My group’s final film ‘Hung’ tells a story that is emotional and dark, yet cruelly true to reality, where many audiences could watch it and empathise or even relate to the characters in some way. My roles on Hung were Assistant Director and Distributor. The story engages its audience by building tension and anxiety which is felt through the protagonist and projected off screen onto the audience. Though inevitably realistic, the ending of Hung is still shocking and upsetting to viewers which was accomplished through the techniques used during production and postproduction. In the book ‘Cinematography Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors’ Blain Brown explains that choosing the frame is “a matter of conveying the story, but it is also a question of composition, rhythm, and perspective” (Brown 2011). During the filming of the emotional final scene, we wanted to establish shots where two people across a wide room were looking at each other. This involved shooting from multiple angles that could be interpreted as perspective shots. The framing of these were also important in highlighting the emotional impact of the scene where we held the shots, allowing the reality of the situation to sink into the characters as well as the audience.

Though I could not attend the studio exhibition, I have received a lot of feedback in regard to the film who have said the themes of the story were very strong and emotional. The combination of editing, acting, shot framing, and pacing have allowed the film to come together well. Pacing is relevant because in class we discussed the importance of the element of time being an important factor especially when creating a short film. The book ‘Film Directing and Fundamentals: See Your Film Before Shooting’ discusses the importance of time and place where Nicholas T. Proferes says “we shorten (compress) what is boring and lengthen (elaborate) what is interesting.”. During postproduction editing, we utilised this idea by lengthening out shots that were key to build tension or display certain emotions. I think doing this was one of the most positive and successful aspects of the end result of our film. I think the cinematic experience is one that is overlooked when discussing the enjoyment of a film. While I did not see Hung in a dark cinema, and on a cinema screen, multiple people have told me the viewing environment was perfect for a film such as Hung. The darkness, the quiet, and the focus of the audience on the film allow emotions to be at their most vulnerable. In ‘On the Evolution of Film Theory’ by David Fenner, he explains that “One cannot pause a cinematic experience; one cannot see anything beyond perhaps the exit signs.”, and that “This enveloping is essentially a central characteristic of the cinematic experience”. During production, we would try to create moments in the scene that were especially cinematic and would appear so especially on a big screen to really intrigue our audience.

The most problematic aspect of the entire film process was probably timing where all crew felt quite rushed for time and stressed with the minimal amount of preparation we were able to do before our shooting days. We all handled this very well though and managed to all contribute our part so that what needed to be done, got done as efficiently as possible. As distributor, I would have liked to have more time to promote the film in different ways, however due to the time crunch, we finished editing the film very last minute, so making a potential trailer was not possible. However, I am happy with how I was able to promote the film through Playback Film Festival posts, an interview, as well as some last-minute posters. If we had more time to complete this project, I would definitely work on a very short trailer that could be posted to spread word of mouth. In terms of the film itself, I think more time would have allowed us to trial different editing techniques. While we were able to do this to some extent, we were more so focused on having a completed film, than taking the time to explore styles of editing and colour grading.

One key thing I’ve learnt from my studio experience is how important a good concept is for a short film. A short film has many disadvantages to a feature length film, the main one being the time, so it is very important that what you are putting in the film is carefully selected and used with meaning so that the film makes sense and is entertaining throughout the entirety of the film.

As Assistant director and distributor, I was lucky enough to work with everybody on set, as well as the crew involved in post-production/distribution work. This was a very positive and enjoyable experience as everyone put in the effort to make the process go as smoothly as possible. We worked together on set, and in post-production, collaborating ideas, listening to everyone’s advice and opinions. Making the studio poster was a rushed process as we were waiting on stills from all groups, but once myself and the other distributors were given these, we got together and came up a brainstorm of ideas that finally gave us the final Studio poster. A lot of it was done individually, but all distributors were contributing their thoughts virtually. I think that my biggest takeaway about working collaboratively is how important all communication is between all crew. I knew this was important, but I’d never been so responsible for the communication on a project as I was on this one. Everybody needs to be on the same page at all times. If there is the smallest change made by someone, everyone needs to know or there becomes a level of confusion that is never resolved.

