Sign Off Project - Reflection / Comparing with 1st term work

Today I am going to describe my thoughts about my video review about the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

Looking back at my first review I feel kind of embarrassed for it. The First term was not that long time ago; yet I can say that I am proud of the work that I have put in the second term. My last video review was about 70% talking about the plot and only 30% about its values. This term while creating video review script I've spoken very briefly when it comes to the plot. I focused more on technical values (camera angles, dialogues, lighting, music, sound); values about I didn't know last term. 

I have noticed that this time I was looking into the camera and not somewhere else. I think that by doing so I showed more respect towards my audience. The way I talked wasn't too generic; which I can't say about my first video review when it was kind of robotic. 

The duration of the video review changed as well, last term; I didn't know what else should I say in my review; this term; I was worried that I am not able to say everything that I know about the picture; there so many technical things that I would like to display but I really didn't want to go over 10 minutes of the review; and the end I didn't, so I was very pleased with it. 

It is probably the last time I am doing a video review during my international year; if there will be any sing off project due to third term I think that these video reviews taught me enough about film that I would be ready to create something small on my own; perhaps a short video with not so complicated script.

I cannot wait for another term; the second term taught me even more than the first one; I am truly excited about how my future at DMU will look like in a couple of weeks,

see you third term! (Hopefully)

CREATING MY VIDEO REVIEW

 In today's post I am going to describe the process of creating my video review of the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) for my sign off project.

 

Picture 1: Elizabeth Taylor as Martha (Lattanzio, 2020)

The first step that I have decided to do; was to record myself. To do so I used my IPhone 7 camera; I was very happy with the results that I have achieved; the quality was satisfying. I took about 50 of videos and then I cut them into the smaller pieces. Thankfully my mother let me used her Atelier for the recording time.

After recording myself I have decided to open up my editing software;  Shotcut; shotcut is a free editing software that allows you to do multiple things related to editing;  it is a shame I worked on Windows Movie Maker last term; the free version of it did not allow me to do much with my project. Shotcut on the other hand allowed me do everything that I wanted. First I pasted my recordings there and then I cut them precisely 

Then I decided to paste video clips from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and then adding the tittle to each clip with the information about the director and also a year of release. Shotcut did not have any difficulties with such operation; everything went smooth and I was satisfied with the results. 

After pasting my recordings and video clips from the picture; I have used a filter that allowed me to make a very smooth transition between video clips and my recordings; it made it look way much more professional and I was very pleased with the outcome.

The last step of creating my video review was to include my reference list. I have created reference credits and pasted this at the end of my review. The font is clear and readable. The background colour is black and the font is white. 

 The last step was to convert the project into the video file; to do so I have chosen to convert it into MP4 format. I was thrilled with the results; because the quality was amazing but the size of the video review turned out to be only 200mb; for that quality I was really pleased. 

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Video Review - Script

In today's post I am going to display the script of my video review that I have been working on for past weeks, enjoy. 

Picture 1: Film Logo, thefilmexperience.net (n.d)

 T H E  S C R I P T

[INTRODUCTION WITH A HOOK]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) is one of the greatest films defying cinema during the 60s era. It is one of those films that have stood the test of time and till this very day remains with its iconic status. New York State Writers Institute described the picture as a 'one of the most remarkable adaptations of a stage work in American film history'. But what exactly made us fall in love with this film? Hopefully at the end of my review; there will not be such doubt.

[PLOT LINE]

Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf is a drama film directed by Mike Nichols; it tells the story of a middle aged married couple Martha (played by a Dame Elizabeth Taylor) and George (Richard Burton). The couple tends to fight witch each other quite frankly; both of them does not mince their words. The fact that Martha's father is the University President and George happens to be teaching history there is not making things any better. Eventually Martha tells his husband that she invited guests over their house; a young biology professor; Nick (George Segal) and his wife; Honey (Sandy Dennis); as the evening goes by and more alcohol is being consumed the tension between middle aged couple increases; Nick and Honey are caught up in their game; at some point the guests become aware of the meaning of that game; they decide to leave the house leaving broken lovers alone to each other. (Huggo, n.d)

[DIALOGUES]

What really amazing about this movie is; are dialogues. A truly masterpiece when it comes to the script. The film is based on the play with the same title written by Edward Albee in 1962.  As simple as the picture might appear it does include one of the best dialogues in the film history. The scenes between Elizabeth Taylor and George Burton are really amazing; even within the first minutes of the film the viewer can appreciate the well written dialogues; the scene in the kitchen; while Martha is trying to remember a film starring Bette Davis and says iconic ''What a dump'' proves this point.

