It's the end of university. After the screening, at the pub, I had a chat with Paul about the journey that I will be taking in the next stage of my life, especially when I'm in my last semester. I am considering to either go back to my home country and get a job or stay and do the Masters or Honours program provided by RMIT. Afterall, this course has been really helpful and I have learned a lot over these 2 semesters. I realized that I have developed and eventually equipped myself with those necessary skills and confidence. And honestly, I really enjoyed this semester's production process. Although there are glitches here and there, we work very well together as a group - we joked, we laughed, we had so much fun. =)
But I know that there are still many other things that I need to learn - whether it is academic field or employment. Approximately a month ago, a Malaysian career fair was held in Arrow on Swanston. Many significant Malaysia companies like Astro and Media Prima (they own lots of Malaysian TV and radio stations) were there. So I went and had an opportunity to be interviewed by them. I was so proud to present myself as an RMIT Professional Communication student and tell them what I have done for the course and what I am able to do. Media Prima's person in charge was very much impressed and she instantly wrote my name down as a candidate for Chinese Entertainment Group (8TV)'s assistant producer. Even though I don't really know what an assistant producer does, but I'm very very glad and thanks God for the opportunity of (may be) staying in the film and TV industry.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Screening (Reflection)
Being the last documentary to be screened after 3 and a half hours, it was pretty obvious that the audiences are too tired to laugh at Caroline.
The screening night totally trained my heart because I almost got a minor heart attack when Paul came over to us and told us "I invited your subject, Caroline to this screening.". And he looked super serious when he said that! But it was a joke!!! Besides, I was very nervous about our film being screened. Totally did NOT expect it to be the last one so I kept making sure that my friends I invited to stay on their seats so they won't miss my group's production.
Truthfully speaking, after watching our film, together with everyone else, I realized that it was, indeed, a bit lengthy. And I have also spotted some parts where I can cut out and still not affect the content of the documentary. Despite the fact that we got tired watching the same thing over and over again, it was like watching it with a fresh pair of eyes (after watching many other documentaries).
The screening night totally trained my heart because I almost got a minor heart attack when Paul came over to us and told us "I invited your subject, Caroline to this screening.". And he looked super serious when he said that! But it was a joke!!! Besides, I was very nervous about our film being screened. Totally did NOT expect it to be the last one so I kept making sure that my friends I invited to stay on their seats so they won't miss my group's production.
Truthfully speaking, after watching our film, together with everyone else, I realized that it was, indeed, a bit lengthy. And I have also spotted some parts where I can cut out and still not affect the content of the documentary. Despite the fact that we got tired watching the same thing over and over again, it was like watching it with a fresh pair of eyes (after watching many other documentaries).
Screening
The screening was fun! It was the last night for me to meet my course mate as I am graduating end of this year. So exciting, yet so lost, confused, nervous and... gloomy. An indication of a new phrase of life, an indication of ending of university's life.
So my number 1 favorite of the screening was, Melissa Toh, Louise Chang, Hui Xiong, and Ao Xu's Kaleidoscopic Views. I especially love their animated images (brain, calender image) and words in the documentary. The effects are just so amazing and it adds life into the documentary. When I talked to the girls after the screening, I got to know that the effects were done with Motion 4, a software that came with Final Cut Pro. How I wish I know that earlier so I can play around with it. Too bad uni is about to end for me...
Speaking of which, the approach they took for the documentary - with elements of 'behind the scene', was relatively entertaining. It takes the audiences away from the interview subjects for a while, give us a break before going back into the topic. Besides, their effort of going all the way to Sydney to film some part of the documentary makes it even more outstanding!
Other than Kaleidoscopic Views, I really enjoyed watching some other documentaries like Silent World by Nuraliqa Sendyalaras, Albert Satya and Jerry Wang and Banana Boat by Erni Wijaya, Deanna Adnan, Yi Cieh (Rebecca) Tien and Wen Jia (Susanna)Wu.
Silent World is all about a subject who talks using sign language. Even thought there was only one subject, I find the subject really strong and interesting. Also, it matches the theme, Language, very well. Unfortunately, it is a little too long. There are some contents that can be cut out in the middle of the documentary when she talks about her books.
As for Banana Boat , it's a documentary made on ABC, Australia Born Chinese and his life journey in his original mother tongue, Mandarin (which he's not good at) and English. It's interesting in the way this group structure the film and getting opinions from the parents and also from a friend of the main subject, who is an Australian but speaks better Mandarin than the subject. The documentary's length was pretty appropriate. As an audience, I felt like every minute of the film was brilliantly utilized. The documentary also ends with an interesting ending, where the subject sang a Chinese song and couldn't finish it due to language barrier.
Even though there were some documentaries that have bad sound, odd framing, and even out of sync sound, overall, I think it has been a great night and a good opportunity to look at others' film and pick up some good elements involved.
So my number 1 favorite of the screening was, Melissa Toh, Louise Chang, Hui Xiong, and Ao Xu's Kaleidoscopic Views. I especially love their animated images (brain, calender image) and words in the documentary. The effects are just so amazing and it adds life into the documentary. When I talked to the girls after the screening, I got to know that the effects were done with Motion 4, a software that came with Final Cut Pro. How I wish I know that earlier so I can play around with it. Too bad uni is about to end for me...
Speaking of which, the approach they took for the documentary - with elements of 'behind the scene', was relatively entertaining. It takes the audiences away from the interview subjects for a while, give us a break before going back into the topic. Besides, their effort of going all the way to Sydney to film some part of the documentary makes it even more outstanding!
Other than Kaleidoscopic Views, I really enjoyed watching some other documentaries like Silent World by Nuraliqa Sendyalaras, Albert Satya and Jerry Wang and Banana Boat by Erni Wijaya, Deanna Adnan, Yi Cieh (Rebecca) Tien and Wen Jia (Susanna)Wu.
Silent World is all about a subject who talks using sign language. Even thought there was only one subject, I find the subject really strong and interesting. Also, it matches the theme, Language, very well. Unfortunately, it is a little too long. There are some contents that can be cut out in the middle of the documentary when she talks about her books.
As for Banana Boat , it's a documentary made on ABC, Australia Born Chinese and his life journey in his original mother tongue, Mandarin (which he's not good at) and English. It's interesting in the way this group structure the film and getting opinions from the parents and also from a friend of the main subject, who is an Australian but speaks better Mandarin than the subject. The documentary's length was pretty appropriate. As an audience, I felt like every minute of the film was brilliantly utilized. The documentary also ends with an interesting ending, where the subject sang a Chinese song and couldn't finish it due to language barrier.
Even though there were some documentaries that have bad sound, odd framing, and even out of sync sound, overall, I think it has been a great night and a good opportunity to look at others' film and pick up some good elements involved.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
2 Editions of Animal Speak
We have produced 2 editions of Animal Speak - one is for submission and screening (our official ones) and the other one is specially produced for Caroline herself to watch.
For the ending of Caroline Pope's version of Animal Speak, I have removed the last bit where she said "My off button is very strong.... I heard that, no I'm not quite nut yet; Almost, but not there...", added her explanation on human telepathic and changed the ending song.
I am not too sure if this ethical (even worst if she finds out), but we have to do so because the original version of Animal Speak is too obvious that the focus is not entirely on the topic animal communication itself.
Good thing is, her internet is not working and, she can't read human's mind. So I guess it's still alright :P
For the ending of Caroline Pope's version of Animal Speak, I have removed the last bit where she said "My off button is very strong.... I heard that, no I'm not quite nut yet; Almost, but not there...", added her explanation on human telepathic and changed the ending song.
I am not too sure if this ethical (even worst if she finds out), but we have to do so because the original version of Animal Speak is too obvious that the focus is not entirely on the topic animal communication itself.
Good thing is, her internet is not working and, she can't read human's mind. So I guess it's still alright :P
Editing Process
It's such a torture that I can't find anything else to chop off even though I find the documentary a little lengthy. After editing the same documentary for a while, I feel like there's nothing much I can cut because they all sound equally important to me!
Anyway, many thanks to Robin, our tutor who gave us an idea how to structure our documentary to make it more interesting and it's not so much on Caroline herself as the audiences will get bored with her very soon if that's the case.
Anyway, many thanks to Robin, our tutor who gave us an idea how to structure our documentary to make it more interesting and it's not so much on Caroline herself as the audiences will get bored with her very soon if that's the case.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Cafe Shot of Esther
It was a great shame that our final shoot's image quality did not turn out to be good due to the dirty lens. Such a huge huge disappointment to realize that when we were exporting it. We would not be able to do the Janice and Ron shot again, so I decided that we have to at least get a better quality of images of Esther. We then immediately get Paul to sign another form (it's good to ALWAYS keep another copy of the form with me) and get a Z7 camera to film Esther at the cafeteria, which is basically the only place we can do at that point of time as everybody was pretty tired already.
It was definitely worth the hassle as the scene's quality turned out to be awesome. Well, even though Esther doesn't like her face to be on camera. We then went into a production suite to record Esther's voiceover. She was reading off her script, which includes words like 'such as'. I reckon they sound quite entertaining, so I decided to keep them.
It was definitely worth the hassle as the scene's quality turned out to be awesome. Well, even though Esther doesn't like her face to be on camera. We then went into a production suite to record Esther's voiceover. She was reading off her script, which includes words like 'such as'. I reckon they sound quite entertaining, so I decided to keep them.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Documentary's Behind the Scene
Today we all learned something fresh about documentary - is that no documentary is 100% real. Well, it is not exactly something new for us, but we personally experienced it today. Even how hard we try to not 'alter' the truth / the reality, at some point of the production, we have to make choices and those choices can somehow affect the genuineness of the representation of truth.
For the sake of the visual aesthetic of this documentary, we had to set up the scene to make it looks better on camera. Similar to drama's shooting, today's cutaway shoot was very much staged and acted. We had to ask Ron and Janice (the clients) to wear the same clothing, sit on the couch with the same pose and nicely place JR (their dog) in between them. Another example would be us shooting Esther's part. After shooting an over the shoulder shot of Esther, I had to tilt her computer a little to the left so it would look better on the camera.
No wonder they call it 'True Lies'.
For the sake of the visual aesthetic of this documentary, we had to set up the scene to make it looks better on camera. Similar to drama's shooting, today's cutaway shoot was very much staged and acted. We had to ask Ron and Janice (the clients) to wear the same clothing, sit on the couch with the same pose and nicely place JR (their dog) in between them. Another example would be us shooting Esther's part. After shooting an over the shoulder shot of Esther, I had to tilt her computer a little to the left so it would look better on the camera.
No wonder they call it 'True Lies'.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Final shoot for the semester
Whenever I have time, I would sit down and visualize Animal Speak and list out the things / shots we need to get.
Tomorrow, we will go to the client's house tomorrow to do our final shoot for this semester, or to perfect our documentary.
Therefore, Shot list includes:
- Over the shoulder Esther scanning through Bailey's picture on her computer
- Esther's narration on Bailey
- Esther's close up
- Esther's hand clicking on mouse CU
- Zoom In Bailey's pictures
- MS clients sitting on couch holding JR (**Remember to ask them to wear the same clothing)
- CU clients listening
- CU of JR
- MS JR around the house (with vacuum cleaner etc.)
P.S Just in case I won't be in this industry after I graduate, I am definitely going to miss this process the most :(
Tomorrow, we will go to the client's house tomorrow to do our final shoot for this semester, or to perfect our documentary.
Therefore, Shot list includes:
- Over the shoulder Esther scanning through Bailey's picture on her computer
- Esther's narration on Bailey
- Esther's close up
- Esther's hand clicking on mouse CU
- Zoom In Bailey's pictures
- MS clients sitting on couch holding JR (**Remember to ask them to wear the same clothing)
- CU clients listening
- CU of JR
- MS JR around the house (with vacuum cleaner etc.)
P.S Just in case I won't be in this industry after I graduate, I am definitely going to miss this process the most :(
Rough Cut Screening
On Week 12, a.k.a. final tutorial for TV2, we had a rough cut screening with peer assessment attached. And that was the final class I have in RMIT University, and probably my entire study life.
Anyhow, I didn't expect rough cut screening could be THAT 'rough' so I spent hours in the editing suite trying to perfect the editing. Each group presented their rough cut and again, out of my expectations, the responses were awesome! Everybody in class laughed and it was definitely a good thing! Our main subject, Caroline has certainly entertained our audiences with her special and unusual personality and it made the audiences want more and more of her. And I am really glad they love the over the shoulder interview shot! :D
We then had a discussion and everyone contributed their personal opinion on Animal Speak. The peer assessment session was really helpful and beneficial because I edited the film with my point of view and perspective - which is why I used the typewriting style to introduce the questions in the documentary. However, some of the viewers thought that it is too draggy yet inefficient.
Below is the suggestions and opinions from the class and our teachers:
- Present question at a go (Do not use typewriter style)
- Comic Sans is not appealing
- Interview with client's opinion on communication session can be excluded
- Voice over will work well with Bailey's part
- Cutaways could be better - e.g. JR with vacuum cleaner.
- Structure of the film gives audience a feeling that it is a small section of a long documentary
- Giving a 'break' in between of Caroline will make audiences want more of her
- Communication session's reverse shot (of client) have to be re-shot.
- Re-shoot Bailey's part - the owner aka Esther checking Bailey's old photos (as Azwin suggested); archival video
Anyhow, I didn't expect rough cut screening could be THAT 'rough' so I spent hours in the editing suite trying to perfect the editing. Each group presented their rough cut and again, out of my expectations, the responses were awesome! Everybody in class laughed and it was definitely a good thing! Our main subject, Caroline has certainly entertained our audiences with her special and unusual personality and it made the audiences want more and more of her. And I am really glad they love the over the shoulder interview shot! :D
We then had a discussion and everyone contributed their personal opinion on Animal Speak. The peer assessment session was really helpful and beneficial because I edited the film with my point of view and perspective - which is why I used the typewriting style to introduce the questions in the documentary. However, some of the viewers thought that it is too draggy yet inefficient.
Below is the suggestions and opinions from the class and our teachers:
- Present question at a go (Do not use typewriter style)
- Comic Sans is not appealing
- Interview with client's opinion on communication session can be excluded
- Voice over will work well with Bailey's part
- Cutaways could be better - e.g. JR with vacuum cleaner.
- Structure of the film gives audience a feeling that it is a small section of a long documentary
- Giving a 'break' in between of Caroline will make audiences want more of her
- Communication session's reverse shot (of client) have to be re-shot.
- Re-shoot Bailey's part - the owner aka Esther checking Bailey's old photos (as Azwin suggested); archival video
Shooting with JR, Bailey...and Caroline
As we have not enough footage (from different location), we had to conduct another shoot demonstrating Caroline Pope's general communication session. Therefore we had Esther's friends and their dog, JR to participate in the documentary as Caroline's 'client'.
We met up at the campus, took all the equipments and double checked them before we left for the shoot. Testing out and checking the equipments is so important because we have undoubtedly learned our lesson from the first shoot.
After making sure all equipments work well, we departed to Ron (client)'s house by tram. Traveling with equipments on public transport was really attention-grabbing. I felt thousands of glances around us especially when we were on tram. On our way to the shooting location, we observed to see if there is any parking around the apartment, just to make sure Caroline would be satisfied with the parking issue.
Then when we arrived at the client's apartment, as Esther was buzzing, I saw a familiar face standing by the entrance staring at us. It immediately hit me that it was Caroline! If it wasn't because of the log and capture process, which made me watched her for so many times, I wouldn't recognize her at that point of time. We were pretty shocked that she arrived earlier than us and that she managed to find a cheap parking (and not making a big fuss about parking issue).
The shoot went pretty well and we even did a communication session with Esther's dead dog, Bailey. It was amazing how she seems to be able to communicate telepathically and tell us some facts about Bailey and JR. However, not all of our group members believe in whatever she said. For example, Leo thought that all the things Caroline said was just assumptions and general knowledge (seeing that Caroline was a vet nurse before she went into the communication industry) while Esther believes that some part of it is true. The client, on the other hand, seemed to be amazed by her telepathic communication skills, even though he still has some doubt.
I personally thought that regardless the legitimacy of her words, her character is interesting enough to grab the audiences' attention and to make a great documentary!
We met up at the campus, took all the equipments and double checked them before we left for the shoot. Testing out and checking the equipments is so important because we have undoubtedly learned our lesson from the first shoot.
After making sure all equipments work well, we departed to Ron (client)'s house by tram. Traveling with equipments on public transport was really attention-grabbing. I felt thousands of glances around us especially when we were on tram. On our way to the shooting location, we observed to see if there is any parking around the apartment, just to make sure Caroline would be satisfied with the parking issue.
Then when we arrived at the client's apartment, as Esther was buzzing, I saw a familiar face standing by the entrance staring at us. It immediately hit me that it was Caroline! If it wasn't because of the log and capture process, which made me watched her for so many times, I wouldn't recognize her at that point of time. We were pretty shocked that she arrived earlier than us and that she managed to find a cheap parking (and not making a big fuss about parking issue).
The shoot went pretty well and we even did a communication session with Esther's dead dog, Bailey. It was amazing how she seems to be able to communicate telepathically and tell us some facts about Bailey and JR. However, not all of our group members believe in whatever she said. For example, Leo thought that all the things Caroline said was just assumptions and general knowledge (seeing that Caroline was a vet nurse before she went into the communication industry) while Esther believes that some part of it is true. The client, on the other hand, seemed to be amazed by her telepathic communication skills, even though he still has some doubt.
I personally thought that regardless the legitimacy of her words, her character is interesting enough to grab the audiences' attention and to make a great documentary!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Communication Session Interview Questions
Animal Speak Interview
Objection: To ‘re-enact’ a communication session; Go in depth into ‘treatments’, make comparison of treatment on live dog or dead dog
- What does your client usually do when you first walk in for the session? (Do they tell you the condition of the dog? )
- By talking to the animal, how do you treat them?
- Do all other animal communicators across the world treat animals using the same way - through telepathic? Or is there any other way you can use to communicate with animals?
- You mentioned that animal communication has no distance boundary (live or dead dog), would you be able to provide us a little bit of information on Esther’s dog? *Picture*
- If telepathic can be done within human and animal, then can you read other people’s mind?
Objection: To ‘re-enact’ a communication session; Go in depth into ‘treatments’, make comparison of treatment on live dog or dead dog
- What does your client usually do when you first walk in for the session? (Do they tell you the condition of the dog? )
- By talking to the animal, how do you treat them?
- Do all other animal communicators across the world treat animals using the same way - through telepathic? Or is there any other way you can use to communicate with animals?
- You mentioned that animal communication has no distance boundary (live or dead dog), would you be able to provide us a little bit of information on Esther’s dog? *Picture*
- If telepathic can be done within human and animal, then can you read other people’s mind?
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Drama
On Wednesday the 29th September, I received a surprising call when I was in class / editing suite at Building 12 level 2. It was from a guy by the name of Steven (Got his name wrongly at first, thought his name is Steve). Apparently, he is from the School of Media and Communication and he is calling me to ensure my existence and clear up some issues. And the main reason he called was because our dearly significant documentary subject, Caroline, called the School of Media and Communication to express her 'concerns on our professionalism'. Obviously Steve did not know that me and my group mates exist in RMIT because he is from a different faculty so he promised Caroline that he would trace me down and see what he can do.
So I told him what course I am doing, who is my tutor, who is my lecturer et cetera and Steven said he will inform Caroline about it. Initially I thought it was a small matter as it is pretty normal for her to freak out or have doubts on us. But when I think of what we did over the past few weeks, I freaked out because I thought that she might have read our blogs or worse, our mind! (since she's so good in telepathic, who knows what she is capable of doing)
After telling my group mates about the phone call, I immediately went to Robin and told him about this. He told us that this kind of issues often happen but it won't be a huge problem. Robin informed Paul about it so he can liaise with Steven. I gave Paul the number and then he called Steven.
