SIBLINGS: TUTOR FEEDBACK 2

Following on from the by and large successful second screening and critique I had a tutorial with Jane Watt about the progress of my work. This provided a few more areas for exploration and experimentation as listed below.

• Keep experimenting with the post production. All 3 boys speaking at once. Different pacing of the sections/comments to make them more irregular. More time with the boys on screen just "being" as characters are shown through this too.
• Consider annotating frames and storyboards as this will help evaluation and comparing of versions.
• Be more specific as to child psychology books I have looked at.
• Consider "false anthropogical works" such as Luther Baumgartens Amazon tribes research.
• Consider the viewpoints of the children, parents and viewers and their thoughts and readings of the installation.
• Reflect on the impact and delivery of the voices and the images especially the lip-synched elements.
• It works well on three screens but allow time to develop the three screen installation. really consider how it could work best as this will inform the editing and possibly production.
• Make sure the film does not become too slick or gimmicky. Allow the camera to just run and contrast between the scripted and non-scripted elements.

I will keep these in mind as I move forward and agree that all of these whilst well on their way to working all need development and further exploration.

CRITIQUE 2 FEEDBACK.

The presentation yesterday to my peers was as a whole successful and well received. The screening on three screens although a rough demo still worked well and brought the piece to life. The feedback was generally positive and the audience experience much better with the 3 screens and the simplified approach.

As stated on the last post there were several questions I wanted guidance on from my second presentation of my work. Below are the areas I wanted the audience to discuss and the feedback I received.

Music or no music?
The audience liked it with no music as it could put too emotion on the piece and lose its impact. I have experimented and agree with them.

The boys own thoughts look different or the same as the rest?
In this piece here they look different as they were shot at a different time. However the audience did not notice. However it was remarked that the boys pieces did feel different from the other comments. This was due to the greater degree of naturalness and interplay between them.

Does it work having just the boys and no-one else?
Everyone seemed to enjoy the boys being centre-stage and with the focus on them you noticed the small things about them and their physicality, posture and personalities.

Thoughts on the lip-synch (ADR) of the other contributors.
Everyone agreed the lip-synch worked well. They were confused over the parents being two voices but felt the others worked well and loved the sense of bizarre and uncanny derived from this. Technically it looked pretty good too.

Do the three screens and moving sound work?
Again a much more successful screening and even on laptop screens set up with one to the front and one either side at 30 degrees (see below) they were really interacting with the piece and looking around trying to follow the action. It made them really interact with it and have to follow the action. More randomness could aid this more they said. Also they felt it would work well also (and much better) on a bigger scale in a secluded environment making it more all consuming.

Does having the boys on screen simply being work?
The audience really loved this and wanted even more of it perhaps with more space and screen-time to them just "being" in front of the camera.-

Clothing the boys in response to the voices they are?
Mixed feedback here but most liked seeing the physicality of the boys. With Jacob and Noah being hard to distinguish between their body shapes and movements helped. The idea of them being naked in front of the camera made sense too. worth re-exploring but I feel it is heading in the right direction as it is.

Is the message clear? What do you feel it is all about?
A big positive as far as the boys personalities being explored in the context of genre order and the fact that black and white does not always work in terms of pigeon holing them. The continual mention of them being students by the teachers comments was a little heavy handed some felt and could be more subtle. As far as the play with and being subversive with documentary conventions talking head, exploiting the formulaic MS-MCU shot, breaking the fourth wall and lip synching went they could understand it one explained.

Editing transitions. Cut to black, dissolve, fade to black?
The fade to blacks were working fairly well and provided a nice barrier between each question allowing the audience to re-set. Also kept them guessing of which son would pop out where.

What worked best and you would like to see more of?
As mentioned above.
More screen time for boys just being.
More interplay between the boys.
Possibly overlapping voices of the boys interacting with each other.
More movement around screens by the boys.
Possibly get them questioning each other or even discussing amongst themselves.

Does there screen set up work?
Yes as mentioned above. The synching of the three screens was tricky and technology needs to be looked at to help with this to get them bang on BUT it was accurate enough they felt. During the screening I did mention I had tried different screen set ups. A more immersive 360 degree set up so screens are behind and audience have to respond to the sound. They felt that the moving around to find the screens could be tricky and thought that having the three screens spaced in front of them was working.

SIBLINGS: PLANNING TO SCREEN & OWN THOUGHTS

I am planning to screen the second version  of my work tomorrow and am putting the finishing touches to how I want it to be screened.

