Question 1:

The most obvious and the most amount of work done in colour grading is in our vox pox scene. During filming our interviews, our shots were over exposed and we have to tone it down. However, one of the shots was too overexposed that the background is too bright and we lost information to darken it. Therefore, we have to increase the contrast of the shot in order to have a slightly darker look

Question 2:

This semester, my plan would be to put things right from last semester, and I felt I have been able to do that. My plan this semester would be to learn more about using Adobe Premier and editing.

Black Cat

Well executed and put together. Great way to the screening to get underway. Interesting to see people with different beliefs and how their superstition affects their behavior. Humorous and engaging, especially the lady who wouldn’t want anything associated with the no. 4 because it comes across as bad luck because it means death in Chinese. For this reason, to avoid the no. 4 such as house number, table number, or phone number was interesting. I was surprised to learn also that no. 4 is actually good luck in Philippines.

Sneakerhead Collective

For me, I think this was the one that stood out during the screening. It was bold and innovative of them to get one of the Tech guys, as part of the cast. The reaction from the crowd says it all. This was a unique choice of topic, and I can’t imagine the amount of work they have put into this. It was fascinating to see how people from different backgrounds are so obsessive Nike and Jordan sneakers, how much they know their stuff, and how it means much more than just a shoe to them. It was quite staggering amount of money that all these people have spent put together. Their cinematography and shots was excellent as well, especially the shoes coming all over the person lying on the ground and the way they put the credits together.

Blackout

Simple topic but also a reminder to us about the importance of electricity in this day and age. We often don’t realize the importance of electricity and we are not aware of how there are many things around us require the power of electricity. Technically, well edited and very good audio. Not many of us wouldn’t have a candle at home these days with just goes to show how accustomed we’ve been with electricity.

Question (1)

Anna Broinowski’s Forbidden Lies in 2007 was an intriguing film. From the beginning, there were a lot of non-diegetic sound inserted in the sequence, and I noticed sounds such as birds chirping, car’s engine, scarf being blown by the wind, sound effects walking in sand, woman talking, and many more. All of these sounds seems to be used to give it a more dramatic approach to the film. She also uses sound effects such as chime sound, cash register and camera shutter. These sounds were used as transitions of scenes.

Some of these sounds could have even been recorded when filming the footage while others recorded the editing. For example, when the women talking to the camera or even heard as a voice over of other shots was most likely recorded while filming. However, sounds such as the music, the chime sounds effect or the camera shutter sound effects would have been recorded or sourced after filming. In one scene, where Rana and the filmmakers tries to explore the truth, a light energetic music was played to represent ‘adventure’ and elevate the audience’s mood. Broinowski have Norma’s voice reading another passage from the book as a voice-over before Rana explains her side of her story, before exploring the section.

Question (2)

Some of the keyboards shortcuts for Premiere and some functions that I’ve never used before that could be valuable to our editing are;

(i) Cmd + T: For creating a title, which is to add texts to aid the visuals.

(ii) Cmd+R: speed/duration: This could be useful for us to learn, especially in a documentary when we may be speeding up or slowing down a lot of clips for dramatic effect or to show time passing.

(iii) M: This is useful for us in marking out unwanted sections from an interview.

(iv) Shift Cmd: To duplicate. This is a more convenient way and will save a lot of time in duplicating sequences and clips.

Question (3)

I found ‘From a distant gaze…’ (1964) directed by Jean Ravel was an intriguing film. The thing that impressed me the most would be the framing. I noticed that most of the shots are zoomed in, as in the frame is full of either objects, vehicles or even people. Even the shot of a single person looks very zoomed in because the shot was framed to fill a person’s face fully. For the editing, I found the transition between shots in their editing expect very professional. The filmmaker uses the car or the vehicles around him as a tool to aid in the editing. For instance, as soon as the car passes the shot, it cuts into another shot from another perspective and still making it look great.

