Collabs; rate or hate?

We have launched into our 4th project brief with the news that it consists primarily on group work, and will be assessed on our ability to collaborate and participate with others in a productive way. This at first elicited a groan from me, but straight away I realised; I genuinely enjoy group work.
Some of the thing’s i’m most proud of were achieved in a group. There’s no way I could have done them alone.

My favourite experience was during a course called Shooting Short Productions. 5 scripts from the class were selected and we chose the script which we would like to collaborate. The hardest part was divvying up the tasks. Everyone wanted to edit. This time round I think it’s a much faster process to allocate one person to lead each task, but everyone has equal input and responsibility.

I ended up shooting for 3 days with the cast and crew,and it was nice. I ate a lot of kebabs. We bonded, and shared our favourite movies and film techniques. There was never any tension. I though the biggest learning curve was after 12 takes, I couldn’t time a shot right and be able to show enough coverage, so I swallowed my pride and handed over the camera to someone else. I was slowing down the momentum trying to be it all.

Anyway, on the last day of shooting, we shot at the house of the director. He had a sick vinyl on the wall from a band I was obsessed with at the time. I said hey sick record and he said thanks that’s my band. He flipped over the sleeve and there he was. (I took the vinyl home and never paid him sorry m8)

Anyway so here’s a successful piece of group work I made last year. EnjOÿ

Not at this Address from rosie pavlovic on Vimeo.

Peer feedback for PB3

Riah:
Riah’s short interview with her mum was a touching and sentimental look into their relationship. It showed the pride she has for her mother. The film reads like a recent of the stories and tales a daughter might hear from their mother when they ask about their younger years. To me, Riah has created a poignant retelling of these stories. Creatively, her use of found footage is appropriate and well timed, fitting visual interview moments with relevant imagery. One aspect I would fix however is the sound quality during the interview, as it has a slight echo, however I understand as the lapel mic had limited distance.

Bradley: Eraserhead
I was immediately struck by Bradley’s two camera set up, which was a unique aspect throughout all the screenings. I thought that it was a simple but effective way to bring texture to his work. The closeup’s of the erasers were really effective on the white background. The professionalism was brilliant. However in a minor detail, I believe some shots against the white wall could have been exchanged for a background revealing more about the subject. Other than that I thought the concept was wildly creative and very quirky.

Hannah:
Hannah’s soundtrack was an immediate standout to me. Her use of imagery paired with title effects and sound fit together so well. She really captured the intensity of his training regime. The subject engaged with the questions well and she chose a subject with an aesthetically pleasing pastime: rowing. The shots on the water and on the bridge provided great texture to the clip and her golden hour timing was beautiful. Hannah pointed out to me that the camera was out of focus during the filming but I wouldn’t have picked up on it otherwise.

post aesthetic Q&A: am i too extra???? :(((((((

(This post has been written in a post-cyber aesthetic vernacular which aims to cut ties with retrospective affiliations of the “myspace-era” self expression on the internet.
This is in order to mimicry these outdated expressions, and establish myself on this platform as not a “normie” while also expressing my legitimate concerns about my p e r s o n a l i t y)

Q: Hi Rosie!
u probs know me as an extrovert if u are in class with me which is gross.
but I’m too extra at uni bc I’m having fun he he.
but when I’m working I’m like shy uwu bird smol birb tiny bird bone i wear my sweater sleeves clutched in me sweaty palms like an emo wearing a jay jays elmo jumper.
jks but not really.

rawr means i love u in dinosaur

my gf calls me “yep nup yep” which is an impression of me when i get frazzled taking orders at work. I get my y’s and n’s mixed up and i say things like yep, nup yep!.
another great moment was me clearing a plate and an old man said the fish was great and instead of saying like, “glad to hear it!” or “i’ll let the chef know”, i tried to say AW YEAH ? : )))) (why)
but instead i said awww REAHHH? which isn’t a word nor a sentence anyone would say ever.
so yeah, i am a multi-faceted human being with a speech impediment. What are some tips for working in group me?
– Rosie

A: Hi Rosie,
I AM In Class Right Now And Here Are Some Tips On Working With Other People Without Being A Control Freak/Too Weird and Egotistical

Prioritise the group’s goal
Close listening > deep listening
Aim for complete concentration
Be in Control without being a control freak!
Learn to manage blended egos (including ur own)
Allow and strive for equal participation
someone may be more experienced with a problem, familiarity>problem solving
OPEN communication
moving it forward, make sure you’re being productive
prepare for the potential for failure 🙂

hope these help sweetie! good luck with the group assignment
– Rosie

Project Brief 3

I suppose I should begin my reflection with a critical look at my work.
With no backstory or written explanation of my work, I think it’s somewhat of an average, run of the mill interview. My music choice was definitely cliche. Royalty free music sites should have a search bar exclusively for acoustic guitar meddling.
I’m only saying that my project was standard because I know I don’t have an eye for photography. I was given a beautiful setting to work within but it didn’t show through in my video as planned. This is something I would like to work on.
My subject wasn’t particularly talkative as a person. This is just in his nature.
This proved difficult and in some cases he didn’t want to answer the questions.