Overall, I had a great experience working as part of this studio.

References:

1. Brown B (2011), Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers and Directors, 2edn, Taylor and Francis Group.

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rmit/detail.action?docID=720723&pq-origsite=primo

2. Proferes N (2001), ‘Film Directing Fundamentals: See Your Film Before Shooting’, Routledge Taylor and Francis, Amsterdam.

https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzMxOTcwM19fQU41?sid=9bd44a4a-4979-46f8-b627-47f71907728b@redis&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

3. Fenner D (2021), ‘On the Evolution of Film Theory and Aesthetics’, Journal of Comparitive Literature and Aesthetics, 44(3):107-114.

https://www.proquest.com/docview/2705446797?accountid=13552&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals

Vimeo link to short film: Hung

Attached document ‘ Final Assessment ‘ contains:

• 5 still images from film
• Behind the scenes photographs
• First 5 pages of script
• Posters designed for short film Hung
• Playback distribution information and social media.

Page 1 – Treatment

One True Love

Tony is an introverted and quiet teenage boy who has collected trinkets all his life such as a specific type of stone, and specific gold coins. Tony has never had many friends but has one close friend called Harry who he confides in about his thoughts and worries.

In his first class of the new high school year, Tony sees a girl across the room and instantly becomes infatuated with her beauty. He tells Harry who encourages him to go speak to her, but Tony never does. Instead for the next few months, Tony just watches the girl, and she begins to consume his thoughts. He finds out where she lives while walking home from school one day and discovers that she is only a few streets away from his house. At home, she is all he can think about.

Harry finds Tony at school one morning and explains that he’s just overheard that the girl is moving overseas to study abroad in the next few days. Tony is devastated and for the whole day grows more anxious. By the end of the day, Tony explains to Harry that he needs to do something, or he’ll go crazy and has decided that he will go to the girl’s house that night to confess his love. Harry is doubtful at this plan and doesn’t understand why Tony wouldn’t just do it at school or during the day but supports his friend.

After dinner, Tony sneaks out of his house and makes his way to the girl’s house. As he approaches the house, he hears voices and sees lights on. His breathing heightens as he sneaks over to the living room window and peers through it. Inside, Tony sees three beautiful, identical girls. His expression changes to confusion and shock, and as he looks between all three realising, she is a part of a set of identical triplets, he eerily smiles. Still smiling, Tony turns around and slowly begins to walk away from the house back down the street.

Page 2 – Plot Points

The Concept Sentence: An obsessive teenage boy who has collected similar looking knickknacks all his life finally decides to ask out a beautiful girl in his class who he has been pining over for months but saddens when he discovers that she is moving overseas to study abroad, only to discover whilst creepily peering through her front living rooms window one night that she is actually part of a set of identical triplets and his gaze suddenly broadens.

Inciting Incident: A boy who is seen obsessing over his collections of small things in life such as collecting specific stones and collecting specific gold coins, is starstruck when he spots a beautiful girl in his class.

Goal/obstacle for the inciting incident: The obsessive boy wants to talk to the girl but is far too shy, so stays back and watches her from afar for months.

Act turn: The boy discovers that the girl is moving overseas to study abroad.

Goal/obstacle for the act turn: Heartbroken, the boy decides he is finally going to speak to her but explains to his friend he is too shy to do it at school and wants to go and talk to her at her house, so instead finds and goes to the girls home late at night to confess his long-lasting love.

