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1 – Write about what you want from this studio? What you think this studio is? Outline your goals and desires. Consider the Studio Prompt, Brief and Aims –

The reason as to why I picked this studio was that for the last couple semesters I have been focusing more on mobile media and alternative media. I felt like going into my last year of studies I wanted to change my creative direction more towards film making as this is something that I felt like I haven’t fully delved into yet. Another reason as to why I picked this studio is because I wanted to explore stuff that was more out of my comfort zone. I’ve worked with film in the past at RMIT, but I personally believe that I still haven’t achieved all that I am capable of. I want to push myself this year and further expand my creative knowledge and tools. Deliberate Film I fell will be a really good platform for me to revise and learn essential film and editing techniques as this is an area which I feel I’m lacking in both technically and mentally. Being guided by constraints I believe will be essential in me developing the skills to take my film making skill set to another level. I’m also hoping that the things I learn from this studio will benefit me later on down the road, when working in a professional industry. I am confident that with the amount of teamwork and collaborative opportunities that this studio offers, it will really help me develop a wider span of expertise when working in groups in the future. As well as this I’m looking forward to receiving feedback from not only Paul but also classmates as this learning space looks great for people to give their honest opinions about the exercises and assignments undergone in class time. This in conjunction with the reflections that are required throughout class time will hopefully lead me to understand why some technical and production skills work and which ones don’t.

2- Reflect on the findings from class exercises and homework (choose 2) and embed the videos in your blog post.

Action sequence homework:

Available Here

For this piece of homework, we we’re required to film a 30 second video of us doing some sort of action. I filmed myself making a cup of coffee which is super boring. The biggest challenge I had was trying to frame the shots as best as I could without having a subject in frame. It made it hard to frame shots as I wasn’t sure if I was giving myself enough space in shot as well as trying to make sure that my frame was decently balanced aesthetically. I think one of the shots that showed I struggled was with the water being poured down the sink. I tried to pre-focus on the sink so that when I poured the water everything would be in focus. But my final shot ended up being out of focus and this was something that I only noticed once I started to edit the sequence. I think that this mistake happened because I wasn’t able to use the viewfinder on my dslr, instead I was relying on the screen on the back. I think that if I had used the viewfinder and had a subject to help me focus it would’ve made for better quality framed shots, but I couldn’t as I was working without any assistance.  I also think another thing that I could’ve done better was to show my movement more around the kitchen. I tended to focus a lot on the coffee machine as that was the action, but it jumps to me at one point at the coffee machine, sink and then kitchen table. When I re-watch the sequence I’m thinking that the audience might be off put by all the jumps to the different spots in the kitchen. Maybe if I had chosen to film some wider shots of me moving around the kitchen it would’ve made it for a more succinct sequence of events.

The Lenny edit:

Available Here

This was the first piece of work I’ve done with a script. I found this exercise harder to edit because I think I was really focusing on trying to put something together that’s well constructed. I think that the edit looks okay but there is definitely room for improvement. The way that it was edited was how I felt like it was intended to be with the script. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because I think it gave my sequence structure, but in turn I believe I played it somewhat safe. If I was to redo this exercise again, I think I would’ve tried to film things from some different angles, because one thing that I wasn’t the biggest fan of with the final edit was that it almost felt like the shots are the same. When I re-watch the sequence I think that it could probably benefit from a bit more shot variety to make it a bit less boring. One area that I wanted to work on was my cuts. I wanted to try and extend my shots out longer so there wasn’t such a quick cut to the next shot. I felt like adding a prolonged cut would also add some suspense to the narrative. However, I’m not sure if I liked how long some of the shots are. This was clear when Lenny asks Sharon if she got the number. I purposely extended the two shot because I felt like it was an important part of the script. But when I re-watch the sequence there’s a bit of me that thinks that the extended cut comes off a bit too tacky or corny. I also think that my cuts could be slightly smoother with dialogue. I found it hard to cut the dialogue because I wasn’t too sure on how much breathing room to give, which made me second guess some parts of the sequence.

3 The initiative post – This post is for you to research and write on anything related to the aims of the course. You could do some shooting and editing, then upload it to your blog and reflect upon it. Anything….

So over the last three years I’ve been getting more and more into Formula 1. I’ve kind of always liked cars and motorsports, but it took me a while to get into Formula 1 because it’s such a technical sport. I have a Netflix subscription but too be honest I don’t really use it that often. I find that Netflix has a large catalogue of content to pick from, but a lot of it just isn’t want I would like to watch. However last year they released a Netflix original called ‘Drive to Survive’. It was essentially Netflix following the Formula 1 paddock around the world, race to race, and giving fans of Formula 1 a taste of behind the scenes of some of the biggest personalities in the sport. When I finished watching the first season, I thought that ‘Drive to Survive’ could be the best thing that I’ve watched on Netflix. I liked it so much that I think I’ve re-watched it three times now. Last month Netflix dropped the second season of the show and all it done for me has cemented how good the show really is. What impressed me the most about this show is just how well each and every episode is constructed. The show is able to change its pace from being slow and calm when interviewing drivers or team owners, but the tension is raised whenever the audience sees the Formula 1 cars out on track. The latest season too did a really touching tribute to Anthonie Hubert who was a Formula 2 driver who died in an on-track crash last year. The series asks a few drivers who were close to Hubert about the loss of their fellow racer. This was really touching to see the Formula 1 drivers being so raw and emotional when talking about the accident. At the time of the crash I didn’t see much raw emotion from the drivers but when asked about Hubert you can clearly see how much everyone is hurting. This was surprising to see and almost hard to watch, and I felt like Netflix did a really good job in remembering Humbert. Another element of the show that I enjoyed was the fact that you we’re essentially invited into the chosen persons shoes for each episode, as they are always mic’d up with the camera on them. It really felt like you were getting to know the person as if you were there with them. As well as this throughout the season we are introduced to not only the drivers, but also their families. I think that this was a really nice feature because as a fan of Formula 1 I learnt so many things from what family members said about their kids growing up and trying to make their dream a reality. It really made me think about how dedicated the drivers are but also their families, as they have to make so many sacrifices just to be able to get their child into the sport.