Departure is heavily based on an observation I had while dropping my friend off at the airport. I saw all of the people interacting with each other through sadness and urgency, trying their best to get to where they need to be. I thought that there is not a better place to showcase urgency than Southern Cross Railway Station, where everyone is in a rush scattering all over the place.

The location is not the only aspect of the observation I decided to change, rather I decided to change the very way I approach it and tell the story. Instead of literally showing people leaving someone on a train, I aimed to display the emotions that people experience when it happens. I used some music that I believed was fitting to convey the mood and shots that complemented it well. 

Since my piece does not have a voice over, it relies heavily on other forms of sound as well as visuals to tell its story. Even the title in the beginning with the establishing sound of the vehicle starting informs the audience what is going on without needing to listen to a monologue. 

When it came to creating my piece, I ran into some obstacles. These obstacles were not encountered while filming the piece though as the shoot went very smoothly. This was due to my planning that mapped every single shot I needed and the amount of time I would most likely need for each scene. However, since I organised to film both my observations in the same day, it meant that the footage looked really similar. Leading me to find ways to differentiate the two films from one another. This idea to shoot both observations as once wasn’t all bad though, as it allowed for me to maintain continuity within my set and actors. 

I believe that my approach to filming two observations that are somewhat intertwined was interesting, as it plays with the idea of being two separate pieces of media, yet telling one complete story.

I think that if I were to do this assignment again I would try and make two completely different observations that have no relation to each other whatsoever. This is not because I thought the concept was interesting enough, but I would like to personally challenge myself with two completely different aspects of filmmaking. 

Currently this film is my favourite piece I have put out in the course and I think that it showcases how I have developed as a film maker throughout the semester.