production should run as smooth as possible.

 

Post Production

In post-production there are many things that still need attention the most obvious being editing. However promotional materials are also to be considered such as Trailers and posters. Trailers can be made from footage from the film and would be looking at both making materials ourselves and looking to hire someone to do it for us.

 

Editing

In the edit I will be handing my editor a list of what every shot should be with it highlight with those I think were the best. This as well as the storyboards and mood boards will give them a clear idea what I had envisioned. However, I will not be strict with the edit being this only as the way I have planned it as there must be some freedom for the editor. I must have complete faith in my editor and will definitely be open to them trying ideas I have not given them. I will also be trying to explore colour more than previously so will perhaps looking at using colour grading in editing to more to tone and making my audience feel something.  I will also be doing regular viewing and writing feedback in order to make the most of every viewing.

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Hasted, N. (2018) You Were Never Really Here's Lynne Ramsay interview: 'I remember in one take, Joaquin Phoenix was walking towards the camera and I saw the devil'. At: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lynne-ramsay-you-were-never-really-here-joaquin-phoenix-ratcatcher-morvern-callar-samantha-morton-we-a8242406.html (Accessed on 20.01.20.).

Hellerman, J. (2019) How a Film Color Palette Can Make You a Better Filmmaker [W/ Infographics] At: https://nofilmschool.com/Film-color-theory-and-color-schemes (Accessed on: 29.12.19).