I think (and here’s a huge learning curve) that I had an unrealistic perception of my subject. That I would be able to ask questions and be able to solicit a response that would bring the room to tears. I had a perception that my interviewee was “deeper” than he was, and the backstory I knew he had was totally off limits. To give you some context, here is the material I was going to work with.

Another issue was that I didn’t have enough found footage. This is pretty apparent, as I only have 3 clips throughout my video. I guess I can blame this on not throughly reading the brief, seeing it was supposed to be 30/70.

Yet, this is a work i’m really proud of. I am starting to understand the editing software and the process is becoming easy and flexible. I managed well with a devastating blindside by my previous subject, which I detail here. (TL;DR, I was cancelled on a week before due date).
I contradict myself here, but some of the shots weren’t half bad. sure I hold a camera with the stillness of a shake-weight, but I am holding more cameras in this course than I have in a long time.
I’m not totally unhappy with this work. I think my work ethic was exceptional. I put a lot of effort into this project. Even after my setback, I managed my time well; booking in a date with Peter straight after I was knocked back, then completing all of my assignments for other classes in the coming days before the interview. I filmed Friday/Saturday, edited Sunday and Monday, uploaded today, and now i’m completing this post.

Escapism to The Country: The togetherness in isolation from rosie pavlovic on Vimeo.

Readings: Week 6, Noticing

(I am trying to submit shorter posts more frequently here)

In John Mason’s reading The Discipline of Noticing, which was assigned this week, he provided us with brief exercises to undertake to increase our perception and ability to record. I believe that recording is the hardest part of noticing.

His suggestions such as notice the moon, or the temperature of the room, say I as you walk through a doorway etc are ideas that I will under take willingly. I believe it is important, especially as media makers to break away from “screen time” or even just media time (including non digital media) and let the world provide substance. Sometimes I feel as though I am always just waiting for something to entertain and engage me. Music as I walk to the station, my phone on the train, listening and watching a lecture, my laptop and notes, music as I study, textbooks, readings etc.
It might just be me but sometimes I need to break away from taking in media. So to keep engaged and entertained I will be doing these exercises.\

My last observation from this reading was that I am already, unwittingly participating in recording! I keep a list on my phone of locations I think would be nice to shoot/photograph, story ideas that are inspired by things happening to me. Here’s my list of locations around Melbourne:

A show about nothing.

I think a great example of noticing, marking and recording would be the writing of Larry David. A show like Seinfeld is dubbed “a show about nothing” when it should be a show about noticing. The characters are hyperaware of the most minuscule social conventions, such as a woman with “man hands”, or taking credit for a purchase when handing someone a salad, or even the way a person laughs. It’s qualms we filter out in our day to day life, yet David has capitalised on the sensation of noticing something, and letting it ruin the experience for you.

it me, experiencing technical difficulties

I had a few bits of tech and techniques that didn’t quite work out for me during this project. but it’s all a learning experience so I’m not that fussed.

The first one I found when I loaded all my footage and watched through it. I noticed that I’d developed a tendency to be quite trigger happy on the record button. My shots were really abrupt and cut way too short. I could see myself getting into position, holding the camera still for 1…2…3 and then a cut. Some really good shots were totally useless because it would just be too much movement.

This combined with my over fidgeting with the settings. There’s a shot of a car window towards the end of my video where I visibly change the exposure while recording and change it back. Very unprofessional.

Another little problem I made was NOT checking what equipment i was given! It was only after I filmed that I found out I was given a lapel mic!
I am suffering through that one, as I have tu use audition to try and cut the low wind frequency. Which isn’t working as shown below. My interviewee’s voice is very low and dips into the wind frequency. When I cut the sound it makes his voice sound poorly recorded.

Update on my PB3: farewell, spicy hot son of a mama.

So last Week (Monday the 11th of April, 2016, 11.29am to be specific) my interviewee cancelled on me. I had chosen an ex-workmate who I had worked with in hospitality for 3 years and had built a solid friendship. He was a woodfire pizza maker who has moved from Italy to find work in Australia, so he could send his family money during the recession in Italy. He is a young man who is struggling with assimilation into Australian society, a very different social scene from the lifestyle in Italy.
I wanted to pick his brain on his expectations of Australia, what has surprised him, what has disappointed him. There would be some aesthetically pleasing shots, as he can do impressive tricks with the pizza dough. I had images of flour being thrown in slow motion, Italian opera soundtracks and expressive movements. It was going to be la dolce belvedere! (I dropped Italian in year 9)

I gave him a phone call after we were briefed with the project and brought up the idea. He was very interested and we set up a date to have a run through. I received permission to film from the restaurant owner and arrived on Friday ready to film. As soon as I set up camera, the sight of it hit his eye like a big pizza pie and he backed out completely. I thought it was stage fright. He did not understand that I wanted to film the interview. He thought I was doing a written piece. I soon found out that this individual had been in some low-key crim*nal activ*ty in the past and was very apprehensive to have his image on the internet.

