I did enjoy reading about what people thought about the film I worked on last semester as, besides building up the ego, it gives attention to the other half of people in media production that make up the audience. It’s basically free research in scanning through people’s blogs and finding out what bits the audience likes, disliked, misunderstood and interpreted. I encourage anyone to come onto this blog and sort through my ramblings and gushing in the hopes that something might provide some constructive suggestions on building on the work – I certainly have an opinion to hand out there…
Victory Our Way (melbourne victory soccer team supporters)
I had the privilege of seeing a fine cut of this film prior to the screening with Damien and we both thought it was hilarious – it seemed like an off-key musical to me and provided a fun insight into sport fanaticism. The structure of the film suggests it was meant to be a bit more episodic than like a film where there is a major story arch and a linear progression towards a significant change in the third act. The use of music and the assemblage of the sound bites are the film’s strong points and the filmmakers did a great job compensating for some footage they had captured at 4:3 – I did not notice any artificially stretched clips during the screening. I know one of the group members creates similar sorts of short episodic docos for an online culture webzine and I do think the film would fit nicely on that format.
Cos They Play (anime costuming event)
Cosplay isn’t a significantly new phenomena in that the subject has hit the mainstream vernacular of young people – but many people born, say, before 1975 are unfamiliar with the topic and as a way of introducing the subject to the unfamiliar masses, Cos They Play pretty much successfully sums up what it’s about on the surface with subtle hints about what it is about underneath. I think this is due in part to the influence Simon Gough had on this project – Jess and M&M originally seemed to be aiming for a film about people who were your regular typical kids who ALSO engaged in Anime culture. However, when I told Simon about this project he disliked the idea of the film going in that direction because he clearly believed “Cosplay people are not normal – the cosplay people are different to people with a general enthusiasm for Anime by the fact that they are not normal.” I also thought this was the case as I saw a documentary on Trekkies last year and all the subjects in that film tried to adopt Star Trek paraphernalia into their own lives by wearing the Starship Enterprise insignia at work or even suggesting medical enhancement to have ears like Dr. Spock. I am so glad the filmmakers went in the direction Simon suggested because I felt the film was really honest as a result and I was able to observe the following facts through this film;
- Not a lot of Asians are actually involved in Cosplay – and this was an event where people were traveling from all over Australia to attend.
- There is a seedy sexualized undercurrent that attracts many of its followers. (Particularly with the shots of the audience the filmmaker’s chose.)
- Cosplay also seems to be a refuge for people who do not meet up to societal norms rather than a creative outlet for Anime fans.
Despite these observations, the film was highly sympathetic to the subjects in the story – the flow and editing was generally fine. Loved the comic book techniques applied to showing the transformation in the characters leading up to the event. Perhaps one area that could be cleaned up is the “results” section of the film where the contestants respond to not winning the event. I do like the Australian Idol feel to it with the music and the slow motion, but perhaps you can do the slow mo shot once and then just have the music play underneath for the rest of the shot and let the subjects say their thing. The “fruit flies like a banana” is a hilarious line by the way, I liked that. The credits were great, very original.
Trainwreck (piece on love)
I’ve worked with Dunja before on my TV1 film where she was sound and Grace on our Writing Media Texts single shot assignment and I thought both are very creative people – basically, I thought Dunja came up with some of the best ideas last semester of practically filming our fictional short and making it look professional despite the drabness of the apartment we were working with. She was a great resource as was Grace who came up with creative solutions in first year of switching from shot to shot in our single cam project. I was interested to see what they create this semester, even though an exploration of love just by itself was a bit repelling to me. If the group members are interested in developing and refining the film for festival purposes, I would suggest touching up the images and using post-production software such as Motion or After Effects to animate the pictures so they don’t have that uneasy movement that Final Cut Pro creates when you animate in the program’s motion tab. Additionally, add a bit of noise over the top of the animation so the grain will make it look rather filmic rather than like a screensaver. The Malaysian student was a bit difficult to understand, subtitles maybe a bit patronizing – but perhaps raising the volume might suffice. Finally, I thought the vignette and colour correction on the female was a bit unflattering – I do not know whether it was the make up, but up the saturation and perhaps even consider a very light soft blur effect like an MGM film so she looks a little less tired. The cutaway of the fat tabby wagging its tail was adorable and more contextually fitting cutaways like that may have given the film a bit more of a sharper edge. Trainwreck was a very ambitious film otherwise.
