19

The screening was last night! I was amazed at the amount of people there. I've certainly never seen a lecture theatre with so many people in it before...I must say I was very impressed. Everybody seemed to have put so much effort into their films, and I have never felt more part of a group of young, talented people at uni before. It made me really happy and then really sad to remember that now I am leaving for a year and I won't get to graduate with these clever and talented individuals.

I was so so nervous to see our film on the "big" screen, but ultimately I was SO proud to see it amongst the others! Even though it was pretttttty cheesy, and people laughed a lot in bits I definitely didn't think were funny.... I really thought we held our own amongst the others. One thing I think our film really succeeded in its visual qualities. My personal favourite of the films was the one that Lincoln and Caitlin (amongst others that I can't remember....) The idea was original, the characters were contrasting and balanced, and lets be honest-it was fucking funny. I find this impressive as I am not funny at all, and being successfully funny seems really hard.

And now I'm going. I'm leaving. I'm gone. Europe for four months. I hope that I'm going to lose myself and find things too. I love that this course has introduced me to a new medium that I never would have discovered by myself. Photography was something I always loved, but film is giving me the capacity for more depth and be more creative- editing and shooting requires a more refined eye and are less easy to capture- you need to think more about what you want to achieve and how you're going to do it. I can't wait to get out in the world and start making little movies about the things I see. In this last post I will post a video that I made recently, just with some random clips on my camera of things I have seen over the past few months. Enjoy!
P.S Watch it in HD

Untitled from Sally Tabart on Vimeo.
Music- "I Know Places"-Lykke Li

18

Here are some key stills from the film, pretty much encompassing the whole film:

 I made everyone stick around for a little longer for this shot, but I quite like it.

 View from the amazing apartment we had access to

 sfddaAe2132r32Q#ESfsds errrrrrrgghhhhh uncomfortable

 Cute

 I was quite proud of myself for getting this shot

Another shot I forced people to stay around to get but my favourite in the whole movie

John came up with this tracking shot for the fight in front of the mirror, i think it looks pretty amazing

Pretty Zan

17

GROUP REVIEW

After showing our work to the class today, I must say I was a little disheartened. I was hoping to get a little more feedback (positive/negative). But from what we did get there was definitely a lot of useful information. Here are some things I noted during the rough-cut screening and the feedback we received:

-       -OVEREXPOSED d#$TREGdfgdsdcxvgdfdhh

-       -Tracking shot leading to sex scene, cut out awkward end bit

-       -City pan shot in apartment is too long

-       -Cut down blurry date shot

-       -Cut down the first kiss scene outside

-       -In terms of sound, consider layering music with actual sound

-       -A little bit of frame cropping in the last café scene, slight lack of continuity in framing.   

Looking forward to putting the final tweaks on the film. Overall I have been really happy about the way we have worked on this film. We are very on track time wise, there will be no late nights or 12 hour days…just a few little tweaks here and there and all will be finished!  

16

COLOUR MATCHING

As predicted, I did overexpose most of the outdoor scenes L L however there is a solution! Here are the steps for fixing the colour of the scenes:

1.   -  Select the clip in the timeline you would like to fix. Double click.

2.    - Go to Effects tab>video filters>colour correction>color corrector 3-way

3.     -Select the “Colour Corrector 3-way tab” in the viewer window

4.     -Alter blacks, mids and whites to your desired tones

-->If you want to apply the same filter to a number of different clips (essential for us), simply go to the “filters” tab, select the newly altered filter and copy, double click on the clip you want to apply it to and paste it in the “filters” tab. 

15

EDITING

Blahlbahblah Final Cut blaaaaaah why don’t I remember how to use it. In our first editing session I had at least 5 minor panic attacks related to concerns regarding the following issues

a)    What if I didn’t press record???

b)   What if the tape was broken???

c)    What if I ruined the footage???

It took us at least an hour and a half to try and figure out how to appropriately log and capture the videos and after this problem had been resolved, another 2 hours to log and capture all the footage :O :O :O So far it looks good but I’m pretty sure that I overexposed most of the initial café shots.... But thank god it all works. Celine is a lifesaver with the technology!

14

THE SHOOT

So the shoot happened. Oh my god. The most exhausting day! Here is a brief little schedule of the events that occurred.

