Actors/Extras/Casting

In order to cast my main character in the opening scene, it was vital that I develop him more deeply. I needed to reveal some of his ticks, his walk, his motives. This personality depicts how he will dress in the opening scene and how he reacts to the other actors/location. It would also help me direct who I casted. I also created a plan for the rest of the main scenes of the movie and since those scenes had more characters that were not included in the opening scene, I added them to this character list. By creating a celebrity cast list, I can better prepare for future aspirations with this movie. 

Characters:

ANATOL NOVIKOF: (INTJ - Architect) 17-18 year old Russian student. Bookish. Brilliant. Independent. Lanky. Quiet and introspective. Attractive in a dark-academia way. Wears round rimmed glasses and tweed suits. Holds a leather satchel around his shoulder. Anxious often, very private and keeps a journal. Is not very connected to the world around him on a local level, but sees the world through the philosophies in the books he reads and in the politics in the newspapers. Many of his family members acted against the soviet government or were suspected of it and were tortured in front of him (his backstory). He suffers from PTSD and has daytime visions of those incidents (ex- Soviet officers' attack dogs dragging his uncle, and when he was younger, his father was questioned and punched under a swinging light in a warehouse, Novikof (called by his last name) watched and was asked if he knew why his father was being hit. He stayed quiet). Becomes more sure of himself and his cause as the movie progresses, learns the art of spy-craft and takes it seriously, but doesn't necessarily get more loud about his views, but more confident and purposeful. Is always very careful. Asexual. 

VLADIMIR VETROV: (ESTP - Entrepreneur) A once KGB spy turned American spy, gave Reagan valuable information to stop a nuclear bomb that would have brought armageddon. 30's, reckless, likes women and parties. He has a unique way of gaining intelligence. When drunk, can be made to spill a bit of information. He is subject to great mood swings and has a mercurial relationship with his girlfriend (who he ends up murdering in his car). Becomes more anxious as the movie goes on because he's taking on a teenager. He ends of getting caught and shot in a Moscow prison. 

RONALD REAGAN - (ENFJ - Protagonist) The president of the United States. 

NOVIKOF'S UNCLE: (ENFP - Campaigner) Supportive of Novikof's passion for freedom and Western politics and hatred for the USSR. A bit too open about his views. Is tortured and dragged out of his home (he lives with Novikof and his parents) by soviet officers' attack dogs. 

NOVIKOF'S FATHER: (ISFJ - Defender) Is similar to Novikof's uncle, but tries to keep things more of a secret. Secretly supports Novikof, but would never say it (especially around Novikof's mother). 

NOVIKOF'S TEACHER: (ISTJ - Logistician) Strict, follows the orders of the USSR to the t, disapproves of Novikof (doesn't think he thinks "communist" enough). 

NOVIKOF'S MOTHER: (INFJ - Advocate) Quiet, frightened, always urging Novikof to burn his books and forget his ideas. 

LUDMILLA: (ESTJ - Executive) Vetrov's girlfriend. Completely ignorant to Vetrov's spying. Is annoyed when Vetrov seems anxious for "no reason." Gets jealous easy at Vetrov's love for parties, women, and alcohol. 

EXTRAS: Soviet guards, students in library, students/citizens walking on the street, students in Novikof's classroom, Soviet partygoers and their wives/mistresses. 

Celebrity Cast List:

ANATOL NOVIKOF - Eddie Redmayne

VLADIMIR VETROV - Danila Kozlovsky

NOVIKOF'S UNCLE - Kenneth Branagh

NOVIKOF'S FATHER - Sean Bean

NOVIKOF'S TEACHER - Leonardo DiCaprio

NOVIKOF'S MOTHER - Mary Steenburgen

LUDMILLA - Sophie Turner or Mila Jovovich

My Casting Work:

Casting Novikof:

Thought about using my brother as Novikof, but he is far too immature and giddy for acting under direction. I must also take into account the coronavirus and that some actors cannot being in certain situations because they live with people of high risk (ex-elderly or those with pre-existing conditions). 

I discussed the movie ideas with a friend, Lexi Schwartzburg, who attends drama at another school. She has many connections to drama students (as she is also the school's district representative in the Senior Thespians Competition). We drafted an email to Lexi's drama director asking for possible student volunteers. 

I DMed three individuals I deemed qualified for the main role as Novikof: Garrett Shanley, Alexander Denisov, and Luke DiLiddo. 

I sent Garrett Shanley:

"Hi! I saw that you took AICE media last year, and while I’m not in the class this year, I am taking the exam and making the opening scene. The film is set in early 80’s Soviet Russia. Filming will take only a day, and the character I would like to cast you as is a bookish, anti-Soviet teen-turned spy who partners with a famous Russian double agent. Odd request, I know, but would you be interested?"