The Immortal Lion (Chinese lion dance)
One of the great things about this semester and documentaries in general is that you end up with films about OTHER cultures whereas every TV1 film was based around white folk in suburban or inner city Melbourne – interestingly, the films that deviated from that characteristic like Clown Train and The Verandah (day) turned out being the most memorable films… The Immortal Lion has the type of story I generally enjoy and that is the passing down of tradition from one generation to the next and the development of a person from childhood into maturity. Besides the actual performance I really enjoyed when the main character of the film referred to this theme, talking about how he might not want to keep the tradition alive. These sorts of insights could be better expanded showing the relationship between the family members more so than information regarding preparation of the dance – or maybe, leveling the amount of information regarding preparing for the dance and the familial relationships so it’s the same. I thought this film was really nice, but yeah, expanding the conflict in that manner I described without losing the film’s soft touch would be interesting to see. The colour, the mise-en-scene and the composition were all very proficient and the characters were easy to understand and comprehend.
Falls
This was a wonderful film and I again had the privilege of watching this just a few days before the screening. There are some techniques used in this film that are really just inspired and the director must have had a strong sense of what she wanted in terms of the feel and tone of the story. The feeling of just a casual, mellow outing to the snow with a couple of mates was strongly reflected throughout with the use of music and the shots of nature and traveling in the car. The soundtrack was just amazing and mixed with the visuals in the ‘day two’ inter title and the credits really gave off those warm fuzzy feelings in that it was intimate but also timeless. The crew was very respectful of the subjects, and mostly kept out of the way. If they wanted to extend and expand this short I think just more observational material of the guys skiing or snowboarding so that the film maintains some sense of cinéma vérité. I think some real good work was done here.
Never Work With Children (shooting film with school children)
It’s interesting to see this film in its entirety – I do think (and hope) Damien will keep working on developing this story, but I felt pretty confident that it would be received well during the screening. Every comical set up he structured in the edit suite ended up delivering the laughs he was anticipating from the donut gun to the girls liking unicorns. I think Damien succeeded in discerning what was meant to be the theatrical film from what was behind the scenes footage. The subtitles, although probably exhausting to create, were very much needed in the end and I am glad we went through and did all that hard work… The intro that Paul was not sold on, actually had me questioning it a bit – I do think it was fine and appropriate but perhaps the voice over should have matched what was going on in the visuals – for example, Damien talks about working with animals but the shots of the two Pomeranians comes a bit after. I think synchronizing the visuals with the voice over would have justified the intro better to Paul – the voice over was funny though. One thing I should mention was that Damien wanted this progression towards chaos for the story, however, it seemed like it was chaotic from the get go. It was a funny film on the night and I think it delivered the response the director was wanted. Good stuff.
Mindgames (2 proponents of the game (instruction manual for pickup artists)
This was one of the funniest documentaries I ever seen – it was hilarious hearing Peter Kemp laugh in the background. I loved the contemporary “rhizome template” style this group chose for the opening and throughout, the cutaways to the hand gestures actually related contextually to what was being said (which was awesome that they were able to do that), and the characters were hilarious. I think because this film was a bit more investigative of The Game rather than being a straight character study of two subjects there were many roads they could take if they want to expand on the film. For example, I would actually like to see more footage of these guys playing the game and perhaps get a woman’s perspective of how well they score. So much comedic potential in there – the group did an amazing job. It’s wonderfully unflattering of some of the most stereotypical members of Gen Y – the two guys in the film see relationships only on the most superficial level and treat people as an objective that respond to a certain criteria rather than a Gen X subject, who would probably be well aware of their chauvinism and justify it because of cynicism towards women. Very professional looking film too – creative lighting and the whole style corresponds to that night culture. This is a great modern film.
