My work scope has changed in the first three weeks of this semester:
01 – From the second-hand work to the first-hand work
In the first three weeks, I spent more time analysing scripts written by others and learning how to cooperate with actors, while in the fourth week, I began to devote myself to my creation. I’d like to define the first three weeks of my work as “second-hand work” and the fourth week as “first-hand work”. From my past experiences, I’m used to working second-hand, polishing, modifying, and refining first-hand content created by others. Through the practice of the first three weeks, I found that I had little experience in first-hand work, and in the following time, I will change from second-hand work to first-hand work.
02 – From filmmaker to director
In this studio, I focus more on the work of pivotal directors. I assume my role as a director rather than a filmmaker. From a general perspective, filmmaker and director are the same things. A filmmaker is a director. A director is a filmmaker. However, in my circumstance (in the Deliberate Film Studio, I assumed myself as a filmmaker), a filmmaker is involved in filmmaking and handles a film from start to finish. Filmmakers must understand camera techniques, effectively using actors, lighting, setting, and location. The director directs performances for the screen, which starts before the casting and finishes after the last slate is shot, which means the director just directs sets. In other words, when I work as a filmmaker, I focus on everything which is associated with visual storytelling. But in this studio, when I define myself as a director, I stick to one thing – an aspiring director how to prepare the work and cooperate with actors
In this case, just like picking up pieces and putting them into a puzzle, I start to ask myself these pieces questions to develop my directorial approaches:
- How to formulate my effective modes of communication to craft compelling performances?
- How to analyse a script?
- How do rehearse the actors and decide on the visual treatment that enriches their performances?
Finally, I am looking forward to the rest of the projects this semester, especially is associated with creative practices. It is sometimes said that where oil was the primary fuel of the 20th-century economy, creativity is the fuel of the 21st century. I hope to develop and cultivate my directing practice more creatively and intuitively. I will apply this understanding to my creative practice and develop my skills in textual analysis, concept development and aesthetic communication.