michaelagaleski - Tumblr blog

[michaelagaleski]

Film #3: Self Critique

This experience of writing and directing a narrative film all on my own was very new to me. While I was technically the director of my Avant Garde and Documentary films earlier this semester, this is the first time that I worked with a trained cast and crew. When making my documentary, I didn’t have to do much actual directing, as the process was more about capturing what was naturally occurring around me rather than creating stories from scratch. I was so lucky to have an incredible DP, Haley Salcido-Gronski, on board -- along with her roommate and AC, Syd Galvan. Additionally, I was able to have two experienced actors, Quinn DeVries and Rory Dahl -- who are actually my residents! (I’m an RA). Since they both know me and live in the same hall as me, communication went much more smoothly than it could have. I am so grateful to have these four on board, and I was very lucky that they agreed to work with me, especially given the time constraints. Writing out my film treatment and creating a shot list took a lot of time and effort -- especially as I had never written out a shot list before. There is so much that goes into each shot that most people with no background in film don’t stop to consider (angle, camera movement, equipment used, etc). I had to think like a director from the early stages of concepting, always considering how feasible each shot and scene would be given the resources that I have at my disposal. While meticulously creating the shot list was a lot of work, it saved me so much time and stress once I got to actually shooting the film. It was nice to always have something concrete to refer back to while in the midst of shooting.

One of the things I enjoyed most in the making of this film was actually creating the look book. I am a Studio Arts minor and have always really enjoyed visual aesthetics -- colors, fonts, style, etc., so this was fun for me. I didn’t know what a look book was before this class, but I now understand the importance of a look book in determining the look and feel of a film. It was cool to be able to visualize how my film will look prior to actually shooting it, and it made me excited for the next steps in the process. I think that making look books is something that I can see myself doing in the future.

I think one of my greatest challenges in this whole process was figuring out the wardrobe of Quinn and Rory. So much of my film is centered on the character’s attire (as the central concept is about Rory copying Quinn’s outfits), so solidifying the outfits was especially important. As I didn’t have duplicates of three different outfits, I originally thought I would buy matching outfits and then return them upon shooting. However, this was getting complicated and expensive (especially so because I don’t have a car), so I considered my alternatives. I thought of the possibility of shooting the film so that only one of the actors would appear on screen at a time (cutting back and forth between them), so that they could share the same outfit. My DP said we could do this, but suggested that we could include some over-the-shoulder shots to show the spacial relationship between the two characters. This cut down the amount of duplicate clothing pieces and accessories that I had to find to make the film work. Finding matching shoes and the upper part of outfits was still a great challenge, but I was able to borrow a few key pieces from others to supplement my own clothes (which I used for most of the outfits). I actually borrowed one jacket from someone a few minutes before we had to shoot a scene with it, but everything turned out okay in the end!

Actually directing this film during production was the part of creating this film that was the furthest outside my comfort zone and experience level. It was intimidating to have the responsibility of coordinating and directing people that I felt had much more experience than I did. While I knew my concept, shots, and vision well, I still felt like I lacked confidence when it came to actually shooting, since I have no experience in this area. I initially didn’t even know how to call “action” at the beginning of shooting! I found myself relying a lot on my DP for decision-making, but as shooting progressed, I definitely noticed that I gained more confidence in my abilities. I began directing my cast and crew more, rather than simply accepting all of my DP’s decisions. However, I’m really glad that I had the DP that I did for my first time directing. Haley understood that I needed much more guidance that the typical director, but she also always listened to me, asked for my opinion, and received my approval before making any decision. It was a great middle-ground relationship.

Editing my footage actually took a lot less time than I expected. Unlike my documentary, in which I basically created the story for the first time in the editing room, I already knew the general order of shots before sitting down to edit this narrative film. Taking the time to create a comprehensive shot list and treatment really came in handy for me at this point in the process. I think what took the most time in editing was creating the soundtrack rather than the visuals. Sound was not something that I had previously thought about, so all my decisions regarding sound were new, and I had to try out a lot of music tracks and sound effects before deciding what works best. I always forget how much of a role sound plays in films, but sound almost plays just as important a role in the film experience than visuals do. 

Overall, I’m happy with the outcome of my film -- and I think others I have shown it to have enjoyed it as well. I feel like I learned so much through this process. Even if I don’t end up going into the film industry after graduation, I think that the skills I learned through directing will aid me in all parts of my life/professional career in the future. 