Korean (what it is to be Australian Korean)
This film is interesting to compare to the Immortal Lion, whereas the prior film was about the celebration of a culture and keeping tradition alive, Korean seems to be about assimilation and balancing the pride one feels for their heritage and modern place of residence. Even though I thought Immortal Lion was a much more mature film, Korean was fine in exploring the issue for identity in a contemporary modern style even though it is slightly aimed specifically at the young and I am thinking like late high school to 21. The girl’s perspective on cultural identity was interesting – I would have loved to see if the character sees herself as Korean in front of her Australian friends because I think peer pressure was influencing some of the subject’s responses. The progression of the film was fine, the use of Sera’s voice over was never too intrusive and it was an original topic explored in a very creative way and serves the purpose of what documentary is about: alternative viewpoints. The shots in the karaoke booth stand out to me – there’s something so seventies about a karaoke booth because of its dim lights and smokiness…
…and then there’s Claude. (liberal politician in a labour seat)
My biggest concern for Claude, and Raph shared the same sentiment, was whether people would get it and not get bored. Once I heard Mereki laughing, a sense of relief overcame me and I was able to calm down and listen to audience responses. It is interesting to also observe the areas where people laughed and people were dead silent – I think after Claude talks of his family, people were turned off by him and remained quiet during the scene where he talks about signage, only to start laughing again when the Kelvin scene appears. I am very happy it was well received and it was very comforting to receive positive feedback from the people sitting around me, especially because I thought they were very talented and I really enjoyed their work in TV2 as well as TV1. I have indicated below where I would expand or tweak the film when I get the time, I would really love to develop this project and even make a bookend to the film – I’ve already explored power politics in the North Suburbs, maybe something regarding the economic or social side of the area.
— Interval —
This is the part where I was running around trying to find Raph and Mel to tell them how happy I was… Back to the films…
Elvis at the Market (Elvis impersonator)
This was my favourite film of the night and I saw some similarities between this film and Claude – basically both were specific character studies of fallen men; one who decided to live in misery because of a fantasy and another who was born into misery and can only escape it through fantasy. The major difference though, and I think this is where Claude falls short on first viewing, is that you feel empathy for Elvis. You begin by laughing at his antics but then as you go into his life you really feel for the guy – I was watching him because of his utter unpredictability, even when Elvis was just sitting and staring at the poster of the King I couldn’t look away – it was really engrossing. The visuals also seemed amazing and I am really impressed that they were able to film such interesting shots in a dingy little apartment; it’s visually strong and the character is absolutely entertaining. I say do not change a thing – I wish I could see the 28 minute cut.
I will discuss the remaining films in a future post, but I will talk about them because the rest of the films are real gems.
At this stage the documentaries are beginning to test my memory and I can only describe and critique what I remember – the final four films I am yet to comment on were all quite entertaining and interesting…
The Nest
This film was a very soft, sentimental look at a child growing up with autism in the suburbs – I am happy with the way this group incorporated home footage into the film including the very wonderfully appropriate ultrasound vision of the baby. The brother’s perspective was interesting and dominated the film while the mother’s perspective, which was very interesting, is also important - great insights. I do not remember if there was any feedback from the father, but that would have been welcomed. I remember they were using a toy bird as a metaphor for being trapped, which was very clever and a very appropriate metaphor consistent to the style in which the subject matter was being explored.
Bare Witness
The stripper flick – I enjoyed the creative techniques this group employed to keep the subject anonymous, it must have been a lot of fun to come up with those ideas and to light it all. Even though the interview was filmed in this dim alluring way, I did not really find the images seductive in so much as I found them really seedy and the discussion regarding the louts that this stripper would have to deal with accentuated this emotion. Of course, this may have been the intended effect of the movie. This is a very polished production and I think the only one that explored the underbelly of society.
The Westgate
One of the strongest films of the night in so much that it has a structure, a single definable hypothesis and an interesting character telling an engaging story. The use of archival materials is solid and helps build a climax to the details of the crash – the director of this film has a good grasp of when to use silence, how to create an atmosphere and how to edit between the archival materials and the subject. The subject himself is quite interesting and you can really sense the pain in this man’s eyes despite his demeanor being stoic in nature. His descriptions are vivid, especially when reinforced by the images – it helps to build an experience of terror and certainly gives me an added dread when driving over the Westgate Bridge. The bloody box girder bridge is already intimidating to drive over, this film really brought out that terror and the disaster at the West Gate.
