As some of you may know, a lot had to be cut from the original version of SYNERGY to adhere to a strict 5-minute time limit. However, it seems a waste to just throw away what was cut. Instead, I've been compiling a reel of "deleted scenes" that should be ready soon. Though short, I think they add a bit more to the story. There are also a few effects that didn't work originally that I've tried to include. Here's a sneak peek: With SYNERGY out of the way, I do intend to finish at least one of the film battles topics that I missed (Addiction and Scarred) before I move on to university.
- Chris Production updateI'm aware that it's been a while since my last production update for SYNERGY. It's not without good reason. For you see I've been working. I've been working on this film pretty much non-stop for the last three days. It's times like these where I wonder whether it'll actually be worth it. When you look at the final product, almost certainly not. However the experience I've gained in undertaking such a (foolishly) ambitious project is something I'll take with me moving forward.
I'm currently editing what I have into a "Rough Cut" for my IB film requirement. I've made a few difficult cuts here and there just to adhere to the time limit, which is a shame because some of them are my favourite shots. Others are (currently) in the final cut (see below) and I'm happy with how they turned out. For me, every film involves some degree of mental (or physical) breakdown. These things take a lot of time and effort, and even then sometimes the final piece is nowhere near as good as expected. That constant pressure (that, admittedly, I only have myself to blame for) can be terrifying. It can also be extremely motivating. I find a "I'll finish this if it kills me" mentality starts to sink in, coupled with a genuine desire to make something good. So there we are; soldiering on as always. This will probably be the last proper production blog before the thing actually comes out. Fingers crossed. - Chris Production updateThe end is in sight! Yes, the production of SYNERGY is nearing completion. Today was yet another productive night of shooting all things considered. Some of the shots (below) look really fantastic, and whilst there were some technical and logistical issues along the way, for the most part it went rather smoothly (as smoothly as shooting a no-budget sci-fi film can be). I don't want to bombard you with a wall of text as usual; a) because I realize how tedious they might be to read, and b) I need to get back to editing. I'll leave you then with a collection of screenshots from the shoot as well as a new BTS video. Thanks!
Production updateThis has been the most difficult yet perhaps most productive shoot yet. Night shooting is always a pain as I hope I've made clear, but combined with shooting on location with multiple actors and props it goes to another level entirely. I was fully aware of the challenges I and the rest of the crew faced, though perhaps underestimated the amount of takes some shots would require due to, amongst other things, people walking in the background (it is a public space after all). As you can see from the two images directly below, I managed to find a location very similar to the one in my storyboard, with the added bonus of above-average night lighting and a large, open space in which to film. The "advert" you see in the storyboard is obviously not at the actual location, though my intention is to add a large Blade Runner-esque screen on the building displaying an advert for CROWN or another fictional 2020 company in post. In my imaginary near-future, advertising and commercialism has, unpredictably, become far more pervasive in everyday life.
Commentary on key shots/imagesThis is the opening shot of the final sequence, and with it I wanted to establish a few key aspects of the Synergy universe. Firstly, that CROWN's advertising campaign is based on the slogan "be stronger, be smarter, be better." This Darwinian, "survival of the fittest" attitude people have towards augmentation (or "enhancement" as CROWN appropriately calls it) is intended to reflect contemporary attitudes regarding self-improvement and elevating oneself above others through material, social, political or economic means. The second thing I wanted to establish in this shot was the public backlash towards the ethics of human augmentation. Someone has written "HUMAN" over the top of "STRONGER," "SMARTER" and "BETTER," clearly pointing out that the one thing CROWN cannot give you is humanity; in fact, it does quite the opposite. This theme is central to Adam's experience with his augmentations and, hopefully, has broader implications in the context of an increasingly detached, synthetic society. Moreover, I want details like this to lend some plausibility and authenticity to the world. After all, 2020 is only 6 years away.