When Paul came back after the phone call, he told us about this 'ultimately interesting' suggestions and comments given by Caroline as he called Caroline after talking to Steven. Caroline said that she is worried about us not being able to go into the media industry professionally because of the location and parking issues; she also mentioned about us not providing her a release form to sign (which we did); and about me texting and emailing her instead of calling. And she calls it generation gap, which is quite true. What she does not know is, I am very nervous about talking to her on the phone and I always can not hear her clearly as her line is always unstable! I hate to ask her to repeat her lines because I know that irritates her a lot (speaking from experience). Thus, instead of irritating her and missing out her lines, I chose to text and email her because that makes things clearer.
The only statement of the entire complain or 'expressing concern' that lifted my mood up a little was that she said she actually quite like all of us.
So I followed what Robin taught me and called Caroline to clear up everything. (and I actually wrote a script, with Esther and Azwin before I made the call!) She sounded alright and she said she will be there on Friday for our shoot.
I certainly have learned my lesson on that day - always check other people's communication preference, especially for someone as different as Caroline.
So I told him what course I am doing, who is my tutor, who is my lecturer et cetera and Steven said he will inform Caroline about it. Initially I thought it was a small matter as it is pretty normal for her to freak out or have doubts on us. But when I think of what we did over the past few weeks, I freaked out because I thought that she might have read our blogs or worse, our mind! (since she's so good in telepathic, who knows what she is capable of doing)
After telling my group mates about the phone call, I immediately went to Robin and told him about this. He told us that this kind of issues often happen but it won't be a huge problem. Robin informed Paul about it so he can liaise with Steven. I gave Paul the number and then he called Steven.
When Paul came back after the phone call, he told us about this 'ultimately interesting' suggestions and comments given by Caroline as he called Caroline after talking to Steven. Caroline said that she is worried about us not being able to go into the media industry professionally because of the location and parking issues; she also mentioned about us not providing her a release form to sign (which we did); and about me texting and emailing her instead of calling. And she calls it generation gap, which is quite true. What she does not know is, I am very nervous about talking to her on the phone and I always can not hear her clearly as her line is always unstable! I hate to ask her to repeat her lines because I know that irritates her a lot (speaking from experience). Thus, instead of irritating her and missing out her lines, I chose to text and email her because that makes things clearer.
The only statement of the entire complain or 'expressing concern' that lifted my mood up a little was that she said she actually quite like all of us.
So I followed what Robin taught me and called Caroline to clear up everything. (and I actually wrote a script, with Esther and Azwin before I made the call!) She sounded alright and she said she will be there on Friday for our shoot.
I certainly have learned my lesson on that day - always check other people's communication preference, especially for someone as different as Caroline.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Voiceover in Documentary
I have never thought that voice over can do such interesting and powerful effects in a documentary. During tutorial 9, Robin showed us a documentary made with only voice over and images about a scientific research and facts. This documentary provides the audiences knowledge on time and space, specifically what we can see if we are at a distance away from the 'starting point'.
Even though it is simple and short, I acquired to know a lot of information of the documentary. Such expository documentary works very well in terms of feeding information and facts into the audiences' mind.
Even though it is simple and short, I acquired to know a lot of information of the documentary. Such expository documentary works very well in terms of feeding information and facts into the audiences' mind.
Monday, September 20, 2010
What's next?
On our Week 8 tutorial, we moved from classrooms to editing suites, which represent we have to start our post-production. Can't believe this semester is ending so soon.
We presented our footages from the interview and realized that there is bunch of great information from the interview. What's best is, our subject's personality. Her answers to the interview questions showed her interesting or rather, distinct personality. I do realized her eccentricity on the rainy day shoot but I did not think too much about it. Robin enlightened us and made us realized that there is so much we can do with her personality.
Instead of mainly focusing on animal communication, we changed our focus onto the animal communicator, our subject herself. But as Robin mentioned, the existing challenge is no longer good visual quality or better sound, it is the way we put them all together so it would not be obvious (to our subject) that it is a documentary on her oddity (I wonder if this has something to do with filmmakers' ethics) but it is trying to 'promote' animal communication. Anyhow, the change reminds me of 'Capturing the Friedmans' (2003), where the filmmaker changed his focus from clown entertainment industry to the Friedmans tragedy. And that is what so attractive about documentary - so unpredictable, so changeable.
Before I do this course, I always think that making documentary is a dreadful job. But as time passed and after all I have learnt and experienced by far, I find myself admiring documentaries, and even think of making more other documentaries in the future! =)
We presented our footages from the interview and realized that there is bunch of great information from the interview. What's best is, our subject's personality. Her answers to the interview questions showed her interesting or rather, distinct personality. I do realized her eccentricity on the rainy day shoot but I did not think too much about it. Robin enlightened us and made us realized that there is so much we can do with her personality.
Instead of mainly focusing on animal communication, we changed our focus onto the animal communicator, our subject herself. But as Robin mentioned, the existing challenge is no longer good visual quality or better sound, it is the way we put them all together so it would not be obvious (to our subject) that it is a documentary on her oddity (I wonder if this has something to do with filmmakers' ethics) but it is trying to 'promote' animal communication. Anyhow, the change reminds me of 'Capturing the Friedmans' (2003), where the filmmaker changed his focus from clown entertainment industry to the Friedmans tragedy. And that is what so attractive about documentary - so unpredictable, so changeable.
Before I do this course, I always think that making documentary is a dreadful job. But as time passed and after all I have learnt and experienced by far, I find myself admiring documentaries, and even think of making more other documentaries in the future! =)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Change of plan
Things aren't going the way we expected it to go.
Documentary production is extremely unpredictable and changeable. I usually become frustrated when things do not go according to plan / our documentary treatment. But come to think of it, this is how a documentary really is.
During our pre-production (when we were writing on the documentary treatment), we wanted to follow Caroline out on a communication session so we know how that works. She has been really helpful and contacted a couple of her clients. However, non willing to go on camera nor let us film in their place so far. Thus we need a Plan B:
We are going to create a communication session ourselves by asking people around who has pets for help. Since Caroline said that she usually does her job through phone calls and since telepathic has no distance boundary, we are going to film the entire phone communication session at the pet owner's place. That way, we will be able to record a REAL over-the-phone session.
Documentary production is extremely unpredictable and changeable. I usually become frustrated when things do not go according to plan / our documentary treatment. But come to think of it, this is how a documentary really is.
During our pre-production (when we were writing on the documentary treatment), we wanted to follow Caroline out on a communication session so we know how that works. She has been really helpful and contacted a couple of her clients. However, non willing to go on camera nor let us film in their place so far. Thus we need a Plan B:
We are going to create a communication session ourselves by asking people around who has pets for help. Since Caroline said that she usually does her job through phone calls and since telepathic has no distance boundary, we are going to film the entire phone communication session at the pet owner's place. That way, we will be able to record a REAL over-the-phone session.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The most challenging filming experience e.v.e.r.
I haven't got much filming experience, but today's is by far the worst one I have ever had.
I always have the assumption that filming a documentary is easy - just bring a light camera to site and film whatever I can get. However, it is so much more than that.
Today I finally learned the risk and real challenges involved in making a documentary, especially when we were filming outdoor (or very far away from where we got the equipments) and when we have to rely on public transport. Cab has been our great mate today.
Weather was not the same though, even my back-up plan did not helped. When I checked the weather report this morning, I realized that shooting outdoor is definitely not going to work. Thus I immediately went down to my apartment (Concept Blue)'s front desk to book the meeting room. After hiring the equipments and moving all of them to my place, the building manager told me that it is impossible for us to film in anywhere of the building. I was quite irritated then because my friend filmed in the same apartment last semester. Plus, our interviewee Caroline said that she is driving a truck, which is 2.5 meters in height but my apartment's height clearance is only 2.1m. But there was nothing we can do.
So we had to go back to our original plan, which is to shoot at Royal Botanic Garden. Esther has acquired a permit for us to shoot at the Central Lawn of the garden but the problem is, we have to carry everything to the location. We planned to take tram initially, without knowing that the equipments are extremely heavy to be carried on hand, hence we hired a cab to get to the location.
When we arrived at the Royal Botanic Garden, it was still drizzling. We headed into a rest house and set up our equipments there. While we were setting up and waiting for Caroline to be there, I realized that we forgot the tapes and the mixer. It was so distressing I felt like canceling the shooting session. There were not much time so Esther and Leo had to go back by cab to take the stuffs. As waiting for them to return, Caroline called and she could not find the right entrance to the car park. The phone line was pretty disturbed which contributed to bad communication. I had troubles hearing her words. She then sounded extremely aggravated and was practically screaming into the phone.
I apologized and things resolved when she finally found the gate. At that point, Esther and Leo returned. So with fear, Leo and I went to meet her at the car park. She turned out to be a nice lady. We then led her and her dogs to our shooting location. We almost got lost (the park is very confusing and our map was all wet) but she was quite patient with it.
Apart from us, there were a bunch of school kids in the garden. Unfortunately, Caroline's dogs cannot tolerate kids. Caroline almost got into an argument with a school teacher because one of the kids provoked her dog. She then shouted something like "You better behave or I'll let her off!". The school teacher was very protective and fought back saying she will report her. The quarrel created a rather stiff atmosphere but we managed to continue with our shoot accordingly.
Weather was not as pleasant throughout the shooting process. That resulted the shoot to be done in the rest house. It was totally out of plan and I just learned how changeable a documentary can be.
Even so, it is still important to do research and know answers to the question you ask. For example, if we don't know that animal communication is about telepathic, we would not prepared what we need to ask for more details on that topic.
Even though today's shoot is said to be the most challenging and wearing filming experience, but it is undoubtedly a meaningful, memorable and enlightening one.
I always have the assumption that filming a documentary is easy - just bring a light camera to site and film whatever I can get. However, it is so much more than that.
Today I finally learned the risk and real challenges involved in making a documentary, especially when we were filming outdoor (or very far away from where we got the equipments) and when we have to rely on public transport. Cab has been our great mate today.