Nineteen
This film was rather entertaining in its approach to tackling issues – I think it was intended as a light hearted albeit biting critique on young marriage, but the film also has this undercurrent of sadness to it. I thought the girl’s parents were beyond dysfunctional – you have the broken man who has probably only escaped bitterness because he still has his daughter and then you have this remarkably selfish mother. This poor girl has naively thought she’s found the kind of unconditional love her warped parents never had – but it is clear they are inexperienced and way in over their head. This story was very entertainingly told, but I ended up really interested in the parent’s failures rather than the girl’s journey – I guess that’s a testament to the multifaceted nature of the story. I LOVED that this film has a Lost Boys shot – no other film TV2 or TV1 had one. The Lost Boys shot basically occurs right at the end of The Lost Boys when the old guy goes “There’s one thing about living in Santa Carla that I could never stand – all the damn vampires.” And then you get a shot of the Diane West’s and the Corey’s reactions looking really shocked. This occurred in Nineteen when the boyfriend goes “it’s not just about sex”… One thing that gets me about all these films is that… reality seems to have more stereotypes than fiction… This girl is just a stereotype of the young naive child of divorce wanting to get married, the unenlightened men in Mindgames are just a stereotype, Claude is just a stereotype. These characters live their lives based archetypal roles predetermined by the culture they grew up in – with the exception of Falls, The Westgate and Elvis who seem to have characters that break the mould of what we expect of them in action and belief - if there was a theme running through the screening of the TV2 documentaries it would be about empathizing with some of the most standard archetypes in screen production;
The rabid sports fan
The nerdy cosplayers
The jilted lovers
The good son being passed the father’s tradition
Rambunctious children
Narrow minded “players”
The immigrant story
The ambitious loser
The scary country people
The ballerina and her stage parents
The family raising a special needs child
The feminist stripper and
The young filmmakersIt is a real testament to the people in TV2 that so many wonderful films were produced from these archetypes.
[From The rest of the reviews!]
The End of the Line (Broken Hill)
The Broken Hill movie was something remarkable – perhaps the only horror film of the night, the scary atmosphere reinforcement by the soundtrack, mixed with the religious lady and the stunning cinematography creating an experience that was really creepy and special. I am under the impression that the cinematography was inspired from fashion photographer, Richard Avedon’s photo book - In the American West - containing portraits of hardworking, worn out Midwesterners. The cinematography is really gorgeous, but the film itself has limitless potential. If they ever decided to re-edit there would be so many directions they could go – they could just do a story of the harsh outback and follow the old rancher or they could keep the whole creepy storyline and follow the religious lady… I really enjoyed, and thought it was more appropriate, following these old characters rather than hearing about the video store clerk which took me out of the eerie landscape. As a portrait of a harsh, old country town, The End of the Line has probably accurately recreated the emotions a greenhorn might feel visiting the crumbling small town at first glance. In any case I look forward to seeing more work from the group members of this film and am interested in working with the cinematographer because of that raw talent.
Pointe of Interest (two different schools of ballet)I really wanted to see this film because Kai showed snippets to me in the edit suite and I got a glimpse of the ballerina they were interviewing… ANYWAY, this is a very gracefully told story but I should mention something about one of the subjects they were interviewing, the parents of the ballerina. I thought the visual component slightly detracted from the soft, subtle mise-en-scene the director was going for – I would have toned them down or perhaps made them more comfortable, especially the father. Otherwise, a really pretty little film – ballet is one of those art forms that has never really lowered or eased its standards of quality since the guild ages unlike painting, music, etc… so when it’s done right it is really jaw-droppingly impressive to watch. I liked how they interviewed the main girl, sitting on the floor of the dance hall – it is very dance movie. The crew seemed like they had a lot of fun filming and assembling the montages.
About A Warden (not making a doco)
There’s a high risk in making a film like this – if it were me (and I was put in this situation in Broadcast Media) I would have panicked and quickly made a story about something else using an RMIT lecturer… The group who made this film had two advantages for pulling it off;
- The group members were all photogenic and articulate so you could follow them as characters and empathize and do all the things the audience does with characters in a film. If the subjects of this film were Raph, Mel and I – there would be hardly any on screen chemistry, it would be pretty boring watching us work. We got along well, but there was no conflict that could occur that would make us characteristic of an interesting narrative.