I sent Alexander Denisov:

"Hi, I’m a senior at Coral Springs Charter School, and I'm filming a movie opening for my college-level film class. I know Lexi from Douglas Drama, and I asked her if anyone from Douglas Drama would be good. She showed me a picture of the troupe, and you fit the look of the character. The film is set in early 80’s Soviet Russia. Filming will take only a day, and the character I would like to cast you as is a bookish, anti-Soviet teen-turned spy who partners with a famous Russian double agent. Odd request, I know, but would you be interested?"

I sent Luke DiLiddo: 

"Hi, I’m a senior at Coral Springs Charter School, and I'm filming a movie opening for my college-level film class. I have some friends from NSB, and I saw you in Chicago. The film is set in early 80’s Soviet Russia. Filming will take only a day, and the character I would like to cast u as is a bookish, anti-Soviet teen-turned spy who partners with a famous Russian double agent. Odd request, I know, but would you be interested?"

Garrett looks like the best option as he messaged me back asking for the shot list and script. I sent him the shot list video and gave him more information about the character, the movie, and what he would be doing. 

Garrett Shanley is Novikof:

Casting Extras:

For the extras and guards in the opening scene, I turned to another local high school's talented drama department: Marjory Stoneman Douglas Drama. 

I had to go through a screening process as a volunteer in order to log onto their class Teams meeting. Here was the form for the school district I went through:

This was my scripted presentation:

"Hello all, 

I’m Savannah Cox, a senior at Coral Springs Charter School and an avid supporter of MSD’s drama. I’ve seen many of your shows, and you all are extremely talented. I’m filming an opening to the motion picture Novikof and I knew you all would be the perfect group to act in it. It’s a project for my college-level film class. The full movie takes place in the USSR (modern-day Russia) during the 1980’s, the height of the Cold War and Soviet communism. Armed guards. Attack dogs. Work camps. The like. A nobody teenager whose family has been ravaged by the government finds that he might be able to change this totalitarianism. He becomes a spy, carrying Soviet officer’s loose-lipped secrets to an experienced (historically-accurate) Russian double agent, who then takes the intelligence to Ronald Reagan, the US president. A lot of this is actual history.  

The opening scene, which is all I film for the project, takes place in a library. The Alvin Sherman library attached to NOVA is where I intend to shoot, and it is quite large-many stories- so social distancing should not be an issue, however I do not want masks in the shots. The opening scene will have extras as college students, as many as possible. One specific extra will be a young women walking a dog. If you have a dog and think you would fit this role, that would be helpful. The shooting will only take a day and will hopefully be in mid February.  

If you would like to see any of the film work I’ve done before it’s all on my YouTube Channel: Savannah Cox. 

I have experience making professional videos, and it is the kind of thing you can put on your college resume.  

Are there any questions?"

I logged onto the Teams meeting on Friday, 1/8/21 at 1:15pm. 

I received 3 texts from students asking to be extras, many with dogs, vying for the women with dog role. 

I also emailed 7 different drama directors for many schools in the area:

1. Coral Springs High School

2. Coral Springs Charter School

3. Westminster Academy

4. Taravella High School

5. South Broward High School

6. Coral Glades High School

7. Calvary Christian Academy

Their contacts are:

Calvary: mariave@ccaeagles.org

Taravella: lori.sessions@browardschools.com

Coral Springs High School: Krantz: barbara.krantz@browardschools.com

Coral Glades High School: Diana Focus: diana.focus@browardschools.com

Coral Springs Charter School: abutler@coralspringscharter.org

Coral Spears: carol.spears@browardschools.com

Westminster Academy: wilsonl@wa.edu

I wanted to have a murmur of Russian speech in the background of my opening scene. I got the Khaskin's (a Russian-speaking family) to record a variety of audio clips that I could edit for an authentic murmur in a Russian library. 

List of Extras

Isaiah Doldoron (Charter)

Allyse Doblmeier (Charter)

Marley Ackerman (Charter)

Jo (Charter)

Lexi Schwartzburg (MSD) (Will bring her well behaved, pitbull mutt dog for the match cut with the attack dog)

Joel Gamez (Charter)

Maya (MSD)

Hailey (MSD)

Andrea (MSD)

Ashley Buitrago (Calvary)

Diane Del Rio (Charter)

Soliel Escobar (Calvary Christian Academy)

Braylen Brooks (Charter)

Many of those who agreed to be extras left the group chat I made with all of them, but that is okay as I made sure to ask for a surplus of extras to compensate for people leaving. 

