Series review: The Originals

Hello!

So this a brand new part of my blog called "Series Review" where I'll be posting, from time to time, a review on a particular show that I've been watching and possibly loving and I'll give you all the dish on it.

This is particularly exciting for me since I love watching shows and I love writing, so being able to combine my two passions is something way too exciting for me!

But now onto the review itself.

"The Originals" was created as a spin-off series for the highly successful "The Vampire Diaries", almost two years ago.
Now, I've been a fan of the latter one, almost from the beginning and have been following it for nearly six years yet my review will be completely impartial since I don't believe in saying that a spin-off of a show you like is automatically going to be good just because of that.

So the first notion of who "The Originals" were was introduced in Vampire Diaries in the sequence of the storyline where the main character, Elena, was the prime target and element in breaking a curse that has been inflicted upon a super powerful and nearly indestructible vampire called Klaus, where he could finally have access to his dormant werewolf gene and become the first hybrid vampire. 

Klaus is known as not only being one of the strongest and deadliest vampires in History but he also has four other siblings, who altogether, are known as the original vampire family of indestructibility and good looks. 

So you might be thinking, what does being the original vampire family actually mean? Well it means that they are the one's from where all other vampires in the world and through the centuries have originated from. I know, it's a mouthful. 

But as soon as the basis for this was introduced, the audience continued patiently waiting until each and every member from this family made their debut appearance on Vampire Diaries so they could follow the family dynamics and events that were either caused by them or at least directly influenced.


This supernatural family had such a huge fan following that the CW decided to create a complete separate show where Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and the others, could tell the world all about their insanely dysfunctional family bond and unpredictable antics.  It has since aired nearly a year and a half ago and people have been gobbling it all up!

The Mikaelson siblings have been enticing viewers all over the world and their influence seems as strong as ever. 


When the news broke that a show based on this family was being aired, I wasn't very interested about it to be honest. Since I never really felt a connection with any of the characters apart from Elijah who seemed the most "human" out of them all and the most handsome and the odd moments where I sympathized with Rebecca for always having her wishes and hopes shut down, or should I say stacked down, by her big brother Klaus.

Upon starting to watch it, I still had my guard up, but as the first season progressed more and more with the introduction of Hayley, the orphaned werewolf who after having had a one night stand once upon a time with Klaus, is now carrying his unborn child. Hayley again had a small story arc in Vampire Diaries so the audiences already had somewhat of an idea of who she was even though her character in the Originals has a different purpose. Again, they are different shows with different plot lines. Which I am quite grateful for.

Hayley becomes then, the main focus throughout the first season, as she and her child become the focus of Elijah's endless attempts at keeping his family together and keeping Klaus from shutting off his humanity completely as a new hope arises. Klaus battles against his brother as he rejects his child because of his innate fear of not being a good enough parent since he never had very good examples on that front. The audience is on pins and needles as Joseph Morgan, who plays Klaus, brilliantly showcases the ups and downs of his unsuccessful ignorance towards his child to come and his need to have and secure power in New Orleans thus becoming "the King of the Quarter". 

Whilst this is happening, a new love connection starts to slowly form between Hayley and Elijah where both start to develop feelings towards each other even though they know it is unthinkable when she is forever connected to Klaus. 

This introductory season slowly starts building up the tempo as episode after episode is aired and the tension gets to a boiling point midway through with the appearance of other supernatural characters whose plan is to either wipe off Klaus or his family or Hayley and, consequently, his son or daughter yet to be born.

And I have to say that, for me, this season starts to get really exciting in the final episodes and the season finale got me sobbing and crying at the demise of one the characters which caught me so off guard for being so unexpected that I almost had a slight panic attack, in the good way, because it actually made me realize the bond that I had unknowingly created with said character and how important they had become in my life on a weekly basis.

And I have to say that, if you follow Vampire Diaries, you'll see the similarities in the writing style of the show since it has all of the unpredictability, the heart wrenching story arcs, the amazing character development even of the secondary characters and the story focus on the importance of family and relationships between them.

Overall, I feel like this show has all the great makings of a long-running television success and has already started to create a cult following that is quite distinct from his 'original' starter show.

