When Robin encouraged us to simply discuss amongst ourselves which ideas we wanted to pursue for our film project, I was quite taken aback and a little bit nervous. I wasn’t sure where to begin with discussing ideas with the people around me. The first five minutes or so was dedicated to saying things like “yeah I don’t know, there are a lot of ideas I like” and variations of that. After a little while though, we started to open up a bit more and the discussion started to get somewhere.

I found that it was best to be up front with each other about whether or not we would be interested in working on a particular idea. Amongst the people I spoke to, there were several ideas (my own included) that were garnering a fair bit of interest. For that reason, it became necessary to do a kind of process of elimination where we went through each of the ideas and decided whether or not they would be practical/achievable within our means. I found this to be a very healthy process, because everyone seemed to agree a few of the ideas, despite being highly interesting, were simply not as achievable as others. The process was logical and painless, which was a relief considering the potential for people getting offended in the situation. Our table of six narrowed down the ideas from 6 to 2, landing on my own idea and Elaine’s idea as the two we would work on.

This process of idea selection and group allocation definitely felt like the first stages of collaboration. We came to a solution to a problem as a group, and in the end everyone was happy. I think the reason for the success of the discussion was the willingness of the group to be upfront about their inclinations and opinions on certain ideas. I think that this is something to remember for future collaborative situations.

Hearing everyone’s film ideas was a very interesting experience, particularly because no two of the ideas were significantly similar in any way. The broad range of different ideas was surprising, and refreshing. I was highly impressed with the ideas everyone had come up with and I was greatly inspired by a number of the different interpretations/approaches that people had taken to the task.

A number of people took a much more abstract approach to their interpretations of their observations, whereas I had taken a more literal approach. The observation I chose to base my idea on was, in a way, already a film idea. It had characters, a plot and a resolution. For this reason, my ‘translation’ of this observation into a film idea was not difficult, or at least did not require a large amount of thinking outside the box. During the pitches, I was quite drawn to the ideas that were more abstract and did not intend to follow a narrative structure. While I’m happy with my own idea, I was impressed with the ideas that focused on images and concepts, such as Sam’s and Elaine’s.

Films I have made in previous studios have focused more on imagery over narrative, which I have found to be a strength of mine. However, for this film project I decided to go with an idea that followed a narrative structure, if for no other reason then just to try something new. If I just stick to what I’m used to then what’s the point anyway.

When I sat down and went through the footage that everyone had shot for this assignment, I was struck by the range of different themes and ideas that people had explored. I was particularly interested in the images showing plants and natural things in the city, and the contrasting images of the buildings and construction. With this in mind, I decided to make my 2 minute film an exploration of the contrast between the natural images and the unnatural images.

I chose a funky, modern jazz song from an open source music site to accompany the images, because I thought it carried the images well and gave the film an interesting rhythm. However, I also really liked the sound of the construction worker banging his hammer against the steel framing, so i decided to open with that noise and then abruptly cut to a natural image and bring in the music. This was an attempt to accentuate the contrast between the natural and unnatural images, which I thought worked quite well. Then at the end, I decided to re-introduce the ambient sounds of the city in order to tie the film off, and create a kind of abrupt pull back to reality for the viewer.

Overall, I am happy with the film. I was really impressed with the footage everyone came up with, and I really enjoyed using their footage and incorporating it into my idea. I enjoy editing with music, and I am particularly interested in the way that the musical rhythm interacts with the rhythm of the editing and of the images (which is something I explored in a previous studio). I would really like to incorporate this in some way into my final film project for this semester. I think music is often critical in short film, so i will be very interested to see how it will be used in our projects this semester.

Despite the importance of clear communication in day to day life, everyone inevitably experiences moments of confusion and misunderstandings when trying to communicate with one another. Language appears to be so comprehensive, and we want to believe that it covers all the necessary bases of communication, but somehow two people who are both fluent in the same language can still grossly misunderstand each other.

It occurred to me that in most cases, it’s not the language itself that is at fault, but our ability to properly express ourselves, as well as our capacity to listen to and understand others. A classic situation for a misunderstanding to occur is any kind of exchange that may occur in the hospitality industry. You might think you are being completely clear with the waiter or bar tender but in actual fact the likelihood that they have correctly heard and understood you is relatively low. In my own personal experience, it seems that my food/drink orders are wrong just as often as they are right. Is it my fault? Do I mumble? Just the other day the girl at subway was just about to wrap up my sandwich, when I asked her if she was going to put the meat in it. Turns out she thought I had ordered a vegetarian sub.

In some ways it’s worse being the misunderstood party, because you are put in a position where you have to call the person out, which is not an enjoyable experience. I wonder if misunderstandings have become more or less common as communication has grown and evolved over the centuries. My guess would be that they always have happened and always will.

Observation:

Ever since high school finished I’ve had a number of moments that have felt like coming of age moments, or at least experiences that only someone who is well and truly into their twenties would have. They also seem to be getting more frequent.

