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benmcm18 · 2 years

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What I have been up to...

Cannot lie, this semester I have been more focused on establishing myself after University. The fear of not having a job doing filming makes me really sad. So I went off! And did some jobs in filming :)

Other Projects

The Last Landscape

Role - 1st AC

My thoughts

Originally being the story I wanted to adapt, I begged Orla to let me come on set to help out any way I could. The script by Bonnie is genuinely impressive and knowing many people in the group who are all fantastically talented in their own way made me want to be involved in this project.

The way they pitched the film's visuals and pacing excited me as these are the kinds of films I am beginning to enjoy making. Whilst, I do feel I would have lent more into the long takes of sitting and watching the illness consume Milly I was inspired by Eva’s cinematography. I learned so much by working under her leadership. I feel the camera limited her as she had so many practical ideas and if she had a more lightweight and modern camera she could have worked so much more fluently (Not that she didn’t work fluently haha) I really want to work with her again but in a more involved creative role, possibly directing her as I feel we would easily be able to bounce ideas off one another.

This shoot was smooth and flawless from my perspective. I feel Katie Cox learned a lot as a director and believe if she is just a little more assertive and knowledgeable about practises then she could go so far. What makes her unique for me is that she is not this large presence on set, she does not make herself particularly known but she makes the space so comfortable to work in, she is always there for people and is always open for ideas or suggestions. I can’t wait to work with her again.

I felt bad for ruining their all-girl group but that makes me even more proud to be a part of it. I’m so thankful that they let me be on the project, I’ve always said Bonnie is a talented writer and I feel this proves it once again. Getting to work with Orla again was a joy as she is a very talented sound recordist I can’t wait to see what she does with the sound design. I didn’t get to see Aimee that much but she did a fantastic job with costume and production design and Beth… I believe this image depicts how hard she was working.

Thank you all for letting me be a part of it. You don’t know how much it truly means :)

The Cop & the Anthem

Role - Extra

My thoughts

Originally wanting to play the main character of this project, I loved the character's arc and thought it was a solid representation of a well written and simple story being adapted. Even though I did not play the main protagonist it was still very kind to be given a role as an extra.

From the (VERY LITTLE) Time I spent on set it was clear everyone had fit into their roles well. It was interesting seeing Eilis and Sam on another set and caused me to reminisce about COTL. Focusing more on the shoot, I like how hands-on Alex is with directing. I believe that through his experience acting her understands actors better than most directors and I believe will aid him well in trying to get this almost Chaplin like character to appear over-emphasised on screen. The film feels very much like a comedy and I think Alex’s directing style will help this a lot.

Conscience in Art

Role - Barry (Security Guard)

My thoughts

Another very small time was spent on this set. The scene was fun and it lets me live out my Guy Ritchie fantasy. I know Jack and Ben joked about this film having a similar vibe to a previous project of mine but it is kind of mad how similar they feel. The two main protagonists are acted by the same actors. It feels like a more professional and higher budget Scruff or The Elaborate Planning and Robbery of The Paradise Theatre. Do not worry though I understand they are very different projects. I was somewhat confused by everyone’s roles on the project. Whilst, their production ran as smooth as butter there were times when I got a little confused. However, the cinematography looks amazing from the scene I was in and the direction was light and helpful by Jack. I think they are going to have a fantastic film that not a lot of people will see coming.

Party Animals

Role - 1st AD

My thoughts

This was a bizarre experience. Getting the chance to Assistant Direct a Graduation project is something I do not get to do every day. I just want to say the experience was made a lot less stressful with Orla being the Sound recordist on set. Seeing a familiar face I could rely on really put my nerves to rest.

This film was sold to me as a mumble-core/realist/Ken Loach style film that had a lot of improvisation within the scenes. The director was clearly incredibly passionate about his vision and this is clear in how serious he took every moment on set. In some scenes he would get lost in the world he created and that passion is very inspiring.

The Producer is a Gem and one of the kindest men I have ever met. He didn’t usually produce so I’m not sure how he ended up in that role but he handled it well and gave me plenty of freedom so I appreciate that.

Cinematography confused me but came together on the final day. There were scenes where I would be composing the shot and operating the camera as I had the most experience with it. Do not get me wrong I loved both camera dudes and think they are incredibly hard-working and did a great job but this slides nicely into my next point.

Not to toot my own horn but I was shocked at how similar I was to their level of work. I ended up doing several roles as people were not there or weren’t sure how to operate certain things. I learned so much from these talented people but it also reassured me of my progress on this course. I’m not doing as bad as I think I am sometimes.

Thank you for letting me be a part of this project, it was a tough shoot but I learned so much and met so many new friends.

Music Video

Role - Production Assistant

My thoughts

This shoot was a long time ago. Reflecting on it now has been tough but there is so much clarity from the months that have passed. My role was to basically prepare food and not kill anyone with Oreos. I think I handled this well. I assisted the production where I could and met so many new friends. There are so many people I cannot wait to work with again.

Freelance Photography and Videography

Role - Photographer and Videographer

My thoughts

This is very new to me. To summarise, I’ve basically been travelling around the lower have of Scotland with the 20-something-year-old man who loves gaffs and we have been taking photos. Going to different businesses I have been able to explode the range of my portfolio and make money to pay rent. I want to start looking to possibly do this freelance by myself now as I think that is the natural best step but have been looking at a job in their agency as the man I’ve been travelling around Scotland with, has a clearly very relaxed job that pays well.

Hehe TONUGHT hehe

Online Editing

Role - Editor

My thoughts

Another money-making scheme I have somehow ended up doing so I don’t starve. I currently edit 3 videos a week for a YouTuber/twitch streamer, creating content for his YouTube Channel, Instagram and TikTok. It’s kind of depressing as the videos are copy and paste meaningless montages that I can put together in a few hours but at least it is an area I am intrigued by. I feel that if he paid me more so that I could make more time to edit his videos then he would get much more creative edits and I would be more enthusiastic about the projects he gives me.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Film Adaptation

Film Title - The Skylight Room (Working Title)

Production Role - Producer/1st AD/Editor

Film Description - Anne Leeson is a hard-working individual who tries to take care of and brighten the lives of everyone around her. However, after falling on hard times she struggles to take care of her own life.

Aim - For this project, I plan to get a greater understanding of producing and take a more logistical approach to a project. I am usually very involved creatively and I am trying to change and gain knowledge of productions from a different perspective.

Pre-Production

Tasks

For deciding roles for this project, I did not initially plan on being a producer and I was not really bothered about what role I played. I did get excited by the idea of producing the project alongside AD-ing and editing the footage.

Jack began the development of the script. We have been finding it challenging to get a draft we are all happy with. I feel Sofia as the director likes to be very involved in the scriptwriting process. I also believe it is important to trust other people to work on their own tasks but do feel the director should have a lot of input when developing the script.

We decided to put out a casting call for the roles within the film. Sofia wanted to make sure we had a diverse cast. From this decision, I got the opportunity to meet a variety of different actors from around Scotland. I sent out casting calls and then after attending auditions I sent the selected actors contracts for their roles.

We decided to visit the locations chosen for the film. Jack kindly offered us his building for the majority of the filming. The location perfectly captured the space we were going for and with a later set dressing, it was perfect. The only difficulty we found was the hallway being too loud with traffic so a last-minute location change was needed.

I can’t lie booking the equipment was difficult and I am sure everyone felt similarly. With everything going on it is understandable but it made it difficult to book out Lavaliers and proper lighting which I think is unfair towards Jenny and Mary who took their role so seriously.

Due to the script taking more time than expected to be completed this meant I was forced to push back a lot of the planned tasks. We managed to fit a lot of tasks in before the shoot day but we sadly missed out on important things such as a storyboard that I think would have helped Sofia and Mary be on the same page more.

Production

Thoughts

Going into the actual production we initially decided for Lucy to be Assistant Director as I was feeling quite burnt out from the production role but we ended up with me taking the role We had decided to cut out shooting days down from 5 to 3 but looking back at it now we probably could have done it in two. From my previous experience watching a third-year it was clear I was signing up not to be well-liked. From my perspective, 1st ADs were people who kept everyone on track and handled stuff the director could not whilst they were busy.

I felt that over the three days of shooting I kept everyone on track and handled any issues that arose. It became clear as the days continued that crew members were becoming stressed by the speed at which I was keeping them. I need to remember to keep a balance of lightheartedness and work focus to be a fair assistant director.

Post-Production

Tasks

Editing - My main job now was to edit. I must really thank Jenny for syncing all the files. She and I have spent a long time in post-production together and we both found it frustrating at times but we kept pushing. I think we both really wanted to make a good project.

I do feel I was doing roles I should not have been doing in post-production. I don’t really know how to talk about it as this is not me getting on at my group. The deadlines we were given I think just were a bit overwhelming but it would have been nice to see more frequent visits from members of my group. Jenny, Sofia and I spent a lot of time in post and Mary came in to do the grade which I am very grateful she did. Overall Post-production was tough but we made it work.

Crit

Our film was received quite positively. There were definitely issues but my edit was complimented and the film was considered well-paced and engaging. All of those areas I was really worried about. I am so burnt out after this entire production and really tired so I don’t know if I can write anymore haha. I learned so much this semester on this project. I am certain now directing is what I want to do but I may try my hand at cinematography next year as I have not given that a go yet. Thank you to my entire group for working on this project with me. I understand the frustrations we all had but we did pretty well :)

Reflection

I learnt a lot about producing on this project, however, am still concerned about what it takes to be a positive impact on the production or a negative. I was constantly praised for my work but we had so many issues throughout the entire production that I can’t help but feel that is because of me. It has made me realise how much I love creativity within film productions and this entire project left a lot to be desired because of the role I picked. Doing so much work compared to my prior roles in pre-production made me incredibly burnt out and I wanted to take a step back from the project once production had begun but I ended up 1st Assistant Directing and because of feeling so burnt out I think it stopped me from doing a great job as an AD.

I thought I remained composed during the shoot but I was constantly told I needed to stop stressing because it is causing others to stress. This made me feel terrible as it felt like there was nothing I could do to stop people from having a bad time around me.

After production had finished I needed to take a break so I cannot thank Jenny enough for looking through the footage and syncing up the audio. I began with the edit and started editing the important scenes. With the extension confirmed I am happy that we have some breathing room but I don’t want to let anyone down and can feel quite a bit of responsibility to produce a good edit.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Documentary Film

Film Title - Bodies of Water

Production Role - Sound

Film Description - By following our subject Sonia (Peer’s mum) we “dive” into her world of Wild swimming and explore why she finds the water to be her safe space. This documentary will focus on her relationship with the space and talk about how she has come to this place to understand herself and her past.

Aim - For this project, I plan on creating a sound that recreates what it is like underwater. I want the sound to be experimental and not match that of the visuals. I also wish to look closely at the interviews Peer had with his mum and use this intimate dialogue as an almost current that floats the audience through the documentary, This will all be done to create a good foundation of learning to potentially specialise in sound when the third year begins.

Pre-Production

Tasks

I actually have very little inspiration for sound. Every short film I’ve looked at has fantastic visuals but the sound design is left for a lot to be desired. Jack Birrell mentioned Moonlight as an example of the sound in water so I will check this out.

When creating the PowerPoint for the pitch I had to prepare a sound slide for the pitch. I discussed the idea of an audio-only experience like when you close your eyes underwater. I want to experiment a lot with the sound as I am new to Pro Tools and want to create something truly special for this project.

We woke up early one morning and stuffed ourselves into a car to go to Portobello beach. We got to experience wild swimming and go in ourselves with Sonia to get a real sense of space. It was really cold (obviously) but you can see the benefits of it. It feels so natural to do for some reason almost primitively, so I can’t lie when I say I would do it again and start doing it regularly.

Mindset

I have no clue what I am doing but am bursting with eagerness to discover ideas and create something that stands out. I am beginning to prepare for the shoots now but don’t see a need for me to be there on all days as there is only so much sound I can capture. I think foley is where I am really gonna do some cool stuff.

Production

Tasks

I had to learn how to finally use sound equipment. MAY ROWEN AND ORLA BLESS ME WITH THEIR KNOWLEDGE. It actually turned out that Peer also helped me quite a bit with learning the sound equipment and how to correctly operate it. By the time we started shooting on the first day, I was fully caught up to speed.

We returned to Portabello for the first day's shoot. Looking at the project visually it looks amazing! We had a beautiful sunrise and with two cameras Katie and Rosie were able to capture so much. I remember looking back at the footage and suggesting filming for longer to allow Bethany more freedom in the edit but they kindly took my advice on board. I captured loads of sounds and actually found it so peaceful. Sound on a beach is so unique and when you take a moment to listen it is amazing how many additional sounds are in the space beside the gentle breeze and rush of the ocean.

