Christine Zhao’s Weblog

I would like to thank my supervisor, Steve Dawkins, for his help and guidance throughout the project process. I would also like to thank our group who work for this movie. You know who you are.

Thanks too, to my housemates for the endless supply of tea and advice along the way.

The short movie has been completed during two months. In the time I have strived for this movie making, I learned how to make a formal film. It is undeniable that many problem block our step of it, but we also used the technology that we study from the module to overcome them. I also got the more precious experience in this project.

The movie has already to play, however there also have some limitation in it. We may overlook some detailed plot in it. And the cast of this movie may not express it well. Some technical part should not so professional. Anyway, the movie has finished, I do not think it is too bad.

The last part of this movie is post production. For this part, it required to relate each scene together and narrate the entire story well.

The main job is for film cutter. Nevertheless, in the view of director, my task is to use the conceptual model the meet requirements in each shoot that we must to modify and edit. So when film cutter edits film, I accompany with her to give my idea for editing and discuss the feasibility of scenes. As well as music production, I also recommend him to add background music meet the main topic of movie. After three times meeting and discussion with film cutter and music producer, the draft film was made. In the post production, every member of our group also has different idea and advice; however we got unification at last.

The other significant part of our clip is shooting the movie scene by scene according to script. In this part, the main duty of mine is to coordinate the idea between actor and cameraman, to make sure each plot can express the requirement of story. I am also responsible for choosing the location which each scene need and preparing the props used in different shoot, such as photos. In fact, there are many difficult problem appear in it. For example, the location of each scene usually has problem which is affect by weather or artificial reasons. It is inevitable will occur in majority movie making, but the problems has been solved by our group well.

Here I will concentrate on the duty as a director. I am one of directors in this movie, base on sub-lens of script what I have written to show each scene is my main task. When we shooting the film, I have control theme by how to describe characters and space-time structure. To supervise record the dialogue is another task I need do. After that I have given related requirement to cameraman and recording when we shoot movie. In each shoot, I reviewed the scene with the other staffs in our group to control the quality, consistent and budget to supply a good material used in post production.

The UK part of movie has been completed during three days in Sheffield, and the China part of movie spends one day work for it.

After several tutorials and group meeting, we have ensured the short movie will have a Dramatic script. And the synopsis of clip was written by me and another director. The idea and storyline was available to write the script, and then the following task was script writing.

Once the script has been started to prepare, the first step is to break the story into individual scenes, afterward write out a one-sentence description of what happens in each scene, and then give each scene a number. The idea here is to decide how best to tell your story. In the script writing, I also follow two principle that to write the plot of the story in chronological order and to make sure each scene works to bring out one aspect of your story.

In terms of our script, there are four points that should highlight in it. First, I decided use series of montage scenes to present the change of time and location. And the different color of actress’ dress, the color turns form dark to bright, I use the comparison between them to set it as a metaphor which could show the mood of chief actress. It can not ignore the most important and obscure props-photograph, its effect on the whole scripts as a storyline walkthrough our story. Not only the first meeting but also the last scenes that actress received photos from actor, this tiny props appear during start and end. For instances, many scene give the signal that the actress was changing now from the expression of photos. At last, how to link the two main part of our script was most important, it can not so inflexible and unnatural. Thus I think if we interspersed with flashbacks to educe the plot that actress go back to China.

When we address the above points, I have launch into the draft script. During one week, we make sure all the script length, shoot location, majority cast and props are reasonable. The last formal one was written.

For the script writing, this period used one week to create and another week to modify and improve.

The first idea of this story aroused when I have learned 310MC. After the studying of this module, I have learned how to make a movie by professional method to create a clip. I have make three brief clips which are focus on memory, power and spectacle respectively. In fact, the three points also are the significant and basic element what is the measurement to ensure the quality of a movie.

In terms of the story generation, I must mention the initial idea for this project. The first idea is about the international students who lived in UK with their own culture. I think it should be quite interesting to show the comparison of culture, among China, Korea and Japan. Because in the eye of west people may consider the feature of people in the three orient countries was same, but they have different cultures, such as etiquette, diet and language.

