Collaboration
Since exercise 4 my production group and I have been fortunate enough to have been able to develop strong creative consistency. A solid working style has had all our work driven by the even distribution of roles and dedication to the creative process. This great working relationship has seen much of our work produced at a standard which we have all been very proud of. Over the weeks, we have acquired a great team rhythm and have built a noticeable performative chemistry that can be seen in much of our work. This is something that I am particularly proud of, considering the nature of our working constraints. Much of this chemistry has been built by our attention given to the process of preparation prior to the technical execution of filming and performance.
Though much of our work this semester has been driven by this fluid team dynamic, a proper realisation of this only came following the completion of exercise 7. The reshuffling of groups had an extra member placed into our team. Luckily enough the integration of a 4th member was seamless as we had an already strong way of working together. The addition to our team not only strengthened our work, it prompted a realisation of the importance of building a group dynamic guided by a focus on communicative strengths.
Exercise 8 proved to be our most difficult script to work with, however we were able to work through the challenges and create edits which translated the text well. As a team we deconstructed the text in relation to our planned shots to assist us in understanding the narrative in a visual sense. Once again this was a successful process, largely due to the level of communication carried out between us.
Work of others
As a result of the semester’s reshuffle, weekly exercises were no longer carried out sequentially by every group, seeing the completion of particular exercises shown in different weeks. This has allowed for groups to view the work of others, before beginning their own production of corresponding texts. This allowed teams to have a preview of how particular texts look visually, which can possibly assist in the formation of ideas for when they produce work out of the same text. In addition to this, groups are able to find out potential challenges they may come across, thus allowing them to formulate solutions for those very hurdles.
My group was the first to produce work out of the ‘Esme & The Woman’ script. Though a great adaptation, we did encounter some difficulties. These difficulties were further discussed in the following group discussion, where we highlighted particular challenges that we found hard to navigate within the text.
We were very pleased to see resolutions to some of these challenges displayed in the following week, with Izzy, Elli, Ahrin and Maya producing their interpretation of the same script. Very Impressed by the evident consideration for shot construction and diversity, I believe this was the benchmark for creative visual display shown so far in this studio. Izzy’s depiction of the dream sequence was beautifully done with jump cuts displaying Esme’s bizarre dream. My only critique of the sequence was that it could have gone on for a few moments longer. Though very familiar with performative depictions of Zoom interactions, I feel that I’m yet to really take advantage of the many ways in which a display of a zoom conversation can be shown. Elli and Ahrin’s Zoom segment was very inspiring, as Elli’s creative decision making had an unconventional yet very believable method of positioning reshape how the zoom call can be displayed. Beginning with a shot of Esme sitting on the end of a bed while folding clothes and in conversation with Eduardo, who can be heard from off screen, breaks the conventional idea of how such interaction has been seen in most works completed in this studio. Then by revealing the laptop in the foreground, with Eduardo on screen and with Esme out of focus making their way towards the screen, allows us to establish what medium Eduardo and Esme’s interaction is taking place. The following shots further establish the interaction by interchanging between the image of the laptop on Esme’s Lap and Eduardo on screen, as we remain in the perspective of Esme’s environment.
Amongst other well executed shots, another element which stood out to me was Maya’s performance of Irma, which was not only entertaining but also proved to be an important part of conveying elements of the text, which my group found difficult to show in our version. As this script specifies, Esme is to exit out of a doorway which Irma stands in. Obviously more difficult to show when two performers are in different locations. In Maya’s performance of Irma, a gesture to Esme is a perfect aid to Esme’s exit. Accompanied with the perfect camera angle, Maya performs a light side step, then a cut to Esme walking around a corner provides us with the illusion that the very same doorway was used in their exit.
My admiration for my own team’s chemistry also extends to this team as well. It is clear that the success of this piece was very much due to a solid foundation of preparation and great communication, which saw this team operate like a well oiled machine that produced such brilliant work.