This shot is perhaps the most visually striking one I've shot thus far. Aside from the beautiful way the hand is silhouetted against the golden light, it's also thematically significant. I've made it very clear that Synergy is heavily inspired by Blade Runner and Deus Ex. In both works, the story of icarus acts as an allegory for humanity overstepping its boundaries and flying too close to the sun. This extract from an analytical essay I wrote explains it in greater detail. In the static wide shot of Tyrell’s main office, the symmetry of the pillars and This shot is my own little reference to both Blade Runner/Deus Ex and the icarus myth. The synthetic hand rises up to touch the "sun" (in this case, rather fittingly, an artificial light). More than that, humanity (right hand) is the one guiding it there, forcing it even; a reflection of our constant willingness to surrender more and more of ourselves to technology. Synergy is very much centred on the existential issues posed by the merging of humanity and technology. This allusion is neither as grand as Blade Runner's (below, left) nor as explicit as Deus Ex's (below, right), yet for those intent on digging a little deeper it reinforces the notion that humanity can, and will, go too far. This all sounds very pretentious, and trust me it is. I hope I'm not giving the impression that the film will be a ceaseless cerebral barrage of imagery, allusions, references etc; it won't. My primary goal is to make it entertaining and engaging. However I also want to provide people who, like me, enjoy picking apart the intricacies of a film with something to think about and discuss. Wrapping upWith a large portion of the final sequence shot, the end of production is visible on the horizon. The very end still needs to be shot as does the hospital scene (above), the latter of which has been a logistical nightmare to arrange. However, I'm confident principal photography will be completed by early January, leaving a few months of breathing room for pickups, re-shoots and, of course, post-production. I am editing as I go along however so by the time we finish shooting I'll have edited most of the movie, leaving only polishing and VFX to be completed. So far, I'm very happy with how the film's looking. I have to give thanks to all the fantastic cast and crew for being so cooperative even during the more tedious and time-consuming parts, I owe them big time.
Thanks as always for reading, I hope this in-depth look into the production of Synergy has been interesting, Cheers, - Chris Production updateAh night shooting, every filmmaker's worst nightmare. Indeed, every time I've tried shooting anything at night has ended disastrously. Noise and graininess are all but inevitable, especially when using a DSLR and especially when those lenses aren't that great. My 135mm Kit lens is the worst offender in this regard. In fact, I'm fairly sure there's visible graininess in daylight with that lens, though since it is a kit lens I'll give it a pass. I've been very lucky for "Synergy" to have several friends with far better equipment than I who were generous enough to lend me some higher end (and no doubt worryingly expensive) lenses to use for the film. Even with the best lenses though, night shooting is still a pain, so much so that I considered changing my script to daytime, though I felt that would remove the black/gold aesthetic the film borrows from Deus Ex and neo-noir in general. No, I was determined that this scene be filmed at night, with natural light. The shots with the traditional wide-angle lens did contain a fair amount of noise, which was unfortunate. However, the strange hybrid lens I made seemed to deal with it rather well, to the point where the grain gives the film a gritty quality instead of an amateur one. All the shots above were recorded with this lens. There were however, some drawbacks to shooting this way. Firstly, because of how strangely the lens is configured, there always seemed to be some sort of lens flare in the shot, even without a light in the frame. There's also the strange warping effect created by the lens that I only used previously for the FP shots through Adam's artificial eyes. A major component of the film is the implication that CROWN is always watching him; think NSA meets 1984. It needs to make sure the augmentations are protected and do not fall into harms way. This is made explicitly clear by the surveillance camera shot (above, left) which has the logo at the bottom right (also, there's an easter egg in the date). What Adam sees through his eye augmentations is what CROWN sees, regardless of whether Adam wants them to. Having the same effect on both the FP and exterior shots of Adam is symbolic of CROWN's pervasive, ever-watching role. Aside from that, I believe I successfully captured the black/gold aesthetic I was originally going for. Luckily, the neon lighting by the side of the path lit up Surya's (my main actor) face and robotic hand rather well, creating some deep shadows and vibrant highlights (top, right). Here's a quick behind the scenes look at Day 2 of filming + a short teaser trailer (the effects aren't finished at this point of course): Speaking of effects, I've been working on getting the HUD effects working. Obviously, keyframing in FCP7 isn't particularly efficient nor effective, however I currently don't have After Effects so I just decided to experiment with what I had. Tracking an eye is far more difficult than one might think, especially when the shot is in slow motion and the track has to be far more smooth and precise. It'll take a lot of time and patience to do all of the HUD elements but at least I know it's possible. As always, thank you very much for reading. I'll try to keep the blog as up to date with the production of SYNERGY as possible, hopefully helping out some other filmmakers in the process.
