Film TV 2 Screening Reviews

Theanna

I certainly did not expect to feel as moved by ‘Theanna’ as I was, having assumed that I was somewhat familiar with the film’s format and subject matter before I watched it.  Tiana’s interaction with her grandmother and the careful way the film was translated leant it an intimacy which I felt set it apart from its counterparts. The subtle technical composition of the film was an appropriate vehicle for its storyline, but took a back seat to the narrative elements of the piece which was by no means a bad thing. All in all the film was brilliantly sensitive in its construction and presentation of Theanna’s character without coming across as trite.

Chinese Whispers 

Responding to a prompt as abstract and complex as the concept the film was based on must have been an enormous task, however it was executed so brilliantly in Chinese Whispers that the film was nothing but absolutely captivating. Every scene was shot really sensitively and competently and edited together in a manner which allowed it to explore and extend characters beyond that which I had thought could be achieved in a 7-minute slot. With this considered, my only criticism of the film’s construction would be that I would have liked to have seen a more reciprocal exchange depicted in the trailer presented (a format which I thought was ambitious but completely appropriate), while it was interesting to see Alan respond to the piece Jordan had created for him, it would have been interesting to see his approach to a role change (this might also have worked to contextualise Kelly’s character, beyond her appearance in the film’s opening sequence). Taking time constraints into account however, the film’s theme was really effectively communicated.

Althea

This film was absolutely hilarious, not only was it cleverly shot so as to highlight the bizarre juxtaposition between the elaborate costumes and personas adopted by its subjects and the local oval the event took place on, the style in which information was presented was really engaging. It is interesting that the group opted not to show Althea’s subjects out of costume, rather depicting a subtler contrast between their day-to-day and larping lives as they were shown breaking character at the end of the film. Similarly, I think the film’s themes were communicated really effectively through the footage the group presented without the need for titles, narration or interview cut-aways.

Tape For No Rape

I thought this was a particularly contentious and complex topic to take on for a short documentary film, one which would inevitably evoke a passionate response among many audience members. While I found the sentiments of the film to be commendable, I think they could have been enhanced had the more abstract elements of the piece been contextualised by less obtuse interview footage or consideration for the intersecting discourses surrounding the notion of ‘rape culture,’  without this I found certain elements of the film to be slightly disjointed, incomplete or unexplained, but powerful all the same.

 

Analysis and Reflection #5

My primary goal at the semester’s beginning was to increase my technical aptitude (I missed analysis and reflection 1 so have not recorded this), At many points in the production and post production stages of our film I have endeavored to expose myself to as many applied roles as possible, this was made somewhat inevitable as neither members of my partnership were particularly competant in this area. While indeed this semester has required me to try my hand at all aspects of the production process, this has been at the detriment of the overall aesthetic of our film, due to our limited understanding of equipment troubleshooting, it seemed as though our we were beset with a new disaster every time we tried to shoot! Putting this in perspective however, it is important to note that my ability has improved somewhat over the course of the semester making for an experience which has been continually rewarding.

Analysis and Reflection #5-colour grading exersize

10726435_742201462528406_360778694_n

-original image

10362626_742201372528415_2055152802_n

-input levels remain unchanged
-shadows pulled down slightly to blue-green in order to enrich and emphasize dominant tones in pallette
-mid-tones pulled slightly toward green in order to balance out patches of light bouncing off skin tone
-highlights pulled toward green in order to make pale patches of grass appear vibrant as opposed to washed out

10744971_742201542528398_2068857879_n– input/output levels balanced in order to create truer blacks and whites in palette
-shadows pulled from blue-green to green in order to maintain vibrancy and dynamism of palette while appearing truer to natural tones
– tonal range: blacks turned up, whites turned down
-contrast turned up to 10.0, brightness to -13.0 in order to create a richer sense of colour
-highlights on skin appear slightly unnatural or sickly in both graded shots, unsure how to correct

