Film Portfolio Example Essays

Film Portfolio Example Essays Film Portfolio Example Paper Film Portfolio Example Paper Double Indemnity! By Chris Hale! Director! Inspiration, aims, goals! Being a director for the first time was quite a challenging task but I really wanted to experience this role and see how much of a difference I could make towards the final film. In order to get an idea of the sort of things a director does I took a look at a couple of videos, and since our task was to replicate a scene from Double Indemnity I decided it would be a good idea to have a look at the type of styles that Billy Wilder, the director for the film, had used. After some research I found out that Billy Wilder ended to use various techniques in his films such as low key lighting and the blind effect. I decided to try and use the exact techniques in my film so I could try and replicate the same effects it had on the viewers. Planning and Research! As a director I knew planning would be a key part of my role, I had to organism several things such as getting the right actors as well as finding suitable dates to film. All in all it was quite a hard task, however I found a fantastic way of communicating with my whole film group through the use of Backbone. I made a private group for ourselves and it turned out to work very efficiently. Two examples of the communication we had going on in the group I was also able to do tasks such as find out who was available on which days of the week and to keep the group informed on our overall progress. : Here is the table I used on the Backbone group to find when our group and actors were available to film We also had a long think about the actors we were going to need for the project. We came up with a list of suitable actors and then sent them a message to see if they were at all interested in acting for our group. In the end we managed to get both our priority actors whom we thought resembled the actors in the clip the most and so we were very pleased with the result. An example of one of the conversations with our actors One of the first things we decided to do was find a location, this was actually quite an easy task as I knew my house, located in Hong Look Yen, was quite a suitable match for replicating the scene in the clip. The living room was quite spacious and towards the side was an arc which very well resembled the arc in the clip. It was also quite a convenient place for myself, the roof and the actors since everyone lived relatively near to the location. The Arc in the image above which closely resembled the on the clip to the right was a big aspect of why we decided to film in this particular house We had several discussions as a group about the story board but in the end I opted not to create a storyboard since we were replicated a clip to its exact specifications and we could always use the clip as a reference if needed. Technical details! As for the technical side of things the biggest role I played was helping out the interoperable with the lighting and the camera ISO settings. We worked together in trying various ISO settings to see if we could balance the quality and lighting to get a perfect film noir-sis feel. I also used the LED light that we were given and experimented with it to see the differences in lighting as seen in the picture below. A couple of pictures showing the difference between using the LED light (right) and not using any artificial light (left) Apart from this I had a quick look at the clips we had taken and helped the editor ecocide which clips we should use for the final production since we did take many multiple shots of the same scene Just in case on any accidents. Reflection and Evaluation! In the end I think the film turned out pretty well, however we did have a few obstacles to overcome which no doubt made our lives more difficult but at the end of the day as a whole group we were quite pleased with the final production. One of the main problems we did have was finding the right dates to film since our actors were relatively busy with other events during the periods we wanted to film, adding to this problem was that one of our actors was working for another group and so it proved to be quite a hassle trying to find a suitable date to film. In the end we were unfortunate that on the day we were planning to film one of our actors was sick and so unfortunately we were only able to film once rather than twice which is what we originally planned. But the clips from the first filming take were pretty good and so it wasnt a huge problem that we werent unable to polish the film with a second film take. I think in order to avoid this next time myself as a director have to be more organized he the dates of filming and have backup dates in case anything occurs such as one of the actors being sick. Other than that we didnt run into any other major problems. The filming itself was very successful and efficient as we only had to spend around 2 hours setting up and getting the right shots. As a director I had a clear idea of how I wanted the film to be done and so I was very clear with my cinematographer showing him exactly what I wanted and even in some cases showing him the movement I wanted of the camera angles. Word count: 997

