For my investigation, I focused on foley and adobe after effects; specifically, trying to create the effect of a camera passing through a wall or floor to serve as a transition. Because of this, I will be separating my experiments into different sub-headings to accommodate them both.
Category Archives: True to Form
Class reflection
Paul whipped out the markers and A3 paper again, and we were back to brainstorming our ideas for our experiments for the next few weeks.
To be honest – I don’t feel like I got much out of this session. But what I did realize after jotting down ideas and discussing with Sem – is that a narrative might help with our experiments.
My first experiment with 3-D layers
So during the weekend after the project pitch – Sem and I journeyed to the lands of Yarraville in search of an abandoned factory.
Upon arriving, we scouted the area to see what we could find. The walls were lined with graffiti, the skeleton of the building walls stood exposed, and spray cans and other pieces of junk lay scattered across the ground. The fact that it was a huge ex-factory meant that there were different pockets of spaces – meaning this location had plenty of potential for a film or photography shoot.
Pitch progress
I’m interested in working on soundscapes and foley effects within shots. As an overall goal – I want to be able to improve the quality of my shots and short films by using my own, original sound effects to create the space in which my characters exist in.
The first difficulty I have is simply the shot I want to edit sound for. I don’t know whether or not I want to work with someone in the class to create the shot – in which I will then foley and soundscape – or if there is a visual element I could experiment with, with which I could then experiment with sound as well.
Writing task and foley experiments
So the writing task we did in week three was designed to give us an idea of what we might like to investigate for our series of experiments. We jotted down people and places we find interesting, as well as actions – interesting or mundane. Then we jotted down ideas of things we could experiment with and investigate.
Now personally, I don’t think this activity helped me at all. I didn’t really get anything from it, and I haven’t even considered experimenting with the things I wrote that day.
Could foley be my investigation?
So I’ve got to come up with something I want to investigate in terms of filmmaking.
When we were given the task to think of what we’d like to experiment and play with – nothing came to mind. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to investigate; all I knew was that I wanted to come out of this semester as a better overall filmmaker.
The power of folly
So we just created out expertise video and there’s one thing I learnt that I never knew before. And that is how powerful folly sounds are – more specifically, how powerful creating your own folly sounds are.
What the heck is ‘abstract’?
So for my ‘true to form’ class, we were assigned the task to create a 1-2 minute abstract film – and I’m already confused.
What am I in for?
2nd year in uni, and I’m currently doing ‘true to form’ as my studio for media three.
What do I expect from this class? To be honest – I don’t exactly know. I’m hoping that this class will build upon my knowledge of film making (as little as it may be) and raise my understanding of the fundamentals of film making. I also want this class to correct any bad habits I have with my film making techniques – while also teaching me new and useful filming techniques that I can implement into my own films.
The first class I had was a bit of surprise. Why? Well I didn’t expect to be taught how to use a tripod. Apparently there is a ‘correct’ way to use it which I was completely unaware of – which is nice. The fact that I was unaware that there is a proper way to use a tripod shows that I have a lot to learn, and I have tons of space to grow as a film maker. Sometimes even the most simple things requires more thought to use properly than one would assume. Although in saying that – learning how to use a tripod was a bit of a dry topic, and I hope that classes in the future teaches things that are more exciting.
And finally, what are my goals for this studio? I want to learn things that I will use in the future. Too many times – from primary school all the way up to more recently, I’ve been taught things that I haven’t used at all. I don’t want this semester to be wasted on things that I will forget. Last semester was a great example of a class where everything I learnt was useful in applying in real-world scenarios. I did ‘transgression studios’ with Catherine Gough-Brady, and it was a class based on story-telling through audio. My audio knowledge was minimal. By the end of the studio, I walked away with the confidence to create interesting and engaging soundscapes that I will be able to apply in my videos. And I’m hoping the same will happen with this studio. I want to walk away with the confidence to create interesting and mesmerising visuals.
Cheers to another semester.