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Film Studies Standard Level

Production Portfolio

Try

Director

Session: May 2018

Personal Code: gcp579

Rationale Word Count: 94

Word Count: 1089

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Contents Rationale ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Pre-Production ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Research: Balancing Hope & Tragedy .................................................................................................... 4

Storyboards and shot composition .......................................................................................................... 5

Production .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Directing the Cinematography .................................................................................................................... 6

Shooting Issues ........................................................................................................................................... 6

Blocking ...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Post-Production........................................................................................................................................... 8

Reflection .................................................................................................................................................... 8

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Rationale Try is about an average teenage dancer striving to conquer her inner demons and achieve

artistic perfection. Her self-doubts and fear of failure weigh her down and the story explores her

transition from timid and disillusioned to confident and successful. Influences for this film come

from the “artistic desperation” and “fragility of hope” aspects of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan

as well as Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Red Shoes. Both films emphasize the

impact of desperation as a means of self-destruction, as well as both offering a glimmer of hope,

found in self-acceptance.

Word count: 94

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Pre-Production

Research: Balancing Hope & Tragedy

Drama’s exhibits real life situations with realistic characters, settings and story lines.

Drama’s portray journeys of character development and add intense social interaction filled with

climaxes to keep the audience emotionally attached to the ongoing tension. In my research I

wanted to find a balance between tragic situations and hopeful resolutions. While many dramas

have this as their focus, I was drawn towards the film Black Swan. As Aronofsky said regarding

Black Swan “A dark fantasia about…a ballerina whose pursuit of perfection takes her to the edge

of…perfectly choreographed oblivion.” Constantly intercutting scenes of failure and energetic efforts

creates a mood of tension (Figure 1) I wanted to express in my film (Figure. 2.1-2.2), to connect the

audience with my protagonist, Grace, by making her efforts and struggles relatable and engaging.

Figure 1

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.1

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Storyboards and shot composition Looking at the screenplay for my film, I had to visualize how these shots could emphasize the

emptiness she feels within. Adapting my storyboards, I needed to take into consideration the ways in

which these shots would function in sequence. When consulting the screenplay and drafting my

storyboards I took inspiration from The Red Shoes, using close ups for deeply emotional moments and

wide or medium shots when Grace needs to be more emotionally distanced from the audience, when

she is in a more emotionally stable state.

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Production

Directing the Cinematography During the course of my film there is an emphasis on the use of wide shots intercut with

rapid, shorter, close up shots. This helps the audience get a sense of the strife within Grace. In a

particular scene, Grace is positioned farther away from the camera, she is staged farther to show

her distance from what she hopes to achieve. (Figure 3.1) As the audience is meant to feel this

distance from her, so too is she meant to be “distant” from completing her routine. As the scene

progresses, and she appears to be coming closer to completing her routine successfully, the

camera quickly comes closer, the audience is more connected with her, as she becomes more

connected to herself. These shots were staged in a manner that Grace and the audience are “eye-

to-eye”. (Figure 3.2) My intention with this was to maintain this equal level in the audience with

Grace, as they are neither looking down on her, nor looking up to her, the audience is

maintaining a constant emotional equality with Grace; as she progresses, so too does the

audience.

Shooting Issues I faced numerous problems and setbacks in adhering to a shooting schedule my

production team and I had arranged early in the pre-production process. Many of our shooting

days had to be delayed, and this caused an issue of how to reschedule. Because my talent was not

Figure 3.1

Figure 3.2

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available on many of my proposed shooting days, I had to postpone production for a few weeks,

as a result my crew and I were left in a rapid pace to finish the film with little time to do so. This

misuse of time can be seen in my film, as in the second half of the film the sequencing is rapid

and rough, I did not adhere strictly to my script as I felt that changed made would allow for the

narrative to be simplified, and allow shooting to finish quicker. My focus shifted from minor,

more creative detailing in shots, to a focus on rapid narrative development.

Blocking There were several things I had to adjust while filming because of actor placement and

the connection I wanted to establish wasn’t being fulfilled. At one point, I chose to place a

follow shot in this scene rather than a series of cuts meant to show her “broken spirit” (figure

4.1) I should have planned this better on my set, as I think that having Grace farther from the

audience would have aided the storytelling and reminded us that she is still lacking her inner

acceptance. I could have had this shot intercut a with close up, but this would have broken the

180-degree rule, and while it may have added to the tension of the scene, the awkwardness of

this break would not have been overshadowed by any importance it may have had.

Intended Series of shots Actual shot in film

Figure 4.1

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Post-Production

Post-production was spent primarily in association with my editor, assisting in the

sequencing of shots, as well as assisting in the production of music that would go into the final

draft of this film (My first draft was completely silent). The addition of a soundtrack was, in the

end, a good decision as this allowed the narrative to be more engaging, at no real detriment to the

production, as this only added to the quality of my film.

Reflection Upon self-evaluation, I have realized the thing that I have struggled most with during this

project is trying to do too many things. I was over ambitious with my shot composition on set,

and wanted to try so many different things, I understood early that my storyboards were lacking

in detail and I tried to take advantage of this and use the opportunity to pursue many creative

liberties in my composition, which in the end used too much time and these attempted shots

often did not make it into the final cut of the film. I had many disagreements with other members

of my crew regarding how to stage and compose shots, which I do think severely limited my

ability to produce a better film, as I should have allowed myself to at least attempt these

proposed alterations, seeing that they may have fit the story well. However, I do feel that the

emotion I had hoped to convey was clear in the film, and that the composition used was able to

tell the story in a way that was engaging.

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Bibliography Films:

1. Black Swan. Directed by Darren Aronofsky. 20th Century Fox. 2010

2. Red Shoes. Directed by Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell. Rank Organization. 1948.

Other Sources:

1. Marshall, Peter D. “Working with Actors: Personality Traits.” Filmmaking Tips for the

Independent Filmmaker, Action Cut Print, 2 Jan. 2010, actioncutprint.com/filmmaking-

articles/filmmakingarticle-01/.

2. Spielberg, Steven. “Steven Spielberg Film Techniques – With Pretty Pictures!” Learn

Filmmaking | Articles and Blog for Filmmakers, 15 July 2015,

www.lavideofilmmaker.com/filmmaking/steven-spielberg-film-techniques.html. 3. Morrow, Justin. “Let Kubrick and Aronofsky Tell You When (and How) to Break the

180° Rule.” No Film School, No Film School, 11 May 2017,

nofilmschool.com/2017/05/when-to-break-180-degree-rule.

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Equipment List Camera

• Nikon D3200 Camera

• Nikon AFS Nikkor 35mm lens

• Nikon AFS Nikkor 55-200mm lens

• Nikon AFS Nikkor 18-55mm lens

Tripods and Rigs

• Manfrotto Tripod

• Shoulder Rig

Audio Equipment

• Zoom H4N Pro Handy Recorder

Electronics

• HP Windows Laptop

Software

• Adobe Premiere Pro CC

• Celtx

• Google Drive

• Google Documents