6am: Wake up. Cry. Decide to drop out of uni. Press snooze. Go back to sleep.

6.10am: Wake up #2. Reconsider options. Change mind, I might need my degree. Get up.

7am So cold I can see my breath in the car. Arrive at shoot. Unload equipment.

7.20am Set up equipment. Consult with director about shots we need to capture. Attempt to look professional and not studenty (fail)

7.40am….actors supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago…..

7.50am Actors arrive! Director goes through…directions? Start shooting

8.50am Write a cute girly note pleading with ticket man not to tow my car/ticket me.  Success.

10.00am Finish café scenes!

10.30am Arrive at apartment. Issue: how to get equipment from an independent underground car park to the 46^th floor of an apartment….

11am Crisis averted, effort exerted by all.

11.30am Realise I have left my keys. In my running unlocked car. In a public carpark.

11.50am Pass out. Recover. Locate keys. Oops.

12pm After setting up equipment have group consult regarding external lighting options…probably should have considered this earlier. Director and I scout the house for appropriate locations and interesting shots.

12.30pm Start shooting!

1pm John becomes way too comfortable as an extra on set. Will not let him in front of camera again.

1.30pm Go downstairs for lunccccccccch :) :) :) 

2pm Shoot a couple of scenes outside the apartment. Actors have their first kissing scene :O

3.30pm Back up to apartment, crew meeting to discuss what is left/what that strange burning smell is…

3.40pm Burnt through a filter. Issue

4.30pm Resume shooting. I have to film two of my best friends (our actors) straddling each other and making out. With a hand held camera. Up close. I am uncomfortable.

5pm I force people to stay around to get a few more shots. Not popular

5.40pm Finish clean up!!

6PM THAT’S A WRAP PEOPLE

-actual set shot: are we filming a porno now? 

13

So things are moving right along. We have a location established, the incredibly convenient Pearson&Murphy which is right on campus- could not be happier with the place. It's got a sizeable, sprawling outdoor area, which is perfect for what we need. Visually it looks really lovely as well, situated within an old brick building and renovated to be very modern. Today we're going down there with a little video camera to do a video storyboard of the shots we will need so it's not so stressful on the day

We will also be doing the same thing down in Southbank and also at the apartment location.

Apartment Shots

In yesterday's tute when Annie's group were required to set up for their shoot, I realised how much of a huge process it is. I think the best idea would be to get there at least half an hour before the actors so they are not waiting around aimlessly, as I had to do for a long time yesterday as an actor in the other groups film. It's starting to get so close to the day- so exciting!

12

I am obsessed with this video. Another example of the types  of film that I want to shoot. I love the juxtaposition between fixed and moving shots. Also looks really great in complete black and white, something I wouldn't really usually consider doing but it's so effective here.


N.Y. Adorned “Tradition” from Evan Owen Dennis on Vimeo.

11

I.Love.Sofia.Coppola. Love her. She is basically everything I want to be. An actress, an artist, a director, a designer...she approaches all of her creative endeavours with the knowledge and perspective of all the different industries she is involved in. Her films are about art. And fashion. And stories. And photography. And so many other things. Lost In Translation or The Virgin Suicides, for example- while they are both incredible stories (particularly the former), what I remember of them is the visuals. THAT shot of Scarlett Johanssen lying on her side in the see through underwear. The iridescent, frantic glow of Tokyo. The eerily beautiful vision of the Lisbon sisters, all blonde and in pale colours through white washed filters.

Lost In Translation 

The Virgin Suicides

While there are many people in this course who are incredible at editing films together seamlessly, or are genius' in sound work, or can write the most outrageous narratives, I believe that my strengths lie in the overall creative vision of a piece. I want the work I produce to look a certain way- through the eyes of a curator or photographer. I think that I can help make this film really beautiful looking, visually stimulating and artistic.

10

There were a lot of useful tips in the Working With Actors lecture this week. As I am used to being on the acting side of the camera, I have some idea about how the relationship works and how important effective communication is to produce the team's vision. However, while I know how I liked to be treated as an actor, I never really thought about the strategies a director/crew needs to apply to make this happen. I kind of thought they just...did it. But no. Clearly the directors I have worked with previously have massaged my ego well enough to think that the success of my performance was all me.