Analysis and reflection 4 question 3

The film establishes an off-kilter quirkiness which I found quite striking, right from its opening bout of sweeping, disjointed narration, the spoke piece, a poem of sorts seems to allude to quality in the selected footage which is both fundamentally absract and universally relatable. While indeed, no real sense of narrative or purpose is imposed on the film’s footage, the daily activities and interactions it depicts serves in some areas as a time capsule to the era and place the film was shot and in others as a reminder of the behavouiral commonality shared by humans across countries, generations and periods of time. It is interesting to note that the films rambling, at times erratic score seems to dictate the mood of the piece rather than the events depicted on screen, this was particularly notable to me when an old woman greeted a little girl in communion robes to a somewhat sinister score. While it bares little value with regard to the film’s analysis, I could not help but note Ravel’s fixation with a certain subject, a man handing out flyers on the street, seeing him incorporate various shots of the man into several sections of the film. As the film progresses, musical changes become increasingly rapid, changing shot by shot, I might note that the notion of a ‘shot’ as it is appearant in this particular sequence is significantly longer than that which i would associate with a high action scene, lingering static as it so often does in order to avoid disrupting a sense of verité which is established through Ravel’s voyeuristic shooting style and content selection.

Analysis and Reflection #4 Question 2

Find the keyboard shortcuts for Premiere (hint, film-tv blog) and note four or more functions that you’ve never used before and why they may be invaluable to your editing. (Different functions to what you wrote last semester)

‘Speed Duration’

Shortcut: ‘CMD+R’

It is inevitable, at some point  in the editing process that we will need to alter the speed or duration of our footage, whether this be tostylistic effect or to shape a clip to best suit an allotted time slot. Being able to employ a shortcut to call up the speed/duration menu will save a huge amount of time in this process as well as serving as a quick way to monitor the duration of each clip in our sequence.

 

‘Duplicate’

Shortcut: ‘CMD+A’

This shortcut will be valuable as it will allow us to extract sections of our edited film and trial advanced editing such as colour grading on separate sequences without risking damage or confusion to the footage we have cut, it will also allow group members to edit the film on their own, and separate their own edits from the main sequence. The ‘duplicate’ short-cut could also be used to stylistic effect, allowing us to copy and layer b-roll in the film.

 

‘Razor’

Shortcut: ‘C’

The razor tool, in particular its short-cut will be essential when working make precise edit maximising clean and easy cutting and splicing of footage, particularly with regard to interview seuquences in which it is imperative to capture audio accurately.

‘Record Audio’

Shortcut: ‘A’

I have largely included this shortcut because I was not aware that this feature of Premiere was so easily assessable, this will however prove useful if we choose to record supplementary sound effects or narration in the post-production process.

Film TV Analysis and Reflection 4 Question 1

Brionowski’s construction of a complex, multi-layered and symbolically loaded soundscape in the selected sequence of ‘Forbidden Lie$’ is an integral factor in the establishment of the contention she presents in the film. In the early sections of the sequence, Brionowski layers a trite musical track with several prominent sound effects– various chimes, the billowing of fabric being thrown into the air and an exaggerated ‘splat’ as Dahlia’s hijab hits the ground. The factors combine to cheesy effect comparable to 1960s sitcom soundscapes, it becomes evident that Brionowski is here alluding to the artifice of Kouri’s account and the stylistic flourishes slathered over the author’s telling of events to conceal it’s factual inaccuracies. As the scene reaches a dramatic crescendo, Brionowski dismantles Kouri’s account in a matter of seconds through the use of instantly decodable tape wipe and wind sweep effects and the clear voice of Rana Housseini. Indeed, it is essential to note that the effects Brionowski chooses to employ prove narratively and stylistically effective in this instance because both their source and meaning is instantly recognisable to audience members, for example, she subtly discredits everything Kouri says by layering her clear, studio-shot interview footage with a series of ‘chime’ and ‘rattlesnake’ effects, instantly synonymous with deception. Later in the sequence, the introduction of a rambling musical track with notable Middle Eastern influences simultaneously contextualises Brionowski’s travels in Jordan and gives the impression of a  wild goose chase along the series of factual discrepancies Kouri has included in her account of her friend’s murder.

Film ant TV 2, Analysis and Reflection 2, Question 2.

