PRODUCTION IMAGES

Chris Slater - Cinematography

Chris Slater - Cinematography
Robbie Troth - Editing and Art Design

PRODUCTION - ARTIST CONSENT FORM

In order to cover myself in case of injury and possible release on the internet or in competitions, I had to ensure that my actor had signed a disclosure form. Images of the hard copy are shown below.

OCCULT PRODUCTION DOCUMENTATION

The plan for the sound in our film would be crucial to the effect that we wanted to create for our audience. We decided that we wanted the film to be 'affecting', though not necessarily scary. As one of the sound recordists, I decided to find some sounds around my home that could be warped and edited to create dramatic soundscapes. I also recorded some sound during the shoot in Sylvester Gardens so that we would have some authentic sound effects to use.
SEE THE SOUND LOG BELOW


We found that it was difficult to plan how the sound of the film would come together without knowing what felt right. So instead of planning thoroughly what we would do in Soundtrack in advance, we created a silent edit which we then exported into soundtrack pro, and used sounds that we had already processed and edited them together where they felt like they created an atmosphere. 
SEE SCREEN SHOTS OF ORIGINAL SOUND EDITS BELOW

Use of Channel EQ

Use of Channel EQ

‘Occult’ 05/02/12
Marantz 660 (44.1K), Rifle Mic, Hydrophone, Dynamic Omni Mic
No.	Title	Comments	MONO/STEREO	Mic
1	Phone Keys	Clicking	MONO	Dynamic
2	Keyboard	Clicking/tapping with space bar	MONO	Dynamic
3	Keyboard	Clicking/tapping without space bar Slight disruptive noise at the end.	MONO	Dynamic
4	Creak	Creaking sound made on a mobile phone. Slight noise distraction at the end.	MONO	Rifle
5	Swish	Sound made my rubbing hands together.	MONO	Rifle
6	Breathing	Better sounds towards the end	MONO	Rifle
7	Whistles	High and low pitched whistle sounds	MONO	Rifle
8	Squelch	Sounds made shaking a mousse bottle. Disruptions	MONO	Rifle
9	Squirt and bubbles	Squirting mousse.	MONO	Rifle
10	Soundscape 1	Location soundscape	STEREO	Rifle
11	Soundscape 2	Location Soundscape	STEREO	Rifle

OCCULT PLANNING DOCUMENTATION

In our production meeting we planned the shots that we wanted to include. In terms of the light shots, we would go out and improvise depending on what we could see. With the actor's scenes, we planned 18 specific shots that would be shot over one day (plus cutaways). These shots would be filmed during the late afternoon so that we could catch a dusky natural light. In our location scouting we found a great demolished warehouse in Sylvester Gardens, Sheffield, where these scenes would be shot.


SHOT LIST FOR SYLVESTER GARDENS LOCATION

Shot No.	Description	Location
1	CU actor’s bare face , then putting make-up on	Warehouse Sylvester Street
2	MS actor putting make-up on	Warehouse Sylvester Street
3	ECU actor’s hand	Warehouse Sylvester Street
4	LA MS actor crouching behind fire	Warehouse Sylvester Street
5	HA LS actor crouching behind fire	Warehouse Sylvester Street
6	LS actor moving around room in warehouse (static for quick cutting)	Warehouse Sylvester Street
7	ELS actor moving around outside warehouse (static for quick cutting)	Warehouse Sylvester Street
8	CU actor leaning against a wall	Warehouse Sylvester Street
9	MS actor in frame of broken window	Warehouse Sylvester Street
10	LA CU actor’s face as he draws symbols on the floor	Warehouse Sylvester Street
11	HA CU OTS as actor draws symbols on the floor	Warehouse Sylvester Street
12	ECU of actor’s feet standing on the symbol	Warehouse Sylvester Street
13	ECU of actor as he draws symbols on wall	Street with brick wall
14	MS of actor as he draws symbols on wall	Street with brick wall
15	ECU fire	Warehouse Sylvester Street
16	POV PAN around warehouse	Warehouse Sylvester Street
17	LOCATION CUTAWAYS	Warehouse Sylvester Street
18	LOCATION CUTAWAYS	Street with brick wall

Before beginning to shoot our piece, we had to collaborate our own personal schedules and find time to shoot, record and edit our piece. In light of this particular discussion, and as producer of the film, I decided to draw up a schedule to stick to in order to complete the work on time. 


