This week we focused on class consults for the upcoming assignment. I think everyone is struggling with lockdown and we are all working hard towards assignment #2. One of my initial ideas was focusing on industry creator Dexter Navy who I have admired for years as he had an innovative and creative editing style which he showcases in music videos and short films. However, I struggled with how to logistically make a film on Navy without being able to interview him and I am struggling with creative ideas to be more conceptual. Therefore, I am going to interview a friend who has grown a large TikToc following over the last year. I would like to experiment with a zoom call style of capturing or I could be more experimental with the prompt. I enjoyed hearing my classmates plans. In particular I look forward to seeing the outcomes as I have really been struggling with the prompt and think I will learn a lot from my peers in the next viewing session.  We looked at some good music sources and I plan on including these in my final assignment to create a layered sound design.

 

This week we focused on the gallery experience: ACMI micro video essays. We discussed how video as a medium has evolved. We looked at how artists have used forms such as sound art or instillations and advancing technologies. We discussed our pitches for the upcoming assignment and I have been struggling with my concept with the current lockdown restrictions. I am hoping to do mine interviewing a TikToc influencer or on reviewing Dexter Navy’s work. I was inspired by my peers’ pitches and found it helpful in forming the beginnings of my preproduction. In particular I found the discussion of ACMI’s black magic design lab which led us down a discussion of media preservation and an area I know little about. We looked at some basic colour grading within Premier Pro which was great as has always been something I have wanted to learn but never done it myself. I look forward to implementing this within assignment #2 and the works following it. Within this weeks recommended viewing I enjoyed looking at the ACMI Educational Videos which are examples by past students for assignment #4. It also gave me more hope in creation during lockdown.

This week’s focus was speculative narrative fiction and VFX. We explored the new developments in VFX film production. I found the use of LED lights/ screens being used in the production of The Mandalorian to be fascinating. I had no idea that these technologies were being used in this way, acting performances and feel of space is being altered.

We had an introduction into using green screen or chroma key. I used the Keyer effect in Final Cut for my assignment #1 and like the creative possibilities it allows for. As a class, we had a go at using green screen in Premier Pro. I am still new to using premier and so this was a bit of a challenge for me. However, was more intuitive than I expected. My trial can be seen in the image below. Green is used as it is as far away from human skin as possible. 

We then had a showcase of everyone’s assignment #1 which I loved. There are so many talents in class. Seeing these made me really want to work in a group for the final assignment as I would love to learn and combine skills. One of my favourite films was by Dom as I loved the colour grading used to create change in mood.

References

The Mandalorian. 2019,  television program, Directed by J. Favreau, C. Weathers, D. Chow, T. Waititi, B. Dallas Howard, R. Rodriguez and P. Reed. Lucasfilm.

 

 

This week we made rough cuts of our Sound-O-Matic Short Film assignments and are working towards the submission next Wednesday. It was rewarding seeing others’ rough cuts and also gave me faith in my direction and ideas for improvement and allowed me to get to know my peers a bit better in this online environment. 

This week’s focus was on short form vs long form cinema. We spoke on the three act structure as well as others such as the syuzhet structure. One of my favourite films, Momento (2001) uses the reverse chronological structure. This structure is very interesting to me and I would love to experiment with it. However, I believe it would be difficult to avoid confusion and therefore maintain engagement. 

We discussed Wes Anderson’s works and his signature copied style. He uses colour in storytelling to infer mood, symmetric framing, recurring characters and slow motion to create a signature style which is clean and recognisable. Employing and borrowing techniques such as these can result in a stylised and thought out film. Focusing on pre production is important for aspects such as this. 

In media making I decided to drop my idea of using stop motion as a form in my assignment. I experimented with it but strongly disliked the aesthetic especially with my inability to connect Dragon Frame resulting in using my phone’s poor quality. I decided to trial the use of home video style footage as a replacement or purely use live action footage. In class we discussed colour grading and exploring effects, I have experimented with my footage and have employed these techniques.

This week we focused on sound. We opened by having Field Carr visit us and speak. His explanation of ACMI and sharing videos and work he has done made me excited to learn more. Throughout Corona I have found myself feeling disconnected with the industry and lost aspects of what I initially was passionate about when choosing to study media. I found his insights to be helpful with this. The emphasis on ACMI being an industry hub and great for connections led me to look at the volunteer page and I will keep checking it and apply once a spot opens up. I learnt that it also is a media preservation lab and is therefore responsible for preserving the moving image. 

I found it very valuable listening to my peers elevator pitches. I was inspired by ideas and it also allowed me to clarify my own. I think I want to create an experimental music video focusing on the concept of keeping your childhood creativity and playfulness as you grow. It has always been a fear of mine to loose this and I would like it to be present in my industry and avoid falling into an everyday cycle where I wish for each week to be over.

The key media making elements I took away from this week include the industry standard in sound being -6dB and will make sure my assignment meets this. I have never been exposed to these industry specifics and have found Cat explicitly stating them valuable. I have begun my assignment #1 through creating sound layers for my experimental sound design. I aim to have layers of ambiance, foley, vox, music and diegetic sound. I liked the example of bacon sounding like rain and I am planning on finding similar references to explore. 

This week we focused on digital storytelling. An introduction of ACMI and looking at past works from students and the vision of ACMI was inspiring and allowed the wall of the unknown to feel less confronting and more accessible. I am really looking forward to Field Carr speaking to us next week to expand on this. 

We looked into Hiro Murai and his direction through watching  Director ID | Hiro Murai(2014). A key take out of the viewing was Murai explaining that he gets direct inspiration from other works and showcasing how this looks through the gallery example and looking at scale. With discussion of the upcoming assignment I think I would like to focus on making an experimental music video with inspiration gained in this way. 

In regards to media making we discussed the industry standard program for script writing Celtx. I have done a little work using Celtx but aim to do some more exploration during this course. We also looked briefly as types of shots and composition with focus on the rule of thirds. I looked into the discussed program of After Effect and got really inspired by the class discussion of animation. I discovered a program called Character Animator by Adobe and experimented with using my face and movement to control animation. I would love to develop this skill and possibly explore animation for the upcoming assignment. 

 

REFERENCES 

Pitchfork, 2014. Director ID | Hiro Murai, Youtube, Oct 21 2014, Viewed 20 July 2021, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqbpkpNjPFE>