ISSUE 11

http://www.creasedcomics.com/art.php?page=1

Dear Lenny,


It's just not going to work out between us. I am looking for true love. Excitement. Passion. I feel we are just too different to stay together. You are searching for a simpler life, I, for a much more invigorating one.


I hope you find what it is you're looking for.


Roger.


Love Annie.

ISSUE 10

NON-CLICKABLE ITEM

Character profiles for a casting website. Sounds easy enough. I am finding, however, that to make the character sound appealing while maintaining truthfulness and honesty about who this character is and what they will have to do, requires quite deft thinking. Also, because our film has no dialogue, we are presented with an interesting challenge. Will actors warm to this or is dialogue a fundamental part of acting's appeal to them? It will be interesting to work with the actor's body-language alone. I believe it will suit my sensibility a little more, and given my time dancing with The Australian Ballet and the years of dance training I have accumulated, I believe working with the bodies of these characters will be an enjoyable and interesting experience.

I have three character profiles to write up. The man. The Woman. the Waitress. 

ISSUE 9

Thinking about the role of director this week. It's all encompassing - giving your vision to all production areas. However, I found the relationship with the actors the most intriguing part of this little featurette. I hope i can gain the actor's trust and respect by letting them know that they are in a safe and professional group of people. Given some of the things we will be asking of our actors, particularly our lead male, it will be imperative that they feel secure and safe. 

ISSUE 8

farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4943068485_1d8acf7cc3_b.jpg

Keiran has come up with a super idea for our short film. Going against the stereotype that it is only men who think about sex every 10 seconds (or whatever the myth is), we've decided to make our female protagonist just as dirty minded. Taking our cue from Sally's lovely synopsis, our female protagonist sits in a coffee shop and observes the people around her. We cut to her imagining each of these characters engaged in a sexual act. It is not intended to be anything other than engaging and comical. I imagine it slightly akin to scenes from shows such as Californication, wherein the sexual scenes are often funny and reveal elements of the central character that might otherwise be overlooked. 

ISSUE 7

perlamoda.tumblr.com/photo/1280/185806827/1/tumblr_kprzo1tQwM1qzt6cx

I've been a very bad group member. After a terrible night awake, unable to sleep due to some strange and evil insomnia devil, at about 6.37am, I decided to read some George Orwell. Well, Mister Orwell, I have the utmost respect for you and your prolific 20th Century musings, but you were the tranquiliser I so desperately needed about 7 hours earlier. Needless to say that I fell asleep and missed my alarm and, thus, slept right through my group meeting! I would most definitely be fired if this were 'real' life. Even the lizard (who I've since named Cecil) who snuck through my window and shared my room with me last night gave me a look most disapproving when I did wake in a haze of confusion.

Ok, so now I need to work extra hard to make up for it. Onto our first little exercise. Lenny, I am ready for you!

x

ISSUE 6

I absolutely love the simplicity and honesty of this short film, one of 2011's Tropfest finalists. 

ISSUE 5

http://sophisticated-simplicity.tublr.com

Lecture number three was interesting, for we were able to analyse sound production in a number of short clips. The intensity of sound and the point of audition were two points I found intriguing. 

In the clip of In The Line Of Fire, in which Clint Eastwood's character has a conversation with the disguised voice of John Malkovitch, we see Clint's character enter his apartment from the street, throw off his jacket, turn on the television and pour himself a drink, all before answering the phone. It is not only the rich soundscape created with the foley work (shoes on the ground, a coat being thrown down, a remote's click etc), but the music which gives the scene the mood required. As the key of the soundtrack changes from major to minor, the scene becomes sinister and the audience feels the tension tighten almost instantly. It is very effective. I watched another clip of the film on Youtube in which John Malkovitch and Clint Eastwood have an intense conversation over the phone. For the first time, I listened to how the tone of each voice changed as the perspective of the audience changed, altering to the character we could see. 

Which brings me to perspective. I had never thought about how the sound could be manipulated to intensify as the source of sound grows closer to the audience. It all adds to creating an absorbing experience for the audience member. 

The lecture also covered Design. Antonioni's work is incredibly beautiful. The composition is perfect in every frame. It's all so considered - every angle, piece of clothing, prop. It's really visually sumptuous in an understated way. It's subtle. His work doesn't use gaudy colours or brash visual tricks to impress the viewer. 

After this lecture, I have started to think about camera angle/height as well as soundscape in a new way. In post, it's simply brought my attention to the detail needed to create a good film.

ISSUE 4

Attempting to write this synopsis has brought to my attention just how important the character is in determining the success of any one story. I am thinking of a girl as my main character. She is young, around 21. Very pretty, intelligent, but deeply disturbed. She is tempted towards drugs, alcohol, solitude. But why - WHY is she so disturbed? What makes this girl tick? I am trying to discover what it is that she is trying to forget in order to determine the crux of the story. 

ISSUE 3

Here is a link to the tropfest home page. I am loving researching this project, and the Tropfest short films are super inspiring!

TROPFEST 

And here is a link to the Nova Cinema 'Now Showing' page. A good example of well written synposis.

NOVA NOW SHOWING 

x

ISSUE 2

Last night, I played Balderdash. The rules of the game are quite complicated so I won't attempt to explain them here, but I will say that one category of the board game requires each player to come up with a believable synopsis for a film title. Whomever comes up with the most believable synopsis, wins the round. I won! Hurrah! Film-TV 1 is rubbing off on me! After last weeks tute on how to operate the sound equipment, I am feeling more confident with the actual production of the work. Our tute last week also saw us review our short plot summary. Mine needs to be narrowed down to one or two moments, based around the theory of action/re-action/action-re-action etc. For a short film, it's important to remember that props can assist in informing the viewer of a character's history etc, in a few short seconds, rather than explaining with dialogue or unnecessary shots of a character's past. 

After last weeks tute, I have decided to scrap my original idea of Archibald the portly professor. I am going with an idea that I hope will provide a better springboard for what I think works best in short film - making it visually interesting, fleeting, almost sensuous for those short 5 minutes. I am imagining soft, over-exposed lighting, gauzy, diaphanous materials, and pale colours. Now, to come up with the synopsis!

x

ISSUE 1

George Hoyningen-Huene

FILM/TV1. Here we are, about to dive in to this collaborative mess. After our first lecture and tute, I am left feeling excited about the coming semester. I love the idea of basing our narrative around the seven deadly sins. 

Here is a short list of what I hope to achieve this semester in TV1:

- Maintain this blog, achieving 2 - 3 entries a week that explore the themes presented to us each week as well as using the blog as a space to pose ideas.

- Achieve harmonious collaborative work in the groups of 4, creating a piece of work that we are all happy with.

- Submit all assessments on time and to the bets of my ability

- Achieve a deeper understanding of what it takes to create a short film, from the first ideas, through to scripts writing, location scouting, casting, all the way through to post-production.

- Attend all tutes and lectures (as deemed possible).

- Complete set readings, commenting on them in this space.

Now, as for this narrative idea. Lust, gluttony, or greed?

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