https://vimeo.com/234336073
Again, I am choosing another short clip for this analysis, (short and sweet, right?). nonetheless, whilst short it shall not be disregarded, as exemplified in my previous post.
Lighting is something that has always intrigued me, yet is sadly often overlooked (by myself, peers, and even pros). It can make or break a moment, but that seems to be the only time it is regarded; it either stands out due to its brilliance or for its’ lack-thereof – with standard, but effective, lighting being ignored.
Lighting is fantastic; it can illuminate obscure, reveal or hide, enlighten us or leave us in the dark, (okay, enough puns). Just by looking at the lighting of a scene or the placement of a character/object within it can tell an audience so much. A well-lit room with orange tones can give a sense of warmth, telling us a character is safe, whereas a darkened room with blueish/white tones can infer danger.
is that the hero of the story? If yes, then they’re likely well-lit. an illuminated hero is honest and open. Is that the villain? If yes again, they’re likely poorly lit, with a large portion of their face being obscured (but we need that to see emotions! Clearly got something to hide…). This can be shown in the accompanying clip: Adrian stands in the foreground well lit, whilst I remain in the back. Due to the lighting he is clearly shown to the subject, it is only when I move (first up, then forward – movement distracts focus too) into the light that my intentions become more clear.

Although short and merely a singular shot, the construction of this shot in class served as a great reminder of the existence of shifting focus mid-shot and of its uses. Personally, I tend to forget about this neat little trick, more focusing on trying to perfect one shot on one character/object and then pairing it with a reaction shot. The focus shift however, allows us to eliminate the unnessecary reaction shot and condense the two into one seemless shot, (this is just one of the many applications of the technique).  So what does the shot specifically entail? It is the simple shifting of the cameras’ focus from one subject to another, whilst being stationary, in order to shift the audiences’ focus. (to move the camera whilst shifting focus would be a pull-shot – as popularised by Jaws).
Additionally, it can establish relationships between items and/or characters;  by pairing the two into a single shot instantly creates a connection between them, and can be done via a characters’ gaze, referencing of dialogue, reactionary by emotion, or even silent –inferring relativity is yet to come or will become of importance at a later point. Whilst simple, the exercise proved to be a valuable reminder that the technique should not be overlooked, nor be taken lightly, and can be of great use to creators when utilised correctly.

Wowee! What a week we’ve had. The pitches were a resounding success; the projects that everyone pitched were fantastic, and the support that everyone had for one another’s ideas was even more so. (although the pleasant demeanour may have been due to the presence of food. It usually helps.)
The ‘Last Afternoon Tea’ on Thursday allowed us to talk further on the pitches, form groups, offer ideas and support, and wrap up loose ends from the Tuesday. Now, with everyone somehow seemingly mixed in with multiple groups and collaborations, we were ready to roll, but not so quickly, there was still much to do and little time to do it in. with pre-production now consisting of trial shoots we will have to be both concise and time-efficient with little room for error during production.
These projects are our children, we wish to see them flourish, so let’s get out there and make them sons of pitches!
(warning:keep an eye on Paul)

Now this is a shot I’ve been infatuated with for years. I first saw this in my literature class in year 11, and it has stuck with me ever since.
Continuously morphs from a reactionary shot of the main character to the events surround them, to a POV shot – immersing the viewer into the scene. It shows depth and variety of scenery; deciding to not focus on one singular point, but to establish the scene and the entire world of the characters in giving a continuous unbroken 360 degree perspective of the environment they inhabit. It attempts to show the full spectrum of human emotion and the reactions/effects that war may have on people. Some lash out with violence, some wallow in despair in reflecting their actions, some turn to prayer, some choose ignorance, and some rejoice in its end. In one seamless shot we are not only given the perspective of our main character, but also a clear view of the mentality in total of their comrades, no matter how differing they may be. Whilst transitioning between the main characters perspective and the immersed audiences, the cinematography and stylisation remains the same- resorting to a continuous voyeuristic style. The only thing distinguishing the difference between the characters’ POV and the separated audiences’, is the involvement of the characters within frame. The objective of this shot is to provide scope, and it does exactly that in allowing several points of view to take control and dominate the shot without detracting from the overall scene. It is a shared experience, and so the imagery, perspective, and interpretation at hand must be shared as well. It is in this shot that it able to masterfully establish mass scenery and major differing scope/interpretation, whilst all keeping it within the one singular mentality of the combined characters contained within it.  The centrally-aligned cinematographic transition of frames help give light to the narrow and tunnelled vision of the soldiers depicted. There are plenty of actions playing out in the peripheral, however those are never noticed nor of any concern to the centrally depicted characters. Personally, this singular long-shot is able to give as much scenes could ever hope for, and that’s even after reading into it. everything within it is so meticulously constructed that you cannot help but assign meaning to every action; the imagery and alignment is so precise that it is near impossible for it to be chance.

