Forming a group & watching previous degree films for inspiration

In this weeks workshop we formed our groups and established our roles within the group.

I am working with Daniel Wardle and Abigail Austin. We have assigned each other the following official roles:

Dan: Director of Photography 

Abi: Producer

Louise: Director


We will be taking on secondary roles too, such as camera sound & editing etc. but as it stands, these are our main roles.


Dan has had a lot of previous experience with camera work, and Abi has been a runner on a number of TV programmes, and has worked in production, so we felt that the aforementioned roles would suit them best. My interests lie in script writing and development, and thus I feel that my role as Director is also suitable. 


Today as a class we watched the following degree show films:

Aeron (2011)


Link: http://vimeo.com/63898509


We, as a group and as a class, agreed that this film is aesthetically and visually appealing. The sumptuousness of the cinematography reinforces the ideas of imagination, youth and innocence; themes which are prominent throughout. We also agreed that the range of shots and angles deployed were effective in depicting the location as magical and mysterious. The issues we felt that could have been addressed, in order to improve the film, were regarding narrative and acting. I personally felt that the mother of the child wasn't realistic or believable and seemed a bit stilted, and the young boy was also perhaps a little over the top at times. We agreed that the narrative could have been improved also, if the campfire scene with the travelers was perhaps more upbeat and enthusiastic, so as to create greater juxtaposition between their representations of "Bad People." and their true nature. As well as this we felt that some parts could have been ommitted as they tended to last for slightly longer than needed.  Overall, however I enjoyed this film as many parts seemed cinematic and the story line wasn't too over-complicated for a short film.


Boomerang (2011)



Link: http://vimeo.com/52623816

I really liked the style of this piece, not only in terms of aesthetics, but also in narrative. I particularly liked its simplicity in terms of narrative and dialogue; there wasn't necessarily a big conflict, yet it still maintained interest. The use of graphics and animation to illustrate the storyline and characters' personalities is particularly effective and gives it a quirky edge. However, we as a group felt that there were some inconsistencies in the narrative that made the viewing experience a little less enjoyable. For example, many people in the class didn't realise that the older boy was meant to be autistic, and so this made the friendship between the two characters seem unrealistic. When watching it the second time around however, and knowing now that the older boy has autism, specific parts seem to make more sense, however I feel that this could have been slightly more explicit in order for the audience to comprehend, without compromising the narrative. Also, we mutually agreed that the voiceover didn't really match the style of the piece. Our teacher suggested that perhaps it may have been better for the narrator in the film to have been the boy who was autistic, thanking his friend for helping him come out of his shell a bit more, which would also explain the awkwardness and succinctness of the dialogue and the situations which occur, by making the issue of Autism more obvious.


Borderland (2011)



Link: http://vimeo.com/24873481

This drama was enjoyable and I feel particularly that the actress playing the immigrant is one of the strongest aspects of the film. The camera angles and shots are effective in replicating what is usually found in the drama genre, and I was particularly impressed by the way tension was created through the use of non-naturalistic nightmare sequences. The locations looked believable and appropriate for the situation and I felt as if the majority of the script was well written. However, the ending did seem slightly cliched to me, and perhaps the representation of the way the journalistic industry operates is not fully accurate, and could have benefitted from some further research in the beginning stages. I was surprised to know that the locations were actually part of the University and thought that this was a particularly good use of resources, as it appeared truly realistic. Overall, I did really like this film, however I felt that perhaps it was an issue that would have worked better as a longer film.


Things that we can take from these short films:

We should/may like to...

• Write a simple, yet interesting script that does not come across as rushed.
• Use interesting and experimental camera angles/positions/movements in order to bring the story to life.
• Outline the visual style from the beginning and plan the aesthetics and post-production aspects prior to filming.
• If the script is largely character driven/dialogue heavy, then realise the importance of sourcing brilliant actors.
• Use locations that are realistic and can be accessed relatively easily.
• Use graphics and animations to highlight points and issues.