Author: Gloria T

Final Fashion Film Reflection

PB 4

As mainly a producer within this fashion film project, it has been a great experience of learning especially for the first time doing producing. This film project allowed me to broaden my associations in terms of finding talents such as fashion designers and cast through connections. Not only did having these connections motivates myself to give faith in the film, it taught me great collaboration skills between talents and producers in the fashion film industry. Within these collaborative aspects of the project, what had greatly impacted me was how to work with a client and at the same time delivers my team’s artistic values on the project. It was important to not only consider the branding identity of the chosen client but what their needs and wants as to make a commercial fashion film let alone the target audience the ideas implemented is meant to be for. What was challenging though is proposing my team’s ideas towards the clients, due to different visions, styles and takes authority in leading the project forward without giving up too much control to the client. This is why we did an extensive research on the brand through their websites, Instagram account, their mood board, fashion styles and target audience as well as constraints.

Our production team worked well together in brainstorming ideas as we have similar goals and desires to make a natural aesthetics commercial fashion film influenced by Jessie Oldfield’s Countryroad advertisement. Each of us divided our roles as well as helped each other’s tasks during this learning process and the pre-production. The studio also allowed us freedom in managing our own production process and we had a smooth and successful shooting days with the scheduling on track. Although during the first shooting day, we needed more preparation in specific roles and direction, we all learned during discussion the things we need to improve and techniques so that the next shooting day consist of a better, clearer direction of shots, acting styles and roles. What helped the most are the pitches within the studios because of beneficial feedbacks from the panel as well as the members. Feedback act as our learning tips that assist even in a real-world experience which our team really took account on. Furthermore, watching other productions’ projects and ideas developed a later inspirations to our own film practice whether as individuals or as a group. Though what I feel is missing within the studio is the clear direction of specific role taking. Versatility is a great learning experience, though if there is a dominant role each person is responsible with, it could improve our filmmaking process. Hence, through the pitches and panel feedbacks along with inspiring talks and practicals with Jessie Oldfield, Nick, Robin and our studio leader Christina, our team have had influential production process techniques.

My overall performance as a media practitioner comes to my role as mainly the producer, but also as casting director, editor and continuity. I think I have done a successful job in communicating with my team members and the client so that the pre-production meetings, shooting days in which the star cast is available, and the editing schedule runs smoothly. It was a great learning experience as a first-time producer to organise our rights to film in public through communications with the City of Melbourne authorities, as we are filming within the city, while making sure that we even as students would not be breaking any laws. Moreover, during the post-production process comes the time when the client may not be satisfied of the overall look of the film and expresses the desire to obtain raw material or footages. As a producer receiving this information led me to do a further communication with the rest of the team and research on the rights of the client to obtain any raw materials. Although this conflicting issue took place, I am glad to come into discussion with the team and that we worked together to solve the issues through the resources such as Christina our studio leader who helped to give us insights and directions.

The way I have seen our methods or approach in this filmmaking project is related to fashion production. In fashion, there is the client, research, then brainstorm and rough ideas that leads to the prototype and planning before the final garment is constructed. As our team has chosen our client and undertaking this similar process of production, there is a basic foundation within the method that I found is essential for the succession of our film. That includes great communication and trust towards each other. Employing these methods has led a great success in the fashion film we produced whether one film focuses on the commercial side showing more of the products and the other lean into a more subtle artistic approach.

What was challenging though is keeping every team members together with an agreement on details specifically during the post-production. As we all were editing the piece with Premiere Pro in our RMIT basement-editing suite, each of us has different opposing ideas to input on the film. Due to the subjective individual visions of the edited piece, it is a great idea to either have different submission versions according to the experiment of individual wants and likes, or giving a sacrifice of the editing role in which everyone took to action. Therefore, what I find will improve not only the team but also my own performance and the overall success of the film project is sticking to each of our individual main roles. For example, who is the director will be directing instead of also taking action to do the editing in the process while the actual editor is working. Finally, we have come to the agreement to have each other’s freedom to experiment on their vision, resulting in two versions of the Kodangs fashion film in which each of us are happy with. Finally in overall terms, I am glad for the resolved issues and the success of our Kodangs fashion film in which our client can have the choice to put on their Instagram account. This implementation of fashion into filmic practicality has opened my eyes to a possibility of the creation of art through media.

