SNOWTOWN

Went to see an awesome movie on Tuesday Night (25th May). The movie was called Snowtown and depicts the true story of the bodies in the barrels murders in Adelaide during the 1990's. The story is told through the eyes of Jamie Vlassakis who is introduced to John Bunting and his obsession with murder.

From a production view the way the movie was shoot was very unconventional being shoot only on one camera and casting people associated with the event. Color was used very well in the production to help shape the environment the movie is set in. Orange and yellow coloured lights and sets were used to portray the poverty of the area and the time period in the day time which contrasted with the dark coloured lighting and sets during the night time. At times in the movie the dark lighting was too intense resulting in the actors faces and emotions being undefinable in the dark. The 'close up shoot' is used extensivly in the movie focusing mainlt on the character of Jamie due to the large emotional aspect of the plot. Wide shoots are also used extensivly in the movie to show the Australian environmental setting of the movie in scenes that involve a travel aspect.

The venue in which I saw the movie was quite different as well. I went to The Dendy in Newtown to see the movie due to the non commercial appeal of the film. The cinema itself was very old fashioned being much smaller than a regular cinema, with a screen half the size of a regular screen and very uncomfortable seats. The sound system inside the theatre was not as advanced as your regular hoyts or reading cinema as the sound system consisted of two speakers placed in the middle on the roof facing the back of the theatre (Not sure what brand they are). The movie was quite enjoyable and is not as gorey as what everyone says. I do warn though that it is quite a disturbing movie as the events portrayed were real events.

Movie Poster

Stills From The Movie

Reviews:

Cut Print Review

News.com.au

ABC Adelaide

Snowtown Trailer

My Ticket



AFTRS Certificate

AFTRS (Excursion) - Australian Film Television and Radio School

Where: Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), Moore Park, Fox Studios

When: 18th May 2011

What: Camera Skills Workshop

How: Public Transport (Ferry and Bus)

1.) Describe the excursion:

The excursion our entertainment class underwent on May 18th 2011 was at AFTRS. Our excursion involved participating in a camera skills workshop. Our workshop was lead by Gareth a teacher and film maker at the school. In our workshop we learnt about and covered the following points technical considerations, visual building blocks and from script to screen. We also took part in two practical exercises the first involving different cameras shoots and the second involving interpreting a script and putting it on film. Included in our workshop was a tour of the school which took us to one of the large filming studios, the props warehouse, the set workshop, the pre-production rooms, audio and music studios, the radio studio and viewing theatre. After the tour we received AFTRS bags with heaps of information in it.

2.) Discuss 3-5 new things you learnt, skills, knowledge, problems and solutions. 

- What makes good sound

As part of our discussion about technical considerations we learnt about sound in video, particularly signal to noise ratio. When filming it is important to make sure the audio you want has been recorded so that the dialogue or sound you want is not outweighed by other noise. 

- Aiming or Framing

We learnt the difference between the two terms. Aiming is when the camera films a certain object or person intentionally usually the middle of the screen. Framing refers to putting a subject inside a frame using the rule of thirds which when the frame is divided into nine parts. 

- Visual Grammer

A large part of our workshop was devoted to camera or shoot types, what they are used for, why they are used and how to shoot them. These shoots include:

Wide/ Establishing Shoot - Scenary Shoot

Long Shoot - Full Body

Mid Shoot - Torso 

Medium Close Up Shoot - Armpits

Close Up - Neck and Head

Extreme Close Up - Facial feature 

3.) Evaluation Of The Excursion

The excursion wasn't bad yet it wasn't amazing. It didn't really interest me that much as I have no interest in Film, Television or Radio. The workshop started out very slow and I did not get much out of this part of the day. The hands on part of the workshop though was quite enjoyable as I have never used a professional camera before. The school I think has very good resources and equipment but is not very obliging with students who lack experience. I would like to go on another excursion like this but definetly not back to AFTRS. 

MSCW Bio Box 3/5/11

Pictures from inside the schools boom box during work experience.



Mixing Desk

 

DVD and CD players

VGA Input



Control Panel

DISTURBED!!!!! 30.4.11

Disturbed 30.4.11

Brisbane Entertainment Centre

The Dividing barrier in the middle of the arena,
included a metal platform for security to stand on



"Forgiven Rival"



The Drums are on a riser or Rosture,

there is also a audio technicians with a mac behind the drummer 

 

"As I Lay Dying"

Taking down the bands banner and replacing it with a new one

Roadies setting up new rostures for the next band

Mixing desk, road cases and amplifiers



"Trivium"





Taking down Trivium's banner



Sheet set up infront of stage and light checks



Testing the video playback



Testing the LCD screens



"Disturbed"



Cool screen effect

Smoke



Fire cannons hidden behind the screens



The stairs were clear so the video screens could be seen through them

More smoke



The Singer filmed the audience with a camera,
the vision captured was shown on the LCD screens



Cameras were used to capture the band as they performed and display them on the LCD screens

Packing up the stage

 



Another Shoot of the mixing desk



Disturbed - Intro. The video was being played on the LCD screens which were used to create a 3d effect



The most important part of the production was the big LCD screens at the back of the stage. They were used well to show the imagery that the bands music and lyrics create.

Production Accident (Whooops)

This is what happens when something goes wrong in a production.

(Note: The accident was set up for the show on purpose as a production element. No crew or band members were actually injured or set on fire by accident)

Bob Dylan 27/4/11

Bob Dylan 27/4/11

Sydney Entertainment Centre

(I know it's kind of lame but it was fun, I was 9 rows from the front on the arena floor.)

Show Freight: The company that provided the logistics for the tour

Backstage: The trucks contain road cases



Paul Kelly: The support Act



Bob Dylan had two microphones, one for singing another for playing the harmonica.



More Production elememts. The lights were projected onto a sheet behind the band 

 
















The Front of house desk at the back of the arena