As per lecture –  in a sequence you’ve called ‘colour’ you will have clips that are indicative of a particular colour or lighting state. To the right of that clip you will have that same clip repeated 2 or more times with different colour grades on it.

Take screen grabs of each clip then upload to your blog the series of stills that show us ‘before and afters’ of your colour grading. Provide a few different examples of at least two different clips – each with a description of what you did to the clip and why.

It’s been a long weekend. My team and I have been spending the entire weekend getting our structure and editing done. This week we started on colour grading. Here are some examples that we’ve screen captured from snippets of our film. We used two cameras for our film, the EX3 and a Canon Mark II, the clips that came out from the EX3 came out rather dull while those that were from the Canon Mark II were vibrant.

1. Adjusted the colour curves of the images and the brightness, so as to not let the subject look too “orange” or “yellow in the picture.
Before
After
1. The sun was overbearing when we filmed this. Adjusted the contrast and brightness and changed the colour balance to make it look more vibrant. We tried adding in filters as well.
Before
After
Subject here looks as if his blending into the surroundings. We wanted to make him stand out even more – Changed the colour balance and brightness. ( I’m still deciding which one looks better)
Before After
For a more cinematic effect, we played around with the colour balance – more to blue and green hues, rather than red and yellow.
Before
After

“In 200 words or less please outline your goals, desires – what you want to get out of this semester. You will review this later in the course. You may rethink this dramatically – this is a good thing.”

You were asked this at the beginning of the semester. Now, could you review constructively what you got from this semester –  has the course lived up to your expectations, delivered what you expected, maybe even surpassed it?

My goal was to be able to improve my production skills like handling how to work the EX3, and sound, also to be able to improve my director’s skills.
From what I got out during the entire semester, I’ve managed to surpassed all my goals.
Yayy. However, I found out that working with friends can be a good thing and a bad thing.
Whenever we’re working with friends, there is a tendency to dance around saying what and upfront with each other all the time.

I think at the end of the day, honesty is the best policy, offering constructive criticism and having a conversation about what all of us find inspiring about the task in hand is imperative. Whether friend or not, there’s always a line between friends and assignments.

In this clip from Forbidden Lies, Anna Broinowski’s 2007 film: describe in detail all of the audio, how it may have been recorded/sourced and how you think it has been edited / layered in post. (You do not need to describe how the music was recorded)

In the clip  forbidden lies, Broinowski made  a few dramatic reconstructions and stylised interviews, the unreal sound effects heard in the documentary makes it feel as if we’re watching a real-life mystery. I like how the first part of the documentary was depicted to make it seem as if it’s from a karaoke song, in a way it gives me an impression that there is some sort of mockery to the upcoming context. The combination of narration voices and the sound effects brings about a comedic effect to it. With the transition of different scenes, come whooshing sounds from people dissappearing to the sound of crumbling sand, , to the depiction of a van with a clink, and showing the map of Jorden with the sound of a beating heart, to the sound of the slithering snake when a sign is shown. Basically, what i got from the overall feel of Broinowski using these sound effects for her documentary is that the sound effects are not only there just to make the documentary a little light hearted since the context of the documentary can turn out to be a really boring one, but these sound effects brings about another meaning to the intended purpose of the subject shown.  For example, the sound of the slithering snake could mean that the sign does not seem to appear what it is said to be, but has another intended meaning to it, it could mean something like, being treacherous in the eyes of someone else.

Most applications reserve keyboard shortcuts for the functions that you use most often. It is really good to learn all of these as it will speed up your editing and additionally alert you to functions that the software developers and other users find important. (You can learn much about the software by looking at keyboard shortcuts).

I think these are some that i have picked out personally that i think is invalid to me.
Honestly, It would save me so much time clicking on it rather than to use a shortcut.

Increase Kerning by Five Units	Opt+Shift+Right
Clear Current Marker	Opt+M
Type Alignment
Left	Shift+Cmd+L
Play from Playhead to Out Point	Ctrl+Space

 

“From a distant gaze …” (1964) directed by Jean Ravel, picture Pierre Lhomme & Chris Marker, words by Louis Aragon, narrated by Jean Negroni, music by Michel Legrand. Describe a few things that intrigue you – it might be shot construction, camera work, editing, overall structure, thematic concerns etc. Describe the camera work and why you think it has been shot that way.

