Forbidden Xanadu

I really liked the simplicity of this documentary. The first half was very interesting, but I was particularly  impressed at how the second half was slow and calm, but was never boring. It reflected the old, abandoned nature of the surroundings and didn’t require extra interviews, information or effects to enhance the experience or improve the film. It allowed the surroundings to speak for themselves, only occasionally broken up by reflective speech. The choice of location and subject was also visually appealing and interesting. 

Bluestone

I liked how although this film only had one subject who narrated and was on screen, they managed to break it up well. The lack of diversity in characters was not noticeable and what he was saying was interesting and well paced enough that I didn’t get bored of him, and it didn’t sound like he had been talking for too long.

The Sneakerhead Collective

Possibly my favourite film of the evening. It was very professionally done, technically it all looked and sounded really good. The pacing and script was also great; the narration being used just enough, and always having a point of interest to add, rather than simply providing exposition. It also enhanced the humor and impact of the film. Although the ‘Sneakerheads’ were shown to have spent a lot of money and time on their collection, the film wasn’t judgmental or harsh, it was more light-hearted and had a friendly atmosphere.

Train Station Time Machine

I really enjoyed this documentary, it was one of my favourites. Visually, the inside of the station would’ve been really interesting to see, but I feel we don’t need to see what is really inside it. the film encourages speculation, while also providing some insight into the history of the building. The voice overs were effective, especially how they were layered in the beginning. 

Bitcoin Down Under

In my opinion, this was the most professional looking film. I liked how it had come along from the fine cut screening, and the subject matter seemed more interesting and the information more structured. Technically the film looked really impressive, and the subjects were all entertaining and informative. I was also impressed at the films ability to support the interviews with visual material, despite bitcoin being an intangible currency.

Question 1

The above shot is grainy, due to auto-gain.

To hide the gain, we brought the darks up a lot to make the jumper darker to hide the gain which was most apparent there. The mid-tones were also brought up slightly. The original footage began looking more washed out and cold, so we brought the shadows slightly toward the red to warm up the image and put the pink tones back into his skin. The gain is still visible, particularly on the wall behind him. This could be fixed by bringing the contrast up further, however, this could make the shot look more obviously colour graded and unnatural. So I am content with our current colour grade.

The above footage of the crowd at federation square is overexposed, an ND filter should have been used.

Again, we brought the darks up a fair amount in this image, and the mid-tones down, to bring down the whiteness. We also brought the whites down substantially. The image began looking too orange, so we brought the mid-tones toward the blue. I don’t think this footage is complete yet. I would bring the highlights toward the blue as well as the footage still looks orange. It also looks somewhat flat, particularly the buildings in the background. So I would try to bring some more highlights into the image.

Question 5

My main goals  for this course were to improve my technical skills and be more hands on in the process. I believe working in a group of two has allowed me to do that as I had more responsibilities. As well as directing, I did more producorial work, contacting some of the interviewees and coming up with questions. I was also the interviewer for this documentary which allowed me to get outside of my comfort zone, as I needed to be able to think on my feet. Most importantly though, and what I feel has been most valuable, is doing technical work. I admit this was the area I was lacking in the most at the beginning of semester. But I did the majority of the camera work for this documentary, did a bit of sound, as well as editing. I made lots of mistakes this semester, but I don’t feel overly regretful, as it is because of those mistakes that I have learned a lot in a short amount of time. Such as the different functions of the camera, what looks good, and how to fix something if it doesn’t look good.  It has also been a long time since I’ve done a lot of editing, and so it was good to get back into it. Especially as I was still mostly unfamiliar with premiere.

This course exceeded my expectations. I didn’t have low expectations, but I thought it would be more or less similar to last semester. While Film-TV1 was fantastic and I had a great time, I feel I have learned so much more in Film-TV2. I attribute this to the ability to choose our own groups and be more fluid with our roles. While I did a lot last semester, I mostly stuck to producorial work as that was my role, and the other roles were filled by other, enthusiastic people. This semester I was adamant about the fact that I wanted to work either alone, or with a partner, because I knew that was the only way I would be forced to learn everything. With that in mind, my favourite aspect of this subject was the fluidity. We chose our own ideas, and people could decide which ones they wanted to work on. Our group size was completely up to us, and, particularly evident in the fine cut screening, we could attempt anything from informational, to experimental. It has given me a new appreciation and excitement for documentary, as well as independent projects, and i feel more confident in approaching filmmaking in the future.

Question 1

The soundscape is somewhat cheesy. Along with the singing and gentle instruments, there are sounds of birds and nature loudly layered over it. It sounds seems to be repeated, so it may be a stock sound of ‘birds.’ otherwise they may have recorded a short bird sound and repeated it. The sound effects then pick up with chimes and whooshes enhancing what we see. Chimes and whirls support the whirling transition between scenes. Dahlia then throws her scarf up out of the car with a dramatic whoosh. The music is then abruptly stopped with the journalist’s voice, to which the visual scene disintegrates as the cheesy fantasy is broken. There are still stock sound effects though; such as cash register noises. When the book reappears, the chimes are heard once again, illustrating that it is fantasy. Whenever the journalist disproves something said in ‘Forbidden Love,’ a more jarring sound effect is used such as a rattle or a camera shutter sound. These, again, sound to be stock sounds sourced externally, and were layered over the interviews once the other editing had been completed. The whole piece is edited in a way where the interviews audio continues over the visual edits. This allows the transitions to flow better and tie into each other.

