4 – DIGITAL DISPLACEMENT

My group is a lively bunch of individuals that I am happy to share this semester with. After the usual introductions we attempted to add each other over Facebook and create the customary shared google drive folder that all RMIT group assignments require these days. This was normal for me, but upon learning that half of my group had only been at RMIT for a year or less time made me realise that I was officially a senior student in the course and this was not something that had crossed my mind at all. However here I am, 2017 is the year that I don the title of third year, and it was scary being placed in this category of human that I had looked up to during the previous semesters. I now have a responsibility to guide my peers because at this point in time I have more knowledge than most to some degree. This thought terrifies me but also encourages me to make the most of this semester with these lovely people.

Another group update is that the email that Ceyda had received from out subject was a dud and has led me into a spiral of ineffectiveness, because what can you do when the one form of communication you have with your protagonist turns out to be a dud. It’s fine for now because we plan to meet up with her at the store on Sunday and get more contact details that will be more reliable. But we got her email in the first place to present ourselves in a professional manner. This is just the first of the many bumps along the road to completing this short doco, and it is something that we will be able to recover from Sunday morning.

Here’s to me facing new territory and chasing down our new protagonist.

3 – A PLACE WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE

I have done a terrible job of documenting this class for the past two weeks. I only have now just realised that I haven’t even explained what our outcome for the semester is. In groups we are to create a short documentary on a character based from the Queen Victoria Market. It could have been a regular customer, a roaming tourist, or one of the vendors. It could have been anyone that just frequented the space and that we were able to followup again and find them again. I had pitched the Pack Up Robots as my most interesting encounter at the Market. These were the men and sometimes women who would disassemble the multiple tents and stalls that take up in the open space market area in QVM. I would have created a piece that followed a few of these people, probably shooting a time lapse of their hard work at the market and interviewing them later on about what their day job was. I wanted to explore what else they were aside from these monotonous machines who would come in almost everyday to pack the market up.

I ended up joining a group that found a woman who works the at the Lolly Lovers’ Confectionery. She was simply pitched as a female Willy Wonka and I just loved the idea of having that magical aura and image explored. There’s another group focusing on the iconic Doughnut Truck that most people would recognise from a visit to QVM, and another working to film a flamenco performance duo that appear during the Summer Night Market. I never realised how diverse the Queen Vic Market could be in people and experiences, and how it is such a place of Melbourne culture. There are Asian green grocers, and hundreds of visitors, local and tourists, who come in and out throughout the entire day. Even when I visited the market during closing hours there were still people making an effort to make a final purchase on a good bargain. Queen Victoria Market just had a life to it that I am just genuinely excited to explore and is the place where I hope to uncover some amazing stories this summer.

2 – THE MACHINES HAVE TAKEN OVER

I thought it would be good to share my first project brief here to help inspire me to write something for the class. Reading over it now I realise I dedicated a lot of time to the one man packing away the booths at the market. I can’t remember any specific details about clothing, or even what the stall even sold, but I just have this vivid memory of watching his hands and feet move in an almost dance. I think that’s why I was so absorbed in watching just him. Anyway, if anyone from class is reading this, than know that my idea for the packing robots has a few potential candidates, because if this one specific guy says no there are about 40 others who do the exact same thing.


Languages, keys, Vietnamese music reminding me of Footscray market, this is what greets me at 3:35PM on a Tuesday evening at Vic Markets. There’s just containers of things, people and vendors alike leaving to pack up, but there are others in no rush. 3 older white ladies are haggling on the price of socks in a European language I have no chance of understanding. They want specific sizes I think, and the vendor leaves to collect more from the boxes she’s packed away already. There are trucks coming in and out at a steady pace. One leaves as two more fight to take its place. Streets packed with white vans, clean, old, rusted; used. Everything is displayed in easy to pack away containers and these vendors all work methodically, robotically to pack them away.  A man selling sunglasses packs box after box away, looking out across the street, no longer needing to think about this task. A young couple walk along the edges of the market, tattoos covering their arms and sunglasses on top of heads. They watch and walk, slowly and calmly, no real interest in the organised mayhem that’s happening. It sounds like chaos in here, echoing over the steel rooftops and concrete floors, but as time continues on we lose the growing sounds and dying sights. From this loud chaos comes cleanliness, like the vacuum that sucks everything up. We hear the madness but see nothing but order. Neat Frames and boxes, Tetris’d into more neat frames and boxes.

The old ladies from before leave now, victoriously strolling along with their carry bags and trolleys. Their shopping for the day complete, and the vendor wanting to finally go home and reap the benefits of a long day of work. The final piece are being packed away. No people talking and young men working, taking apart everything until there is nothing left.

