Two different genre of my film. Birth and Death by Scrabble.

In my MA phase, I have done two films. One is Birth, it tells a story about a man was saved and asked to help save his relationship with his girlfriend. The story is written by my friend Roy. It is a little complex because there are 4 actors in the film and I just explain 3 actors' relationship by some actions and dialogue.

The Death by Scrabble is telling a story about a mid-aged man wants to make his wife die and they are playing the scrabble game. The story is written by Charlie Fish. It got 2 actors and in the same room so it is easier than the first one.

To compare the two films:

From the directing:

In "Birth", the actors are both Chinese, so I can direct them easily. I make a rehearsal before I start to shoot, that can help a lot to find out which part I need to consider more. Also I teach the actors to use body language to express feelings, but it is not enough.

In "Death by Scrabble", the actor is from Greece, sometimes there are some misunderstandings of the words, but finally when I show the action to the actors, they can understand. So the body language in this film is including in the whole film.

From the story:

In "Birth", the story is written by my friend Roy, the relationship is complex, it is more like a Chinese story. In the film maybe the relationship is not clear enough, sometimes it will make the actor feel confused.

In "Death by Scrabble", the story is very clear. However, the problem is I need to find a way to express the actor's inner feelings.

From the camera position:

In "Birth", I use a lot of long shots to display the actions made by actors, some close shot to express the expressions on actor's face to show their body language.

In "Death by Scrabble", I use a lot of close up shots and close shots, it is useful for creating a tense situation. The close up shots can express actions well.

From the editing:

In "Birth", I think the color grading is light because it is a romance genre, also some body language in it. So the color in this film is light.

In "Death by Scrabble", I think I can use color grading to create suspense, meanwhile the use of body language works well.

To conclude, the two films are different from genre. At first I try to focus on body language, so I shoot the "Birth". After shooting I find out it can't express body language well. So I find the story "Death by Scrabble" and begin to finish the film. The "Death by Scrabble" I decide to avoid using dialogue and voice-over, just using body language for story telling. It works,and I have tested it with some audiences, the body language can improve the suspense in the film.

Testing the film- Death by Scrabble

I send the link to the Charlie Fish who writes the story. I got the comments here:

The story on which the film is based contains a lot of inner monologue from the protagonist’s point of view. I think you did a good job of converting that inner monologue into actions and body language on-screen without resorting to voiceovers or too much dialogue, and without violating the protagonist’s point of view. Well done!


Also, I gave the questionnaire to some audience, the range of their age is from 18-25 years old. Some audiences didn't know the film's meaning. Some audiences thought the body language can make the film more suspense. Some audiences thought the music played a role in creating the atmosphere of suspense.

To conclude, the testing is a good try to let me know the feelings of being an audience. I should have pay more attention on body language, and make it work. Anyway, this film is my final film of my MA study and I really do a film with body language in it. As Charlie said, I use actions and body language to convert actor's inner monologue on screen. I think learn the theory and finally act on the film is a good way to study film. I will continue my work to make film better.

New version of my questionnaire

An investigate of my film work DEATH BY SCRABBLE

film link:  http://youtu.be/MMR-z_rpdEc

Author: Changliang Li (Lee)

My project is focusing on body language. Body language is obvious in our daily life. If you notice it, it can help you know more about your relationship.

1. How old are you? (  )

A. under 18    B. 18-25   C. 25-30  D. over 30

2. Your gender. (  )

A. male    B. famale

3. Can you understand the story?(  )

A. Yes  B. No

4. What genre do you think the film is? (  )

A. Comedy B. Suspense C. Thriller D. Romance

5. Do you notice some body language the actors used? (  )

A. Yes  B. No

6. What kind of feelings do you think the actions of the actors made in the film? (      )        (Multiple choice )

A. Disgust   B. Fear   C. Surprise   D. Suspense

7. If you notice the body language from the actor, do you think it can help the storytelling? (   )

A. Yes    B. No

8. If so, which elements does the body language  improve the film? (   )

A. camera composition   B. Music  C. Plot.   

D. Color

9. In the film there are some elements to present the suspense. Which one do you think can make you think about suspense? (        ) (Multiple choice )

