Ways of making

So far so good?

On Tuesday, we went to suite and learnt how to do colour grading and a lot of other techniques for this semester, to finish our projects as we planned.

As I am the only one who uses Final Cut Pro for editing my film, I found it quite challenging for me to catch up with other students as they are already used to Adobe Premiere Pro. However, after having a play with it with Allison, it’s not that hard to do and surprisingly, it’s as easy as Final Cut Pro. I watched Allison’s work a little bit in class and she gave me some ideas of lighting issue, which is what she’s working on. It’s interesting to use each other’s works to explore and see how we can improve our work.

I decided to put voice over of a scene from a movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Michel Gondry as a guide. My ideal voice over for my video is a conversation between two people talking about something, would be best if it’s quite personal and a bit emotional in order to include feelings and emotions to the work, not only decent moving images. the video below will be show how it is with the voice over, without colour grading.

Overall, my project is going really well. Now, what I need to do is colour grading and creating a voice over of my own, or even find a legal voice over one to finish my work. I also need to shoot more shots with different angles. I have a lot of wide shots already, and all I need now is more close-up shots. Hopefully will finish shooting by this week so I can work more on colour and voice over.

May 19, 2016 Ways of making, week 11 No Comments

Interesting points

I feel so much better after the consultant earlier today. I basically showed our ideas and the project we’ve been working on. I like how everybody has their own point of view and how they are all quite solid.

After showing my videos of loads of laundromats, Paul gave me a great idea of doing voice over. It’s a really interesting ideas in terms of putting words in to a piece of work to make it even more meaningful. Also, it can help me avoid the boredom of staring at laundries swirling for minutes in the film. It’s exciting what the finished work will be and hopefully this will enhance the way I feel about filmmaking. I have leant that there are so much you can do with filmmaking, and sometimes, it can never be enough. There are a lot of options you can do with it to make your work interesting and incredibly inspiring.

I keen to do voice over, however, I am still a bit uncertain of what story, or anything, I am going to talk about in the voice over part. I am also considering having someone doing the voice over for me because I find it a bit strange to put my voice in the video. However, it is a great experiment to explore after all.

Apart from shooting the laundry scene, I am thinking maybe I will do the voice over asking somebody about their childhood. I like the idea of talking about something totally different from what the audience will watch, however, the colours and the tones of the film will still express the feelings throughout the story.

May 12, 2016 Ways of making, week 10 No Comments

It’s out there somewhere

After a couple weeks of working part-time, I could fee that I have been a little bit lost with my assignments and I also find it quite difficult to find inspirations and motivations to keep up with my project. However, I’m not going to let working stop me since it is what everybody has to face in their lives.

So I decided to find inspiration just like how I loved to do since I wasn’t in university, which is watching creative videos, reading, and looking at well-shot pictures to see if there is something that I can use in my project. Then, I went back to the laundromats I liked from last time then started shooting. I found that the creativity and motivation don’t come right away, sometimes, you have to start working even though you don’t feel like it, then they will come and that’s when you’re unstoppable. I recorded some videos and find that it’s interesting when I include people in there, not just the fabric in the machine swirling.

I also got an idea that maybe it’s better to not only rely on editing to make the differences between colours but also find different places with various of colours, or even different kind of machines to differ something. Furthermore, I will also play around with movement and sound at the laundromat to see if it makes any difference and if it helps the film.I’m glad that my project is inspiring and fun again. I hope it will keep me going and always make inspiring work in the future.

May 9, 2016 Ways of making, week 9 No Comments

work work work

From today’s class, Paul made the students show their work and how far they’ve done with their projects. I have to say that their work really inspire me and impress me because I don’t think I’ve done that far, honestly, and also their ideas and skills in filmmaking and editing videos is really impressive.

I only filmed a little bit of work and went a few laundromats which is, for me, good so far. However, I don’t think my work is good enough for the project. In this case, I could feel that my motivation is fading away and it seems quite hard for me now to catch up with everybody in the class. Though, this doesn’t mean mean that I haven’t done any work on my project, it’s more that I’m inspired by my own ideas much and it can stop me from enjoying the process. This seems to be one of my biggest struggles apart from the editing skills because, if I don’t enjoy the process, it can be really difficult for me to make a piece of work.

Nevertheless, this is not going to stop me from what I’ve always wanted to do. I think the best solution is to keep working and the beauty of filmmaking will come back to me again. It may take time, but it is still better that doing the project only to finish it not to enjoy it. Hopefully, this project will lead me to a clearer view of what I would like to do in the future and also encourage me to always do something better and inspiring, to be able to deliver the messages.

April 29, 2016 Ways of making, week 8 No Comments

The presentation

After the presentation and a whole lot of research and preparation, I am really confident with my ideas and hopefully it will turn out as I expected or even better.