A young Asian man works hard taking down the frames that make up the market, the barriers are being pulled apart, no true care on his face for these boundaries he’s breaking. The only thing that distinguishes him from a robot is the bop of his head as he listens to music on his headphones. He wipes sweat from his brow and takes a moment to collect the right pieces that need to be put away. Another system in place above all the chaos. First the top pieces, then the smaller sides, the long walls and finally the bottom anchor piece that ties this marquee all together. He must know the order back to front and by now have done this over a thousand times. The ease and calculated comfort in which he takes everything down only lets me assume so. There’s a slow determination, like he knows exactly how long it takes for him to get everything done.

1 – WELCOME HOME

Recording Place with Rohan Spong: A Summer School Adventure

So I like uni a lot. Not particularly the assignments and stress part, but the community and socialising part. I like learning things and I love being able to keep to a schedule. It gives me a purpose during these bleak holidays where I spend my days roaming around the suburbs and never achieving anything.

This year I chose again to do a summer semester, specifically a summer studio and boy was I in luck. It was being taught by the lovely Rohan Spong again, whom I had the previous summer semester for my music video studio. Last time was scary and stressful. It was the first studio I took seriously and made an effort in. I was finishing my first year of university and had out a lot of expectations and stress on my outcome for the summer semester, but with Rohan that class was enjoyable and a breeze. I loved it and I love it now. To this day that class was one of my university highlights. Being able to focus on only one class gave me clarity and an ability to just be a student immersed in one element.

This time around I am officially a third year student. I have a few subject to catch up on but in this class I realise that I am now one of the senior students. I know more than mojority of the students, whom mostly consist of first and second years. It has made me realise that over the course I have actually learnt and grown as a person, and in this studio I hope to use these advantages and make something I can be proud of at the end of semester.

So here’s to 2017 and the studio to come. This has mainly been a reflection of what I think so far of the studio, but I wanted to use this opportunity to process my thoughts about doing a second summer studio and if I had to sum it down I would describe it as a rewarding experience I would love to try again. Summer studio rocks, and I am genuinely excited to see the final documentary I create this month.

REFLECTION 17 – THE LITTLE THINGS

FINAL REFLECTION

The Observation

Translating Observation was an interesting title to this class. It’s succinct, clearly labelled, and holds no question as to what the class was going to be about. Under Robin Plunkett’s guidance we were to observe and record these things, and by the end of the class create something that was based on that observation. It was an easy concept to understand, but it was also interesting with all the ways it could go. The class was pitched to us as an experiment, we weren’t really going to have proper guidelines in place straight away. As the classes progressed we would refine our practical knowledge with media equipment and the process of film-making, but we would also refine our ability to perceive the world we live in. It was an excuse for us to just sit back in class and watch what was happening around us.

At first I thought our Observation writings were going to be just random diary entries, about interesting things that occurred throughout our day. Write a story about the busker that waved to you, or about how much food you ate last night at an all you can eat buffet. But we ended up writing things more in-depth than just stories and interesting moments, we were writing about why they were interesting, not for other people to hear about, but why it was interesting to us. Why we thought that busker was waving to strangers on the street, why the concept of eating till your stuffed and full is a legitimate way to consume food. We had to focus in on just moments, and deconstruct them in however way we want, and just observe what was there with our own eyes.

It was a difficult task to not be too subjective, but to also not state things as objectively as possible. We were finding that in-between, that would convey our voice and be the observation writing technique that didn’t need to be focused on making a film. I think as a class we struggled at first to write things that weren’t just stories about train rides and commuting to uni, but as the first few weeks went by we all were able to just write about things that were intentionally thought about. They weren’t completely random moments anymore, they were individual opportunities where we saw potential for something, and as we approached week 5 and 6 we were writing with more purpose and intent toward making a film idea stemming from these observations. The whole process was very reflexive and allowed us all time to just think about the world around us and seeing all the different things that could make for a film idea. We weren’t thinking of a film form, or end goal and then finding inspiration, we were sourcing our own writing and then seeking out how these could be made into films, and what kind of films they could become. We were encouraged to not limit ourselves by the structure of our end product, and could express and adapt our observations however seemed to fit the initial intention of the written pieces. I had hoped that my individual pitch could have been made into a possibility, but otherwise the array and diversity of films that we made were outstanding outcomes.