Twist: When the boy peers through the girls living room window, he not only sees the girl from his class, but he sees two other girls who are identical to the girl he has been in love with all year. Realising she is a part of three identical triplets, the boy forgets his interest in the girl moving overseas as he realises there are two others he can obsess over or collect…

Genre: A dark comedy/psychological thriller…

Page 3 – Reflection

My film ‘One True Love’ is somewhat of a hybrid genre short film, which I think can be very enticing to audiences, or even attract a wider variety of people. It is a slow-burn short film, however I would ensure, when making this film, that there would never be a dull moment, only slower moments of tension or anticipation. I have labelled it a dark comedy/psychological thriller, because there is a shift in tone and nature of the film when the twist happens. Though leaning towards more of an absurd twist, I think it is effective when we know the boy’s obsessive nature throughout the treatment and film. By the end of the film, the audience will understand that though absurd and comedic, it is also a social commentary on the male gaze and how a man’s obsessive personality can become dangerous as the audience realises that Tony doesn’t even know the girl’s name, he has simply become fixated on the girl’s looks. This week I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo for a film class, and I actually noticed some similarities between it and my story in the messages it is trying to convey. The film focuses on the eery ideas of how the male gaze can lead to obsession and objectification of women. This is the sort of off-putting ideals I would like my film to emulate.

Having an absurd twist can be good when done well but is a tricky task. Writing this twist was my most challenging plot point, but I think if I were to work on this concept for a longer time, I would have a strong enough vision to pull off this complex idea. When producing an engaging film, I think the twist can make or break it. It is the final piece of the puzzle and ultimately is what heightens or changes emotions in the audience. Of course, all elements are important. A film that has a boring act turn likely won’t even keep an audience watching in time for the twist. Each element works to support the others to build a strong and entertaining film.

If I were to develop my story further, I think doing so in a group would be highly beneficial. Once there is an initial idea, multiple people can work off of it to produce the best version of that idea when getting it from paper onto the screen. I enjoy listening to other people’s thoughts because everybody has different perspectives on situations. Somebody else might view my concept in a completely original way that might make my story even more intriguing!

As I am not driven to create films like others are, I would definitely work with a director and screenwriter to get my concept made. I do feel strongly about my short film concept as it is a topic that though dramatized, is very much real to a lot of women and I would love to be able to bring awareness to the subject. I would also want to work with others for story plot points advice. I think I am not the most talented storyteller, so I would appreciate a director’s notes on how to make it the best it can be.

Concept I will develop into treatment:

An infatuated teenage boy decides to ask out a beautiful girl in his class who he has been pining over for months but saddens when he discovers that she is moving overseas to study abroad, only to discover whilst creepily peering through her front living rooms window one night that she is actually part of a set of identical triplets, and the boy forgets all about the girl he was ‘obsessed’ with.

[Concept sentence 1]

Character: Infatuated teenage boy.

Goal: Ask out the beautiful girl he is pining over.

Obstacle: Discovers she is moving overseas.

Twist: Reveals that she is an identical triplet, and the boy is a creep who is only cares about exterior beauty.

~

A quiet, young girl’s ballet themed birthday party is threatened when nobody shows up which causes an outrage in her loud, overbearing parents who by messaging all the parents of the invited children, discover their daughter had uninvited all her peers so that instead she could sneak away to football tryouts that her parents had banned her from attending.

[Concept Sentence 2]

Character: A quiet, young girl.

Goal: To have a ballet themed birthday party.

Obstacle: Nobody turns up to her party.

Twist: She uninvited her peers because she wanted to go to football tryouts.

Reflection:

I started off imagining my film would be of the innocent romance genre, but with further thinking and concept sentence development, I have decided to make my film start off as a romance, which quickly turns to slightly sinister and eery undertones, which allows me to address themes that will help create depth for my concept. My idea tackle’s themes like the male gaze, and the masculine ideals of what a perfect woman is. This is seen through an innocent high school crush, which turns into an obsessive relationship when the boy realises there are two more girls who look identical to his first crush whom he doesn’t have to care about anymore. This ending demonstrates that his crush was merely a physical attraction based on superficiality and lust.

Writing my concept sentence was not a terribly difficult task as initially, I worked backwards to create my concept, where I started with a twist that I thought would be something slightly absurd that I could start with and work off. I truly think the twist is one of the most important factors of a short film, so I prefer to start here with a strange turn of events, then formulate my characters, their goal, and of course the obstacle that leads to the twist.