- They were recording the film making process – including getting captured by a security guard filming a prison sign. I don’t know if this group normally keep the camera rolling for everything or if anything was staged but very few groups would have recorded the behind the scenes stuff so they were lucky to get that footage.
This group has just about the bravest filmmaker’s of the night – you generally want to get the principles of something down before you deviate and do something wildly different and this group was forced to deviate and create the anti-doco. They captured the exhaustion and frustration of failure very well in scenes such as the filming of the prison sign – I would like to have seen even greater failure such as actually trying to barge into the prison and ask kindly to be allowed in when the phone calls failed. Nevertheless, wildly hilarious way to end what was a great night of Uni work.
More film reviews soon…
“Victory: Our Way”
- I thought that the film was fun in general especially the shots of the avid fans of the Melbourne soccer team. I liked the humour brought by the juxtaposition of those shots of fans singing at the pub as well as during the game. I thought that it’s engaging and a great way to start the documentary screening.“Cos They Play”
- I liked the use of split screens as well as the involvement of several characters who were participating in the competition. The music at the start was fun. However, I thought that the music at the end where the subjects lost the competition was a bit cliche. Loved the ending bit with the credits (participants holding a piece of paper with the names of the crew in it).^_^ Overall, I thought that it’s good documentary piece.“Trainwreck”
- I liked the use of various photographs about love. Not sure but I thought that the music used during the rough cut screening was more likable. I liked the documentary in general but I wasn’t affected with it in a way. The characters were great and I thought that they have good personal stories to tell but didn’t feel much attachment to it.“The Immortal Lion”
- I liked the subject because it’s unique and details a brief background about Chinese culture. I thought that there should be more music within the documentary and probably more cutaways. I also thought that this piece could be improved in several ways not just using the interviews mainly.“Falls”
- The subject was interesting. I liked the story in a way that the crew journeyed together with the interviewees but I thought that the piece was lacking something to make it more engaging. The music was quite good and appropriate for the piece. And I liked the casual/informal sort of conversations between the interviewees and the crew.“Never Work with Children”
- Fun, fun and heaps of fun! Children have always been fun to watch and this piece has definitely engaged me with the school children’s producing a mini-film.“Mindgames”
- Loved this documentary. The subject was definitely engaging. Loved the humour brought by the two guys. I thought that the documentary was done professionally. Liked the cinematography. Overall, it’s a job well done.“Korean”
- I liked this documentary because it explores a very interesting issue about dual citizenship. Loved the two different languages used and I thought that Sera has done a really good job with the interviews, voice over and generally as the director of their film. My favourite part of the film was when Sera came towards the conclusion of realizing the positive aspects of having two cultures and setting aside their indifferences. Loved the positive ending.“…And then there is Claude”
- The group has pulled it off in terms of structuring their documentary. And since their topic was quite boring in a sense that it dealt with politics, I thought that they had achieved an engaging and often humorous story about Claude.“Elvis at the market”
- I thought that the Elvis impersonator was a real, engaging character. No wonder that the crew behind this documentary has edited a 20-min version of the piece because I think that it’s not enough to tell the character’s story with so much depth within a 6-8 minute documentary. But I felt really engaged with the impersonator’s personal story and I thought that it’s something deeply emotive.“The end of the Line”
- Loved the “sunrise” and “sunset” bits. Jacqui has done a really good job with editing their documentary especially in terms of the metaphorical aspect of the characters’ story of coming down to Broken Hill to spend the rest of their lives in the town. I wasn’t sure what’s the proper term to define how I felt during the film and after watching it. But I felt touched and I thought that I was reflecting on the stories being narrated and really engaged with the amazing landscape. Another job well done.“Pointe of Interest”
- I liked the shots of the ballet dancers. However, I couldn’t remember the story being told in the documentary. I didn’t realize that it was about the two different schools of ballet. But what I had in mind was the experience of a ballet dancer as well as the couple who own a dance school.“The Nest”
- I liked how it centres on a 16-yr old boy with disabilities and how his family is there to support him all the time. I also liked the use of the bird in a cage, which was sort of like a symbolism of being trapped or hindered from reality. I thought that the use of family footage was really good and set the overall story.“Westgate”