I like how the director managed to make a mundane scene interesting by picking out certain characters from the frame and just focusing/following them. I think it’s a very clever way, but something that can turn out rather unexpected, bringing about a spontaneous vibe to the film. Since it’s a film about filming “from a distant”, the director probably wanted it to look like it’s from a first hand perspective hence, shooting the film that way. I also like the different style of music used in the film, especially when a black and white film may turn out rather boring after all. The sound effects makes you feel as if you’re watching a mine or many mines acting out a story through body motions without the use of speech, creating many stories within.

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that interest you, something you could apply to your own documentary.

 

From the readings of The art of the documentary by Megan Cuningham, i took off two points that i thought was relatable to me.

1. “You’re taking the next step by saying you want to provoke actions with your characters in a way that’s going to make it a good film” After doing a series of interviews with a bunch of people, i realised one thing, most of them really hate being in front of the camera, with nerves and being shy it affects what they say, sometimes their reply gets even shorter. Even though i had set a list of questions to follow during the interview with my subjects, i felt that there was always a need for me to come up with impromptu questions and informal ones just to make them feel like they’re talking to a friend rather than giving the impression that they’re on set on an interview.

2.  Bringing sensitivity to how audiences will view the people and the locations
As my team is doing a topic on sneakers, it can turn out rather condescending and superficial in a way if we don’t do it correctly, or we’ll just be seem as a bunch of snobs trying very hard to get to know the sneaker game. Often i find myself asking these questions, what would people want to know what WE already know? I guess sometimes its also good to have a variation of places and answers from subjects that differ from each other rather than it being the same all the time.

Then reflect on the whole process – Consider: the quality and usability of your recordings; the effect of layering and juxtaposition of both the audio and the video and; the things you learnt from working with this kind of audio and video.

Bryan and I paired up for the recording of the visuals of this film. At that point of time we thought of working around the idea of “Loneliness & Stillness”. We went around school searching for inanimate objects that could depict the topic, however we felt really lost on what we could take cause we were given too much freedom to film. The quality of the recordings turn out fine, however the quality of the content wasn’t up to our standards. With the visuals running concurrently and having random sound recordings that I took alone in class, it wasn’t easy for me to combine the two together. I felt that the entire exercise was really messy as i didn’t had a solid plan to work with and i was just recording things at the top of my head. – like the toilet bowl flushing.

What i learnt from this is that, maybe the purpose of this film isn’t to have a solid plan but to be able to think quickly on our feet. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to, hence the only way to do it is to conquer it. (haha) Academic wise, sound is imperative when it comes to recording, without it, the film is nothing. With it, it evokes emotions and senses. When we have sound without visual, we tend to let our imagination run wild, with visuals, sometimes we are limited to an idea or a perception that we have once known. Also, working with videos like these can turn out rather abstract, it can mean anything.

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. (Please put a full stop when you return so we get a paragraph break. Makes it easier to read.)

In the readings of Leacock, R ( A search of the feeling of being there) , Leacock mentions about filming in general, on how “filming is searching and capturing the ingredients with which to make sequences” … “You are not getting the whole thing” … ” You are getting fragments”. I agree with Leacock as I feel that a documentary can somehow be a little tricky, just like the exercise that we did for our abstract cut. No matter how organized a pre production plan is done, the possibility of capturing something spontaneous is always critical. Sometimes it might be something that the common eye takes for granted or notice. And that might be a “sequence” that could have made the documentary a cut above the rest.

Also I’ve also learnt that a good documentary sometimes attempts to prove or disprove the validity of a certain point of view, or a certain phenomenon that is unknown to the public. It surprises, questions and challenges to audience on what has been filmed. It isn’t just about documenting on the events that have occurred, but a good documentary in my part, i feel, brings the world closer to each other by drawing connections.

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

Pawel Pawlikowski. Imagining reality

He mentions about how most of the documentaries are just a record of reality , and it’s not about conveying information about the world but how he sees it and find a form which is relevant to the topic. I agree with Pawel that a documentary wouldn’t be interesting if it was just portraying life as it is. A good documentary that I really love is “An Idiot Abroad”. A British travel documentary television series of Pilkington’s journeys to foreign countries with task assigned to him each episode. Quoted from the crew,

“This is a [more real] documentary than most others you’ll ever see on television. We don’t plan it, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen.”