(Apologies for the difficult screen-shot. I had trouble getting the spreadsheet onto the blog)


I also drew up an equipment list so that we had everything we needed to start shooting.

EQUIPMENT LIST FOR 'OCCULT' DATES PICK UP  30/01/12       3/2/12 DATES RETURN 02/01/12       9/2/12 QTY DESCRIPTION NOTES 1 Sony PD170 Camera 1 x Tripod 1 Marantz 660 Audio Recorder 1 x Cable 1 x Dynamic Mic 1 x Headphones 4 x Batteries (spare) 1 Rifle Microphone 1 Hydrophone 1 x Rubber contact

OCCULT STYLISTIC INSPIRATION

In researching styles and techniques to use in our experimental film, Chris and Robbie both started by looking at dubstep, techno and drum and bass music videos. Classed as experimental in themselves, our theme of ritualistic practices is popular within this genre of music. You can view some of their finds on their blogs:
Robbie Troth and the Temple of Film

My Very First Blog (Chris Slater)

Being not very familiar with music myself, I was unable to take the same starting point as Chris and Robbie. I therefore researched some short films and animations with the techniques that we had talked about. These included:

• Use of lights - city lights close up and out of focus to create dreamlike glittery visuals
• Stop motion - using photography or still video frames to make certain objects within the frame jump around and/or move. 
• Urban locations - having an urban take on a very suburban subject matter

The first film that I came across was this animation on Vimeo by 'Pahnl'. Aside from its wonderful technical achievements in stop motion, the camera shots and locations serve as perfect examples of what we are looking for. An adorable little story is backlit by a gorgeous cityscape in which the cinematography and use of focus are second to none. In particular we  were inspired by the out of focus lights in the background. We also liked how the 'grimey' city was made beautiful by the events going on within the frame. 

Nowhere Near Here from Pahnl on Vimeo.

This music video is a very similar example of lights, animation and urban environment

Rippled from Oh Yeah Wow on Vimeo.


These abstract visual pieces gave us inspiration to create a piece that was more about a state of mind than a narrative story. 
Like Cocteau's 'The Blood of a Poet', the film will represent a dreamlike state of mind, a world of imagination that is sought (by the character) through ritualistic practices. And much like Buñuel's 'Un Chien Andalou', the film will be difficult to interpret. In fact, we have been inspired by Buñuel's attitude to art film in which he refuses to create a single reading, and our piece will instead be guided by the contrasts of light and dark, beauty and disarray, reality and the distant mind.


I was also inspired by a metalwork piece that I came across in Sheffield's Millenium Gallery. This is a chalice called 'Lest We Forget' by artist Chris Knight. I thought that the style of the piece was perfectly representative of what we were trying to do. The soft curvaceous lines of the chalice were heavily contrasted with the sharp gritty shapes and colours of the crucifixes. It represents a spiritual belief that appears harsher than it actually is. This is the message that we are trying to get across in 'Occult'.

OCCULT IDEAS DEVELOPMENT AND TREATMENT

After several production meetings we finally came up with the idea to base our experimental film around the word ‘occult’. This was the result of many changes and developments in our thought process. Here is a visual representation of the ideas that were put across and how one led to the other:

Our piece will be a visually metaphorical piece with an intended message, however, this message will not be apparently clear.

Treatment

A man wanders an urban city neighborhood. The streets are desolate and remnants of industry long gone linger in the dusk. The man begins to find a suitable spot and begins drawing symbols with chalk and moving sporadically in the drawing darkness. He has no idea what he is doing, but proceeds calmly and meditatively. We see flashes of city light and dreamlike glitter woven throughout his ceremony, which get more frequent and more intense. His ritual takes on a dance-like quality, but it is masculine. At the end of the piece, we realise that he has been attempting to find something, perhaps within himself. This is poignant and sad, both for the character and the audience.

The aim of our piece is to challenge thematic conventions commonly seen in global Hollywood style. In modern cinema, traditional western values prevail; however, satanic ritualism does not seem such a damning activity in this piece. It is portrayed as the last hope of a desperate man, and the piece centers on its hope-related imagery. Close-up out of focus shots of city lights will be our starting point, as this was the key thought that led us to this idea. Our piece will be highly movement based, non-verbal and dramatic in its build up (which will nevertheless lead to no climax).