George Wing Television Blog

I've already, briefly, discussed Mackendrick's directional style in my directing presentation. But going into much more detail with this style he has. Alexandre Mackendrick  is know for his efforts to change British Comedy and introduce this rather darker satirical side to humour and life, rather than having these typical flowery British comedies. He started out as a commercial illustrator, and his first experience in film was with animation (for advertising films) but he soon found himself attracted by live-action, shooting numerous short documentaries and writing screenplays throughout the 1940s. As his career developed, and he was employed by "Ealing Studios", Mackendrick began to take full advantage of the resources available to him and started having sets built for his films. This was a new experience to him as with his previous films and his first Ealing film "Whisky Galore!" (1949), he was on location; for Whisky Galore was mostly filmed in Scotlan...

After filming I had the tough process of editing, where I would have to be strict on myself to decide what parts of footage I'm going to keep and what Im going to keep. Overall Simon seemed very happy with my rough cut, but we both agreed there were still parts I needed to change. We discussed that during a couple of scenes I was missing shots on the other character in conversation. I saw this as an issue myself, and after looking through all clips for those couple of scenes I couldn't find any of those extra shots as when filming on the day, time was very limited. This was a great shame and has disappointed me greatly, but as a result of timing on the day, a couple of shots suffered. Another element we discussed was sound and the consistency of sound. I needed to pull together all my music for scenes that hadn't yet had any. I also needed to keep the audio levels even, and tone down any clips where audio is distorted. When I showed Simon my rough cut, I was still ...

To get some more inspiration for my adaptation of The LadyKillers I decided to watch a couple more ealing films, that were produced at a similar time. These films include The Man in the White Suit , which was directed by my chose director Alexandre Mackendrick and Kind Hearts and Coronets , another Ealing Film, directed by Robert Hamer. As a satire ealing comedy on economic growth, The Man in the White Suit is a film made at is the height of Ealing comedy.  It's very sophisticated and subtle in its satirical humour, which to me is what makes it so enjoyable. When watching any of these films, I laugh without feeling forced to, they're funny because they're unbelievably realistic. Many of these films also poke fun out of social classes and rankings. It takes a dig at a number of the cultural institutions that characterise northern England, especially The Man in the White Suit . You have these big businesses picking on the little man, even when this man has succeed...

Objectives Theory and critical context behind issues of representation and identity Examination of issues of race and identity in media. Love Thy Neighbour Black ish Skin Colour (too reductive on spectrum! Not purely defined by genetics) Broadly, shared cultural identity, history and experience shaped by marginalisation/exclusion 'The other' that which is alien or different to homogenous group or culture. Critical Contexts Ideology Hegemony →→→→→→→→→→  Representation, stereotyping Pluralism     Mediation Reception Theory Ideology and hegemony Outnumbered- cultural hegemony- Middle Class Nuclear Family is just as relevant as the modern nuclear family in Black ish.  Mediation and Representation What we see is not objective, reality or truth, but firstly the filmmakers version of reality. The process of mediation- the editorial decision making process- directly affects representation; through judgement and selection editorialises how gender, race ...

Director of Choice My director of choice is Clint Eastwood, who is a well credited actor and director. Perhaps this is where his auteur directing style came from. Having been an actor himself,  he knows how important it is for actors to have free-reign of what they're doing. He is also interestingly well known for being able to shoot within one to two takes, which is so rare for a director, especially these days. He said himself "Over the years when I was an actor, I became interested in working with actors and found different atmospheres that I liked with different directors that made acting more compatible."Sometimes he will rehears with the actors and he sometimes won't but he realises most actors will have their own good ideas, which would have attracted them to the role to begin with. I feel this is true to some extent but today there is even more competition and therefore actors will take on whatever roles they can (depending on their reputation). A lot of hi...

Alfred Hitchcock is one of Britains most famous film directors who made it to Hollywood, just like my director, Alexandre Mackendrick did. Even today his work is well respected by both the public and film buffs. A huge reason for that is because he is perfect the way he builds tension and suspense. He did this in a number of ways, which have inspired me in my own directing. Hitchcock style of directing has been an inspiration for many directors, including myself personally. In order to recreate his style in my own way, its important from to learn about Hitchccks methods and what makes him the 'Master of Suspense'. I realise Hitchcock became the Master because he understood how cinema affects an audience on an intimate, emotional level. Its therefore important for me to understand my audience, and how my direction style will affect them. For example, POV shots will make the audience feel more attached, so in taking them on a tragic journey, they will feel uncomfortable given...

After filming I decided to send a message to each of my actors thanking them for their help, which was very much appreciated. I was pleased to find them all respond back to me, and it appears they all enjoyed themselves filming, and would be happy to help me for any future projects I may have. This is great news, as every one of them performed brilliantly, and were very good people to work with.

Yesterday I finished shooting my adaption of 'The LadyKillers'. The shoot for this project went really well, although lighting did become a bit of an issue. When shooting in the upstairs bedroom, there wasn't much light coming in. Eventually the room did brighten up so I set up my camera to re-shoot those darker scenes and as soon as I went to do so the sun went down again. This is something to expect when filming. Next time I would consider using proper lighting but with the amount I had to organise for this project it was an additional worry. Filming was delayed on the first shoot day as one of my actors was late; this was through no fault of his own, and a result of technical issues. After the problem was resolved he was on his way. Meanwhile I decided to not delay progress and got my actors to have a read through of the script together (me filling in for the absent). This gave my actors the chance to get to know each other and be more comfortable with each other whe...