A. Music.    B. Plot.     C. Dialogue  D. Color.

10. Please leave any comments here, it is important for my project. Thanks!

Questionnaire of my film: Death by Scrabble

An investigate of my film work DEATH BY SCRABBLE

film link:  http://youtu.be/MMR-z_rpdEc

Author: Changliang Li (Lee)

1. How old are you? (  )

A. under 18    B. 18-25   C. 25-30  D. over 30

2. Your gender. (  )

A. male    B. famale

3. Can you understand the story?(  )

A. Yes  B. No

4. What genre do you think the film is? (  )

A. Comedy B. Suspense C. Thriller D. Romance

5. Do you notice some actions made by actors? (  )

A. Yes  B. No

6. What kind of feelings do you think the actions of the actors made in the film? (      )        (Multiple choice )

A. Disgust   B. Fear   C. Surprise   D. Suspense

7. In the film there are some elements to present the suspense. Which one do you think can make you think about suspense? (        ) (Multiple choice )

A. Music.    B. Plot.     C. Dialogue  D. Color.

8. Please leave any comments here, it is important for my project. Thanks!

some part of my film: Birth

Here is the scene Susie invites Nick to her room and Nick finds a chance to change the key. I change the script because I can't find more people to be the actors, so I change the party into a dinner. Nick wants Susie to drink more so he can change the key.

The problem is the light is different when actor is inside the room and outside the room. So maybe I can adjust it in the same light in post-production. Also the sound is the other problem, even I use radio mic to record the sound, but the volume is low.

I will finish the editing in next week, and find if I need some shots. Also I need to edit death by scrabble before 14th of July so I can check the film and plan to test the audience.

Death by scrabble -- shooting plan.

Death

1 full shot   emply shot.   outside the house

2 mid shot  Aris and Tina are playing scrabble.

3 from top to bot (Aris wants to go out, so he do foot tapping) close up  Aris's feet.

4 mid shot   Aris speaks to a milkman.(past)

5 close shot.  Aris holds a lot of letters.

6 close shot  Aris plays first with BEGIN. With N on the little pink star. and got 21 points

7 Aris's pov  Close shot  Tina smug's face.

8 pov Aris     Close shot  Tina rearranges her letters.

9 close up   Aris's thinking. His head turns up and smiles.

10  close shot  from Aris' s shoulder   Tina plays JINXED with the J on a double-letter score. 30 point.

11 close shot  Aris's reaction. His feats clenched.

12 close shot  Aris's thinking, he plays MURDER.

13 close shot  Aris chews U letter and plays WARMER for 22 points. and keep chewing.

14 close shot  (T)Aris's thinking. letters KILL and STAB  TINA.

15 mid shot  (T)Aris stands and beats Tina.

16 pov of Aris  a bee flying into Tina's throat.

17 close shot   Tina plays SWEATIER and get 24 points plus a 50 points bonus.

18 Close up   Aris gets sweatier. He wipes his forehead.

19 Close shot   Aris plays HUMID. U from his mouth. He gets 22 points.

20 close up   Tina says lousy letters.

21 close up   Aris hates her more.

22 Mid shot  Tina plays FAN, with F on a double-letter.

23 mid shot  Tina gets up to fill the kettle and turn on the air conditioning.

24 Close shot  Aris plays ZAPS, with the Z doubled.

25 close shot  Tina gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit.

26 close shot  Aris satisfies.

27 mid shot  Tina sits back

28 close shot  Tina sits back and plays her letters.

29 Close up  Aris's thoats.

30 mid shot. (T) Aris jump out of his chair, spilling the scrabbles over the floor and hitting Tina.