Those who showed up:

Isaiah Doldoron (Charter)

Marley Ackerman (Charter)

Lexi Schwartzburg (MSD) (Brought her well behaved, pitbull mutt dog for the match cut with the attack dog)

Joel Gamez (Charter)

Ashley Buitrago (Calvary) and her sister

Soliel Escobar (Calvary Christian Academy) (and her boyfriend)

Guard

I contacted my neighbor, Sargent Steve Davis about acting as the guard. He said that he sustained a debilitating hand injury and shouldn't move excessively, and since the role required running, he would have to ask someone else in his department. I followed up with him many times, but after about two weeks without reply, I went to my SRO (student resource officer). Officer Gasper told me he would ask Sargent Capplis, who is connected to community relations. Sargent Capplis told me he would be contacting his boss, who said that the officers cannot wear their uniforms during the shoot, but I said this was okay because I have a costume I want them to wear anyway. 

Just in case the officers could not fill the role, I asked my boyfriend to ask his dad to be the guard as his dad is tall, has a square jaw, and can look strict. He asked for more information, so I sent him the summary I had composed for all extra and other guard requests:

"Here is the basic summary for the film, which is entitled “Novikof” (the last name of the main character). 

The full movie takes place in the USSR (modern-day Russia) during the 1980’s, the height of the Cold War and Soviet communism. Armed guards. Attack dogs. Work camps. The like. A nobody teenager whose family has been ravaged by the government finds that he might be able to change this totalitarianism. He becomes a spy, carrying Soviet officer’s loose-lipped secrets to an experienced (historically-accurate) Russian double agent, who then takes the intelligence to Ronald Reagan, the US president. A lot of this is actual history." 

Then I sent him the movie posters and all of the shots he will be in. 

Other's Fan Casting on Pinterest:

While looking up "Novikof" of the web, I found someone in Russia who had made a collection of images of male models under the collection title "Novikof." It seemed like a fan cast from someone else in the world of my movie. This warmed my heart. I screenshotted some of the images that looked most like the character I picture:

These might impact my future casting choices. 

Color Philosophy/3 Color Rule

Because color has a huge impact in audience perception and feeling of a scene, I thought it vital to do research on just what colors I should choose. The obvious colors for my content are red and yellow, as those are the colors of the USSR flag. My research confirmed that these two colors give the audience the film's overall mood: aggression (red) and caution (yellow). Quite the spy movie colors I would say. 

The brown represents the leather, stability, and deep academia of Novikof. It also represents "old fashioned" undertones of Novikof's values. The red represents the new, American, free and in-your-face, liberal views, but Novikof's are deep, suggesting mixture with brown and surrounded in the brown of his room, desk, satchel, shoes, and tweed suit. Novikof's liberal beliefs are somewhat "muted" by his love for old Mother Russia. He gets this awe of the old fashioned from his idol, Russian author Solzhenitsyn. Libraries are also associated with the brown tones of parchment and leather-bound books. Novikof's first appearance in the movie is at a library. One gets the feeling (and Novikof's motif "Fooling Yourself" reiterates this) that Novikof is an "old soul," further backed by his brown theme. 

Vladimir Vetrov's color is yellow and brighter red. Yellow can mean happiness and warm, which is the face he tries to put on when he goes to parties and collects intelligence. But yellow can also be garish in high amounts, being fake and too flashy. Vladimir becomes more fake, especially to his girlfriend Ludmilla, throughout the movie. 

Rule of Three Colors

My Opening Scene: (Primary) brown, (secondary) red, (accent) yellow

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I chose these specific colors because the video takes place in the past and brown is associated with the past. The red and yellow signify the colors of the USSR and its flag, but the red also shows authority and power, which the USSR wanted to convey.  

How I will Incorporate This Into My Documentary:

Color Associations (theory/psychology):

(Content and quotes from research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM4fXB23pCQ)

The colors of a room affect how people feel; the color of food affects how it tastes; the color of one's clothing affects how attractive they are perceived to be. The culture one is raised in plays a large part in shaping one's impressions of color. (For example, red meaning good luck in Asian cultures and white meaning marriage and new life)

Used widely by marketing agencies to attract consumers and put a feeling toward a brand. 

The colors of kitchen walls can affect how much a person eats. Those who eat off of red plates eat less than those who eat off of white plates. Yellow and orange increase hunger and appetite. Colors can match scent. (Green and pine, blue and ocean, white and cotton, purple and lavender, red and apples) Some colors encourage happiness and sadness. 

There is a gender bias when it comes to favorite colors. One should not always chose to use their favorite colors in things because some colors can produce an unwanted emotion. If you do not like a certain color, it probably does little to make you happy. 

Colors can be stimulating or calming (ex- red is stimulating, blue/purple is calming)

Warm colors: yellow, red, orange (usually brighter, and too much of this color can be irritating)

Cool colors: purple, blue, green

Red: Power, aggression, energy, anger, loudness, love, passion, lust, stop. Products or packaging with red labels grabs attention, can make women look more attractive. 

