03-15-12 Reflection: Pre-Pro.4

            Only two days after last class, I haven’t been able to do all that much. What I have been able to do, however, is scout for sports grounds and locations where we can shoot the metaphorical scenes. Wan Chai Sports Ground is a convenient location for everybody; however I have concerns that the government will not allow us to use the place without reservations made by the higher-ups. The sports-ground in Wong Chuk Hang however, is open to the public, a fact I know because I pass by the place multiple times a week. It is located in the southern end of Hong Kong Island though, and may be troublesome for people to go to and from there. Our director has said that for the metaphorical scenes, he visions the objects being acted upon in front of a white backdrop. This is easy enough to find – the 6^th floor outside the film classroom has white walls, the walls of my room have white walls, I’m sure others will have white walls should the need to improvise arise.

            Ms. Wong came over today and suggested I fill out scene breakdown sheets to organize future shoots. It was a new experience for me, and was relieved when Ms. Wong produced sample sheets for me to review, spelling out the things I would need to organize, such as actors, props, equipment etc. I found this to be quite useful, as it allowed me to spell out clearly what would be needed, when, where and for what scene.

03-13-12 Reflection: Pre-Pro.3

            I was disappointed to find that not only did the group not go out to film over the weekend, but that they hadn’t even collected the equipment on the 8^th. I would have understood any complications that might have risen from poor pre-production on my part; however, the group’s lack of action was much worse, as it seemed to me that they didn’t care much for the production, and that last class’ work of organization went to waste.

            I tried to rebound from this set back, asking friends whether they were free to act in our film, and when they were free. Our timetable was cut short further when I realized that there was a 2-day waiting period before equipment could be checked out, meaning the soonest possible date to film was Wednesday, halfway through the school week. Through the frustration, I got a taste of what the real-world might be like with everybody fighting over equipment, and the set-backs poor time management may pose. Next time, I’ll be sure to reserve things the week before if I plan to borrow equipment in the first half of the next week.

            Afterwards, I found that my efforts were in vain once more. Our director had decided to take a different planning route, insisting that we plan around our schedules, and not the actor. At the time, I was furious that my efforts were in vain once again, but in hindsight, as I write this reflection, I realize that William was right in doing so. This allowed me to realize the importance of taking a step back and looking with a pair of new eyes when necessary, to not be blinded by frustration and see the sense of others’ suggestions.

03-07-12 Reflection: Scanning The Pact v2

            In today’s class, William came in with the 2^nd version of the script which was a lot more condensed, with repetitive and unnecessary scenes meant to build the character and develop the story taken out. A few metaphorical scenes had been modified or removed entirely, so I edited the list of props needed that I started last class accordingly (e.g. cheetah running changed to motor of race car revving).

            Unfortunately I was unable to go location scouting between last class and today’s class, and tomorrow I have to leave for an MUN conference hosted in Beijing, so I won’t be able to work until after the weekend. I hope my group will be able to work something out and do some filming over the weekend. Following this hope, I decided to reserve some equipment for the group from the 8^th to the 12^th, organizing student IDs and consulting with the director, DP and sound director for equipment required. Before submitting the form however, I needed storyboards and a shot list from the DP to show Ms. Wong and Mr. Chang of our progress. These were only completed at the end of class however, and we weren’t able to reserve the fig-rig. This taught me to make clear anything I need from my teammates right from the start, so that they can get on it quickly, but also to badger them for it when necessary should they deviate from tasks. I also learnt about the equipment reservation process, and got a taste of the tedious paperwork adults always talk about in movies and books.

03-05-12 Reflection: Scanning The Pact

            Today William came to class with the first draft of his script, with a working title of The Pact. I was quite disappointed when my group members (William as Writer and Director, Justin as DP, Me as Producer, Jun as Editor, Joseph as Sound and Actor) did not support the idea of going through the script as a group like Ms. Rosati had taught before, but rather to scan it individually and comment as a group afterward. I understood the logic in this plan however, as the script was 9 pages long, and had 0 dialogue, so going over it as a group would have been time consuming, boring, and generally not that productive. From this simple decision, I understood the importance of listening to others, and that deviating from the original plan is not necessarily a bad thing.

            After going over through it, I found, as mentioned before, that the script was extremely long, and given the limited time we had, I was worried that we would not be done on time. William said however, that a lot of the footage was repetitive and could be filmed at very few locations quite quickly. Another worry I had was that there were quite a few “metaphorical” shots scattered around the script for the “montage effect”, and these required props I would have to organize, some of a more adult nature, and some which I had no idea how to get hold of. A few of the “adult” items included condoms and beer bottles, while some which I had no idea where to get included a cheetah running. After a quick question to William, I found that this was just a first draft, and that the items were flexible to change. One final note I made was that the script detailed camera angles and editing directions, and was worried that it would limit Justin and Jun when they did their jobs. I made this note because of my role as DP for the past two units, and the joy that came with the creative aspects of the role. When I asked William about this, he said that these were simply guidelines, and that the DP and Editor would have their say of the production.

            Overall, I felt that this lesson was relatively productive, and I could see that I had a lot to do in the future as producer of this film: casting, location scouting, props, scheduling and more. 

02-17-12 Reflection: Stitching & Pitching

            The homework task we received last lesson was to storyboard the documentary we watched last class, in my case March of the Penguins, and to tell the story in 9 frames by hand-drawing images with minimal text. I feel that it was a good task, in that it allowed us to practice our story-boarding skills – to draw and to effectively tell a story by breaking it down to its key events. I did not really enjoy this task however, as I’m not the greatest drawer and I found it quite difficult to convey the messages effectively.

            In class, we exchanged storyboards and restructured the images to tell entirely different stories, and then pitched the new story to the rest of the class. This activity was both fun and good practice. The activity was fun, because the stories were creative and funny. Good practice because it reinforced the idea that editing can change the story entirely, but also because it provided a good opportunity to pitch a story, fully and effectively. I found trying to create an entirely new story quite challenging, especially because I knew what the original described. Pitching my idea was easier, but I found that practice is extremely important, because I started off quite solidly, simply narrating the ideas I planned in my head, but had to improvise towards the end. If I were to do this activity again, I would spend more time preparing my pitch, making sure the story is clear to those who might have no idea of the background, and making sure everybody understands my recreation.

            I enjoyed and appreciated the format of this lesson, incorporating the previous homework task and linking the two lessons together, as well as using a creative exercise to enforce a practical idea of editing.