I listened to other students in the class and it’s really interesting how everybody has their own project that they all approach in different ways and they all have various different goals. I found it helpful for me to listen and watch them presenting in order to guide me the best way to deliver my ideas well and interestingly. A lot of projects in the class inspires me, because they are really creative in many different ways. They also encouraged me in a way that I want to do more and better and also made me believe that my experiment would work out how I planned.

After receiving the feedback and others’ ideas, it is true to say that I took my experiment too seriously by thinking that it will always work. I have to keep it in mind that an experiment doesn’t always work out the way they’re expected, however, it also doesn’t mean that it is a waste of time to test something. I learned that it is better to go with the flow and to believe in the project itself no matter what it will turn out. I’m planning of doing more research and deciding if I should still shoot one place or more in order to make it more interesting and also to give it a little bit of a variety.

Overall, I am still excited to do this project and see how it will be. I hope this will show how colours are able to tell a story and also express particular feelings as it’s meant to.

April 23, 2016 Ways of making No Comments

There is no such thing as original

https://vimeo.com/19447662

As the third week of semester goes by, my fear of creating something totally different yet still inspiring was hopeless. However, this documentary called Everything is a Remix by Kirby Ferguson keeps me believing in my dreams of making creative films. According to Ferguson, there is no such thing as original. It is undeniable to say that most of the movies are inspired from previous movies, however, that doesn’t mean those movies are not creative as such.

Kirby Ferguson explains and gives examples why everything is a remix. As he says, 79 out of 100 movies are based on other films, however, it doesn’t mean that they copy each other’s ideas. It’s more about using other arts such as books, music, shows, and films as inspirations. It is interesting how we think that, for example,a movie like Star Wars is original. Yet, Kirby claims that an inspiring movie as Star Wars is also a mix of other movies such as Yojimbo (1961), Flash Gordon (1936), and Hidden Fortress (1958) etc. To know that films are not usually authentic is surprising for me because I used to see films as something creative and original. It makes me to see filmmaking in a different point of view. However, this also gives me hopes that it is okay to pick things up and mix them together to create a piece of art, but again, plagiarism is always something I have to keep in mind. Also, Kirby shows that it is not a bad or wrong thing to use something as an inspiration, thus, it can be another kind of creativity as well.

Creation requires influence. – Kirby Ferguson

Later in the documentary, Ferguson shows how Kill Bill (2003/4) is basically a mashed up film. There are plenty of scenes that the director used that was inspired by other films such as The Searchers (1956), Gone in 60 Seconds (1974), and Game of Death (1978) etc.

Nevertheless, this leads me to wonder what and who gets to decide whether something creative and fresh or not since everything is a remix. What is the difference between plagiarism and using it as inspirations?

Overall, this documentary by Kirby Ferguson leads me to a clearer view of how former films and arts can be inspiring and influential. However, it is also good to try to imagine and use the pure ideas from your own first, then adapt it with something you see as creative in order to make your art more interesting. It gives me belief that if I am stuck with the same ideas to make a film, it is best to have a look at former films, music, and arts to freshen up my ideas and mix it with something in my mind to create a something. This documentary also makes me look at filmmaking differently, how they put everything together, how they create an interesting storytelling and how they make people unaware that they great film may be inspired and almost the same as other films.

March 31, 2016 initiative post, Ways of making, week 4 No Comments

Three shots

In this week’s exercise, I got a chance to go shoot something only for three shots. My group, Justin, Allison, Polly and I were quite stuck of what to shoot in three shots and also how to make it relate to what we are studying. Shots I had in my mind were mostly have to shoot outside uni, but unfortunately, we were not allowed to do so. In the beginning of the exercise, it was already challenging in terms of coming up with creative ideas. But finally, I came to a conclusion (Allison’s idea) that we will be shooting a filmmaking technique called Point of View Shot (POV shot) which is quite interesting for me because I did not know much about this technique and I learned so much more from this exercise.

We had our camera, sound recorder, and tripods ready. Now, one of the challenging parts is finding a suitable location to film. I walked around campus with the materials looking for a location and being extra careful holding the camera and everything. Finally, we found our spot.

The location was quiet and suitable for filming, it was new building 9 where people usually go to hang out. Then, we began to plan our scenes, showing how POV shots work, the best way was to create a little conversation between two people and film it in different angles. We filmed in three point of views, three shots each. The result came out quite impressive for us as the shots we clear and apparently show how POV shots do. After this exercise, I have learned how fun and interesting filmmaking can be when you don’t only shoot what you want to show but also include several cool techniques in order to explore the beauty of filmmaking.

March 28, 2016 Ways of making, week 4 No Comments

Point Of View shots

eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind

After learning and actually shooting Point of View shots, I found it quite fascinating how unaware of this technique until I tried. There are a lot of movies using this technique, which happens to be one of the interesting techniques and pleasing to see in films as well.

For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, by Michel Gondry, uses a lot of this technique to show different kinds of feeling. It is one of my favourite films of all time in terms of the camera angles and the plot of the film.