Yellow: Encourages happiness, caution, warmth, but is best used in small amounts because a lot of yellow can be too bright

Black: Mystery, death, evil, emptiness, but could be elegance/formality, quality and sophistication (associated with high-end products), make people look more attractive. Associated with confidence and competence. 

Green: Calms due to its connection with nature and coolness. There is less effort needed to see the color green, so the muscles in the eyes don't have to work as hard. "Easy on the eyes," go, grow, perseverance, money, eco-friendly. Second favorite color among men and third among women. 

Purple: Encourages creative energy. Because it is made of red and blue, it gives bits of relaxation and encouragement (potential stimulation), royalty/luxury (persuades people to pay higher prices). Second most favorite color among women. It is the second most hated color among men. 

Orange: fairness, affordability, creativity, extravagance and uniqueness. Least popular color among women and second to least with men (tied with purple).

Blue: hints at the sky and sea, which naturally makes people calm. Ideal for emotions of relaxation and sleep. Can make men look more attractive. Encourages happiness across gender and cultural lines. 

White: purity, cleanliness, weddings and marriage, new life

Brown: antiques, old-fashioned, wood and leather (manliness), laziness, dirtiness, ugliness, bland, out-dated. Least popular color among men and second least for women. 

Adjacent colors (analogous colors): Colors that are near each other on the color wheel (ex- red and orange)

Complimentary colors: Across from each other on the color wheel (compliment each other)

Hue: One of the main properties of a color, the determination of the generalized color a color is. (red, yellow, green)

Saturation: Chromatic intensity, the degree of purity of a color. If a color is mixed with white, it is less saturated. If there is more of the color itself mixed in, then it is more saturated. 

Vibrance: Also chromatic intensity, but when increased, only increases the intensity of muted colors. 

Exposure: The lightness or darkness of a color

Contrast: The difference between the colors in the image

Highlights: The light parts of the image/color

Shadows: The dark parts of the image/color

HSL Secondary: Option in Adobe Premiere Pro where users can change/affect specific colors in a video

LUTs: Filters that can be added to videos and adjusted in intensity

Lighting

It is important to have good lighting on subjects and to use lighting and color to tell story. I researched different forms of lighting to best fit my storyline and shot-types (moving with a moving subject). 

(Content and quotes from research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGpDs4M6HQ)

There are 3 different lights (but really 4):

1. Fill Light - fill up the room, not very directional or focused on anything.

2. Key Light - directional, focused

3. Back Light (aka rim light, hair light, edge light) - the light behind and to the side of the subject, adds depth (3 dimensional as opposed to flat or 2 dimensional). Creates lighting on hair so it isn't a "dark clump." Shows nuances in texture and color. 

4. Background Lights (aka practicals) - lights that appear in the shot, are on-screen as opposed to off-screen

Goals: to highlight the subject, keep the background interesting. 

Limit bad lighting. So if your location has bad lighting, see if you can turn them off. 

Use a front-side key light (light the side of the face closer to the camera) to flat the face, which can help make an older person look younger. 

Far-side key lighting is more dramatic (light the side of the face farther from the camera), adds more depth and definition to the subject. 

By white-balancing a shot, camera determines one color (that the cinematographer chooses) will be white and then that shifts all the other colors the way the one color shifted to become pure white. (Can make everything warmer or cooler.)

By adding tungsten to the key light, adds orange tones to subject (or different depending on how the white balance changed the shot's colors). 

Keep in mind color theory and adjacent and complimentary colors. 

Use background lights to break up a frame, make it more complex and interesting. 

Use dimmers (very affordable) to dim down lights. (ex- lamps). 

Use foam core to cover light from specific sources that isn't wanted. 

Increasing size of the light can increase softness and wrap (smooth gradient of light over the subject). The more directional (comes with smaller lights) a light is, the more artificial it looks. Add a diffuser to fix this:

Fashion shoots often use soft-box lights without diffusers to show the smoothness of their skin. Hard lighting can enhance the beauty, but most need diffusion. 

Traditional Soft Box/6X6 Diffusion:

Frames are used to hold up diffusion rags. Don't need to set up the whole frame, just a "t-bone," rod on the top holds the diffusion rag (could be a shower curtain, sheet, table cloth etc.) held up by a vertical rod. Can use a 1/2 grid cloth. Increases softness and adds wrap. Increases the section of the subject's face in midtones (in between the deepest shadow and lightest highlight). 

Muslin fabric often used to diffuse light because the light travels only a short distance, making the light more creamy and soft and fall off, not hitting the background very hard. 

Booklight Setup:

 Increases evenness/softness. Take light, reflect it off of a bounce source and reflect the bounced light through diffusion. Better fills a diffusion frame uniformly. (Instead of light, diffusion, subject, it is light, diffusion, bounce, subject). 