[CAMERA WORK]

The camera work was astonishing as well. In the scene when Martha is complaining about George being not accomplished enough to take over the President Office after her father she walks through the room with camera following her; it is called a tracking shot; it definitely made the audience feel the anger that their living room was filled with. The viewers' eyes were following her just like the camera that captured that movement of hers.

Another example of a wonderful shot was captured in the scene when George decided to trick her wife with a fake gun that instead of a bullet was loaded with a hidden umbrella in it; before pulling the trigger; the director focused entire attention on Taylor's face; to maximize the fear om her face he used extreme close up shot to do so; the effect of using that specific shot was very spectacular.

[THE LIGHTING]

Throughout the film the director used many lighting techniques; but the most memorable scene where on the the lighting techniques was used was the scene of Marta and George leaving the pub. The action in that scene takes a place outside the pub in the parking lot; Everything is filled with darkness and all the viewer can see is the face of Elizabeth Taylor having a breakdown; to create such look the director used low-key lighting in that scene; it helped the viewer focused on the dialogues between Martha and George; the director didn't want the audience do be disturbed by anything in the background but a dialogue.  

[THE SETTING]

The setting of the film was very simple, about 80% of the action is taking a place in their house, mostly in the living room and the garden. This simplicity also created a very specific atmosphere; it almost seemed like the whole world was captured in that a small area; it feels impossible to show that variety of emotions throughout the film in a small living room; yet the director had succeeded in it; he created a small world filled with many emotions and action. It is really admirable. 

[THE MUSIC]

Other than the setting the music also played enormous role in the process of creating Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. In the scene where both couples decide to go to the local pub the audience is exposed for a loud music and sounds. The great contrast was captured in the scene of Martha and Nick dancing with each other energetically; George is standing still in the corner looking at them clearly unsatisfied. When Martha decides to humiliate her husband even more while telling the embarrassing story about him she then smashes the drums creating a very loud sound; it really did increase the anxiety within that scene. That loud sound was also the reason of George outburst. 

[ACTING AND ACTORS]

We must not forget that the cast of the film was possibly the main reason that the film seceded so much. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were couple in real life;  and that could be a reason why there was such chemistry between them; there couldn't be possible better option than casting these two talented actors. Their acting was really convincing. Elizabeth Taylor proved with that role that she is not only a pretty face but also a great actor; in the last scene; when the secret game is no longer a secret and the audience is aware of what really happened between these two the viewer can witnesses a great acting performance of Elizabeth that probably won an Oscar for Best Actress for her. The emotional wrecked person portioned by a Taylor will never be forgotten; it is definitely one of the strongest moments of that picture.

[CONCLUSION]

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf will remain one of the most psychological films of all time. Entertainment Weekly in their article from 2016 underlined the importance of the film also stating that the picture 'helped introduce dark Freudian psychology to the mainstream' it involves imaginary, made up things in the film; the story of their son for example; The film really changed the way of making films since then. Is is a gem and it was out of its times; till this day the the viewers' feelings about this masterpiece haven't changed; it is still shocking after more than 50 years after its release. I would recommend that film to any film lover if their haven't watched it; Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is really worth your time. 

 

REFERENCES:

Huggo, n.d. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). [online] IMDb. Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061184/plotsummary> [Accessed 8 March 2021].

McGovern, J., 2016. 5 reasons to love 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' for its 50th anniversary. [online] Entertainment Weekly. Available at: <https://ew.com/article/2016/06/21/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-50th-anniversary/> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

R, N., 2016. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Pt 1: "What a Dump!". [online] The Film Experience. Available at: <http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2016/6/21/whos-afraid-of-virginia-woolf-pt-1-what-a-dump.html> [Accessed 8 March 2021].

Hagopian, K., n.d. Film Notes - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. [online] New York State Writers Institute. Available at: <https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/webpages4/filmnotes/fnf01n2.html> [Accessed 6 March 2021].