Okay, so originally thought that my idea of a quick/smash cut of me washing the dishes was a dull yet interesting task to take on. I was wrong. Because next up was making the bed! Now this was interesting as that choice of concept went out the window, however interpretation was completely subject to will. We have our subject and topic, but how do we portray it? How do we add style? For this I chose I more comedic route not dissimilar to Edgar Write or that of Monty Python, (being major influences), in that I intended to use an almost musical sense of comedic timing, thus I had to pair it with a more comedic structure and style. But intention and timing is not enough as that the feel of a shot is greatly tied to its cinematography paired with its editing (timing). The opening  has a slower pace in terms of establishing the subject (rather than timing), and so a greater focus is given to the character and the subject at hand (the bed), establishing a relationship between the two. Once the strenuous relationship is established it comes to focus on the characters’ struggle, thus the POV and following reaction shots. Previously I had freedom. But now I was constricted. However, before I found the freedom to be overwhelming. What do I do when given so many opportunities? Yet once I knew what task I faced, I found it easier to concentrate and focus on a singular task; thinking ‘within the box’, but pushing its limits.

For this assessment I’d like to focus on the homework pieces for the studio thus far. I’ve loved the class exercises, but if I want to truly reflect, then I have to reflection what is truly mine and not a collaborative effort, (despite how educational they are).
In the pitch of a film or within the basic concept in the mind of a director or writer, we seldom give much thought to more menial tasks. Whenever people think of creating a piece they tend to think of the more action based scenes, or intense dramatic scenes. In all of my previous works there’s always been some sort of motive, be in from myself or of the character. Everything had a purpose. If something was deemed redundant to a scene, then it would be omitted from the final cut.
what was new for me was having to decide the task at hand and then portray that being acted out. If given a certain task or piece of imagery then I would be able to construct a more cohesive and clear piece, but if having to fully decide something on my own I tend to falter. I’ve found that that tends to be my downfall in a directing role – however it is usually not up to the director to create the imagery as a whole, but more interpret it.
This task has been invaluable to me as that not only did it force me to create and conceive a task, but to focus on something that is so often overlooked; of which I am definitely guilty of. How would this task be carried out? How is it framed? Is it stylised? These alterations and the questions at hand should continue to effect the decisions I make from here on out.

Light or dark, shadowed or lit, high and or low angle, quick cut or long take, it doesn’t matter what you’re shooting for, there’s always going to be a million questions you’ve got to ask yourself in the planning of a film. And as much as I would like to delve into all of the above, today I’m going to looking at colour.
The use of colour in film is both amazingly well taken note of/revered by critics and filmmakers alike, but criminally overlooked too. It is something so simple and yet complex it can make or break the visual style of a film. Too much and the shot can become saturated, not enough and it can look bleak or lifeless, the ‘wrong’ choice and an object character or scenery can become jarring or unnerving. Although, this can sometimes be a very intentional thing, being a choice made by the director on purpose for a specific reason.  It’s simple; it merely depends on character, context, lighting, angle, the set/scenery, the objects within the set/scenery, and tone (and much more I’m sure). See? Simple.
This is predominantly so due to the ‘psychological colour theory’; a subconscious effect which dictates our views and interpretation of the light/colour spectrum. For example: the colour white has become synonymous with purity, surrender, innocence, heaven, and childhood. Reds are passion, love, hate, blood, fire, warmth. Blues are cool, calm, open, but also cold and sterile. Black night, darkness, evil, dread, death, corruption, but can stand out and accentuate and define those around it. Brown is earthy, humble, yellow is inquisitive, purple is wise (and gansta), and so on.
Because of this we can almost instantaneously know so much about a character because of what they wear as well as their choice of surroundings. It’s just a matter of knowing what to use and when. It is an incredible tool when utilised correctly. But what about when it’s not used? Black and white films can be just as powerful with their choice of shades than their more colour counterparts. Many of the most revered and acclaimed of all time are shot in black and white, some even with the availability of colour at the time. In 1960, director Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho, a black and white film hinged on its use of shadows and light. In 2015, George Miller created Mad Max: Fury Road with the directors’ cut being in black and white. James Mangold soon followed suit with Logan in 2017. But why? Form. As said earlier the colour black and define its surroundings, accentuating shapes and tones. It creates a direct contrast between black and white, highlighting direct and specific choices of position and shape whilst not detracting from the film itself. One critical aspect may be ‘lost’, but in its place it allows for everything else to become even greater.
regardless of stance, colour will always play a crucial role in any medium. And just as cinema genre has gone through cycles of genre, so too will colour.  From black and white up until the 50’s, the dark embellishment purple and ‘deep’ colours in the 80’s, to the domination of the pairing of orange and blue in the 2010’s. Its trends and uses may vary and change, but its effects and the role it plays on our screens will not.  It’ll be exciting to see what the future holds for the next cycle.

Although the studio has really only just begun, I feel like I’ve learnt quite a bit in the last two weeks. For one, why haven’t been more videos more often? Hasn’t been too strenuous so far. Two: working with other people rather than solo is sooo much easier working with other people. Not only does it divide up tasks and require me to not have to constantly be in front AND behind the camera, but ti’s also nice to just be collaborating and creating with other people again – something I’ve missed over the semester break. Three: it’s good to reflect. Not only on your own work but also others – look into how they made their pieces, what worked, what didn’t, and visa versa; have others criticise and give feedback on my own work. I should a lot more time between creating a piece and hitting the  export and submit button. Wouldn’t hurt to actually take my time rather than just shooting and editing the very first thing that comes into my head.

The class time we’ve had so far, whilst seemingly short and quick, have been invaluable. Previously I had gotten into the habit of doing various extra takes and trying things from new angle, thinking that I may change my mind later on about a sequence of shots, or ‘just in case’. But I’ve realised that that’s wrong now. You don’t want to have your film “shot to shit”, because if it is, then it will become shit. Don’t shoot until you know what to shoot. Have everything planned, know your work inside and out, then once production has begun, you can work quickly and efficiently. Only if having faced challenges and obstacles in the filming process itself should you then compromise and change a shot or scene. Know your shit. Don’t just work with what you have on the fly.
This is just what I’ve come to know in a week and a half. I’m eager to find out what’s yet to come.

Throughout the course of this studio I want to be able to explore, develop, and hone my own creative style; to look into what I regard as my own personal flair. In order to achieve this I further aim to build a small series of stylised videos, slowly but exponentially getting better as I create them. If I’m able to create a small but humble little collection of videos that I can happily share and be proud of, then I will be more than happy and satisfied with the studio. Although, in conjunction with this I’d be more than happy to be surprised and learn new skills, techniques, styles, and work collaboratively with classmates, in fact, I aim for that to happen. To enter with one goal and end with having achieved multiple in the process would be a dream.

To me, or at least from I can gather thus far, this studio is a chance for us to learn from example, from those around us, and with a guiding hand learn to better understand ourselves as well as the craft of filmmaking. Hopefully, from more trial than error, come to understand what the rules and techniques of filmmaking, when to utilise them, AND when to go against them. If able to achieve this, then this studio will not only be highly valuable but also critical in the development of who I am as a media practitioner  and filmmaker.
Will I be able to achieve all of the aforementioned prompts? Maybe, maybe not. I’m just gonna have to be a good boy and try my best. So until failure comes beckoning on my doorstep I’ll just have to try and continue to do my best, even if that means continuously uploaded poor quality videos (gotta start somewhere, right?). So, with that said, here’s to Box and all the challenges and joys that come with it.

Remember when you were a little kid and you went to go do a drawing? You know what you’re doing, you’re pumped, you’re primed and ready to go. You think to yourself “oh boy, I’m going to draw the best truck ever!” then after what seems hours toiled away at work, a parent comes along and says “awesome looking turtle!”. Remember that feeling? There are two ways you can take this. Option 1: “NO! IT’S CLEARLY A TRUCK, LIKE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! IT’S A TRUUUUCK!”, or option 2: “dang. I guess it is a pretty swell turtle”. Now, I’m not saying that this production has gone as far astray as turtles from trucks, BUT… It has become evident that clearly things don’t work out quite as expected in every way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Were we able to fully replicate the stylisation we were going after? Not quite, but nonetheless, what we did achieve was what I view as a fairly clear parody of it. Admittedly our organisation has not been the best so far. Plans sat on the table for weeks as the due date drew closer, and little had been done: it seems as though the vast majority of this piece has been produced in a mad rush, and it shows in the work. Again, by no means is that a bad thing though. That’s how we’ve come up with the best things within the piece. Hours could be spent sitting down trying to make a script and still not compare to what’s written in a half hour brainstorm. I think this video has helped us realise how we all work; hard, fast and better engaging as a team (for the love of god please don’t take that sentence out of context). The script and skeleton of the video was made in a rush, so why not the video itself? Maximise the cheapness! What better way to make something look bad than actually being bad at it? Ironically enough, in failing to achieve the original vision, we became bad at being bad, but what we made was still successfully ‘bad’… are we idiots or geniuses? This is only the ‘halfway’ point, so I guess only time will tell.
Jokes and learning experiences aside,  it’s been fantastic being able to work as a group again with a common goal as well as a sense of humour. Working in the studios for the first time was a thrill, as well as a little overwhelming with the future potential for the space and what uses we’ll have for it. Suffice to say, I look forward for more.

We may have gone off the beaten track so far, but hopefully we’ll still reach our destination.