For my final assignment, I was the DP for “Bicycle” directed by Oscar Li, and “Muted” by Eiman Khai. “Bicycle is a short film about Emile – a girl trying to be on time for her interview and finds a time machine in the elevator by coincident and “Muted” is about Tyler, who has a warm heart trying to do his best to make his muted brother happy. Developed as part of the From Concept to Cut studio, this project aims to engage audiences through sensory storytelling and emotional triggering—these two films are inspired by missed emotional cues, family relationships, and daily moments. Especially “Muted”, this film invites viewers to feel rather than be told. This reflection is to discuss my experiences during shooting and key things I recognize after this course. It also evaluates the most challenging and successful parts while working on this project and sees what I can do to improvise this film in the future.

“Muted” and “Bicycle” have different goals for the audience. While “Muted” is a film about family relationships, aims to trigger viewers’ emotions, “Bicycle” is more like a film to entertain with funny and unexpected situations. With a lack of dialogue, “Muted” explores the theme of disconnection and reconnection within the family, whilst “Bicycle” is about the powerless and daily situations. Fortunately, both films were well received and enjoyed in the exhibitions.

One of the most successful parts of our filmmaking process was the friendly and supportive atmosphere while on set. From the beginning, the crew agrees to prioritize the actor’s/actresses’ comfort, so we try to communicate openly and encourage the cast to improvise the dialogue by leaving some blanks in the script. By doing that, we hope to make the cast feel more confident and can express their true personalities. In the end, we got some amazing shots such as the heart-warming moment when Tyler shows her muted brother how to play drums in “Muted”, or the dialogue between Emile and the receptionist in “Bicycle” which is both funny and natural. Another key success I noticed after two days of shooting was the director’s decision to limit the number of filming locations. There were only two main places that we were filming at, a small room that we booked on Collin Street and Carlton Garden. I think this choice was practical and forced the whole crew to think more creatively, because of the lack of spaces and settings, we had to redecorate the whole room and be careful in choosing the right camera angles and lighting setups. As Tromp said “Increasing constraints – and thereby decreasing choice and limiting options – actually promotes creativity” (Tromp, 2022), even though the locations prevent us from shooting from the same angle and framing we had a plan, and we have found ways to change the camera position and explored many angles that were not in the shotlist but it looks way better. This encouraged the crew to try new ideas during shooting. However, we still faced some obstacles, in the first shooting day of “Muted”, we planned to place a big Dedo light outside the window and face it toward the window to simulate sunshine, but it did not go as planned. It was raining heavily all day that day so it could be very dangerous if we used electric gadgets in the rain, so we had to put the Dedo light inside the room where we shot the scene, which meant we had to eliminate the window from the shot and work with a smaller frame.

If I had more time to continue the project, the first thing I would suggest the whole crew and myself do is to plan more carefully. I would also be with the director for the location scout and casting. The shotlist should be more details and need more meetings before the shooting day. Although both scripts I worked on were interesting, I would suggest the director focus on expanding the emotional arc between Tyler and his mother to build more tension, so that in the end when Tyler’s mother finds out about the drum kit he made for his younger brother, the moments feels more authentic and emotionally earned, or maybe add a small scenes when Tyler’s mother being stressful in her office would add more depth to the film. By adding this to the film, audiences are more likely to empathize with her struggle, making the twist at the end not just emotional, but earned.

After this course, there are many new things that I have learned and used for the assignments. I have been on several projects before but mostly individually, so I did not use it to create treatments or even a shotlist or call sheet. Making these pieces, gave filmmakers a clear visual and saved a lot of time during shooting (Shai Creative, 2024). I also had a chance to have access to many high-technology gadgets which I had never used before. Moreover, the best thing I experienced was contributing to a crew, it was very professional especially Fred who was in charge of the boom mic and sound editing, I have learned a lot from him. I learned a little bit from each position and got many new connections for my upcoming projects. The thing that surprised me the most was how each person handled their position professionally, which I had never seen in my previous shooting, However, as filmmakers, I know that we all have a strong artistic ego, so we all had our ideas on how to better the film. However, filmmaking trains us to notice the importance of every idea, even a small detail can be something special (Nash, 2011), so we all learned how to respect others and consider every idea equally without bias. This would help a lot for my future career as learning how to respect others could create a space where every crew member could express their feelings and give feedback freely to have the best outcome. Overall, this course is a great example of learning how to respect other members of the crew and prepared me to approach future projects with a deeper understanding of filming techniques.

Reference list:

Nash, K. (2011). Documentary-for-the-other: Relationships, ethics and (observational) documentary. Journal of Mass Media Ethics, 26(3), 224-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/08900523.2011.581971

Shai Creative. (2024, November 19). Shot List vs Storyboard. Shai Creative. https://shaicreative.ai/shot-list-vs-storyboard/

Tromp, C., & Baer, J. (2022). Creativity from constraints: Theory and applications to education. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 46, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2022.101184

BICYCLE – Directed by Oscar Li

still images, BTS and script.

