Author Archives: Mardi

Audio in Forbidden Lies

The audio makes use of dialogue, SFX and music, in order to create a humorous contrast between the obviously false fiction of the book, and the truth as the journalist uncovers more and more lies.

The music at the beginning of the clip us used to emulate the ridiculousness of the love-story, and creates a dreamlike scenario. SFX are used in the transition from the dreamlike fantasty into reality, as a humorous quip, again poking fun at the ridiculousness of the ficticious story in ‘Forbidden Love’.

These special effects are used again in the documentary each time the journalist uncovers another false fact from the book, and is like a recurring theme reflecting the fantastical sounds of dramatical love stories as the SFX are reminiscient of the sound effects you’d hear in typical modern TV soap operas, particularly in non-western countries.

The dialogue was recorded in interviews and is obviously quite formal, set up and the diologue has had an element of preparation. In the scene where the journalist’s reading of the book overlaps the author reading the same lines, the journalist was obviously asked to read out that part. It again creates a contrast between the fantastical way in which the author portrays the book and the funny way in which the journalist regards it as bullshit.

Paul Ward, Documentary: the margins of reality

The blurred lines between fiction and nonfiction.

I believe that even documentaries are very similar to fiction in the way that they are created. I mean, the world is the world and whatever happens in it is real, whereas in drama everything is created from the set up. But when you take footage of the real world, there’s lots to be taken, of anything really, and from that you could make any kind of story. I know it’s not the same type of blurred line as those that were noted in the documentary, but I think the way that we construct stories out of nonfiction footage is kind of like fiction. We create a story, it could be about anything. I like the idea of taking footage of the real world, and kind of treating it like found footage to take a documentary. That is, starting without a purpose and taking the footage, of things that are interesting or visually engaging or honest or sad etc and then seeing where it takes you in the editing process. Trying to make a story from it, not exactly a fictional one but one that wasn’t there in the first place.

Re-enactments are something that bored me before the reading. Yes it made the telling of real life events more interesting, but generally it was done poorly or over done. I would like to see how 10 different people re-enact the same scene. If they’re all slightly or dramatically different this just demonstrates how re-enactments are borderline fictions. I also like the idea of intentionally pushing those lines of fiction and nonfiction in re-enactments by changing things. Changing the persona of one of the people involved for example, or adjusting the world that they live in, without changing the event, situation or story of what is actually happening.  I think that would be interesting, to see reality replayed in non-reaity.

Film TV 2 Abstract Piece, Description

Screen Shot 2014-08-20 at 4.50.54 PM

I wasn’t here for the filming of the video thing so I used footage from other people’s folders, Axle’s and Georgina(?)’s. The sound was my own though, other than the music that was sourced from freemusicarchive.org by the artist Podington Bear.

The shots were quite random and unrelated, which I liked but I wanted to create some kind of unity. I used colours and split toning in order to create a consistent theme and slowed certain shots down and sped others up in order to create a sense of rhythm.

The colours were originally quite dull and the shots were quite boring. I used the three-way colour corrector to adjust the darker colours and lighter colours. I swapped the original colours for really intense hues, sometimes mismatching colours in the same shots. I also threw in a couple of black and white shots in order to shake up the theme and show what the shots looked like without that intense colouring.

I layered four different snippets from the audio that we took. I took the samples that sounded the most interesting and were moving, rather than static sounds. One track that was very much atmospheric dialogue sounds coming from multiple directions, I slowed it down and lowered the volume to create an interesting and unidentifiable track underlying everything else. Above that I layered the moving sounds. I made sure that the more interesting sounds were laid on the transitions in visual shots. This made everything less random and made everything make more sense.

I sped up and spliced the footage of the tram in order to create a continuation of the visuals, as well as a beginning and an end. Everything happens within the coming and going of the tram. This hopefully highlights the movement and passing of time, which are characteristics of all of the clips that I used both in large and small dynamics.

Documentary reading 2

  • “Meaningless glut of images.”

