5.2 Studio Reflection 

I was so surprised and impressed with how cool and interesting everyone’s final films were. They were also so different with very little in common making the whole screening super exciting and feeling fresh after each film. There were two films that really stood out to me though, being The It Girl by Sarah Goh and Lucy by Elsa Walsh. I think they both went above and beyond to create two pieces of cinema that were both beautiful and uncomfortable at the same time. While saying this I do think that all of the films made for the Uncomfortable Filmmaking studio were phenomenal and all met the criteria of being an uncomfortable film in their own individual ways.

I love Sarah’s use of lighting in their film as this is something that I originally wanted to play with in my film Do Geese See God but did not end up doing to the extent I would have liked. It is still visible within my film in the form of spotlights and light only emitting from other rooms but I like this very animated and dramatised approach that Sarah had when it came to lighting certain shots. Having lighting mean different things, such as when the lighting completely shifts to green when one of the characters stabs the other main character with a knife. This brings me to the makeup in this film and how it was used symbolically as well as a practical effect was very interesting to see. From being used as goo seeping from a face to the blood that really sells the stabbing scene, it all really inspired me to have a makeup artist on set because it really sets the film apart from being a regular ‘student film’.

The other film that stood out to me as I previously mentioned was Elsa’s film Lucy. I think that the film was shot beautifully. Each shot was individually thought out and all flowed together so well. I think that it inspired me not necessarily in an uncomfortable sense but, when it comes to filmmaking in general, to be more dynamic with the shots I choose to shoot and include. However, I think the reason the film looks so well put together is not solely because of the camera work, rather, it is what is included within the frame of each shot. The set design is very ambitious, even constructing a mock garage sale to establish the plot of the film. No shot ever felt empty which is what made the film uncomfortable as it felt very real. The part that really impressed me is the ending which reveals a wall completely covered in different photos of the character Lucy. I think that moving forward with my filmmaking I really want to put more time and effort into set design or even have a production designer on set for the shoot. 

Another studio that I saw the exhibition of was Shock! A New Horror. I thought that this studio was done very well and is something that I would like to be a part of if it is ever offered in the future. I think it was really interesting how each group of students produced works a part of the horror genre but many with their own twist and individual gems which really established them in this category talked about by the professor of “post horror”. I think that it really made me think about how much can be done with the horror genre itself and it doesn’t just have to consist of slasher flicks or throw-in jumpscares (not that those are bad things) but it is interesting to see this new direction. 

The two films that really stood out to me from the studio were Shrine by Charlie and He Suck’s by Jazmine. I think that both of these films explore really interesting topics around being a woman and I think that it is something really interesting to see done in a horror setting. I thought that He Suck’s had a really interesting and necessary use of found footage of old horror movies. Sometimes I think that when used in student films found footage can look lazy or stick out but I think that He Suck’s incorporated it very well. As well as that, I loved the makeup and set design that Shrine had and I think that it really speaks for how low-budget horrors are still possible to be made, all it takes is some creativity.