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Mis-en-Scene

The Director of Photography (DP) is head of the production unit and is directly responsible to the film's Director. During the pre-production phase, the DP works with the Director on the visualization of scenes that involves issues related to framing, camera angle and movement, lighting, and the technical requirements to translate a script and storyboard into images on film. The Director of Photography is the person who gives a movie a certain visual style throughout. It is this style that viewers often recall about the look or feel of a film. http://dreamsteep.com

The Director of Photography for Act of Valor was Shane Hurlbut (Terminator Salvation, Into The Blue, We are Marshall). Shane wanted to give the audience a first hand view of what a Navy SEAL is faced with in battle.  He was able to accomplish this very well using his knowledge of visual design. Shane, along with the directors, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, decided to take an untraditional approach to filmmaking in order to accomplish the response they desired. They wanted the audience to be part of the action instead of watching the action.

In order to pull this off they needed to bring the camera closer to the action. The camera needed to be smaller and lighter. This was solved by the use of the Canon 5D Mk II. While there was scenes shot with traditional film the majority of the action was done with the Canon HDSLR. Using the lightweight camera, Shane was able to give a first person point of view of a firefight.

So as you can see by the frame we selected, Shane knows how to tell a story through each individual frame. The way he uses elements of design is not only textbook ,but also artistic. Given that the soldiers in this movie are wearing camouflage, many of the Gestalt Principals are naturally happening.

The figure/ground relationship between the SEALs is that of similarity, Shane emphasized this by capturing images of the SEALs in natural, green environments at low angles.

The law of similarity fits into this extremely well too. Shane also chose the specific lighting to continue the blend of soldier and background. On the opposite side he used a brighter light on the terrorists to make them stand out from the natural environment they were in.

The law of proximity is an interesting one in this movie. The SEALs tend to move as a group. Grouping together creates an illusion of one massive unit. Moving the camera close to the SEALs furthers this by creating a sense of “being there”.  The terrorists are spread thin and only one or two are ever framed together creating a sense of disconnect and vulnerability.

In the screenshot we chose the law of closure is key. The shot was framed as a first person point of view. We see two hands about to rise out of the water.Closure tells us that these hands are not just two random hands; instead, they are the hands of one of our SEALs.

Key Grip and Key Gaffer

These are the guys in charge of rigging, lighting, and camera movements, and coordinating all other set movements.

In Act of Valor they had no easy job.

Raul J. Marin was the Key Grip, and Pedro J Villalon the Key Gaffer.  For many aspects in the movie new and unique rigs were invented to get firsthand camera movement effects. This offered angles and perspectives never before used in such a film.

Light is a major consideration. While the scenes were shot on location natural light played the biggest effect so these guys had to consider time of day, how to avoid shadows from equipment etc.

For our selected scene the underwater shot was a tricky one to set up. They had to get a waterproof camera set up and positioned for the shot.  Boats, helicopters, and land based cameras were also in place to get the action.  The grip and gaff teams in this film were considerably smaller than most sets and had lots more work to do.

These are the logistics guys who take the artistic ideas of directors and find a way to make it possible. 

Costume Design

The costume designer for the Act of Valor was Erica Clum. When it came to the costume design of the movie, the producer wanted it very realistic. Because the movie used real Navy SEAL officers, they were also able to use real U.S. military uniforms. The uniforms really played into the color of the movie and the darkness and dull colors presented throughout. In this sequence we see several U.S. Military men as well as a “bad guy.”  Let’s first look at the U.S. Military costumes. The first thing that stuck out to me was the color and the value and intensity correlated with it. The value, or the darkness, of the costumes matches the color of the environment. The intensity is the dullness that the camouflagehas to blend in with its surroundings. As a part of the uniforms, some of the soldiers have ghillie suits. These ghillie suits show surface texture instead of just the plain camouflage. The ratty look of the ghillie suit gives it the texturized look. As for the “bad guy,” his costume has the same effect with color as the uniforms. There isn’t much of a contrast between the enemies.

When it comes to Gestault Principles, there were two laws that stood out to me: Law of Pragnanz and the Law of Closure. The Law of pragnanz is where the eye sees the image in the simplest form possible. When it comes to the camouflage, there are several intricate designs within it but the eye is drawn to the overall image of the uniform as it blends into the environment. The Law of Closure relates in the same way, they may not be completely hidden by the camouflage but the eye draws the conclusion. 

The work of the set designer involves a great deal of cooperation. The set designer often meets first with the director and other members of the artistic staff such as lighting designers and costume designers to discuss the aesthetic vision and image of the production.

Set design is very much influenced by costuming and lighting, and when art designers work together, the results can be stunning. While coordinating efforts, the set designer also starts work on building scenery, including engineering moving scenery and special effects with scenery. It is also common for the set designer to work with the props department, developing props which will mesh well with the look and feel of the show's design.  The law of pragnaz is also shown in our scene.  The trees and bushes in the background we see as a jungle, we reduce reality to its simplest form.  

The scene we chose to look in the film took place in the deep jungle of Costa Rica and was actually filmed in the jungle of Costa Rica. The scene takes place along a river where two hands come out of the water to catch a falling body after being shot to prevent a splash.

What makes this film and scene in particular so unique is there is no created special effects. All of the special effects are created from actual gun fire by the NAVY SEALs. Real gun fire as well as real explosions.

