Now at the end of this semester, it is time to reflect on what I have learnt and achieved so far.

 

In the first half of the semester, what we focused on are the basic theories and skills that would be very helpful for us to practice our own projects later. It includes the basic functions of EX-3 camera like how to adjust exposure, white balance and focus which are the things I frequently used during my shooting. We also got a basic of understanding on the sound recording, which I think is the most challenging things for me because I always forgot how to make the sound mixer work. As a result, I must say the sound part of my short film is not satisfying at all, even I did lots of postproduction works to fix the soundtracks but it still has lots of problems with the sound. Therefore next year, I will pay more attentions on sound recording to improve my relevant skills.

 

For the short film I have done, there are lots of things to say. Before I started to shoot, I never thought it would be such challenging and after I finished it, it looks completely different from what I expected. As mentioned in my previous posts, at the beginning I was struggling should the story itself be easy and logical enough to understand if I decide to make it experimental at the same time by some unusual approaches like using subtitles and voice over. But soon I realized that I can’t make it both reasonable and abstract at the same time, which means I can only focus on practicing the experimental devices, or telling a story which makes sense like normal drama. As a result, I decided to focus on the devices rather than plot. A story of a man who might have mental problems is not able to speak when wakes up on Sunday morning, which he call it ‘lost my language’. Actually, there are many ways to understand what happened to him: a bad dream, consequences of alcoholic hallucinosis, or due to some reasons he has to repeating the day. All of these can be possible, and even myself don’t know which one is true. But what I do know is, in terms of practicing the devices I haven’t used before, this film (or whatever you call it) is something I was meant to make. Indeed, it is abstract, ambiguous, and even wired. However, I value it because I have proven my ability to turn the ideas in my mind to reality, even just partly, but it is still a good feeling to do that.

 

This course has offered me an amazing experience. I should say thanks to Robin and all the others who helped me to improve myself. I may not be a filmmaker eventually, but the skills I have learnt through this course is something always useful in my future career. Goodbye and see you next year!