I agree with this, the availability of recording devices has lead to an influx of thoughtless, meaningless, random recordings of every day life. This isn’t film making and in my opinion is an entirely different category to documentary in film. In order for something to have meaning and a story, it must be planned in some way, thought about, there must be thought behind it.

  • “Seduce and entertain.”

These are not two words that I would ever have linked to documentaries. The fact that these can and supposedly should be seductive and entertaining is exciting, it’s a challenge and an invite to make something as appealing and appreciated as fictional film.

  • Society is becoming more and more narcissistic.

I don’t particularly agree with this, I think society has always been very narcissistic, however as the years go on and technology advances and innovations are made the opportunity to express and practice our narcissism becomes more prevalent and therefore more noticeable and on show.

  • Cheaper and easier to make, more freedom.

This is the thing that really excites me about documentary. As a wedding videographer I am very used to just turning up and filming things as they occur, and building the aesthetics of a film with what is available, eg. lighting, atmosphere sounds, dialogue etc. Therefore I think this appeals to me and is more comfortable than scripting and planning ahead. Of course I am always prepared, but preparation is very different to the kind of choreography that is involved with creating fictional films. I think this is the kind of film making, and also making with other types of media such as sound, photography and even writing, that I prefer. It is cheaper, it is more real, and it is relatable. The hard part is making it as exciting and appealing (or seductive and entertaining) as films that are made up. This is because fantasy is better than reality I guess, so I think I’d be interested in trying to create a fantasy from reality, or bringing out the fantastical in reality.

How it all worked out.

Ah fuck. Well those first and last paragraphs are depressing. Here’s what I wanted out of this semester:

I’d like to come out of the course with a polished, semi-professional looking creative film piece that would improve my portfolio. I’d like to learn how to collaborate with other people well, I think this definitely could have been improved last semester in Broadcast.

I want to be able to talk about film, and understand what makes films good or bad, critically. I want to better understand my taste in other people’s work and to better understand my own style in my own work. I’d also like to improve my technical skills with Premiere and camera handling.

More than anything I’d like to do my best work. As in, to the best of my potential. I let lots of little things slide all the time, things that I know could be improved, out of laziness, or not wanting to say anything, and I want to stop doing it and start producing my best work.

So, didn’t come out of the course with a polished creative film piece. Didn’t collaborate well and if anything my enthusiasm for working in a team sunk even further. I did learn a lot from the experience though. I learned that I need to voice my opinions early on, before it’s too late.

I also learned that even morons (not saying any people that I worked with were morons) have something to offer to a creative project. I can definitely see that working in a team is a much better way to do things, not only because there are more hands on deck but because there are multiple minds working on one project and different people create in different ways. You can take the best of everyone’s ideas and collaborate to make something better than any thing that one person might have thought up on their own, even if that person was a genius. Our group didn’t manage that unfortunately, but I can see how important it is to seek out and be open to different ideas and perspectives. Even just talking to other people about an idea is really beneficial. Other people can see what you can’t, and have ideas that you won’t have that might work better than your own.

I do think that I’m better at talking about film, and I notice cuts and choreography and lighting etc much more than I used to now that I know how  they are created. I now find films more inspiring, because I notice different elements and how those pieces contribute to the whole thing. It’s awesome to know how much effort goes into producing a piece of film, but also how achievable it all is.

Another important lesson was the importance of the story. As film makers learning to use equipment I guess a lot of our focus went into being technically good. Mostly, getting great shots. But when it came to post production and the first screening in class, it was easy to see that the story is the most important. If the story is great, and the footage tells the story well, it’s a great film. A well shot film with no story, or a story that you can’t follow, is a good-looking, shit film. Kind of like an attractive guy with a shit personality, who is terrible in bed. Someone is going to like him, but that person is going to be incredibly boring and probably not very smart.

My skills with the camera and with Premiere were definitely improved, a lot. Ta.

With that last paragraph I really failed myself though. I feel like I really should have just said, ‘nah, let’s not go with that script’, or, ‘I know it’s a pain in the ass to have to do auditions but let’s just do it anyway’, or, ‘for fuck’s sakes it’s only one fucking night let’s just do the movie night thing,’ or, ‘please don’t bring your shitty DSLR’.  If I had have I think things would have gone a lot better. It was laziness and it was being too nervous to speak up, just as I predicted at the start of the semester. And because of it I didn’t do my best work, just like I predicted at the start of the semester.

But all in all, it was worth it and an absolute pleasure, most of the time.

Film and TV 1 Reviews

The Chase

Extremely well shot, loved the colour grading, sound, actors and range of shots and choreography of actors was all really well done. The tension was built really well but the story lacked. It ended before anything had happened. Also I feel like the decisions that the girl made in that situation were unrealistic. I highly doubt many young women would run into a secluded alley if they felt they were being followed. It would have been more powerful if it was shot at night, and then that might have made more sense. I liked the suspense, but I think the ending would have been better with closure. It felt like the entire thing was leading up to something big, and then it just ended. Really well shot and cut together though. This team worked really well with moving shots, angles and perspective.

 

Budgerigar

Budgerigar was really funny. I liked it. The colours were fantastic and the way that tension was built and the fast cuts were used was fantastic. I particularly loved the brave use of dramatic lighting, it came out really well and wasn’t unnecessary or showy, it just fit the scene. Didn’t like the twist of him being in love with the brother that was like himself.

 

Sliced

Cutting the scene with the girlfriend was a really good decision. I loved the symmetry of your shots. It was really well shot. The script could have used some tightening on the details, and some tiny improvements, but so could most films. It was really good, it was genuinely funny, the story was clear and well told, the shots in the supermarket (despite the unfortunate placement of the bread haha) and the dramatic outdoor shot of him taking the bread out of a baggie were superb. I do think ‘White Bread’ was a better title though, kinda emulates ‘White Powder’.

 

Shelter

I liked it, but the story was a little cliché, and seemed more like a small scene from a feature film rather than a short film, that wasn’t really an issue I’m just not sure if that was the intent.  I thought it was well shot and the space was used really well. The sliding door thing was really cool, and the use of light was great, whether done in post or during the shoot. I didn’t get the vacuum nozzle gun and the calculator wall thing though. The film didn’t seem like a comedy so to have those rather novel props in there was just confusing rather than humorous. It detracted from the storyline, distracted the viewers and killed the tone of the piece a little.

 

Milk

I really loved Milk. It was relatable and funny. It had a shaky start though, that first scene didn’t really flow well. The cuts of the second housemate were a little confusing; something didn’t fit together well there. However, from the moment that the non-empathetic-pickle-eating-housemate says there is no milk, the piece flows. Some of those moving shots are insanely good, but one was a little too shaky. That one shot might have been better with a stationary camera. The ending was great though and loved the “ethnic kid stole my scooter” thing. I love comedy that picks on racism itself and how stupid it sounds rather than any particular race or person. The story was perfect for a five minute short. The film was built up really well and there’s nothing like an ironic ending. I can’t really remember that well but I think the audio could have used a little fine tuning.

 

On directing

I couldn’t make it to the lecture on directing so I discussed it with Arthur outside of class.

He explained that the directors’ specific role on the day of the shoot is to get the actors in the right frame of mind. I thought this was interesting because honestly in the past I had assumed it was solely the actors’ responsibility to be in the right frame of mind and create a convincing performance. The fact that the director is more responsible for this is surprising but makes sense. I’m not sure if that’s the right role for me but some ideas I had for getting people in character would be to create inspiration or mood boards, with media and pictures and words that suited the character that the actor is trying to portray.

Arthur also said the director was responsible for making sure the scenes were done in order of priority so that the most important scenes were completed first. This was something I tried to put into practice when we were filming our project and it is harder than it sounds with practicality of locations and the logic of the orders getting in the way as well.

Failure

Korsakow clips have become even more of a total failure.

The audio just isn’t working for me. I’m going to have to film again and I’m using up all of my friends.

I’ve had such good answers as well and I’m just ruining them!