 

A documentary like this is one of surprise and ambiguity, and you never know what will come out of each task that Pilkington does (since he’s that stupid), while some might come out a little scripted, but this is Pawel’s idea of what makes a good documentary. How documentaries can appear to be so paradoxical, grotesque and beautiful at the same time.

I guess what I can take away from this reading is that for the upcoming documentary film that I’ll be doing with the group is that, people don’t want to see what they already know. It shouldn’t be so much of a informative piece about shoes, but the idea of questioning everything in between.

3. In this week’s lecture, scenes from Scott Ruo’s ‘Four Images’, Brian Hill’s ‘Drinking for England’ and Chantal Akerman’s ‘D’Est’ were screened. Choose one of these, and consider, in a single paragraph, what might have intrigued, interested, displeased or repelled you.

What was interesting about Brian Hill’s “Drinking for England” was the play in poetry in this documentary. What intrigued me was that the film didn’t exactly need someone to do a voiceover or someone to narrate what was happening. The characters in the film tell their own story, bringing about a more personal feel to the entire film, making people empathize with them rather than it just being a “documentary”. There’s this emotional appeal when the characters are the one who are narrating the film.

4. Listen to the first 10 minutes of Glenn Gould’s radio documentary, “The Idea of North”.

The idea of North 10min.wav or Files are here (experimenting with different sizes and file types) If possible, use headphones. Record your impressions in a paragraph or two.

I felt that it was rather confusing and hard to listen as there were 2/3 voices overlapping each other at the first part of the recording. There were crucial elements of storytellng in this recording – plot, characters, a narrative point of view and sound effects. All that makes a story told more intriguing. For me, the recording came off a little too dull for me, as it didn’t had an visuals to excite me. Also, it came off alittle too long winded with regards to the content that was said, it lost my attention 5 minutes into it.

5. listen to the audio you recorded in Tute #1. Here. Write a paragraph or two about your recording from a technical and/or “poetic” perspective.

Walking into a crowded place with a smile on my face
I hear a party going on in this pretty decent place
I know all the people here just as I should
I walk around to say hello but it feels as if no one gave a hood
As the leaves rustle on and i seeth in pits of bitter sweet moments
I’ve never felt so lonely in a crowded room.

Milk

This short film was my personal favourite. I loved the play of sound effects in this film especially. I felt that it was a really clever move for the team to come up with such a script, to be able to come up with a funny yet dramatic short film with such a simple idea just with the exaggeration of getting milk. The only thing I couldn’t understand about the film was the 3 teenagers running after the main actor at the climax.  Other than that, the comedic element of the short film managed to capture and win the hearts of many, it was a good laugh nevertheless!!! Very well executed.

The Chase

What I loved about the chase was the colour grading of the film. It suited the entire mood of the film and I felt that the team did really well with the play of sound effects. What could have been improved was the script, think the entire film would have worked even better if they had shot it at night hence, it will make much more sense that the girl finds herself in the alley rather than it being filmed in the day. Seems rather unrealistic that she would run to the alley in broad daylight. I figured the ending of the film was a little abrupt because I was there with the team when they showed everyone their first draft. It was difficult for the team to show the ending as it wasn’t because of the fact that they didn’t had a good cut but it was something that the team couldn’t salvage or fix during post production due to poor acting . The director of the film should have told the guy to be a little more aggressive at the end of the film rather than to portray himself as a “kind man”. Other than that, if not for poor acting, I felt that the team did a good job in salvaging the short film.

Granny Theft Auto
Being the underdogs of everyone, getting into shit for shooting without a permit, having a week left to do post production, going through weeks and weeks of breakdowns with my team mates, it was such a relief to see Granny Theft Auto coming all together and coming out better than I expected.  Other than the fact that there were some technicalities towards the ending of post production, the fonts at the start and the end of our credit roll changed by itself after rendering it in Premier. As the director of the short film, I was really pleased to find that the audience was laughing at our short film. I liked the use of the sound effects at the end of the film when the Italian Lady got caught by the policeman. I also loved the fact that the music that was used for the film really captured the essence of the entire film and I’m glad that everyone enjoyed it. What could have been done better was the showing of the second car.  We were told that it was rather confusing to some as the second car came into the film a little too late causing confusion to the audience.  So pleased with the overall results of the film!