Cove Light: 

*** (Increases the light's angle) Good for shooting people moving around in large locations, brings out the attractive qualities of people. Looks incredibly natural. Wraps a light source around subjects up to 90 degrees and creates a very attractive quality of light as it falls off around the face without a distinct shadow area. Use two light sources coming at slightly different angles and a bounce. 

Horizontally position foam cores and bend it to where the one side is at the edge of the frame and the other is back behind the camera. Adding a bedsheet to the foam core surface adds softness. Be sure to control the light spill with other, smaller foam cores if necessary.  

I purchased a Neewer RGB Led Video Light with APP Control, 360°Full Color, 50W 660 PRO Video Lighting Kit CRI 97+ for Gaming, Streaming, Zoom,Youtube, Webex, Broadcasting, Web Conference, Photography. (2 lights, cords, diffusers, and stands):

 I have purchased Neewer's light reflectors so that I can reflect the lighting already present in the library onto my main two actors. Since there is a lot of movements in the shots, some lighting set ups won't be possible or be effective. This is the best solution, as recommended by a friend I have in the audio production business attending Miami Art Institute. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075N96R2G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I will use my gear and have friends who often act as my crew to be lighting operators and move around the set, with my careful direction and eye for continuity to light my subjects. 

Rotoscoping and the Attack Dog VFX

Because I want to create a clear connection in Novikof's mind between his trauma's trigger (the happy regular dog) to his trauma (the vicious attack dog), I have come up with a special effect using rotoscoping. 

Rotoscoping is used to cut out pieces in a video from a background that is not one color (so you can't use chroma keying). 

I practiced this technique with my Evolution of Christmas music video.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02PAqissN3c

I downloaded the claymation video that Michael Buble was in, (White Christmas) and trimmed the video to the part where the claymation figure looked straight at the camera. I imported this 6 second clip to Adobe After Effects and clicked the "roto brush tool." 

On the first frame, I dragged the tool over Michael, selecting him. The program used tracking to try to select him the following frames, but often a bit of the multicolored and differently-focused background would be selected or some of him wouldn't be, so I went frame-by-frame (but could skip every two because the video was animated on 3's) clicking and dragging the roto brush tool over the parts of Michael the program didn't get and then holding the option bottom, clicking, and dragging the parts of the background that the program did select and shouldn't have. 

When I was finished with all of the frames, I clicked on the composition and then hit transparency. This made Michael on a transparent background. I exported this video making sure the in and out bars were at the beginning and ending of the clip. 

I then imported this short clip to Adobe Premiere Pro and played with the timing and reverse motion versions of this video, cutting, copying and pasting to create a string of footage that matched what Michael was saying in my audio. 

Application to Novikof:

I will rotoscope both of the elements in Novikof's traumatic flashbacks (the attack dog and the swinging investigation lamp) from footage I will take using Adobe After Effects, then I will import them to Adobe Premiere and further edit them. 

Attack Dog:

My other police officer neighbor has a large german shepherd dog that is kept in their backyard and will bark and become very easily vicious whenever I walk my small dog by his house. The dog has a history of extreme aggression and broke my dog's tail once and bit his head, drawing blood. I plan to walk by the house with my dog and camera and record the dog through my neighbor's gate and then apply to footage to the opening scene. My dog will not be harmed by this in any way, as the german shepherd will be within his protective gate. 

The minute I filmed this, another neighborhood dog walked past the house and the german shepherd. This got a very good reaction from her. Here are some of the raw frames from the footage:

I imported that raw footage into Adobe After Effects, creating a new composition with the proper settings. I used the roto brush to rotoscope the dog out of the shot, carefully looking through each frame to be sure the right parts were selected. I hit freeze frame, telling After Effects that I was finished with the rotoscoping. Then I went back to the main composition and exported the video on a black background so I could "color key" on Premiere Pro the background and get a nice thinned edge and feather. Then I added this over the original, nice dog footage and color corrected the attack dog roto. I added the same amount of gaussian blur that I did for the nice dog. 

Deciding I wanted to remove the nice dog from its background so flash shots of the attack dog, I right clicked on the nice dog footage, and replaced the video with an After Effect composition. I used the new content-aware video tool and masked out the dog and the owner, keying the mask path to surround them both. I then chose the content-aware settings: 

Alpha Expansion: 10

Fill Method: Object

Range: Work Area

Then I took this background footage and went back to Premiere to further edit the timing and movement and any overlays to connect the nice dog and attack dog footage with smoother transitions that make the audience see the traumatic connection in Novikof's mind.

I overlaid shots of my dad's Jeep to add a creepy car and lights feeling to the shots and further cover the imperfect content aware fill created because of how big the part I was covering was.  

After Effects Tutorial: Content-Aware Fill for Videos!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NSVDbuwpyQ&t=311s

This is how I made the attack dog effect. 