The Film

The final film my group made was in my opinion a successful adaptation of the script we were given by the original pitch, but it wasn’t the film I had initially set out to make. However, in saying that, I was never the sole creator of the original text and couldn’t dictate on where the project would go. Despite this I believe we made an enjoyable film and I actually got to use all my practical knowledge making the damn thing. As cinematographer I had free reign to design the lighting rig and play around with the camera framing, but at some shots I was limited with what the director wanted to look as diegetic and realistic lighting. I wish I could come away knowing I did everything in my power to make the film look great, and in some of the shots I believe it looks amazing, but there are instances where I wish we had more time in set-up, or even a little more fill light. I know there were a lot of mistakes made, but like everyone says, we learn from our mistakes, and I wont say working collaboratively was a mistake, but not being able to express my opinions and concerns very well, in hindsight led to a product that I am only half proud to have accomplished. I guess I lost passion for the film in the end, but that doesn’t deter me from creating and producing more films and content in the future. And now with more lighting and camera experience under my belt, I am willing to go that extra step and take a directorial role hopefully soon to combat that slight disappointment I felt during those post-production stages.

 

 

REFLECTION 16 – AVENGERS ASSMEBLE

Every studio we seem to have to write and take time to reflect on collaboration and this semester it seems to be a vital component of film-making that needs to be addressed. For the first 6 weeks of class we didn’t really have to create a lot of things as a group, or be graded as a group, but this final assignment is heavily focused within groups. Our group ended up being the largest of the the 7, with five people in total it was a classic example of too many chef’s in the kitchen. We had assigned roles, but as the pre, post and production process continued along a lot of us ended up blurring those lines and helping each other out in different areas.

With such a large core group it was difficult to find meeting times that everyone could attend, and in the end we were never able to have a full core group meeting with all 5 members attending until the post-production process was happening. It would have been helpful, and looking back very vital to just have at least one or two seasons to consolidate our groups goals, and to help us all bond and get to know each other. I have previously worked with Jess on other RMITV productions, and am close friends with Dylan, but have never really worked with him or Hannah and Alex either. It was also a difficult process to trust everyone with their roles. This class has become one of my favourite classes, and I wanted to make a product that I could be proud of and something that I could be happy with. But I decided that for the teamwork to work I needed to just focus on completely my job as cinematographer as much as possible and hope that the others could complete their job as best as they could as well.

That was the most conflicting aspect with collaboration that I had. At times I wanted to take over and make this my project, and help control and dictate what would eventually become the end result, but the whole point of working in a group is to share ideas and then as a group fix any problems, or complete the jobs together. I feel like as a group we never got to a point where we would hang out and just joke around, while working on the project. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves at times, and couldn’t see the fun and different ideas each person could contribute.

Like last semester, I forgot that I’m not making this film, but we are making this film. And that this end product is a amalgamation of our collective hard work. I can’t take sole credit for this film, because in essence it isn’t just my film, and it’s something we all made and it is something we all hope to be proud of.

REFLECTION 15 – MERLOT WITH MATES

We decided on a final title of our film, “merlot with mates”. It encapsulates the bridge between the two characters in our film, and its theme of having two friends reunite and instead of their usual beers and pizza, they bond over some cheese and a nice bottle of wine.

I realise by now that I haven’t even given a great description of the film we’re making, but I also wonder if it is worth spoiling what happens. What I do want to comment on is the progression and development of the final script from the original ideas we had planned out weeks ago. The idea was initially pitched as a simplistic take on the relationship between two people, and putting a lot of emphasis on how one has grown more mature and adult compared to the other. It was supposed to be a hyper-realistic film, but when I read the first draft I couldn’t understand the subtle humor or characters at all. They weren’t people I knew and it kinda of made me distance myself from being able to understand who or what these characters represented. In the end I feel like the script wasn’t my usual story, but the theme of approaching adulthood is something I definitely relate to, and that was why I initially decided to join this group.

I’m still a little concerned for the tone of the film, or even how it would translate the acceptance that the guest will feel towards the new changes in his friend. I’m not sure how much of it will come across as comedic, and how much will be read as dramatic, but in the end I hope it will be a great film no matter what direction we end up taking it.

REFLECTION 14 – ILLUMINATION

This is a reflection on project brief 3, the one I forgot to post ages ago.

 

As part of the practical requirement of the previous project brief we all had to collate and edit a piece that had a common theme or idea present throughout the clip. After going through all the clips everyone else in class recorded I was inspired by shadows, and so went out to record more footage playing the shadows, movement within them, and how there’s a complete world living within those shadows mirroring reality.

The movement within them and around a few clips with shadows made me want to explore other ways people can almost travel in them. Seeing shadows across the screen instead of the people or objects they reflect forces us to associate the shadow to a person, and think of it as a living being. I recorded more footage of me walking, but framed the camera to capture only the reflections and shadows I cast while walking. It showed how the original in an obstructed way, and allowed me to just play with what we see in reality. The piece in summary is about the reflection of reality,  and its a illusion to what is there. It’s about subjectivity, on how the observer perceives these projected images that shadows and light creates.

REFLECTION 13 – PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

So during our pre-production period, as the Director of Photography I had to help arrange the all the technical equipment we would need for our shoot. I started with the basics, but then realised that I had resources from the tech office that I hadn’t used before. So after a few talks with Robin about the type of lighting and camera I would like to use, we discussed different ways I could light the setting. Like I mentioned in my previous reflection, I wanted to do something more interesting with two people sitting at a table. It didn’t need to be anything too spectacular, but I didn’t just want us lighting the set just for the sake of lighting. Robin helped us by suggesting we have a lamp source in the film, something to help indicate that it was night-time, and the use of lamps was a genius choice. No regular person uses lamps during the day, so we jumped straight on and in the edit suites played around with some LED lite panels on a C-stand and trialed what kind of lighting it would be. It would need to have a lot of diffusion, and something around the light to keep the barn doors tight. Core board and even black cloth were a possible alternative to help keep the light isolated like a spotlight, and after being briefed quickly about the benefits of shooting our dinner table like this I was hooked.

But it’s one thing to have an idea in your head, and another completely different thing to see it in action, on location with the set. And so I decided to have a test shoot day, with some of the equipment we were going to use, and see how the environment would work with the lights. It wasn’t anything grand, bit it did let me scope out the location before the shoot date, and also have a technical rehearsal as well.

On the day I was able to see where camera’s could be places, where light stands and c-stands could be placed, and whether the overhanging LED panel would work on our dining table at Hannah’s place. What we discovered during this testing day was that the c-stand would only extend about a third of the way across the table, instead of the halfway point we were hoping for. This problem was a bit unfortunate, but did give us something to work on, because that meant we were either going to have to find some creative ways around shooting the dinner scenes in specific ways, or hope for a longer c-stand arm.

What we ended up doing though was completely different to anything I have ever worked with on set. After consulting the tech office about a longer arm, they gave me a pole cap, which essentially was a long pole you secure at the top of two c-stands and extend out across a distance longer than 2 c-stand arms. It was a great solution to our problem, and I am so thankful that we had enough time to go to the location to figure out these problems. Test shooting has never been a high concern for me before, but for the aesthetic we wanted to achieve we needed the hardware as well, and in the end I a happy to have spend a day practicing shots and angles ahead of the shoot date. The whole experience helped me get a better understanding of what the final film would look like, and also help us plan accordingly, because now we know how much time we need to bump equipment in, and set up all the different lighting set-ups.

REFLECTION 12 – MY DINNER WITH…

The film my group is making is based around a dinner setting, so it’s already going to have a lot of elements involving food and framing. Sitting at a table can be boring, we’ve all seen it on screen multiple times now, and know all the ways to shoot a particular atmosphere. But I want to know if there is anyway we can reinvent the way we film a dinner conversation at a table.

The lighting in the above scene from Inglorious Bastards is a favourite of mine, and after discussing with Robin, he agrees that it would add another night element within the scene to have a similar set-up. Having one main source of light which would keep the scene centered and the lighting focused would allow us to do a lot of interesting things with the intimate nature of the dinner we are shooting.

There is also the question of how we can shoot food in an interesting way, instead of having it glossed over, the script draws attention to the food, and so the camera needs to convey that as well. Showing people eating the food itself alone is never enough, if the subject of conversation is about how different the food is to the previous meals they’ve shared.

Time is also something we need to be aware of when shooting this dinner scene. How should we convey that they’ve actually eaten some of their meal, without having to show an image of a clock. Is it possible for me to just shoot the entire meal being eaten in real time, or would continuity be too hard to keep that up. Will the actors simply just fake the entire scene, never actually eating anything on their plates, or can we have enough food set aside to justify actual on-screen eating. Also, do we actually cook the food, or do we buy it pre-made. Will it look as good on camera as we hope it would. I think Hannah and Jess plan on cooking the food themselves, so that means we require a lot of prep time and need to bump-in at least an hour earlier than expected. But these are concerns for the Producer to focus on, my job as Cinematographer I need to focus on what angles and shots I should have established in my head.

I’ve been to the location now, and Hannah’s apartment is a small space, but simple in set-up. I really like the idea of playing with negative space and side profiles. By establishing a wide profile shot, and going in tighter on these characters individually, it’s something creatively that will separate us from the film My Dinner with Andre, and keep the audience at a distance, observing the interactions between these two people. Keeping my angles to medium side profiles of the characters, and angled mid-shots it could help us distinguish ourselves from other films dedicated around a dinner table, but I know that we still also have to have those safety shots from Over the shoulder of characters and close up as well. It’s just deciding now which shots are more valuable to our film, and what should take priority on the day when shooting.