Bicycle First 5 Pages

MUTED – Directed by Eiman Khai

BTS, Still images and Script:

‘Muted’ FULL SCRIPT DRAFT 3 – FINAL

Treatment:

Film name: Echo

The film is about JASON – a deeply loving teenager with his partner. After finding out his girlfriend Karsyn is about to go through a high-risk surgery due to a brain tumor, he determines to create some unforgettable memories together before that day comes. Despite the fear of time’s passage, they plan many activities in the next few days. Those are the moments JASON would never forget, all the quiet nights under the stars, their road trip to the beach, and all the videos he captures during their journey with his old camcorder.

Think they will have the most wholesome days until the day KARSYN has to go through the surgery, yet her hair starts to fall off. Even though she tries to stay strong, the feeling of insecurity and fear is just too much. KARSYN locks herself in her room despite JASON’S efforts. He keeps coming to her house every day, bringing her flowers and notes just to check up on her but she does not even reply to his messages. One day, she is just too stressed and shouts at JASON, telling him to go away in frustration, but he never gives up trying.

One day before the surgery, she decides to go out with JASON one last time. They return to the park where they usually go, under the dim light of the stars and moon, they have a deep conversation and both start to cry. The day after, Jason goes with KARSYN’S family to the hospital. He broke down after the doctor said KARSYN did not make it. Going back home looking at all the videos he captures and realizing there is no one with him in the videos, he finally admits everything is just his delusion and KARSYN passed away months ago.

The Concept Sentence: JASON – a teenager wanting to give his girlfriend the best few days before she has to undergo surgery due to a brain tumor, during the days together, they have a wonderful time but there are days his girlfriend feels so insecure that she just wants to lock herself in a room and shout at JASON, in the end he realizes that her girlfriend passed away months ago and everything was just his depressive delusions.

Inciting Incident: When Jason knows that Karsyn has to go through a life-threatening surgery due to her brain tumor.

Goal/Obstacle for the inciting Incident: Wanting to give his girlfriend unforgettable moments before her surgery

Act Turn:  Act I: Jason plans activities to go out with Karsyn

Act II: They hang out more often

Act III: Karsyn feels insecure and keep a distance from Jason

Act IV: Jason realizes everything is just his delusion

Goal/Obstacle for the act turn: Act I: To gives Karsyn unforgettable memories

Act II: Tries to hold beautiful moments together

Act III: Arguments and distance appear

Act IV: Jason has to face the truth and move on

Twist: Everything from the beginning, their road trip, all the picnic dates are just his delusion.

Genre: Psychological and romantic drama

REFLECTION.

“Echo” the short film explores the pain of facing the truth, explicitly losing someone we love. It guides viewers through stages of love, fear of loss, and the power of memories. The main audience target for this film is everyone from any age but people who have experienced the loss of their loved ones or just went through a breakup would be affected the most. The blend of romantic and psychological will catch viewers’ attention throughout the film. Moreover, I am planning to have many stable and wide shots to capture the beauty of the landscape and try to mix something charming with the gloom to create a slow feeling and nostalgia. Those themes and tones will relate to people who are struggling or used to struggle to let go of something meaningful to them.

Some challenges were writing this treatment for my short film, but the thing that I found the most difficult was to keep the right number of words when trying to ensure not cutting any major part of the script. There were too many small details that impacted the final twist, but I had to eliminate them to make my treatment more concise and focused. There is one more thing that I find difficult is maintaining the emotional tone and making sure that the main theme the fear of loss remains present in every scene.

The most crucial plot element in producing an engaging short film is to have a strong twist, which is the moment Jason realizes everything is just his imagination in the “Echo”. Since a short film does not have much time to build up emotion or catch the attention of viewers, a shocking twist would be a great idea to leave an impression. Besides the twist, maintaining emotional depth throughout the whole film is also a major point to grab attention. Ultimately, a balance between the twist, the right amount of screen time, and visuals creates the most engaging short film.

Both working individually and in a group has its pros and cons but I prefer to work in a small group to develop an idea or story. Since group work should enrich the portrayal of grief and character depth. Collaboration also helps balance pacing and emotional tone, also have more ideas for the script. Personally, if I did not have to do this assignment, I would not start to write a treatment now. Although it’s very helpful to develop an idea and to have a clearer vision of the film, I prefer to find someone who specializes in directing to work with to make the project more professional and have the best outcome I can.

Assignment 1.

Concept Sentence

Tu Phi Ho S4075196

AugCr reflection

I thought that I would not be able to experiment with filming equipment in this course at first, but I was completely wrong. After this week, I had another thought about the course, it is not just about Gen AI, it’s more like a place to try new things and learn from each other to create my own media. This is my favorite class so far as I got a chance to use a camera and microphone. I used professional filming gear a few times when I was in college, however, there were so many buttons and settings that I forgot quite a bit but the camera I used that day was much easier to practice on. We formed a group and walked around school to film an experimental piece which helped me learn a lot from the group members. Everyone in the group takes turns to use the camera and try different roles in the filming crew. We also discussed our final assignment, and I got a lot of feedback and advice that are helpful for my working process. Overall, I really enjoy this class as I can work with cameras and audio gear, which is the best thing to do in the media field in my opinion.

