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georgeh5399-blog · 6 years

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Unit 13 - Final Major Project

Calendar

I loaded up the calendar from moodle so I can note down the days I am not able to film. So far I am busy all Saturdays and Sundays because I have work. I will continue to update it as I find out when i’m unable to film.

Ideas

After looking at some of last years final projects in Matt’s lesson, I’ve noticed that the most successful ones were simple and they took maybe two or three scenes/locations and explored them thoroughly. They also didn’t need many actors which is helpful in the long run as there isn’t as many people who will bail out on filming. Originally my group and I came up with an idea that was based around a detective trying to catch a serial killer who is actually a childhood friend of the detective. The story was going to end with the detective finding out that the cereal killer has murdered his wife. After thinking about it we realized that this story might be too long and complex to fit in a 10 minute film. So we were brainstorming ideas and we came up with this idea where there is a baby and a woman which appears to be the mother, there house gets attacked by a group of people, she kills them all accept one woman left who is crying and she says "we just wanted our baby back". This makes the audience realize that the whole time the woman who appears to be the mother has actually taken the baby and the attackers are fighting for their baby back. In terms of cinematography, I want to really push myself with the shots I'm creating. I want to use some really smooth pan shots and shots that will make the audience feel uneasy like a Dutch tilt shot.

Project Proposal

We now have the story set in stone and we know how it is going to go, so I was able to fill in my project proposal.

Rationale:

During this course I have learned lots about every aspect of filmmaking. I didn’t have any knowledge of how to use premier pro before starting the course and now I have edited plenty of projects so I can do most basic and intermediate effects with confidence. I had quite a lot of experience in camera work before starting the course as I had my own camera and I filmed a lot in my free time. However, I didn’t know anything about bigger cameras that were used on proper film sets. I have learnt how to use tripods, glide rails, Steadicams, and I’ve learnt how to do camera movements like dolly zooms. I haven’t done much directing but I did give it a go and I found that I prefer working with the director as either a camera operator or editor. I have learnt a lot about Foley and sound as well, it’s not one of my specialties but I know a lot about how it works. Taking all of this into consideration, I have chosen my specialty to be camera work/cinematography. This is because it is what I find the most enjoyable and the most rewarding. If I was to choose one area to pursue as a career it would be camera operator.

Project concept:

The concept of my project is that a woman has a baby and is caring for it, the audience are lead to believe that this woman is the mother of the baby but then the house gets attacked by 3 men and it appears that they want to kidnap the baby, the woman with the baby manages to kill the men one by one and as she is about to leave she sees another woman that was waiting outside and she is crying when she then says “we just wanted our baby back”. This tells us that the woman who was thought to be the mother is actually the one who kidnapped the baby.

some of the inspirations of this idea were the films Hush, Kidnap and Panic room. All of these films are thrillers and have really good ways of building tension. Also, most of these films have a strong female lead and this is something that played a part in the whole story as it is all about the mother protecting their baby.

We are going to film all of it in a fairly old house with wooden floors so it will allow for more opportunities to make good Foley and create tension with creaky floorboards, doors, etc. However, there will be one establishing shot that will show the house in the middle of nowhere with a big field outside at sunset to look very visually pleasing. This projects concept has been made so it doesn’t require many actors or locations so it will be more achievable for me and I will be able to spend more time on making the cinematography and editing the best it can possibly be. I will be filming on the C100’s as they have a really nice cinematic effect. There will be some tripod shots so I will need to use one of those.

Evaluation:

A lot of how I will evaluate my work will be on my tumblr blog and constantly updating it. I will ask other people in my class and my teachers how my research and storyline is, what is good about it and how I can make it better. This will mean that I can consistently update my work and make it the best it can possibly be. By using questionnaires and pie charts it will help me evaluate my work even further.

Bibliography:

Hush. (2016). [film] Directed by M. Flanagan. United States: Blumhouse Productions.

Kidnap. (2017). [film] Directed by L. Prieto. United Stated: Di Bonaventura Pictures.

Research

I decided to look at some films that create tension really well in a scene and one of them is Hush (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQbTzZqmlWA), It uses lots of pans and focus pulls, the camera is also mainly smooth shots which I think contrasts with the nervousness and panic of the characters. I also noticed that there are a lot of ambient, subtle sounds that you wouldn’t necessarily notice unless you were looking for them.

