Rory Berry

Reflective blog detailing my independent project.

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Evaluation

On the 16th of May I completed my film file and all my shoots, Since then I have been considering how I performed on this project. I feel I have done well to achieve everything in the tight schedule I set for myself to make all the dates I needed to. One of the most important elements was beating procrastination. Using my calendar to its full potential, I said to myself if its important enough to do it should be on there with time dedicated to it. I found this helped my work as scheduled time drives out unscheduled work. Instead saying “I have to do my designs” which is only an idea, a wish, I said “At 17:00 on friday I will start my designs”, that is a plan.

Sharing my good intentions on the blog helped keep me on track as I could read it and ask myself “have I done this” and judge myself into finding a way to complete the task at hand. 

I feel these things will help me in my chosen vocation as time is short in the film industry and so I have to fit into the field of my professional aspirations. Organisation was also important, I feel my film file for this project was significantly better than ones I had produced in the past through the use of labelling page dividers clearly. 

I used this project as an opportunity to network with the film course which has stretched my connections list bettering my chances of work in future on my pathway to becoming a film designer. This communication extends to the actors allowing them ti feel comfortable when they are unsure of anything. While on a team, be positive as negativity drags the whole team down and your doing more damage than good.

One thing I have learnt while on this project is not to expect things to go as planned, have back-ups. Ask around when a problem arises as someone may have something you do not. 

The final lesson I have learnt is that you will have moments of stress with more work than you can handle but these are balanced by the support of your assistant, luckily I am comfortable with delegating and trusting which allowed me to keep a reasonably cool head throughout the production.

Im excited for my next film, Its important to hang onto the excitement.

Bibliography

Berry, R. (2014). Lady and Lord. [online] Pinterest. Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/roryberry/lady-and-lord/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2014].

Berry, R. (2014). Set Considerations. [online] Pinterest. Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/roryberry/set-considerations/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2014].

Berry, R. (2014). Set Considerations External. [online] Pinterest. Available at: http://www.pinterest.com/roryberry/set-considerations-external/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2014].

Vermeer, J. (1670-1672). [online image]. Available from:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Jan_Vermeer_van_Delft_024.jpg[Accessed 16th  Apr 2014]

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Costume Plot Pro

Today I was shown costume plot pro, a programme I am familiar with already so it was just a refresher course. The software is used to collate information into documents which are easy to read. It makes the paper trail process run much smoother.

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Shoot - He Man

Today  I assisted designer Devon on the film HeMan, It was a slow day and the director wasn't easy to work with, he liked to control everything and didn't seem to trust anyone else to do their jobs. Micro-managment stunted delegation. As there weren't many costumes or changes for this piece there was a large amount of waiting around with very little work to be done on this piece.

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Shoot - Mob Mentality

Today has been challenging, my assistant poppy has been indisposed all day so I have had to bare the burden of all the work, for most of the day I was around an hour behind schedule however by 4pm I was back on track, Ive picked up my film kit and prepared for the shoot.

1700 - After Poppy joined me we transported the kit to the location and arranged a space to dress the actors

1900 - Cast begin to arrive

1915 - We begin dressing the rioters, having a wide range of track suits helped and having them arranged in size order allowed us to allocate clothes quickly, as clothes were allocated the continuity notes were written and images were taken upon completion of a costume.

2100 - All costumes completed (gloves to be given out later), first rehearsal begins

2200 - Full tech rehearsal

2300 - Gloves distributed to complete aesthetic and fight cold

0200 - wrap

0230 - heading home, reasonably tired however feeling accomplished. Crew says our work went well, only one actor complained as he was the last one to get dressed the choice was limited and his costume needed allot of pinning, we pinned his jacket shorted and his trousers longer, he had a tendency to be complimentary and flirtatious toward poppy however remained quiet with myself and later complained i was inappropriate with him, as he wasn’t an actor I put this down to inexperience on set and that he was upset over all of the clothes being to large on him meaning we spent a lot of time working on him. He never said he had any problems directly to me and constantly ignored the director. The main thing I have learnt from this experience is no matter how hard you try, some people will have a problem even if I am completely professional so I must ensure I never let this slide and don’t let it hinder my work when someone complains.

With one complaint in a cast of 19 who were not from the acting course and have little experience in acting I am quite proud of my accomplishments as part of a film crew.

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Weekly Reflection

The last week has been hectic, I have been up and down the country which has restricted me time to work on sourcing items for the film however I have used the time to do all the paperwork I needed to complete and have been liaising with my assistant Poppy, delegating any work I am not able to do while on the go. I need to remember that Im working in a team and as a team the work is shared to complete it all, when utilising this the work I can accomplish far outgrows that of working alone. Today is the shoot day I am looking forward to it.

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Assistant and planning.

Today I met up with Poppy to go through the costume store to establish a film kit and a range of costume items such as hats, gloves, shirts and tracksuit bottoms. This process went quite swiftly as we worked as a team to collect and record the items appropriate for the piece.