31 close up  Aris clenched fist release.

32 close up  Aris heart beating.

33 close up  The kettle starts whistling.

34 Close shot Tina plays READY on a double-word for 18 points.

35 mid shot  Tina gets up and pour a cup of tea.

36 close up  Aris steals a blank tile from the letter bag. and throw back a V from my rack.

37 close up  Tina a suspicious look.

38 close shot  Aris plays CHEATING using the A of READY 64 point. including 50-points bonus. Aris smiles.

39 close up  Tina : are u cheated?

40 close shot Tina plays IGNORE on the triple-word for 21 points.

41 close up   The score is 153 for Tina  155 for Aris.

42 close up  The steam rising from the cup of tea.

43 close shot  Aris plays letters then plays SLEEP.

44 close shot  Aris plays all his letters. EXPLODES, using X of JINXED. 72 points.

45 close up   After Aris puts the last letter down, the air conditioning unit bangs.

46 close shot  Aris could not believe what happened.

47 close shot  Tina plays SIGN, with the N on a triple-letter for 10 points.

48 close shot  Aris see his rack. ABQYFWE. He picks B to chew.

49 close shot  Aris plays FLY, using L of EXPLODES and close his eyes.

50 pov of Aris. Aris opens his eyes, there is a fly buzzing.

51 close shot  Tina plays CAUTION, using a blank tile for the N. 18 points.

52 close up   Aris sees his rack again, and thinking again.

53 close shot  Aris is hit by an idea. He plays QUAKE for 19 points.

54 close up   Aris's arm shaking.

55 close shot  Tina plays DEATH for 34 points, the room starts to shake.

56 close shot  Aris is surprised by the shake. His B gets lodged in his throat.

57 close up   Aris tries to cough.

58 close up   Aris face goes red.

59 close up   Aris clawing at his neck.

60 pov of Aris  He falls to the floor. Tina sits there and watching.

(T) means  thinking shot.

a footage of shooting

Here is a shot of the tram coming. I am not sure this is convincing. Maybe I will use some editing skills to fix it.

At first I think the lights around the street may not work for the camera. But it looks nice. I just adjust the iso and iris of the camera.

I will continuing the shooting of my film. There are some changes because of the actor's time is changed, so I need more days to shoot.

Anyway, it is a good try of shooting at night.

Editing test- color grading

Here is the test of using color grading. I am not sure this color I adjust it is appropriate. I use fast color correction to adjust the color.

I pick up a part from my short film 'two thieves'. I use blue color to enhance the atmosphere. It is a good test I think, but I still have a lot work to deal with, like what kind of color is fit for the film.

Birth- second draft

EXT.STREET.night


Nick is drunk, he hangs around in the street. There is a car coming, Ren helps Nick avoid it.

Ren

Are you alright?

Nick

H mm..... Where am I?

Ren

What a drunker. Let me send you home.

Nick

OK.

EXT.STREET.DAY


There is a phone call ringing, Nick picks up, gets a smoke and talks.

Nick

I promise no one knows, after this we are done.(smoke)

INT.CORRIDOR.DAY


Susie runs out from her room with Terry. Nick meets them on his way home,he hears a loud music from Susie's room.

SUSIE

Hi, Nick. Are you all right?

NICK

I am fine. What are you doing?

TERRY

Susie has a party inside her room, why not joining us?

NICK

OK, I'd love to.

INT.Susie's room.day


Susie is serving Nick solicitous. Terry is not satisfied with it. Terry boozes and nags.


Susie lets her friends to leave because she wants sleep.


Terry is drunk. Nick helps him to walk.

SUSIE

I am sorry I need to sleep. You guys can come tomorrow for my birthday.

Nick

OK, I will.

SUSIE

Nick, can you help Terry, he is drunk.

Nick

I will send him home. Don't worry.

INT.CORRIDOR.DAY


Nick helps Terry walk. Terry runs out from Nick, Nick catches up with Terry and use his hand grabbing Terry's neck.


