Role Description: A film director handles the creative aspects of the filmmaking process. For example, they are the creative leads of the film and hold the vision throughout the project. Directors work closely with screenwriters, cinematographers, casting directors and production designers. Directors are employed by the executive producers who oversee production. They guide the actors and technical crew to help them capture their vision. Their duties consist of casting, shot composition, shot selection, editing, blocking/ guiding actors, reviewing and adjusting scripts and selecting which ones to turn into films, monitoring and approving film production budgets and ensuring that the film stays within its budget and on its timeline.

American director Ari Aster directed Midsommar (2019). Aster spent the first 4 years of his directing career making short films until 2008 when he made his feature film debut with “Hereditary”. In Midsommar (2019), Aster used blocking in an effective way. For example the use of the long table when they eat at before the beginning of the Midsummer festival. I admire the way in which Aster utilised the actors for example, in the opening scene when Dani breaks down on the phone to Christian after her parents and sister died. The scene evokes a lot of emotion and displays the actor (Florence Pugh)’s skills.

role one- cinematography

 A cinematographer is in charge of the camera and the desision of which camera angles to use such as low angle shot or a high angle shot and the lighting such as side lighting or back lighting. They’re responsible for choosing a style for the film and they choose how each scene is framed. Cinematography is the art of story telling by using camera angles, lighting, zoom and focus and more. They are needed in pre and post production by planning out the scenes, shooting them and then combining them.

role two- sound

sound in a film can help create an atmosphere in the film by the use of non diegetic sound and diegetic sound. By using different types of sound in different scenes can change the meaning and the story behind the scene. This shows the importance of sound and how it is needed in a film and by the sound being good it can change the meaning of the film. The use of sound is necessary to a film,

foley artists

-when recording microphones on set cant always pick up the small sounds so they are added in post preduction

-they add in many different subtle sounds such as footsteps and doors shutting

sound designers

-an individual ultimately responsible for all aspects of a film’s audio track, from the dialogue and sound effects recording to the re-recording (mix) of the final track

sound mixers

– responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production

this requires choice and deployment of microphones

-do more specific information about differnt types of sound!! on wiki

https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/1acaeed1-a1e1-4041-aecb-d8d15cebeef6

For the first film role I’m using editing.

The editors role in production is to put all the clips together to produce the final product. The editor brings all the raw footage together and cuts clips out of the final product that will be shared with the audience. All clips filmed are sent to the editor and the editor choses the best to go into the film. There are some techniques which a editor uses are CROSS-CUTTING or J- cuts, L-cuts and jump cuts which are used for action. Alice Ida Antoinette Guy-Blaché inspires me due to the fact that she was the first female editor and she proved that woman can edit too and its not just men. She was one of the first people to introduce narrative fiction films, which are creative films which the story is told thought the characters, plot and setting. Guy was interviewed by the New York Clipper and she explained “I have produced some of the biggest productions ever released by a motion picture company,” (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/06/obituaries/alice-guy-blache-overlooked.html) Which is inspirational and influences me as she was no longer overlooked as an editor and is being commended for her work. A film which has been edited to show emotion and tension is Baby Driver. This film has two directors which shows the effort that went into creating this film. Jump cuts are used within this film which build up the tension and the editing is tightly placed together to give the film we see today. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Driver)

Job description:

A film editor is responsible for turning uncut footage from a film shoot into a finished, cohesive final project. Their duties include studying film scripts and using them to guide scene development, determining which camera angles to use and coordinating sound and visual effects in post-production. Film editors are a crucial part in forming meaning in the film.

Inspiration Sally Menke :

Sally Menke was a film editor who worked very closely with Quentin Tarantino, editing all of his films until her death in 2010. She received a call saying she could edit ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and this is where their relationship began. Menke’s ‘style is to mimic, not homage, but it’s all about re-contextualising the film language to make it fresh within the new genre.’

Sources

https://www.indeed.com/hire/job-description/film-editor?hl=en&co=US#:~:text=A%20Film%20Editor%2C%20or%20Video,visual%20effects%20in%20post%2Dproduction.

MENKE, SALLY

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/dec/06/sally-menke-quentin-tarantino-editing

Job description- A cinematographer, also known as a director of photography, is in charge of the camera and the lighting crew. They’re the person responsible for creating the look, colour, lighting, and for framing of every single shot in a film. The film’s director and cinematographer work closely together, as the main job of a cinematographer is to ensure that their choices support the director’s overall vision for the film.

Inspirational professional- Sir Roger Deakins

Deakins cinematography is directed by the story. He works around the script and uses a variety of simple and extreme camera shots and movements. This helps create a impression of realism. Furthermore Deakins cinematography incredibly good at keeping a sense of realism as it is almost invisible which takes nothing away for the story even though most of his shots are very intricate and detailed. Deakins use of lighting helps to create a mood and tone for the film. This builds emotion towards the film. Deakins has worked on films such as No country for old men, Skyfall and blade runner 2049 which won multiple academy awards.

“I like simplicity. I like using natural sources. I like images to look natural – as though somebody sitting in a room by a lamp is being lit by that lamp.”

Roger Deakins

I’ll demonstrate inquiry for my portfolio by researching about a variety of roles within the film industry that link to what I’m going to do within my own work. This includes learning about people who are inspiring to me and finding out how they’re successful and what they do to create a successful piece of work in order to understand what type of skills are needed.

For example: For sound design, I’ll watch films of different genres in order to hear how sounds, such as breathing, can differ from depending on who’s the sound designer and the tone of the film.

for editing I will look into specific editors work that I enjoy and their editing style to see how they achieved it in production to gain inspiration from them to use in my own work

use influence of other filmmakers to guide your own work

research and understand the specifics of a minimum of three roles

use your own personal ideas, passions and creativity to be able to have a certain intention which should be achieved through the filmmaking

Inquiry is the asking for information, and using inquiry as a skill is crucial in film. This is done by researching and analysing previous texts and examples, as well as personal interests, in search of inspiration for creative and technical elements, and can also be used in pursuit of roles and strategies. Doing this increases understanding of these topics and will be beneficial for creating the finished products, as well as encouraging experimentation.

In film, this can be done by watching films and analysing for the filmmaker’s intentions. Doing this can increase understanding the thought process of the creator’s and the ability to think of what I would do in the role.