Author: Jianing Li

Our studio

Reflection to Stalking by Jingpu Liu

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/2022-production-on-a-shoestring/wp-admin/post.php?post=19&action=edit

Your script is well-conceived, focusing mainly on the safety of women living alone, which really deserves the attention of society. But I think your plot is still lacking. The plot can manifest in several ways, for example: before and after the character changes and contrasts, what changed her? How things got tricky – intrigues viewers to keep watching the film. Add a few more call backs in the plot, for example: the snacks/drinks/bread bought in the convenience store can appear again at the back of the film, and the cappuccino bought in the coffee shop can also have a symbolic meaning. The number and purpose of the scenes are more explicit.

The plot in the second half of the script is still relatively compact, and the direction of the plot has changed since the call to the police, making the audience very nervous and curious about whether this “voyeur” will be caught.

I especially liked that the early shots were recorded with a “voyeur” subjective shot that shifted to third person after Avy found out he was being followed.

I think the script could be a micro-budget movie, as you mentioned taking advantage of free public spaces or borrowing from family would be a good option.

 

Reflection to Who kill me by Fangmin Lan

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/2022-production-on-a-shoestring/wp-admin/post.php?post=63&action=edit

I especially like your suspense story line. I am particularly clear about the content of the lens content. I can even imagine the picture of the movie.

I think the scene of Lily’s fall into the water to be the first scene is very wise, which arouses the curiosity of the audience. The latter scenes were used to explain why Lily would fall into the water, whether it was pushed down or accidentally stepped in. When Lily fell into the water, why was the parents not at home, was it intentionally called away or for something else? All these questions got the answer to a certain extent when they saw the third page. But is this brother’s dual personality still changed because of pushing his sister’s water? Is it because mum and dad were not paying attention to the kids as a result of the things that happened?

The final open ending allows the audience to discuss. When we face a fifteen -year -old boy, we should look at him from what attitude and perspective should we look at him. Will his suicide be successful?

I think this is a successful micro -budget movie script, and the main scene is in a home with a swimming pool. As you mentioned, borrowing venues from friends is a good idea. However, it should be noted that the emotion of acting as the actor Tony is very necessary after the shooting, and it is necessary to conduct psychological counseling in time.

 

 

Other studio – The Scene in Cinema

Reflection to Lost by Xi(Anna) Wang

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/2022-the-scene-in-cinema/2022/05/31/lost-xianna-wang/

I especially love the contrast between the first half and the second half that you created in the film. Most of the shots in the first half are long shots, and the audience can easily be brought into the mood following the rhythm of the background music. The 40-second film features a girl as the main body and subtitles to help the audience understand the word “Lost”.

I’m especially glad that you added thought to the editing process, and at the end of the loudest drumbeat, the girl in the film starts to move forward. Although she is in deep confusion, but she still moves/walks forward on the road. In the last scene of the film, the girl smiled at the camera. Although it was a shy smile, it was the opposite of the emotion at the beginning of the film, such as “Although I am very confused about life, I still smile to face all the unknowns.”

But I think the film could do more with the plot and content, creating a little plot to make the transition, to make the contrast richer.

 

Reflection to The Pen by Ella Watt

https://www.mediafactory.org.au/2022-the-scene-in-cinema/2022/05/31/the-pen-ella-watt/

I’m so glad you made this bold attempt. We usually think that if the dialogue appears in the movie, the director will choose to use the front and back shots to complete, two characters are face to face, three camera positions, the camera shot over the shoulder of the person who is facing away from the camera, after editing the camera will show the relationship between the characters and the characters. switch between each other. In this film, the tension of the film is built up through the movement and manipulation of the camera, allowing the audience to hold their breath to see what happens afterward.

I think the camera movement is a little rushed in the second half of the film. Reversing the shot and shortening the shot time can also accomplish the meaning of the film in the script. However, as a lens language to assist in completing the content of the script, you can consider the combination of moving the lens and the front and back shots to complete it. Or consider reducing camera movement and the lines spoken by the standing girl can be presented as a voiceover instead of relying on camera movement. Looking forward to your following production.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Budget Analysis and Rationale