Pitch Reflection

Project Brief 3

My group and I have collaborated in outstandingly fair tasks throughout the film pitch and were committed to deliver our ideas and vision of where we aim our film to be headed. Working with the fashion brand, Kodangs, we could all agree on incorporating the natural style of production that signifies women empowerment. As we divided to present each area of the production, I was focusing on the casts as a casting director and also the costume designs. Overall I believe that we have successfully delivered a clear vision of what we aim for the film.

Selling your idea through a pitch is one way of marketing you and your film. The challenging part that I noticed is convincing the panel that our film is unlike any other, because there are other similar films and it takes either a unique idea or desirable component(s) that is mind-blowing as we communicated our vision. I’ve also learned that doing a pitch is a part of the developmental process, in which it is an idea that can be tweaked and improved after a number of feedbacks:

  • We have a great wonderful idea of empowering women with Kodangs products through commercial fashion film. Though our length of film is disproportional to our goals and visions.
  • In other words, our pitch shows a film that has the potential to be ambitious though the production itself needs more space (size).
    • Solutions include having a longer film than 1-minute purposes not only for Instagram but other platforms, due to their restrictions.
    • Another tip is to create series of 1 minute films to be posted in Instagram perhaps each having different locations/costumes.

We deeply think these feedbacks are helpful for achieving the best that our film can be, even in organic/natural-style fashion aesthetics.

 

Pitch PPT: click here

Fashion film brainstorm

Collaborating with the Thai fashion accessory brand, Kodangs, my group and I are aiming to produce a short fashion commercial film promoting their brand.

About Kodangs:

 

In Week 7 we all had a presentation about our goals and ideas of the overall pathway of which our fashion film will undergo. We presented our vision ranging from costumes to castings and etc. Pitch for our film: Click Here

Egyptian Reflection

Project Brief 2– Reflection

Project Brief 2 was an eye-opener for all of us in the group. When we first introduced ourselves at the formation of groups, we had no idea of what we as individuals are aiming for. Each of us had very different tastes, styles and subjects during the initial brainstorming presentation on the whole studio. Though, as we have known more of each other’s visions, we came to a more narrowed down idea and were getting a sense of what we can do to incorporate each other’s focuses.

What had greatly inspired our experimental short (30 sec) piece are the Egyptian themes and subjects we practiced with when we attended the camera workshop. During this collaborative workshop, we brought Egyptian props that Jenny had to experiment in relation to the cameras we can use. We used both RMIT’s camera and Steph’s DSLR to get some footages of the fabrics and bracelets which then are used as we did an individual edits to see each of our different techniques. Jenny’s vision of the themes and mood board allows her to take upon the director’s role while Steph and Annie each experiment on different camera techniques. I have posed as the actor for creating body as well as fabric movements we could capture in different speed. We agreed that all of us would incorporate slow motion and close up focus on the fabric pattern, accessories and movements.

With all our individual edits, we came together to see the different versions of tastes and I was surprised of how other’s works are techniques that I have never tried before. I was very fond of Jenny’s experimental style of playback and white flashes that compliment the Egyptian music she used. I was also inspired by Steph’s use of slow motion to focus on the fabric movements and glad that they liked my use of overlays and light techniques. Therefore we contributed these different editing styles towards our Egyptian themed piece.

Our further shooting day on the beach was a great lesson for the cameramen as we tried to capture consistent footages according to the sun lighting. Due to this change of weather, Annie had to colour-grade the footages in post-production. Both Jenny and Steph worked well together to use their cameras to capture different angles at the same time and action. Though, we learned that because we were also using hand-held motion, it is a great idea to use stabiliser or a monopod to avoid too much shaky movements. Our other actor and myself tried to create the dancing movements and waited for the right moment for the wind to come. We figured out that the more turns we did as we danced, there is a greater chance that the camera can capture the focal points without the camera following the subject constantly.