Unfortunately, the story may be perfect, but some objective problem was occurred when we decide to plan the script. The first problem is that the actor is hard to find, after that because of the different language that it is really hard to describe the script and the idea of director to actor. And if we will use this ides, it should involve something like topic diplomatic sensitivity which is related to history. Therefore we decide drop the idea after got recommendation from our supervisor. He also fined the same problem that I have showed before, and advice us to change another topic with a profound meaning.

A movie what is named Vicky Cristina Barcelona bring the initial idea of our work. “Love in travel” is an outline of this movie, I prefer the beautiful landscape when they travel around the city, so I want steal the idea “travel”. Characterization is the following work after the story line has been ensured. The chief actress has been defined as a white-collared worker who likes the high pace of modern life; there is just having money and work in her eyes. “Faster and faster” is her belief of life. The features of actress like David Frankel create the actress in The Devil Wears Prada. In order to represent the different and comparison, I want introduce another guy who have different aim of life. In consequence, another chief actor was created that a man enjoys leisure and freedom.

In the following paragraph is the synopsis of our story.

A young office lady like the fast tempo in her life, the money and work is full of his brain everyday. Accidently, she has been inspected that he comes down with fatal illness. Then facing the disaster, she stops and thinks the past life and plan what she will do in the left of her short life. After that she looks release and plan to travel the country which is in the dream when she was a girl. When she traveled in UK with her desperate heart, she encounters a peer cameraman in a manor. The outgoing and optimism of this young guy give the hope to her through his Camera Lens. They travelled together around the gently country. After a deeply touch with the nature and the man, she gradually to enjoy the world by a distinct way. However, good news was coming; the fatal illness was a fault of doctor, then she decided to go back to her previous life in China. At the same time, she feel that weltanschauung of her was changing stealthily.

The Portrait of Two Ladies，Bathed in light so lusciously golden and honeyed that you might be tempted to lick the screen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a rueful comedy about two young American women who, during a summertime European idyll, savor many of the Continental delicacies that such travelers often take pleasure in: art, music, culture, yes, but also strange bodies and unexpected dreams. These bodies and dreams open possibilities for the women, intimating freer, somehow different lives, despite the persistent tugging of a voice that hovers at the edge of this story trying to pull it and its characters down to earth, where desire can fade quickly.

That narration, which weaves in and out of the story like a thread, is spoken by the actor Christopher Evan Welch, but more rightly belongs to Woody Allen, the film’s writer and director. Although “Vicky Cristina” trips along winningly, carried by the beauty of its locations and stars — and all the gauzy romanticism those enchanted places and people imply — it reverberates with implacable melancholy, a sense of loss. Mr. Allen may be buoyed (like the rest of us) by his recent creative resurrection, but this is still the same glum clown who, after the premiere of “Match Point,” his pitch-black, near pitch-perfect 2005 drama, commented that cynicism was just an alternate spelling of reality. Ah, life! Ah, Woody!

 Ah, wilderness of a heart that knows what it wants even when the rest of the body does not! Sensible Vicky (Rebecca Hall) insists that she knows what she wants — her dull fiancé in New York, for one — while dreamy Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) does not. The two have traveled to Barcelona so that Vicky, who speaks little Spanish, can work on her masters in Catalan culture, while Cristina plays her foil, and we play virtual tourist amid the city’s Gaudí splendors. With the narrator setting the brisk, at times rushed, pace, the women move in with some acquaintances (Patricia Clarkson and Kevin Dunn), but their sentimental education doesn’t really begin until they meet one of Spain’s national treasures: Javier Bardem.

Mr. Bardem slithers into “Vicky Cristina” (and in that order) like a snake in the garden, wrapping himself around the two women with blissful, insinuating, sensuous ease. He’s the celebrated painter Juan Antonio, one of those artistic sybarites who attack both women and canvases with bold strokes. Eyes hooded, smile taunting, he invites the Americans to fly away for the weekend — a jug of wine, a loaf of bread, thou and thou — a proposition that inspires mockery from Vicky and girlish excitement in Cristina. Mr. Bardem, relieved of his ghoulish Prince Valiant bob from “No Country for Old Men,” invests the cliché of the Latin lover with so much humor and feeling that he quickly vanquishes the stereotype.