The main scenes are going be shoot in office, grocery store, theater and street. I have a friend who is in the entrepreneurial stage. The framing of the office can be used in his company. The office supplies in his company will be helpful for our film such as computers, tables, chairs, file boxes, etc.. I can contact with the local grocery store and come in to shoot after the store gets off work at night. The assembly hall in the art school will be the first choice for the theater scene. The actors include young and adult Eva, Eva’s mother, dancer dancing on the stage and Selina will also choose from the art school, which can be teachers or students. Actors’ costumes can be their own, Eva’s costumes can be purchased from the mall, remember to keep receipts and tags, and ensure that the clothes are clean and return after the shooting. The framing of the street mainly considers shooting in the real street,  in the suburban streets of Melbourne where there are not many people.
Staffing required an additional sound engineer, a makeup artist and two lighting engineers. Foley sounds required in the film such as footsteps, people talking and wind, etc. are mainly considered to be downloaded online, be careful to pay attention to the ownership of the copyright. The salary for a sound recordist is $1132.8 for three days of shooting (MEAA, 2010). The makeup artist considers students or teachers in art schools who want to gain more experience. The salary for a gaffer is $1037 for three days of shooting(MEAA, 2010),  I will only hire one lighting technician, another one will consider art school students, the model is a professional gaffer instructing students who want to gain experience. I learned basic skills in Adobe Premiere Pro so that I can be the video editor.
The schedule for the film is three days, with the first day in Eva’s office and street, the second in the theater, and the third day in the grocery store. Because the shooting of the store needs to be done at night, it will be arranged on the last day of the film, so that everyone can get a good rest after the shooting.
In my pitch I mentioned using a 75mm prime lens for close-up shots, but to keep costs down, I decided to use iPhone as the camera to shoot. The stabilizer can use the tripod I bought last year.
The rest of the props in the film are tickets for the dance show, a painting of dancers dancing, potato chips and chocolates. I have a friend who is a graphic designer and she will be able to provide me with tickets for dancing performance and a painting. I think it is possible to find an advertising company to discuss the cooperation of potato chips and chocolate as samples to appear in the film. If the cooperation reaches a consensus, we may get the samples for free, but it wouldn’t be a big expense we buy chips and chocolate ourselves if the partnership didn’t work out.

4. Creative Statement

The genre of my film is going to be drama, the tone is anxious and worried. Because I want the audience to be curious and worried about whether Eva can get over the childhood trauma – decidophobia (the fear of making the wrong decision).
In the pitch I planned to use a 75mm prime lens. After finishing the script, I found that there were two more scenes than I expected. In order to control the budget, I decided to switch to the iPhone for shooting. Since there are lights in the scene I plan to shoot, I think it is enough to bring two more lights as the main light and fill light of the actress. In the script, I mentioned dissolving as a way to transition the shot. It only needs to be done with the presets in Pr. The other shots are basically hard cuts and don’t need to be fancy. The lens movement is basically a simple push and pull, we can complete it without dolly, and I think hand-held is a better method, which not only saves the budget but also increases the breath of the lens.
The props in the scene needed to be very neat and clean to match Eva’s personality – organized. So both young and adult Eva and Eva’s mother must be more refined in clothing, makeup and hairstyles. Selina’s personality is in contrast to Eva’s, so her look will be more casual and “raunchy”. All actress’ costumes except Eva can be their own. As I mentioned before, Eva’s clothing can be considered to buy from shopping mall and returning them after shooting, but make sure to keep the tags and clothes neat and tidy.
The location of the shooting is mainly considered through the help of my friends, including friends who are in the entrepreneurial stage and a graphic designer. During the shooting process, we can have more communication with the art school, and consider using the assembly hall in the school as the venue.
Actresses will also be teachers or students at art schools, as will lighting engineers. Since they are all working and studying in this school, their residences must not be far away, so as to avoid some travel time. Art schools usually have a lot of performances and activities, and the props will be more abundant. It would be better to see if there are useful props in the school’s warehouse, which can also reduce our budget burden.
The scheduling of shooting is planned to be 3 days. The first day is in Eva’s office and the road, the second day is in the theater, and the third is in the grocery store. This shooting plan is gradual, and the actors’ emotions need to be fully mobilized on the third day of shooting, so that full emotions can make the audience have emotionally resonate.
There will be a sound engineer supervising and controlling the sound quality throughout the three days of filming. This avoids additional overhead that may be incurred in post due to sound quality. Foley in the film can be recorded by the sound engineer at the shooting site, such as footsteps, conversation, etc. If the quality is not good enough, we can download the foleys from a copyright-free sound website.