As for the camera movement, It feels as if the shots were made like a point of view shots. It made the audience have the sense of their own presence in the scene.There was a lot of panning and tracking, therefore this movement also gives the feel of a POV shot. Overall, I believe that the filmmaker was successful in trying to convey his message across in an observational mode approach by focusing on realism in their shots and the everyday life of people in the society.

Question (4)

A couple of points that interest me from the readings are;

(i) Mantaining good eye contact. This was important because in order to make a good documentary, we have to learn how to stage interviews so that interviewees will appear to speak directly to the viewer. To mantain good eye contact to the interviewee and to show visually, not verbally is important because listening to what people are saying isn’t important but to look as if you’re listening is. Interview scenes increase the clarity and directness of speech through editing technique and shooting conventions.

(ii) Observational Documentary mode or the ‘flies on the wall’ technique. This technique is a style that implements realism on screen. “From a distant gaze…” seemingly has intriguing shots that might have some inspiration to our documentary as well, which is a style that we could also apply in our documentary.

Question 1: 

1. False

Question 2:

What I hope to get out from this semester was to progress from last semester and put things right. I learned a great deal last semester from sound production, but this semester I also learned more about adobe premiere, and colour grading. This being my final semester, I’m wanting to go out on a high and hopefully get a DI. Documentary film making is an interesting element in film making and is different and more serious compared to last semester. Last semester was more comical,  and I had a good time producing my film last semester, but I also had some disagreements with some of my group members. Thankfully though, this semester things have turned out slightly different.

Question 3: In this week’s lecture, scenes from Scott Rue’s ‘Four Images’, Brian Hill’s ‘Drinking for England’ and Chantal Akerman’s ‘D’Est’ were screened.  Choose one of these, and consider, in a single paragraph, what might have intrigued, interested, displeased or repelled you.

I felt that this documentary

Question 4: Listen to the first 10 minutes of Glenn Gould’s radio documentary, “The Idea of North”.  Files are here  (experimenting with different sizes and file types) If possible, use headphones.  Record your impressions in a paragraph or two.

Glen Gould’s Radio Documentary piece is very interesting and abstract to say the least. At first I was confused with exactly what was going on, but after about three minutes of listening to this piece, one voice began to outline some exposition and the names of the characters involved. This helped me a lot as I started to understand more clearly what was going on here. From what I gather these people are giving some type of autobiographical statement/reflecting on their own personal experiences in Northern Canada.

The voices also at times overlap each other with long first hand monologues, spoken directly to the unheard interviewer. I thought this was a very attention-grabbing and stimulating piece to listen to. It was creative and experimental.  I feel like more research in needed though to full understand the reasons behind this collaborative piece.

Question 2

Based on the week 4 reading on Fiction and Notification: The Great Divide by Samuel Johnson, the two points that stood out for me were.

(1) Firstly. he mentions that one of the most interesting things in studying the documentary field is the complex relationship between fiction, nonfiction and documentary as categories, and how they overlap.

(2) Secondly, is that central to an understanding of ‘documentary’ is the spectatorial activity of actually interpreting the material, something that Dai Vaughran and Noel Carroll has discussed.

This week’s reading by Pawel Pawlikowski focuses mainly on form as a filmic convention within documentary filmmaking. Pawlilkowski looks closely at the way documentary filmmakers focus on the specifics, where the deeper elements that bring film stories to life. The first point that I took from the reading was one of the fundamental aspects of this article, where Pawlikowski suggests that in a world where video cameras are omnipresent and where everything is being filmed all the time, it is essential that the film-makers concentrate on the film-making as opposed to recording. ‘Form’ is what can salvage the documentary amid the increasingly meaningless glut of images.

Another point was that the most succesful documentaries nowadays seem to be those made by people with a lot of time on their hands, people who can stalk their subjects for five or ten years or however long it takes them to distil a “human story” which then works as a kind of cheap feature film. As this approach takes time and involves big risks, it doesn’t really suit TV. Some films do however make it to the cinema screens and feature film producers are getting in on the act, so maybe these feature documentaries do have a future.