We went to a much calmer location next: A reserve. Here I was able to capture the sounds of Sonia swimming across the water's surface, The annoying part with this location is that there were so many dogs, horses and crows. They muddied the clear sound files I had captured but I may find ways of using them. Possibly to cause more distress if needed.

Mindset

I loved it, The project was so heartful and meaningful, if edited in the right way this project could be so unique. I’m beginning to realise it is quite a simple premise but the possibilities in what Peer can do seem so large. I am beginning to realise the importance of my role and hope Bethany starts the edit soon.

Post-Production

I initially had two days to finish the sound design for the project. Looking at my work I am frustrated at my sound recording but very happy with the sound design. I feel I perfectly captured the space. In all honesty, I do feel the narration is too spaced out and should either have no dialogue, more dialogue or make the film shorter but I am so glad it is finished I had such fun this year with my group. Thank you, everyone :)

Mindset

Crit

The film was received well. There were issues with the story of the film, however, we were not aiming to create one. More so a sense of space is what we wanted. I believe my sound helped this goal as my work was called immersive. I really appreciate the good feedback and loved watching everyone’s films.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Film Adaptation Dossier

Below is a link to The Skylight Room's Dossier Folder. We are currently still waiting for Jack to complete the Location Agreement, Recce checklist, and a Location Release Letter as he lives in the location we filmed at. He is currently in Morocco and hopes to have it finished by Monday as discussed with Joe Li.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Food Review #2 McProtein

Introduction

Currently, I have been going to the gym quite a bit and to combat the dramatic amount of energy I am using I have created… The McProtein….

Ingredients

Brown Wraps (2x)

Peanut Butter Spread (?)

Chicken Breast (2x

Eggs (4x)

Peppers (3x)

Spring Onions (2x)

Garlic (1 Little Dude)

Cheese (A lot)

A very tasty bit of scran. Your going to want to double wrap these puppies as they tend to fall about because of the weight. This is a good light snack for lunch to maybe have with a protein shake. It is about 1200 Calories so be careful not to have too much hehe xxx

Overall Rating: Not an egg McMorran but better than a McMuffin

#Kino cinema #film photography #Cinema #Citizen Kane

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Film Adaptation Ideas Post

*This will be re-uploaded again shortly in better formatting.*

Synopsis

A young woman named Miss Leeson is searching for a place to live. She searches for a home and meets someone called Mrs Parker who offers her the smallest bedroom in the house with a skylight. She meets a cast of characters during her stay and at night she looks through the skylight and builds a connection with a star (even naming it). However, she then experiences hard times due to having little food and is later hospitalised. It appears she is going to die but she is saved by a doctor who is named the same name as the star.

Group Roles:

Sofia Akram - Director

Jack Birrell - Writer/Production Design

Mary Hanna - Director of Photography/Camera Operator/Storyboard

Jenny Morrison - Sound Recording/Sound Design

Ben McMorran - Producer/1st Assistant Director/Editor

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Film Genres – Critical Reflection

Opening Notes…

Compared to last year, these last three months have been incredibly transformative for me as a filmmaker. Not only have I developed a short film which is the main focus of this post but I’ve also, been taught about the importance of production management and also, been offered roles on third-year film shoots. In order for me to properly reflect on Catacombs of the Lost, I need to discuss what has happened over these three months. I want to use the structure of Sam’s blog to talk about this film project as I believe it summarises the pros and cons of the whole production well and it also allows some self-reflection and honest constructive criticism on the work. (So props to you Sam xx)

My Thoughts…

I’ve been stuck in a rut when it comes to creating films since the summer. I constantly want to push myself in terms of creativity and scope. I do not really feel playing safe has many benefits but I do understand it helps with putting what I have been taught into practice and building a solid foundation when it comes to filmmaking. Regardless of me knowing that I can sometimes get caught up in trying to great the most ambitious project possible.

That entire conundrum I’ve talked about above is what I feel was the biggest issue for Catacombs of the Lost (COTL) but also for me, what makes it one of my most proud projects so far.

