My film was aimed to create an unreliable narrator who's narcissistic tendencies are transparently comedic despite her attempts at being down to earth and relatable. The slow introductory tone sets up the character as trustworthy and impassive to the subject conflicting the increase of emotion toward the end through heightened music. The red accents were implications of danger, meant to create a sense of unease for the audience and dimension of colour to break up the monotony. I had used red as  I deliberately employed shadow coming off of the flower as the feminine and soft connection with this object being overshadowed is a hint into the reality of the unreliability of the character.

My idea swayed many ways before I decided to go this route. I was afraid the single location and character would be uninteresting and incapable of employing filming techniques like camera movement and angles, as well as including colour theory as the setting is blank. I also thought it would be difficult to progress the narrative as there were no supporting shots to her narration to illustrate the thoughts, however I ultimately wanted her performance to guide the story in order for the whole thing to be questionable, with no proof to back up her statements which corresponds with the idea of an unreliable narrator.

I was able to satisfy my worry of camera style and engagement by filming dynamic shots for significant dialogue segments and for compelling visuals, for example the wide shot shown at 2.01 was to imply a sense of separation from the emotional words recited in addition to the decreased intensity of colour to aid this vision. The wide 3/4 shot at 0.39 was to exhibit a shift in the characters thoughts as she goes from talking about herself, produced with close ups, to judgements on art. 

The shadow produced by the actors glasses was unintentional as I did not plan the direction and placement of the light, however I think it adds an heir of mystery to the character as eyes usually cue us to the emotions of a person, and this shadow makes it difficult to deconstruct and analyse her feeling. The black colour of the background was intentional, I wanted the tone to be unsettling from the start, almost as if she is being swallowed into an abyss which is supported by the dark colour of her sweater camouflaging into the background and further creating this image. The necklace possibly detracts from this idea as it distracts the eye.

The title 'Denial' was also to unsettle the viewer and imply a questionable character. The font was carefully chosen, I wanted it to be stark however not obviously implying corruption or danger meant to confuse the viewer of the tone to prepare for and expose them to the questionability of the film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For example, the Jaws movie poster utilises a bold, rigid font to imply fear whereas Beauty and the Beast is softer and feminine that connotes with love.

The white colour engulfed by black was to imply a two sided reality, one being the true denial of her feelings (represented in white as it has connotations of purity) and the other a crooked fantasy life she has created represented in black as she is trying to cloud her reality. 

The silhouette from 0.02-0.05 was in keeping with the unreliability of the character, implying once more, the deception of her words, however I think it came out darker than expected and not as noticeable as I wanted. I attempted to increase the exposure to solve the problem, unfortunately it only made the image grainy. I kept the shot and slightly decreased the shadow to create a more noticeable outline of the silhouette. If I had directed the light to focus on the area it would have been more pronounced.

The lighting was placed so as to have the background hidden and solely focused on the actor to emphasise her importance. I think this was produced well as the whole sequence is delved in darkness, which was my initial aim, directing the audience to focus on the performance and dialogue. Although this worked well, there is shadow coming from a strand of hair, whilst filming I made effort to diminish this, unfortunately I did not have hair spray or clip to push it back, if I had planned for potential makeup and hair setbacks, I could have brought backup equipment.

 

My previous knowledge of the camera specifics from past units allowed me to freely change the f.stop and ISO to the appropriate settings as the light was intense, changing it to around 8.0 created enough shadow for a cinematic look while complimenting the light bounce off the golden table underneath the actor. In the edit, I gradually decreased the saturation and colour tone to promote the emotional disconnection subliminally to the viewer as the gradual change kept it unnoticeable.

I cut to separate shots more often than planned to vary the reactions and maintain a level of interest. Originally, I planned for 13 sequenced shots (6 continuous) and ended up including and cutting in 21 shots. I kept the camera rolling for as much as 10 minutes which allowed me to obtain shots that were more natural as my actor could recite her lines in a relaxed environment. The beginning shot was repeated many times until I was satisfied with the exact tone of ease I was looking for. I directed the actor by acting some scenes and describing the motivation of the characters thoughts, for example I explained the aim was to persuade the audience of her success which was the motivation for continually addressing the camera. 

 

All shots were filmed on a tripod for professional output as handheld would not comply with the characters image of superiority and in turn alter this established perception as handheld footage can look amateur. I centred the actor for the majority of shots similar to the framing of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho to create a sense of importance and experimented with angles, the shot at 0.39 was unscripted however I think it worked well to slightly expose her surroundings while the off-centre angle created an unsettling environment. 

The camera used was problematic as it required a specific, high quality SD card and would automatically stop filming. Unfortunately, I had to lower the film quality to 720p in order to film a long shot which resulted in low resolution images, but I exported it with the preset [Youtube 1080p] which I think enriched the final edit, however it's still not as high definition as I hoped. In the future, I will make better efforts to retrieve a DSLR camera with none of these issues.  