Battle of the Bismarck Sea in World War II

Battle of the Bismarck Sea in World War II Battle of the Bismarck Sea -Conflict Dates: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea was fought March 2-4, 1943, during World War II (1939-1945). Forces Commanders Allies Major General George KenneyAir Commodore Joe Hewitt39 heavy bombers, 41 medium bombers, 34 light bombers, 54 fighters Japanese Rear Admiral Masatomi KimuraVice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa8 destroyers, 8 transports, approx. 100 aircraft Battle of the Bismarck Sea -Background: With defeat looming in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Japanese high command began making efforts in December 1942 to reinforce their position in New Guinea. Seeking to shift around 105,000 men from China and Japan, the first convoys reached Wewak, New Guinea in January and February delivering men from the 20th and 41st Infantry Divisions. This successful movement was an embarrassment to Major General George Kenney, commander of the Fifth Air Force and Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, who had vowed to cut off the island from re-supply. Assessing the failures of his command during the first two months of 1943, Kenney revised tactics and embarked on a rapid training program to ensure better success against maritime targets. As the Allies set to work, Vice Admiral Gunichi Mikawa began making plans to shift the 51st Infantry Division from Rabaul, New Britain to Lae, New Guinea. On February 28, the convoy, consisting of eight transports and eight destroyers assembled at Rabaul. For additional protection, 100 fighters were to provide cover. To lead the convoy, Mikawa selected Rear Admiral Masatomi Kimura. Battle of the Bismarck Sea - Striking the Japanese: Due to Allied signals intelligence, Kenney was aware that a large Japanese convoy would be sailing for Lae in early March. Departing Rabaul, Kimura originally intended to pass south of New Britain but changed his mind at the last minute to take advantage a storm front that was moving along the north side of the island. This front provided cover through the day on March 1 and Allied reconnaissance planes were unable to locate the Japanese force. Around 4:00 PM, an American B-24 Liberator briefly spotted the convoy, but the weather and time of day precluded an attack (Map). The next morning, another B-24 spotted the Kimuras ships. Due to the range, several flights of B-17 Flying Fortresses were dispatched to the area. To help reduce the Japanese air cover, Royal Australian Air Force A-20s from Port Moresby attacked the airfield at Lae. Arriving over the convoy, the B-17s began their attack and succeeded in sinking the transport Kyokusei Maru with the loss of 700 of the 1,500 men on board. B-17 strikes continued through the afternoon with marginal success as the weather frequently obscured the target area. Tracked through the night by Australian PBY Catalinas, they came within range of the Royal Australian Air Force base at Milne Bay around around 3:25 AM. Though launching flight of Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers, only two of the RAAF aircraft located the convoy and neither scored a hit. Later in the morning the convoy came into range of the bulk of Kenneys aircraft. While 90 aircraft were assigned to striking Kimura, 22 RAAF Douglas Bostons were ordered attack Lae through the day to reduce the Japanese air threat. Around 10:00 AM the first in series of closely coordinated aerial attacks began. Bombing from around 7,000 feet, B-17s succeeded in breaking up Kimuras formation, reducing the effectiveness of the Japanese anti-aircraft fire. These were followed by B-25 Mitchells bombing from between 3,000 and 6,000 feet. These attacks drew the bulk of the Japanese fire leaving an opening for low-altitude strikes. Approaching the Japanese ships, the Bristol Beaufighters of No. 30 Squadron RAAF were mistaken by the Japanese for Bristol Beauforts. Believing the aircraft to be torpedo planes, the Japanese turned towards them to present a smaller profile. This maneuver allowed the Australians to inflict maximum damage as the Beaufighters strafed the ships with their 20 mm cannons. Stunned by this attack, the Japanese were next hit by modified B-25s flying at low-altitude. Strafing the Japanese ships, they also made skip bombing attacks in which bombs were bounced along the surface of the water into the sides of enemy vessels. With the convoy in flames, a final attack was made by a flight of American A-20 Havocs. In short order, Kimuras ships had been reduced to burning hulks. Attacks continued through the afternoon to ensure their final destruction. While the battle raged around the convoy, P-38 Lightnings provided cover from Japanese fighters and claimed 20 kills against three losses. The next day, the Japanese mounted a retaliatory raid against the Allied base at Buna, New Guinea, but inflicted little damage. For several days after the battle, Allied aircraft returned to the scene and attacked survivors in the water. Such attacks were viewed as necessary and were partially in retribution for the Japanese practice of strafing Allied airmen while they descended in their parachutes. Battle of the Bismarck Sea - Aftermath: In the fighting at Bismarck Sea, the Japanese lost eight transports, four destroyers, and 20 aircraft. In addition, between 3,000 and 7,000 men were killed. Allied losses totaled four aircraft and 13 airmen. A complete victory for the Allies, the Battle of the Bismarck Sea led Mikawa to comment a short time later, It is certain that the success obtained by the American air force in this battle dealt a fatal blow to the South Pacific. The success of Allied air power convinced the Japanese that even strongly escorted convoys could not operate without air superiority. Unable to reinforce and re-supply troops in the region, the Japanese were permanently put on the defensive, opening the way for successful Allied campaigns. Selected Sources HistoryNet: Battle of the Bismarck SeaLong Lancers: Battle of the Bismarck SeaPacific Wrecks: Battle of the Bismarck Sea