Anything and Everthing Film

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Critique Feedback Form Kushal Dhingra

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MASKED: A third-year production

I had already completed both my projects for the semester and not being the editor for either of them I decided to work as a runner in a 3rd-year production titled Masked. One of our coursemates messaged in the group about the requirement of runners in the third year production. I and Davide took up the opportunity and decided to work as a runner for their film. This shoot was an extremely challenging shoot for us as the location for this was a forest near Bonaly. They had set up a base camp at the scout center, where the food and costumes were taken care of. The main shooting area was roughly 500 meters away from the base camp and the way was all uphill. The shooting was scheduled for 4 days out of which I could only commit for 3 days due to prior commitment. The shoot started on a Monday when the call time was 9 am at the base camp. As required I and Davide were there spot on time. As we reached we both helped in shifting the equipment from the car to the base camp. During this, we realized how heavy the equipment was and we have to carry all the heavy equipment on an extremely steep hill. The first day was so much fun, we were given our own walkie-talkies! That is so cool.

I have an interest in being a DOP and they were missing on their 2nd AC, therefore, I volunteered to be the 2nd AC on the film and I couldn’t have been more glad that the person did not show up (of course I hope everything is alright). I learned so much about being the second AC. I was mainly responsible for the clapper board and moving camera equipment from one place to another. In certain shots, I was supposed to spot the cinematographer as it was a moving shot. The scariest part of the job was carrying an expensive camera through the woods on slippery terrain, I was just hoping I don’t fall with the camera!

The shoot was for four days however as I had informed beforehand I could only help for 3 out of 4 days and for all three days I was the second AC. The last day for me was the toughest as it started snowing and the temperature was not helping. However, we did work through the cold and finally finished the shoot. The crew was using Blackmagic Ursa which I had never seen before! I played around with the camera when the crew was taking a break and just tried to shoot, and the camera is really heavy. Moreover, they were using a focus that was not controlled on the camera therefore a Bluetooth one. I asked them to teach me how to configure the camera with the focus and they were happy to do so. I had time of my life on their shoot and learned so much from them. All of them worked so well together and really had excellent time management skills. All the shoot dates finished on time and were perfectly working with the time. I was really impressed with their art design which was top-notch. Overall I am so happy I took up this project and a big thank you to the Masked crew.

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Critical reflection

My contribution to other projects

Fight or Flight shoot day 2

Fight or Flight shoot day 1

Group Update

The Dark Art of sound design

Group Update

Character Flaws

Short Film Ideas

Masked: A third year production

REPRESENT THE REAL

Jack in the box final shooting

Jack in the box Cypher shoot

First meeting with Ashley

Week 1 exercise

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CRITICAL REFLECTION – FIGHT OR FLIGHT

We made the movie “Fight or flight” where I worked as a DOP and we got feedback that was really insightful and gave a better understanding of the film. The feedback we got was that the narrative of the film was unclear and the script had potential but the context of the film did not completely connect to the audience. The emotional journey of the character throughout the film needed consistency and it would have been better if we worked more with the actors and explained the character arc to them. We faced criticism with sound, where the dialogues were not crisp enough to deliver the intensity of the film because the boom operation was different on both the days, the first day we boomed from the top and the second was from the bottom due to equipment problems. We were suggested to use the “swearing” words carefully as they are a powerful tool to narrate the story and if we used them carefully it could have made a huge impact. I resonate the most with the camera, framing, and lighting feedback as I was the DOP. The camera feedback was that one of my handheld shots was slightly tilted and in the same frame one of the subjects was set in an extreme corner of the frame making the shot look a bit disoriented. The critics also suggested having used more close-up shots to portray the intensity of the film. The critics liked the tone and the lighting in the film, however, the lights were not visible in the actors’ eyes which is really important. The critics pointed out that the end shot of the film was a good scene but it did not seem like a good ending point for the film. Overall, I do agree with the feedback and it gave me ideas on how we could have improved the film with just a few changes.

The tutorial and classes really helped us develop the film look-wise. One of the most helpful classes was the mark-up script session where we learned how to mark the script with the lines and shot size. This helped us plan out the scenes and shot sizes very conveniently. The session with David gave me ideas on how to create a mood board for the film and, through which websites I could get preferred images for the mood board.