[michaelagaleski]

Film #2: Self Critique

Aside from the short Avant Garde film on myself that I created earlier this semester, this short documentary was the first time that I directed and shot a film on my own — and it was the very first time that I worked with another subject. I had to create the documentary from pre to post production, playing the role of director, cinematographer, and editor. As I am a Documentary Production minor, I’ll have to go through this same process - but on a much larger scale - when I make my documentary while abroad in Bonn, Germany. Making a short documentary on campus gave me a sneak peak into the structure, struggles, and joys of creating a documentary as a whole.

As I don’t have a camera or any camera equipment of my own, I was thankfully able to borrow a camera, hand-held stabilizer, gimbal, and recording equipment from another student in my PROD 300 class, Byron. Byron was kind enough to give me a brief lesson on how his camera and camera equipment work before filming, allowing me to gain at least some familiarity with the equipment before filming day. Even so, I lacked a base-level knowledge of the mechanicals of a camera (as I am not a film major), so I was not feeling confident in my abilities to effectively operate the camera at the start of production. Byron was kind enough to come with me to the first day of filming (of a Zumba class) to act as a second camera operator. Once I was able to watch Byron in action, operating the camera for the first segment of the Zumba class, I felt confident enough to film on my own. The experience was truly trial-through-error, but I felt like I experienced a significant learning curve through the process. Sometimes the best way to learn something is to just jump into it and try it out. 

To make this film, titled “FAYAD,” I had three days of filming: one day of filming a Zumba class, one day filming a hip-hop class, and one day interviewing the instructor/my subject, Fayad, and shooting some B-roll of her on her own. Every shoot day, I gained more confidence in myself and my abilities. I became more and more capable of changing camera settings to suit my shots, and I became more comfortable with creating interesting camera movements/framing to help tell my story. I still have so much to learn about the mechanics of operating a camera, but I think that shooting this short doc was a very beneficial introduction to the craft.

Through the process, I learned how unpredictable and spontaneous filming a documentary can be. I had created a rough shot list before filming both the Zumba and hip-hop classes, but I found that once I met up with my subject and the classes began, everything happened much quicker than I had anticipated. Rather than relying on planning ahead, I had fo learn to react more to the occurrences around me, documenting events as they were unfolding in the moment. This often meant compromising “the perfect shot,” as elements like lighting, framing, and sound could not always be exact. But this is the nature of creating a documentary! I had to teach myself to throw my sense of perfection out the window— instead, telling the authentic story of my subject was my central goal in this project. 

Most of my filming style in this documentary was observational, but I did have to do some directing of my subject — primarily on the shots of Fayad as she enters Burns Rec and gets set up to teach her classes. Directing was another entirely new experience for me, and I found that while I often lacked confidence myself, I had to make strong decisions and give off a certain air of confidence as a director in order for my subject to feel comfortable as well. Making decisions without second-guessing myself is something that I always struggle with, so this experience was a really healthy exercise for me. I’m sure it it something that will come more naturally with time.

Another struggle for me was capturing audio. I spent so much time and energy worrying about capturing visuals that audio often took a back seat. I had intended to record the ambient noises of both full classes on my iPhone, but I forgot to press record on my phone until about halfway through the Zumba class. I also used a microphone one day (and not the other), which definitely made a difference in the quality of audio. Additionally, the sound levels in the Zumba and hip-hop classes were very high, which made it more difficult to capture audio clearly and effectively. The microphone had to be turned to a certain setting to achieve quality audio, so this is something that I had to learn as I recorded. Finding a quiet place to interview Fayad was also a challenge. 

I took a lot of shots in the Zumba and hip-hop classes and conducted a pretty lengthy interview with Fayad, leaving me with a vast amount of footage/audio to sort through in post-production. Sorting through this raw footage to tell a complete story that’s also authentic to my subject was definitely a  struggle. I underestimated the amount of time that it would take to to this. While I have some editing experience, I work much more with video than audio. In editing this documentary, I had to spend about as much time (or more) on audio as I did with video. Cutting and splicing Fayad’s interview responses to form a succinct and coherent voiceover - that also aligned with the visuals and honored her story and spirit - was a feat. On top of that, I had to strategically layer both ambient sounds and music to create a soundtrack that was effective without being overpowering. This was one of my most significant struggles, but I think I did a fairly effective job at telling an impactful story — audibly as well as visually. 

Overall, creating this documentary was such a fun and rewarding experience! It was a lot of work (especially upon post production), but it was absolutely worth it. I was lucky enough to have such a lovely and vibrant subject, which automatically made my content interesting. I was able to learn how to work in tandem with both my subject and filming partner to capture visuals and audio in the moment in order to create a compelling piece. The entire process gave me so much respect for documentary creators. When watching a documentary, I usually never fully realize the extent of what goes on behind the screen, but this experience gave me a small peek into that world. :)