Consider Sandra’s lecture “Directing Actors” and describe at least a couple of points that you took away from it (even if you’re not the director).

– Sandra emphasised the importance of the role of director. Not only crew members get instructions from the director, but also the actors need the most guidance from the director. The actors can easily sense the mood of the director which greatly affects their performance. Sandra suggested to be honest but delicate. The director should point out what has not been done right but not saying it in front of everybody. She also recommended that we should let the actors to comprehend the script by themselves without telling them too much about every lines or gestures. That allow the actors to convey their characters in the way they understand them.

– Another inspiration from Sandra was the preparation of  B-scenes in case any bad situation happened or if time is running short on the actual shooting day. But we should still aim for shooting the A-scenes; rather than putting focus on the B-scenes option. 

– Sandra talked about getting the actors to rehearse the script the day before shooting. A rehearsal will make the actors feel more engaged and develop the interaction between actors before the real shooting. She also discussed about the rehearsal of a film without dialogue. What we need to do is to get the idea of shots and go to the location and rehearse with the camera.

Select from one of the readings from week 5, 6 or 7 and describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

I found what Rabiger describes in the reading from week 7 Developing A Crew relatively important throughout the production that again emphasises the importance of a teamwork. A significant point brought up in the reading is the idea of keeping a formal working structure. Even though the scale of what we are doing for this student short film is smaller than an actual film crew and so we have fewer people in a group to deal with all the roles required, it is still crucial to clearly define the responsibilities of each roles and establish a chain of command. Each one should know exactly what their part is in contributing to the production and commits to his duties. I found it difficult when we are working in a group with limited number of people because everybody is hoping to learn and participate in every area of the production even only a bit. Some team member probably need more pressure on focusing on his jobs, some may be doing it for the first time with no experience, and some may actively want to play a part in every aspects. It is efficient at this moment if everybody communicates and understands each other before the productions starts. We should trust one another and hold back from action or comment in others’ roles. In this way, we will work with less pressure and avoid any conflicts which will have an effect on the morale or ends up with anyone being detached from the team. Another point from the reading which is fascinating to me is that how we can in fact develop our personal traits to suit different role in a film crew. I reckon it is vital to recognise the strengths and weakness of oneself before we make a decision when assigning each members to be in different roles apart from self-interests.

Question 7

Please outline some points that you took away from the Lighting Lecture. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

I am not familiar with lighting at all. I know we need to make consistent light shades, shadows and color tones throughout the film but I do not really know what to consider in designing and setting up the lights. It is a basic concept, yet I have always forgotten that we cannot shoot without changing any lights. Or it is very hard to just rely on the natural sunlight we have at a location since the weather is changing every minutes. One main idea I took away from the lecture is that lighting is more related to the situation when we film, that is, what lights we have and how we place our camera and the subject to the light to get the visual effect we want. I became aware how important it is for us to learn about our filming location. We also have to know, for example, shooting indoor with windows, how the sun enters the room at different periods in a day earlier on. It is as well very interesting to learn about ways to create amount of light we want artificially. By bouncing hard light sources off the wall or a white reflector, we get a softer light which is more diffused and creates a shadow with soft-edged. Softening light can make the actors look more natural. With the use of silver reflector, light becomes a lot harder and a hard, dark shadow will be created which can make the subject’s features more prominent or provide a dramatic effect. The concept of ‘negative fill’ is new to me, which is when we take away some light and it is great to create certain moods in the scene. For example, we cover the window with black cloth to reduce the sunlight entering. Since light is all around, what I understand from the lecture is that negative fill helps to control the contrast between key light and shadows by reducing the lights caused by reflections. I found it quite intriguing that by adding different colored gel we can create different colour temperature. For example, if we cover the camera lens with blue gel, the set shown on the camera will very much look alike in daylight. I suppose lighting is so important that what seems natural and making sense on the camera is actually constructed in our eyes.

