4/3/10

Today we have planned in more depth as to the time needed to film each section so that as a group, we can be as efficient as possible. As the previous class, we have decided to film at Christopher Tsang's house because he has the best scenery and environment in his house for us to film, we have decided on the time to meet each other and the place that we are going to do so. We have also made a list of what we are going to bring to take footage; these questions came to my head when this question was imposed upon me:

What do we actually need to bring to film?

Do we need strong lights?

Are we going to make our film black and white to follow the classic Film Noir style?

What can we do to minimize the amount of things that we have to bring so that we do not have to carry as much but to keep the standard of filming high?

As these quesitons came to my head, I knew that a few decisions had to be made. Therefore, we have decided to bring our tripod, camera, shotgun microphone, stong lights, and LED lights as they are completely portable and easy to carry around with.

Finally, We are ready.

3/3/10

Today was the real start of our Film Noir project despite the fact that we have spent the previous classes planning out what we are going to do when we are going to film this coming weekend. Today, we have spent most of the time deciding on where we are going to film and when we are going to film. This process was honestly quite hard as we all have different things to do on the weekend and was very challenging to find a date where we are all prepared to film. We have therefore decided to film at Christopher Tsang's home as he has the best setting for a Film Noir movie. He has old looking sofas along with a very old fashioned clock. Also, we have decided to film in the afternoon of a Saturday (6th of March) as we are all willing to give up some time on Saturday to film at Chris' home.

Furthermore, we even planned to film the next week's weekend as we planned to go to Mung Lok's place as she has a place that very much looks like a karaoke room, where the protagonist of our film is going to be in disguise to seduce different loan shark members to conform to her deeds and intentions. All in all, that will be the end of our filming sessions and we will be editing whenever we have class or outside of class if we have time to do so.

26/2/10

Today was a single period. We have spent this class discussing more about the script so that we are all very familiar with what is going to happen in our film. We have went through the plot, and listed out the different ways of filming the shots using the shot list, and the storyboards given. I feel that this step is very important because if we do not know what is going to happen in our film, we would not find the suitable characters and actors for our film which will result with a badly filmed action movie. After today's class, we have all gained a lot as we are familiar with what is going to happen in the story, and we have a brief idea of who we are going to choose for our actors that suit the description in our Film Noir.

I feel that today's class was a very useful and meaningful class. We have used the storyboards and the shot lists to plan and visualize the things we are going to do to shoot the different shots.

23/2/10

When I got back to film class today, I found out that I missed a few film classes before the Chinese New Year break as I had to leave early for holiday. In the previous classes, they have started to create scripts individually for the Film Noir project that we are going to start. I felt rather enthusiastic as this class was used to start on our Film Noirs, and to decide on the different groups that we are going to be in for the next month. This had reminded me of last year when it was my first time being in a film project and a film group. Having more experience in film now, I feel that I have improved as a student, and as a film student.

Not for long, we have decided on the group that we were going to go with. I have been assigned to be with Rachel Foo, Michelle Ko, and Mung Lok Wong. All girls. However, I do not see this as a disadvantage as girls have different ideas and point of views compared to boys. I was glad that I went out of my comfort zone to be with some people I did not know well. This would put my ability to cooperate, and my ability to adapt to the test. I am very much excited and I look forward to working with this group of people.

Then, we have read the script that Rachel wrote last class, the script states that: A woman's husband is killed by the loan sharks, and the woman has to seek revenge against the killer, using cunning ways and seductive methods to get close to the members of the loan shark. I feel that this storyline is very creative, and works well by using the techniques of Film Noir.

We have also chosen the different roles for this project:

Director - Rachel Foo
Cinematographer - Mung Lok Wong
Light and Sound - Michele Ko
Editor - Marcus Yau (myself)