 

As I cut some of the monologue while editing, the film was shorter, landing on 2.16. I think this time frame complimented the film as the aim was clear and each section of dialogue developed the character further instead of just filling the space. The detail of her routine was unnecessary as well as the boasting of 'speaking five languages' and wearing 'expensive clothes'. I didn't think it progressed well with her character as her aim was to conceal her over-confidence and this line did not cohere to this impression. 

The sound, recorded by an external microphone and previously tested while assisting the filming for a peer on her project, unfortunately is slightly over-shadowed by static noise. I attempted to reduce this while editing by using a filter, however the dialogue was too quiet therefore I had to increase the audio despite this. I also added a soundtrack underneath to avert the attention of the noise and create an unnerving mood. However, the setting of the studio was sound proof and minimised external noises which was an issue with my production last year being set in a hotel room.

 

 I think the same tone of music went on for too long and there could have been a change in tone for the line 'but I stay humble' as it displays a change in her thought process which could have been supported by an external shift in music. I did change the soundtrack at 1.23 for this effect, however I think the sudden switch broke the immersion as the slow tone of the previous track did not sync with the upbeat notes following. I wanted the track to become increasingly intense but if I allocated a larger amount of time for editing, I could have searched further to find a more suitable and seamless track to administer for the intended effect. 

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I asked my peers for feedback to gather opinions on the final product and make potential improvements. I was happy to find they received the film the intended way. One person acknowledged the shift in film angles conveyed the many sides of the character and hinted at a hidden reality. I had planned these shots in depth, such as the 3/4 close up angle at 1.05 to display her disdain for the topic of conversation. They also mentioned the monologue created insight into the characters personality and the factual presentation of opinions displayed her narcissism and high sense of self. As my inspiration delved from Patrick Bateman and the 'matter of factness' he conveys in many scenes, I tried to create a similar interpretation, for example the line 'the term abstract has lost all meaning' is presented as fact rather than a humble opinion. The line 'people show you who you want you to see' was to make the viewer question the intentions of the character and the reality she has painted for the spectator, followed by the emotional deliverance of 'I'm sorry' under the wide shot image of a blank stare exposed her true sociopathic nature furthering the incredulous perception of the character. I was happy to discover this came across well as they commented 'this implies she's not who we think she is' and made them 'question the whole of the film'. I received some improvements to make. The shot at 0.35 could have been more effective if it had switched to a close up on the line 'a great deal look to me' as it could have been a 'subtle tell of her narcissism'. I thought this was a good point, however the take I had filmed was not to my liking and unfortunately I did not film a second shot as I was pushed for time and setting up took a complete hour of the three I had booked. In hindsight, I should have known filming takes longer than the preconceived estimation and should have at-least booked an extra hour for additional inclusions like this. Many people agreed the comedic tone I was going for did not administer how I wanted. The use of ominous music made it seem more serious rather than humourous. I think the dialogue wasn't obviously bragging and neeeded more hints to her self-inflation such as describing further about her successes to make it seem overdone therefore easier to laugh at her narcissism. I think visually my original aim of displaying imperfections in the character would have also cued the audience to see the presented facts as false and in turn expose her poor attempts of presenting herself as superior.

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I have learned the planning and pre-meditation of an idea and production is vital in creating a cohesive and enriched project. The habit of logging in alterations to the idea induced an expansive and more receptive thought process that wouldn't have been there if I had not been methodically attempting to reflect on my decisions. Overall,  think the film delivered the intended interpretation through use of camera angles, music and performance as the feedback I received reflected this. Having previous experience with the use of equipment gave me more creative room to focus on the theoretical and aesthetic approaches to my project. Of course, the practical use of equipment is just as important seeing that a concept can be great, but the execution can underwhelm and decrease the quality. 'The Room', for example, starring Tommy Wiseau may not have a great concept per se, but the production can be classified as, at the very least, 'underwhelming'.  I utilised my knowledge to produce a high quality production, adjusting the colour, aperture and external light sources to ensure the correct settings for the surroundings and display a sinister undertone. The feedback was also useful, creating a questionnaire subjected to my queries changed some ideas on colour and the creation of the character, many people agreed empathy was more effective than disdain when watching a character, therefore I created a relatable and emotional line of 'I'm sorry' to administer empathy while blatantly altering this view to confuse the emotions of the spectator.

 

As there is many aspects to production, it can become complicated and produce setbacks if not planned well. I can see the amateur production of the film, shadow caused by lighting produced unwanted shadows as I did not plan the placement as well as camera quality and working without a crew introduced challenges. The monologue was interesting to make, however I could have added a few more b-roll shots to keep it visually stimulating and animate her thoughts. 

Producing a short film is hard work, but watching the development process from my own thoughts on paper to a final, calculated production was fulfilling and exciting to see unfold.

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