2. What I have learnt/ What could have been done better

“Q.1 At the end of the semester, I would like to be able to develop critical thinking skills and learn how to recognize film making techniques by deconstructing films and clips. Learning the fundamentals of film language, how to shoot an interview, formulating questions that will make a good interview, and be more expose to film editing programmes other than Final Cut Pro. I would want to be able to use Adobe premium like a pro!”

Phew! I’m so glad that it’s all over!!! It’s been one helluva rollercoaster ride for my team and I in the making of this short film. I can say that I’ve learnt more than I’ve expected myself to. I’ve written at the start of the semester that I wanted to learn the fundamentals of film language, and i can safely say that I certainly did. I have finally understood what it is like to be part of a production crew and how every role in the production has a really big responsibility in making a film. Having appointed the role as a director, I’ve learnt to be more open minded and out going , also it takes alot of courage and leadership to be the only one in “Zen” mood while everyone is freaking out during production. I have learnt to be patient and be calm when my group is faced with an issue, even though there were many times that we all broke down in school. What I felt was imperative in the making of a film was having team work. My group alone faced alot of issues with regards to team work, and it was really disheartening for some of us in the group as we all had our own responsibilities to take care of. However, I am glad that everything worked out well even though, it was mostly a 3 men show in my group.

What could have been done better in relation to the course:
The emphasize of the importance of the  reflections that were posted in blackboard should be a reminder at the start of the tutorial. I didn’t know about them till I heard from my friends from the other tutorials.

Consider Sandra’s lecture “Directing Actors” and describe at least a couple of points that you took away from it (even if you’re not the director).

What I took off from Sandra’s lecture was that the director’s responsibility is to be able to work with the actors in an organised manner. Having a poor working relationship between a director and an actor could possibly result in very bad acting, causing actors to be confused when doing the particular scene. It is also the responsibility of the director to be able to hold on to the vision of the film while dealing with temperamental artists, uncooperative weather and a handful of other uncontrollable uncertainties. As a director myself in the group, I found myself struggling to stay focus on the actors itself on the day of shoot, because i was worried for the other nitty gritty stuffs like sound and camera work. Having an outgoing personality, i managed to kick off really well with the actors. What I felt was important about being a director was that, I need to be comfortable with the actors and the actors need to get comfortable with  me as well. They were really understanding at the start when my group got shut down by security on our first shoot. However, what crossed the line was that, the actors got so comfortable with me to the extent that they thought they had a say in the script, they even tried to change the ending of our film. haha but i managed to laugh it off and not stray away from the original film, telling them nicely that it’s not part of the script.

What I felt was important about being a director is that no one besides the director direct the actors. What happened on shooting day was that, the cameraman and I were calling the shots at the same time. (Which caused alot of confusion) I’ve learnt that we have to make it clear to others that no one, besides the director, says the word action.

 

In this clip screened in the lecture from the Coen brothers’ ‘Blood Simple‘ describe what is happening in terms of the edits specifically in terms of the audio and video. Also name the different kinds of audio you can hear.

What was constant about the clip was the sound of the crickets at the background, it describes the entire scene as a whole, where the entire conversation was done at night when no one is around. The details in sound effects such like, the pulling of the trigger, the stubbing out of the cigarette butt, the shifting of paper, the gun shot, and the antagonist flushing the toilet, the creaking of the door was pretty succinct.

Timing of the shots were consistent, it snaps back and forth during the entire conversation which makes it even more interesting, (works best for short attention span people) rather than just showing the both of them in a long shot. Close up shots seems to work very well here as we get to focus more on the actors facial expressions. I like the colour treatment of the clip as it really sets the mood of the entire scene.

 

What was covered? Do you think the content is relevant to your project? And why?

Lighting wasn’t exactly new to me because I had experience with studio lighting when I was doing photography work. However, I felt that certain stuff that I’ve learnt from studio photography was a big help in helping me understand certain subjects that I needed to know when filming with lighting.

Firstly, the very basic of lighting, and why it is imperative to have lighting in your film is because it helps to set the tone and the mode of the scene. Say, in a horror movie, you generally tend to have most likely shadowy, dark, gloomy lighting or maybe faded. (for a lack of better word) Secondly, it is important to ensure that the white balance is correct before starting anything. Depending on your environment and the artificial light supply, the white balance will obviously be affected, it helps to define the overall clarity and sharpness of the particular scene, as well as the ambience of your video.