Question 8 

Please insert the link for your Lenny ex2 here. (use insert link tool) List the things that you learnt from this experience – this could be things that went well or not so well.

Link for Lenny Ex2: https://vimeo.com/92134409

Lenny exercise taught me so much about group cooperation. To be honest, we had not prepared much before the shoot. Therefore our filming is rush. It was raining that day so we were restricted from only shooting indoor. We got to change our filming location at the time right before we shoot. And unfortunately at the moment we were going to begin shooting, the sound mixer and recorder weren’t working. We also did not have enough time to cover all the shots we wanted. Still I am impressed with us come up with the low angle shot up the stairs and how we manage to edit the shots together coherently. I don’t have much experience on set yet I guess planning is crucial. I suppose it will be so much better if we know well about the filming location. Then we do not need to spend extra time dealing with the people and noise that poped up suddenly. Communication between crew members are also important. Everybody has to pay full attention on set, to the director and their roles while shooting.   

Question 3

From the week 4 lecture describe at least two reasons why we ‘shoot to edit’?

‘Shoot to edit’ may end up doing more takes of the same scene; yet we avoid missing out footage we need or shots required to connect with the next film sequence. Since numerous shots will be edited afterwards; we are in control of a stronger sense of continuity in the film in sense of space and camera movements. It is more certain that we will have more than enough coverage of scenes. It is also efficient to shoot various camera angles and shot sizes then edit compared to dividing into many shots in specific, in this case, it is more stressful while shooting.

Consider that sometimes a long take may not be possible to give particular atmosphere and idea to the film, we ‘shoot to edit’, to create certain mood and make sense of certain relationship between characters, as well as flow of the plot. This also allows filmmakers to have more options and space to be creative while editing among various shots with different camera angles and shot sizes in the same scene. They can experiment on shots in editing to make the best coherent whole. As if we didn’t ‘shoot to edit’, yet we would have to show constant camera movement in the shot, and we have to shoot everything in order without any mistakes, we probably have eliminated possible variety, even the perfect combination of shots we looking for.

Question 2.

Select from one of the readings, up to but not including Week 5, and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

Bresson, R. Notes on the cinematographer, (p. 50-52). London: Quartet, 1986.

Sight and Hearing:

I like the idea of “if an eye is entirely won, give nothing or almost nothing to the ear. One cannot be at the same time all eye and all ear”. Films include audio and visual parts, where they should cooperate really well. Sounds couldn’t be too distracting when with strong images. Either the sounds or visual elements should provoke audiences’ emotion by their own. Since if the sound and image are powerful at the same time, it may become hard to focus on the film and their own attribute to the scenes may be neutralised. I reckon what we hear with ears should have added on to what we can’t see in the film. Therefore audio and visual elements should appear to represent different things. Another idea I find interesting in the reading is “images and sound must not support each other, but must work each in turn through a sort of relay”. I used to think that sound sometimes appeared to compensate the insufficient images. It is fascinating to know that sounds are as powerful as images that can in fact tell the story not only to contribute extra for the visual elements.

Question 4.

In the tute we screened a short film called Rolling – a film made in Film-TV1 a few years ago.  

In 300 words or less describe what you thought worked or didn’t. At this stage we don’t expect you to have a great deal of film knowledge or language. Don’t be afraid to use your own words. Things you could talk about – script, casting, timing, camera movement, location. You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing.

Question 1.

In the film Clown Train how does sound contribute to the atmosphere of this film? Describe what you heard? Can you make reference to another genre film and how they utilise sound to create tension and a unique filmic space?

Sound in Clown Train helps to create the mood in the film as well as to inform audiences the genre, horror films. Especially at the beginning of the film, starts off on a black screen along with high pitched noise of the train going on the rail and sound from the flow of wind, it builds up a gloomy atmosphere and a sense of anxiety. It also makes me aware of where the setting is in the film. Moved to the scenes happening in the train, sounds become hollow, with an echo feeling which emphasises the spacious and empty carriage. Besides, it gives a sense of the protagonist being isolated, all by his own and the clown in the train. The inconstant flickering of electric light is some sort of the typical sounds in horror films which adds on to the unpleasant and terrifying feeling. Audiences can’t help but feel fear. Like in any other horror movies, this film has made use of the silence between conversations. It has heightened the tension in the story and draw audiences’ attention. I focused more deeply and had much more anticipation of the things going to happen next. I reckon sounds in the thriller film Gravity have contributed a lot to the atmosphere as well. The setting in Gravity is the space where there is no air, so is completely silence since nothing to carry sound. Audience hears the sound in the same way of the characters did. We hear nothing much when the spacecraft breaks into small parts. We can’t hear a bang when things collide with each other. Audience is like totally immersed in the massive space where we hear protagonists’ breath and their conversation through their space suits only.  It heightened the sense of the terrifying space- where we don’t have sound to get alert with the surrounding even we see it.

Question 1.

 In 200 words or less please outline your goals, desires – what you want to get out of this semester. 

I honestly haven’t thought of being a filmmaker since I am still quite new to all these film-making process and productions. I hope to develop further skills of the camera techniques and editing software, not only basic knowledge. This course gives me an opportunity to present my own stuff, run my idea and make it real.  I suppose I will learn about scriptwriting and get familiar with different roles in the production of the short film. I hope to overcome my weakness in creativity and analysis. I just can’t tell the right or wrong, good or bad things from others work. I hope to improve my critical thinking. I also hope that there is that one piece of work I participate in production can make me feel proud of in this semester.

Question 2. 

Consider  Jasmine’s lecture on Screenwriting and briefly describe one point that you have taken from it. A point that excites you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

NO WALLFLOWERS, NO INTROVERTS, NO “NICE GUYS”

I enjoyed the point Jasmine made of thinking film characters larger than life. Jasmine reminded us how boring real life is and how we have to create a real but unusual character out of the ordinary life. The characters should be made bold then they can act out. I reckon myself haven’t put much focus on characters before. Jasmine mentioned about the generalization of film characters and we should avoid wallflowers, introverts and nice guys because they are usually boring. I wonder if there is always a nice guy in a story. These types of quiet characters balance the story, don’t they? They solve problems; brings out the ugly truths, and sometimes as the secret keepers. My mind related this to the movie “The Perks of being a Wallflower”. The protagonist Charlie is a loner; the type of characters tends to be boring. But he, being extremely observant, makes the story interesting. The way Charlie living in his head and on the other hand trying to figure out the reality is what makes the film so compelling. I guess film characters work better not only to be bold enough to save the world, to me sometimes I am happy to know that there is a character out there just like me, someone I can make connections with.

Question 3.

Select from one of the readings from week 1 or 2 and briefly describe two points that you have taken from that reading. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

Slogans for the Screenwriter’s Wall

This reading has very much outlined all the rules to follow and mistakes we always make in screenwriting. I am confused with the point “passivity is a capital crime in drama”. I guess it refers to passive characters. the ‘absorbers’ of an action, witness the drama happening itself. Being a watcher won’t bring about any change. There should be deep down inside the characters an instinctive, spontaneous desire to participate. But I think sometimes making the character passive is like making them more human, like every other man. They do things which are more likely to happen in real life rather than in stories. Not only active characters are the heart in dramas. Perhaps, the story may not be exciting as with all those active characters, yet somehow passivity creates a sense of reality. The character is feature passive because they are trapped in some dilemma? If the drama begins with passivity, it surely won’t end with it.

“Comedy is hard”. It is said that in the reading comic structure is simply dramatic structure but more so: neater, shorter, faster. I have watched a lot comedies, of the physical humour as well as the verbal jokes. Yes it is not easy. It is hard to intentionally think of a funny story compared to see a funny thing just happen in front of you. I guess that sense of humour is coming from the experience of everyday events.