Weather was not the same though, even my back-up plan did not helped. When I checked the weather report this morning, I realized that shooting outdoor is definitely not going to work. Thus I immediately went down to my apartment (Concept Blue)'s front desk to book the meeting room. After hiring the equipments and moving all of them to my place, the building manager told me that it is impossible for us to film in anywhere of the building. I was quite irritated then because my friend filmed in the same apartment last semester. Plus, our interviewee Caroline said that she is driving a truck, which is 2.5 meters in height but my apartment's height clearance is only 2.1m. But there was nothing we can do.
So we had to go back to our original plan, which is to shoot at Royal Botanic Garden. Esther has acquired a permit for us to shoot at the Central Lawn of the garden but the problem is, we have to carry everything to the location. We planned to take tram initially, without knowing that the equipments are extremely heavy to be carried on hand, hence we hired a cab to get to the location.
When we arrived at the Royal Botanic Garden, it was still drizzling. We headed into a rest house and set up our equipments there. While we were setting up and waiting for Caroline to be there, I realized that we forgot the tapes and the mixer. It was so distressing I felt like canceling the shooting session. There were not much time so Esther and Leo had to go back by cab to take the stuffs. As waiting for them to return, Caroline called and she could not find the right entrance to the car park. The phone line was pretty disturbed which contributed to bad communication. I had troubles hearing her words. She then sounded extremely aggravated and was practically screaming into the phone.
I apologized and things resolved when she finally found the gate. At that point, Esther and Leo returned. So with fear, Leo and I went to meet her at the car park. She turned out to be a nice lady. We then led her and her dogs to our shooting location. We almost got lost (the park is very confusing and our map was all wet) but she was quite patient with it.
Apart from us, there were a bunch of school kids in the garden. Unfortunately, Caroline's dogs cannot tolerate kids. Caroline almost got into an argument with a school teacher because one of the kids provoked her dog. She then shouted something like "You better behave or I'll let her off!". The school teacher was very protective and fought back saying she will report her. The quarrel created a rather stiff atmosphere but we managed to continue with our shoot accordingly.
Weather was not as pleasant throughout the shooting process. That resulted the shoot to be done in the rest house. It was totally out of plan and I just learned how changeable a documentary can be.
Even so, it is still important to do research and know answers to the question you ask. For example, if we don't know that animal communication is about telepathic, we would not prepared what we need to ask for more details on that topic.
Even though today's shoot is said to be the most challenging and wearing filming experience, but it is undoubtedly a meaningful, memorable and enlightening one.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tutorial 6: Observational Shoot
Today we did a one-hour observational shoot as an exercise. Observational documentary is often an fascinating form of documentary because it captures the true side of people and reveals how people react without the camera, or when they see a camera directed at them.
Initially I wanted to give our documentary a style by shooting everything from high angle, but since it is so hard to find places with high angle, we decided to shoot a hidden-camera-documentary in the library. And we named it "Library Spies: From an unknown eye".
Over the exercise, I realized that in order to shoot a good observational documentary, camera needs to be on for a longer period of time. Sometimes our eyes and brain are able to record something interesting happening around us, but the camera can't. It is the matter of timing when it happens, and when the camera captures it.
Hiding a crew, a camera, and a HUGE boom pole isn't easy. Fortunately library has a great collection of books so we were able to hide behind them. Similar to the surveillance camera, the Library Spies captured incidents happened in the library, without the subjects noticing it.
Initially I wanted to give our documentary a style by shooting everything from high angle, but since it is so hard to find places with high angle, we decided to shoot a hidden-camera-documentary in the library. And we named it "Library Spies: From an unknown eye".
Over the exercise, I realized that in order to shoot a good observational documentary, camera needs to be on for a longer period of time. Sometimes our eyes and brain are able to record something interesting happening around us, but the camera can't. It is the matter of timing when it happens, and when the camera captures it.
Hiding a crew, a camera, and a HUGE boom pole isn't easy. Fortunately library has a great collection of books so we were able to hide behind them. Similar to the surveillance camera, the Library Spies captured incidents happened in the library, without the subjects noticing it.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Documentary Research
Research is a vital part of making a documentary. If we do not have enough research, we would not know what to expect, or rather, what kind of unexpected issues to expect.
Before today, I thought animal communication is a totally new subject. But in fact, my research tells me that it has been existing for quite a while and there are many videos on animal communication on youtube! To see how other people do it gives me more ideas on what I want to cover in my documentary and what to expect.
Besides, we also did our location research after class and decided to use Royal Botanic Garden, mainly because it is nearer to the city. None of us drives so we have to rely heavily on public transport. The closer the park / location / garden to public transport the better as we do not have to carry all the equipments and walk long distance.
We went to Flagstaff Garden to have a look as well.
It is a beautiful park i must say. Unfortunately, the size of the park is too small and it makes it harder for us to film an interview because the camera can easily capture trams and cars passing in the background. Sound would also be a major problem if we were to choose Flagstaff Garden to do the interview.
Not only Royal Botanic Garden has a huge lake (and a quiet garden), it is also an ideal place for people to walk their dogs. As Robin suggested, it would be great to have people walking their dogs in the background as we interview Caroline.
However, one major problem shooting outdoor is the unexpected weather and lighting. Thus it is crucial for us to do a weather check before deciding on a shooting date.
Before today, I thought animal communication is a totally new subject. But in fact, my research tells me that it has been existing for quite a while and there are many videos on animal communication on youtube! To see how other people do it gives me more ideas on what I want to cover in my documentary and what to expect.
Besides, we also did our location research after class and decided to use Royal Botanic Garden, mainly because it is nearer to the city. None of us drives so we have to rely heavily on public transport. The closer the park / location / garden to public transport the better as we do not have to carry all the equipments and walk long distance.
We went to Flagstaff Garden to have a look as well.
It is a beautiful park i must say. Unfortunately, the size of the park is too small and it makes it harder for us to film an interview because the camera can easily capture trams and cars passing in the background. Sound would also be a major problem if we were to choose Flagstaff Garden to do the interview.
Not only Royal Botanic Garden has a huge lake (and a quiet garden), it is also an ideal place for people to walk their dogs. As Robin suggested, it would be great to have people walking their dogs in the background as we interview Caroline.
However, one major problem shooting outdoor is the unexpected weather and lighting. Thus it is crucial for us to do a weather check before deciding on a shooting date.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Staged Interview (Practice Session)
Stereo is such a pain in the ass, especially when the settings on mixer were different when we did the second angle. It makes it so much harder to edit, and very confusing as well! The difference became very obvious when I cut 2 shots together, louder on one side and lower on the other (audio).
So instead of exposing the comparison, I decided to insert pictures and use the audio from one of the shots.
Other than audio issue, I have also encountered some problems when exporting the video as I used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the film. The settings are pretty much the same but it would not allow me to change its Image Size initially. I had to change the 'level' of compression in order to change other settings. Besides, there are 2 selections for its Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square Pixels, Standard 3:4, and Widescreen 16:9. I tried exporting the film with Widescreen 16:9 selection but it looks very strange, so Standard 3:4 is used in this film.
Filming Exercise
We had the opportunity to go out and film a staged mini documentary by ourselves during the tutorial hours. Since we will be doing a documentary on Animal Speak and we had no idea what to interview during the practice session, we have decided to interview Azwin to get her point of view on animal communication (and she has 15 cats back home!)
Even though the interview questions were totally random, Esther doing sound for the first time, and I was not fully confident with the camera, everything went quite well. The practice session gave us opportunity to experience the shoot and also gave us an idea what kind of angles we have to shoot for the documentary we will be doing.
Even though the interview questions were totally random, Esther doing sound for the first time, and I was not fully confident with the camera, everything went quite well. The practice session gave us opportunity to experience the shoot and also gave us an idea what kind of angles we have to shoot for the documentary we will be doing.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
The grey area
I especially enjoyed this week's reading - Ward's Documentary: The margins of reality. Once again, it discussed on the complex relationship between fiction, non fiction and documentary, an extremely arguable issue. The 'blurred boundary', as described by Bill Nichols (1994) is what makes documentary interesting.
Salesman (1969) showed in this week's lecture is great demonstration of the grey area. It is shot using documentary stylistic and aesthetic approach with real people's life recorded, but it was carefully edited and shaped into the version that we watch today. Besides, has the existence of the camera or the crew affected any of the salesmen's behavior? Paul Ward mentioned "...simply because they are a kind of improvised drama, then certain aspects of reality will never adequately be represented." Even though the statement is commenting on reenactment or performance of real life stories, I think it is applicable in such situation. However, it is still appropriate to say that reality is represented, in certain ways.
Salesman (1969) showed in this week's lecture is great demonstration of the grey area. It is shot using documentary stylistic and aesthetic approach with real people's life recorded, but it was carefully edited and shaped into the version that we watch today. Besides, has the existence of the camera or the crew affected any of the salesmen's behavior? Paul Ward mentioned "...simply because they are a kind of improvised drama, then certain aspects of reality will never adequately be represented." Even though the statement is commenting on reenactment or performance of real life stories, I think it is applicable in such situation. However, it is still appropriate to say that reality is represented, in certain ways.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Inspiration & Motivation
My major inspiration for the documentary Animal Speak came from her - Meow Mi.
She is a close mate, a companion and even a family member to me. Few months after I came to Australia, she went out and never came back. Till today, I do not know if she is still alive but she is always in my heart. She has since become a motivation for me in making this documentary. To me, it is no longer simply an assignment, but a meaningful production.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Contact
Getting the animal communicator to be interested in this documentary idea is so much easier than I thought it would be. I've contacted 2 animal communicators so far (one in NSW, and the other one located in Springvale) and they both are very happy to help us with this documentary!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
My favorite doco
WATCHING documentaries is one of the important stages in documentary-learning.
One of my favorite documentaries is Capturing the Friedmans. It is really amazing and attractive because it is distinctive from the rest of the documentaries in the market. Capturing the Friedmans utilized archival footage and news to present the reality - a truth and genuineness that other people (especially those who were involved in the case) can not see from the surface, a broken family, devastated hearts and ultimately, joyful reunion. It plays well with audiences' mind, making you believe that Friedmans are terrible people in the beginning. It then gradually create sense of sympathy, doubt and confusion in viewers. When I first watch the film, I can't help thinking about it all day. So provocative yet stimulating!
