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film/tv analysis reflection final, question 2

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Remember your answer to this from week 1?

“In 200 words or less please outline your goals, desires – what you want to get out of this semester. You will review this later in the course. Many will rethink this dramatically by the end of the course – this is a good thing.”

No? Go back and have a look.
Now we’d love you to do the same at this end.
Please reflect on how you feel about the course. What surprised you, what excited you, what disappointed you. What we could have done better. What you could have done better.
bellow is my answer back in week 1:

“Throughout this course i am primarily hoping to improve my writing abilities in relation to stories and ideas for film/tv. this includes becoming more familiar with different aspects of the story such out outlines, synopses, plots, character, events and problems and script writing, and improving on how to combine all these separate elements to create on cohesive and interesting story.

the other goal which i am trying to accomplish is to be able to effectively take these story ideas which i or or my group have created and be able to adapt that to a film that is enjoyable and coherent and in doing so to further enhance my abilities in being a part of the film production process. a major part of this is learning how to work well together collaboratively as a group to explore all possible story ideas and and overcoming intergroup difficulties to be able to produce the best possible film.”

i really enjoyed this course. looking back on my two answers from week one, i feel as though i have successfully accomplished, but, i completely left out the other. however, the part that i did not really achieve, the answer about improving my writing skills, i did try with it, back in the first few weeks when we were thinking of story ideas and synopsises. so i did give it my best effort. but, i have come to realise that writing is not my strongest ability but rather that i am far more suited to adapting a script or screenplay to film.

what i really loved about this semester was getting the chance, as the director of our film, to take the script and work with it, create a story board and a shot list, to mark up the script how i would like it done. to work with the actors and the writer to try and get the most out of the story that i could. my major goal of the semester was that i wanted to make a film that i was proud of and i am really proud of the film that we made as a group. i think we all worked well together and despite some hiccoughs along the way still pulled through and learnt how to manage issues and still produce a great film. i learned a great deal from the over all production process, especially about how much thought and planning and time goes into pre production.

what surprised me about the course was the way we were simply thrust into the project from the get go. dropped right off in the deep end and told to swim and i think that was a great way to do it. we had limited time and just had to move with it with no time for doubts and second guessings and i think that was a really great way to experience making a film.

what excited (and terrified) me was the prospect of directing. i had never done it before (except in high school) and i felt there was a lot of pressure on me to produce something great. luckily i had a great team supporting me so working together as a group to get the project done really was a brilliant learning experience.

what disappointed me was that i couldn’t help out on any other group film shoots. the shoots were all done on weekends which was when i work so i couldn’t help out on any others but my own and i feel as though this would have helped my learning of different experiences in different roles on set more.

what the staff could have done better was group formation. i don’t really know how they could change it but there needs to be a better way to sort out the groups. there was very little thought or effort put into the groups regarding peoples skills or interests in roles, suitability or friendships or who was even present in class at that time. i ended up in a completely unfeasible group that needed to be disbanded because it had been carelessly put together. luckily, this was handled very well by the staff and i ended up in a great group so not all bad 😀

what i could have done better. i think i could have tried a little harder in the concept stage of this semester. i didn’t really take the idea generating tasks seriously as i didn’t think they were going to be used for anything and i feel like i really wasted this opportunity, especially considering it was one of my goals to improve my writing i feel like i really let my self down there. i am also upset that i have come out of this and still know very little about lighting. i was interstate for the lighting week and i should have taken it upon myself to catch up but i didn’t because i was preoccupied with getting ready to direct and i feel that i have missed that opportunity.

on the whole, i really enjoyed this whole semester and have really learnt a lot from it and had some great experiences that will surely help me in the future.

film/tv analysis reflection 5 – question 2

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the week 6 reading was about developing a crew. while the primary idea of the article, picking and choosing your own crew, was not entirely relevant because for this project we have been placed into groups without being able to choose people, there were many other parts of the reading that had really interesting points.

while this point was about picking the crew, it is also important to consider when dealing with your crew on set; having the right people. mood is very important on set. the mood of the crew will influence the mood of the cast which will in turn influence how the film itself turns out. when ever i have made films in the past, i had really only considered the cast that i was picking, but never considered the importance of picking a good crew. without a good, well working crew, a film won’t happen. the reading said we need to make sure everyone knows what they want to get out of the film, that they all have the same idea and a positive outlook. we don’t want people who will be late or unenthusiastic or dismissive or rude or act as if they’re doing you a favour by being there. and especially don’t want people with negative energy. because that won’t just bring the other crew down. it will bring the cast down and the whole quality of the film.

the second point that i found really interesting and useful was the classification of the different roles, what they include and what kind of traits they need to be. most eye opening for me that i never knew before was the role of the assistant director as more of a producer/business role than  a creative one. the reading said that assistant directors almost never become directors but are more prone to becoming production managers or producers. i had never thought about it like that because i had always considered the role of the AD to assist the director (which they still do). but this job is more of an organisational role, managing time and budgets and locations and the crew in order to allow the director to have creative flexibility on set.

hopefully when we get on set everyone can work cohesively together and keep up a great work environment to get our film done well!

film/tv test 2 – question 2

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for me, a really useful and interesting reading was “slogans for the screenwriter’s wall” found at the link provided. it had a lot of really useful points and tips that need to be considered when developing a script or screenplay for a film. for me this is incredibly important because writing is my weak spot when it comes to the production process so tips and tricks are greatly appreciated. i can imagine these being very useful when it comes time to try and plan out the story and write the script for our film in this subject.

two of the most interesting pointers from this reading were:

“If you’ve got a beginning, but you don’t yet have an end then you’re mistaken. you don’t have the right beginning.”

and

“If it can be cut out then cut it out. everything non-essential that you can eliminate strengthens what is left.”

that first point was a revelation to me. i had never heard that before but it was very interesting. one if the ideas which i came up with for the short film has in interesting story yet no ending. and i am still struggling to come up with an ending for it. i have thought of multiple different ways to solve the conflict however none of these have really seemed right. maybe, thanks to this point, i may need to strip back this idea and look at it from a new angle with a new beginning and this may help me work out what the ending will be.

the second point isn’t so much new as it is very useful. as can be seen by my answers to this and the previous questions, i can write a lot and often it is too much. especially when the film that we have to make is only 5 minutes long, e cannot include everything we want to include. cutting is very hard. especially a script. so it’s important to know that whatever i do cut will only make everything else better. if i can bear to cut it then it is not vital and therefore can be cut. our biggest issue going forward with our short film is too much dialogue/exposition and not enough action. it will be important to keep in mind what is necessary and what can be cut to only have the most interesting stuff left behind in the film.

i’ve included below some of the other points that i found useful from the reading, i just thing they’ll be useful to have here for future reference.

“character progression: if you’ve thought out what kind of character your protagonist will be at the end, start him or her out as the opposite kind of person at the beginning”

“action speaks louder than words”

“drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty”

“what you leave out is as important as what you leave in”

“if it can be cut out then cut it out. everything non-essential that you can eliminate strengthens what is left.”

“exposition is boring unless it is in the context of some present dramatic tension or crisis. so start with an action that creates tension, then provide the exposition in terms of the present developments.”

“the start of your story is usually the consequence of back story.”