Frankie In Frame- A Final Project for ETAD 476

Hi Marc!

Presenting to you the soon-to-be film noir classic, Frankie In Frame! Well, I don't know about classic, but you know...

For an explanation of my/our process, please see the video below. Oh, and sorry, I say "film noir style" a lot...

Here is the criteria and a brief self-evaluation on each section:

Scripting (pre-production) 4-10 

- Developed Act I of script 

- Stylistically written to suit era and characters

- Followed traditional script format 

- Collaborated with my group members to develop story and style

Mark: 10

Storyline 4-10

- Developed storyboards for visual guidance

- Worked with Evan and Catherine to develop plot and style

- Consulted films such as Double Indemnity and Maltese Falcon for inspiration

- Bought costume and props

Mark: 10

Shot Variety 4-10

- Laid down (and didn't die) on a skateboard to get my favourite: trucking shot
- Contrasted perspectives of characters with variety of shots (close-ups, following shots, over-the-shoulder, etc)
- Worked several locations for shot variety (friend's roof, my house, alley, office space)
Mark: 9

Pictoral Continuety 4-10

- Paid attention to timing and character positions when transitioning shots for continuity

- Details such as clothing, object placement, and make-up were observed and fixed repeatedly
- Consulted my group to maintain continuity
- Filmed out of sequence to make sure shots from exact angles were maintained throughout dialogue
- Redid shots for quality control
- Decided weeks after filming to do more filming because I am OCD like that.
Mark: 9

Audio Quality4-10

- Tested and used various mic equipment

- Post-production audio editing took hours with little gain

- Consulted lynda.com tutorials, youtube, google, etc.

- Used better quality audio from other takes and tried my best to match it to the film using precise placement

- Effort was great in this area

- Controlled audio in other parts of film

Mark: 7

Timing 4-10

- Combining ACT I and credits, I meet time requirements
- Lingered appropriate time-length on dramatic and/or funny shots

- Collaborated with team to make sure our timing was similar

Mark: 9

Use of Transitions 4-10
- For flashback, I specifically used "ripple effect" for emphasis
- Did not overuse or underuse transitions
- Edited to the best of my ability to make the main dialogue ebb and flow naturally
Mark: 8

Special Effect, graphics, titles 4-10

- High contrast, black and white effect to match film noir style
- Worked on opening and closing credits
- Included gif for appropriate story development
Mark: 9

Lighting 4-10

- Appropriately used lighting to create high contrast

- Emphasized characters and scene with strong light from lamp

- Worked primarily at night and relied heavily (hopefully successfully) on lighting for effective storytelling

- Controlled lighting in other parts of film

Mark: 9

Overall technical quality 4-10

- Because this was a group project, I got to work in a number of areas: directing, filming, audio, lighting, acting

- My skills have significantly improved from the beginning of the course

- ACT I hopefully demonstrates a fairly high level of technical skill and attention to detail 

Mark: 8

Total: 88/100

Overall, I enjoyed making this project. It took a lot of blood, sweat, tears (emphasis on sweat)! Thanks for the opportunity to flex our creativity and technical muscles! 

Editing Assignment

Hi Marc!

Please check out my Editing Video for the latest assignment in ETAD 476. As you know, I did have some technical struggles with the Adobe programs. I hope that those issues are behind me and will not show up during the final project! Fingers are crossed!
I feel that my effort for this project was great. I spent quite a few days trying out the programs before starting the assignment. I also reached out to my other tech professor, Jordan, to show me a few tricks using Premier Pro. As you'll see in my explanation video, I got some inspiration from one of the videos he made for a course offering.
As for the quality of my film, I tried to keep things weird. The lyrics were a major inspiration for the kinds of gifs I incorporated in the project. I tried to infuse humour, absurdism, and plain ol' weirdness into the project while still maintaining a 'music video feel.'
I hope that you'll recognize my effort and attempts at creativity for this assignment. With this in mind, I would be satisfied with an 85% or higher. I hope this isn't overshooting your evaluation of my assignment.
Here is an explanation of my process:

Assignment #1 (Camera Shots and Angles)

Hey Friends,

Here is Team Llama's video, Pediophobia, for Assignment #1 (Camera Shots and Angles) without titles: 

With titles:

Ten marks for successfully completing every shot.


Five marks for a shot list that clearly identifies each shot on the video including the time it occurs.


Five marks for creativity in the demonstration of the shot types.

Reflection:


Our group worked hard on designing a film that we could all share our creative input and skills. One aspect that worked well for us was writing a script with camera angles included. This gave us some direction and focus while filming. Without the script, I think it would have taken us much longer to complete the assignment. Still, filming and editing took a great deal of time. I think after it was all said and done, we put in approximately 30 hours of work.

Premier Pro was a big learning curve for us and I'm glad we used the program in this assignment because I know those initial steps we took will help us in the final project. I would like to get more practice using the program because I think there is still a lot to cover.

One challenge we faced was the camera itself. My Nikon, unfortunately, seems to have damage in the lens so we couldn't use it for filming. We ended up going with Catherine's Canon which presented some challenges. Specifically, the camera is not built well for zooming in or out. This made some of our more complex shots hard to get. Luckily, Evan was tenacious when it came to getting the shots we needed.

Overall, I am pleased with how our project turned out. We collaborated well and contributed equally. Some of my favourite shots in the film include the flat angle, selective focus, and trucking shot. I also really like our music choices and b-roll shots. In that respect, I think we exceeded the basic requirements of the assignment. Certainly, our creativity was an asset to the project.

In the future, I want to improve the audio and focus quality of our projects. This, I think, will be an easy fix with better equipment and experience. Now that we have some of the basics of premier pro, I am eager to explore new techniques to make our films more polished visually and technically. 

A Little About Me...

Hello!
What do you get when a technology-challenged woman tries to charm her fellow colleagues? A joke about Emily Dickinson. That one is for all you ELA teachers. Not very funny, I know. For everyone else, I am looking forward to getting to know you. After taking this course, I hope that I may be considered a person of the 21st Century and a better educator at that. For a closer look, please click on the video below: