BFI Film Academy- Silver Arts Award

UNIT 1

05/10- We put a word into each of the categories (character, sound, hobby, movie genre, location, colour, object) without context, and then we picked someone else’s word from each category and made short stories from these. I liked how this challenged my creativity because I was limited by the words in front of me, which I think ultimately created a more original and interesting outcome.

12/10- On the teams call, we learnt about film history, such as the very first film: Horse in Motion, and the how film began as something only upper class people would go to. It then became something more accessible to people of all classes. This was surprising to me because nowadays going to the cinema is seen as a casual thing, rather than something on a par with going to the theatre. On top of this, we learnt about the Star system and the Studio system. For me, this was the most interesting as I had no idea how exploitative Hollywood was of its actors or the way in which indie films were basically non existent. This made me think of how easy it was to manipulate people's views through film because the big studios could easily create biased films without any opposing media in the way.

15/10- Today we split back into the groups from last Saturday and began to think of how we would pitch our film ideas to the panel. For our group, the pitching flowed nicely because our idea was structured so that we could all have a chance to speak and therefore I believe the pitch felt more collaborative than ones where only one person spoke. Luckily, our idea got chosen which is exciting because we will be able to see it added onto by other people's creativity and come to life as an actual film. For the next few hours, we sat all together and broke down the compressed idea into 9 separate scenes going from start to finish. I initially found this difficult because I already had a set idea of what I thought the film would look like in my head, however this faded when the scenes began to look comprehensive and each idea only enhanced what I thought was the best version of this story. After splitting into pairs, each team took a scene each and wrote the actual script for this part. I had never used script notation before this so that was something I enjoyed learning and putting into practice. I also found I was picking it up quickly when I actually began to use it. 

1. During the shoot I want to try out being the recordist as I think sound is the one thing I don't know much about in films but is also one of the most impactful things there are in films after visuals.

2. To know that I've achieved this, I would be able to pick out the parts of sound that I had an impact on when the final product is shown in the cinema. I would also know if the emotion of the film is conveyed correctly because of how the sound is used.

3. To achieve this, I would need help from people who have worked on sets before because they would have the best knowledge of how sound in real life can be translated to the big screen.

4. To keep track of this, will try to take photos of everything important and interesting to me.

25/10-This was the second day of filming so things moved faster because people understood their roles better. Firstly, me and Sam worked as the sound team together which I was really excited for because I got the chance to use the mixer. Unfortunately, the scene we were shooting had no dialogue, however this did give me the opportunity to understand how quiet sounds are recorded so that they still sound natural. Next, I was Director of Photography and the directors wanted a mobile camera for the scene. This meant there was a lot if pressure on me, however I was surprised to find that this was my favourite role overall. The camera was very heavy, however I liked being in control of the shots themselves because it felt like I had more of a physical towards the film and the actual visuals. I finished the day off as Assistant Director, which was interesting because I was in control of timekeeping as we were racing towards the end of our shoot. This role wasn’t my favourite, but I did like the making sure everyone was in tune with the other departments and helping things run smoothly. 

26/10

30/10- Today we were editing, which was something that I didn't expect to like as much as I did in the end. Firstly, we had a talk from Jasmine who is and editor on productions like the Horrible Histories movie. I fact about this that I found really interesting was that: the movie production was a year and a half overall, yet only 6 weeks of that was filming. This is something that really puts it into perspective how long the editing process is. When we actually got to editing the visuals, I found it at first was really difficult to get the precise continuity that I wanted, which was something that was just a process of trail and error to fix. I found it most satisfying when my continuity went well and looked seamless. Editing sound was more simple than visuals because it was mostly lined up already, however it was very time consuming to 'checkerboard' it and stop over lapping sounds. My favourite thing was adding sound effects because you had lots of creative freedom.

Peer review

Name of person doing their arts challenge: Rachel

Reviewers name: Ruby

Date: 11/11

What skills or activity have they demonstrated? 

I worked with Rachel on set, where she displayed amazing communication skills that kept the group working steadily throughout our project. She was especially good at directing because she helped me understand what kind of shots were needed when I was Director of Photography in a clear and well explained way. 

What did they do well and why?

Rachel was skilled at staying patient and demonstrating great teamwork which was immensely helpful for keeping a calm atmosphere on set during long hours that could be tiring.

Areas for development?

Personally, I think that Rachel could be more vocal with her ideas, so that the really interesting thoughts that she has can be heard by the rest of the crew.

I paired up with Rachel. This is what she said for my peer review:

What skills or activity have they demonstrated?

Ruby was very confident in communicating and working with the team on set. She expertly contributed to the sound and lighting team and adjusted the camera as DoP.

What did they do well and why?

Ruby did amazing on set. She was very helpful to all departments and kept a fun atmosphere on set. She was great at conducting the camera and focusing the scene.

Any advice? Areas for development?

In the future, Ruby could attempt other roles that she didn't get to try on set to braoden her filmmaking experience.

1.Were you able to meet your arts challenge?

I think i was able to achieve my arts challenge, however I'm not sure my proof will be in final film as I wanted, as my role as a recordist wasn't too influential because the scene I worked on was very quiet and without dialogue.
2. Did you have to change your action plan or your challenge in any way? If so what changed and why? 
I had to adapt because the scene we were shooting took lots of takes, which meant I had to keep checking in with Sam to make sure he was ok with holding the boom. This was something unexpected as I initially thought this scene would only take 3 or 4 takes.
3. What went well for you and why?
I felt that I picked up the skills needed for my sound role quickly and I understood how I should check in with other areas on set, such as making sure the boom wasn't in shot by communicating with the camera team.
4.What was more challenging and why?
It was more challenging to be on my feet of such a long period of time, because I underestimated how heavy the mixer would be.
5. What have your learnt from doing your arts challenge?
I have learnt that patience is very important on set, because things will not always move as quickly as you'd like or hope.
6. What would you do differently another time?
Another time, I might try and get set up quicker, now I know what I am doing. I felt like the set up of equipment sometimes wasted some valuable time.
7.What arts challenge might you do next?

Next, I would like to try out being a more decisive director when I make my A-Level film.

Last weekend, I went to my friends house to watch See How They Run. At this event, we tried to enjoy the film, while being analytical and considerate of what we were seeing. I have seen this type of film before (such as in Knives Out), however I really liked how it embraced the cliches of classic detective films and then mixed them with new styles of cinematography and character dynamics. I haven’t had the experience of watching films with my friends and then analysing them afterwards, as we would usually juts do something else after the film is over. I liked talking it through with them because I we all had different viewpoints and interpretations which will only make the film more fun should I watch it again. One thing I didn’t like, was at times I felt like the film had too many characters with their individual side plots going on, which made some parts confusing to follow. After watching this film, I learnt that you can use cliches to your advantage rather than trying to create something completely unique which is something that takes the pressure off filmmaking as a whole. ​​​​​​​

- Who did you meet? 

Andrew Oldbury, the Senior Development Executive at Red Production Company.

Jorja Lawrence Levy - a Casting Researcher working for Studio Lambert North.

Charlene Jones - a writer/director.

Jack Benjamin Gill - a UK based writer and director for Film and TV.

Lissi Simpson – a Jamaican-British TV freelancer and Indie filmmaker.
- What did you discuss?

We discussed their career paths and how they got to where they are today, as well as productions they have worked on, struggles they have faced and what kind of person it takes to be in the film industry.
- What did learn about careers in film?

I learnt that careers in film are very competitive and that facing lots of rejections is the reality of the industry. However, I also learnt that it is a very creative industry with lots more career paths possible than I thought.
- What did you discover that you did not know before? 

I discovered that there is a hierarchy to the film industry that means most people start as a runner and work their way up, rather than jumping directly into their dream job.
- How can you use what you learnt to help inspire your career?

I can now have a clearer path of the steps I need to take to be part of a film crew, which will influence the choices I make in future education and I will be able to be more patient in trusting that things will happen, even if they don't happen straight away.

The evidence for this is included in the photo file.

THE PLAN:

Evidence for this is included in the second file.