My role in the film was the DOP, and one of my main contributions to the film was the look and tone of the film. I and the director decided on how to set the lights and mood of the film to suit the story of the film. I and the director also decided on the shots and the shot sizes for the film. My contribution to the submissions was; the mood board, the camera notes, the shot list (with the director), and the floor plan. I also worked as the Foley artist in the film

I feel overall the group worked well together! The advantage was we all knew each other and therefore worked with more ease and comfort. The whole group was well passionate about the film and everyone really worked hard. I just feel at one point there was a communication gap between the group also because three out of five members were covid positive therefore there was a time span of more than a week where the communication just did not happen. I also feel we as a group could have managed time better in order of shoot and planning.

In the process of making this film, there was so much to take in! I as a DOP have a much better understanding of the camera. I think I’m more confident in shooting handheld scenes than I was before. The process also taught me how to manage time in regards to setting up a shot, as I personally felt that I was taking too much time in lighting up the scene, however, the efforts did pay off but I think overall the shoot time could have been decreased if I took quicker decisions in regards of the setup.  I really enjoyed the process of making the mood board and the mark-up scripts. I learned a lot about sound design as well, as we had to engage with Foley and Pro-tools and I worked as a Foley artist.

There were a few pieces of feedback on my classmate’s films which largely benefited me. Through different film feedback, I learned, that allowing a character to give an emotional response is utterly important in carrying the story forward. I also learned, to set up your master shot, you have to first visualize the close-up shots so you can balance the lighting for the different shots, and last but not the least use camera and sound gimmicks to support the story more than just straight dialogue.

Overall I think we made a decent film, and in this process personally, I have come out as a better filmmaker and a much more aware DOP. The journey to the final cut was full of emotions and passion which I very much enjoyed it.

[kdfilmblog]

MY CONTRIBUTION TO OTHER PROJECTS

I worked as an actor for group D1. Duncan put out a message on the group chat that they were short of one actor for their film and I saw the opportunity and took up the job as the actor. This was a two-day shoot and Mara, the producer immediately sent in the script. I read the script and it was super interesting, a story about two angles working on creating earth! The screenplay was so fun, however, I did only have two days to memorize the script and this was a tough task as I was still planning and sorting out the dates for our film. However I learn the script, sort out the costume with Duncan and we were ready to roll. My call for that day was 10:00 am. I reached there and was running the lines with my co-star whose name I have unfortunately forgotten. It was quite a fun shoot and they managed to get all the shots they wanted for that day. They had a great set with some amazing set designs. They all worked well together and I honestly enjoyed working with them. PS: Hope you like my acting! 😊

The second project I helped with was for Group C3. I again worked as an actor for this group. Oliwia who lives in my student accommodation was telling me about how her actor had dropped out a week before the shoot day. Therefore I offered to act in their project. The script again was very well written, however, the role for this film was completely out of my comfort zone. I had a good amount of time to practice this one but was quite nervous about the role. This was a one-day shoot and they all had it planned out very well. My call for this film was different than the co-star as she had some of her solo scenes therefore I arrived at the set by 12 pm. I also helped with the setup of the shoulder rig and camera. The shoot was super fun and was well visualized by the director, Oliwia. The scene was extremely challenging as I had to say my lines in one shot which was terrifying. I always got stuck on the same line :( however, the crew was very patient with me. The co-star Minnie Cross was phenomenal and extremely professional. Overall the shoot was amazing and all the crew members worked really well together. PS: Ignore my hair in this film 😊

The third project I helped in was for Group B4. Davide who I have worked with before in the scene recreation scene asked me if I could help in his shoot as his group was of only 3 people, and I happily did as it was a quite interesting film. Here I worked mainly in the camera department. I helped set up the camera equipment which included the tripod and the shoulder rig. I then worked on setting up the lights. Catherine the DOP and Davide instructed me on how they wanted the lights and camera and accordingly I lit the scene up. After this I also worked as a 2nd AC and worked with the clapper board, for some part I was taking up camera notes and sound notes as well. Due to the less number of people in their group, I was heavily involved with this film. Interestingly in the later half I also worked as an actor which involved a few lines and a small amount of movement. I loved working with the people, from the crew to the cast all were very friendly. Moreover, the main actor Mitchell asked us to work in his upcoming feature film. He asked Davide to part of the director team and asked me if I would like to be part of the camera team and we both accepted the offer immediately. Anyways, the group being just of three members worked well together and I really enjoyed working with them. Hope the film turns out as they want!