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Measuring and decisions

Today I have met the two main characters to collect their measurements for any of the items I will be sourcing for them. I have also made final arrangements to have the clothes collected on a rail before 15:00 on the 12th before the shoot. This will allow me to control what is being used avoiding bright colors and large logos. I have also arranged to search the costume store with my assistant Poppy tomorrow. With 15 characters it will take some of the pressure off.

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Weekly Reflection

This week I have been ahead of schedule however as we are nearing the shoot date I feel the work pressure will increase if I do not manage the work load well. Today I had a meeting with the film crew who were very understanding once I talked them through an issue we had been having regarding police uniforms and the legal requirements which would have cost implications out of my budget. I had spoken to them regarding this issue multiple times over text and email however it was only once I raised the point face to face that they begun to understand. This has helped me in my personal development as I have discovered that while Im present people take what Im saying more seriously which will be important to remember when I have any difficulties in employment.

The night before the meeting I produced a list of questions I needed to ask such as specific character numbers and answers to questions I thought may come up. This helped me get through the meeting quickly and showed me how being prepared and thinking a step ahead really does make work more effective and efficient.

Next week I will be meeting the actors to take measurements and also be collecting a batch of clothes for the production. I will keep detailed measurement sheets and item descriptions / receipts to help me stay organised.

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Today I have produced my first character design for the lead character of Mob Mentality - Justin. The film crew were thinking of a red shirt tied around his face however I know red is bad on screen so chose blue instead, I molded the characters clothing on garments a few years old to give a sense of 'lived in' clothing and to avoid the piece looking too artificial, I may have to try and find clothing of a similar style rather than the exact pieces but it is a good guide to what I'm looking for. I will begin to hunt for clothing once I have my character measurements, tomorrow's meeting should give me better understanding of the schedule.

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2nd Draft and more.

Today I received the 2nd draft of 'Mob Mentality'. With this I was able to produce my script and character breakdowns, I have a meeting with the team on friday where I will establish exact cast numbers to allow me to produce costume plots. 

I also received the call sheet for 'Mob mentality'.

With He-Man communication has been slow, as the designer Devon has also found. I chose to speak directly with the director to answer some key questions clearly such as "What year is the piece set in" as myself and the designer both felt it wasn't clear. We now know the piece is contemporary due to the challenges of creating an 80s feel. With this information I produced a script and character breakdown and gave copies to the designer. The costume store doesn't have great access to contemporary clothing so charity shops may be the way forward for this piece.

During today I also met with Sarah the 1st AD for La Passarella as I am the 2nd AD and we felt it was important to touch base, for me to see the set designs and for us to communicate our role within the process.

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Final design for theoretical film project "Entrapment" Inspired by Vermeer's Lady Standing at a Virginal. This is the main character LADY dream cast as Morena Baccarin.

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Today I have produced a series of designs which capture moments from within my theoretical film Entrapment, I chose specific scenes a great deal of motion in them. I am now going to move onto a final design for my main character LADY. 

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Updated work plan with more detail for part 2 of Painting for inspiration such as shoot days.

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Tutorial

Today I have spoken to Bunny with reference to my concerns over the riot police costumes, She also had concerned and thus has been in touch with the production manager. The solution is going to be more on the film departments side by shooting it in such a way we don't have to go into detail with it. A black jumper instead of a £90 hired uniform is the direction things are looking.

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Weekly Reflection

I feel this week has been productive, I have kept on top of my daily tasks as well as producing a series of extras to allow me to connect better with my work such as a storyboard. 

Next week I need to ensure a good dialogue between myself and the film crew to get all the information I need such as locations, times, casting et cetera. 

I have some initial concerns such as riot police uniforms which will prove difficult legally and financially on my small budget, I will have to create a solution with the film department.

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Bombed and Mother - Film Pitch Results

This mornings work went reasonably well, collaborating with the film team to allocate ourselves to paintings, I got my 1st choice to design for (Bombed) and my 2nd choice to assist on (Mother).

Bombed is being shot on the 12th which gives me a long time to prepare however there is a chance because of the long time the writers and production designers won't take it too seriously and I will have more trouble getting the info I need early enough, For our project we have established a group on Facebook so we are all able to keep in touch and I know every time something is going on. I shall maintain regular contact to avoid being overlooked within the project.

What I gathered was the majority of this piece is going to be the actors own clothes however I will have to find accessories such as gloves and balaclavas. Poppy will be assisting me on this piece.

Mother is being shot on the 14th. I am good friends with the designer on this project and hopefully will be able to have a good clear dialogue that will result in an efficient environment with a productive work ethic.

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Screenplay, Learning agreement and Pitches

Today I completed my screen play, handed in my learning agreement as well as attending film pitches.

I have never produced a screenplay before however feel I have mastered the format now and can produce a professional screenplay.

At the pitches there were allot of good ideas based on films however the three that stood out the most were based on the paintings :

Jack Smith - Mother Bathing Child. - He-Man

Clive Branson - Bombed Women and Searchlights. - London Riots

David Hockney - Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy. - Living Paintings

Most of all I would like to work on the London Riots piece as I feel it will be both challenging and fun to work on.