There are faults with the film, problems with the pacing, dialogue, story, etc. These issues are something I really care about (especially the story) because to me, it does not matter how good the film looks or how great the sound is. If it is not a story the viewer can engage with. I’ve failed. I get caught up in creating a large-scale fictional story because I really am not interested in creating a project (at this moment in time) that is grounded in reality. I don’t enjoy that. I want to be creative and push myself in all areas. I really want everyone I work with to be as creative as possible and experiment, without the worry of messing up. In this project, I feel the members of my group did this. For example, Orla discussed the idea of creating her own composition for the film. I love that! Why not? This is the perfect time to experiment and learn and it is one of the stand-out parts of the film. Seeing people’s reactions and noises when the music comes in at the beginning of the chase is something I’ve never experienced and something I will truly cherish as a director.

So reflecting on this film I have taken away several things:

I did not spend enough time on the script.

I need to be more organised and coordinated when directing on set. This constructive criticism mainly came into my mind after being on set with the third years. Whilst, I enjoyed being on set creating COTL I should have done a better job focusing on tasks at hand. Going forward I would actually like to focus more on pre-production, Production management taught me everything I need to prepare for a film shoot.

I would want someone else to edit the film. I love editing, however, even though I do feel I am open to cutting anything from my film I think a fresh perspective really helps in finding solutions to issues that appear through the edit.

I do not believe the film was ambitious enough. I feel a constant part of this post is going to be talking about scale and ambition. For me, the next project I want to create will have VFX, a larger world, a compelling narrative story. However, maybe for my next project, I should create something more “experimental” as I’ve never really delved into that.

I want to be more creative. The thought of not making something that truly pushes you creatively I just do not get. I touched on this idea above but after this project, my goal is to create projects like this until it works. Until I get it perfect. I do not like the idea of being told that this is a bad thing to want to strive, for even if the project turns out “bad.”

Class - Overall Feedback

The score and voice of The Devil were well received.

The Dialogue of the Devil was hard to hear.

The use of violin works well in the horror genre.

The dialogue is not very well written.

Too much is happening in the beginning.

Maybe don’t need the start.

When Henry looked blankly at his Mother it was off-putting.

The chase is cool.

Narratively confusing when/why he starts running.

Like rising up of the Devil

Lighting is impressive and believable for space.

Nice transition into red space.

Great visuals.

Production design really added to it. Immersed in film.

Liked the idea, ambition and location.

The time frame is unclear.

Green Knight vibes!

“Fantastic”

Super ambitious

Would like to “see the demise of all parties” - John 2021

Critical Feedback… *If I don’t write anything after I agree with everything they say and do not have anything to add*

DAVID B - Discussing Cinematography and General feedback

“The cinematography was nice. It included some very exciting movements.” - Ben A was fantastic to work with when it came to cinematography. He also understood that the VFX shots we wanted required me to use Premiere Pro on my home PC. This meant he chose to film the project in 4K instead of 6K which overall saved us so much time when it came to editing. Time I think we really needed.

“Motivated light sources”- Ben A, Eilis and Sam all had a hand in creating the lighting. There were some issues on the first shoot which caused us to have to change the entire plan for the lighting. This however was fixed quickly as they were open to communication and was how we ended up with these “Motivated light sources.”

“Focus comes and goes but hopefully will improve with time and practice. Better to be adventurous now.” - I appreciate that we are being given some leniency when it comes to the focus pulling. Without a focus puller on set we focus more on the movement and blocking in the hopes there would not be an issue. Sam, I believe in his blog does mention however there is a feature in the GH5 that can help with making sure it doesn’t go out of focus, so I hope to possibly implement this in the future.

“Nice backlight especially in the second shot” - Ben A’s fantastic improvised shot.

“Like the falling/sped up bit with lamp moving on the floor.” - A played around with this for a while as originally we had planned on making it blend more and be more complicated. In all honesty, the speed was there as a placeholder but it ended up working really well with the lamp smashing that we kept it.

“Nice cutting between mother and running” - I worried about this a lot as without the sound and music it didn’t really work. Props to Orla for creating some truly wonderful sound effects.

David L - Sound, Story and some General comments

“The music is good.”

“Fix audio in the catacombs as the voice is too quiet.” - I agree with this. I don’t feel the dialogue in the chase scene is that necessary to hear, but I do still believe this whisper in your ear does add to the sinisterness of the scene.

“Cramming in too much at the start.” - I understand we were meant to keep to a time limit. There is other criticism down the line where it says that it is too large an idea for the time allocated. I could not agree more. I felt that with a bit more time (20 seconds) I could have made the opening much more palatable.

“The line jump is a bit jarring.”

“I like the concept and visuals.”

“CU shots at end of mother could have been effective.” - The reason for sticking with a wide as the final shot was because I wanted to get across the feeling of loneliness and isolation within the mother. Being closer to the mother would have been more emotional, I do agree though.

Zoe - Sound, Pacing and General comments

“Love the sound design of spirit.”

“I hate the dialogue. It is too distant to properly connect with.” - I agree with Zoe. Dialogue is something I very much struggle with. I do feel that the time limit affected the delivery of the lines in the final film as I had planned for it to be delivered over a longer period of time but I should have been aware of that when I wrote them. Zoe also mentions that we could have “added de-reverb to reduce this audio “distance” I hope we learn how to do this next trimester as we used a variety of in-camera audio and V.O for the opening scene. I also believe that because of this blend of different audio sources I can see why Zoe also said this: “I was not sold on the performance. V.O at starts sounds like reading a letter.” Whilst, I do believe David and Chloe’s performances were good I felt that when having to cut so much from the opening scene handicapped their performance.

“Loved the score. Higher tones are a bit distracting though and a bit static.” - I would highly recommend looking at Orla’s blog as she goes into detail about her process and her time spent on the score.

“Don’t feel the gear change from wanting to sacrifice then running away.”

“Wonderfully ambitious!”

The Dynamic Duo - (Leo & Juliet)

“Bring more physicality of demon for fear factor through sound.” - I’ve got to be honest I’m not really sure how I would do that but I would love to. Whilst they both seemed “Pleased with the devil voice. It hit the sweet spot.” when they say that they want more physicality I’m not sure what they mean by “physical” but I would really like to be explained.

“Work on audio is good.”

“Chase could have used more sound. Footsteps should have been louder.”

“Brilliant Location” - That is all thanks to Sam. He did a fantastic job finding the group a location.

Ben - Directing

*I really want to reflect on my role as a director as that was the one I chose for this project. I’ve talked about my role as an editor above in parts. Overall, whilst I enjoy editing and am happy I managed to get the film down to the time limit. I do believe that with someone else as editor the film could have possibly improved in the final cut.*

Anyway, with that out the way, I will now talk about directing. Firstly, I’m not really 100% sure directing is. I have my own idea and from what I gather online is that they are the creative leads on a film project but I’m confused as to what that entails. Or more specifically, how I get good at doing that.

Only a few weeks ago I was surprised to see on a third-year set that I was doing the role of the Producer and First Assistant Director when I was on the COTL set (This is much more true on the first shoot than the second.) I had no clue that I was and that is why I consider being on those third-year sets such a learning experience. I’ve seen a lot of different directors and their techniques this year. This has only made me want to improve and I do not know how besides “make more films” I would really appreciate if the lecturer is reading this to leave a comment quickly pointing out ways I can learn and improve. What makes a good director that people like to work with?

I felt I supported everyone on the project. Co-ordinated them well by keeping them focused on their individual roles. I sat down with different departments all the way through production and discussed how I envisioned the film. I worked with two very different actors on this project and was able to communicate to them how I wanted them to perform. I believe when it comes to enthusiasm, communication and leadership I do quite well. I just want to get better, I just do not know-how. What books can I read? What practise can I do? What can I watch? Because I’m not sure if what I’m doing is right or wrong I’m constantly second-guessing myself and wondering what I can do to improve. I think the main thing I can reflect on in my role as director is that; whilst, I got good feedback from my peers when I was on set. I really need to know if what I’m doing is the correct practice.

Ben - Writing

I will keep this shorter as I’m pretty sure I know what I did right and wrong on this project.

I enjoy writing grand stories, in fictional worlds where I can really flush on the world-building. I liked that I stuck to that with this project as it is my first medieval film and in regards to the setting and tone I think I succeeded with the script.

I have an issue with my own writing, however. I focus a lot on narrative structure and characters arcs. In this film, I think I failed both of them. I should be working to a higher level and understanding what is possible in 3 minutes. My dialogue is sluggish and I need to practise the lines out loud before I submit them.

However, this won’t stop me from creating an idea similar to this again. I love that we attempted my story and felt it was a well-made film. With a longer edit, I do truly believe it will improve.

Special thanks…

I just want to say thank you to everyone in my group who put in so much work to create my script. Who gave so much of their time to make it a reality. I am really grateful to be surrounded by people who share the same passion as I do for filming. Eilis, I am glad I was able to help show you the GH5, I hope you learnt a lot from this project and thank you for keeping everyone so positive throughout the shoots. Sam, you are fantastic at producing and you should be proud of the location you found and the relationships you established from the vaults, thank you for all the effort you put in. Orla, you are very talented at sound, thank you for even entertaining my ideas that I wanted for sound and I really appreciate how much effort you put into the film. Ben, You got a good eye for cinematic stuff (people in the crit also very much agreed) and you are very understanding, thank you for sitting down with me for hours during the edit and storyboarding, I would have not had as nearly as much fun without you.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Sound Project Reflection

Introduction

We were tasked to choose a film clip from the six available ones and consider what genre we could place it in. Then work on a sound design that works with or against the image, giving us a strong sense of genre and narrative possibility. Our group chose to go for this clip as we felt it allowed us to be ambitious and we could imagine the sounds clearly. We wanted the genre of this clip to be drama, building up its intensity using the city sounds to communicate his distress within the narrative. We all planned to work equally on the project and distribute the work between all of us without really giving each other roles. I believe this plan didn’t allow us to focus on a specific goal for the end project and whilst we created an overall solid first draft of a sound project I felt if we had more time we could have really created something fantastic. That shouldn’t detract from the fact I feel everyone worked hard on this task and we all learnt so many new techniques and skills.

Foley Session

We decided we wanted to create our own sounds for the clip. Orla booked out the foley room and I very much felt she helmed this project taking control by recording the audio and also editing them. I cannot praise her enough for the work she put into this task and I think it is worth mentioning. With Ben and Sam in the foley room that meant Orla, Eilis and I were in the recording studio taking all of their sounds down. We had previously written a list of sounds we wanted to capture and also went away before the foley session to see if we could capture any sounds back in our flats or when travelling around Edinburgh.

Editing

I didn’t know how to use Pro-Tools when we began the session. As I mentioned before, Orla took charge of editing the sound design but I wanted to help with it as well as I didn’t feel I was doing enough compared to her. She was very kind to show me how everything worked so that when it came time for her to leave I could pick up where she left off. This was why when Zoe asked in the Crit if I thought someone could look at our audio tracks and continue working, I believe they could. Orla and I worked at the computer editing away with Sam and Ben giving pointers or ideas. Sitting down in the editing suite I learnt a new sense of respect for the software. Before I had very little knowledge but now that Orla has shown me how to set up the software it has refreshed my memory on how to actually edit sound.

Crit

When sitting down for the critical assessment there were many positives and negatives and I greatly appreciate group 7 and the lecturers taking the time to talk about our sound project:

Positives

Group 7 really liked the silence of the flat. I believe someone wasn’t the biggest fan of the room tone we had used but I felt that it was a valid choice as it gave such a sense of unease (which is what we wanted to push.)

There were several good transitions that made the sound flow well. One example Juliet used was the car passing as the door opens and closes. She had noticed how I’d used the sound of the car to lower the overall volume outside so that the audience could focus more on the man in the background.

The organisation of the tracks was to a solid standard. I felt that if it was a solo project everyone’s tracks would be more organised but because we were working in a group the dynamic caused us to place in audio all over the place. Orla however, correctly labelled everything and built the sounds up in layers which allowed me to easily take over and understand her process.

Negatives

Firstly, overall it was a bit rough. The lecturers believed that with more time and polish the sound design could have really been impactful and I agree I felt that with more time we could have really focused on what we wanted the project to be and communicated.

The end music wasn’t received how I expected. I feel I argued the purpose of the final soundtrack well, pointing out how it is meant to be like the beginning of a montage in a movie or the end of a pilot episode to show the character is in the shit. The music came off as comedic and I can understand why. I felt we should have discussed it more within the group and I think I was hasty to add it so close to the end of the project deadline.

Conclusion

Our group worked well and created some unique ideas for how this scene sounded. I liked how much we used the foley room as it is an area I’m unfamiliar with and I’m also glad I got a good grasp on Pro-Tools, however, the project is rough and could use a few more drafts. The seeds are there but it still has fully grown. Moving forward, I’ve learnt that film plays a huge role in how we perceive the image within a film and how it creates genre. Also, I learnt what it takes to construct a successful sound design for a film. I want to spend an incredibly long amount of time working on sound. I plan to be incredibly detailed with the sound on the Genre film that we are shooting soon.

