Workbot

A far off dystopian land where the private school system has introduced robotic teachers in a bid to improve productivity and compliance. Their inferior flesh-bag predecessors discarded.

I “wrote” it, “directed” it and “edited” it. I use all those terms extremely loosely. I am also starring as the Workbot.

I have always held a great appreciation for editing in film and television and believe it to be one of the most underrated aspects of a film or episode. The only thing I have edited in the last year have been Film 3 exercises and although they are relatively simple, they have reignited my love of actually editing, as opposed to merely appreciating it from afar. David Fincher’s films have always been some of my favourites (except Alien 3, Alien 3 sucks). His films resonate with me not so much on their subject matter or scripts, which don’t get me wrong, are excellent (except Alien 3), but more so in terms of how his films are so expertly constructed. His films flow as a cohesive piece better than any director I’ve been exposed to, with a clear, well executed vision made obvious by the final product. The cinematography is crisp yet vibrant and engaging, while the editing is seamless and devoid of superfluousness.

Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is my favorite David Fincher film and one of my all time favourites from any filmmaker. I feel this is predominately due to the editing, of course the other aspects of the film are great but I feel the editing shines through. The pacing of the film is perfect and to somebody who doesn’t obsess over cinematography and editing (like I do) it isn’t even noticeable, which is what I believe good editing should be. I see the role of film editing as allowing the cinematography, script and actor’s performances to really come out in the final product. In other words, the editing should rarely take prominence or attention away from what’s occurring, but should be there to facilitate everything else to excel.
However, film editing plays a major role in shaping these aspects. For example, during a conversation between two characters, the pauses between their responses to one another could be accentuated or shortened through editing. This has a major affect on how the scene would be interpreted by viewers, the same words would be spoken, the same information transferred or revealed, on paper the scene is identical no matter how it is edited. The scene, in which Lisbeth is introduced, centred on a discussion between her and her employers, utilises this editing concept with great success. Lisbeth’s responses are very delayed in relation to the speed of her employers; she takes much deliberation to provide her responses, showing her lack of interest in the discussion, and in terms of her character, social interaction as a whole. This scene is incredibly important, as it is the first look at one of the films main protagonists. The representation of Lisbeth in this scene impacts how her actions and dialogue are perceived throughout the entirety of the film, a representation that is greatly founded upon editing.

Only upon writing this have I become aware that the editors Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter were awarded ‘Best Achievement in Film Editing’ at the 2011 Academy Awards for their work on the film. The pair also won the same award the previous year for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, another Fincher film.

Project 1

The idea I proposed for a project about the sociopath manipulating the naïve pop-star is based on a dream I had which followed a similar path, only without the violent sociopath, which I found to be a more entertaining concept. I had just watched one of my favourite movies, True Romance the night before writing this concept out in class. I feel that True Romance heavily influences this concept in many ways. Perhaps too much, I’m not sure. However I feel this is a strong concept and could definitely stand alone as a short piece. This is due to the fast moving nature of the plot, much like in True Romance; Clarence and Alabama fell in love in what seemed like 2 minutes of screen time. I feel my concept could be presented in a fairly compact time frame without feeling like too much information or events are crammed in or rushed through. I actually believe it would be more suited to a short format due to these reasons.

Project 2

A possible location to shoot the majority of this concept at would be my close friends beach house in Phillip Island. The house is twenty meters from the beach with only sand and bushes between them and the interior of the house is spacious, offering many cinematic possibilities, as well as aesthetically appealing. I feel this would be an effective location as the beach is clean and rarely busy with many caves, cliffs and alcoves within reach, meaning many cinematic possibilities. The location is privately owned meaning no permits or bureaucratic procedures would need to take place in order to be able to shoot there. The house is in a very quiet area and has a sense of relative isolation; I feel this aspect would be greatly appreciated by the concept. If I were to shoot at this location it would require a large amount of precision and detail to ensure that all footage that is required is shot, and shot right. This is due to the distance of the location being over an hours drive away, making reshoots a hassle to say the least.

Having done no filmmaking of any kind for over a year, this exercise reminded me of the many factors that go into creating a shot that is both visually appealing and effective. I have never been on top of the technical aspects of media production by any stretch of the imagination, I do however pride myself on my creative ideas and approaches towards any project I have been a part of. I felt that the shots my partner and I achieved were compositionally effective, however severely overexposed coupled with a lot of unwelcome lens flare. It reminded me to be more aware of the lens’ position in relation to light sources (in this case the sun) and how it affects the exposure of the shot. I had also never taken notice of when a recording is started and how that can have an affect on the shot itself, I have always thought of filmmaking as knowing exactly what you want and controlling all the aspects until you get it. However, this can either not always be achieved or if it can be achieved it may yield inferior results to something more candid. There are many times in life and specifically filmmaking where you didn’t know you wanted something until you were given it. This small exercise sparked a series of thought processes for me that resulted in my approach to filmmaking as a whole being altered quite drastically. I now see filmmaking more as setting a scene and allowing it to unfold, capturing what’s taking place in this moment you’ve created, rather than maintaining strategic control over every aspect of it and trying to force it to fit your strict idea of how it should be.

Well-known famous pop star is on vacation to take some much needed time-off from her busy schedule. She meets a young man of similar age who is unaware of who she is. He is charming and handsome. She is attracted to him more-se as she feels she can let go and be herself with him, as he doesn’t know who she is. She also feels his attraction to her must be genuine and of good intentions as he can’t be purely after her money and fame. They hit it off and she is removed from the strict confines of her coddled lifestyle. However, she knows their time together must come to an end and that she must return to her social and contractual obligations. Or does she? She considers the idea of taking the money she has already earnt and retiring away with her new-found love.
She makes the arrangements and is ready to reveal to him her illustrious occupation and details of her second life. She quickly finds evidence that he does and always has known who she is. He has been tracking her movements, planning ahead so that their paths would inevitably cross. She has withdrawn her savings, cut herself off from her life, making her vulnerable and alone. This is his design.
He catches her upon her discovery of the evidence and almost like a switch is flicked in his mind, he knows he has to act now, it’s go time.
She is brutally beaten but before he can finish the job he is interrupted by an employee of the hotel, he escapes with the money.
The employee of the hotel rescues her, saving her life. Due to her facial damage there is no way he can recognise her. He carries her off into the sunset.