MDA 2900: "River Of No Return" music video

 Hello!

This post will go all into the nooks and crannies of the entire production process for this music video.

Pre-production

As soon as I approached the basic idea for the story with my Producer, Deborah, she was quite immediately for the idea and was excited to get it off the ground, which I guess helped out quite a lot for it to actually exist in this moment.
So, fast forwarding quite a bit, after the script, part of the storyboard and the shot list were already done, I started looking at locations that I imagined suitable for both the indoor and outdoor scenes and we actually visited a few in Camden Town. One was called "The Diner" which was an actually thematic 1950s inspired restaurant. Yet since they never responded back to my Producer, that location was put on the side midway through pre-production.
Then after the costume and prop list and a mild idea for the budget for the shoot was prepared, Deborah posted up an advertisement about our shoot (who we were/type of project/snynopsis/type and the looks of the characters and the script). Within about two days we had 20 potential Marys and 3 potential Josephs. By the end we almost 30 applications for the female characters which we thought was insane! But quite gratifying and humbling at the same time, because even though I loved my story and had faith in it, I didn't think so many people would believe in it in the same way.
One day, we went into the library to look at all the showreels and CV's of the applicants and we took around 2.5 hours to get through it all.
We had quite good performances to not so good to bad to none whatsoever.
Then I came across this actress named Vanessa Carr.
The funny fact was that I cut her right from the beginning but then decided to look at her showreel regardless and thank the heavens, I did!
Then came Max's showreel and his quite raw performance in his final university project, made it quite clear that he would be Joseph.
After this, and going over it with the Producer, I bought the customes and props as soon as the actors gave us the confirmation of their participation.
Another thing that we initially decided on was to have a makeup/hairstyle artist for the shoot since we were going to do a period inspired piece.
I eventually found two of them, for no payment, only food and the final product for their own showreel and we were on our way.

Production

 

The day right before the shoot, my Producer got an email from the second makeup artist we had and she had just quit our job right before it even started. And I must say that my stomach fell to the ground as soon as she told me. And because Deborah was coming to meet me at my house so that the next day we could just get up, grab what we need and go, during her travel time to here, I just started calling all the makeup artists in London at around 10pm. They either didn't pick up, which is quite frankly understand since it is freaking 10 at night!, or they did and thought I was a desperate weirdo trying to get a substitute for a project they had no previous idea of or they had other commitments already.
So, in last case scenario, I got a good friend of mine, Linn, to do the hair since I knew she was good at it and far better than me! She, was quite literally, a life saver and a sweetheart for agreeing to do it in such short notice. And I ended up having to do the makeup which I actually enjoy to do regardless but would have preferred to have had someone who was properly experienced with it so I wouldn't have to worry if looked as it should.
And with other last minute issues of not having hairbrushes or combs or hair pins or appropriate length size trousers for Max, the actual shoot from start to finish was the best possible experience I could ever have asked for.

Both Vanessa and Max were the loveliest people, funny and quite good at their craft. Then combine them both and their chemistry was off the charts. So this being my first time directing actors, I was very grateful to them for making it such an easy and enjoyable experience for a first timer! After we did the shoot and each of went back to their homes, quite exhausted to be honest, me and Deborah got an email from the actress where she compliment us and said how much she enjoyed her time. And she even said that I made her feel very comfortable and that she would love to work with us again. Now when a person with as many years of experience in film, TV and theatre says that to you, I get a bit emotional and happy to see that she thinks a fresh, young and recently 1st year graduate has potential. Basically I need to look better at my life's choices.

Post-production

 