In the short film ‘End of the Line’ screened during the lecture, I think that ‘End of the Line’ achieved what they set out to do. Overall the short film tells a story about the people of Broken Hill’s idea or impression of their own town and the mentality of the people. My initial impressions of the documentary was a simple interview piece about people expressing their personal views and lives in Broken Hill. It really is almost a piece about the battle between different generations and how culturally different people see the world now as to how they did many years ago.  The film describes how the history and significance that once was Broken Hill is becoming lost in time, which was pretty moving. I also feel that they did a wonderful job and addresses the issue well in such a short space of time.

Overall I found that it was a pretty interesting and fascinating short film. It was pretty creative and I think the producers do a great job at capturing the overwhelming conditions of the Broken Hill area. There were some very interesting elements. I liked the way the participants in the film were presented. What was evident in the film the appreciation and praise that the older generations of people have for this small historical country town. They seem to love the freedom and versatility of the landscape, taking pride in treasuring where they live and what they have, where as the younger generation I feel, seem to think of Broken Hill as a dead end with limited opportunities, resources and flexibility.

Question 2

My goals and desires from this semester are to develop extensive or general understanding and knowledge regarding Film/TV Production, following up fram what I learned from the previous semester in Broadcast Media. Also to learn the skills of screenwriting. Apart from that, my main goal would be trying to obtain a high grade, hopefully a Distinction or higher. I am not sure how hard it would be, but I would certainly try my best to achieve that. At the same time also, to have fun with my fellow coursemates. Finally, I also hope that this could help set me up in a career in the media industry and hopefully build a network with future media practitioners.

I think I could say I have done that. Although me and me group had some obvious ups and downs, I felt that it was a very fun and interesting course, and I learned a great deal in terms of chereography, audio, lighting, the art of directing, etc. Everything turned out pretty much as I have expected. What disappointed me and what we could have done better, as I’m sure the rest of my group members would agree, was to secure a location first before shooting. In a nutshell, I wish we were more organized. Even if we managed to get away with it on that day, it wouldn’t have felt right profesionally and ethically. So, that was an important lesson learned this semester.

Question 1

Milk – Although the story was simple, everything was put together well, in terms of choreography, sound, script writing, acting, and editing. I particularly liked the scene when he stole the boys scooter but it ended up slowing him down instead.  I also liked the way the Indian boy runs in the race against of time to reach the shop, with the voice in his head, it closes at 1. Overall, one of the best films of the night. Well done to their team.

Granny Theft Auto – My group’s film, and it was great to see it coming together well, given all the problems that we had. Personally I enjoyed watching our film, as I’m sure everyone else did. I liked the music and the sound effects used, especially the “whoosh” sound effect when the Italian lady notices that the three boys were standing around their car, and the shock look on her face. One thing that we could have improved on though, was the showing of the Italian lady’s actual car, which wasn’t visible when she was walking out from the pharmacy, as well as when the policeman was first approaching her. Not too sure if the audience would have noticed it or not, but it would have been perfect had there been another car there. Apart from that, I have watched our video back countless times, and I don’t think there was anything else we could have done better.

Carl – Cute and sweet story. Well planned too in terms of storyline and well executed technically. Although it felt a little weird at the beginning when he was talking to a soft toy, but I liked where the story goes and how it developed. Although she wasn’t sure about their relationship at the beginning when he introduces carl as a teddy bear, and they fought all night over a monopoly game, and even put the bear’s feelings before her. I liked how it ended when she brought back another bear the next day and says “I think Carl needs a friend”, I thought that was a fitting end to the story.

There are several keyboard shortcuts that I have learned and found to be useful for Adobe Premiere which are;

• CMD + S – save
• CMD + I – import
• CMD + M – media
• CMD + G – group

Functions never used before that may be invaluable to editing;

• Shift + CMD + G – ungroup
• Shift + I – go to in
• Shift + O – go to out