Cheers, - Chris Production updateProduction for "Synergy" is off to a rollickin' good start. Today (the 16th of December) was the first day of shooting. As my main actor was unavailable, I decided to shoot a scene which required only FP shots and played the main character myself. The robotic hand you see in the screenshots is a revised version of the design I posted on the blog a while back, now with a sleeker look and better articulation. This being the main prop of the film, I needed to get the look exactly right. As I explained in the original concept video, the film is visually and thematically inspired by Deus Ex: Human Revolution. In the game, the Augs (as they're called, short for "Augmentations") are comprised mostly of shiny, black plates. Obviously, with zero budget it's difficult to emulate that kind of detail or precision. Nevertheless, I think the final prop looks rather convincing considering it's made of a modified halloween gauntlet, a leather glove, a skating wrist guard, some pins and a lot of hot glue. I owe a great deal to my mother whose common sense and steady hand made the prop a reality. This must all be very confusing to most of you who don't actually know the plot or premise of the film. I explained it briefly in the concept video, but that was more of a pitch to get (fictional) investors to back the project. Basically, the film is set in the year 2020. Human augmentation has become somewhat commonplace, though mostly only available to the middle/upper class. Leading this augmented revolution is the CROWN corporation, formed in the year 2015 through the merger of several eastern and western tech companies. The relatively high prices of the augs have created a divide between the upper and lower classes, and as such there is growing hostility on both sides toward each other. The story follows a young man called Adam (a reference to both Deus Ex and Genesis) who decides to have his left arm and both eyes replaced with synthetic ones (hence the HUD). Here's an extract from the beginning of the script for some context: INT. HOSPITAL ROOM – DAY Creating the worldOriginally, I wanted to have backdrops similar to those of Deus Ex or Blade Runner, with flying vehicles, tall skyscrapers and tons of neon. At the time I believed it would be as simple as just using a green screen. I quickly realized however that I then had to make the backdrops from scratch, since using artwork from games or movies would infringe copyright. I therefore adapted my script to suit a smaller scope with a focus on the personal/emotional component over the sci-fi. In many ways, this more focused approach is an improvement, especially considering the very limited running time. Image source: http://www.mrwallpaper.com/wallpapers/deus-ex-3-china-1920x1080.jpg
A big part of "Synergy" is the use of First-Person shots from Adam's perspective. There's obviously a practical advantage to this, since it's far easier to sell the whole 2020/future aspect by showing a google glass/iron man style HUD than flying cars or a neo-noir cityscape. My original concept "art" (a very generous use of the word) showed much more of Adam's arms and body (left). With the equipment I have, it wasn't possible to achieve such a wide angle. The hand prop does however look very similar to my original idea, albeit slightly less detailed. Speaking of the equipment I have, creating the slightly warped FP effect you see in the screenshots (below) was actually a result of messing around with some lenses. I'd borrowed a 50mm lens (which has a very narrow FOV) for good depth of field as well as a fish-eye attachment for wide-angle shots (wide FOV). Attaching them together (below, left) created a very strange yet somehow appropriate warped look that I eventually decided to use to film the FP shots. The HUD elements below have been added in Photoshop to the raw screenshots as I haven't begun post production yet, however I plan to use the same assets so the final product will look very similar (albeit animated). I hope this rather extensive look into the production of "Synergy" has been interesting. This is going to be a long and difficult process, with the hardest work still yet to come. However, this first step is one of the most important, as it may come to eventually determine the overall success of the film. So far, the FP shots are looking good and the world is coming together nicely. I'll try to constantly keep you updated on the production; how it's going, problems faced, solutions etc.
