I think on day one Robin asked the class whose had some filmmaking/media making experience and everyone raised there hand, except me, I had mine kind of half raised and said something like ‘none, apart from Media 1’. Prior to doing this semester I had no clue how to edit, I had no idea how lighting worked (and the insane amount of creative possibilities it allows for), I had no clue what exposure meant, I only had a rough idea of what focus was and I hadn’t attempted to shoot any drama and the only framing I had done was when taking photo’s or conducting very short interviews in Media 1.

And though I may not be the most technically competent student, all these essential media making abilities that I knew nothing of at the start of the semester I was regularly using and manipulating in order to communicate ideas and stories I felt passionately about. If anyone told me at the start of semester that by the end of it I would enjoy using premiere pro and would be able to easily cut, transition and colour correct on it I would of told him he’s dreaming. If someone told me I would able to operate the Ex-3,record sound with a microphone on a boom pole, manipulate lighting and really explore and critique my own framing choices, I would have said the exact same thing.

So to cut to the chase, I learnt a heck of a lot. Thanks to Robin and everyone involved in the class for all the laughs and for teaching me so much, Can’t wait to see you all semester!

Thankyou and Goodbye! (for now)

I think the approach in terms of shooting my film was a fairly conventional one, I wrote a script and shot it word for word. At the time I thought it was the best way to go about approaching my idea, especially because I wanted to shoot a narrative. Because the focus for my film was getting smaller as I worked on it, at the start it was ‘a western’ at the end it was ‘exploring loneliness within a contemporary outback in environment’ it was hard to know exactly how to approach my narrowing idea, however now in retrospect I think I would have approached my idea in a similar to how Mitch approached his idea- by creating a series of vignettes, some drama, some documentary* style that all examine in different ways my central idea. This approach is pragmatic because it  would have granted me an opportunity to shoot drama, as well as doing interviews combined with more abstract, experimental footage that would concern itself with setting and the idea of place. If I was to say shoot 1-2 minutes (or potentially more) every week for say 3-4 weeks it would have given me additional structure and more footage to work with in regards to the last 6 weeks of class.  However, retrospect is a lovely thing, and I know at the time I really wanted to shoot just one longer piece of drama, which I ultimately did.

*I had this idea of interviewing farmers who live on wide open spaces, and then asking people who live in the city similar questions. I would then, in editing, juxtapose, compare and contrast there answers.

Now when watching my footage, and I know that in a previous blog post I praised this, but I think the pace of the drama is far to slow and at times feels awkward, boring and uninteresting-there are moments that worked really well and exceeded my expectations, but in saying that there are other moments when the piece falls flat. I feel as though if I had focused on a smaller section of the script and covered it with more shots that I could cut between I would have been able to make a quicker, more focused piece that would still retain the interesting moments that have been created in the film I’ve already shot (for example Man 2 narrating her feelings, the final ‘unable to drive a car’ line would still be included).

This is the final edit of my footage which differs from ‘1st edit’ due to me implementing additional sound into the film. The first piece of sound I added was a clip converted from Youtube titled ‘The Best of 1950’s and 60’s Australian Radio’, this was added in at ‘1 minute 40’ and was a sound clip that originally ran as the intro that prepared and warned listeners for the news. The reason I chose this particular exert was because it added to the ambiguous feel of that particular moment, the motives and the personality of the character on screen is being kept and hidden from the audience and I wanted my soundtrack to convey that ambiguity and a sense of unknown, instead of revealing anything about my character. Secondly, I found that the bit in the audio clip where a very eerie, alien sound rises to an almost inaudible pitch was well timed with the point where Man 2 looks towards the heavens and then back down as her eyes scout around the environment-for a split second it looks as though she is looking for the sound that is coming from the radio, she is looking into the distance and to the sky trying to find the sound coming from its source, as if she wants to see the sound fly and travel.