An example of this, was when one of my friends who I have never considered to be an independent kind of person, recently moved out of home and invited a few of us around for dinner. First of all, having dinner as a friend group is something we have never done before, unless it is preceding another activity. Straight off the bat, having dinner just for the sake of having dinner seemed like a strange thing to do.

I wasn’t expecting much, but when I arrived at his new place and made my way into the kitchen, I discovered that he had gone all out. He was frying avocado chips and cauliflower with red onion in a pan, and had a fragrant beef rendang cooking in a brand new pressure cooker. He served this with coconut rice, buttery nan bread and red wine. It was delicious.

As we ate, we sat back and talked about what had been going on for us with uni, work etc. While we did stray into the occasional moment of silliness as we have so many times in the past, overall the conversation was hauntingly mature. After this, we all went home at a reasonable hour.

It was an evening that certainly felt like a step away from old habits. Perhaps what scared me most was how much I enjoyed it.

Idea

My idea for this film is a sort of exaggerated restaging of the observation, but with only 2 characters; the host and the guest. It would follow the evening from the guests point of view as he sits through an elaborate dinner at his friend’s house that he was expecting to be pizza and beer. I’m imagining it with voice over, which would convey the thoughts of the guest as his feelings go from sceptical to incredulous then to content and finally to reflective. A film that sprang to mind when I was thinking up this idea was My Dinner with Andre, which also uses voice over and follows two characters having dinner together. However, there are a few big differences that I think will sufficiently separate my film from My Dinner with Andre. Firstly, I would want the film to be about 3-4 minutes long instead of 2 hours. Secondly, in terms of form, I think my film would be much snappier, and would not follow the characters in real time. My film would also incorporate flashbacks, to illustrate the weirdness of the mature dinner and give the characters some backstory. For example, a close up of a glass of red wine being poured might cut to a flash back of the characters shot gunning beer cans, or a shot of the elaborate main course might cut to a flash back of the characters eating junk food on the couch. Also, I’m imagining the film being narrated in third person, for example “as tom approached the entrance to jack’s house, he contemplated the extremely unusual nature of the invitation”. I’m not 100% sure yet how the film would end but I imagine that it would reach the same resolution as the observation, which is that despite the scary, grown-up nature of the dinner, it was undeniably enjoyable and that’s the nature of getting older.

Observation:

Of all the things people tell you not to do as a child, surely smoking would be at the top of the list. We’re told from such an early age in no uncertain terms that if you smoke, you are seriously increasing your chances of getting a chronic illness. In teenagers however, these well meaning warnings often either don’t work, or actually have the opposite effect. The innate desire of teenagers to rebel actually seems to cause anti-smoking warnings to become pieces of inadvertent reverse psychology.

This is evidenced by a phenomenon I have witnessed after moving into a unit which is adjacent to a high school. As I was moving in, I took note of the fact that our block of units backs onto a particularly narrow alleyway. From having gone to high school relatively recently myself, I recalled that nearby alleyways are likely to become smoking stops for students who wish to keep their habit hidden from their teachers. I predicted that in our time living next to this alleyway, we would encounter a large number of smoking teenagers.

It was not long before my suspicions were confirmed. On school days, I will often see groups of students, still in their school uniforms, ducking into the alleyway for a quick coffee and a cigarette. I don’t have any real problems with this, except for the fact that by the time the school week is out, the alleyway is littered with dozens of coffee cups and god knows how many cigarette butts. Honestly, the littering bothers me much more than the smoking. Hopefully all those anti littering campaigns aren’t having the same effect on teenagers as the anti-smoking ones.

Film Ideas:

I think the strongest part of this observation is the theme of rebellion in adolescence and the futility of attempts to persuade teenagers to avoid certain behaviours. I think that if translated into film, this observation would work well as a sort of essay on rebellion in high school students. Perhaps it would follow the activities of a teenager after being subjected to some kind of parental lecture which has had the opposite to the desired effect. I think the use of voice-over here could open up some interesting possibilities, particularly comedic possibilities; a narrator conveying the true thoughts of the characters in this kind of situation could be very amusing.

Of all the formal possibilities that we have discussed in class the one that has stood out to me the most has been the differing uses of voice-over. I really enjoyed the screening of the short film Passionless Moments, which used voice-over to convey the thoughts and feelings of the various characters depicted throughout. In the past I have seen voice-over simply as a tool for documentary film or a cheap shortcut for exposition. However, after looking into voice-over in class, I’ve started to consider voice-over as a device that can be used in a host of different ways.

In class we looked at several different clips that showed variations of voice-over. We saw how it was used in fiction or non-fiction, first person or third person, used for statements of theme or backstory, and even as ellipsis as seen in François Truffaut’s Jules and Jim. I found it interesting how voice-over could be used so seamlessly to condense the passing of time and still give a strong impression of the narrative events. I think this would be a very useful device for our final projects this semester, particularly if we chose to make a film that depicts events over extended periods of time. I believe that if done well, voice-over will not be jarring for the audience. On the contrary, I think it could potentially add a layer of intrigue, and also an interesting stylistic element.