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Hellerman, J., 2019. 13 Film Lighting Techniques Every Filmmaker Should Know. [online] No Film School. Available at: <https://nofilmschool.com/film-lighting-techniques-and-examples> [Accessed 9 March 2021].

Studio Binder, 2020. The Ultimate Guide to Camera Shots (50+ Types of Shots and Angles in Film). [online] StudioBinder. Available at: <https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-camera-shots/> [Accessed 8 March 2021].

 

Developing sing-off project: researching on cinematic lighting

 In today's post I am going to focus on different types of cinematic lighting being used by a film directors. Lighting tricks like bouncing light, diffusing light, and changing color temperatures are used in cinematic lighting. Cinematic lighting is a film lighting method that goes past the standard three-point lighting rule to achieve dramatization, suspense and climate to the story (MasterClass, 2020)

These information will help me improve my video review

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

LOW-KEY LIGHTING 

'Low key lighting is a style of lighting for film and photography that has an emphasis on shadows. The style is achieved by using hard source lighting within the scene. Unlike high key lighting, low key lighting looks to increase the contrast of the subject and the environment.' (Video Maker, 2020)

REFERENCING:

MasterClass, 2020. Film 101: Understanding Film Lighting. [online] masterclass.com. Available at: <https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-101-understanding-film-lighting#what-is-cinematic-lighting> [Accessed 25 February 2021].

Developing sign-off project: researching on camera angles.

 In today's post I am going to focus on different types of camera angles. Camera angels are really important when it comes to creating a film. There are many types of camera shots and every each of them can be used in different scenes creating it's own unique atmosphere. The knowledge about camera angles is essential for my video review that I have chosen to do as my final project. I have decided that I will use shots from the films that I have watched to use them as examples.

High Angle Shot

Suspiria 1977

In High Angle Shot we see the subject from above; very often in that type of shot we can spot characters looking up at something (mountain, skyscraper etc and we can see them from the perspective of the subject characters are looking at). It is also used in scenes when a parent is looking at their children.

Low Angle Shot

Misery 1990

In Low Angle Shot we see the subject by looking up to it. This shot is very often used to show the perspective of the child looking at their parent. It is also use to underline a contrast between someone that is in charge and someone who is in the weaker position. 

Over The Shoulder Shot

Whatever Happened To Baby Jane 1962

Over The Shoulder Shot like the name suggests shows the subject from someone's shoulder perspective. Shot can be used to show the connection between the characters.

Close-Up Shot

The Psychic 1977

In Close-Up Shot in the frame we can spot only the face of the character; there is no background only the subject that director wanted to focus on. Very often it is use to show the emotions of the character; fear, anxiety.

Bird's Eye View Shot

Requiem For a Dream 2000

Bird's Eye View Shot is different from the High Angle Shot. The look at the subject is placed even higher; it is used very often in the scenes of couples laying on the floor/bed. It can strengthen the feeling of love or dreaminess.  

Ground Level Shot

The Shining 1980

Ground Level Shot shows the subject from the ground/floor. It is very often used to create strange/unknown atmosphere in the film.

REFERENCES:

High/Low Angle:

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/types-of-camera-shot-angles-in-film

Over The Shoulder Angle:

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/over-the-shoulder-shot

Close-Up Angle:

https://nofilmschool.com/Close-up-shot-uses-and-examples

Bird's Eye View Angle:

https://www.mvrop.org/cms/lib03/CA01922720/Centricity/Domain/60/FEIST-5_angles.pdf

Sign Off Project Form

Today I am going to display my project information.

Final Video Review will take about 5 to 10 minutes. The Audience that I am aiming for are the people that are interested in watching film or creating them; hopefully I'd be ready to show the results of my work at the beginning of March. 

 

Media: SMART Objective

The topic that I have chosen for my final project is video review of the film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966) by Mike Nichols. This review will break down many of the film techniques that were used to create that picture.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

SMART Objective:

One of the main segments that I will include in my review will be camera angles; something that my last video review was lacking of. I will describe many types of shots used throughout the film (Eye Level Shot, Dutch Angle Shot, Bird's Eye Shot etc). Camera Angles play enormous role in the process of creating a film. Without even acknowledging it; they are of the main reasons why the viewer enjoys the film so much.