Sound Vocabulary

The entire soundtrack of a film is made of 3 elements: the human voice, sound effects, and music. Since my opening has one piece of score for its entire duration and music drives the mood and story, it was crucial that I picked the right sound. 

(Content and quotes from research: https://prezi.com/6s2sd_3rhjyc/film-sound/)

1. Diegetic Sound - sound that has an on-screen source and belongs to the world of the film 

2. Non-diegetic Sound - sound that does not have an on-screen source and the characters on-screen don't hear it

3. Synchronous Sound - sounds matching what is viewed

4. Asynchronous Sound - not matched with the visual source of sound on-screen

5. Sound Effects/Foley Artists - artificially created or enhanced sounds or sound processes used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows,  live performance, animation, video, games, or other media; those who create foley, recording sound effects from either items and action thats are what they are meant to sound like or aren't (ex- punching steak for a person, breaking celery for bones)

6. Sound Motif - a sound effect or combination of sound effects that are associated with a particular character, setting, situation, or idea in the film. They condition the audience emotionally for the interventional, arrival, or actions of a particular character. 

7. Sound Bridge - built for continuity. The sound from one scene is carried into the next scene. 

8. Dialogue - authenticates the speaker as an individual or a real person rather than the imaginary creation of a storyteller. Serves to tell the story and expresses feelings and motivations of characters well. Often with film characterization the audience perceives little or no difference between the actor and character. 

9. Voice Over - (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) a production technique where a voice (non-diegetic) is used in a radio, television production, film etc. May be spoken by someone who appears elsewhere or by a specialist (voice actor). Pre-recorded and often placed on top of a film or video (commonly used in documentaries and news reports). 

10. Direct Address - When characters speak directly to camera/audience, acknowledging their presence (aka breaking the fourth wall)

11. Sound Perspective - The volume of a sound's position in space, manipulated by volume, timbre, pitch, and, in stereophonic reproduction systems, binaural information. Used to create a more realistic sense of space, with events happening (that is, coming from) closer or further away.

12. Sound Mixing - Done in post-production, a multitude of recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are commonly manipulated and effects such as reverberation might be added.  

13. Soundtrack - can be 1. recorded music accompanying and synchronized to images of a motion picture, 2. commercially released soundtrack album of music of music as feature din the soundtrack of a film or tv show. 3. the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized, recorded sounds. 

5 types of soundtrack recordings: musical film soundtracks, film scores, albums of pop songs in the background of non-musical films, video game soundtracks, albums that contain both music and dialogue from the film.

14. Score - Music written and played to go along with what happens in the film, not meant to stand alone away from the film. 

15. Incidental Music - often "background" music and adds atmosphere to the action. May take the form of something as simple as a low ominous tone etc. 

16. Theme - a work that represents the performance, often played at the beginning or end. Elements of the theme may be incorporated into other incidental music used during the performance. Often played during credit rolls. 

Examples of films with famous themes: 

17. Stings - a short musical phrase primarily used in broadcasting and film of punctuation. (Might be used to introduce a regular section of a show or at the end of a scene or as a dramatic climax is imminent. 

Another form of a sting, often misnamed "rimshot," is used only in comedy and and played just on percussion instruments as a payoff after the delivery of a punchline. 

Can be used in any genre, Is part of the director's lexicon. Often builds tension. 

18. Ambient Sound - the background sounds which are present in a scene or location. Common ambient sounds include wind, water, birds etc. 

19. Contrapuntal Sound - Music that goes against the mood in the scene (ex - happy music during a torture scene)

Sound helps create meaning by displaying underlying psychological refinements (unspoken thoughts or unseen implications of a situation), showing emotion, creating continuity, creating build-up or finality, setting period, parallel action, and character identification, serving as a neutral background filler, and establish genre.

Application to Novikof:

I will have non-diegetic sound as the score (Grunge x Alternative Rock Type Beat - Benzin (prod. Erlax)), which is considered a film score, plays over the scene. I will also have diegetic sounds like Novikof's foot falls, the murmuring in Russian of the crowds, the sounds of the elevator opening and closing, and the book jacket opening. The sounds of the attack dog barking and the screams and yells of the guards in the interrogation room during the flashbacks in a very distorted way aren't truly diegetic or non-diegetic, so that is interesting. They are, however, synchronous. 

I will add sound effects (the crowds murmuring in Russian) and foot falls while Garrett runs through the crowds outside the library to it. Since there is an aerial shot and long shots, I cannot capture the sound easily from far away, so it will be foley. The murmuring of the crowds and Garrett's breath while Novikof does some deep breathing is also considered ADR (additional dialogue recording). 

While Novikof's character does have a sound motif (Fooling Yourself by Styx) it is not part of the opening. 