SCREENS & VISUALS
I am planning to use 3 large screens for the final piece. However I still need to look into the technical aspects of getting and using 3 projectors, run trials and booking the space. So for this screening I will be using 3 laptops in a mini staging of the piece which will give a feel of what I am trying to achieve. These will have to be triggered manually so this is a technical issue that will have to be resolved in being able to synch up the three screens. I want to try and give an idea of the interplay between the screens and  immerse the audience in the three screens and interacting with them. However this goes it will be an improvement on the one screen demo of last time which.



AUDIO
For the sound I will be using the speakers on the laptops for now and the sound generally only works when the subject on that screen is talking. This again will hopefully make the audience have to look around at which screen is active and interesting for them not only visually but aurally too. for the final piece each screen will have a speaker for its audio and the volume level will be higher.

PRESENTATION
The eventual presentation will be done in a dark space with simply the three screens and a speaker set up. For the presentation for this test though as I mentioned I will be using three lap tops. The positioning of these is going to be one central and the other two as 30 degree angles to this. I have trialled this with some students at my college and whilst they liked the idea of the being surrounded by the screens they felt the piece worked best with the three screens in front of them the two on the end slightly angled. I am still unsure if this is the best way to screen the work and possibly a test with the screens surrounding the audience at my critique could be attempted too.



My thoughts and areas I want to be noticed and have concerns about for my preferred reading are discussed bellow. and possible ways forward from my  work following the critique tomorrow are listed underneath.

• Music or no music?
• The boys own thoughts look different or the same as the rest?
• Does it work having just the boys and no-one else?
• Thoughts on the lip-synch (ADR) of the other contributors.
• Do the three screens and moving sound work?
• Does having the boys on screen simply being work?
• Clothing the boys in response to the voices they are?
• Is the message clear? What do you feel it is all about?
• Editing transitions. Cut to black, dissolve, fade to black?
• What worked best and you would like to see more of?
• Does there screen set up work? 
• Try different screen set ups. A more immersive 360 degree set up so screens are behind and audience have to respond to the sound.

SIBLINGS TEST 2: POST-PRODUCTION

The edit for the second siblings shoot was spaced across several days and involved lots of tests. The key areas that were experimented with were.

• Timing and on-screen time of the boys. Tried to leave on-screen for as long as possible as I felt that this worked the best. It was interesting watching them just being themselves in-between statements/talking head.
• I experimented with music but it simply detracted from the boys talking heads.
• Playing with transitions was interesting and dissolves and hard cuts worked OK but fades to black were best as they allowed for re-positioning of the boys and as a signal for the audience to re-orientate.
• Greater interplay between the screens would work better and the boys moving around the screens too.
• Testing the clips on there screens to a few test audience members worked really well and the interaction between the screens.
• A title to introduce it may be good especially if it is looped.
• The sequence will need to be longer than the current 2 minutes but certainly no longer than 15-20 minutes.
• Technically it worked well on three screens to a test version level but solutions will need to be found to synch the three screens moving forward.

SIBLINGS TEST 2: PRODUCTION

The second test shoot was once again more complicated than expected. This was due to working with children (even if they are my own) one of them being feeling unwell and also again and the creating of a set in my own front room due to ease rather than taking them all off to Ipswich to use proper TV studio facilities there. The fact that the house was all over the show as the builders are working on the house did not help either. I decided against re-filming the complicated boys interacting methods and will go with the old footage for two reasons. firstly the hassle of shooting them again. Secondly I wanted their bits to look a little different to all the rest of the footage that I am re-shooting to see what the audience felt. What follows is a quick catch up of how it went and initial lessons to be learnt from moving forward.

NOTES ON THE SHOOT

The script/Interview questions. The aim was fourfold. Firstly it was to get their personal impressions and pecking order and character traits and personalities of being a sibling. Secondly it was to get them to voice psychologists findings of the same thing and thirdly the view of parents. Lastly it was to use some research from school reports to mock up what teachers thought of the boys with a view for following this up with them through future research. The other element that I addd from the first shoot was to get the boys simply "being" in front of camera so I filmed plenty before and after their statements. The naturalness, awkwardness, performer, boredness of them did indeed come across on camera and added more depth to their personalities on screen for the audience to possibly pick over and get to know the boys better.

The questions to the boys were the same as last time and this element was NOT re-shot..

• Who is the oldest?
• Who is the fastest?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?

The psychologists views of siblings and pecking order and  personality traits was from researching the subject and common established theories. These were as last time read out loud by the boys each saying the one related to their sibling birth order. The boys each spoke 2 statements this time for greater varitey in the edit. they were also asked to pause before and after and to try and act naturally in front of the camera so there would be footage for this. Also it is really interesting seeing how much of their characters can be read from body language as mentioned earlier.

• The first born child is a leader. The first born child is responsible. 
• The second born child is a mediator. The second born child has lots of friends.
• The youngest child is charming.The youngest child is an attention seeker.