[kdfilmblog]

JACK IN THE BOX: FINAL SHOOTING

On the 25th of March 2022, we shot the main interview of our documentary Jack in the Box. We filmed this at 3 Lochinvar drive, near a beach. Initially, we had planned something really different and we were supposed to shoot at the Colinton tunnel, but when we got to know Ashley was pregnant we had to shoot someplace near to her house and to be honest I really liked the location.

We started the day by meeting at Starbucks to go over the questions we had and to plan out the shoot. We had our discussion over coffee and then from there we picked up the equipment from our producer Robbie’s flat and took a 50 min bus to the location. We met Ashley near her flat and then walked another 10 minutes to the location. During this walk, I had assembled the camera and took a few montages of Ashley and us walking to the location. This was a fun experience for me as I experimented with shutter speed; I decreased the shutter speed to 1/25 on 25 FPS which resulted in jumpy footage which goes in hand with our documentary.

We reached our desired location and everyone got to setting up the equipment. I and Robbie assembled the tripod and camera, Anna and Catherine assembled the sound, and Cayla our director was briefing Ashley on the questions and flow of our film. The day was quite nice but extremely sunny therefore I took a bit of time to set the T-stop, ISO, and White Balance to achieve the right tone. I and Cayla framed the camera and then we began our shoot. There were a few difficulties we faced like interference in sound. We wanted one long take of the interview but due to so much sound disturbance, we had to break down the interview in different shots. There were several people walking by, planes going over, winds, and dogs barking. We had 4 different sources for sound. One was the boom, the second was the lapel mic that Anna had got, the third was the camera mic we set up, and last, as safety, we used my phone as a recorder. The interview lasted about an hour and a half with the breaks included.

The shoot went well and then we started to pack the equipment, but I did not pack the camera as I felt I could take some more shots of Ashley as a backup which worked out really well because, as we were leaving the beach we saw a few people dancing and we thought of taking a few shots of them. However, it turned out Ashley knew them which led to a huge conversation among them. We ended up getting some crazy content. Now we had packed the boom pole so the only source of audio was my phone for that conversation and we all really hope that the audio is usable as there were a lot of interesting talks.

I think overall the shoot went really well and we all enjoyed the process. There were a lot of ups and downs during the process. Initially, we had a lot of different ideas to portray our story but after finding out that Ashley was pregnant we had to revisit the plan of action, but it worked out best for the story. I feel we all worked really well together and it was really fun. Ashley was just amazing! She helped us so much and was such an interesting lady to document. We all cannot thank her enough. I am excited to see the final cut of the documentary.

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FILM NARRATIVE 2 (SHOOT DAY 2)

We had day 2 for the shoot on the 15th of March 2022 and completed the film. We booked room 1/120 from 4:30 pm to 9 pm. In this shoot we did not require the extras therefore we only needed the main actors. The shoot was comparatively less complicated than day 1 and we managed to get the shots without any major difficulties.

We did face a small issue with lighting, as we had to recreate the exact lighting of day 1 with the same temperature and tone. We had marked the positions on day 1 but I failed to mark the setting of the lighting which was necessary to recreate the lighting. We took some time to get the same tone for the film but we did succeed by the end. We used reflectors and multiple lights to set up the lighting.

Further, the shoot was mainly shot on a tripod and was quite straightforward. We covered the major conversation of the film through interchanging scenes and some over-the-shoulder shots. We managed to get some close-ups to convey important information. The Day 1 shoot helped us a lot therefore the day 2 shoot went much smoother and more fun. Davide came to assist with the shoot and was quite helpful throughout the shoot. I am quite happy with how we worked and extremely excited to see the final product of the film.

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FILM NARRATIVE 2 (SHOOT DAY 1)

We began our shooting for Film Narrative 2 “An Unwilling Friendship” on the 10th of March 2022. We had booked room 1/120 at Craiglockhart from 3:30 pm to 9 pm. The story required 2 actors and a few extras which our coursemates played. The shoot day was filled with emotions, minor and major obstacles, and, a great time. Before this, we already did a test shoot, however, that did not go as planned due to the equipment. As a DOP I wanted to get the technical setup and the tone of the film on the test shoot so I would spend less time on the real shoot day, but the due to unavailability of the cameras, we had booked another camera which was completely unknown to me. Therefore I could not get the basic camera notes on the test shoot. The test shoot was helpful to think about set design, plan the lighting setup and block the scene.

On the original shoot day, we started with setting up the location and I went on to set up the shoulder rig. The first half of the film was heavily based on handheld camera movement. My main difficulty for these scenes was the continuous focus change, but with the help of our director Cayla and a few takes, I managed to get those shots. This was a huge learning curve for me, the process was tiring but I genuinely enjoyed and learned a lot. In the latter, we ended with a few tripod shots which were quite straightforward and we managed to shoot those quite faster than the handheld scenes. Overall I think we managed to get the shots. However, the handheld shots took much more time than we anticipated and we were behind schedule and could not complete the shots we wanted.

We faced a few difficulties through the shoot, one of which was the sound equipment. We were provided with faulty sound equipment which we did get exchanged but the other one did not have enough battery. Alana and Sophie made a trip down to Tesco to bring the AA battery and we managed to get the audio working back.

The shoot went really well and we were quite happy with the shots we got. We ended the day by ordering McDonald’s and had a feast with the whole crew.

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JACK IN THE BOX (Represent the real)

We started the shoot of our documentary Jack In The box, and we had a great first day with some minors up and downs. The day started out great, we took the bus to Ashley’s studio with the equipment which was almost an hour bus ride. As discussed with Ashley beforehand, we were only going to record footage of her students dancing which we plan to use as montages. She had arranged a cypher session for us to get the needed footage. However, we also decided to get some interviews of the dancers who Ashley has mentored. We began our shoot at around 7 pm and wrapped up by 9:45 pm.

The sound equipment did give us some minor issues as it was equipment we had not used before but Anna managed to get it working. My experience as a DOP was splendid. I got to learn so much, especially how to handle a shoulder rig with ease. The focus is somewhat tough to capture with so much movement but I got quite comfortable with time. As it was dance footage, we decided to shoot in 50 FPS so we have the option for slow motion. Catherine helped me shoot the dances montages and we took turns in shooting the footage. Cayla was directing the interviews and helping us shoot the dance. Robbie was a huge help in sound, as he and Anna figured out how to get the sound equipment working. I believe we all worked very well together. Cayla, the director had a good long chat with Ashley, planning on how to go about shooting her interview and briefing on the vision we have for the documentary. I believe the shoot was a great success, we met some amazing people and had a blast shooting. I can’t wait to shoot the rest of the documentary.

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Film Narrative 2 (GROUP UPDATE BLOG POST)

In our feedback session we were advised on how to approach casting and a director’s treatment. Due to delays with the script (a result of covid), we mainly discussed how we were going to approach developing a visual style for our film. References we discussed were ‘Fight Club’ and ‘House of Cards’, both of which posses elements of our own idea aesthetically and narratively. We will create a mood board along with the director’s treatment including screenshots from both of these references. We were also advised with methods for finalising our script. These consisted of comparing individual log lines and character descriptions to form a more well rounded idea of our narrative and characters. 

As a result of the sound lecture we have become more conscious of how sound can be used in a realistic manor to achieve impact in a short film. ‘Operator’ by Caroline Bartleet in particular appeared to be relevant for us due to its naturalistic style. As we too are tackling a serious subject in our own film, this acted as an example of sound manipulating a viewers emotions in an undetectable way, maintaining the realism of the situation. 

Mentioned previously, due to covid related issues we are slightly behind in terms of a shooting schedule. Despite this, we are currently working hard to produce a finalised script, shot lists and storyboards. Additionally, we will be putting out a casting call for Fergus, as obtaining an older actor has proved to be one of the challenges we have predicted during our project. 

Group Dynamic Check In:

As of right now everyone is contributing well and cooperating as a team despite the restrictions of covid. We have been having regular online meetings to ensure everyone knows what tasks they have and to give feedback on each others’ work.  

[cjfilmblog]

Film Narrative 2: AA Meeting Short

Film/TV Series Influences:

House of Cards Season 1 -  Doug Stamper’s AA speech scene

The first scene we are looking to use as influence for our short is Doug Stamper’s speech scene in House of Cards. The first thing I recognised about this scene is the colour grading, there are mostly cool tones, a lot of emphasis on the greens and blues. These colours I feel reflect the mood of the scene, sombre, real and cold. In our short we want to use colour grading in a similar way to reflect the narrative. Similarly the lighting in the scene achieves the same effect. The overhead luminescent white lights once again present a cold feeling to the scene, almost an uncomfortable spotlight effect on the subjects potentially portraying how uncomfortable they feel speaking about the subject of alcoholism. In our AA meeting we want to focus on the conversation between two characters, so the dialogue will be really important. This scene is a great example of a well written engaging dialogue, Doug stamper’s execution of his lines in a self-assured manner and his stable and confident body language makes it easy for a viewer to engage in what he is saying. Even though Peter Russo doesn’t speak once in this scene, he is still engaging with the conversation through is reactions within his facial expressions which make it easy to distinguish that there is a connection between these two characters.

Fight Club - Big Bob scene 

The second scene we chose was the Big Bob scene in Fight Club. There is a resemblance in colour and lighting to the Doug Stamper scene in House Of Cards, staying along the lines of cool tones, which we continue to agree will be suitable for our short. However the main thing that I enjoy with this scene is the sound. The screeching of the chairs, the footsteps on creaky floorboards and the gentle sobs of other members in the background. This use of diegetic sound makes us not only focus on the uncomfortable nature of the environment but the discomfort between the exchange of the two characters.

Then Came You - Support group scene

The last scene is the support group scene in Then Came you. From 0:48 is the best examples of how we would like to frame our short. The medium close up of Calvin to the ground level shot of Skye pulling in the chair are all types of shots we would like to incorporate into our story. The creative use of framing and different camera angles creates interest to the scene even though it is very minimal and only focussed on two characters. Interest is also created through the mis en scene, the placement of the characters and props in the scene makes it believable that they are in a support group environment. We will need to use props and location to help make our story believable that it is shot in an AA meeting.

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REPRESENT THE REAL

METTING WITH ASHLEY JACK FOR THE DOCUMENTARY

On the 10th of February 2022, I, Robbie, and Ashley came together on a zoom call to discuss our upcoming documentary where we plan to depict Ashley and her long-beloved love for hip-hop culture. Initially, this meeting was supposed to be a face-to-face discussion, however, unfortunately, two members from our group tested positive for Covid and we had to improvise. Before the meeting went forward we as a group came up with a series of questions we wanted to ask Ashley. This informal interview was truly a helpful aid for us to form a story outline and work around the information we received from Ashley. The interview ran for almost 50 minutes where we learned a lot about Ashley and her personal life. After this interview, we as a group had a personal online meeting to discuss and segregate all the answers and information Ashley had provided. We then tried to figure out how we wanted to approach the documentary and had quite a few ideas, however, we still haven’t settled on a particular idea. We wish to work more intensively on the information provided and create a strong story outline with an appropriate tone for the film which will give justice to the film we wish to create.

[kdfilmblog]

FILM NARRATIVE 2 (THE DARK ART OF SOUND DESIGN)

This lecture was quite interesting in its own way. It was focused on what is sound and its use in films. We disused different types of sound design used in a film. Some of which were: Score, sound effects, dialogue, atmosphere, and last Foley. All these elements of sound come under the term sound design. Foley has always fascinated me and I would love to know more about how it works. However, a very important detail in the class was pointed out, the difference between Foley and sound effects. This at first was quite confusing but our lecture explained it well. Foley is performed for a picture in detail with the actor’s action. Whereas a sound effect can be anything from a car to a machine. Foley and sound are the ability to shift one’s attention subconsciously.

As the lecture preceded we were shown a bunch of films and how sound played an important role in them. We analysed sound in the film and the reason it was chosen. I was introduced to a new term called Futz which means a sound that sounds like it is coming from another device, i.e. phone, headset, etc. In conclusion, sound design has a real power to change or/and present a feeling in a film.

Later that afternoon I had a workshop with Zoe where I was introduced to the Pro tool. It was kind of confusing but Zoe explained it so well that I am really excited to experiment and learn the software.  

[abeemovie]

Film Narrative 2 (GROUP UPDATE BLOG POST)

Idea:

The idea takes place in an AA meeting between 2 characters: Cameron (early 20’s) and Fergus (50s-60s). Cameron, a wealthy, reckless man turns up to an AA meeting late and sits beside Fergus, a quiet ex-con. Cameron makes conversation to Fergus quietly while the AA meeting leader speaks in the background. Fergus generally keeps silent and gives him a heavy side-eye. The meeting finishes shortly after and as Cameron puts away his chair Fergus approaches him. He confronts him about how he knows Cameron gave him a fake number (as the two are sponsors who had to exchange numbers to stay in contact). Cameron takes his jokingly and Fergus interrogates him about why he isn’t taking the meeting seriously. By the end of a conversation its clear Cameron see’s Fergus as a parental figure and gains respect for him as a person. They go from basically strangers to having mutual respect and understanding of their characters.

We were possibly thinking of developing the idea to take place outside the AA meeting with Fergus smoking a cigarette in front of an “AA meeting this way” sign. Cameron walks out the meeting after him with a flask and Fergus confronts him with the same conflict as the previous idea.

Roles for the group:

Cayla Ferguson – Director

Kushal Dhingra – DoP

Alana Robertson – Sound production/Editing

Abbie George – Screenwriter

Sophie Brownlow – Producer/Script supervisor

Pre-vis:

We gathered inspiration from watching AA meetings in different movies to help establish the content we want to create while also the style we want to shoot in. The scene has a lot of different tones we could go for. As screenwriter my plan is to start the first draft of the script very quickly so we can decide where we eventually want to take the film tone-wise.

Here’s some links to some of inspiration we’ve looked at so far:

- https://youtu.be/OyO3Kmx-bEk

- https://youtu.be/7fm5BARTjiY

- https://youtu.be/7ooDX1NOzEM

Location:

For location, we originally planned for the Chapel but upon reflection of sound quality and how many groups seem to be using it, we decided to steer clear of it and go for a classroom in Craiglockhart instead. Since many AA meetings take place is community halls etc. we feel this would be a good fit for the vibe. If we decide to set the scene outside, we will need to scout out a location, which we plan to do next time we are on campus.

The group have had a few online and in-person meetings so far to which we all agree we are entirely happy with. Everyone has contributed well, and we all feel the dynamic works well and is one we are very comfortable with.

Pre-production:

We have also started to plan out our pre-production materials and who will be doing what: - The logline & synopsis (Abbie) - Moodboard(s) (Kushal) - marked up copy of the script (Alana, Cayla) - shot list (Kushal, Cayla) - story board / lighting plan (Sophie, Kushal)

[alanarobertsonfilm]

After seeing the new submission, we decided it would be smart to have a quick meeting to finalise our ideas. Our group morale is very good and we are all willing to work hard to create a strong project! I am excited to try out sound and editing - I have always been nervous of editing so would like to build confidence over the semester😁

[kdfilmblog]

FILM NARRATIVE 2 (Character Flaws)

In week 2 of the lecture, we first focused on the character flaws and how they can impact your story and the character you build. This was a very interesting topic as I for one lack in scriptwriting and building characters. This method of recognizing or coming up with a character flaw is a very helpful tool. This gives you a chance to explore your character and give them the necessary backstory for your script. However, we learned that having too many flaws or a huge amount of backstory will negatively affect your story and will be very difficult to convey to the audience.