After leactures I felt a lot more inclined to research directing and the art of it. I felt this would also be useful research to conduct pre-shooting. That way I have tips I can apply myself to ensure a successful project, getting all the shots I want in the committed time. The first concept to grasp would be the realisation of the production process. A director needs to kow excel what is involved in the project and how they plan on directing it. Many directors will make a shot list or storyboard to guide them through this process, so when it comes to filming they have a lot moe to go on. Directing is a collaborative process; though the director is in charge on set, they are still equally as dependent on cast and crew as what cast and crew are on them. The biggest downfall and most popular reason for projects falling apart is a lack of director communication. This comes into play with not only on set but also pre-production. Having poor communication with actors early on  may res...

Happy Ever After  A director who has been an inspiration to my own project is a BBC comedy Director, Ray Butt. He is best known for his long association with the corporation's Light Entertainment department throughout the 70s and 80s, he will be best remembered for producing and directing Only Fools and Horses. Some of his earliest credits are from the fourth and fifth series of Carla Lane's The Liver Birds, and the third series of Happy Ever After, the sitcom that would become long-running hit Terry & June. Citizen Smith  Before his best known wok in Only Fools And Horses, Butt established a working relationship with, John Sullivan (writer of Only Fools and Horses), on his earlier series, Citizen Smith, directing 23 of the programme's 30 episodes. This was the start of a strong working relationship between two good friends. This strong writer-director relationship is really visible through the comedy and humour projected in the programs; both were on the...

In this workshop we were talking about “motivated camera movements” and watched clips from The Matrix, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Sicario. The matrix - In the office scene where Thomas escapes they open the scene with a transition, (pan). Balanced time elements, very few cuts, but doesn’t feel slow because of the build up of tension. The minimal cuts is very effective here. Raiders of the Lost Ark - In the scene where Indiana Jones is trying to steal the golden idol, they use both push in and pull back shots which give the effect of invading personal space, creating tension. Sicario - When they're filming the characters they use tracking shots back and then forward). The scene in Sicario has more obvious handheld shots which create another scene of tension. The space is very confined and the use of handheld reverse shots adds to this making its audience feel slightly claustrophobic. After discussing these clips with Sam, we were free to explo...

Who is 'the author' in film and TV? And who do we define the role and function of the 'author'? The 'auteur' theory: Advantages, limitations. Production hierarchy Executive Producer- Primarily responsible for financial control but may have creative imput, particularly in editing and post-production stages. Producer- Primarily supervises production logistics and budget in tandem. May organise project and usually hires writers and director and be involved in casting. Director- Primarily responsible for the creative vision and creative decisions. Writer- Responsible for authoring original script or adapting Changing face of creative control Cinema Silent era (1900-1927) (director Charlie Chaplin) Studio era - (1930s to 60s). The producer (freed, selznick) 'New Wave' (1960s-80s) Directors and writers Television 'Golden Age' (1950s and 60s): Producers and writers 'New Wave' (1960s and 70s): producers and directors 'Writers' (1980s-pres...

A Television drama that really inspired my piece was Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected. It's this satirical humour that closely relates to Mackendrick's The LadyKillers. It includes the lives of ordinary people from different backgrounds. Each of the stories presented in the series has a twist at the end which its audience struggle to predict. Its this twist at the end that relates so closely to The LadyKillers.  All the robbers tragically die from blustery and greed leaving Mrs Wilberforce behind with the money. When she goes to do the finest thing at the end and explain ti the police she is laughed at because of her age and the stories she has told them before. This ending was completely unpredictable. Even watching it several times over I think Professor Marcus will get away with the money before he's hit on the he'd by a train signal. Something else I admire greatly about this series is the fact that it was produced on such a low budget. Despite this setb...

A television drama/comedy that has influenced my own work is actually ‘ Chucklevision ’. Silly though this may sound, Chucklevision has some very similar Features to The LadyKillers , and is a program designed for children but enjoyed by both adults and children. The satire comedy style relates very much to The LadyKillers and I would like to exaggerate this satirical element in my own adaptation. Scenes like when Mrs Wilberforce steps onto Professor Marcus’ scarf are similar to the style of Chucklevision . Its very straight forward, in your face humour. The humour expressed in the program is also quintessentially English, and has even become part of our culture. I’m sure everyone living in England who has helped someone else lift furniture has uttered the phrase "To me, To you”. The episodes never fail to deliver this humour that I could enjoy as a child and adult. ChuckleVision has the ability to make you laugh at those everyday mistakes that you, yourself can make and ad...

Props Finding props was one of the most challenging parts to this project. I knew this would be an issue right from the beginning, especially with finding the instruments but when theres a will theres a way. Props wise, I was being a little ambitions but I didn't let it steal me away from the project. Instruments: I posted adverts for violins and a Cello. Unfortunately I was only successful in gaining one violin so branched out to contacting local music shops, theatre/music groups etc to see what I could find. After having no luck here either, I contacted a local school and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had two violins and a cello that were no longer in working condition. They're surplus to requirements at the school due to their poor condition, and was therefore able to have them on permanent loan. I later contacted them thanking them for their help and a confirmation email. The suitcase I used was one which belonged to my Grandfather,  from the na...

Today we were having a DSLR (Digital single-lens reflex) camera workshop where we were learning how to use the Canon 7D and compared them to the Sony EX. Both the  DSLR and Sony EX have positive and negative aspects. Either way quality is by no means a sacrifice.With the DSLR, you can change lenses which gives you more creativity, and depending on what style you want to film in, means you can vary your style. However, the Sony EX has a fixed lens, so is un-upgradable. On the other hand, the minus of the DSLR is that the microphone is very small and doesn't work well when it comes to picking up sound from a distance. You'll therefore have to employ more crew to have someone on sound. DSLRs have this problem because they are predominantly designed for photography purposes. As a group we looked at different DSLR lenses and compared the differences between them. Fergus allowed us to pass some of these lenses around. We also talked about the sensor, difference between full fram...