As soon as the footage was all gathered me and my Editor, Alex, spent days in the editing suite until late nights editing our little hearts away! We actually had a few issues at the start because we technically lost the edited project twice before we actually finished it. It was a stupid mistake and we both learned from it.
But as soon as that was sorted me and Alex started delving into different ideas and we actually found out that we worked quite well together. And since he already was my DoP in the shoot as well, by the end of the first day of editing, we were already very comfortable and in synch with each other. We challenged each other's ideas and we tried very hard to cut down the quantity of shots we had for a quantity that would fit into the actual length of the song. We spun around with different ideas for a while but by the end, we decided to change my original idea of editing style which was more focused on continuity editing, to more of a montage sequence. Which is shown in the diner scene more so than in the exterior. And the last change we made was the visual look of it. I quite honestly just, last minute, popped in a Youtube tutorial on how to make a footage look like it was shot in an "old film" style and me and Alex just played around with it. I wanted the sharpness of the colours that the Canon 7D gives,  to be lessened to a flatter look and also added a small percentage of noise/grain to the image. My idea was to look as similar as possible to old analog cameras, maybe even home made movies from the 50s.
And the fact that it overexposed the whites in the footage, as we did it, gave it a more realistic feeling and it made for, that the sequence for Mary's entrance and consequent heartbreak in the close-up for the last shot, the actress to be the complete centre focus of those specific actions (as shown below).

More overexposed whites below.

So overall it was a very enjoyable experience for me and I felt like I bonded and worked well alongside my cast and crew. We were all on the same page and it made it easier for the shoot to flow better. 

What I learned was: 

• Always expect things to not go according to plan. Like the example of the makeup artist bailing the night before and having to find a viable substitute.
• Leave the communication line open on set. So that the actors and DoP can feel comfortable to try out new things apart from what is scripted. I knew that my directing style would be more inclined to let other people try out other things because it both keeps the energy and the suspense going on set as well as bringing the possibility of new material that might look better than my original ideas.

The documents used for the production:

Script

Character descriptions



Shot list


Storyboard


Floorplan


Shooting script

MDA 2400: Cinematography essay

Hello!

In this post we were prompted to write an essay, where we had to:

• Identify a particular cinematograhic technique across the 5 films.
• Examine the ways in which it is used while using examples from the films
• Discuss the nature and function of this technique (How is it similar and how does it differ?/)
• Any conclusion towards my own filmmaking?

The cinematographic technique, I decided to focus on was lighting and colour. Since lighting "is more than just a visual style: it is inherently a part of the storytelling, an integral narrative device."

Eraserhead

In "Eraserhead" directed by David Lynch in 1977, the film itself follows a quite unusual storyline.  Having as the main character, a young man called Henry, who is forced into an unwanted marriage after he has sexual intercourse out of wedlock with a young unstable girl called Mary X. This leads to the birth of an abnormal child who neither feel love towards and only is viewed as a burden that, soon enough, only Henry has to take care of.

In a specific scene, where the Lady in the Radiator character is introduced, she appears from darkness into the centre of light where she sings “In Heaven, everything is right”. Her stepping into the circle of light serves as a beckoning to Henry’s personal salvation from doom. This use of lighting serves as a way to showcase characters that may be “pulled between good and evil, light and dark, illumination and shadow.”

Mulholland Drive

In "Mulholland Drive" by David Lynch, once again, in the “Club Silencio” sequence, it starts being bathed in a blue light as soon as the man who presents the act of the show disappears into smoke and the whole ambient shifts. The shot right after seems to give the indication that the scene could be playing underwater with the criss crossing of blue highlights throughout the stage and onto the audience. When this transitions into a “normal” atmosphere once more, it is known and felt that something is going to happen that will completely shift the balance between the two female characters, Rita and Betty.  This play with light and colour, offers the scene a dream-like feeling that makes the audience stop and think if this action is actually happening or if it is all part of a dream. And regardless of their answer, there is also the question of how this affects Rita and Betty’s friendship.

The Marquise Of O

In "The Marquise Of O" by Eric Rohmer, is the story of a young woman who is known as the Marquise, a widow with two young children. When she encounters a young Russian Count her life changes unexpectedly.

In the scene where the Marquise is being attacked by Russian soldiers, the Count appears on top of a hill. The actor has a back light on him as to make him stand out in the night and even without being able to completely see his face in that moment, the audience is given the impression that he is the hero of the story about to save a poor damsel in distress. Yet we come to discover further into the story, that he actually rapes her in her sleep and leaves her with a child that she can’t comprehend how it came to be. Here is a perfect example of how proper lighting may lead the audience astray with giving false truths about a character.