The same goes for Penélope Cruz, who plays a combustible Judy to Mr. Bardem’s smoldering Punch. As Maria Elena, Juan Antonio’s unstable former wife (an incident with a blade botched their happily ever after), Ms. Cruz has her own type to surmount, which she does with fire, smoke and comedy. With her artfully tousled hair and watchful eyes, Maria Elena is a classic screen siren (and totally crazy chick), but one with the pulse of a real woman. Ms. Cruz, slipping between Spanish and English (the latter was once a serious obstacle for her), does especially nice work with her voice, which seductively lowers and sometimes rises with animal intensity, suggesting a more variegated interior world than that provided by Mr. Allen’s writing.

Maria Elena and Juan Antonio give the film such a twinned jolt of energy that you may wish it would head off into Almodóvar country, but that wouldn’t be true to Mr. Allen, for whom desire remains an agony. Still, he’s enough of an entertainer to give the audience its pleasures, which partly accounts for Ms. Johansson. She isn’t much of an actress, but it doesn’t terribly matter in his films: She gives him succulent youth, and he cushions her with enough laughs to distract you from her lack of skill. The appealing Ms. Hall, whose jaw line and brittle delivery evoke Katharine Hepburn, furnishes an actual performance, one that, tinged with sadness, makes evident that this is as much a tragedy as a comedy.

 There will always be an audience that hungers for a certain kind of Woody Allen movie, but it’s a relief that he has moved away from the safety and provincialism of his New York. Working in Britain for his previous three films and in Spain for this one has had a liberating effect, perhaps because it’s made it easier for him to step down as a leading man. He gave himself a sizable role in “Scoop,” but mostly he fluttered around Ms. Johansson, tossing off jokes. He was playing the fool rather than inhabiting one, as had become his custom in those films in which he clutched at much younger actresses with whom, like Fred Astaire after Ginger Rogers, he never found the right rhythm.

The characters in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” by contrast, generally move fluidly — bopping and weaving, going here, pausing there — a looseness that works contrapuntally with the voice-over’s insistent forward drive. Delivered in novelistic third person, the narration allows Mr. Allen to dispense with large chunks of exposition, to fill in the narrative gaps, yet it also puts some aesthetic distance between him and his characters. The film feels personal — “Sentimental Education,” a touchstone here, is one of the things that makes life worth living, as he says in “Manhattan” — though not claustrophobic, another cloyingly needy dispatch from a ravenous id. What Mr. Allen says about life and disappointment still sounds very Woody, but these days he seems content to speak through his characters, not just for them.

 Christmas is coming soon……

Some familiar things what surround us start to change！！The new decoration of shop give us a feeling of Christmas！！

There are a lot of presents what prepare for pepole to select…sweet gifts!

This kind of impression is also a power of Christmas…….                    

For the final stage of the three themes is power, I want use a simple way what are just including several images about Christmas to show the power’s meaning in my mind. As Christmas draws near, we can find more and more things what relate to the Christmas in every comer of the city. Especially, majority shops appear the Christmas’ atmosphere. So its give me a deep impression, we can say that it is a influence which derive from the significant festival. And those things are a kind of power that the Christmas brings it to us.

Christmas tree, Santa Claus, Mistletoe, Elk, Sleigh Rides and snow are all the symbol of the Christmas. When all of the things emerge in our life, it looks like a metaphor that the Christmas is coming soon. In my work, the images were taken during current time, recording the changes around our life with Christmas. Although these series of picture are not like a story, all the transformation occurred in our dairy life. I will use some method about details which people always overlook to illustrate a kind of culture’s power.

In general, the cultures’ influences are a power.  As the spring festival in China, it also a kind of culture’s power which like Christmas for UK or other western courtiers. In my work, it is just a part of Christmas’ effect. There are also appeared in some other area. I can not cover everywhere, but it actually a power in our life. It also a experience that the changes taught me.

amend：

For the final stage of the three themes is power, I want use a simple way what are just including several images about Christmas to show the power’s meaning in my mind. As Christmas draws near, we can find more and more things what relate to the Christmas in everywhere of the city. Especially, majority shops appear the Christmas’ atmosphere. So it’s give me a deep impression, we can say that it is an influence which derive from the significant festival. And those things are a kind of power that the Christmas brings it to us.