5. Reflection

I want the final work to convey the studio’s key issues in a conceptional way. The key question for the studio is how to do make a film with a lower cost without compromising the quality of the film. Low cost does not mean unprofessional. At the end of the story, Eva’s reconciliation with her mother means more to hope that the audience can reconcile with themselves, let go of the past and enjoy the present is the advanced wisdom of life.
If the script is going to develop at a lower cost I would probably reduce the number of scenes. There are 4 scenes in the current script, and the time spent on the traveling between locations and the crews requires to transport machines, props and other items are increasing the cost. Consider removing the scene of grocery store and changing it to Eva reconciling with the past in the theater. Just highlight the central content of “reconciliation”, more scenes can help to make the story line more complete but also require more budget.
The biggest challenge for me was getting the storyline close to the audience to resonate. When I pitched a few weeks ago, I didn’t have a complete idea of ​​the story line of the entire script. It was not until I started writing the script that I realized the story was lack of something attractive. The story line was gradually refined during the writing process of the script. Addressing this challenge by thinking about the character’s experience, what happened? Why does it happen? How to solve it? The movie has a beginning and an end, there are changes of the character throughout the development of storyline, and there are contrasts between the characters, which make the plot of the film richer and the characters fuller. Through this film, I also hope that the audience can think more about how parents should deal with the relationship between children and their hobbies. Blind suppression or concessions are not the best way.

Reference:

Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Motion Picture Production Certified Agreement 2010, viewed 24 May 2022, <https://www.meaa.org/download/motion-picture-production-agreement-mppa-2010/>

 

 

2. Budget Analysis

I think this script could be a micro-budget film, but there are some challenges in getting it done. The first challenge is finding the right actors. Under the condition of micro-cost, we can not be able to pay the salaries of the famous actors. The ones that can be considered are the teachers of the drama school or the family around us. Don’t let them work for free. I will talk to them in advance if I don’t have that much budget. My understanding of the script is that the man was burned to death so he returned to his residence with a “fuel tank”. So it’s also worth considering whether to do a flashback,  I noted a fire safety officer in “additional personal”.

The second challenge is the issue of sound quality, which is the most important thing for filmmakers and the most important part of a film. By analyzing the script, I noticed there are several voice covers and foley sounds are needed in this script. The most suitable method is to record on the shooting site, and try to ensure that there is no need to record any sound during post-production. The sound studio and sound engineer will be an expense. In order to ensure the quality of the live recording, I plan to hire a sound recording engineer on the set. The sound recording engineer must be professional enough, otherwise it will be a recurring fee for us.

The third challenge is the shooting equipment. In order to ensure the low cost of shooting, the iPhone is also a good choice, which can not only ensure the maximum picture quality but also save money.

The fourth challenge is to have a children’s room layout in the fourth scene, my understanding of the script is that this room should have a warm feeling, so the room can’t be empty, there needs to be a lot of detailed elements. This can be moved/borrowed from my cousin/brother’s house instead of spending money to buy them.

The fifth challenge is to find an empty path, in the script the most important thing for this man is the home/room, so it is best not to show anything other than this house in the first and second scenes ( Or blurring the background is also an option).

The sixth challenge is editing in post-production. I shot a documentary film last semester and I know some basic skills in Adobe Premiere Pro. I can complete the whole editing work by myself through more in-depth study, so I don’t need to spend any money to invite other people to do it. As our special guest Bec said in the class, it’s helpful to edit each day’s shoots after they’re done, so we know what’s missing, in case we have any shots we’ve missed. For organizing a shooting team, a better way can be to find classmates or friends who are also independent filmmakers, and there may be more surprising ideas colliding during the planning and shooting process.

To sum up, I think this script will be a micro-budget film, even though there are many challenges but for each challenge I have come up with solutions that I think are both economical and quality guaranteed.

 