The Conformist

In "The Conformist" by Bernardo Bertolucci there is a scene where Marcello and Anna, recently engaged, are on the train is yet another perfect example of how the play on light and colour can shift the atmosphere between two characters quite so effectively. To fully understand this, some back story on the characters is needed: Marcello wants to be married because he feels the need for some stability and normalcy in his life and a young Anna Quadri seems to be good enough to achieve that. Yet Marcello, at least at the beginning, didn't feel any love for her and only looked at her as a way to achieve his goal to marry. He looked at her and only saw an uncultured and naive young woman who didn't have much to offer but was sensual and attractive enough to warrant a marriage. So when the scene of the two of them on a train to Ventimeglia is shown, something happens that changes their dynamic. Anna decides to tell Marcello of a time where she was abused for six years by an older family friend and the moment she begins the describe each of the older man’s actions towards her, the light shifts to a warmer/orange almost amber tone, at the moment Marcello starts to recreate the steps of the sexual assault that happened to her. But there was something compassionate about the way Marcello handled the situation since he was trying to give Anna new memories that could overshadow how the real loss of her virginity happened at the young age of 15. This was such a romantic gesture on his part and quite unexpected since it was the first time the audience could see that he actually cared for Anna far more than he let on.

The comparison between the use of the amber light in “The Conformist” against the way “Eraserhead” used it is that both are served to introduce a somewhat of a hopeful future for the characters. Since in “The Conformist”, the warm tones serve as an indication that there might still be hope for a happy marriage between Anna and Marcello whereas in “Eraserhead”, the appearance of the Lady in the Radiator may serve as a beacon of hope for Henry mental stability and possible absolution for his later sins.

The Great Beauty

In "The Great Beauty" by Paolo Sorrentino, the sequence where Jep revisits his adolescent self, the scene is bathed in a blue glow reminescent of an earlier and happier time in his life before it all changed. He remembers that time and part of him wishes he would've tried everything to get the girl of his dreams instead of letting someone else have her and having to live a life of mild success whilst being the "King of the high life", all without love. Whenever the image of this beautiful, young woman appeared, it was understood how much Jep wanted to have had a life with her that might have been happier than his one is right now.

To summarize, each of the different ways these films used lighting to their advantage and to bring forward a specific emotion or to showcase the importance of a character makes me realize even more the importance lighting possesses in a scene and to master it easily is an asset to a story. For me, I would love to be able to properly light actors and sets for when I do a noir style of a film because they used lighting in such a way that it evoked mystery and drama. I love how in “The Conformist”, the mood changed immediately as the colour of the scene changed. Or how in “Eraserhead” the Lady in the Radiator came from darkness and she was the only person visible in the entire set. These little things add up to different levels of intensity that can serve to add more layers to the story about to be portrayed on screen.

Bibliography

Brown, B. (2012) Cinematography: Theory and Practice, Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors, 2nd Edition, Elsevier Inc: London

MDA 2400: Cinematography assignment

Hello!

So in this particular post, I will be going through the short film sequence we did for our Producing and Directing module.

The way the project began was we were given the choice of being in groups of two or three, which just by itself is a hard choice to make. But I did it and got into a group with Deborah. That was our initial idea until I heard that an exchange student for the year, Erin, needed a group and we consequently took her in like a foster family would. Rambling.

So after that we started discussing what ideas we had and how we could go about doing this assignment. And to be honest, because me and Deborah had our attention more on the other project and Erin was a new member to the group, we ended up only accomplishing the work a day before we needed to upload it.

But getting back to the point, after we firmly decided to meet in a park in Hampstead because nature is such a beautiful source of inspiration, we started walking around and seeing what we could use for the purposes of this brief. 

And we settled on a tree which captured our attention since it was not only were the branches huge and sprawled almost perfectly around each other but the fact that it was completely naked of leaves, gave it a haunting feeling. My only comparison is to the tree in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hallow, when the Headless Horseman gets his revenge and gets sucked into the tree in a blood bath.

Eery.

So the idea was to get quite "intimate" with said tree and try to capture some of the essence it transmitted.

Then in post-production, we changed it to black and white and added some slow motion effect. 

Now, I kinda want to go to the park and get really up close with the tree if I can get more varied shots, besides the one's used on here.