My next use of sound, this time it was non-diegetic, was again another exert from the radio clip that spawned from an advertisement for a radio show about a ‘quiet stranger’, this sound clip had a suspenseful, archetypal western music score which complemented my setting and set up the tropes I was subverting, the voice in the sound clip I used purposely to comment on the character and suggest comparisons to this unknown, inscrutable ‘quiet stranger’.

My third use of sound, once again non-diegetic was a jingle from an ice-cream advertisement. Apart from using it in the credits and once or twice under the dialogue in my clip, it was most notably used in a section towards the end where Man 2 said ‘Why did you kill that farmer’-though this line was purposefully lost under the music. The reason I made this choice was because I regretted the line, I wanted both the characters to be relatively ‘normal’ people, not mass murderers or criminals, secondly I didn’t want the conflict between the two to be based off any event-I wanted the conflict to be a reaction spawning from there own feelings of frustration and alienation. Thirdly, it adds to the ambiguity of the film, I like the idea of bringing the audience into the action, intimately through narration, and then dragging them away from it and leaving them in the dark at a supposed crucial time in the narrative.

I thought the use of the jingle was also quite interesting because it sounded so fake and fabricated-like the blue plate, Purple Shirt and the orange on colour corrector turned up it adds to the non-natural, slightly ‘off’ feel of the piece. The fact that the song is so fabricated and contrived again is another symbol for both characters (and in some moments the viewers) being far from the truth, everyone is continual being presented only a version of ‘the thing’, the glossy outside layer, rather than ‘the thing’ itself.

*Note: A better upload of this film is on my google drive titled ‘Film for Exhibition’.

Before I shot my film I did some rough sketches on how I wanted to cover the scene. I found this preparation quite useful- by drawing these images and being able to  visualise roughly where the two characters would be in the frame (for certain key moments )I was able to get a feel for how my scene would be presented, more importantly it made me prepared for how I would shoot the scene later in the week.

The idea of place and how it impacts on character has always interested me, an explicit example I can think of in regards to this can be found in the works of  Western Australian writer Tim Winton. Winton shapes his characters around the places in which they were brought up and raised. The legends and myths that have (and continue to) spawn from these places are channelled within his characters, reflected and revealed in their fears, desires and beliefs. In my project  I intended to follow in a similar path to Winton by exploring loneliness and subsequently the inability to communicate ones true feelings through the use of two characters- both of whom are lost within a sparse, open and alienating environment.

Initially when conceiving an idea for this project I wanted to create a more conventional Western scene consisting of two hard bitten men in the outback discussing life and the land. However, as I wrote and thought progressively more about what the final product would look like I realised that sticking to the well worn tropes of this genre would only make my piece bland and uninteresting, instead I decided to subvert the tropes by casting female and male leads and by writing ambiguous, less secure characters who instead of feeling at one with the environment, feel isolated by it-completely at the mercy of the harsh, quintessentially Australian land.

In regards to approach I shot a finished script word for word because I was interested in seeing how the pace and the rhythm of the script translated from page to screen. Potentially due to the economic coverage of the script (there are just two shots in 4 minutes of my film) and the actors performances (occasionally the rhythm and pace that was initially written in the dialogue wasn’t quite there) the film on whole had a slow and stagnant pace, though this came about unintentionally (especially in regards to my actors performances) it agreed with and enhanced the pessimistic, futile tone of the script.

Another turning point in my investigation of loneliness and its relationship to land occurred after a class in which we explored the use of narration. I altered a line that was initially a turning point in the two characters relationship. One character (man 2) was initially supposed to reveal her true self, by expressing her inner most thoughts and feelings to the Man 1. I then thought it would be much more tragic and meaningful if Man 2’s communication and  lust to tell the truth was trapped within the confines of her mind. Through the use of narration (her most meaningful line is narrated over film of her sitting on her lonesome) only the viewer would understand the true tragedy-that this character has the emotional capacity and articulation to reveal herself, but innately cant, the environment in which she has lived wont allow her too.