While I’m not set on incorporating voice-over into my film ideas, I’m definitely keeping it open as an option because I think it has a lot to offer.

Observation:

Ever since high school finished I’ve had a number of moments that have felt like coming of age moments, or at least experiences that only someone who is well and truly into their twenties would have. They also seem to be getting more frequent.

An example of this, was when one of my friends who I have never considered to be an independent kind of person, recently moved out of home and invited a few of us around for dinner. First of all, having dinner as a friend group is something we have never done before, unless it is preceding another activity. Straight off the bat, having dinner just for the sake of having dinner seemed like a strange thing to do.

I wasn’t expecting much, but when I arrived at his new place and made my way into the kitchen, I discovered that he had gone all out. He was frying avocado chips and cauliflower with red onion in a pan, and had a fragrant beef rendang cooking in a brand new pressure cooker. He served this with coconut rice, buttery nan bread and red wine. It was delicious.

As we ate, we sat back and talked about what had been going on for us with uni, work etc. While we did stray into the occasional moment of silliness as we have so many times in the past, overall the conversation was hauntingly mature. After this, we all went home at a reasonable hour.

It was an evening that certainly felt like a step away from old youthful habits. Perhaps what scared me most was how much I enjoyed it.

Film Ideas:

I think this would work best as a sort of comedy, but with elements of drama and realism as well. I’m picturing a re-staging of the evening but more exaggerated, maybe seen alongside flashbacks of silliness/immaturity of the past.

Observation:

A group of friends sit around a fire on a Saturday night, in a backyard they know well. Someone has put a branch with fresh leaves on the fire, which has created a thick cloud of smoke that stings their eyes, and blurs their vision of the house that contains even blurrier memories. The house itself is almost empty now; all that remains is a few piles of junk in each room that have either been overlooked or kept for sentimental value.

The group of friends have been coming to this house for years, and this is the last time they’ll see it. The house has seen them grow from uncertain, self conscious teenagers into reasonably promising young adults. It’s a house of bonding, conversations, arguments and rebellion.

As the leafy branch burns out and the smoke clears, last year’s Christmas tree is dumped on the flames. Almost immediately the flames shoot 2 or 3 metres in the air and stay there, thriving off the dried pine needles. The flames get so high they are dangerously close to the eves of the house; it would be a shame to burn the old place down a day before vacating it. The friends are forced to shift their chairs back a few metres.

After a few more hours of reminiscing, they’re ready to call it a night. The coals of the fire are glimmering, still red hot amongst the ashes of the fire pit.

Film Ideas:

The strongest themes I’m getting from this observation are to do with memories, nostalgia and moving on. I think that if this observation was translated into film form it would certainly focus on these themes, but not necessarily by re-staging the situation. I like the idea of incorporating the fire, and using it as a metaphor for living, growing up, moving on. I’m picturing images of the fire in its various stages, perhaps juxtaposed with images of other natural things like plants or bodies of water. Maybe even some time lapse footage of the clouds or the sunset to suggest the passing of time.

I’m not sure if I would include actors in this kind of film. I wouldn’t rule it out but I also think it might not be needed. Maybe some extreme closeups of hands or eyes would fit in nicely. It’s still a bit vague in my head but I think there are definitely some ideas there.

The second individual exercise was interesting for me because I have been doing some work for the Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders (CEED), which has required me to shoot a number of interviews. For this reason, I found the focus on interviews to be very relevant to what I’m doing. I was particularly interested in our class discussion of the many varying approaches to shooting/editing an interview.

I realised that the approach I had been taking to shooting the interviews for CEED had been quite formal. The interviews were all planned well in advance, with lighting, eye lines, framing and content all quite contrived. I don’t regret this approach because it the approach I took fit well with the requirements of the project. However, I decided to take a more casual, less contrived approach to shooting my second individual exercise, in order to gauge the possibilities of using a different style.

I decided not to plan out the interview too heavily so that the answers seemed less formal. The interviewee was my sister, so she was comfortable being less formal and more casual/spontaneous in front of the camera. Our choice of location was made based on convenience, lighting and the general business of the area which I thought would add an interesting element to the interview. While shooting the interview I didn’t specify an eye line for her to maintain throughout the interview, which resulted in her glancing into and away from the camera regularly throughout. I thought this was actually quite a nice effect, and added to the informal nature of the interview. Also, we only did single takes of each question and did not worry about stuttering or word jumbling.

I was quite happy with the final product because I found that the informal style was in a number of ways more interesting than the formal style interviews I had been doing for CEED. While different circumstances call for different approaches to shooting/editing interviews, I find that personally, I am more engaged by informal interviews. However, there is still plenty of room for experimentation in the future.