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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Sound Feedback - Group 4

I was working on our group sound project at the same time Group 4 were finishing theirs. At the time they asked for feedback and there was little I could say for them to add or change. They had created a very creative and high-quality soundscape.

Whilst, not everything was added into the final project, now seeing its completed version I thought they did a great job. The one noticeable difference from both viewings is that I could now hear the wind when in the flat. I think this was a smart move as it kept this feeling of unease in my mind and communicated the character's distress.

If I had to have a stab at what genre this is I would say drama. Seriously a great job! It is so professional and I hope they bring this level of quality to their genre film.

If you haven't listened to their sound project here is the link:

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benmcm18 · 2 years

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PITCHING

Getting the opportunity to pitch an idea to a section of the class with my group was a very insightful experience when figuring out my strengths and weaknesses when I present ideas for films.

I plan on reflecting at the bottom of this post. For now though, I want to go through each section of this pitch and give the proper appreciation for how hard my fellow team members worked.

Story

We very much wanted to convince the people we were pitching to that we wanted to create an almost grand/big-concept idea of a small story in a large universe. A universe we could return to again to tell numerous stories. I'm a huge fan of dark fantasy stories and universe's like: Berserk, Dark Souls or Bloodborne. So when creating the story I very much took inspiration from those places.

In regards to how we pitched the story to the group that I was happy I gave a logline at the start so the audience could get a simple understanding of the story. I then proceeded to go into more detail about the story and the characters struggles.

uI strongly believe that understanding a character's ambitions and problems when being introduced to their story is crucial for keeping the audience invested. I wanted to spend some time talking about the characters so the audience can understand why they are making these decisions throughout the story. However, I now realise that when pitching I should talk more about why we as a group should make this film, why we want to make it and how we are going to make it. I think I wrote too much about the characters so therefore we weren't able to talk about some crucial elements like lighting and sound.

Visual Approach

Ben A definitely helmed this section of the pitch (Very well, might I add) I still feel we aren't 100% exactly on the same page with the visual look of the film but he is bringing some fantastic ideas to the table and can't wait to see what we create! His part of the pitch was very good and covered all the bases that we felt were crucial. His volume was bang on I thought he was very clear.

The setting is a mix between gothic and medieval which is shown on the left side of the image above. I like Ben's thoughts on colour and framing so when we sit down to go over the storyboard I think we will create something fantastic!

Lighting

Eilis sadly didn't get to speak about lighting for the project, HOWEVER, I can assure you she had some fantastic ideas and points to pitch. I sat down with her and discussed the look and tone for the film, going into detail about inspirations we had for the colour and lighting style. She very much gravitated towards these three images when trying to discuss the look she thought would work.

I don't know if she has posted about the pitch but I'd recommend going to her Tumblr page to check out her points. :)

She was very enthusiastic towards the project and I want to make sure she keep that up when we begin production!

Sound

Sound is a huge thing for the project and was planned to be discussed in detail when pitching it to the audience. We sadly ran out of time but regardless of that it really means a lot that Orla is so passionate and excited to work on it! We sat down and begin thinking of ideas and what we wanted to do for the sound design. There is so much planned but I don't really want to go into detail at this moment as it is very early on.

The most important thing to me right now is to keep Orla enthusiastic about the sound design as I think she can elevate this project to a whole other level.

Reflection

I'll keep this quite short as I think I know what I need to improve on:

Pros -

Enthusiasm towards the project.

Level of detail known about the universe and story.

Encouragement towards group work.

Cons -

Keeping calm whilst speaking.

I need to be more concise when pitching.

Need to talk about why the project is important and why we should make it.

Two Morons and the Devil Himself

I also wanted to talk about the other pitch our group presented. Whilst, I was more focused on my idea it was very interesting working alongside Sam. I loved the script he wrote and really liked how it was the opposite (tone-wise) of the script I had written. Sam is very professional when he pitches and is clear when speaking. He doesn't seem to get nervous when talking in front of a large group so I want to strive to be more like that when doing public speaking.

He was open to new ideas within the pitch. I spoke to him about the benefits of a logline and I'm glad he included it as I felt it allowed the audience to remember the storey easier.

His pitch was more condensed and he hit 5 minutes bang on so props to him.

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