INT.CORRIDOR.DAY


Nick pull a big bag to his room door, he wipes sweat, and looks inside his room, there is a box in his room.


INT.NICKS ROOM.DAY


Susie comes to knock Nick's room.Nick sees her from the door eye and he puts the bag and box in his bathroom.Then he opens the door.

Susie

Hi, Nick. Have you seen Terry these days? I lose in touch with him.

Nick

No, I haven't seen him but I will find him.

Susie

OK. Will you come tonight for dinner?

Nick smiles.


INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.Night


Susie is telling jokes and making others laugh. Nick plans to go bathroom, Susie tells him its occupied. Nick tells her he is back to his room.


INT.NICK'S ROOM.night


Nick opens his door, and use the stick to keep the door open.


INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.NIGHT


Susie is going to send her friends out. Nick is grabbing Susie's purse without noticing, changing his door key with Susie's and putting it back. Then he goes out with others.

SUSIE

You must come tomorrow! It's my birthday.

Nick

You have my word. Just nighty-night.

INT.CORRIDOR.DAY

The clock rings, Nick gets up, use stick to keep the door open, then goes to the stair hiding and waiting Susie. Susie goes down stairs with her phone.

SUSIE

What? If you don't come, I will cancel the birthday!

After Nick sees Susie leaveing, Nick goes back room, takes out the black bag, but he forgets the stick so the door locks.He waves his head. Then he takes the bag to Susie's room.


EXT.STREET.DAY


Susie meets Terry in the street, she finds Terry bruising.

SUSIE

What's wrong with you?

TERRY

Nothing, I just fall down.(hum and haw) Happy birthday.

Terry gives his gift, then he turns around to go.

Susie

Thank you. Where are you going? Come with me to put the gift, and go shopping.

Terry is flattered by her words, and goes with Susie.


INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.DAY


Nick is doing his work in the dark room. When he is thinking he hears some sound outside the door. He becomes careful and walk towards the doorway lightly.


Susie and Terry are at the doorway. Susie use her key to open the door, but it doesn't work.


Nick listens through the door.


Susie tries again but no response.

SUSIE

Let's call Nick, maybe he has solution.

Nick hears it, and go inside to set his phone in silence mode, put it in the bed, then goes back to the doorway.


Terry makes a suggestion for Susie to find the reception, but Susie tells him it closes on weekends.


Susie becomes impatient, walks around to think of the solution.

TERRY

Could we call the company for paying them to open the door? I will pay it because it's your birthday.

Nick is surprised.

Susie

Never mind, let's go shopping.

INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.DAY


Nick makes a call, then continues his work.


EXT.STREET.DAY


Ren comes out from the station, gets a cab in a hurry


INT.CAFE.DAY


Susie and Terry enter a cafe. Susie receives a call, it's Nick.

Nick

Sorry, I was asleep, so missed your call. What's up?

Susie

All right. My key can't open my door, so Terry and me are waiting in the cafe.

NIck

I got it. Wait for me, I have some solutions.

Susie

OK.

Nick finds them at cafe, Terry is angry but he holds back. Nick notices and ignore him, begins to ask Susie.

NICK

What if is the magnetic stripe does not work? I met the problem before, we can try again later.

Susie

OK. Let's go.

Nick

Wait a while. I want have breakfast here.

Terry

It is not your birthday, you are not worry.(angry)

Nick

I know a friend he works at the unlocking company, if I can't open I can call him with low cost.

Terry sits back and has no words. Susie is relax.


Nick finishes his food, and talk with Susie and Terry. Nick orders another coffee, glances his phone.

SUsie

Is your friend reliable?

Nick

Yes, he is.

Nick gets the coffee, his phone rings.

Nick

OK, let's go.

Terry

What about the coffee?

Nick

You can drink it.

Terry confuses.


INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.DAY


They stop at the doorway, Nick ask Susie to give her key, Terry is impatient. Nick squats down to tie his shoes. Then Nick use the key open the door, and ask Susie in. The room is dark with the curtains closed.

Susie open the light, Ren comes out with flowers. Susie is surprised then smile with tears.


Nick nods to Ren, closes the door and leaves with Terry.


Terry is stunned.


INT.NICK'S ROOM.DAY


(Flashback) Nick receives a bag with decorations, flowers and a letter. Nick puts the key under the door when he finishes the decorating.


INT.SUSIE'S ROOM.DAY


Susie hugs Ren.

Blue ruin- a suspense film

I saw this film last week, it is directed by Jeremy Saulnier. The story is a mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

There is a scene without dialog, just the actor's action with some music. I like it and it related to my project. Using action for storytelling is a good way to enhance the emotion of the film. I am going to design a scene like this, just using actions for the story. However, there is some disadvantage of this film. The rhythm of this film is slow, and the connections between the people is not clear enough.

The color of this film is amazing. There are some scenes using blue as the background, this color can improve the atmosphere of the tense, but I don't know how to shoot the film in blue color.

So the film is a good example from the color and some scenes, but the story should make it more clear and the guns and blood are not suitable for students' work. It is just providing some idea of my final film, I need more focus on my script.

After reading the book- the Film director's intuition

It is written by Judith Weston, I just read Chapter 10: Question everything. There are some questions to ask about the characters. He said :"Every time you ask one of these or any other questions about the character, ask it also about yourself."

I pick up some of the questions which relating to my work. Like : Look for ways that he makes mistakes. I use it in my practice: 'two thieves', I ask Roy for look for ways that he makes mistakes to show his careless. He shows me some actions to make mistakes, like use tools to knock the box, and drink water when he enters the room. 

The second one is how is the character different at the end of the script (or scene) than at the beginning? I ask Roy about it in my second practice :'a drop water', he told me he became hopeless about the broken water-tap because he run out of his strength for fixing it. Then I realize the emotion change from the beginning and the end.

I have not finished this book yet, so I need find more intuition for directors directing actors.

The double- a suspense film

This week I go to Broadway to watch 'The double', it is directed by Richard Ayoade,it tells a story about Simon is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams. He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James, serves to upset the balance. James is both Simons exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simons horror, James slowly starts taking over his life.

I find it is interesting because it includes body language and suspense. For body language, I remember there is a scene in a bar, Simon and James are talking and their face are different. Simon and James is the same person with same face but different character, Simon shows his powerless by his emotions, but for James his emotion is very confident.

Here are the comparison between Simon and James' emotions. The first is Simon, his finger is moving to show his powerless, and his face is nervous.

The second is James, there is a little contempt on his face, and his tone is strong to show his confident.

For suspense, this film use fast rhythm violin to show the film rhythm, I think it is useful and powerful to show suspense. Also, use two character in one scene is an effective way.

To conclude, it is a useful film for my project with body language, and the use of music to enhance suspense.

The book: Understanding Body Language

I finish this book, and I find some chapters are useful for my project.

The first one I have mentioned in the formal journal, so I am going to the second one. It is about the hand signals:

clenched hands: when speaking, clenched hands indicate that what is being talked about is frustrating, or was a painful experience.

hiding the thumbs inside the fist: difficulty in analyzing a problem.

rubbing the hands together: quick rubbing indicates a pleasurable sense of satisfaction or expectation, while slow rubbing or wringing of the hands reveals that a 'con' is about to be perpetrated.

hands pressed together, as if in prayer: demonstrates a desire to persuade, or underline a point gently but firmly.