But in retrospect, I now realise that I was being subtly coaxed and unknowingly coached on my performance. Words like"soft","sharp", light", "heavy", "fast", "slow", are all very useful parts of the directors vocabulary to convey a sense of character or mood to an actor. Similarly, giving the actors Overall Objectives and Scene Objectives give the actors a sense of purpose, history and future. It was also especially important to me- as a DOP- to know that capturing the change of "beat"- or the change in emotion/direction of an actor is extremely important to a scene- and can often be the main point of interest.

Considering both of the actors that we will be using for our film are acting friends of mine, I already will feel very comfortable directing them. However our main challenge I guess will be remaining professional and efficient on set at all times, and I think that the lecture this week providing me with an insight of how to do this.

9

I hate the name Lenny. I'm not sure what kind of damaging suppressed memory lives deep down in my psyche that makes me detest it so much for no reason. I just don't like what it stands for. It's fundamental values. However, I have been able to overcome this crippling dislike for the sake of work- and to be honest I am actually quite proud of the result. While I have edited films before, this is actually the first time I have edited together dialogue between two people. Since we obviously shot each dialogue scene from different angles the biggest problem doing this was maintaining continuity. Whilst I was still sorting out camera issues Evelyn is still mastering sound etc. there are definitely parts that could have looked a lot better- but over all I think what we were able to produce was quite good. PS apologies for video quality, I think that we had an issue when compressing to upload to YouTube.


What was great about this exercise was that we were able to really come together as a team and fulfil our individual roles. Considering I have never used one of those camera before, I am very happy with how I have progressed. Similarly I was really happy with how everyone in our group assumed their roles without any problem- John was great on set in directing actors and talking with me (the DOP) about the different shots he wanted; Celine was fantastic at organising us all, making sure we used the correct terminology and keeping us on schedule; and Evelyn worked well with the sound equipment, ultimately producing something that we all contributed to equally. This was a fantastic group exercise to prepare us for the real shoot.

8

Here is where we're at. 

LOCATION

There is a cafe on little lonsdale called thousandpoundpend that I tend to frequent on a regular basis, and i feel like it would be the perfect location for the main setting of our piece. It is a large converted warehouse space, with many tables, chairs, couches etc. for filming to take place. The back half also functions as a gallery, so I think they will be quite happy for us to shoot there, especially as the space is so large I don't think our being there would impact on their trade. 

I also have a friend who lives in a lovely apartment in Southbank who has said she will be happy to let us use her place for any inside scenes. It is on the 46th floor and all of the walls are floor to ceiling windows, so I think we will be able to get some great shots there. 

CAST

So far we have a girl confirmed who is the main character in our piece, so all we need now is our leading man. I'm going to put an ad up on StarNow this week so hopefully that will yield some results.... 

Otherwise we are pretty on track with things. We have pretty much developed the script, located some appropriate loyalty free music, drawn up the story board and delegated all of the other tasks to be completed by Monday. In our next meeting we will be going to the locations and hopefully hiring out the camera so I can get a feel for it/the way I want it to look. 

I'm looking forward to actually getting started and making some measurable progress! 

6

So we have finally started to make some good progress in our Film/TV short film project. Although on submission the script we had developed was critiqued as a little boring, I have confidence that the interest in this piece will come from its visual and aural qualities. Maybe it's the Sofia Coppola in me that favours simple stories with seemingly little point...but as the DP I have a strong vision in my head as to how this film will look. Mind you, perhaps we should take inspiration from John's Western style script and introduce A Man With The Name Of Geoff. Or a shooting scene in the middle of Swanston St. Or at least a donkey.

Having seen many short films before, I have never appreciated the difficulty of creating and cramming a story into such a brief space of time, whilst still keeping the piece polished and professional looking. As we have both taken our plot lines from the same synopsis, I'm very much looking forward seeing Kieran, Annie, Verity and Hannah's short film, because they have taken a completely different angle with regards to the mood of the piece. While we have chosen a more dramatic approach, their comedic take on the same material will likely produce very interesting results to compare and contrast. Maybe I'm just not very funny? I think I would do a terrible job at trying to make that work into a comedy. I guess we'll see how we go...

5

Ok. I get it. You feel neglected. But please believe me when I say it's not you, it's me. You're great. I'm just at a place in my life where I'm finding it hard to commit...but don't worry. I'm going to make it up to you, starting now.