We came together as a group as much as we can to edit the final Egyptian piece so that everyone can contribute their ideas during the process. We also did some individual edits when it is difficult to meet and use any part of our edits into the final piece. Overall, from the few challenges we’ve faced in availabilities to meet, shooting day and though we omit some parts of our own edits, I feel successful that we are able to combine all of our ideas into one final piece.

 

My progress versions:

#1

 

#2

https://vimeo.com/210215250

 

 

 

Define Fashion film..

What is fashion film?

We are still on the dark side that we don’t know which direction fashion films go. From advertisements, runaway shows, behind the scene or the making of… to art videos and even music videos, it can be all that in different forms. There is the intertextuality between films such that we see “fashion” in for example Rihanna or Katy Perry’s music videos just as fashion films can include well-composed music. We can say that fashion is indeed everywhere, as we’ve seen it in the cinemas showing Hollywood film, The Devil Wears Prada. But with all the ambiguity of where fashion films lead to, I appreciate its freedom. We as filmmakers, in particular fashion filmmakers can have that freedom to experiment, explore and invent new ideas.

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They’re aesthetically pleasing

Project Brief 1– 5 images

Seafolly Magazine Shoot

The Dressmaker Film Photoshoot

The Great Gatsby Film Still

Elie Saab Perfume Ad Still

J’adore Dior Perfume Ad Still

 

I find these five images aesthetically pleasing because of their ability to camouflage the subject matter to the context or landscape. Haute couture fashion in J’adore Dior, The Dressmaker, The Great Gatsby and Elie Saab images signifies the fashion statement and style with elegance and glamour. Charlize Theron became part of the context because of the also elegant, gold and fancy architecture. It’s as if they all blend in together. Similarly, The Great Gatsby shows the fashion aesthetics of the actors to reflect the 1920s roaring twenties period. These setting and context that are constructed as its mise-en-scene act as an extension of the wearable fashion and became part of the main subject.

We can also see in The Dressmaker fashion costume which are in contrast of the bare nature of the Australian landscape, that its fashion still complements and support that nature due to its pale colours and simple haute couture designs. Perhaps, the wing (like Australian birds) and hat designs symbolises the local Australian inhabitants such as its animals. They also symbolises the international influences that took place during the period such as fashion influences from France, Paris. Wearable fashion also does incorporate functional properties. Which is shown with how Seafolly’s bikini are constructed in the context of beaches and rocks. Which again, these images are relating fashion to the Australian nature and landscape as the rocks became part of the wearable fashion, even in contrast (no beach within the image’s frame). 

Another reason why I found these images interesting is its use of symbolism that relates to the setting. Both J’adore Dior and Elie Saab images are perfume advertisement stills that uses free flowing light fabric dress that looks like the fragrance. The are combined in the context of a fancy building and the glamour style in the city as part of that landscape. So fashion that complements its landscape or context is what I want to focus on within fashion films. 

Entering the world of fashion through media

Project Brief 1– Reflection

The best thing about starting this studio; More Than Fabric is that my satisfaction is fullfilled with coming to learn about the collision of both media and fashion. I’ve had a dilema before I started my media and communication degree… That I was either going to study media or fashion… or anything to do with art. So I am glad, very, very jumpy that I can now incorporate both departments in this one studio. It really is a dream come true, in terms of where I want my life to be headed as well. Fashion can be everywhere we are, from marketting, business and the media. We see clothing shops and immediately relate that to fashion. But also, these products are originated from designs that are from a form of art, which is often portrayed in fashion shows, TV or even films where we see costumes. The obvious example, The Devil Wears Prada, implements the idea that fashion and the media collide in art forms or medium such as film.

We went ahead to the exhibition in the design hub building. There, we listened the panel talked about high risk in fashion media, focusing on documentaries that reflect the new emerging form of communicating fashion; through art films.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From this gallery, I learned that there is more to fashion than just wearable art. Its also the art of functionality and other properties. A fluffy fabric was used as a chair cover while patterns we normally see on clothing fabrics are used as window designs. I want to show that fashion is more than fabric with the artistic fashion films that I will make. I want to help fashion companies, whether it is to market or advertise or simply to just express, to bring to the community the message that there is more to it than wearable fashion. Film can enhance that idea.