After completion of my film, I would hope that my concept sentence is strong enough to create a suspenseful, and intriguing description of what my film will contain. I think that when promoting the film and gaining awareness of the film, I would focus on misleading the audience with depicting the film as a dramatic romance genre and adding one small reveal or hint that something is off about the story to gain curiosity and anticipation from audiences.

After reading through the sentences of people in the class, it is very clear to me that the best concepts for short films are the shortest and simplest concept sentences. I feel that mine is not perfectly concise, but I am overall confident with my concept in turning it into a treatment. One concept sentence that stood out to me was by Tu Phi Ho, about a girl stuck in a forest which made for a very interesting short. I think it has very strong unity of space within the forest location and has a good unity of conflict as there is just one strong conflict that the protagonist must deal with and doesn’t become overcomplicated. A way to improve the sentence is to work on the unity of time, as being stuck in a forest for ‘months’ would be difficult to portray in a short film and might require smaller subplots and act turns to fill in the spaces.

Wednesday this week was our studio’s exhibition! I absolutely loved getting to go around the room and immerse myself in the amazing final Assignments of my class. We set up the room so that everybody had a little station with a TV and headphones so that we could really enjoy experiencing the projects. All of them were amazing, I don’t think I could pick a favourite or even a couple favourites! A few of the projects that really wowed me included one where the group had made an entire website that included different tabs you could click on and explore finding news reports, dark web vibe content, an art exhibition, and a dating site! It was all very creative and a very entertaining way of utilising AI! Another was a radio station surround sound experience where you put on headphones and were suddenly driving in a car listening to the radio station! This was also a very clever way of incorporating AI through the sounds that made the experience feel freakishly realistic!! All the projects were very impressive.

It was also a funny experience to walk around the room, while also keeping an eye on my groups own project, and see the reactions of people who were seeing it for the first time. Ally and I had a lot of people telling us they enjoyed ours which was lovely to hear after being slightly nervous about having myself being watched on a TV dancing to an 80s style song dressed in full 80s pop star clothes! People found it fascinating how we had utilised AI to create our song lyrics and music together, where we then learnt the lyrics to create our music video. Some people mentioned how real and authentic the interview felt as well! We also incorporated a few AI visuals such as dancing robots on 80s televisions for added effect which people seemed to love as well!

Overall, I think Ally and I (and AI), produced a great project that was entertaining and showcased how we collaborated with AI to bring to life an 80s pop stars single! I had a lot of fun at the exhibition and over the semester in this class! I am very glad I did this class as it has given me a new perspective on the capabilities of what people can do when they are openminded to some input from artificial intelligence!

This week is the week Ally and I pretty much finished off our final assignment including the editing together of our project, as well as any final touches and making sure we have covered all of the criteria in terms of pre-production documents that are required. On Monday we decided to edit together as we were both free and available the whole day. We got together and began putting the clips together and inserting our AI footage as well as our own original footage. This process was really fun as we saw it all come together. The videos weren’t looking like terrible, awkward videos of myself lip-syncing and dancing to nothing anymore, and began looking like a proper music video with everything coming together nicely. We have slight troubles sometimes when we were trying to line up my lip-syncing to the music, but we continues to rearrange and eventually we ended up with a video we are very happy with and proud of! We also combined this music video with our already edited interview segment to form our whole video assignment, and we can’t wait to share it with everybody at the exhibition!

For the remainder of the week, Ally and I have been finalising and tidying up documents for pre and post production, as well as putting all our AI footage into the AI commons. We have signed our permission documents and now are beginning to work on our final studio reflections. I will discuss my experiences in that reflection but I thought in this I would include that this studio has been quite enjoyable considering it was not in my preferences and I never thought I would do an AI studio. I have enjoyed the people I have worked with as well as my teacher Daniel Binns! It has been a highly enjoyable, interactive studio that I think everybody would have taken a lot away from it!