Lastly, this project has been useful not solely because it has got me to think outside the box in regards to approaching specific ideas with relevant and varied different methodologies subjective to the idea, but, by filming with the Sony EX-3, recording Sound with a Zoom Microphone on a boom pole (with assistance from a class mate) and editing on Adobe Premier for the first time (In Media 1 I struggled on Windows Movie Maker) I was able to improve my technical media making abilities out of sight, doing justice to the idea.

By Brydan.

In this still of Michael Keaton and Edward Norton acting in ‘Birdman’ the key light comes from the lamp shining over the top of (but slightly behind) Edward Norton’s head. Top Lighting traditionally creates a glamorous, flattering image and this still is no exception. Also used in this image is a hard sidelight, which is often used to sculpt the characters features, this light appears to be coming from the front, towards the right side of the screen-this light however appears to be a bit spotty because you can see it shine off Edward Nortons temple, this obvious yet slightly obtrusive use of lighting adds to the stylised nature of Birdman as a film, though the cinematography is brilliant it doesn’t lend itself to realism, every image that could be taken from the film looks exactly like a still from a film- nothing else. In contrast to this is Richard Linklaters ‘Before Sunset’ which uses natural lighting for the most part, however there is no doubt equipment (or even boards-though in Hollywood they may use fancier things) was used to eliminate hard shadows that would have spawned from the (10-12) 30-40 degree days in which they shot the film on. Linklater used natural lighting to emphasise realism, the two characters in the film are both ‘underacted’, regular people, his film is set in real time and has many long shots-natural lighting naturally complemented his other stylistic choices.

Anyway back to this image, on the side of Michael Keaton’s face a smaller fill light is subtly used, this is designed to soften the shadows on his face in order for the audience to see some amount of detail- this accentuates the image.The reason Innaritu accentuated it is because the scene is an intense, pivotal moment between the two characters within the context of the film, its not only showing the conflict between two key characters, but its highlighting major flaws in Norton’s character (Mike) showing how controlling and obsessive he can be.

The idea of place and how it impacts on character has always interested me, an explicit example I can think of in regards to this can be found in the works of  Western Australian writer Tim Winton. Winton shapes his characters around the places in which they were brought up and raised in. The legends and myths that have (and continue to) spawn from these places are channelled within his characters, reflected and revealed in their fears, desires and beliefs. In my project  I intended to follow in a similar path to Winton by exploring loneliness and subsequently the inability to communicate ones true feelings through the use of two characters- both of whom are lost within a sparse, open and alienating environment.

Initially when conceiving an idea for this project I wanted to create a more conventional Western scene consisting of two hard bitten men in the outback discussing life and the land. However, as I wrote and thought progressively more about what the final product would look like I realised that sticking to the well worn tropes of this genre would only make my piece bland and uninteresting, instead I decided to subvert the tropes by casting female and male leads and by writing ambiguous, less secure characters who instead of feeling at one with the environment, feel isolated by it-completely at the mercy of the harsh, quintessentially Australian land.

In regards to approach I shot a finished script word for word because I was interested in seeing how the pace and the rhythm of the script translated from page to screen. Potentially due to the economic coverage of the script (there are just two shots in 4 minutes of my film) and the actors performances (occasionally the rhythm and pace that was initially written in the dialogue wasn’t quite there) the film on whole had a slow and stagnant pace, though this came about unintentionally (especially in regards to my actors performances) it agreed with and enhanced the pessimistic, futile tone of the script.

Another turning point in my investigation of loneliness and its relationship to land occurred after a class in which we explored the use of narration. I altered a line that was initially a turning point in the two characters relationship. One character (man 2) was initially supposed to reveal her true self, by expressing her inner most thoughts and feelings to the Man 1. I then thought it would be much more tragic and meaningful if Man 2’s communication and  lust to tell the truth was trapped within the confines of her mind. Through the use of narration (her most meaningful line is narrated over film of her sitting on her lonesome) only the viewer would understand the true tragedy-that this character has the emotional capacity and articulation to reveal herself, but innately cant, the environment in which she has lived wont allow her too.