4

So. My TV group has hit a little roadblock. After committing to an idea and starting to plan its production, it was brought to our attention that the story synopsis we chose to do was actually pretty much a rip off of an existing short film, which is a bit disappointing. Although I am very glad that we weren't further along when we found out, as none of us can really afford any wasted time. I guess it's back to the drawing board now- today in class hopefully we will develop a new concept or choose another one form the class pool. For me the most important thing in making such a short film is to keep the concept relatively simple. Personally I'm not entirely convinced that we could really pull off some of the ideas brought up in class. While they are all still very, very good concepts, I think they would be suited to something a bit longer (and in some cases perhaps a feature film...) Hopefully everything really does have a way of working itself out....

3

I was doing a little bit more research on projects that had been shot with Canon DSLR’s and found out that Darren Aronofsky’s The Black Swan was shot (amongst other parts) on a 5D Mark II and a 7D. I also came across this incredible clip of the development of the visual effects in the film- I didn’t even know some of these things were possible! Pretttty cool.

2

I’m getting a new camera! I’ve been using a Canon EOS 450D for the past few years which I have really loved, but needed an upgrade. Enter 60D. Obviously the biggest difference is the HD (1080p) video function which I am so excited about. I haven’t really had easy access to any vaguely good quality camera, and while previously still photography has been my main creative outlet, since I started this course I have been really interested in making little videos. The Canon DSLR’s are being used more and more to shoot big scale projects like TV shows, commercials, even scenes in Hollywood movies-which is pretty rad. I love how extremely high quality results are increasingly becoming readily available and realistic to amateur film makers and photographers- there is really no reason that any average person with a bit of experience and practise under their belts can’t produce really beautiful and professional projects.

1

Due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict (somebody fire my secretary...) I was unable to attend my first week of tutes for any subject. Working the Avalon Air Show, what up. But now I'm here and not going anywhere. Coming into week 2 of this Film/TV tute I was already a little behind, not having uploaded my short film idea onto the Film/TV blog. But not to worry, I wrote it all down in a little book and was all ready to sell my heart wrenching, tear jerking idea...until it was explicitly suggested that we do not write our stories around 85 year old men and women. Ummm... yeah. Time for a new idea. I don't even know why I centered it around old people...I don't even really like old people (best you know now that I'm not a particularly saintly person and my morals are shaky at best).

So out with the old (so to speak), in with the new. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to do this, but when I think of a film as short as 5 minutes, all of my ideas are primarily based around a visual experience and implied story, rather than one with heavy dialogue and narrative. I prefer creative short films where there is a storyline, but it is told in an unconventional way and is very stimulating visually and aurally. Here are some example of some of my favourite little films that follow this:

VANESSA BRUNO

Vanessa Bruno from POP Magazine on Vimeo.

DANIEL ASKILL- WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO DIE

We Have Decided Not To Die from Sion Roberts on Vimeo.

PAS DE DEUX CODA

Pas de Deux Coda from Opening Ceremony on Vimeo.

These have quite ambiguous and fantastical narratives, but so pretty. My story idea has a little more guts to it, but you see what I mean I think.

this is the start.

And so begins another year. I feel like starting a new blog for a new subject, a new year is somewhat therapeutic. A perfectly blank space that is waiting for me to fill it. From what I can tell, I feel as though I am going to enjoy Film/TV more than some of the other subjects I completed during first year. There seems to be a little more freedom, a little more room to be creative and freedom to develop our skills not only practically, but artistically (I hope?)

The theme of Seven Deadly Sins for the collaborative project is a perfect balance between direction and creativity, and I can't wait to get started on it. With that in mind, here are some goals/guidelines I intend to adhere to in order to make this subject as productive and rewarding as possible.

1. Maintain a consistent 2-3 posts per week on this blog

2. Enjoy the collaborative process of working in a small team for our little film, and hopefully silence control freak tendencies.

3. Complete the essential/set readings for our tutes. As much as I would like to think they are unnecessary, obviously those who teach this subject know their shit and select them for a purpose. I need to learn.

4. Develop my knowledge of what it takes to make a short film, and gain as much experience as I can in all aspects of the process

5. Attend all tutes and lectures- while I had to miss the first tute and lecture due to an unusual work situation, working in groups does not allow for one to be absent.

this is the start of new things. and the end of this post.