This is the last week of the course, I was very busy with all the assignment, I chose to do the last assignment individually and it was not as easy as I expected. I want to experience with many new filming and editing technique which took me a lot of time, I feel a little regret choosing that at this point because I think I should do something simpler. I am trying to finish this assignment by inserting many AI generated media and ensure the realistic of my final piece.

For this week’s class, we had an opportunity to visit The Hideous Replica exhibit. This is the second time I went to an exhibition and it did not disappoint me. There were some pieces that really caught my attention that I will discuss further below.

The first thing that stood out immediately when I entered the room was a “machine” with 2 strings attached to many poles with hands on it. Daniel stepped on the small platform and started to pull the strings, his action triggered the strings to pull, and all the hands clapped, a round of applause was made while we burst out laughing. Then we got a chance to try the “machine” one by one. It was really fun, nonsense, and creative at the same time.

Another work that I really liked was the one that takes up the largest space in the main lobby. The one that has three huge monitors and 4 projectors. The collaborations of light, space, and sound create an unsettling feeling but aesthetic. This work is so amazing that I just stood there for about ten minutes straight or even more, to find out what it was about, However, I still did not understand what it meant but that was still one of my favorite pieces as I always love abstract artworks.

Last but not least, from the dual-monitor-piece, take a left turn and then one more right turn, was the “Shadow Tresses” of Liang Luscombes. It was placed in the darkest space of the whole exhibition. At first glance, it looks like a shadow of a monster’s hand in a dark forest, trying to grab something, and it all happens behind a curtain. When I took a few steps forward to see what was behind the curtain, I realized that it was a small moving light source attached to a thin stick, in front of that is some nylon-like stuff to create the monster hand. It was simple but really creative.

For the upcoming presentation, I am planning to discuss how AI should be considered as a closed companion rather than just a tool and my ideas for the big assignment.

Overall, I really enjoyed this week’s class, It was really informative and triggered my creativity when I was in the exhibition. I feel great attending that class as I nearly missed it.

This week, we had a chance to share our thoughts and experiences about working with generative AI and the key ideas of these tools. At first, I thought this assignment would be fast to do until I started to do it. I got stuck when it came to the point “What is my key idea about AI”, I spent sometimes to scanning through all the slides from the first week to finally realize that, AI is more than just a tool to use, it is more like a companion to creators or artists, by inform it our ideas, it will visualize and generate new possibilities to finish their works. I agree with most of the people who said that it was challenging to work with AI. Personally, I struggled a lot at generating media. Many times I feel confused and get tired of these tools, especially when the results do not match my vision, or even the first frame of the results comes out perfect, but just a few seconds later, it transforms into a super chaotic video, forcing me to re-prompt and generate over and over again. For this assignment, I tried to insert the media that I had generated in the past to help viewers understand what I had been through, I also inserted some scenes of the videos on YouTube, to show what I wanted to do for my final assignment. After the presentation, I was given some feedback to help me gather all the ideas and do better on my final assignment.
On Wednesday, we had a special guest coming, Professor McCosker. We discussed our experiences with AI generative tools. It was super informative as I learned more about different tools and how to use them properly.
There was a motorcycle advertisement in Vietnam that was published a few years ago I was really fascinated by its special effects, such as the “Tetris building or the “color pathway”, I tried to generate it by RunWayML, even though it did not look exactly the same as in the video, but it still great and the result came out the way I did not expected, and I think that’s the great thing about AI.

In the eighth week of Augmenting Creativity, we are given 30 minutes to brainstorm about our third and final upcoming assignment. I have written down some ideas for the presentation happening next week. Then we had a special guest coming. She gave us a speech about her background and ways to approach and use Generative AI and machine learning models, as well as a quick overview of GANs – Generative adversarial networks, which is the key point of her speech today. She first talks about the Richmond birding butterfly and the reasons why they are about to extinct. She also talks about the complex habitat of the Bull Oak Jewel butterfly, it’s can only be seen in the old Bull Oak trees where there are lots of ants. The reason is that this kind of butterfly only lays eggs on the stem of the trees when ants are present. The caterpillars of the Bulloak butterfly rely on the ants to provide protection. With the research of butterflies, she led to the results of how GAN is working and how can we cooperate with AI, then displayed the butterflies research in the community center, and she then received hundreds of hand-drawn flowers. Those drawings are used to train a GAN.
After the speech of the special guest, we had a chance to look at everyone’s assignment two submissions, which is “The Machine Ate My Work”. It was amazing as I saw others’ creativity. One of the things I learned from my classmate is the ability to use sound effects in the video, I did not think of that when I did my video. Overall, that was a fun and very informative class, I really enjoyed it.