List the things that you learnt from this experience – this could be things that went well or not so well.
So, the Lenny exercise was an interesting one. What let us down was lack of organisation beforehand. We had no actors. We had originally thought that we’d just pair up with another group and form a supergroup – them acting (and crewing) in ours, us acting (and crewing) in theirs. But as soon as we’d set off, carrying equipment to their location, we all came to the same realisation that it was unlikely we’d even have a turn to shoot. So we decided to split up the supergroup, and go back to our original smaller groups.
Consequently, Molly and I had to act. This meant that Mark (DP), Kevin (sound recordist) and Lauren (director) were our only crew. Lauren had to direct, call the roll, and slate the shots – since I, the First A.D. (/2nd A.C.), was now acting. Molly was running back and forth, taking notes for the best take of each shot. I turned into some shoddy form of art department / time-keeper person when I wasn’t acting. It was quite messy, the way we did it all. But it sort of worked. Sort of.
We hadn’t chosen a location beforehand. I’d had one in mind, so on the day we just went there. The location was a brick-walled alleyway piercing the La Trobe St side of RMIT.
Anyway, we were not prepared. This meant that decisions didn’t happen quickly. There was too much to think about. We lost too much time thinking.
Even though we’d done a basic mark up of the script for the shots to get, we had to cut this down because we’d lost so much time thinking. So we went for the wides of the action and dialogue first, and then, if we had time (which we didn’t), we’d get some close ups. The goal was to have coverage of the script.
Lauren had the idea that we should overact. We didn’t think we’d be likely to succeed in creating a successful thriller scene, so why not make it over-the-top and funny on purpose? Everyone was keen to give it a go. We also thought it’d make our video different from the other Lenny videos. Except Molly and I only half overacted. Which didn’t really achieve the comedy we were going for. That was something I learnt. If you’re going to overact, fully commit to overacting. (It’s still kind of funny to watch, especially from our point of view!)
Ultimately, this lack of time meant that we really had to be flexible and efficient with the shots we wanted to get. Which is a great thing to practice – appraising a situation and problem solving on the spot. It’s challenging but invigorating at the same time.
Another good thing was that those in the group that weren’t acting were able to practice the on-set crew roles they will have when we shoot our short film, Budgerigar.
What I quite like about the film is how the editing gives the film some feeling of the thriller genre (in a somewhat comedic way). For example, the video opens and we see Lenny (Molly) staggering down the alleyway, and there is an out of focus/trembly/darkened effect. This is accompanied by thriller music. It’s all melodramatic. And kind of funny. Which is kind of what we were going for.
In short, things I learnt/practiced:
- Appraising a situation and problem solving on the spot
- Being flexible as to what resources we have (location, cast, crew, time, etc.) and how we can manipulate these resources in an economical way.
- Collaborating as an on-set crew (working with each other)
- Acting in terms of shot type as well as continuity
- Don’t act in your own film
- If you’re going to overact, don’t hold back.
- A good first shot to do is a wide shot. It will save your ass.
- Pre-production is everything
- Editing makes everything better
A link to the masterpiece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoNkEMhKQAg