Exploration of Ideas
I had just finished post-production on Andrew's film and had begun pre-production on my next project. The focus for me now is still within my original conceptions but I have taken a different look at it. Instead of choosing one genre and one genre only I have decided to look more into genre blending. For my weekend films I looked at the idea of blending the neo-noir genre with the action genre. It was a good learning experience for me. Throughout the year I have been experimenting with many different genres. So far the one I am most pleased with is crime. The crime genre offers a wide range of options and opportunities for me to mix and match visual aesthetics.
Planning
The photographs below are of my film notebook which I use to plan out most everything.
Since I haven't started production for my latest film yet, I'll just talk about the production process for my weekend films. My weekend films were sort of an experiment. I used them as a way to see what I could actually create in a short amount of time. Furthermore, they allowed me to experiment with genre blending, locations, and characters for my next larger project. I was able to learn that filming in the cold sucks. Just in case I hadn't already learned my lesson early in Andrews film. Also actors don't like being cold. Chris was the only one without a jacket on set, and subsequently he was very cold. When filming with realistic props in a public place you have to be very aware of your surroundings. For as small of a group as we had it only looks more suspicious. However, most people were very chill and understanding. Although when using fake guns, people are less convinced when you tell them it's a school project. Color grading became something I have gained a greater understanding of, as well as dynamic camera moves. For most of these projects the characters are moving. This 'motivates' the camera to move as well. If you look for it, you'll notice that the camera is almost always moving with the on screen action in movies. Steady hands become essential when you don't have a stabilizer. One thing that is very helpful is having a spotter. A spotter is someone who is moving with you and watching to make sure you don't fall or trip. As the camera man your eyes need to be on the camera, a spotter makes this possible.
For me, film is a very important part of my life. That is why I take great care in the production of a film. The problem that this creates for me is I gather a fear of failure. This fear prevents me from creating things. Instead of offering myself a learning opportunity by creating something. I just avoid doing something new. If you don't try new things you cannot fail, and if you cannot fail you cannot get better. The whole purpose of the weekend films was to allow me to lose fear of failure. Ironically, the weekend films made me more afraid of failure, because each time I succeeded only raised the bar. When the bar is raised it increases my anxieties of failing and my desire to succeed. What I am still trying to learn is that I have to do my best not the best. Only this way can I truly improve because if I was already doing the best there would be no need to improve. I am clearly not the best filmmaker ever so I need to improve by failing.
Fri - Storyboard
Production
Since I haven't started production for my latest film yet, I'll just talk about the production process for my weekend films. My weekend films were sort of an experiment. I used them as a way to see what I could actually create in a short amount of time. Furthermore, they allowed me to experiment with genre blending, locations, and characters for my next larger project. I was able to learn that filming in the cold sucks. Just in case I hadn't already learned my lesson early in Andrews film. Also actors don't like being cold. Chris was the only one without a jacket on set, and subsequently he was very cold. When filming with realistic props in a public place you have to be very aware of your surroundings. For as small of a group as we had it only looks more suspicious. However, most people were very chill and understanding. Although when using fake guns, people are less convinced when you tell them it's a school project. Color grading became something I have gained a greater understanding of, as well as dynamic camera moves. For most of these projects the characters are moving. This 'motivates' the camera to move as well. If you look for it, you'll notice that the camera is almost always moving with the on screen action in movies. Steady hands become essential when you don't have a stabilizer. One thing that is very helpful is having a spotter. A spotter is someone who is moving with you and watching to make sure you don't fall or trip. As the camera man your eyes need to be on the camera, a spotter makes this possible.
Evaluation
Integration
What I'm taking away from this is simple. I need to do more. I need to allow myself to fail. I have to be able to move on from the past experiences and believe I can do better. I need to push myself by purposefully implicating challenges instead of avoiding them. As far as technical aspects of production go, I need to plan better. Both of the weekend films I made would have gone belly up had no one been available. I literally called friends the day of asking if they wanted to film something. Thankfully I know some epic people who are great at what they do and willing to help. In order to improve this aspect of my production flow I need to have a clear plan much more early on. I also need to be aware of everyone else's clarity on the plan. So overall, I need to be better at planning with cast and crew, sharing the plan I've developed, and understanding that the only way to get better is to fail sometimes. I'm going to do these things by creating call sheets, checking with people in advance, picking people who are reliable, and making more films.
Mon - wrote script
Tues - wrote script
Wed - wrote script
Thurs - Storyboard
Fri - Storyboard
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