If you've managed to make it this far into a considerable wall of text, thank you, and see you next time. - Chris Hello everyone! First off I feel I should address my absence from the last film battles, ADDICTION. As you may or may not know, Emil and I are both doing the IB. If you know the IB, then you know that sometimes things can get beyond crazy. The workload is like a toothache. It nags away at you constantly, but ever so often it punches you right in the jaw. Hopefully this analogy makes sense. Anyway, long story short the workload during the month of September became such that I just didn't have the time nor the resources to complete my film. I'd like to be all romantic and say the art must always take precedence over the academics, but sometimes priorities need to be in order regardless of how much I want to do something. I do still have the idea I planned to do, so perhaps one day soon I'll make it and finally complete ADDICTION, but for now please go and watch Emil's trippy, psychedelic entry he posted earlier. With that out of the way I'd like to officially announce that pre-production has begun on "SYNERGY," my final IB film worth 50% of my overall grade. If you haven't already realised, this is a massive deal. Not to exaggerate or anything, but the fate of humanity as we know it hangs in the balance. Anyway, the concept is inspired by Deus Ex: Human Revolution and takes cues from the likes of Blade Runner. It's a sci-fi short set in the near future in a world of human augmentation (putting robot stuff onto people). It follows a man who must come to terms with his own humanity when so much of him is artificial. For a more comprehensive plot summary see my "pitch" below, though some plot details have changed since I made it. Because this is a sci-fi film, it will involve a lot of both practical and digital effects. Since the digital ones come later, for now I'm focusing on the robotic arm to be featured in the film. One thing you learn as a film student and indie filmmaker in general is to use a little money as possible. None if you can. With that in mind, I've been combining skating wrist guards, gloves, tights and freddy-kruger halloween gear to make a preliminary version of the robotic hand. I drew a lot of inspiration from Adam Jensen's augmentations in Deus Ex, though obviously less detailed. I do plan to add in some circuitry and other details underneath the "armour." I'd love to hear what you think of how these look. Please keep in mind that the designs are VERY PRELIMINARY and in no way final. Alongside this I've been writing the script and doing some world building. I want the world of the film too feel fleshed out and detailed, right down to posters on the walls and futuristic clothing. The scale of the film is something I'll have to see about. It's nice to imagine all these massive neo-noir backdrops but then you remember you're working with a budget of precisely $0. In fact, now that I've spent some money making the glove/arm, the budget is in the negative. In the words of Louis CK, now I don't even have no money. Anyway, that's all I have to share about SYNERGY for now. I definitely plan on doing a film for "An Invitation," so stay tuned for both of our films on the 1st of November! As always I look forward to seeing what Emil comes up with, since he and I both have vastly different filmmaking styles. As you might have noticed, Emil recently upgraded his camera to the Canon 60D, which is what I have. It's now a level playing field, may the best man win! Oh, I've also just got back from LA looking at a few universities and I have a bunch of footage I'll be editing together shorty. In the meantime I'll just say this: America was exactly how I expected it to be. You can draw your own conclusions. - Chris Hello, Chris here. With production of my "Darkness" film for the new season of Film Battles underway I thought it might be a good idea to share what's been happening behind the scenes. I'm aware that most of what I write for ExtremeRodent is very "official," I guess this is the mindset you get into when you begin taking something more seriously (and you've been writing essays for the IB for too long), but I don't want these blog things to feel like they were churned out by a computer for a school assignment. In the picture you'll see my two amazing actors Erdal (left) and Drew (middle), without whom this film would not have been possible. I find I've been treating this project mainly as a learning exercise. If you've seen my films before, you'll know that rarely do I ever include dialogue. This is primarily for two reasons: A) I can't act, B) Writing good dialogue is hard. The latter has always prevented me from trying more dialogue/plot heavy films. This had