As I naturally overthink every filmic aspect, writing a script that “must be uninteresting” put me in a weird headspace. It was hard to truly embrace that demand; I struggle with letting my biases go and thinking with the expectation of creating something with little or no aesthetic purpose. I thought of the everyday – what is recognisable? Surroundings, questions, interactions. I reflected on my reluctance to talk to strangers, and how I could overcome that fear. From there, I found myself in an imaginary world where I asked a stranger for a cigarette, and let the brief interaction play out in my head. The words then came out on the script with ease, and it was a very honest moment. I tried (and failed) to think about how I would shoot this.

We were thrown into groups, and I was tasked with directing Zayne’s script. I felt ambivalent about shooting someone else’s material. On one hand, I wanted to experiment with my work, and on the other hand, I felt it was a good opportunity to detach myself from what I know. After getting over my ego I thought about how I would shoot the script. The content was strange, but I thought about Truffaut’s “There are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors” quote, which I wholeheartedly agree with. In the hands of a talented director, anything can be interesting.

I gave the actors a lot of freedom, and we rehearsed how the scene would play out with me giving minor feedback on blocking and timing. I instructed Adrian (the DOP) about the two shots I wanted. The first, a slow zoom out on a tripod, the second, a handheld close-up/mid-shot. Paul didn’t want camera movement, but I felt it changed (for the better) the dynamic of the first shot. I love slow zooms (in & out), and the first shot (to me) is something I’m very happy with. Sure, we caught the boom mic in the shot, it was all very amateur, but it didn’t bother me that much; next time I’ll be sure to not make that mistake again. I was too focussed on the acting and trusted Adrian’s ability. The second shot was perfected in one take, and the cut between the two is, in my opinion, wonderful. It was a smooth shoot; everyone was focussed and it turned out very nice.

I don’t think this was the exercise; trying to make something mundane interesting – but that is how I certainly approached it.

I don’t like shooting at Uni. This is not all a criticism of the Media program, where the hell else are we going to shoot? However, the constant, almost mindless construction is beyond infuriating. So loud, so very very loud. And distracting! We lucked out on our location (the purple and the light made it more lush), but no matter where we went, we were still interrupted by the sounds of the tradesmen. Again, this is not anyone’s fault, but it is incredibly frustrating to work in that environment.