Here is a link to a video of cinematographers talking about lighting and shadow. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhOMCtHHN3o)

Test shoots

After completing the project proposal we started thinking about how we want it to look and what shots should be in the scenes. We filmed two test shoots, one was a choreographed fight which is going to be the same choreography in our film. The scene starts with the actor in the foreground of the shot and a blurred out figure in the background. The actor then turns around to see the figure and then gets tackled by somebody else from the side. We then improvised with the setting we had to get to the point where the main actor is on the floor being strangled by the intruder. Then the actor grabs something from the floor and smashes it into the intruders head. In the main film they will probably smash a toy into the intruders head.

The next test shoot i did was another quick fight scene which i filmed and i wanted to focus on the camera movement and following the action in the scene. I also focused on the composition in the scene as well and I tried to show depth of field as much as I could. A problem that I had to face was that in the post production I noticed that two of the shots were too similar and it should've been shot all from one angle.

Script lining

While marking my script for the sound effects, I discovered something that cinematographers use to mark scripts and its called script lining. It basically shows the cinematographer what shots are going to look like and where they are going to be. It can look very confusing as there are a lot of symbols and lines.

Inspirations

One of my recent inspirations in terms of cinematography is the film 'The autopsy of Jane Doe' and it is a thriller/horror and builds up tension really well. One thing in particular that I liked about the cinematography is that it often cuts back to the same shot or angle which makes the audience expect something different to happen like a jump scare for example. As the audience are anticipating it to happen, often times nothing different happens, this throws off the audience and they get filled with tension, then the jump scare happens and the audience aren't expecting it. Also the sound in these scenes is usually just Foley like footsteps. This adds even more tension to the scene.

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patentlawyer05 · 7 years

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2 Strategies for Patent Searches That’ll Save You Time Before You Try to File

So you had your brilliant stroke of genius? The invention that the world has always wanted, but didn’t know it needed hit you in the middle of the night like a thunderbolt and you thought to yourself, this is the one.

We’ve all been there! Invention and reinvention is what America is all about. It’s that entrepreneurial spirit that makes this country so great. I’ve run through the same thought process described above more than a few times. And it’s a common scenario that I hear frequently on calls.

But not so fast, there are a few different factors to consider before you start dreaming about what upholstery pattern you’re going to get in your brand new jet. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but creating, patenting, and launching a successful invention is a huge task. It’s not as simple as just getting a patent, and even filing a patent itself is a complicated process.

In this article I’ll outline two strategies for filing a patent. This process wouldn’t be the same as someone charging for this service would do. But it should help you begin to gauge the uniqueness of your idea, before you attempt to go further in patenting your invention.

There are many successful inventors out there, but what many first time inventors don’t realize is that going from an idea to a successful product is a huge endeavor. Even if you haven’t heard of an idea, someone may have already patented it.

How to Start You Patent Search

Now let this serve as a disclaimer, doing a patent search is complicated. Many patent attorneys offer patent searches as a service, as do I, and there are even professionals and companies that specialize in it. Through years of experience every attorney will have their own process and favorite tools for patent searches. But it’s not just about digging into wether something has been done before, but how the entire scope of similar and related inventions might affect your filing and especially how examiners will look at that information.

In this article, I’ll lay out what you need to know about about the variety of resources out there that can aid in your patent search needs: how to access them, how to navigate them, and the pros and cons of each. I’ll begin this article by moving through the avenues laid out by the USPTO, and follow up by focusing on the top web tools for patent searches. The task of searching for a patent can seem daunting, but with the help of this article, you will have an understanding of how to get started.

The “Un-Official” Way to See if Your Invention has Been Patented

Here’s a basic process that I recommend to new inventors or entrepreneurs just trying to get a sense of the market. Getting excited about your idea is important, but making sure nothing has come before it is also important.

For starters:

Brainstorm some basic terms that describe your invention. Think about what it does and how it does it, as well as the materials it’s made of, or how you’d describe something similar to it. These related terms can help you gauge wether your idea is already in existence somewhere else.

Next do a basic search using Claim Parse or Google Patents While not the official route, either service should give you in depth information about the item your thinking of. A thorough search on either service should turn up any ideas similar to your own, especially if you did a good job coming up with terms in step #1.