We came to the conclusion that I would be allowed a voiceover but no face, and I agreed. This was going to be pretty difficult to stage but it was better than losing my subject. The pizza man said it might be better to reschedule, and to give him some more time to think it over.
From then, he never returned my calls.

With 1 week until the project was due my interviewee was ghosting me on another level.
However, I would like to dedicate this post to the gracious generosity and understanding of the parents of media students. In 30 minutes after the cancellation I managed to wrangle up another interview with an old, ever faithful subject: my dad.

Exercise: Narrative Structure in PB3

What is the controlling idea: How to deal depression in a creative sense.

How is your portrait film structured?
It’s a discussion of an event using voiceover. I don’t want to have sound of my own voice, I want it to sound as if it were unprompted. Just a story, or a personal journey. If I were to talk, I want it to break the 4th wall of interviewing. That the prompt itself needs to be heard to understand the response or even elicit one.

3. What do you want your audience to make of your interviewee?
I’ve chosen this person because they’re an eccentric. It’s a hard hitting topic, of being idle and falling into depression, however I think through my interviewee’s quirkiness and passion for invention I can show a light hearted, even humourous side to this person.

How is your portrait being narrated?
I am going to use voiceover in conjunction with correlating footage I will shoot and also find. I want to start with introducing the interviewee, focus on their property, the environment, then question why they are living in this place, the reasons that led them there, and overcoming the conflict of depression.

What role will found footage play in your portrait?
I will really need to utilise found footage for pickups, as I only have one day to film with my subject. It will be in an enforcement style. I think it’s really easy to use retro style footage to contrast with modern footage.I am considering juxtaposing “normal” family footage with the footage showing the isolation of my character.

Does your portrait have a dramatic turning point?
I think the portrait will begin with nearly undermining my subjects eccentric habits. It will be comedic at first, and nearly pitiful, but after we hear the reasoning behind why he does what he does, we will find an understanding of his behaviour and come to see this character as quite strong.

When does this turning point occur and why?
I am planning for it to occur halfway through. I want it to be an equally comedic portrait as it is meaningful. I think that shows depth for this person, having two sides, being multifaceted.

How does it gain and gather momentum?
I think I will begin by hooking the audience in with the characters eccentricism. The interesting inventions, lifestyle and quips. Hopefully the audience will want to understand my interviewee more and I will abstain from asking hard hitting questions for a while, and when I do I intend for the audience to want to know more about the man behind the machines.

Where will your dramatic tension come from?
A gradual exposition of the overall conflict prompted by questions. I think I will shy away from using footage here and show directly the interviewee answering questions so there is an undivided attention brought to the subject’s emotions.

Does the portrait have a climax or resolution?
I think the film will climax when the subject is discussing his depression. This will be resolved when we can see that the behaviours that were shown as laughable and “quirky” are actually coping mechanisms exhibited in a creative way. This will convey the character’s strength and ability to turn something unfortunate into something productive.

The Slap: story arc

We are discussing empathy in class today and I think a real standout example of a fluid and demeaning story arc is in Christos Tsiolkas’ novel and tv adaptation of The Slap. The blurb for the novel states:

At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a child who is not his own.
This event has a shocking ricochet effect on a group of people, mostly friends, who are directly or indirectly influenced by the slap.

The novel is told through each character’s perspective, as 8 key characters are given a chapter to further the narrative. Not to give spoilers, but the story begins in a suburban barbecue in Northcote, where we can already see the party of adults pushing social strains, with polite arguments between strangers and pressures on the friend group. As the night continues the tension in the party grows, and so does the attitude of the children attending. After a game of backyard cricket goes wrong, a member of the party slaps a disobedient child. The child was not his own.

From this we see a total division between the families involved, those on the side of the slapper, and those defending the child. However the more we see from each character’s perspective, the less we can empathise with anyone involved. The man who committed the act is found out to be a domestic abuser with a history of violence. The mother of the child, who subsequently sues the man, is portrayed as a manipulative attention seeker. However none ever asks the child if he is okay, or if he wants retribution.

This is a great example of a shifting protagonist, a varied story arc. It’s a story that makes you question your own morals, and by the end, the people you originally persecuted are the ones you are rooting for.

The Slap can be watched on Stan or ABC iView.