One term which I found very interesting was “Mary Sue”. This term is a fictional character who is portrayed unrealistically without any flaws. This tends to make the story very simple as the character’s life is without a goal. Flaws tend to make a character’s life more complicated and interesting. A male character with these traits will be labelled as Gary Stu or Marty Stu.

During the lecture, we were also suggested to make a biography of the characters in our upcoming fiction project. This helps us to follow the characters’ journey and it gives the writer an opportunity to explore all possibilities.

Later that afternoon we had our second lecture which was “Script to shoot”. In this lecture, we discussed several terms such as treatments, style, tone, framing, etc. This lecture was based on the pre-planning of the shoot and giving a direction to your script. We focused on how important it is to give a different treatment to your story according to the genre and your style of shooting. The visual approach you chose will require background research and intense pre-planning. This includes:

·       Finding stills and reference material to build a look book or treatment to create and develop a style and tone

·       Framing and breaking down the narrative beat to give yourself options to edit

·       A shot list and marked up scripts

·       A script breakdown

·       Storyboards

·       Treatments

TASK

We were given a script for which we had to make a shot list, a script breakdown, and a storyboard. This activity was such an eye-opener as I had no idea how extensively we can mark a script and show so much detail in so little. (I also realized that I am not a good storyboard artist) In the script, we had to mark and make a shot list. Here I used 4 shots which were, a wide shot, POV, Medium close up, and a close-up. This was a really helpful task to gain the importance and method and marking up scripts.

[kdfilmblog]

FILM NARRATIVE 2 (short film ideas)

We as a group had a brainstorming session where we though of many ideas and concepts we could work on! However, we came up with two solid ideas. ⬇️⬇️

[kdfilmblog]

Represent the Real (week 1 exercise)

    Portrait of GA (Margaret Tait) This documentary film is based on the directors’ mother ‘Ga’. This film represents the daily actions and movement of the elderly woman where she engages in activities like walking in nature, reading, smoking, sipping on her hot beverage, etc. I felt that the character had a cheerful and sophisticated attitude. According to me, there was not much space for research in the film as the director was the characters’ daughter but yes I think the director did engage with some amount of research. As mentioned, the character had a clear relation with the filmmaker, she was her daughter. In the film, I personally felt that the director Margaret focused on the nature aspect quite subtly and I presume the city was another character in the film who closely related to ‘Ga’ and her upbringing. I very much enjoyed this film but if I had to make any changes I would want a bit more information or dialogue telling me more about ‘Ga’.  

     Pigeon Seduction (Lisa Peterson and Nicky Spears) This documentary film is about a pigeon collector based in Edinburgh who as a hobby and passion collects pigeons. The film follows the man through his daily journey and life as a pigeon collector. I think the topic chosen is extremely interesting and unique but I got confused if the film was about the pigeon collector or the overall “Pigeon Game”. There was a good amount of research required for this film and is quite visible. It was well presented through formatted questions and choosing locations. The film had a questioner with the subject who asked the necessary questions and followed him on the journey. The film was quite unique and fun to watch however I as an international student would have added subtitles to the film because the film was very difficult to follow due to the thick accent of the main character

     Same but Different (Louis Leitch) This film is about two long-term friends and how their relationship progresses when one of them has transitioned from male to female. The two of them share a long history of traveling with each other. I think it was quite an interesting approach for this topic. The maker of this film managed to showcase a broad topic through a simple relationship. The character showcased her daily struggles and how her choice has affected her relationship with others. I think the film does have a clear focus and stays on its topic. Through research, we get to know that the maker of this film wife of a character. I personally had a few issues with the film which was the film focused more on the friend Neil who’s friends Byron transitioned to a woman. Another was when Neil was referring to Byron still as “he” and the director failed to correct that. The story should have been more about Bryon than of Neil.

     Lester (Luke Fowler)

This documentary film was shot in a flat and as the description suggests the film is about several series of portraits of four diverse individuals brought together a shared residence. I would say that the character and their personality were portrayed through their flat. I really enjoyed the music of this very film and how the cuts were connected to the music. Personally, I could not connect to this film and I don’t think it had a clear focus. It was quite visually striking and I suggest that the filmmaker had a connection with the house and used its potential to convey the character. I would have wanted some context to the film to connect better with it.