Lastly, this project has been useful not solely because it has got me to think outside the box in regards to approaching specific ideas with relevant and varied different methodologies subjective to the idea, but, by filming with the Sony EX-3, recording Sound with a Zoom Microphone on a boom pole (with assistance from a class mate) and editing on Adobe Premier for the first time (In Media 1 I struggled on Windows Movie Maker) I was able to improve my technical media making abilities out of sight, doing justice to the idea.

By Brydan.  

Before I shot my final footage I filmed around the location I planned to shoot the film. The key things I was looking out for was Lighting (specifically the direction the sun and how it would create shadows, I wanted to know which direction to shoot so the faces of my actors wouldn’t be in a shadow). I also intended in finding a practical, pragmatic space in which the actors could move around (though the whole of the site was safe, I wanted too find the ideal space- far enough from the footpath so that bikes and runners wouldn’t wreck the sound of the film, but also close enough so that the walk from our cars to the space wasn’t 10-15 minutes). When compiling the footage I thought the best way too discuss and to show what I had done would be to narrate over a montage of the footage I collected.

So here it is.

After a tutorial with Paul- who gave us some editing hints some of which were in regards to colour grading, I went back to my project and tried to enhance my footage a little bit. Because I shot in a very green, natural area I thought I would be doing my image justice by dragging the toggle on the three way colour corrector, towards the green-emphasising the predominant colour on my image. This gave me a very melancholic, mellow look, the brightness of the image was de-emphasised and overall the picture, though still quite visible became darker-it had a very twilight/dusk feel (though it was shot slightly before dusk). When speaking to Robin about my colour grading I showed an image in which my two actors were present and on the shadow-on the sides of their faces there was a slight greeny/mouldy grey tinge, which I initially didn’t pick up on, however Robin noticed and as soon as he pointed it out I couldn’t un-see it. Robin then suggested that I give it a more orange tinge, because it gives the image a similar melancholic effect without creating any nasty colours on the actors faces. This tone I really liked-it gave the picture a classic Australian Cinema feel which did justice to the environment that’s captured in the film. The Orange also ‘heated up’ the image a little bit and made it look a little bit more stylised and unnatural, which stylistically complemented my film (for example my use of obtrusive blue plates, random axes, purple shirts) amidst a traditional bush setting. The Orange in the image also made the setting look physically warmer, more uncomfortable-which can help to explain as to why the characters look and appear in so much discomfort.

Notes From Pauls Presentation

– Its important to set up your own filing system, make sure you create bins and folders for each days shoot. (This is something I need to do next semester-and I’m not just saying that! My filing system was a mess and it caused issues when trying to figure where my most recent edit was (I kept saving ambiguously named copies after each editing session), so next time I am going to save myself time and be organised.

– When I edit I should make particular sequences and label each one. It is also important to go through and watch each shot and label it.

– Order of editing. Assemble=shots into a sequence, you start cutting. Rough Cut=Order/When too cut and final cut=minor adjustments, colour grading and audio.

-By expanding each track you gain access to the rise and fade lines. P for Pen and V (arrow) to put in a key frame and lower it between the two key frames. What happens between the two points is what you hear, fade out by dragging down and increase by dragging up.

– Dialogue should peak at -6db.

-You can raise the level of every clip by adjusting the master audio track.

– If you fix an annoying hiss on one clip, paste the audio attribute over all the others.

– With the Luma Corrector you can effect the brightness.

– With contrast you are are effecting white levels.

– Work with brightness levels first, then contrast, then the 3 way colour corrector.

This image here is of the colour wheel that Paul spoke about, the question he posed was How too make a white shirt yellow? The answer was that you would drag the blues to the yellow section. This demonstrated that when you mix certain colours, you get the ‘middle’, the ‘in-between’ colour (for example when you mix blue and green, you end up with Cyan, because it is in-between the two on the colour wheel)