Question 2

Cmd+G, Grouping. It is irritating trying to move nicely edited finished sequences around without messing anything up, so I assume that’s what the grouping tool is for. I’ve never used it before but I imagine it makes it much easier to keep edit specific sequences and not have them become messed up when trying to move them.

Left, Step Backward. This sounds like a much faster way to undo something. it’s just one key. Definitely useful to save thought and energy.

Cmd+ Left/ Right, move selected clip by one frame. Moving the clip frame by frame, invaluable for fine editing and perfecting/ polishing.

Opt+ Left/ Right, trimming the clip by one frame. Similarly to Cmd + Left/ Right, this is good for fine editing.

Question 3

The sound in this piece informs the images. For example when the sound tempo and tone picks up at around 4:30, the tone of the piece seem completely different and the people’s live seem to be faster and more exciting that before the music change. This illustrates how important sound can be and the careful placement and choice of sound and music.

The camera work focuses on movement and obstruction. It films random people as a fly on the wall, it doesn’t matter who the individual is. There are shots of feet or people moving or walking obstructed by cars and architecture. Trucks will drive in the way of the shot, and people will turn away from the camera and we see their backs. It is illustrative of just everyday people who you have no connection to, but they are just around. The camerawork and editing reflect this well. The edits being just short enough for one character not to receive too much spotlight or interest. They are shown for just as long as if you were just glancing at them on the street.

Question 4

“Its often incredibly painful for people to talk about some of what they’ve experienced, and yet they have made some kind of choice to let themselves be filmed. In that arrangement of trust, i think there’s a space for human attention.” I really like this Kirsten Johnson quote from the Cunningham reading. I’ve had concerns through filming that maybe the participants are feeling uncomfortable or that I’m making them awkward or asking them too much. Then i try to think of ways to compensate and become super friendly and talkative after the interview. But i guess there is some mutual trust there. Everyone i have interviewed has been happy to answer all of my questions and sign over the release forms, and they know that f they don’t want to answer something they don’t have to. So perhaps they don’t feel uncomfortable at all. This is probably helped as although i cant talk during the take, all the people I’ve interviewed so far have had genuinely interesting things to say. It feels more like a conversation, at least on my end. I think in this documentary and in future ones i can push people a little. carefully, of course. Particularly with the Catholic groups, whom might be sensitive about me comparing their religion to an AFL team. But as long as there is tact, people seem willing to share a lot. I guess people just enjoy talking about themselves and their interests.

“I love when that happens in film, when you have some kind of physical embodiment of the persons inner state.” This is another quote that i like, which was actually bold and enlarged in the article. and for good reason too. The thing about effective films is they use their visual medium to their advantage. Rather than exposition, it is more effective to show rather than to tell. Inner emotions are difficult to express in this way, so its important to look for opportunities to capture this.

Cunningham, Megan. The art of the documentary : ten conversations with leading directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers, (p. 88-89, 149-175, 277, 284). Berkeley, CA : New Riders, 2005.

Question 2

I thought it was interesting in the ‘Documentary storytelling for film and video makers’ reading how documentary makers can plan out their story of what they want to film, but never as extensively as a scripted film director could do. “You can’t know where real life will take you, but you can certainly anticipate a range of outcomes and determine whether or not the story holds sufficient promise.” When thinking about my own film idea, i know what i want to explore and i know it sounds very interesting (to me at least), but i cant anticipate how the end result will turn out, because we are not working with actors. Real people talking about themselves or their experiences are much more difficult to work with and whats most important is to maintain good relationships with them if you want your documentary to good according to plan. However, sometimes when things don’t go according to plan, the story can be even more interesting and will take you on a different path. This is why we should anticipate this kind of change and film any experience possible in the process, even if it feels like a tangent.

Something else that interested me was the thought one must put into visuals. Although you cant plan how a documentary filming will go entirely, you need to anticipate how you can make the film a visual experience. Like in drama, the fact that film is a visual medium is important. You must consider B-roll and visual representations of things to keep the audience interested and visually stimulated, even if you cant always anticipate how a scene, event or interview will play out.

Question 2

In this course i really want to go outside my comfort zone and take more initiative and risks. Last semester i gained a general knowledge of what the film making process is and i believe i reached my goals for the course. Now i want to take it one step further and become confident in camera, sound and editing, though i would really want to be as involved as possible, so hopefully directing too. I hope to work in a relatively small group, and help out on other peoples shoots too. Ideally i think it would be awesome and a great experience to work by myself, but I don’t know how practical that would be, so ill sit on the idea a bit longer. Overall, i just hope to make something i am proud of, and i hope to learn a lot. I want to get the most out of this course while i can.

Question 5

The sounds we recorded remind me of the city and large public areas. Hearing sounds like trams, people and coffee machines. They definitely suggest the image of a crowded place in the city, very much representative of RMIT where the sounds were recorded. Even in the running water recording from the fountain, there are sounds of the street and people passing by in the background, giving it the feeling of a public space. Other recordings that could be done to emphasise the space are crowd footsteps, possibly trains, cars, announcements, food preparation. All indicative of things you hear and are exposed to in the city.