One of my favorite documentaries is Capturing the Friedmans. It is really amazing and attractive because it is distinctive from the rest of the documentaries in the market. Capturing the Friedmans utilized archival footage and news to present the reality - a truth and genuineness that other people (especially those who were involved in the case) can not see from the surface, a broken family, devastated hearts and ultimately, joyful reunion. It plays well with audiences' mind, making you believe that Friedmans are terrible people in the beginning. It then gradually create sense of sympathy, doubt and confusion in viewers. When I first watch the film, I can't help thinking about it all day. So provocative yet stimulating!
Week 2 Reading and some thoughts..
IN MacDonald and Cousins' Imagining Reality, Pawel Pawlikowski mentioned that "Most documentaries claim to be simply recording reality. I make no bones about manipulating my subjects. I do it through choices in photography, sound, music, editing and narrative devices."
It made it clear how easy it is for a filmmaker to present reality based on the personal vision of the director or filmmaker. However, is it ethical to do that? Then again, what is the guideline to ethical documentary-making?
It made it clear how easy it is for a filmmaker to present reality based on the personal vision of the director or filmmaker. However, is it ethical to do that? Then again, what is the guideline to ethical documentary-making?
Monday, July 26, 2010
Documentary Concepts
There were so many ideas came into my mind when I brainstormed on the documentary ideas that I want to do for this semester.
Factual based, expository modes of documentaries are one of my main options. As I was always interested in dolphins and whales' communication, I thought that it would be fun to make a documentary on it. However, due to the budget limitations, many other possible obstacles in making this film, and the existence of such documentaries in the market, I've decided to suggest something different - Animal Communication.
I always find it amazing how pet owners can understand the pet's desire, or how the pet can understand the owner's language, even though human and animal are two extreme different kind of livings that communicate in different languages.
So with that concept and thought, I developed my one liner as below:
Title: Animal Speak
It is amazing how animals can understand human language and sometimes even communicate with human in different ways. Researches show that every barks, meows, body movements or silent languages convey meanings, thoughts and expressions. As a pet owner myself, I have always been wondering if it is possible to communicate with pets.
With the help of Trisha, the internationally acclaimed Animal Communicator, this documentary will explore the language of the animal world and animal communication - how animals communicate among themselves, how animals communicate with human and what those messages mean.
Factual based, expository modes of documentaries are one of my main options. As I was always interested in dolphins and whales' communication, I thought that it would be fun to make a documentary on it. However, due to the budget limitations, many other possible obstacles in making this film, and the existence of such documentaries in the market, I've decided to suggest something different - Animal Communication.
I always find it amazing how pet owners can understand the pet's desire, or how the pet can understand the owner's language, even though human and animal are two extreme different kind of livings that communicate in different languages.
So with that concept and thought, I developed my one liner as below:
Title: Animal Speak
It is amazing how animals can understand human language and sometimes even communicate with human in different ways. Researches show that every barks, meows, body movements or silent languages convey meanings, thoughts and expressions. As a pet owner myself, I have always been wondering if it is possible to communicate with pets.
With the help of Trisha, the internationally acclaimed Animal Communicator, this documentary will explore the language of the animal world and animal communication - how animals communicate among themselves, how animals communicate with human and what those messages mean.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A New Beginning
This semester we will be doing Documentary on the theme Language.
Documentary is a big word that contains meanings and implications behind it. Last semester's True Lies has it practicality as now we who did the subject know what is documentary and how it is like to be a documentary.
Documentary is a representation of reality. Unlike any fiction films, it presents truth. However, what is truth? I learned that there is no unmediated representation of reality, which means, most documentaries contain injection of filmmakers' perspective and his/her view of the world. Thus, truth that is presented in documentaries are not pure, uncontaminated truth. They are, somehow, in any way, influenced during the production process. Consequently, it is subjective.
We, as audience, will often make moral judgment and produce interpretation based on our understanding of the world. For example, if I have a pre-existed knowledge of an incident, my comprehension on documentary of the incident might be bias.
Understanding the concept of documentary help me think thoroughly about truth, the world, ethics, reality et cetera before I even initialize a documentary idea. And I think it is fairly important that people understand that, True Lies.
Documentary is a big word that contains meanings and implications behind it. Last semester's True Lies has it practicality as now we who did the subject know what is documentary and how it is like to be a documentary.
Documentary is a representation of reality. Unlike any fiction films, it presents truth. However, what is truth? I learned that there is no unmediated representation of reality, which means, most documentaries contain injection of filmmakers' perspective and his/her view of the world. Thus, truth that is presented in documentaries are not pure, uncontaminated truth. They are, somehow, in any way, influenced during the production process. Consequently, it is subjective.
We, as audience, will often make moral judgment and produce interpretation based on our understanding of the world. For example, if I have a pre-existed knowledge of an incident, my comprehension on documentary of the incident might be bias.
Understanding the concept of documentary help me think thoroughly about truth, the world, ethics, reality et cetera before I even initialize a documentary idea. And I think it is fairly important that people understand that, True Lies.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Film Screening on 11th June
My favorite of all in the film screening was 'Lucky Game' - a film by Eric Calatayud's group.
It is a story about 2 boys playing a game called Lucky Game. The story is so simple yet the group has made it so amusing. I especially like the film's editing and construction, which has made it even more watchable. It is not draggy at all. The montage remarkably presented the climax of the film, where the younger brother keep 'losing' and the elder one keep getting nice toys.
The props are also carefully arranged in the film. Even though it was shot in a simple, normal house, the props (such as toys) that are presented play an important role in the film.
The performance of young actors (particularly the younger one) was simply astounding. They look like they have been trained for acting!
Overall, I think the execution of the film based on the script is impressive. It is a film that I am willing to watch over and over again.
It is a story about 2 boys playing a game called Lucky Game. The story is so simple yet the group has made it so amusing. I especially like the film's editing and construction, which has made it even more watchable. It is not draggy at all. The montage remarkably presented the climax of the film, where the younger brother keep 'losing' and the elder one keep getting nice toys.
The props are also carefully arranged in the film. Even though it was shot in a simple, normal house, the props (such as toys) that are presented play an important role in the film.
The performance of young actors (particularly the younger one) was simply astounding. They look like they have been trained for acting!
Overall, I think the execution of the film based on the script is impressive. It is a film that I am willing to watch over and over again.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Lighting session
It was a great learning experience to be able to learn some lighting techniques with Mr. Robin the other day..! I never knew that lights can make so much effects on the picture and the feeling that the image provides to the audiences. Great lighting does produces great film.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Won't hurt trying.
I was once told that hand-making a card is playing around with papers.
I think the concept works the same on video editing - it's just playing around with visuals.
It is really amazing how the way one put images together can affects the outcome. Trying different transition or even making choices of which image to use can make huge different to the final production and or the feelings that the image provides to the audiences.
Being able to 'undo' during editing makes the process of cutting and joining more fun and interesting. After all, it won't hurt trying.
I think the concept works the same on video editing - it's just playing around with visuals.
It is really amazing how the way one put images together can affects the outcome. Trying different transition or even making choices of which image to use can make huge different to the final production and or the feelings that the image provides to the audiences.
Being able to 'undo' during editing makes the process of cutting and joining more fun and interesting. After all, it won't hurt trying.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Filming
It was such a tiring experience. For our first day of shoot, we reached our director's house at 10am to start setting up equipments and decorating the party scene.
As an art director, I totally regret that I did not buy the balloon pump. I have not blown that much of balloons in my entire life. But thankfully Sheryl was there to help me with the balloons and decorating the party scene (hanging up curtain behind the couch etc)
And since the director was thinking to shoot the party scene earlier (before it gets dark), me and Sheryl had to stick garbage bags on the windows to block the sunlight. And thanks to Tom, our cameraman, who came out of the ideas of using aluminum foil when we were running out of garbage bags. (Plus, the idea of sticking the foil with just water - it saved us a lot of masking tapes)
However, our extras was running late. So we had to wait for them to arrive and make up. By the time everything is set, it was already 7.30 or 8pm..
In the entire filming process, I find that it is not an easy job to produce a good film. It requires the collaboration of a team, and time management, is also an important aspect of filming. Having a 1st AD would have been much more helpful. The second day of our shooting, we were more progressive. Although we rushed on a lot of the filming, but I think we still got it done pretty well.
As our cinematographer was not around, Tom took the position of a cinematographer. He taught us a lot about lighting. Being the person to help with lighting, I think I was fortunate enough to learn the difference in the outcome when we were using different lights. We spent most of our time dealing with lighting but I think it plays an important part in picture's quality and the feeling that is created through the image.
As an art director, I totally regret that I did not buy the balloon pump. I have not blown that much of balloons in my entire life. But thankfully Sheryl was there to help me with the balloons and decorating the party scene (hanging up curtain behind the couch etc)
And since the director was thinking to shoot the party scene earlier (before it gets dark), me and Sheryl had to stick garbage bags on the windows to block the sunlight. And thanks to Tom, our cameraman, who came out of the ideas of using aluminum foil when we were running out of garbage bags. (Plus, the idea of sticking the foil with just water - it saved us a lot of masking tapes)
However, our extras was running late. So we had to wait for them to arrive and make up. By the time everything is set, it was already 7.30 or 8pm..
In the entire filming process, I find that it is not an easy job to produce a good film. It requires the collaboration of a team, and time management, is also an important aspect of filming. Having a 1st AD would have been much more helpful. The second day of our shooting, we were more progressive. Although we rushed on a lot of the filming, but I think we still got it done pretty well.
As our cinematographer was not around, Tom took the position of a cinematographer. He taught us a lot about lighting. Being the person to help with lighting, I think I was fortunate enough to learn the difference in the outcome when we were using different lights. We spent most of our time dealing with lighting but I think it plays an important part in picture's quality and the feeling that is created through the image.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Lenny Exercise
Shoot: Lara, Bree, Astyn, Sheryl
Edit: Christy
Sound: Sheryl
*Sound at the beginning isn't quite right because it sounds like a guy coughing..*
Monday, May 3, 2010
Audition for actors/actresses
It was really unbelievable that I enjoyed the audition so much.