The parents views on the same areas were were generated from discussions with my wife again and as above extended to two questions for more variety in the test edit. We recorded the boys saying this and plan to record the audio later to get it lip-synched. The audio was again recorded used the boys christian names and we recorded the audio together in tandem to see how this affect would work as being the parents we discuss them a lot and generally view them in the same way. Boys were filmed fro a long time as above to get them simply "being" in front of the camera.

• Isaac is loving. Isaac is creative.
• Jacob is cheeky. Jacob is compassionate.
• Noah is a perfectionist. Noah is a performer.

Location and MES was OK I used a green backdrop (curtain) and decided to expose the boys for the camera both metaphorically with the questions and physically by having naked torsos. This kept all of the attention and focus firmly on them throughout by not having any other diversions to look at. Issues were the fact that the set was not big enough to film them all at the same time.

Single camera shoot had to be used for the tests due to resources but the eventual aim is to do a 3 camera studio shoot possibly at the university or college. Due to this being a one camera shoot to get the interaction between boys I had to get them in their positions left, centre and right but film them one at a time putting the other boys out of shot in the right positions around them. It worked OK for a test shoot but I feel more natural interaction will be possible with a 3 camera set up recording "as live" so to speak. The edit will tell if this "staged" interaction between the boys works.

Cinematography was again a static centred loose MCU a really traditional documentary shot. After photographic tests he nakedness of the boys was what I stayed with as I liked their vulnerability and the fact they were laid naked in front of the camera.  I also again got the boys to break the 4th wall and directly address the audience a general no-go for interviewees on a documentary. Through this the shots are very subversive but again subtly plays on documentary styles, codes and conventions.

The lighting was traditional documentary 3 point lighting. Used a 300W light as medium key light also spilling a little but not much on the background creating a darker background than shoot one. For comparison a composite image of shoot one is above and shoot one the one below, but still casting no background shadow and creating nice shading to add depth to the boys faces. The effect gave a starker, harder less bright and saturated portrayal of the boys that is an interesting contrast to the first shoot. A house lamp for a fill and an angle poise desk lamp for a back light to draw the subject out from the background a little but this had limited effect. Worked to some degree but a more professional TV studio lighting set up and greater attention to detail will again be needed for the main shoot especially for the back light.

Sound was a basic microphone set up but positioned out of view.

The subjects were again OK but due to the late hour of the shoot and one being unwell the boredom threshold was low. and it was easier working with each one individually and though! For the main shoot (Easter?) a proper 3 camera TV studio shoot would make this quicker and more natural and more time must be allocated and planned. Costs incurred were as before lego mini-figure or 2 packs of match attack football cards as payment for their services!

SIBLINGS: TRIPTYCH RESEARCH

I chose the idea of presenting the Siblings piece as a triptych for a couple of reasons. Primarily because it would give each of the boys a screen and it suited the purpose of the piece. But I also because I liked the idea of trying out working on three screens and getting them to interact. Another reason though was that I had enjoyed some of the triptych work I had seen and the power of them to tell stories and different sides of people and characters.

One inspiration was Francis Bacon's triptychs. They really help demonstrate the interpretation of character and different perspectives as well as how they allowing for storytelling through their panels. A greta example is his studies of Lucien Freud the different perspectives of Freud allowing insight into his character and telling a story.

The striking and visceral quality of Bacon's Three studies for figures at base of an execution again allows a fantastic insight into a narrative and interpretations of character.

Hieronymus Bosch's The garden of Earthly Delights is another great example of storytelling through a triptych. It is  designed to be read left to right and depicts God presenting Eve to Adam, people socialising and finally damnation.

I also loved and was fascinated by the religious associations and undertones of using triptychs due to their history and use in religion. They were typically used as altarpieces in christian churches with one larger centerpiece and two smaller side panels. Through these religious associations they hey give a gravitas and power to the stories and characters they are representing and here again allow for a narrative as well as messages and values to be conveyed. 

Hans Hemlin's Earthly vanity and divine salvation is an excellent example. From my fascination and inspiration from montage editing and Eisenstein's "collision of images" to create meaning through juxtaposing images to create ideas you can see Hemling clearly does this below.

There are a great many other triptych images throughout history portraying bible stories and parables that use the three panels of the triptych to create meaning and tell story. I guess they are a very old form of what today we see expanded in graphic novels and in times where literacy was high they were excellent in communicating to the masses.

Finally triptychs have also been used in photography. The example below from three shots of Twiggy is great for showing the many faces of one character and therefore creating a greater understanding of their character and the multi-facted natures of personality that one image would not allow. This is very close to the idea that I want to create through my Siblings piece. One snapshot is not enough to judge a character many different viewpoints and perspectives are needed to get a true understanding of people.