In this scene, Clementine was talking to Joe under blanket having a conversation about her insecurity. In order to make the audience engaged and make the scene personal, the director did a POV shot. Therefore, it brings the audience closer to the characters and feel like they are actually with them. It is intimate. Also, point of view shots make the film interesting because it is rare and it makes the audience feel like they are at the location with the characters. This film doesn’t only use POV shots to engage with the audience, Gondry also makes it even more intimate for the audience by making them hear what Joe thinks in his head.

I found this movie really interesting and for the film I will be making, I want to make it something slightly similar to this film. Hopefully, it is not going to be only a good story but also show some views from the character and make it really personal for the audience.

Further of the research, David Christopher Bell shows 10 fascinating uses of point of view shots. He simply gives ten examples of what POV shots would look like in films. It is surprising how a lot of movies, or directors, use this technique. Also, I have learnt that not only the point of view of a person from the eyes that is called POV shot, it can also be someone shooting a camera kind of thing. One of the movies that did a great job of this kind of technique is Chronicle (2012).

Overall, after learning this technique and actually shooting it, it makes filmmaking even more fun and interesting. It amazes me how this technique can make the movie different just by shooting different angles. I would like to film my first experiment using this technique.

March 27, 2016 Ways of making, week 4 No Comments

Brainstorming & writing script

Class in this week, Paul made us think about writing script and using our ideas based on real life action. This is one of the ways to brainstorm ideas and come up with something simple, yet fascinating.

There are several steps to write scripts, firstly, we listed action we see in a cinema or in real life that we can imagine or even anything that we like and admire. The first thing that came into my mind is an action of somebody crossing the street in a crowd. While thinking and listing things that could happen in real life and also would be great to film too, my ideas started to flow and more of floating in the air. Say, after the scene of somebody crossing the street, then the camera captures a guy looking for a girl, who’s crossing the street, however, he is too late to follow her so he’s stuck. Admittedly, the idea was quite simple, however, it is interesting how imagining about something can lead you to the next scenario, which can bring you to a good short film.

Also, one action that I really like is swimming. There are plenty of things that would be great to capture, such as waves, people swimming, or even just the sound of the water. Plus, filming underwater is one of my favourite scenes.

When it comes to listing locations, it is even more fun. I came up with a lot of places such as

Swimming pool (of course)
Library
Park
Airport
Museum
Stairs
Forest etc.

Then, we listed people in the scenario in their particular theme. So, the scene that someone crossing the street, I pictures a girl with a dark red coat in a winter, dark brown long hair, she seems mysterious but also open minded.

Overall, this class helped me get through the challenging part, which is starting and narrowing down the ideas. Surprisingly, it went really well and easy.

March 20, 2016 Ways of making, week 3 No Comments

Production design / The Danish girl

Since the oscars has been the top hot topic currently, it seems such a not to talk about stunning beautifully-made movies that had been nominated this year. Besides the incredible fact that Leonardo DiCaprio (finally) won an oscars for best male actor, I have found another category interesting which is production design. It is fascinating to know that this kind of design is really important and influential to enhance the movies and also to make the scenes more engaging and realistic. In the oscars, there are five movies nominated, and Mad Max: Fury Road won the award. However, amongst the five nominees, The Danish Girl seems to interest me the most in terms of the content, costumes, actors and decorations etc.

The Danish Girl is about the two married painters, Gerda and Einar Wegener. This movie is based on a true story, showing Einar’s transition to a woman and how he had to struggle with the physical and emotional issues, also with the acceptance from others. The film took audience way back to the late 1920’s and the production designer, Eve Stewart, had done an fantastic job for bringing us back and feel like we are actually there with the characters.

Eve Stewart, the oscars-nominated production designer, has done a really good job setting up the scenes, it is basically a masterpiece. Her work is to take care of the visual elements of the film, to make it stick with the theme. According to the interview between Jezebel and Eve Stewart, this talented designer told us about how she came up with the theme colours and more. The research is really important when it comes to making a film alive and to engage with the audience, in order to make it look as realistic and alive as possible, Stewart did plenty of research about their lives of the character, since it is based on an actual event.

Einar and Gerda’s art was a crucial influence. “The art was like going through the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland,” Stewart says. “That was the way into the design.” (Stewart’s interview for Architectural Digest)

To make it even more visually immersed, Eve Stewart went to the actual apartment two painters lived and actually shoot there. Further in the film, Eve said that the art by Einar and Gerda was really influential. She also made the Gerda’s art of Einar dressing like a woman to show how Einar was as a woman. The whole movie is basically about Einar’s journey as a transgender and Stewart had done a great, fantastic job telling the story. Also, throughout movie, not only the actors’ brilliant performances that make me believe in story but also the production designer that bring me into it and feel attached to the film.

Overall, this movie includes plenty of good shots and performance. Additionally, I have found how powerful and influential the production design can be to a film. To get into details of what the designers do to make the movie best, it is fascinating that these little details, such as clothing, colours, and locations, these can make the whole thing a lot better.

March 9, 2016 Ways of making No Comments

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