worked fine up until now since most of the time I just did it for fun. However, as University looms terrifyingly over the horizon, the time has come for me to demonstrate more sophisticated filmmaking skills. As I said, I'm treating it as a learning experience, and as such its certainly not going to be perfect. That's not to say I'm not happy with it. I am. Very much so in fact, particularly with the performance of Drew who plays the main character. I just feel there are some things I could have done differently, and will do next time. However, I don't just want this to just be me waffling on about what I could have done, I want to share what I've learned with others who, like me, are still learning the basics. So, without further ado, here's my top things to keep in mind when doing film dialogue: 1. For the love of god use a good microphone. You might have the best written dialogue in the world, its delivery might be oscar-worthy, but all that will amount to basically nothing if the audio sounds like it was recorded on a mobile phone from 2002. DSLRs (like the 60D that I use) are especially terrible when in comes to their on-board microphones, so it really pays to invest in a quality shotgun or stereo microphone. I personally use a RODE VideoMic Pro which I am very happy with. It's small, it's durable and comes with a whopping 10-year warranty, I can't recommend it highly enough. 2. Talk to actors. Whenever you write film dialogue, its very important to bear in mind that you wont actually be saying it. If it sounds good in your head, chances are it might not sound very good when it's actually delivered (unless you're the next Tarantino, in which case, carry on). This is why talking to actual actors is very important, especially when, like me, your not an actor yourself. They've had experience delivering lines, either on stage or on film, and know what sounds most natural. For example, in my first draft of the "Darkness" script I had a line which read: "nice to talk to you." Now that looks fine on paper, but try saying out loud and it doesn't really "flow" very well. Drew suggested changing it to "nice talking to you." Now try saying out loud. It just flows better. It's a minor change, but one that makes a big difference between dialogue seeming natural or forced. 3. Try and tell the story as visually as possible. When writing "Darkness," I found myself constantly adding pointless lines of exposition. I think I was of the mindset that the more I had on the page, the better it would be. Now lot's of dialogue isn't necessarily a bad thing, look at Tarantino's films. Hell, the first 16 minutes of Inglorious Basterds is one long conversation between Hans Landa and Lapadite. But keep one thing in mind, Tarantino is a master of his craft. He knows exactly how to slowly build tension without ever making it boring. Chances are, if you're reading this, you haven't yet mastered the art of screenwriting, and as such you should try to tell the story as visually as possible. Don't forget, film is a visual medium that began with the silent era. Look at Chaplin's The Gold Rush (1925) as an example. The Gold Rush is indisputably one of Chaplin’s very best films, combining Chaplin’s signature physical comedy with his emotional and genuine storytelling. The effective use of the score in order to create tone and as a substitute for diegetic sound never feels artificial or unnecessary, instead adding to the emotional impact of the scenes and complimenting Chaplin’s performance. Aside from being a film any cinema fan should watch, it serves as a prime example of how a story can be told visually. Remember, an audience isn't (most of the time) stupid. If you show a man and a woman sitting on opposite ends of a sofa staring unwaveringly at the TV its clear that something is going on between them, you don't need explicitly tell the audience. So there we have it, a few points to keep in mind about film dialogue. This is my own opinion of course and I obviously have a lot to learn, so any feedback or criticism, constructive if possible, is appreciated. Here's a website I personally found helpful: http://johnaugust.com/2007/how-to-write-dialogue. If you've managed to get through that wall of text, first allow me to thank you for staying with me for that long. As a reward here is an exclusive teaser trailer for "Darkness," coming this sunday (September 1st). - Chris
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Chris & EmilHello there internet-goer! Welcome to the ER news blog thing, where we'll be providing regular updates on different projects (including shorts, film battles etc.), as well as some exclusive sneak previews. Stay tuned! Archives
May 2015
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