Throughout the scene the property used to make this rescue possible are real NAVY SEAL gear. At first it shows what is called a Raven UAV which looks similar to a paper airplane. This mini-airplane's purpose in the scene is to hover over the land the SEALs are invading to signal where their enemies are located. During the scene several guns are shown, even in the short bit we decided to look at. First, the sniper rifle Lt. Rorke used is DPMS TAC20. This is the gun used to take down the enemy who is caught by the SEAL in the water. Before the enemy is taken under water, two guns are seen in his possession. First the gun in his hands is called MP5A2, a submachine gun. Second, a Glock 17 is seen in his holster before he hits the water. The Glock 17 can be compared to a simple handgun. Lastly, all of the SEALs are seen with a M4A1 Carbine in their hands. The M4A1 is the most popular used machine gun among NAVY SEALS. Also, if you were to watch further in the film. The boats that were on the river had M240G machine guns mounted on the sides of the boats. If you have scene the scene you realize how powerful these guns are.

Art Department 
Makeup:
Rachel Hoke - Key Makeup Artist
Brooke Baron - Assistant Makeup Artist
Carmella McCoy - Hairstylist
Carmella McCoy - Key Makeup Artist
Shelley Willis - Assistant Makeup Artist
The main role of make-up artists and hairstylists is to create an image (or style) for each character in a scene which conveys/relates to the desired environment, emotions, event, etc. This part of the art design team must have had an interesting job during the filming of Act of Valor. Because the main roles were played by actual Navy Seals the job of applying camouflage military face paint could have been/possibly was performed by the actual cast members in action scenes. Such attention to detail and consistency with military protocol must have involved the main character's in actually applying the face paint for filming.
The object of using face paint in combat is to make the face not look like a face. It is used to eliminate shine, shape, shadow, movement and color. While applying the paint dark colors may be applied to the high areas of the face such as the eyebrows,cheek bones, jaw bone and nose. (The places that are not shadowed under normal light.) Then color the shadow areas with a light color, areas such as cheek hollows and areas surrounding the eyes. Going against a Gestalt principle, line should be eliminated and make-up should not follow the natural shape or curvature of the face. It should cut down the eyes vertically or diagonally, across the nose horizontally or diagonally, and down the mouth vertically or horizontally to break up the shape of the face. The color should extend over all exposed ares of skin including the neck and ears. Designs should be kept small so they blend better and are not distinct in the environment.
Beige, green, blacks and browns are the main colors of use in combative scenarios. In this specific scene lots of dark colors were used to help the men blend in with the environment. The makeup also had to be waterproof so it didn't wash off when they traveled as a unit under water.  

Vectors Picture

The curb is moving upward and your eye follows that line until it sees the yellow paint in the road.  This is the part of the picture that I wanted to capture, the upward yellow line that your head follows.  That is part of the top 1/3 of the picture, unfortunatly I was driving while i took the picture and captured the road very centered in the picture.  I was hoping to get it off to the left, or right.  Anyway there are other lines in the picture that draw your attention as well, the slant of the mountain and the flat roof. 

Good vs. Bad

There is lots of contrast going on in this picture, first the contrast of color.  The black and white help to make the picture pop!  The dark cloud that fades as it gets lower, and the black pants that appear above the far off skyline, give us two separate lines that our eyes can follow.  The entire picture is moving from the lower left to the top right.  The white backboard is almost glowing against the dark clouds.  The size and depth of the photo create a unique perspective, with Michael Jordan appearing larger than life and effortlessly flying over the city.  Also his shoes are cool, the one on the left acts as the start of a position, ascending to the basketball ready for a Slam-dunk.

We don't make luxury cars we make Cadillacs

OK lets talk about some of the Gestalt principles, the first thing that I notice is the light, how it reflects off the top and side of the Cadillac. You can absolutely see a hip line on the car, my eyes start at the back of the car, then move forward to the huge grill, and stays on the legendary Cadillac symbol.  This is an example of the law of continuity.  The lines that run along side of the car, starting from the bottom moving up and over the wheel, then the hip line, even the bottom of the windows and the top, when it merges with the windshield, everything flows smoothly.  Our eyes follow the path with the least resistance.  Often people see "faces" in the front of the car, this is part of the law of closure.  I always picture a very happy almost goofy face, with the over sized grill like a big pair of teeth and the headlights obviously big beautiful eyes.  I think the light and the shade work together to help your eyes move from the back to the front, and the top down.  This is a large and comfortable car,  but the designer helps our mind and eyes see a fast sleek automobile.

A little bit about me

What is up people? I am new to this blog thing so I figure I will write about what I am interested in. Sports. That’s about it. Just kidding there are other things that I like too but I am mostly into sports, watching, playing and talking about sports. I also like going to movies, dances, and hanging out at the pool. I like card games and charades and trying to make people laugh. Anyway I am super excited about the NFL and how sweet that is going to be, with the NFL starting that means that baseball is almost over and that basketball will be starting soon. I love football and basketball season and baseball in October is OK. I am really glad that we were able to watch the Olympics this summer, because a summer with just baseball would have been horrible. OK then, we have talked about sports that I like to play or watch, let’s talk about the food network. I really like watching TV, I do not have a lot of time to watch it but that is one of my favorite past times. So the food network has some really cool shows, one of my favorites is The Iron Chef! I love when they reveal the secret ingredient and it is some really cool cut of beef or a crazy looking fish! I also like Chopped and Diners Drive INS and Dives, with Guy Firer. Obviously I like the food network because they are always cooking amazing food; I have still not met someone that does not like food. Other TV shows that I like are The office, parks and rec, 30 Rock, Community, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, Modern Family, Tosh.0, ESPN obviously, The Game of Thrones, Workaholics, and that's about it, actually I am currently watching Cheers and The Dick Van Dyke show, these are older shows but they are still very funny. I will write more later! Oh I also like playing Movie Trivia, you tell me a quote from a movie and I tell you what movie it’s from. That was random but I think I would like to incorporate that in my blog.