Observations of Action

• The pepper tree in the wind
• A mother juggling her four kids off the train
• A stranger captivated by an Indian baby girl
• Two ex-cons talking about prison life
• A man falling asleep
• A magpie searching for breakfast
• People waiting in line for coffee

Interesting People

• Allan
• Trevor
• Tova
• Josh
• Mum
• Henry
• Emma
• Dad

Intriguing Locations

• Kuitpo Forest
• Sunset
• The Ocean
• Byron
• Boston
• Cathedral
• Mt Lofty Lookout
• Al’s car
• Yulara
• Ooodnatta track
• Valley of the Winds
• The Milky Way
• A Dirt Road
• The Bush
• Warrakurna
• Flinders Rangers
• Lighting Storms
• Nail Salon
• City

As I wrote down these thoughts in class there wasn’t much inspiration coming off the page but after looking back at the lists a few things stand out.

My observations of the world around me are an accurate reflection of how I would take in the world. It can offer insightful moments of raw beauty but in contrast can illuminate the darker sides of life.

The list of locations might become useful for triggering an idea to set a narrative in – which I suppose I have begun doing with Lone Wolf that is set in the outback. And I think I will always be inspired by anything out bush.

I suppose I’ve never thought critically of the people in life and ‘summed’ them up in a way that deems ‘interesting’. My interesting people list also surprises me how male dominant it is. Reflecting on these people is almost a can of worms… You might say when someone is no longer interesting they aren’t in my life any more… Yelp, what a scary, shallow thought. And as much as I hate to admit, over the past few years I’ve realised how I seem to be searching for my dad within the men around me. It’s a strange, kind of uncomfortable thought but its motivated by the impossible hope of finding him and re-living him one more time. One final glimpse of him in someone else. Does that make sense? Is that fucked up? Or do we all do that after death…

As we breakdown the conventional methods of filmmaking and start to consider staying true to form, I reflect on the films that may have already set out to achieve this.

In 2004, Gus Van Sant directed Elephant, a controversial film inspired by the mass shootings at Columbine High School, Colorado in April 1999. The Columbine Massacre preceded 9/11 and culturally was (and still remains) a devastating blow to the American people and the affects of their country’s gun laws.

Elephant depicts the insignificant, mundane daily routine of several young adolescents at high school as an impending tragedy awaits them. The film attempts to make sense of a senseless act and achieves this by denying the viewer conventional film elements.

Gus Van Sant omits a traditional three-act structure, a plot that unravels, our expected character development, formal dialogue and the usual visual cues in cinematography. Instead he pursues a voyeuristic, abstract approach with a non-liner structure.

The film is divided into 8 sections, each representing a slice of a teens’ life. You trace their movements and observe their interconnectedness, angst, loneliness, clichés and tired routines. However the abstract approach originates through the use of time-looping. As each teen’s chapter begins the clock resets and we see the same day unfold through another teen’s perspective. It almost feels like Gus Van Sant is trying to pause and rewind the day, attempting to avoid the cruel fate that awaits them all. The film’s use of multiple perspectives shows us the similarities in the youth and how the disconnected become gravely connected. In traditional cinema multiple perspectives in a film would usually provide a new insight into the events or the plot of the film and so the time-looping provides a clear example of Gus Van Sant flipping these traditional forms

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Another unconventional approach is the director’s attempt to convey realism. Although a fictional representation of the Columbine shootings, Van Sant doesn’t shy from portraying the reality of how senseless, unmotivated and random the shootings were. His actors are non-professional actors who in fact play themselves and use their own names. The performers improvised their ambiguous dialogue further blending reality and fiction. However, the main technique, and definitely not conventional, is the regular use of long takes. We feel a sense of ‘real time’ due to the sparse number of cuts and lengthy, candid takes. The film was shot on 35mm in a real high school using little to no lighting set ups and the picture painted looks authentic. Each protagonist is respectfully observed at a distance and the audience passively witnesses their lives. Obscure composition filled with empty space dominates over the standard rule of thirds or balance.

In a 2004 interview with The Guardian, Van Sant addressed the film’s casualness towards violence. “Modern-day cinema takes the form of a sermon,” he said. “You don’t get to think, you only get to receive information. This film is not a sermon. The point of the film is not being delivered to you from the voice of the filmmaker. Hopefully, there are as many interpretations as there are viewers.”

It feels like Gus Van Sant has done everything possible to remove himself (and Hollywood) from this film in order to deliver a chillingly realistic but fictional tale.

For the Week 2 Expertise exercise I was only present for the second phase on Thursday, which required us to shoot footage motivated by audio and incorporate sound bites previously recorded on Tuesday.

We divided into groups and I was immediately reminded of the dynamics when collaborating with new people. My group was very welcoming and kind enough to discuss the purpose of the exercise and what was covered on Tuesday, however they were unsure of what the expertise video was trying to achieve. For me the exercise became my icebreaker to acclimatise to the studio’s environment and learn the nature of our weekly exercises.

As we set off to shoot, I began to grasp the intentions of the exercise – how can we find new approaches to filmmaking? Capturing something motivated by audio provided a fresh set of eyes when looking at the world around. We planned to film the juxtaposition between someone walking in bare foot and the distinct sound of walking in shoes.

Although I began to appreciate the purpose of the Expertise video, the real ‘aha’ moment was a personal one and not necessarily one to be proud of. As I entered post and began reviewing the rushes, I quickly became frustrated with what was shot and creatively hit a wall. I have noticed this pattern in my work practices and struggle to move forward when I fail to meet my high expectations (of myself). I often seize up and have to fight the urge to walk away and consequently lack productivity.

Last year this became a personal hurdle during my yearlong cinematography classes and my lecturer, Andrew Harrison, helped breakdown the issue. It felt like for several weeks the work I produced was useless shit and self-doubt and lack of inspiration consumed me. Andrew suggested I aim to focus on perfecting only one or two areas in my work and recommended to although push myself, not aim so high my goals are unattainable. Above all, be conscious through my failings as in the long run would become a better cinematographer… I am still trying to learn how to manage this response and unproductive self-criticism.

So, to push on and complete the exercise I edited a short 7 second abstract piece that establishes its subject and context quickly but not in a literal form. Upon reflection the idea is too underdeveloped. So, in hopes of being able to flesh out the original experiment I have attempted to shoot another piece in my own time.

VIEW THE IN-CLASS RESULTS.

The aim was to find spaces or subjects where the viewer would expect or not expect to find audio. However when I returned to edit I was surprised how dominating the in-camera audio recording was and became inspired to explore the sound quality unique to each environment. This time, my ‘aha’ moment came when I realised how effective the audio was in helping form part of the scene’s identity and therefore our interpretation of it.

VIEW THE HOME EXPERIMENT.