I will be playing with sound perspective a lot, however, making the sound of the murmuring come from far away and surrounding Novikof as he runs through the library. 

I did perform some sound mixing when I made the score shorter and gave it a pause in the middle of the scene for Novikof's deep breath, adding to the tension of the scene. The movie does not yet have a theme, but it will when it is produced on a big budget. 

Sound Effects - Sound Art Activity

Because I need to have natural sound in my opening scene to draw the audience into the story more, I created a story with just sound. My opening film will have no dialogue, so this make this particularly useful. 

Forget Me Not - An Audio Story by Savannah Cox and Marley Ackerman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZKF1ZxKq4w

The sounds present within these scenes are birds chirping, a phone ringer, a clock ticking, the sounds of brushing one's teeth (clink of the porcelain cup with the brush, turning on the sink's water, brushing, spitting, tapping the brush), opening a door, typing elevator buttons, an elevator arriving and opening its doors, elevator music, the closing and lowering of the elevator, passing through a circle door with air rushing by, opening an umbrella, rain drops, the bell from an opening shop door, shaking off an umbrella by opening and closing it, putting down said umbrella, opening shop door and bell, dialing 911, dial tone, slamming down a phone, hard rain, bike and cars riding by, police sirens, wind, stepping on crunching leaves, car driving up on wet road, car stopping on grass and its motor running, opening car door, closing handcuffs, car door closing, starting up car engine, riding away in car. 

The plot I conveyed with these sounds was someone getting woken up on a bright and beautiful morning hearing some sad news and time passing in a sad way. The person who has been living in his home/apartment over this time has been doing mundane things (like brushing his teeth) but not getting happier. He decides to go down the elevator and exit the apartment, down a rainy street with an umbrella to a shop. (It is assumed this is a flower shop.) He goes inside, putting the umbrella down and hurriedly taking flowers from the store leaves without paying for it. The store employee then calls 911 and when the man leaves the cops follow. The rain is heavy, but dies down after the man travels down the busy street to a grassy area with a lot of leaves (assumed to be a cemetery or a park). The police drive onto the cemetery grounds and cuff the man and drive him away. 

Outline Format of 0:42-1:43

Scene: Brushing Teeth and Riding Elevator

1. Brushing Teeth

A. Clink of picking up the tooth brush from the porcelain cup

B. Turning on sink faucet

C. Brushing teeth

D. Turning off sink faucet

E. Spitting

F. Tapping tooth brush on side of sink 

2.  Riding Elevator

A. Opening and closing door of apartment

B. Typing in floor level to wall near elevator entrance and doors opening

C. Elevator music

D. Elevator Moving 

E. Elevator doors  opening and closing

I created many of these sounds (umbrella opening and closing, the tooth brushing scene, the opening and closing of doors) by doing these activities in the exact timing I needed them and by recording with my Rode boom mic. I edited these sounds and those that I used from royalty free sounds on YouTube and Epidemic Sound in Adobe Audition. 

I'm using layers voice recordings of people speaking Russian in different levels and with different intensity/frequency to create a more realistic atmosphere/setting. 

10 Shots/Shots (Vocabulary) and Camera Movements (Vocabulary)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcimxIgR6Mg&t=99s

Scene 1: Close Up/Tracking

This shot introduces the time period as the shoes are clearly reminiscent of the Victorian Era. By letting the shoes walk off screen, the shot shows that the actress is walking past and has a specific place to be, but by tracking them for a time, the shot shows briskness and purpose. It also allows for the name of the actress to be revealed as the black text (matching the shoes and dress) is typed on the lighter pinkish background. 

Scene 2: Medium Shot

This shot introduces more of the actress, showing the black clothing and black umbrella in the perfectly clear sky, indicating mourning and a period work. It also has symmetrical framing from the sides of the house and the bushes. 

Scene 3: Establishing Shot

This establishes the setting of the piece. It was filmed outside Lexi Schwartzburg's house to show that the rest of the video takes place inside her house. I was acting in this shot and had Marley Ackerman film it, holding her hands as still as possible for lack of a gimbal/tripod. The framing shows the actress in the exact middle to highlight the house's symmetry. 

Scene 4: Medium Close Up Shot

This shows the audience the newspaper from which the information is conveyed to both the audience and the other actress. This shot allows for the cut on action to transition to the next shot. It is also nicely framed by bushes, keeping with the symmetrical framing from the previous shot. 

Scene 5: POV Shot

This allows the audience to see what the actress sees, roving over the newspaper smoothly as eyes might. By showing the article of the person's death before the other actress sees it, I create dramatic irony and show why the other actress gets upset in the next few shots without telling. I made the article and edited the photo of my boyfriend in photoshop and laid it over a newspaper I had. I also color corrected this scene to better match the separate paper to the newspaper. 

