Where Do We Go When We Don’t Know?

Cuts screened:

Synopsis:
Charlie and Amy seek out to escape the stagnancy of their routine lives, however, they soon discover that running away is only a temporary solution.

Individual cuts & reflection:

- - Alyssa Bitanga
    In assignment one, I outlined the goals and desires I wanted out of this studio. I wrote that I wanted to hone in and exercise not only my creative ability, but my technical ability. I wanted to learn the functions of shooting manually and to familiarise myself with the purpose of white balancing, the focal length etc. I also hoped to become a lot more competent with pre-production task, like script writing and story boarding, as well as post-production duties such as requiring more knowledge in editing and colour grading – and I have to say, I’ve achieved all that during the 12 weeks in this studio, and perhaps, more. By investigating different facets of film production through the creation of “boring” shots, it has provided an iterative and collaborative environment which learning, making, and reflecting the small things has refined my filmmaking identity.
    However, what I was not expecting to gain from this studio is the friendship and unconditional support from my peers and Paul. The studio exuded an incandescent energy, that was filled with such enthusiasm, friendliness, and talent, which probably would never be replicated in another class again – therefore, I am extremely grateful to have taken Small Things as my last studio.
  - Chloe Hales
    This studio has taught me so much with everything from setting up a C-stand to how to clean up my editing workspace. Before this course I didn’t know much about what goes on behind the actual production and making of a film. I did know the basics like directing, editing and so on but I didn’t know about the intricacies that go into the collaborative process that is making a film. There are so many roles that I didn’t even realise were so important, like the first assistant director and so many steps that are incredibly necessary for the creation of a film to work flawlessly. It was these smaller roles and details that really surprised me the small things if you will. The main thing however that I took from the studio was how making a film is such a collaborative process. Throughout this semester we have been working in groups and sometimes individually on different specific parts of the film making process. Through this I have learned that without an entire team helping to make a film it wouldn’t exist. It isn’t just one person pulling there weight and everyone else following it is everyone working together which creates great film making.
  - Michael Jin
- - Andrew Le
    Admittedly, I took my time to embrace this studio truly, but once I did I found it so profound to have grouped the extent of what we’ve been learning to this one final project. I noted at the start of the semester feeling as if I have been lacking in an understanding of the fundamentals of media and I think that Small Things, in this respect, was a great decision in a final studio First and foremost, I believe strongly that this studio has improved my overall ability to be a media practitioner, or at least my propensity to become one in future. I’m quite sad that after this I only have one final studio with which I have the capacity to employ in my degree the practical things that I have learnt in this studio. Paul has been great at really pushing the Small Things agenda forward, in the extent to which we learnt about lighting, sound on top of the camera work. At some points I don’t think I really knew what was going on though, I’m not sure if that is something that is on me, or whether this was how it was.
  - Jasmine Tatai
    From this studio I was able to gain a variety of skills in filmmaking from the pre-production, production and post-production phases. This has assisted me greatly in becoming a better filmmaker and learning more about the filmmaking process. Some of the most significant things which I will take away from the course are about elements such as lighting, camera movement and camera operation more broadly. Prior to the studio I feel that lighting was one of the main elements of filmmaking which I was lacking in, however I am now far more confident in lighting subjects and also spaces. Further, this course has also been able to contribute significantly to my showreel which I will use to show future employers when looking for work in the film/media industry. I feel that the final few weeks of the course allowed me to put time and effort into creating a final film that my team and I could be proud of. I look forward to seeing where filmmaking takes me in the future and I am confident that moving forward I will incorporate the things I learnt into this studio into my professional work and career.