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https://vimeo.com/340454767

https://vimeo.com/340454837

Some of the prop works that I’ve done for parallel production

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May 17 Tracey

Today is the last day of directing specialism, we looked at the documentary clips from everyone. This is what I submitted.

Base on this idea I will make a longer documentary during the summer.

https://vimeo.com/340265970

p.s. ignore the title

Everyone loved it, eventhough it has no imagery, so far I have interviewed 2 people, doing these kind of interview are always really hard because I have to control my ego and let the interviewee be themselves. But I think I can really make something great here.

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May 16 Ian

Today was the worse day, I was directing the actors, under preparation, not enough time, bad communication. There are moments I just kind of lost it and couldn’t form a complete sentence. A disaster for my self-confidence. We edited and showed the clipped to everyone, had some great feedback from Ian and the actors. My excuse is that I am too busy working on parallel production, which is true, but part of it, is that I was too ambitious, and I am not saying that as a humble-brag, understanding what you are doing, how much time you have, and plan accordingly is what I got out of this experience, sometimes shot reverse shot is all you need.

Ruth did a great job in directing the performance.

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May 15 Sal

Today we talked about obligatory moments in films, what does it do to characters, to audience, how is it shown on screen, at what moment, what action? We watched and analysed Fish Tank, discussed the mise-en-scene. I really struggled with the idea of these turning points Sal is so obsessed about, I always think that there shouldn’t be these 1st 2nd turning points, is that it? Are films just distilled down to these simple 2 points? Although she always stresses about the reason that we talked about them because they are useful, not because they are necessary, I still can’t help but feel confused. But the more I think about it, the more I understand, after all, everything you see on films is just a 2D version of reality, these moment of realisation can ever be shown as images, and for us, filmmakers, to pinpoint these exactly moments is to put ourselves into these characters shoes, to feel it, and if we can’t feel the character then there is something missing.

I personally would have prefer Sal to use the term ‘obligatory moment’ instead of turning point, because turning implies ‘going back’ which is not what this is about, this is about pushing the narrative and the characterization ‘forward’, and points implied something systematic and robotic which is opposite of the subtlety and carefulness needed to portray these.

But I can confidently say, I get it now.

P.S. Ruth and I are chosen to direct the performance tomorrow, I am not prepared.

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May 10 Tracey

Today we focused on pitching our documentary ideas, everyone had very interesting things to pitch, one that stood out to me was Ruth’s idea, which was about the drinking culture here. Ruth’s idea came from her seeing her friends drinking in parties, she doesn’t drink herself and she is a Mormon, and she thinks that we do not need to drink to have fun, but it is seen as a necessity when you go out.

Tracey raised the question of religion, if she was not a Mormon would she still think the same way? She said yes, Ruth thinks that her religion has nothing to do with her choice of not drinking and her distaste with substances/ drugs. I find Ruth fascinating because of this, the power of religion was laid in front of me, how strongly and confidently she proclaims the independence of her choices, and believing what is ‘right’. Having never tried any alcohol or drugs, she still has this inherent disgust toward these ‘bad’ things, how can you say that you are correct when you never try to understand the other side? I suppose nobody can always be objective and completely empathetic all the time, or else you’ll be god, but shouldn’t we try, maybe not in life but just in documentary filmmaking? I think she is oblivious to her own upbringing and background, and lack the ability of self-reflection because her religion has got in the way, seeing her trying to make sense of her believes was a great exercise for myself as well, to restrain myself and to listen.

Moreover, what even are drugs? Is the coffee she was drinking drug? What about sugar? What wrong with seeking pleasure, if we are doing it responsibly? Does pleasure have to come after suffering in order for it to be ‘good’ pleasure? More questions for me to ponder.

The idea I pitched was about things we don’t talk about but think about all the time. A compilation of people’s story. It was a difficult idea to pitch because of how abstract it is, but I think I can make something great for next week.

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May 8 Ian

In this session we looked at the anatomy of a scene and we had to make floor plans, notes, camera plans for the next session 2 people will be chosen to direct actors with the plans. We can choose between 2 scripts, one is about family, another is a torture/interrogation scene, naturally I went for the torture scene. After this Ian will send out an email announcing the chosen directors.

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May 3 Tracey

Today, we revisited documentary genres, how to come up with documentary ideas, what factors we should consider before investing into a story. We will also be making a short documentary clip from an idea.

I like making documentaries, but it is always hard when try to portray someone real, because they are just so complex, and there is always a choice in choosing what to show and what not to.

I find it especially hard when I need to make short documentary about people, because of the time constrain, I can only put whatever is absolutely necessary, or the most dramatic incidents in it, but the thing about those are, they usually show people when they are emotionally unstable or in the most revealing moment. It is hard to put these moments in because the audience might miss understand their character, and I’m scare that I might misrepresent people. But it is always rewarding to make a good documentary that shows the reality of something accurately.

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May 1 Ian

Ian focused on performance, especially the eyes. We learned about terms like ‘donut’, which is the area around the lens, and how looking there creates a feeling of connectedness with the character for the audience, because they can see their eyes clearly. We also had an acting exercise where we have to form a group of 2 and film a short clip of us acting out a scenario.

We only have to submit one clip but me and Abi both played around with the acting. I was never good at showing emotion, so acting is really hard for me, but I tried my best.

This really makes me question myself, I think I understand different emotions, but if I can’t even show them how do I be a good director? There’re those moments where you should just ‘let it go’ but somehow, I always seem to miss those, which brings me great internal conflict, either in work or personal life. I really need to sort myself out.

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April 30 Sal

Sal showed us clips from films like Opening Night and Chinatown, we dissected these films shot by shot, we thought about how ideas are presented, why they are presented in the way it is, where’s the audience in relation to the elements on screen etc.

The sessions with Sal usually center around feelings, how does this or that make you feel, and from that feeling, she would encourage us to translate it into words and imagery.

Personally, I love this way of thinking, it really helps me to create great stuffs, characters, shots, story, dialogue… And whenever I’m in a struggle, I would just think about how does that feel, and from that, I can usually find the answer to my struggles.

Although sometimes I feel we might be looking too much into these shots, are these shots created with that intent? Or did that come intuitively from the filmmaker? All these meticulously planning elements are they just coincidence? If I have to answer these questions, I would say it’s a mixture of all of them, from my experience, I feel like there is always a degree of luck and probability involved: How well crews work together, if the location is good, the weather etc. But good preparation really helps to reduce the chance of things going wrong.

Edited on May 29

For example, Reading a Room, a film Abigail written and directed in parallel production, I was doing Art direction and BTS for the film, in the two days of filming, there were so many accidents, actor arriving late for 2 hours, uni doesn’t let us in until 11 AM even though we booked for 9 AM, under-preparation in lighting and camera department, a guy in motorcycle threaten to run over Pedro and the crew, Abi was also under immense stress, she was not in her best condition, resulting in some argument between her and other members, which lasted the entire duration of the shoot(2 days). If I have to be honest it was probably one of the worse shoot I’ve been in. But you know what, the film turned out absolutely amazing.

Although, things were so tough, I feel like everyone tried their best on set. And because of great performance and script, we were able to pull through.