The casting was a great fun - and the experience was definitely priceless.
I never really thought that there are people who are willing to do student films for free, just to gain more experience (at least that is what happen in Malaysia). But out of 6 candidates, 5 turned up. With that I would say tonight's audition was a success.
In addition to that, there will be more people coming for tomorrow's audition.
Through the audition, we discovered talents and actors/actresses who can see our vision, act naturally, and perform the kind of feeling we are after.
Some added in their own ideas to the character, some are just made for that character!
So far we have one actress who is perfect for the role. She flirts like her (Melissa from the script), talks like her, acts like her. She is not shy, not afraid of acting with people she doesn't know and she gets along with people easily.
For the male character of the film, our director is considering between two guys. And i must say, guys that came for audition today were all great. It's just that they are expert in different aspects, but only one guy will be chosen.
Participating in the audition increased my knowledge in film and acting through the candidates as well as the crew.
And it makes me stop, think and gather,
all my initial passions I had for films.
The casting was a great fun - and the experience was definitely priceless.
I never really thought that there are people who are willing to do student films for free, just to gain more experience (at least that is what happen in Malaysia). But out of 6 candidates, 5 turned up. With that I would say tonight's audition was a success.
In addition to that, there will be more people coming for tomorrow's audition.
Through the audition, we discovered talents and actors/actresses who can see our vision, act naturally, and perform the kind of feeling we are after.
Some added in their own ideas to the character, some are just made for that character!
So far we have one actress who is perfect for the role. She flirts like her (Melissa from the script), talks like her, acts like her. She is not shy, not afraid of acting with people she doesn't know and she gets along with people easily.
For the male character of the film, our director is considering between two guys. And i must say, guys that came for audition today were all great. It's just that they are expert in different aspects, but only one guy will be chosen.
Participating in the audition increased my knowledge in film and acting through the candidates as well as the crew.
And it makes me stop, think and gather,
all my initial passions I had for films.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Frustration
I don't know what I am doing. I am lost.
There are a lot of thoughts in my mind:
Am I really a film person?
What do I want to do in the future?
Why am I even doing this course?!
Am I really interested in film?
Do I really like it?
I have no idea now..
What was the dream I always wanted to pursue?
How was it like?
I forgot.
A part of me is saying:" Just fail the freaking course and GO HOME."
There are a lot of thoughts in my mind:
Am I really a film person?
What do I want to do in the future?
Why am I even doing this course?!
Am I really interested in film?
Do I really like it?
I have no idea now..
What was the dream I always wanted to pursue?
How was it like?
I forgot.
A part of me is saying:" Just fail the freaking course and GO HOME."
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
How to make Fake Blood
My job is awesome!
To be cost effective, I've decided to make my very own fake blood!
I once made a bottle of fake blood for my college's film project, but I think it wasn't as real. So this time, I did more and more research on making better BLOODDDDD! :D
Ingredients:
Corn Syrup
Red Food coloring
A bottle of water
Corn starch
Blue food coloring
Make up blood VS Corn Syrup Blood
Make up blood are those that sold in stores
Make up blood are brighter - primarily red
Corn Syrup Blood has the mixture of red and blue
Corn Syrup Blood - much more realistic
Corn Syrup Blood - Runny and gluey effects
To be cost effective, I've decided to make my very own fake blood!
I once made a bottle of fake blood for my college's film project, but I think it wasn't as real. So this time, I did more and more research on making better BLOODDDDD! :D
Ingredients:
Corn Syrup
Red Food coloring
A bottle of water
Corn starch
Blue food coloring
Make up blood VS Corn Syrup Blood
Make up blood are those that sold in stores
Make up blood are brighter - primarily red
Corn Syrup Blood has the mixture of red and blue
Corn Syrup Blood - much more realistic
Corn Syrup Blood - Runny and gluey effects
Prop List
I am currently in Malaysia. While I am away, I have to list out all the props needed for our film.
It is not hard work, really. But it takes time, creativeness and imagination. Our film takes place in a house, so I'll have to research and think what is a married couple's house looks like. And I realized that every single details matters. For example, DVDs by the side of TV, or candles and pictures on the wall.
Below is my prop list:
Project Name: Stab In the Dark
Student Name: Breanna Gallagher, Astyn Reid, La-Ra Hinckeldeyn,
Christy Chow Hui Min, Sheryl Chen
Scene 1
Briefcase, Love shape pillow (optional)
Costumes:
Suit, tie, watch, wedding ring (Jacob)
Silk robe, dress, wedding ring (Melissa)
Scene 2
Fake Blood (handprint and bath), Scissors 1, Comb, *2 toothbrushes, 1 toothpaste, shower and shampoo
Costumes:
Suit, tie and watch (Jacob)
Silk robe, dress, wedding ring (Melissa)
Scene 3
Scissors 2, Daggers, Noose, Red roses, Fake Blood (on Melissa), Birthday party card, Banner (optional), Balloons , *DVDs on tv rack
Costumes:
Party Guests:
Glasses
Pipe (optional)
Spray (optional)
Chips
Balloon
Dragon Tongue Blower (3)
Noise Makers / whistles
Suit, tie and watch (Jacob)
Dress and wedding ring (Melissa)
Costumes
(Party guests)
*Items to be checked on location.
It is not hard work, really. But it takes time, creativeness and imagination. Our film takes place in a house, so I'll have to research and think what is a married couple's house looks like. And I realized that every single details matters. For example, DVDs by the side of TV, or candles and pictures on the wall.
Below is my prop list:
Project Name: Stab In the Dark
Student Name: Breanna Gallagher, Astyn Reid, La-Ra Hinckeldeyn,
Christy Chow Hui Min, Sheryl Chen
Scene 1
Briefcase, Love shape pillow (optional)
Costumes:
Suit, tie, watch, wedding ring (Jacob)
Silk robe, dress, wedding ring (Melissa)
Scene 2
Fake Blood (handprint and bath), Scissors 1, Comb, *2 toothbrushes, 1 toothpaste, shower and shampoo
Costumes:
Suit, tie and watch (Jacob)
Silk robe, dress, wedding ring (Melissa)
Scene 3
Scissors 2, Daggers, Noose, Red roses, Fake Blood (on Melissa), Birthday party card, Banner (optional), Balloons , *DVDs on tv rack
Costumes:
Party Guests:
Glasses
Pipe (optional)
Spray (optional)
Chips
Balloon
Dragon Tongue Blower (3)
Noise Makers / whistles
Suit, tie and watch (Jacob)
Dress and wedding ring (Melissa)
Costumes
(Party guests)
*Items to be checked on location.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Process in Pre-Production Documents
Our group has already conducted 3 meetings now in total. Progress were astounding. We have already finalized our shooting location, date as well as the script.
Early this morning, all of the members in our group went to the director's (Astyn) house to look around our shooting-location-to-be. After examining the place and talked about how the story will go, we worked on the script, storyboard, call sheet, shot list and shot schedule. I am really glad to realize that we have already done so much for our pre-production documents!
We have decided to do an audition for the main characters. Even though I am not very sure how it's going to work, but it's good to have choices :)
As an art director, I will have to start thinking about the props. Since we have modified the script and there'll be a surprised murder-themed birthday party happening within the film, I will going to need more stuffs - fake blood, guns, knives, and 50's costumes as well..!
On the other hand, as I was writing this blog post, I suddenly realized a huge mistake: since the party will be a murder-themed party, wouldn't it be REALLY weird if the party guests wear 50's costumes? I'm thinking that mafia sort of costumes will be more appropriate (and easier to acquire too!).
Early this morning, all of the members in our group went to the director's (Astyn) house to look around our shooting-location-to-be. After examining the place and talked about how the story will go, we worked on the script, storyboard, call sheet, shot list and shot schedule. I am really glad to realize that we have already done so much for our pre-production documents!
We have decided to do an audition for the main characters. Even though I am not very sure how it's going to work, but it's good to have choices :)
As an art director, I will have to start thinking about the props. Since we have modified the script and there'll be a surprised murder-themed birthday party happening within the film, I will going to need more stuffs - fake blood, guns, knives, and 50's costumes as well..!
On the other hand, as I was writing this blog post, I suddenly realized a huge mistake: since the party will be a murder-themed party, wouldn't it be REALLY weird if the party guests wear 50's costumes? I'm thinking that mafia sort of costumes will be more appropriate (and easier to acquire too!).
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Notes - Operating Camera
Some important notes acquired from practicing / when facing troubles with the camera:
- Adjust the yellow knot of the tripod to put the camera plate in.
- Adjust focus: turning the front lens (to create DOF et cetera)
- Adjust zoom: turning the lens with silver handle
** Eye is always the best part to adjust zoom and adjust focus. I tried adjusting focus when zooming into the subject's white shirt, but it was hard to determine if the image is sharp.
**Always readjust focus everytime the subject moves.
- Always adjust black balance before white balance.
- Exposure and zebras: Occurrence of a little bit of zebra is when the exposure is correct (depending on situations) **Zebra on off button is on the side of the zebra signal light.
- Always check the power of battery the day before camera usage.
- Adjust viewfinder to match your eyes and position
- Always use mixer and external microphone instead of the internal ones to get good level of sound.
- Adjust the yellow knot of the tripod to put the camera plate in.
- Adjust focus: turning the front lens (to create DOF et cetera)
- Adjust zoom: turning the lens with silver handle
** Eye is always the best part to adjust zoom and adjust focus. I tried adjusting focus when zooming into the subject's white shirt, but it was hard to determine if the image is sharp.
**Always readjust focus everytime the subject moves.
- Always adjust black balance before white balance.
- Exposure and zebras: Occurrence of a little bit of zebra is when the exposure is correct (depending on situations) **Zebra on off button is on the side of the zebra signal light.
- Always check the power of battery the day before camera usage.
