film/tv 2 analysis reflection 3, question 2

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

the reading i have chosen is the chapter “approach” from Bernard Curran’s “Documentary storytelling for film and video makers”.

the most interesting point i took from the reading was the overall contention of the chapter, that any approach to documentary is different to any other approach. Curran discusses how drastically approach can differ between filmmakers, even those who may potentially be working with the same concept, equipment or even footage. this is such an important notion because it makes you realise that it’s not as important what you film but how you film it and how you then put it together to create the film itself. this was evident with the first lenny excerise last semester where the entire course was given the same footage to cut. you can garuntee that no two lennys looked exactly the same. approach is the all important element to creating your film and getting across the meaning or story that you want to communicate to the audience.

the second point i liked was when he discussed the different methods of approach. Curran discussed all the little choices and decisions the filmmaker must make when constructing the film that will make the film unique to them. going into making films, i always kinda assumed that they just ‘happened’. reading this article has made me realise that ever step along the way has been a decision, a choice between two or more options with a specific intent in mind. whether to make the film observational or interview based. whether to have narration or not, whether or not the interviewer will be in frame or if their questions will be heard by the audience. all are conscious decisions to be made by the filmmaker which will influence the outcome of the film itself and are things we must consider in the preparation of making our film.

film/tv 2 analysis reflection 2, question 2

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you.

the reading i chose is “Imagining reality” by Pawel Pawlikowski.

my favourite point from this reading was the following quote: “for me the point of making films is not to convey objective information about the world, but to show it as i see it and to find a form that is relevant”. i think this is extremely important when considering making a documentary. the filmmaker is making their own film which is a representation of reality and so it must be relevant to the filmmaker themselves. the authro talks about his most meaningful films as being thsoe where the subjects strucka  chord with him, those which took time to make because his heart was invested in it. this is something i really hope to take into account when making our documentaries this semester, to make something which is important to us or means something to us, it will give it so muhc more heart and be more interesting and hopefully better quality than anything that we may make but are not fully invested in.

the second point i got was rather new to me where that author discusses the impact which television has had on documentaries. it was interesting to read how the commercialisation of tv, the need to just make money and sell merchandise has even bled into documentary making where filmmakers can no longer experiment or take risks with what they are making because the productions studios are breathing down their necks. he also discussed about the rise of voyeurism in tv docos where people are content to simply set up a camera in an intersting location and film the people there. but there is little thought or heart put into these and thus, while they may sell money immediatly, are worth nothing in the long run and are diminishing the overall standard and expecations aroudn documentaries.

film/tv 2 analysis reflection 2, question 1

In the lecture we screened a short film called ‘End of the Line’ – the film shot in Broken Hill.

Please describe in 300 words or less if you think they achieved what they set out to do. You may not remember much detail, if so, it could be helpful to talk about your first impressions, after all this is what most of us are left with after one viewing. The treatment which we showed in the lecture is avalaible here. Feel free to write to any categories you wish. eg. story, choice of participants, sound, camera, editing etc.

although i don’t remember all too much from the first viewing of “end of the line”, i remember enjoying it, even though i was a bit disturbed/surprised by it. the main visual concepts adn stimuli that i took away from the film was the incredible landscape shots and i think these worked really well in serving the group’s treatment of demonstrating the emptiness and vastness of towns like this in the outback. contrasting these shots with the lives of Kevin and Beth told throughout the film does really make the audience wonder how people can live out in places like that. again i feel like the treatment worked because the audience is left wondering whether or not they could actually live out there in such seclusion. the visuals of the vast land gives a disturbing feeling of being all alone in the empty outback of Australia, almost like being stuck in a horror film, yet can also present the idea of serenity and peace in living so far away frmo the bustle of the inner cities.

film/tv analysis reflection 4, question 7

Please outline some points that you took away from the Lighting Lecture. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

the one key point i took from the lighting lecture was 3 point lighting. its so interesting thinking how any scene in any film or show has been set up using three point lighting, that it’s all specifically done. even more then that, that every shot, even the shortest, two second shots, requires its own specific lighting set up. so that filming every single shot involves deconstructing and reconstructing all the lights to create the right look and feel. this is really important when making a film and is something i will need to take into consideration when we are filming our own film as lighting plays a big part in one of our scenes.

the other point about three point lighting that is interesting is it’s actually set up, with the key light, fill light and back light. each of these plays a really important role in setting up the characters, location and most importantly the mood. the different amounts of key and fill light can be used to create harsh lighting or soft lighting which all give different feels to the situation and the characters. all these things need to be considered when setting up even the simplest of shots.

one thing i did not like is that we did not get the chance to actually practice and experiment with the lights in class. yes we got to see them but i have never done anything with lighting before so it would have been really beneficial to have been able to try a 3 point lighting set up to create a scene and then try shifting it for a new angle or new shot to actually give us experience in setting up and using lighting before the day of shooting.

film/tv reflection test 4, question 8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HJXolkZK5k

List the things that you learnt from this experience – this could be things that went well or not so well

making the lenny was a really good and useful experience, especially to help prepare us for filming our major project in a few weeks.

the most important thing i found was the impact of being unprepared. we had nothing prepared prior and so a lot of time was wasted just trying to decide what to do. this will be especially helpful because now i know that going into our filming day we need to have absolutely everything prepared and mapped out so that we know exactly what to do. we lost so much time trying to work out where to film, what angles and shot sizes to use, who would play the character and how to do each shot when instead we could have just been filming. because of this issue, we did not have enough time to film a number of shots that we wanted to so we need to make sure that we are completely planned and prepared when we shoot our film so that we don’t lose any important shots.

the other thing i learnt was about making decisions. because i am directing our film, i was director of the lenny so this made going in unprepared even more difficult and stressful. standing there with 4 people looking to you and ask what to do is pretty stressful and made me a little anxious. but once we actually got started i realised that rather than worry about what i was doing or what the others would think, i just had to make decisions and go with them. i learnt that there is no point sitting, worrying and deliberating over something, but rather i just need to decide and agree with my choice and use that to move forward. i think this was the greatest thing i got out of the lenny excerise because it really trained me for directing my crew and how to trust myself.

Film-TV 1 refection Q.1

throughout this course i am primarily hoping to improve my writing abilities in relation to stories and ideas for film/tv. this includes becoming more familiar with different aspects of the story such out outlines, synopses, plots, character, events and problems and script writing, and improving on how to combine all these separate elements to create on cohesive and interesting story.

the other goal which i am trying to accomplish is to be able to effectively take these story ideas which i or or my group have created and be able to adapt that to a film that is enjoyable and coherent and in doing so to further enhance my abilities in being a part of the film production process. a major part of this is learning how to work well together collaboratively as a group to explore all possible story ideas and and overcoming intergroup difficulties to be able to produce the best possible film.