If #2 turned up nothing look up the problem your idea is solving. By simply Googling a topic you might find a related product or solution that’s exactly what you’re proposing. Even Pinterest or Reddit could reveal wether something already exists. Generally anywhere people are having conversations about issues might help you find something similar to your idea.

If step 3 turns up nothing I’d recommend searching sites like Amazon, The Grommet, KickStarter, Product Hunt and Indigogo. If your idea exists somewhere, it will probably be on one of these sites.

If you do find you need to speak with a patent attorney to know for sure. But you can search the company name, or inventors name to see if they hold a patent on it.

Now if you find something in the above steps that looks similar to your idea it doesn’t mean it’s been patented, but it may also affect patentability. Again a patent search can only turn up so much unless you have the years of experienced required in patent law to really understand what the existing patent documents out there mean, and how patent examiners might interpret them.

The “Official” Way to Search for a Patent

Now why do I say official? Well for the first time inventor the below steps might be overkill. If you’re simply trying to figure out wether a product has been done before you reach out to an attorney then the “unofficial” process I describe above might be better. Now if you’re an experienced inventor or looking at something in the software of technology realm that’s more complicated, the below process will probably be necessary.

The USPTO website lays out a 7-step guide for running a preliminary patent search using their tools and tools of their European partner, the EPO. Their recommended approach focuses on patent classification searches. Their instructions help you brainstorm terms to search within USPTO website to determine your proposed patents potential Cooperative Patent Classification, and then instruct you in the use of various databases to search patents and patent applications that might legally cover your idea. Click to access the USPTO’s 7-step U.S. Patent search strategy guide handout or the associated computer based training tutorial CBT (computer based training) tutorial with a detailed review of the Seven Step Strategy.

The process is roughly as follows:

Step 1) Start by brainstorming specific terms that describe your invention. Work backwards from the problem it solves and how it’s made. Try to create a list of terms other people would use to describe its purpose and composition.

Step 2) Then Use these terms to find some relevant Cooperative Patent Classification patents. If you enter “CPC Scheme [plus keywords(s) describing invention]” into the search box you should begin to find related inventions. For example if you’re trying to patent a new kind of shoe, searching something like “CPC Scheme shoe” should show some relevant inventions. You could also

Step 3) You can than verify the quality of your search by reviewing the CPC Classifications definition linked to the patent you’ve found.

Step 4) You can then gather patent documents on the PatFT (Patents Full-Text and Image) database . From here you can narrow down the search terms you’re using by going through abstracts and looking at drawings to narrow your search further. Patterns should begin to emerge. At this point you might just find exactly what you were trying to patent, or something similar. Now that said, these things are still open to interpretation and it may still be worth speaking with a professional if you’re serious.

Step 5) Even if you don’t find a smoking a gun you should dig into each of the most related patents and gauge their similarity to yours. Looking at references cited by them or the patent examiner can be a boon for important related patents.

Step 6) Now retrieve published patent applications with the CPC classifications you chose in Step 3 using the AppFT (Applications Full-Text and Image) database. Use the same process I outlined above to narrow down your inventions.

Step 7) Finally broaden yours search to find any additional U.S. patent publications by searching related terms brainstormed in Step 1 within the PatFT, AppFT databases, and non-U.S. patents on the European Patent Office’s Worldwide Espacenet patent database. Finally double check the disclosure of inventions using the Patent and Trademark Resource Center. Since that will also affect your invention.

Here’s a full list of resources recommended by the USPTO, linked to their descriptions on the USPTO website:

USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database (PatFT)

USPTO Patent Application Full-Text and Image Database (AppFT)

Global Patent Search Network (GPSN)

Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR)

Public Search Facility

Patent and Trademark Resource Centers (PTRCs)

Patent Official Gazette

Common Citation Document (CCD)

Search International Patent Offices

Search Published Sequences

Patent Assignment Search

Now, you can imagine how complicated the above can get…

It’s only a quick introduction, but the two methods I’ve outlined in this article should help get you started, and at a minimum help you identify if your exact idea has already been done.

The post 2 Strategies for Patent Searches That’ll Save You Time Before You Try to File appeared first on Amir Adibi Patent Lawyer.

from https://www.patentlawyer.io/how-to-search-patents/

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