What I also got away from one of the group’s that were filming the other day was that, it was stated in the camera that the white balance was fine at that particular timing, however, when they got back to school for post production, the white balance and contrast was totally off from what they expected it to be. The sunlight was too harsh. From that, I realised that shooting outdoors is another issue that most of us face when it comes to lighting. Yes, it’s good to have natural lighting, but what happens when the sun is out at 12 noon and everything else gets affected? Shooting in hard sunlight comes with its own set of challenges. It can result in high contrast, “areas of overexposure” and lens flares.  A solution to this is to use a reflector would be good, it reflects the light from the sun (or film lights/practicals) back onto the person you are filming or keep the sun behind you wherever’s possible.

Select from one of the readings from week 5, 6 or 7 and describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

“The crew’s aura of commitment and optimism can easily be undermined by a single misfit with a bad attitude. Such people are like black holes, swollowing up energy, enthusiasm, and morale”

Week 6’s reading about “Developing a crew” was something that I felt was really important before we get into the nitty gritty stuff of filming. My group alone was a really small group, with 5 people in crew, and with 1 having really bad commitment issues, as well as not having the initiative to contribute to the crew, being incompetent with technical work, and the other being half hearted in this, was a really big moral setback for us. I envied the other groups who had everyone contributing, having 6 people to focus on each of their individual roles. For us, it was 3 and a half. We found ourselves (the 3 of us) Director, producer and the director of cinematography, overlapping roles and trying to cover up for sound and production design, slogging our hearts out for this. What was mentioned in the readings about Crew Members Temperaments was one that resonated well with me. While filming yesterday, we faced alot of setbacks. First we couldn’t get helpers because everyone else was busy during the weekends, we needed someone to take over the sound department, to be the boom operator and sound recorder. (because from experience, our sound man just couldn’t get it -_- ) so we had no choice. We were faced with alot of sound issues, as our very own sound man didn’t even know how to fix the wires into the mixer and this got the cameraman pissed, and me being the director pissed as well. Having to focus on the visuals itself was already so much on hand, having to worry about sound was just !@#%!@#$%.  However, we spoke to each other before filming that whatever happens on set, we need to keep cool and maintain a professional look in front of the cast.

– Always have a contingency plan
Our group was paired up with another group. So the 3 of us actually went to help out our supergroup a day before our actual filming. I felt that it was a learning opportunity on how everyone worked. It is imperative to know what are your responsibilities in the group itself, if not it’ll just be chaos on actual filming day itself. Our group even though had one person short, we felt that we were pretty much organized on the day itself after having observed the other group.

Blow Up is a 1966 film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.

In this scene note the choreography of the actors, camera, frame and focus. As covered in the lecture describe the things Antonioni would have have to consider when directing the actors and the camera.

As most of the scenes were done at the top attic of a house, having alot of furnitures around and having to film in such a compact area is something that is really hard, it was clever of him to make use of the certain furnitures for framing his actors. One good example was the use of the mirror, when the actor answered the phone, and you could see the other actress’s reflection in the mirror. The play of furnitures and different angles were very interesting in this film.

Also, what I took out from the film was that, Antonioni filmed it in a way such that the characters area are always walking into frame aka the venue. He has positioned the camera to be set at the destination where the casts are suppose to be. So in turn it helps to save time, rather then frame it in a way where the camera man follows the cast to the designated area where the intended venue is suppose to be .

He would have spoken to the cast about good body language as there wasn’t much conversation at the start of the film. Having the protagonist to sound a little douchey and the antagonist to act as if she’s very wary of him.

In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?

The contribution of sound creates a profound impact of the film “Clown Train”. The screeching sounds at the start of the film sets the viewers ready that they are either in for a thriller or a horror show. Knocking sounds, the sound effects of a broken power line, with in between awkward silences in the film, all contribute to creating suspense, tension bringing about an errie and spooky atmosphere.

Films like the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Narnia, films that happen during the medievel times or in the world of fantasy. Music can be used to enhance drama and to help illustrate the emotional context of stories, while on the other hand it creates sentiments to the viewers watching the film. The music in those films serve as a powerful guide as to how you should feel about what will seem to be happen on screen. With that, music can signal a certain kind of theme, a mood or a quality in a particular character (like how Azlan, the lion in Narnia always struts out of a scene to look really domineering and powerful) How we can sense that is that he has a kind of aura that gives off a domineering and powerful vibe is the music. If not, he’ll just come off as any other lion from the zoo. Music in films also give landscapes in films a character-like quality (it being tranquil or a mountain where “evil” resides) The instruments can evoke a certain kind of era or time period, country or a culture, randing from ancient, ethnic sounds or romatic orchastral sounds, to something modern and atonal like transformers or the Matrix.

