Read through session

   For today's workshop we had to present two main ideas prior choosing the most appropriate one for our drama that took the form of a powerpoint, which can be seen below:

   In the end, we opted for the first idea, since we thought that is more suitable and achievable concurrently, and wrote a script of 5 pages (without the title and end page) called 'The two faces of destiny'. 

   As it was mentioned above, in the powerpoint screenshots, we decided on a quite fast pace editing, as we need to incorporate almost all the actions the two characters are going to take. 

   A good reference to this film is the short drama 'Standby' by Charlotte Regan, in which two characters are seen over time changing their emotions, attitudes, expressions based on the time of the year or on the current situation. Although we don't really know too many details about their background (we can only presume that they maybe also have been friends before becoming policemen or they had known each other previously somehow), we can clearly see that their common domain of activity strongly connects them both. 
  *This need to be with the person who has changed your life in a way or another and not to be apart from them, since you feel like a different person when you spend time with him/her, can also be depicted from the last scene, when we see that she has been replaced by a new co-worker, after she got promoted. He is visible sad because he won't be able to do his job next to his worker and friend anymore. Moreover, I could say he was a bit disturbed as well, because the new man got his order wrong, as she never did such a mistake, during the screening at least. We can't be sure if she didn't mess up his order in the beginning too.


   Seeing our drama from a technical side, I can add that we are going to have a lot of close-ups and mid shots in order to capture the two actors' performance properly, but also to put emphasis on some details that help the story develop/explain itself throughout the time limit. Long shots and even extreme long shots will be used too, to help the audience have a sense of space and time. Tracking shots are going to be used too, since I believe they can create a natural progression of the story, without the need to have that many cuts and jumps in the film.
   On the aesthetic side, I think that it's best to opt for a dreamlike and melancholic atmosphere, natural tones (the drawings' colours can be more vivid when seen on screen), with no particular approach to a dark/grim drama, as the film won't be based on Malloy's gloomy background story or the reasons why he is 'cursed' or what is going inside his head. 

   The short is going to accentuate the fact that a true friendship can change even the most ill and lonely person, that's why I want this drama to have a certain nuance (not ordinary, not too lively yet not too dim) to show the difference between their world and the others' world.



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Standby, Charlotte Regan, 9 March 2017, <https://vimeo.com/207630463>

'Digits' by Alexander Engel - Analysis

'Digits' is a short drama created by Alexander Engel, which is about not giving up no matter how hard or unusual the path will be, because the right things happen at the right time (concepts). You just need to have patience, endurance, ambition and faith (themes) that in the end, everything is going to be the way you dreamed of.

   I really enjoyed this film, because the director made the sound a highly important part of the drama, helping the imagery to be understood easily. There were only a few seconds in the whole short that lacked of a non-diegetic audio (as the soundtrack, the narration, the voices of the people called) or a diegetic one (as the actor's voice, domestic sounds), indicating the strong relationship between the sound and the illustration in relation with the theme and subject matter (seeking out for a way to get in touch with the girl he previously met, via phone calls).

   Speaking of its form, there were mostly used mid shots, even middle close-ups and close-ups, fact that indicates that the narrative is quite tense and comprehensive from the very beginning (the drama starts with the number '12', which means that he has already received more negative responses before, but he keeps trying to find the girl's number even after).

   The animations used give the short a more lively vibe, the combination of blue and white symbolizing the colour of the water and mostly of the sharks. He is also wearing a light blue T-shirt and his phone case, as well as some parts of his house, are different nuances of blue, fact that emphasizes his keen enthusiasm to fishing (knowing how to sew his blouse's button, can also denote a slight knowledge about fishing, as I remember that there are sewing techniques that can improve the way you catch a fish).

   The editing pace is rather fast (when there aren't shown important parts of the story), but sometimes it slows down right when there is meaning in the shots, as the last scene of finding the lost piece of paper with the two correct digits on it, signing at a possible end of his grand pursuit.


Link to the short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmRw2dqG5k

Finished documentary + Evaluation/Reflection

   After two full weeks of working on this documentary, we finally possess the final outcome of it, which can be watched on the following link: https://vimeo.com/321274236.

   For the presentation day, Dominic created a powerpoint which can be viewed below:

   Although it was so tough to work as a director, in this group specifically, I believe that I succeeded in keeping my calm throughout these past days and reminding myself about my devotion for film-making and desire for improvement, which helped me move forward in spite of having a lot of inconveniences. There was no teamwork (expect of me and Dom) and no clear desire from the others to make things right, from the very beginning. 

   However, I tried to understand their lifestyles and needs, constantly hearing their complaints about the weather or them being bored, without putting my title in the game, as in not claiming that 'being a director makes all of you listen to me only', since in my opinion it's pointless to do so, especially when there is a small crew. Therefore, I let them have their own views and ideas as well, nicely or subtly declining the inappropriate ones for our documentary, but I guess this type of behaviour wasn't enough for them.

   To conclude, all I can say after all the hard work and stress, is that I am very disappointed in myself more than in my fellow group members, because I believe that I could've done my job as a director, but also as a team mate way better and we could've had a documentary of a higher quality. That's why I consider my role particularly, but also this documentary a failure.

   On the self-evaluation sheet, I didn't fill the bigger box previously at home, since I wasn't sure if I needed to do so before or after the presentation and the feedback provided by Martine in the class. However, I wrote something similar to what I have mentioned above, but obviously as a summary.

Feedback from a tutor

   Today we had a tutorial for our documentary with Martine Thoquenne, who suggested us to slow down the tempo of the images displayed, for the audience to receive the information heard simultaneously better and more concisely, which I totally agree with. People generally are more attracted by the visual in a film or video, sometimes forgetting about the information that they just heard or ignoring it completely. That's why I consider that we should let the viewers with a short quiet moment, while they would be able to admire the details of the shots distinctly. 

   At this point, we only have a quarter of the documentary finished, with the general view of the Georgian Quarter and of the Cathedral included, along with some bits of the voiceover and the interviews of the historian Chris Cannon and of Frank Thompson. However, our tutor understood what we mainly try to do and gave us a positive feedback especially for Dominic’s hard-work that enabled us to forward with this interesting idea, but also for what we have accomplished so far.

   In addition to the last paragraph about the progress of our edit, I can't say that I am happy with its hurried rhythm, since we need to work attentively and precisely, trying to eliminate every type of imperfection. Maybe in some of my teammates’ eyes the edit goes so well, because we only need to include the Shiverpool's performance and the facts about this company and then just a bit more information about the Georgian Quarter, secured by imagery and voiceover. However, I believe that we move too fast, because of the lack of professionalism in our team, both in pre-production and post-production, that points out how neglectful the editors are when working, in order for them to finish the video earlier.