3. Creative statement

There are many ways to balance practicality and creativity. In order to complete a micro-budget film, my main consideration is how to minimize the cost while maintaining the quality during the shooting process. I mainly consider using iPhone as shooting camera. With the fierce competition and rapid development of smartphones, the picture quality of mobile phones has been improved rapidly, which provides us with more choices besides expensive cameras. There are plenty of other micro-budget filmmakers out there who just use their smartphones as shooting machines, like the movie “Tangerine” we watched earlier. I don’t even need to consider using Steadicam to stabilize the machine. The picture needs a certain sense of breathing and realism. I will consider shooting with a hand-held mobile phone. Considering shooting with natural light can increase the realism of the picture on the one hand, and save the cost of lighting equipment on the other hand. But this also requires that we can only shoot during the day, which may extend the shooting schedule. The script mentions “a trembling dim light is passing under a closed door.” For my lighting here I mainly consider using the flashlight on my phone.
In the choice of actors, I mainly consider the teachers of the drama school or the surrounding family members. Drama school teachers are certainly better options, and they could be unavailable for the schedule. Don’t let them work for free if I’m lucky enough to invite them. Finding an older family member may be the most straightforward option, and even with family members, remember to buy him a cup of coffee or a meal at least .
On the shooting schedule I think one month is enough. If I can spend a little time every day to make a rough editing of the content of the day, it will not only facilitate knowing whether there are any missed shots after the shooting, but also avoid all editing work to be completed at the end, in the face of a large number of shooting footage would be a waste of time.
Hiring a sound engineer on set is a must, as is hiring a post-production sound engineer. Good sound effects can help people get into the mood of the movie and follow the hero of the movie to feel the mood. Movies need to have music, sound effects and foley, which will directly affect the audience’s viewing experience. In the script, this man has a few dialogues (“Anyone there?”, “Please, let me out! Is anyone there”), and more consideration is given to using live recording rather than waiting to go into the sound studio in post-production, which not only costs time but also money. The four foley sounds (the sound of heavy footsteps, oil sloshing in the tank, panting slightly and sound of the ring “TICK TICK”) in the script are considered to be completed on the shooting site, which is a test of whether the shooting location is quiet enough, and it will directly affect the quality of the sound as well.

In Scene 5, I wanted to differentiate the man traveling between dream and reality by changing the color of the wall. In the dream the wall is white, in reality the wall is black. The switch between the two scenes will be considered through mise-en-scene, the movement of the camera.

 

4. Reflection

I got more detailed knowledge and ideas about making micro-budget movies while doing this exercise. This exercise is not about my own script, what I want to do is to restore the story to the greatest extent possible and clarify the theme and content. When I saw the script for the final scene, I considered two possibilities, one is that the man is the groom in the picture, and he’s remembered by returning to this home full of memories after his death. Another possibility is that he is one of the three children in the photo, and the people in the wedding photo are his parents. After reading the script more times I dismissed the second thought, I thought the man was the groom in the wedding photo. This is my own understanding without communicating with the author, what I learned to think about more possibilities of the script and rationalize it.
The challenge I overcame was to try to put myself in the audience position rather than the filmmaker. A filmmaker can put a lot of bold and novel ideas into a film, but it may not be acceptable to the audience of the film. It’s also important for filmmakers to imagine how you perceive the film as an audience.
I’m looking forward to how my next script will play out. How to bring more possibilities to the film with less money as a micro-budget filmmaker is what I started thinking about in this exercise.

 

References:

Jourdan Aldredge, 2019, “The 5 biggest issues when shooting low-budget short films”. Web.<https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/biggest-issues-low-budget-short-films/>

1.

In this class I want to learn more about everything about the pre-production process of film production and the interdepartmental collaboration and communication that may be required. Learning how to complete a film project on a small budget with maximum quality builds the foundation for the producer I might become. The completion of a film mainly includes pre-production, production and post-production. As a producer, in the early stage, you can not only think about the cost of pre-production and production, but also pay attention to the cost of post-production. Thinking of more backup options and spare money before shooting is also something that producers need to consider to ensure that there are no accidents during the production process of the film project, especially during the shooting process, and the unexpected money may need to be resolved after an accident occurs.
I think this class is the first step in getting us closer to filmmaking. The class begins by analyzing how other successful micro-budget films have kept costs under control, by introducing the possibilities of mise-en-scene, including: some family and friends who might help, own apartment, own equipment, and so on. Listing these in the lead-up to the film helps minimize costs. It also excites me that we can also think and write our own screenplays within micro-budget later in the study.
My goal in this class is to be a qualified micro-budget producer who can fulfill the intent of the director and the crew and deliver a film to the masses that pleases them. When watching a movie, I especially like to see the names of all the people who contributed for this movie that scrolled at the end. Seeing these names is like seeing the figure of their hard work for this movie. I hope that my name will be in it one day.

 

2.

