Monday’s presentation was very impressive that it’s always interesting to watch different ideas and approaches. My favourite one would be Ramsay’s ‘Hot Stuff’. At first, I was totally attracted by his uncle’s acting skill and thought this was the most significant element to make this piece successful. However, the choice of shots, for example, the angle, the length of each shot and the editing all worked in proper ways to achieve the hilarious atmosphere. Aside from the external factors, I think it is a good example to learn the arrangement of shots which can tell the story in a simple but clear way. I was also looking forward to watching the film made by that large group because one of my observation was asked to be translated. The hue of the whole film is soft that looks very delicate on the big screen and especially fits the last scene when three of them walking along the street. My personal suggestions are similar to Paul’s. Mixing three observational pieces is a creative idea that could avoid short pieces being too monotonous but sometimes it might be confused to general audiences. Making three observations happen in one scene is still very attractive which looks like a real narrative film and it may get better if there are more connections between the plots or simply let things happen in parallel. 

For my own advanced film, Paul and Robin pointed out the same problem which invoked my further reflection. As I wrote in the individual reflection, I had actually considered the narrative continuity, but the final result was a bit different from what I had imagined in my mind. During editing, I also found that there was no enough clue to build me as a character. This was a bit complicated because I was meant to be ambiguous at the beginning just as an ordinary customer and let the audiences discover that I am actually the main character. This sense of surprise that I planned to create could be done in a better way, which is to shoot my face in the crowds in a medium shot. I started to ask myself: Is the idea of being ambiguous really meaningful for this film? In my opinion, it means the shift from the third person perspective to my own perspective to emphasise the uniqueness of how I observing the action. In general, the point is to achieve the balance between the continuity and the changing perspective in order to avoid confusion. 

In Friday’s class, Robin answered a remaining question in the practical filming: How to adjust the focal point when shooting a moving object? The first step is to find the perfect focus point for each position during the rehearsal. As a result, rehearsal is not only to run through lines, but also to make sure the appropriate moving track. The camera operator would not be able to follow the actor’s movement and adjust the focus at the same time, so another person needs to help turn the focus ring to the marked position. I had experienced this role in the last shooting. This was even a bit nervous that I didn’t want to make any mistake. It requires full attention both to the actors and the camera to achieve perfect cooperation. Filming could always improve with the tacit team that everyone should take good control of the individual part and communicate with each other.