The third one is how to spot a liar. The nervous system is the most important. A dry mouth, produced by fear, will cause the liar to lick his or her lips more often- and perhaps swallow nervously. There may be more throat-clearing than usual too. Breathing may become more uneven- another stress reaction which is easily observed. Meantime, the feet and legs are the most difficult parts of your body to control consciously. When someone chooses to lie during a conversation, he or she will often suddenly cross arms or legs simultaneously. It suggests advance self-defense against challenge.And tell-tale foot signals may include feet pointing towards the exit- revealing a desire to escape the situation - or a lot of foot tapping or jabbing movements in the air, meaning that the person wants to get out.

To conclude, it is a very useful book for body language, and I have learn the knowledge of the eyes, the hands and how to spot a liar by watching the body languages. Also I want create a liar in my film, so this knowledge is useful for that character and make me control it.

a drop water- second practice.

This is the second practice, I use one actor and try to find his respond to a sound. So I decide to make him respond to a broken water-tap.

Comparing the two practice, I improve my directing skills. In the first practice, I spoke with two actors,so that I needed to understand their thoughts about the characters. However, in the second practice, I just spoke with one actor, it is easier to understand his thoughts.

As for the camera, in the first practice, I put the camera behind the box so that I can see the two actors' face and emotions, and I use close-up shots on the main actor. In the second practice, I use two different angles to show the actor's respond to the broken water-tap. In the end I use blur to show the actor is helpless with the broken water-tap.

To conclude, it is a useful way to practice. I learn how to direct the scenario, how to communicate with actor. The way I speak to my actors is from the book called <The film director's intuition>, there is a chapter about question everything. I speak with Roy and Terry in my first practice, they tell me about how they think of their character. So I create two thieves with different character. So I use the knowledge in my directing actors. It is useful.

The Book Thief- a warm film.

I go to Broadway Cinema today to watch 'The Book Thief'. It is directed by Brian Percival, it is adapted by a novel with same name. It tells a story about a spirited and courageous young girl who transforms the lives of everyone around her when she is sent to live with a foster family in World War II Germany.

As for the actors' acting, i have to say it is great! The little girl is fully acted the character, and she shows a brave and strong girl.Her body language is well, too.There is a scene when max got sick, she slipped into the house for stealing books. She was focusing on every details so that the host couldn't find her. I am moved by the relationship and acting of the girl and her papa. I also like the 'papa' character, his warm and smile can add warm to the film, and he loves his wife and the adopted girl. His excellent play of accordion is another element to add his up.

The music, is very strong for creating the character's emotions. It use soft music for the family getting together and the girl and boy, use tension music for the police searching the basement.

To conclude, it is a very emotional film and the girl's acting is very professional. By the way, it is interesting some people watching this film and crying, the audiences are moved by the acting as well.

a practice in Broadway cinema.

The script is written by Roger, we use 4 lights to create the scene. We use two lights for the cinema screen to reflect the light. And we use one light nearby the actors, use reflector to reflect.

Meanwhile, we use 3 cameras to shoot this scene, from 3 different angles, and use two close-up shots, and one mid shot.

The actors acting is brilliant, and we talk with them, tell them the story, and they give us a outline of the actor, so what we can do is communicate with actors and let actors tell us what the character is.

To conclude, it is a useful practice no matter in setting lights or shooting or editing. I know how to set lights in a room now.

two thieves-a short film.

It is my short film. I spend two days on script, and one day in shooting.

There are two actors who are my friends, they don't know acting too much.
There is a scene inside the room, Roy plays the stupid thief, and Terry plays the leader thief. I asked Roy about how he acts the character, he told me a lot of action to show the stupid. Like he forgot he is a thief, he is curious about everything in the house. On the other hand, Terry plays a professional thief, I asked his opinion, he told me the character he wants to play different with Roy. So I agreed.

As for the camera, I use close-up shot for Roy to show the detail actions. And I use a mirror from they come in the house, and it is interesting.

To conclude, it is a very useful practice to show what I have learnt about body language. I will practice more about it, and without using dialogue and music.