What impressed me the most during the three weeks of study was the script breakdown in week 2. In the template, I saw that the script decomposition is very detailed, including interior or exterior scenes, scene synopsis, shooting location, props, actors and so on. When completing the script breakdown, you must have a full grasp of the shooting content, including cooperation and communication with the director and the camera department, and then communicate with the props, costumes, makeup and other departments according to the needs of the scene. The best way to ensure the smooth running of the shooting is to be fully prepared before shooting. If the shooting is carried out without preparation, the film project cannot be guaranteed to be carried out at a micro-budget.
The script provided in the class mentioned the action of cleaning the dining table. My thought was to put a plate with food scraps on the table with half a glass of orange juice left, but the candles mentioned by my classmates was surprising me, it is very suitable for the setting of the whole script. Room lights could be used as light sources, but candles are more suitable for this script than room lights. Recording the tone of the room is also something I didn’t think of before. You can record a section of the sound in the room, which may be helpful for post-production.
When filling in the script breakdown, try to be as specific as possible. In this script, the action of cleaning the table appears, and the screen may need to be taken through the kitchen. At this time, it is best not to only write about kitchen supplies, so that the props department may not be exactly the same as the needs of the film project when preparing. Specific to a bottle of salt, a bottle of pepper, six forks, etc.

 

I was most impressed with The rider by Chloe Zhao. It’s an excellent micro-budget movie. In this movie the character is a horse trainer, and he is an excellent horse trainer in real life, which saves a lot of money and time on the cost of the movie.
Chloe Zhao, the director, she almost made the film into a documentary. It took a lot of time to understand Brady’s life before filming, and gradually perfected the script creation through understanding and talking with him.
I think a lot of the shots in this movie were shot hand-held, because the footage looks so breathable, which makes the movie more realistic. The shooting camera should be relatively expensive, which is conducive to controlling the final picture quality. The filming location is in Brady’s home, and the horse that appears in the movie is owned by him. The actors in the movie are basically his family and friends. There is almost no cost to the actors in the whole movie. The biggest expense of this film should be in post-production, sound engineers, editors, compositors, etc. We can see their professionalism in the final film.
For riders, being unable to hold the reins or enduring a severe skull injury, which one is going to be harder to accept. Sometimes it’s harder to give up than to hold on. The young cowboy Brady suffered an accidental head injury. The doctor advised Brady to stay away from the tournament, but he did not compromise. After trying and failing again and again, he gradually realized his limitations and had to give up. This story only presents the rider’s own little world, but it is a spiritual force for the audience.

 

3.

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2021/09/22/ice-ball/

The link above is a micro-budget film I’ve watched, it’s called Ice Ball, “Ice Ball follows renowned polar explorer Will Steger and his band of ice harvesters as they carve, saw, and extract ice for the warmer month’s powerless refrigeration” This film draws our attention to the topic of global warming and the melting of polar glaciers. This is an old topic, but even if it is often brought up, this problem does not seem to be effectively solved or even intensified. This is a documentary film. I could feel the cold while watching this film, through the snow on the hats, the water vapor coming out of people’s mouths when they were talking, and the ice hanging from their eyebrows.
I think it’s a micro-budget film. It is a real event, and the filming team just had to form a group and follow the polar explorers to document how they cut the ice. No need for any actors, props, costumes, everything is real. The interview room that appears in the movie can also be interviewed in Will Steger’s room with his consent.
I think the cost involved: the people and equipment needed for the shoot, the house to live in during the shoot and the voice actors, sound engineers and compositors needed for post-production.
Regarding the risk management of this film, I think it mainly includes: the number of batteries in the shooting equipment should be sufficient, the battery may not work at low temperature, and the machine should be prevented from entering water/snow. To avoid people suffering from frostbite also needs to be paid attention to. The filming team must be aware that the amount of footage must be sufficient, and there may not be spare money to cover the situation where missing shots lead to reshoots at the shooting location.
I think this movie can be used as a story. The film interviewed many people, including those who have been cutting ice for decades, and some young people who want to have a more in-depth experience and return to the city tomorrow to continue their life. From the film we can feel the explorer’s love for nature.
I also noticed that the background music has been changed for different emotions in the film. At the beginning, the music that introduced the film was very cheerful, but when the film entered a deeper place and lead the audience to think and resonate, the music was very gentle.
Although this is a micro-budget film, the quality presented to the audience is very high. Regardless of the topic selection and planning in the early stage, the quality of shooting and post-production synthesis is very high. The film presents a deep thought, and the picture has a uniform tone of finely crafted composition. These are the things the entire film team wanted to bring to the audience.
The topic of human and nature can be made into a series, and even go to the tropics and ocean to explore more about the relationship between human and nature.