Select from one of the readings, up to but not including Week 5, and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

After reading week 3’s readings of “Creating the sound design”, I found out that being a sound designer is not just about being in charge of the sound effects on the film itself. It’s wayyyyyyy much more work than just us knowing it on a superficial level. A sound designer is someone who practices the art of sound. Sound design involves the manipulation of recorded sounds, such as sound effects and dialogues covered in the film.

What was intriguing about the reading was that it gave me new insights about sound on it’s own. It’s not just merely the sound of the phone ringing or a sound of the thunder, or the rustle of the winds, but sound “provides cognitive information”. It brings about reasoning, judgement, knowledge and new perceptions to viewers.

In the tute we screened a short film called Rolling – a film made in Film-TV1 a few years ago. Things you could talk about – script, casting, timing, camera movement, location. You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing.

To be honest, I zoned out while watching the short film. Even though it was meant to be a short film, I felt that the scenes were too draggy. But what was rather enlightening about the film was when Robin pointed out that sound effects were done separately from the context of the film and only added in once everything’s been filmed. Objects and things that i thought were insignificant in the film such like the “dropping of keys”, “phone ringing”, “putting down the cup of whisky” had extra sounds overlaying the original. I never noticed that till Robin pointed it out in class. What was good about Rolling was that the they showed clearly who the protagonist was in the film and successfully created an air of suspense and tension to build up on what was about to happen to him.

Q.1 At the end of the semester, I would like to be able to develop critical thinking skills and learn how to recognize film making techniques by deconstructing films and clips. Also, to understand how documentaries are made, what are the similarities and differences between non fiction and fiction film. Learning the fundamentals of film language, how to shoot an interview, formulating questions that will make a good interview, and be more expose to film editing programmes other than Final Cut Pro. I would want to be able to use Adobe premium like a pro!

Q2.  I’ve always wondered what was the reason why courier fonts were used in screen plays. I’ve always thought it was just something that was old and nostalgic that people thought were cool before the invention of computers. And how typewriter fonts kinda look “artsy” and classic to me. Then I found out that it wasn’t all about aesthetics but a timing issue and for formmating reasons.. Courier is a fixed-pitch font, meaning each character or space is exactly the same width. Since standard screenplay format is designed so that one page approximately equals one minute of screen time, consistant character spacing is important. One formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen time. Hence the average page count of a screenplay should come in between 90 and 120 pages!!!! NEVER KNEW. Fonts can play such a big part in script writing…

A screenplay can be an original piece, or based on a true story or previously written piece, like a novel, stage play or newspaper article. At its heart, a screenplay is a blueprint for the film it will one day become. Professionals on the set including the producer, director, set designer and actors all translate the screenwriter’s vision using their individual talents. Since the creation of a film is ultimately a collaborative art, the screenwriter must be aware of each person’s role and as such, the script should reflect the writer’s knowledge.

Q.3  With regards to the reading of Week 2’s  Slogans for the screenwriter’s wall, Mackendrick mentions about how “an overly concious understanding of the techniques of the film director on the part of the actor may, in some cases, hamper his ability to give a good performance”. He thinks that while knowing too much of how everything works, sometimes can be a downfall when it comes to performing and in return”inhibit the magical process” of acting. Often, too many people think that acting is easy. Just like any art form, acting is a craft and can only be mastered.

In addition, this reading has also taught me that the  making of a film is not just about the actor’s ability to do a great scene. So what if you take acting classes, and you take time to hone your craft, not knowing how to react to being infront of the camera can be a bummer. Filming a show  involves much more than that : timing, making the cut to a point of view precisely on the frame, subtle facial expressions and more actions rather than dialogue. These are things that has to be worked out with the directors and the actors themselves.

Mastering the spoken word vs sense of conscious control:

He talks about how the best screen actors are those who not only give attention to words, but have a clear understanding of the subtext of the scene at hand, the unwritten words, feelings and thoughts that serves as preparation of the dialogue. Having the actors to decide and write a continuous inner soliloquy that expresses thoughts, emotions and attitudes. Knowing how to master these, comes a great length when it comes to controlling the inflection of words, the length of silences and gestures.