Two thieves- a shoot script

EXT.ROOM.DAY

Roy and Terry are walking into a house in silent way. Terry takes up a list of 

the house, and he gives a eyes to Roy,and Roy begins to action.

INT.ROOM.DAY

Roy and Terry come in the room, begin to find the things on the list.They search every corner of the house.

They find a box and try to open it.

Terry use some tools to open it but it doesn't work.

Roy find knife and hammer, he uses up his strength.

Then the door opens.

The invisible woman- a film adopted by a novel

Last week I went to Broadway Cinema to watch this film. It is directed by Ralph Fiennes, it tells a story about Charles Dickens meets a younger woman who becomes his secret lover until his death at the height of his career.

It is a British film, there is theater in the film. The actor and actress meet in theater and they fall in love. However, people don't know the young woman's identity. Dickens tries to hide the relationship and avoid it knowing by others. So the young woman lives in a hard condition.

The storytelling is good, it shows how they fall in love. Through the theater they know each other.

The acting. I remember a scene, the train happens a crash. The young woman gets hurt, but she insists Dickens to help others, and she pretends she doesn't know Dickens.

To conclude, the body language in this film is some part. I can learn some of them, but I still learn it from the book first.

Script practice on Friday's session.

          INT. TESCO. DAY

          John, 24, wears a T-shirt and Jeans, walks into the Tesco.

          He takes out one pound from the wallet and put it into the
          car.

          The coin falls into the box. He pulls the handle, but the
          trolley still unlocks.

          John tries pulling several times, but it still doesn't work.

          He looks around and sees the shop assistant with uniform and
          smile on him.

                              JOHN
                    Excuse me? I need some help.

                              ASSISTANT
                    Of course,sir. What happened?

                              JOHN
                    My one pound falls into the box.

                              ASSISTANT
                    What? It is impossible!

                              JOHN
                    No, I hear the sound falling into the
                    box.

                              ASSISTANT
                    I don't believe.

                              JOHN
                    You can open it if you don't believe.

                              ASSISTANT
                    No way. I can show you how it works.

          The assistant takes one pound from his desk, put it in the
          box, and the car unlocks.

                              ASSISTANT
                    Look, it is no problem.

                              JOHN
                    I told you to open the box! (angrily
                    )

                              ASSISTANT
                    It is against our policy, sir. I'm
                    sorry I can't do that.

                              JOHN
                    All right all right, you win.
                    Hahahaha.

          John begins to laugh. He stops to close his eyes. After a
          while he opens up and begins to knox the box.

                              ASSISTANT
                    What are you doing? Stop it, or I
                    will call the security!

                              JOHN
                    Fuck your security!

          John breaks all the box and he finds out there is one pound
          in every box.

          He takes out all of them, and throws them to the assistant.

          The assistant is hitting on the ground.

                              JOHN
                    This is your impossible, you bastard!

          John walks over the laying assistant, and leaves with a big
          'S' on his back.

some work with Nick

Nick and I shoot a scene in this week,here are some photos.
We find a studio in Broadway Cinema, we just use one table, four chairs and one light in the scene.
Here is Nick trying to chat with the woman, but he finds she is a lunatic.

Here is the scene of long shot to show Nick's point of view.

Here is the close-up shot of Nick, he uses his hand to hide his mouth, tries to control himself and clam down.

Here is the close-up shot for his face, to show some horror atmosphere.

Comparison between "The Departed" and "Infernal Affairs"

Infernal Affairs is directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, it is a Hong Kong film and very famous film in China.

The Departed is directed by  Martin Scorsese, who is a famous director, the film is inspired by Infernal Affairs. I will compare these two films in following aspects:

The culture:

IA shows the buddhist culture in China, from its Chinese name "wu jian dao", the Chinese culture focus on implicit. The D shows the same story directly,and shows the fate of many characters in this movie and the final outcome. So the American culture is directly.