This week Ally and I wanted to crack down and do our music video which we ended up filming on Monday! We spent half the day and a lot of the night (as we needed dark lighting) filming our video and editing the previously shot interview segment. In editing we added a grainy, retro, MTV-like effect to match the vibe of the 80s which required watching a few Youtube video tutorials. We also generated AI vide imagery which would be for parts of the music video, however after filming our music video, we are unsure that we will need the AI footage, as we have filmed a lot of media ourselves. This is an undecided decision that we will make our minds up about during the editing of the music video. While filming, we used many, cool practical effects that I think will make the final product look so much more interesting. We had a disco ball prop, we used a bright light to cast shadows on the walls, and we utilised the TV as a sort of fake green screen background! We also used a smoke machine which added a grungy feel to the whole thing. I am very excited for the editing of this music video, I think we have a lot of footage to work with, and make it look epic!

In class on Wednesday we just discussed our assignments as a group and I found it interesting to see where everybody is at with their assignments. Dan ran us through some extra little post-production tips and answered some of our questions about editing on Premiere Pro. I am not super experienced using it, but I do find that the Youtube tutorials are very specific and highly helpful 99% of the time, which is great! As of now, Ally and I need to edit our music video, and then the main part of our assignment will be complete.

This week Dan got out camera equipment such as the camera, tripods, and sound equipment to give us a refresher on how to utilise these things before we go off and film our Assignments! I found this very helpful as even though I did not use any of this equipment to film, as I have access to other equipment, I had forgotten a lot about how these little gadgets work. Dan also gave us a rundown of what we should include when making any visual media which was also refreshing before we got stuck into filming!

This week Ally and I filmed half of our Assignment which was the interview segment between our pop star and interviewer. We did not prepare by practicing our lines which we discovered was our biggest struggle throughout the process as we could not get through a whole take without forgetting lines! Eventually, we finally got it good enough at least to be edited together in a way that flows. Using the camera and setting up our ‘MTV’ set was so much fun. I think we really accomplished setting up the retro mood for our video, and this will be enhanced in post production with editing!

As we had hoped to get our whole shoot done this week which unfortunately didn’t happen, we have planned to film our actual music video sometime next week. Although it is a slight set back, we have prepared well and am confident that we have plenty of time to do it!

This week I was absent for classes but made sure I kept up with this week’s work and class discussions by listening to the recording on Wednesdays class. On Monday we had Assignment 3 presentations which I was disappointed I missed. I recorded my presentation, where I discussed my experiences using AI in my assignments over the semester. I discussed the positives and negatives of my experiences, which helped me find my key idea for the semester and Assignment 2. Over the semester I have found that my attitude towards AI has from the start been negative and I have never associated it with being an art form. My key idea was the thought of if I do not like AI and can not call it art, is this bias, and can it be changed by combining something I love with the AI so that I can perceive it from more of an artistic lens? I found a few really interesting articles over the weeks which I included in my presentation as I found they made me think about AI in our lives in a different way. One of them explained the bias that humans have against AI, and we disregard anything as soon as we know where it came from, even if we actually do like the art.

I also spoke about Assignment 4 which I will be completing with Ally. We have decided to make a new wave 80s style music video, which is us combining something we love and do appreciate with AI, combining AI footage with original footage. We have already generated an AI song using Audio which turned out exactly how we wanted it! We plan to shoot part of the music video soon, while also filming an interview segment with the “artist” using dialogue or a script that was also generated by AI. We prompted the 80s style language, to which we were very successful as it picked up 80s slang and lingo that will really enhance the effect of our interview. Our planning has been very successful so far, we are on the right track, and very excited to put together this project with the help of AI.

I managed to listen to the guest speaker on Wednesday from the recording on the lesson plan, and found it very interesting to here Professor McCosker talk about AI in his life, and how it has wiggled its way into industries. I also appreciated hearing the class talk about what they struggled with during completing past assignments. It was interesting to see that everybody had fairly similar issues with AI, where the AI could not generate exactly what the person wanted many times. I can definitely relate to that in my experience, but that was where I started using the generated media I had generated for different scenes, depending on where they fit the most. I found this helped with matching facial emotions of the AI people with how I wanted them to feel. This saved a lot of time as I was not having to regenerate every single shot.