Perhaps most striking about Pawel Powlikowski’s piece on documentary cinema is the cynical accuracy with which he predicts the rise in popularity of reality television, it is bizare to note that documentary movements like cinema verité, once reverred as paragons of integrety in filmmaking, may now find their place in the lowest common denominator of popular television, being as they are, cost effective to produce and easy to engage with. Furthermore, is bares noting that Powlikowski firmly states that the purpose of documentary film as he sees it, is not to neatly catagorise or resolve subject matter but to disturb and intrigue audiences, displaying the paradoxes, ambiguities and conflicts which exist between situations and characters, it would indeed prove valuable to bear this in mind as the course progresses, as my natural tendency would be to attempt to shape the footage I have collected into a rigidly predetermined brief, ignoring all that which does not support the contention I had hoped to establish.

Film and Tv 2 Analysis and Reflection 2, question 1

An aspect of the documentary medium which has proven persistently fascinating to me has been the scope which is created within the genre to pluck individual stories and their unique eccentrities from a broader issue or contention. For me, ‘End of the Line’ serves as particularly poignant and effective example of such a notion. Indeed while the film’s creators make it clear in their treatment that they are working to juxtapose the desolate, isolated landscape of the film’s setting and the lonely lifestyle of its residents with the percieved tranquility and conviviality of small town life, it is the small vignettes which are created by the film’s interviewees which prove most notable. Indeed, getting the impression from the film’s treatment that the group entered the project with a somewhat evolved vision of the film’s findings proved quite frustrating to me, as I was left to wonder what other quirks and anecdotes the film’s cast might have come up with had some kind of overarching contention not been imposed. From a pragmatic point of view, it makes sense to shoot footage with a clear idea of one’s goals and purposes in mind, however were the task to have been completed without any time constraints, it would be interesting to observe themes and connections emerging organically between the film’s subjects (certainly however, one might say the group had ‘achieved what they set out to do’). With regard to the technical aspects of the piece, I thought the film was beautifully shot and the soundscape it featured was complex and captivating without being overpowering or distracting.

 

Final K-film Participation Documentation

WEEKLY MEETING MINUTES:

WEEK 8

(28th April- 7th May)

Present: Laura, Maddie, Ellen

  • preparation for first pitch
  • after deciding to change theme from ‘feet/shoes’ beginnings/endings is selected
  • group brainstorms potential scope of project, clips to shoot

Laura: source clips to play for class

Ellen: devise and explain project prompt

Maddie: list potential clip ideas

For next meeting: each group member to shoot three sample clips

 

WEEK 9

(5th May-11th May)

Present: Kate, Laura, Maddie, Ellen

  • group members present sample clips
  • a list of 60 clip ideas is devised by group members

For next meeting: preparation for pitch two: GANT charts/Participation charts to be completed by all group members, all members to upload clips to Facebook group

WEEK 10 

(12th May-18th)

Present: Kate, Laura, Maddie, Ellen

  • following second pitch, group discusses problem of audience comprehension/ the matching of beginnings and endings
  • group discusses the usefulness of the prompt we have selected, whether it clarifies or complicates the themes the group hopes to explore

For next meeting: each group member assigned specific clips to shoot

 

WEEK 11

(19th May-25th May)

Present: Kate, Laura, Ellen

  • various interfaces experimented with
  • progress report on clip shooting
  • essay discussed, early planning begins
  • essay roles distributed Ellen: content/introduction/conclusion Laura: interface Kate: pattern
  • Ellen to edit essay prior to submission
  • Laura and Kate to finalise interface design
  • Laura to compile/program clips
  • Ellen, Laura, Kate to edit clips

 

WEEK 12

( 26th May-1st June)

Present: Kate, Laura, Ellen

  • final/edited clips submitted/ viewed by group members

WEEK 13

(2nd June-8th June)

Part a) Present: Laura/Kate

  • in and out points devised
  • clips uploaded into program

 

Part b) Present: Laura/Kate/Ellen

  • essay sections given to ellen
  • Laura has devised a title sequence for film and programmed a large portion of the clips
  • Ellen to edit and compile essay
  • Laura to export and upload film

 

GANT CHART

10439195_10202923348263739_1335130987_oREFLECTIVE GRAPHS

10295665_10202923480467044_8445696002482212178_n