Christmas tree, Santa Claus, Mistletoe, Elk, Sleigh Rides and snow are all the symbol of the Christmas. When all of the things emerge in our life, it looks like a metaphor that the Christmas is coming soon. In my artifact, the images were taken during current time, recording the changes around our life with Christmas. Although these series of picture are not like a story, all the transformation occurred in our dairy life. I will use some method about details which people always overlook to illustrate a kind of culture’s power.

In general, the cultures’ influences are also a power.  As the spring festival in China, it also a kind of culture’s power which like Christmas for UK or other western courtiers. In my artifact, it is just a part of Christmas’ effect. There are also appeared in some other area. “We expect 2008 to deliver double digit growth in terms of internet retailing,” said Tarlok Teji in 2007.  The New West End Company, which represents shops in the area, said sales were up almost 10% on last year. Because of the Christmas, the retail of gift is booming in UK. In the shop window of the gift shop, it can be seen that the atmosphere flooded everywhere. The large number of present boxes overlap together, it give people a deep impression about Christmas. The December 2008 is the best month for retail.  According to a survey, the street retail is also better than online retail. Although , there are more choice for people to choose gift for their friends, the traditional, Christmas tree and Mistletoe are always the best sale in the UK. In despite of the economic crisis this year, the sales of the Christmas always hot. So the Christmas has a incredible power for British people.   

The clip has described a story what is about the leading character of the images walking on the way which lead him to go back to his home of memories. The inspiration of this story is come from a day when the autumn was coming. I have found that all the leaves turn to yellow and the wind of autumn make me feel that the time is flying. It awakes me that I have stayed in UK about four months. During this time some the strange things of Coventry become familiar. And some familiar things what have surrounded me before gradually store in my memories. Such as the way which I went to and back between school and my old accommodation. Then I was going along the old way to Condon Street, to look for the feeling which was tasted in the summer. In consequence, I used my camera to record some picture on the way.

In terms of this clip, I just put some photos which I took on the way to Condon. Firstly I used nostalgic method to make the photos like a image in the memory, and a group of nostalgic image show a thinking in people’s mind. I have chose a part of the landscape of the way to Condon, using the approach which are zoom in and zoom out to make the photos looks like a moving expression. In addition, the interlude of road signs are represented the directivity of the short film. When you see the consecutive and fast photos about feet in the clip, you may feel that it looks like walking. The aim of the series of images is always to make audience to feel that it is a moving clip. And the memory of editor is moving too. In the part of music, I chose a part of music sound as music box, this kind of music has limpid tempo, it shake the heart of every audiences and arise people to remember some memories in the deep of their heart.

All the descriptions are my idea of this clip, the factual representation always has some differences, and the words in the clip have some problem. I hope this clip can show the understanding of my idea for memory.

Spectacle      editer:Qujing Zhao

The historical background has been changed enormously during the past 100 years, but the human spirit is always constant till now. The Olympic spirit is promoting human development. According to the slogan what is “Higher, Faster, Stronger”, it can be seen that “unity, friendship and progress” is advocated.

The video above is a series of images about recent three Olympics opening ceremonies in Sydney, Athens and Beijing. All of the pictures illustrate the same objects in the different countries’ Olympics opening ceremonies. Emblem, stadium, Olympic rings, performances and torch are the five significant elements of Olympics. Emblem like a totem which is reflected a nation’s spirit. And the stadium is a stage to hold the Olympic spectacle. In terms of Olympic rings, it shows the unity of human. The cultures of host country can be found in the performances. The last element, torch

It can not be denied that the Olympics opening ceremony is a big show in the world. In the three different countries, at the different time, but in the same Olympics opening ceremony, a large number of people focus on international event when it is held. The cultures of host countries impact on it deeply. And it generate that the Olympics opening ceremony is concentrated. The spectacle base on civilization, so to some extent, the area’s convention reflect unique feeling to the audiences. I have chosen the three counties from three different continents; it can be discriminated easily via the images. Aborigines of Australia, myth of Greece and Four Great Inventions of China are the characteristic symbol. It shows histories, cultures and civilization respectively. Then the Olympics originate from western country, the multiple cultures’ mixture is another important issue.

In general, the several reasons lead it to a symbol of a famous event, and it is a big show as well. So in my opinion, it can demonstrate the strong of spectacle.

Announcement: all the images in the clip are from the internet

The references:

1, http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/08/2008_olympics_opening_ceremony.html

2, http://www.thefirst.com/