The actors:

IA uses a lot of famous Hong-Kong actors. In acting, Tony is more introverted psychological drama, he can just use a forced smile to show the situation without hoarse and tears. In The D, Leonardo DiCaprio plays the role in more active way. His body language is very rich, his tangled facial muscles, exaggerated body movements. 

The expression:

The difference of the two films is a direct response to differences between Eastern and Western cultures, oriental culture emphasizes subtle, seemingly ordinary word but hidden deep mystery, while Western culture is more emphasis on direct visual impact.

So those are my findings, it is interesting to compare two films which the story is same. And I also learn the body language in acting an undercover. It is helpful.

Three days of the Condor

It is directed by Sydney Pollack in 1975, it tells a story about a mild mannered CIA researcher, paid to read books, returns from lunch to find all of his co-workers assassinated. "Condor" must find out who did this and get in from the cold before the hitmen get him.

Here is a scene using camera focusing, first make the front clear, then make the behind clear. It shows a kind of sensitive.

Here is another scene, Condor threaten the woman to listen to him, the woman tries to lie to him but failed. Her eyes are looking aside which shows unconvinced.

To conclude, there is something lack in the film. The director could not fully explain some suspense he set. 

Stranger- a short film

It is a very interesting short film which Aris suggests me to watch. It is directed by: Erez Tadmor & Guy Nattiv. It tells a story on the underground, at first the two men is not feel comfortable with each other. Suddenly there comes a lot of guys whose face shows they are not getting on well with. Finally the two men decide to cooperate to fight against them. When they get off the underground, they separate again and go their own way.

The short film uses a lot of close-up shots to show the people's emotion, and it creates a sensitive atmosphere. I will learn it and use it in my practice.

After reading some chapters of a book "Understanding Body Language".

This book is written by Jane Lyle, it tells a lot of body language. I read the page 26 to find some examples related to my work.

Eyes
If we don't want to see something, we normally close our eyes and remain in symbolic ignorance of what we're looking at. There is a simple reaction that is shutting the eyes for a second or two, and putting our hands over our eyes completely to exclude the outside world from vision.

Desmond Morris identified 4 cut-off signals. These are 'Shifty Eye', the 'Stuttering Eye', the 'Evasive Eye' and the 'Stammering Eye'. All of these signals make the onlooker feel uncomfortable.

Shifty Eye: Rapid glancing while talking, as if searching for the exit or a more interesting companion.

The stuttering eye: it seems as if the eyes cannot decide whether to open or close their lids, which produces a disconcerting form of nervous flicker.

The evasive eye: Staring sightlessly into the air, or down at the ground, the person seems unable to meet your gaze for any length of time.

The stammering eye: a lengthy blink,lasting longer than normal.

I will continue reading the book and find more parts of the body about language.

Spy Game

It is directed by Tony Scott, it tells a story about CIA operative Nathan Muir (Redford) is on the brink of retirement when he finds out that his protege Tom Bishop (Pitt) has been arrested in China for espionage. No stranger to the machinations of the CIA's top echelon, Muir hones all his skills and irreverent manner in order to find a way to free Bishop. As he embarks on his mission to free Bishop, Muir recalls how he recruited and trained the young rookie, at that time a sergeant in Vietnam, their turbulent times together as operatives and the woman who threatened their friendship.

There is a scene from 36'35" to 36'40". I pick up 3 pictures to show the body language. These are a series of close-up shots showing how Nathan teaches Tom using observe their faces and act like natural and dismiss most of it without thinking. The close-up shots is a efficient way to show the message from people. You can read them, and get the information which you need.

There is another scene which is they are arguing. 

 Nathan is trying to teach him not using emotions to question the order, but Tom shows the anger and unsatisfied. I can read this from his mouth movement.

 Here is the classic emotions from the mouth and face movement, with his wrinkled brows down, upper eyelid raised, taut eye.

To conclude, I pick up two scene to find the body language, and find the information behind. I will read a book to find more about body language.