- Adjust viewfinder to match your eyes and position
- Always use mixer and external microphone instead of the internal ones to get good level of sound.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Shot Constructions (Week 6 Lecture)
Shot Construction is the process of analyzing and visualizing how the shots going to look like.
Script is analysed for:
1. Color
2. Frame
3. Angle
4. Viewpoint - Objective viewpoint, subjective, and POV (point of view)
5. 'Area of shot' - shot size
6. Characters movement
7. Focal Length
8. Depth of Field
Scene is a certain time and location. If the images move from one location & time to another, that's a different scene.
Storyboard: Numbers indicating the image represents the shots taken. For example, 5 (close up of the male char) and 6 (over the shoulder shot of the female character) is the conversation between the taxi driver and the lady. Film can cut from 5, 6, 7 (general view) to 5 and 6 again.
Scheduling: Listing out, in numeric form, the shots that you are going to shoot in order. The most important shot goes first, then followed by the rest.
Storyboarding and Floorplanning are also very important in the process of pre-production. It gives the overall idea for the production team of the shooting, location of camera and character et cetera.
180 Degree Rule
Camera should never cross the 180 line if shooting characters facing each others.
Script is analysed for:
1. Color
2. Frame
3. Angle
4. Viewpoint - Objective viewpoint, subjective, and POV (point of view)
5. 'Area of shot' - shot size
6. Characters movement
7. Focal Length
8. Depth of Field
Scene is a certain time and location. If the images move from one location & time to another, that's a different scene.
Storyboard: Numbers indicating the image represents the shots taken. For example, 5 (close up of the male char) and 6 (over the shoulder shot of the female character) is the conversation between the taxi driver and the lady. Film can cut from 5, 6, 7 (general view) to 5 and 6 again.
Scheduling: Listing out, in numeric form, the shots that you are going to shoot in order. The most important shot goes first, then followed by the rest.
Storyboarding and Floorplanning are also very important in the process of pre-production. It gives the overall idea for the production team of the shooting, location of camera and character et cetera.
180 Degree Rule
Camera should never cross the 180 line if shooting characters facing each others.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Stab In The Dark
Right after the tutorial today, our group gathered and talked about our favorite script - to make decision that affects our final assignment's fate.
I really like the script "Final Act" and I already can imagine the angle, shots and scenes of the story. But the majority ended up consenting with the script "Stab in the Dark" - which I didn't even get a chance to finish reading it before the group discussed it in details.
Ultimately, I went with it and our group came out with the idea of changing the storyline and some other details. I probably should start thinking of props at this stage - hunt for fake blood (I had experience of Making fake blood using food coloring for my Diploma course's short film, not sure if it'll work), fake murder weapon that creates evident visual effects, costumes, party stuffs............... (long list)
I really like the script "Final Act" and I already can imagine the angle, shots and scenes of the story. But the majority ended up consenting with the script "Stab in the Dark" - which I didn't even get a chance to finish reading it before the group discussed it in details.
Ultimately, I went with it and our group came out with the idea of changing the storyline and some other details. I probably should start thinking of props at this stage - hunt for fake blood (I had experience of Making fake blood using food coloring for my Diploma course's short film, not sure if it'll work), fake murder weapon that creates evident visual effects, costumes, party stuffs............... (long list)
Handling the Camera
It's so great that we finally get to learn about camera and lens!
Here's some vital things to confirm before starting to shoot:
- Tripod's balance
- Adjust Focus (Zoom in as far as you can and adjust focus, then zoom out)
- Check White / Black Balance
- Make sure 'gain' button is switched off
- Check exposure (using zebra patterning)
- Check shutter speed (should be at 1/50)
- ND Filter is turned off
(unless, of course, the film requires otherwise.)
*I find the color presented in the camera is a bit weird, even after the daylight setting. We will have to pay a bit more attention to the lighting.
Here's some vital things to confirm before starting to shoot:
- Tripod's balance
- Adjust Focus (Zoom in as far as you can and adjust focus, then zoom out)
- Check White / Black Balance
- Make sure 'gain' button is switched off
- Check exposure (using zebra patterning)
- Check shutter speed (should be at 1/50)
- ND Filter is turned off
(unless, of course, the film requires otherwise.)
*I find the color presented in the camera is a bit weird, even after the daylight setting. We will have to pay a bit more attention to the lighting.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Script Selection
As I am going through the scripts and decide on which one I like, I thought of what the lecturer said in class - "Think about the shoot-abilities of the script":
Is it possible to get a character like that?
Can your actor/actress conveys the exact feeling?
Is it possible to get props required in the script?
Location - I read an interesting murder script that takes place in an office. But, how are we going to get an office and do our shooting? (unless one of our group members's parent owns a company)
Other than that, I also came across a script that takes place in many different locations - which is quite impossible to shoot them in just ONE day.
All these criteria and considerations makes script selection much easier.
Is it possible to get a character like that?
Can your actor/actress conveys the exact feeling?
Is it possible to get props required in the script?
Location - I read an interesting murder script that takes place in an office. But, how are we going to get an office and do our shooting? (unless one of our group members's parent owns a company)
Other than that, I also came across a script that takes place in many different locations - which is quite impossible to shoot them in just ONE day.
All these criteria and considerations makes script selection much easier.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Screenwriting
When I went to consult Mr. Robin about my drafted screenplay today, I was all nervous and terrified that it would be rejected.
Cause:
The tutors pointed out the two key problems in my story last week during tutorial - which is the difficulty to show the size of the unmatched lingerie, and the boobs enlargement massage oil solution. It was hard for audiences to believe that the main actress would be satisfied with the outcome.
So, my drafted screenplay hasn't have much improvement from my synopsis, other than writing out the details of the story.
I was pretty glad that I consulted Mr. Robin. We worked out a couple of extra ideas in the story to make it more interesting and feasible.
And most importantly, we got rid of the quite-dumb-boobs-enlargement-oil part, and replace it with another event.
Screenwriting isn't an once-complete kind of writing. It REALLY requires multiple times of editing, editing and editing to enhance the quality of the story and improve details.
It took me long enough to come out with this 5 minutes story... I wonder how long those auteurs and screenwriters took to complete their 90 minutes films...
Cause:
The tutors pointed out the two key problems in my story last week during tutorial - which is the difficulty to show the size of the unmatched lingerie, and the boobs enlargement massage oil solution. It was hard for audiences to believe that the main actress would be satisfied with the outcome.
So, my drafted screenplay hasn't have much improvement from my synopsis, other than writing out the details of the story.
I was pretty glad that I consulted Mr. Robin. We worked out a couple of extra ideas in the story to make it more interesting and feasible.
And most importantly, we got rid of the quite-dumb-boobs-enlargement-oil part, and replace it with another event.
Screenwriting isn't an once-complete kind of writing. It REALLY requires multiple times of editing, editing and editing to enhance the quality of the story and improve details.
It took me long enough to come out with this 5 minutes story... I wonder how long those auteurs and screenwriters took to complete their 90 minutes films...
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
My Lenny Exercise :D
I think the sound gets a bit weird till the end of the video as there are a lot of environment noises. Couldn't really edit them out, but I've adjusted the sound between clips..
It definitely teaches to me look out for environment sound / sound recording during the shooting. and as a Mac new learner, I am quite glad I've learned to use more shortcut keys on Final Cut Pro :)
e.g. a - Select ; b - cut
Rolling (2008)
Rolling (2008) is a unique name for romantic comedy like that. I really LOVE it! Even though the plot is a bit cliche (boy likes girl, boy do something extraordinary for girl, girl fell in love with boy), but the way the screenwriter presents it is so dramatic!
Especially when the film crew did make an effort to collect A LOT of toilet papers for the short film, it makes the film even more watchable.
And omg, the way of the film cut, I think it's so amazing that the editor / director / screenwriter has thought of doing so. It aroused audiences curiosity!
The main character also played his role well, particularly the part where he said "hmm...fif....ty.. fif..ty.. sou..nds... gre...at..!". He did the expression and eye movements so well, I felt like I was watching a Hollywood film! Okay. May be I have exaggerated it. But compared to the film I did during my study in KDU College, Malaysia, my actors and actresses can NEVER deliver the RIGHT feeling I wanted..! Actions were still okay. The main problem lay on the facial expressions and eye movements, which was perfectly delivered in ROLLING(2008).
On the other hand, I realized that there's a flaw in the film - the lighting in the beginning of the film, when the guy is talking to himself (while moving forward with the camera) in the supermarket. It changed from whitish bright light to yellowish light whitish bright light again, and it has repeated till the end of the scene.
Anyway, I'll still rate ROLLING(2008) four out of five stars! :)
Good job, people!
Especially when the film crew did make an effort to collect A LOT of toilet papers for the short film, it makes the film even more watchable.
And omg, the way of the film cut, I think it's so amazing that the editor / director / screenwriter has thought of doing so. It aroused audiences curiosity!
The main character also played his role well, particularly the part where he said "hmm...fif....ty.. fif..ty.. sou..nds... gre...at..!". He did the expression and eye movements so well, I felt like I was watching a Hollywood film! Okay. May be I have exaggerated it. But compared to the film I did during my study in KDU College, Malaysia, my actors and actresses can NEVER deliver the RIGHT feeling I wanted..! Actions were still okay. The main problem lay on the facial expressions and eye movements, which was perfectly delivered in ROLLING(2008).
On the other hand, I realized that there's a flaw in the film - the lighting in the beginning of the film, when the guy is talking to himself (while moving forward with the camera) in the supermarket. It changed from whitish bright light to yellowish light whitish bright light again, and it has repeated till the end of the scene.
Anyway, I'll still rate ROLLING(2008) four out of five stars! :)
Good job, people!
Monday, March 15, 2010
"Plotting is hardwork"
"It's like roller-coaster - keep inching your audience up, up and up through plot and character devices."
Sounds easy, but REALLY hard to achieve. I have just experienced it.
I had a hard time trying to expand my story from my previous one-liner. Except from that little long-lost-brother-surprise, I can't seem to deliver any other elements to make the film interesting, like what Christine said in the lecture - "like roller-coaster". And because the previous idea sounds a little too unbelievable (a lot of my friends love it though), I have decided to change my story - from going-to-marry to just-married; and long-lost-brother to cheating-husband. Very very very, extremely, awfully cliche. sigh.
However, since Christine said that we should give our characters some extraordinary traits, the wife is a psychotic woman who sharpens the knife when she thinks her husband is cheating on her - the film does not quite focus on that, but still.
As for character's 'WANT' and 'NEED', I guess Sarah needs her husband to be loyal to her? and she wants to find out if he is really cheating on her?
Well, my verdict after half of the screenwriting process:
I can come out with a little bit of surprising elements here and there. But, I'm not someone who can deal with screenwriting very well.
My synopsis (vomit.):
Should be up to 250 words with more detailed descriptions of character, story, location and style.
The happy newlywed has just gone back from the honeymoon. Situated in their lovely home, Sarah (wife, 25) prepares breakfast for David (husband, 26) while he gets ready for work. David then grabs a sandwich on the table and rush out in a hurry, with a kiss from his wife. After Sarah finishes her breakfast, she decides to unpack the messy luggage in the room. As she tidies up the room and unpacks the luggage, she discovers a gift box resting under the bed. In amazement, Sarah opens to find a set of matching lingerie in it. Sarah delightedly thinks that it is a surprise gift for her. But when she takes it out of the box; she realizes that the size does not match hers. Sarah is immediately stunned. She is totally stroked by the thought of her husband cheating on her. At that very moment, Lovey, Sarah’s best friend calls. In tears, Sarah brokenheartedly describes the incident. Lovey then comforts her and suggests her to confront David. Sound of knife being sharpened can be heard after the phone call.
That evening when David steps into the house, the whole house is in dark. As David switches on the light, he realizes that Sarah is sitting on the dining table (facing the front door) waiting for him. Sarah starts to question him. David explains that the set of lingerie is actually a gift for Sarah and that he has also bought a boobs-enlargement-massage-oil for her.
Little did Sarah know that David has a guilty but relieve smile at the same time as she joyfully hugs her husband.
(I love giving audiences surprises at the end of film :D)
Rogers, Christine, “Film & TV.” RMIT University. 16 March 2010.
Sounds easy, but REALLY hard to achieve. I have just experienced it.
I had a hard time trying to expand my story from my previous one-liner. Except from that little long-lost-brother-surprise, I can't seem to deliver any other elements to make the film interesting, like what Christine said in the lecture - "like roller-coaster". And because the previous idea sounds a little too unbelievable (a lot of my friends love it though), I have decided to change my story - from going-to-marry to just-married; and long-lost-brother to cheating-husband. Very very very, extremely, awfully cliche. sigh.
However, since Christine said that we should give our characters some extraordinary traits, the wife is a psychotic woman who sharpens the knife when she thinks her husband is cheating on her - the film does not quite focus on that, but still.
As for character's 'WANT' and 'NEED', I guess Sarah needs her husband to be loyal to her? and she wants to find out if he is really cheating on her?
Well, my verdict after half of the screenwriting process:
I can come out with a little bit of surprising elements here and there. But, I'm not someone who can deal with screenwriting very well.
My synopsis (vomit.):
Should be up to 250 words with more detailed descriptions of character, story, location and style.
The happy newlywed has just gone back from the honeymoon. Situated in their lovely home, Sarah (wife, 25) prepares breakfast for David (husband, 26) while he gets ready for work. David then grabs a sandwich on the table and rush out in a hurry, with a kiss from his wife. After Sarah finishes her breakfast, she decides to unpack the messy luggage in the room. As she tidies up the room and unpacks the luggage, she discovers a gift box resting under the bed. In amazement, Sarah opens to find a set of matching lingerie in it. Sarah delightedly thinks that it is a surprise gift for her. But when she takes it out of the box; she realizes that the size does not match hers. Sarah is immediately stunned. She is totally stroked by the thought of her husband cheating on her. At that very moment, Lovey, Sarah’s best friend calls. In tears, Sarah brokenheartedly describes the incident. Lovey then comforts her and suggests her to confront David. Sound of knife being sharpened can be heard after the phone call.
That evening when David steps into the house, the whole house is in dark. As David switches on the light, he realizes that Sarah is sitting on the dining table (facing the front door) waiting for him. Sarah starts to question him. David explains that the set of lingerie is actually a gift for Sarah and that he has also bought a boobs-enlargement-massage-oil for her.
Little did Sarah know that David has a guilty but relieve smile at the same time as she joyfully hugs her husband.
(I love giving audiences surprises at the end of film :D)
Rogers, Christine, “Film & TV.” RMIT University. 16 March 2010.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
One Liners Discussion
It was so interesting to see all the one liners. They are so creative and dramatic!
http://media.rmit.edu.au/filmtv10/?p=24#comments
Here's my favorite!
"Sandra is a psychologist who suffers from hormone imbalance. She discovers that she has run out of her hormone stabilising medication. This is unfortunate because side effects of not taking medication include increased libido and nymphomania; and her next appointment has just arrived."
And this is my one-liner:
"David is about to marry his girlfriend after maintaining a long distance relationship with Sharol for 5 years. As they were digging out old pictures for their wedding video, Sharol is surprised to find David’s childhood photograph resembling her long lost elder brother who went missing when her family traveled to England."
I was late for the tutorial (because I couldn't find the editing suite!) and missed the part when the class discussed my one-liner.. which was quite depressing!
But later when I asked, they suggested that it is a little too unbelievable, as the couple would somehow noticed that David is actually the brother before the wedding..
What if.. David is actually a girl?!
or
he turned out to be a psychotic killer?
or
he has double personality?
-One side he's a guy and the other one is a girl?
http://media.rmit.edu.au/filmtv10/?p=24#comments
Here's my favorite!
"Sandra is a psychologist who suffers from hormone imbalance. She discovers that she has run out of her hormone stabilising medication. This is unfortunate because side effects of not taking medication include increased libido and nymphomania; and her next appointment has just arrived."
And this is my one-liner:
"David is about to marry his girlfriend after maintaining a long distance relationship with Sharol for 5 years. As they were digging out old pictures for their wedding video, Sharol is surprised to find David’s childhood photograph resembling her long lost elder brother who went missing when her family traveled to England."
I was late for the tutorial (because I couldn't find the editing suite!) and missed the part when the class discussed my one-liner.. which was quite depressing!
But later when I asked, they suggested that it is a little too unbelievable, as the couple would somehow noticed that David is actually the brother before the wedding..
What if.. David is actually a girl?!
or
he turned out to be a psychotic killer?
or
he has double personality?
-One side he's a guy and the other one is a girl?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Clown Train
I really like it when I first read the screenplay. It's interesting, engaging and there are dramatic struggles in it. All the descriptions of the actions of the clown makes me terrify. From the screenplay, I can imagine the boy's feeling and the tenses in the atmosphere. My phobia of clown got
The film, however, was a little bit diverse from the original screenplay. The director has removed most of the unimportant part and gather interesting scenes together, which made quite a satisfying short film. Effects of the train's light going off looks real and it was freaky when the clown moved closer to the protagonist.
There was no music used in the short film, but its sound effects came out on the right spot at the right time - creating spookiness. There is, nonetheless, an imperfection. In the beginning of the film, the clown did not perform a dangerous, wicked expression in his eyes well. Rather, he looks indifferent.
The ending of the short film was my favorite part. It ends with clown's evil laugh and an unnerving line “Nevermind, i'll tell you that on Friday". Not only it gives audiences goose bumps, the unresolved ending also provides the story opportunities to expand.
The film, however, was a little bit diverse from the original screenplay. The director has removed most of the unimportant part and gather interesting scenes together, which made quite a satisfying short film. Effects of the train's light going off looks real and it was freaky when the clown moved closer to the protagonist.
There was no music used in the short film, but its sound effects came out on the right spot at the right time - creating spookiness. There is, nonetheless, an imperfection. In the beginning of the film, the clown did not perform a dangerous, wicked expression in his eyes well. Rather, he looks indifferent.
The ending of the short film was my favorite part. It ends with clown's evil laugh and an unnerving line “Nevermind, i'll tell you that on Friday". Not only it gives audiences goose bumps, the unresolved ending also provides the story opportunities to expand.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Opening of the TV 1 Blog.
Welcome!
This is actually a blog i created specially for Film & TV 1.
It's really great that I can reflect myself and record things I've been through in the process of learning in Film & TV 1. And the best of it is that I'll get to review them in the future with my grandchildren on my laps :P
The first lecture was merely introduction and a little bit of screenwriting session. We got to read a screenplay and watch a movie that was made based on the screenplay - The Big Tree. I was quite surprised to see a different version of outcome, especially the tree. The film was about 2 children playing under a mysterious tree and objects disappeared when they were thrown into the big tree. It was amusing to see the children's expressions when objects are not falling. But i think the tree itself was definitely a mistake.
This is how a mysterious tree should look like.
Rather, the filmmakers cast a middle-sized tree with insufficient leaves on it. I guess that was the only disappointment in the film.
I totally love the ending. It was unanticipated! One of the kids climbed up the tree and disappeared as his brother called out his name and eventually ran away with his bike.
This is actually a blog i created specially for Film & TV 1.
It's really great that I can reflect myself and record things I've been through in the process of learning in Film & TV 1. And the best of it is that I'll get to review them in the future with my grandchildren on my laps :P
The first lecture was merely introduction and a little bit of screenwriting session. We got to read a screenplay and watch a movie that was made based on the screenplay - The Big Tree. I was quite surprised to see a different version of outcome, especially the tree. The film was about 2 children playing under a mysterious tree and objects disappeared when they were thrown into the big tree. It was amusing to see the children's expressions when objects are not falling. But i think the tree itself was definitely a mistake.
This is how a mysterious tree should look like.
Rather, the filmmakers cast a middle-sized tree with insufficient leaves on it. I guess that was the only disappointment in the film.
I totally love the ending. It was unanticipated! One of the kids climbed up the tree and disappeared as his brother called out his name and eventually ran away with his bike.
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