Scene 6: Over the Shoulder Shot

This shot shows the audience what the actress is looking at. It also allows the audience not to see the first actress' face (showing that she is a minor and flat character) and will (in the later over the shoulder shot here) allow the audience to see the full face of the second actress, which is the major, round character in the piece. Since the sleeve of the dress is able to be seen, the audience is still reminded of the black color of mourning and the time period. 

Scene 7: Wide Shot

This shot shows the audience the new location while also introduces the new character. It is close enough to show the actress and her hair/clothing (in keeping with the Victorian period aesthetic), but also far enough to show location. The same door is shown as in the other scene, showing this is the other side of the door. 

Scene 8: Low Angle

This shot gives the audience a jarring, distorted effect, which represents the jolt that the actress feels when she sees the newspaper article. It allows both the inside and the outside of the house's doorway to be shown (half of the shot in each), linking the past shots with those that are coming after this one. This shot also allows for the newspaper to cover the camera in darkness, so as to both form a transition for the next shot and allow the audience to focus on the audio in the shot as that is all that is provided when there is only a black screen. 

Scene 9: Arch Shot

This camera movement moves beyond the 180 degree rule, moving fully around the character, creating a parallax that focuses the audience's attention on the character and creates a blurred, fast-moving background, disorienting the audience as the character changes and thinks unnerving thoughts. 

Scene 10: High Angle

This shot gives the audience more of a sense of the scene, showing the location from up high rather than just around eye level. This continues to remind the audience of the period of the piece. 

Shots Vocabulary:

(Content and quotes from research: https://prezi.com/o-u2nd7jr8o0/camera-shots-angles/)

Establishing Shot - the shot that sets the general location and mood of the movie.

Master Shot - a film recording of the entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. 

Close up - tightly frames a person or object

Mid shot - shows some part of the subject in more detail, whist still showing enough for the audience to feel as if they were looking at the whole subject

Long shot (Wide shot or full shot) - typically shows the entire object or human figure, usually intended to place it within its surroundings. 

Wide shot - The subject takes up the whole frame. 

Two-shot - camera shot with two people in a single frame. 

Aerial shot - shot from a longer distance above. (can be straight on, just is in the air)

Point-of-view shot - shows subject's perspective. 

Over-the-shoulder shot - framed from behind a person who is looking at the subject. The person facing the subject should usually occupy one third of the screen. 

Split Diopter shot - using a split diopter lens, the camera can be near-sighted in one half of the frame and far-sighted in the other. (This is a half lens, so the lens focuses on the background and the diopter on the foreground.) This can add hyperrealism to an emotional moment. 

Arc shot - a shot in which the subject is circled by the camera 

(and a paralax is like this, but the subject is moved around at a different speed from the background, so it draws attention to the subject)

Money shot - a shot that is expensive to shoot but deemed worth it for its potential to wow, startle, or generate interest. 

Sequence shot - A long shot that covers a scene in its entirety in one continuous sweep without ending

Deep focus shot -  a shot that keeps the foreground, middle ground, and background in sharp focus

Tanted/slanted/dutch tilt angle - shot that is tilted back or to the side (either in the x or z axis)

God's eye view/bird's eye view - shot right above the action looking down. 

Low angle - shot from low looking up

High angle - shot from high looking down

Movements Vocabulary:

(Content and quotes from research: https://prezi.com/qfz4gyhufoje/camera-movements/)

Pan - horizontal movement left and right

Tilt - vertical movement of the camera angle (ex - pointing the camera up and down, as opposed to moving the whole camera up and down)

Dolly - The camera is mounted on a cart on a track/slider/gimbal which travels to the side in a very smooth movement

Tracking shot (trucking shot) - similar to the dolly shot, but stays a constant distance from the action, especially side-to-side movement. 

Crane - a shot taken by a camera on a crane or jib (a boom device with a camera on one end)

Steadicam - a brand of camera stabilizing mount for motion picture cameras that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement. It allows for a smooth shot, even when moving quickly over an uneven surface. (Invented by cameraman Garrett Brown and introduced in 1975.)

Zoom - (technically not a camera movement) a change in the lens focal length which gives the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away (zoom in/out). 

Zoom lens - a lens assembly allowing for adjustable focal length. 

Digital zoom - an electronic emulation of focal length change. 

Reverse zoom (Dolly zoom/Vertigo effect) - (technically not a camera movement) a change in the lens focal length which gives the illusion of moving the camera closer or further away (zoom in/out). 

Zoom lens - a lens assembly allowing for adjustable focal length. 

Digital zoom - an electronic emulation of focal length change. 

But the difference between the reverse zoom and the zoom is that in the reverse zoom, the background zooms at a different rate than the foreground (or the foreground might not do any zooming at all).