- This documentary was amazing. It looked so professional. Loved the graphics, photographs and other visuals in general. I thought that the ticking clock was a bit overdone. But all in all, it was a great job.“Nineteen”
- Loved the humour between the couple and the girl’s parents. I thought that the story was real and it wasn’t represented as cliche.“About Warden”
- This film came as a surprise. I guess that the group had a really difficult time finding their contact. But I thought that it was really cool creating a film within a film. The audience was of course expecting for a documentary film, but I thought that the group has still achieved a short documentary only very differently.[From film tv2 screening]
“We should get a slab for the screening”
“Don’t think I’ve ever heard a better proposition, mate”It sounded so promising. And the first beer was so good, it gave an increased feeling of satisfaction to the watching of our finished documentaries. Come halfway, and I was struggling. I was begging for the intermission. The relief of the bathroom was immense. But on to the screening. I was extremely proud of the majority of the films. The amount of work that went into them was obvious, and the results were spectacular. I won’t go into a breakdown of each one and harp about how good they are because I’m not like that. I’m too lazy. So hence, you have Michael’s top 3*:
1. Elvis at the Market
When I heard this Thomas Moir directed film clocked in at a weighty 28 minutes, I feared the worst. Another self-indulgent artsy piece by that insane genius. Great. However, I have put it number 1 on my list for the fact that it turned my perceptions around incredibly. I went in with great dread, and came out thinking “that is fantastic”. It’s an amazing piece of character exposition, and I felt it was the best documentary to truly capture the essence of the subject. We saw Elvis performing and interacting at the market, and we saw him at home, discussing his life and meager possessions. The group managed to get some fantastic stories out of him, and the way he talked about his dead brother was particularly powerful. It really was a well-drawn portrait of a fascinating man. The most striking point was when he stopped talking, hand on his chin, and looked out into nothingness, telling the camera that he didn’t know what to say. Tom and his group have captured this man in his purest form, and it really is captivating cinema.
2. Never Work with Children
“A good idea with intriguing parts, yet lacking a cohesive whole”. That was my assertion following a preview of the film with Director Sir Damien Collins. He was struggling, trying to piece together disparate fragments of footage into a working film. Like the children depicted in the film, he was having a hard time getting this film to make sense and find a unifying and underlying theme to tie it all together. But what I assume was many late nights in the dark basement of the edit suites led to one of the standout films of the screening. It was an uplifting and hilarious film, a great example of not working with kids wrapped up in a film within a film. Talk about working on different levels. I loved it.
3. The End of The Line
A scary, apocalyptic vision of death in a film about Broken Hill. This was a fucking powerful film, mixing the barren landscape with the stoic nature of the people that inhabit the town. Visually, it struck me. The Orange sky above a desolate landscape below was particularly impressive, and mixed with the discordant sounds of yawning machinery and other creepy sound effects all added up to a fantastic film. The interview with the woman was particularly great, her openness about life and death was extremely illuminating. This group traveled far for and toiled hard for this film, and it really shows. A great effort.
Other notable mentions:
And Then there is Claude- the surprise film of the screening. Hilarious and eye-opening, I thought it’s portrayal of Claude was just so engaging, I loved it. A close 4th.
Westgate- impressive production, could have been an episode of Australian Story
The Immortal Lion- I loved the main character, he was extremely hard working and had a great, optimistic attitude
*certain films that would have been in the top 3 have been left out due to bias on the author’s behalf *cough* Mind Games and Bare Witness cough*
Thursday night’s experience is sure top notch! Every thunder applaus after each film was definitely from the bottom of my heart.
Now that I look back,I am glad to find out that my comrades are playing with docu narratives and coming up with their owns.They didn’t restrict themselves on the linear or traditionally logical story line.Those include “never work with children”,and “about warden”,whose birth is ,as we could see,completely out of expectation,but I am glad to see Ashleigh and her team picking up the bits and instead of getting frustrated and giving up, searched their brains for creativity and made a docu purely about “the making of docu” in a fun way,cuz it spoke for all the hardship that we docu filmmakers went through.Damien’s narrative is even more complicated,it is a simply idea with a “story in story”,which gives me lots of inspiration as in how to tell a story,maybe sometimes it is a wise idea instead of scratching your head trying to tell a “decent “story ,it is better to lay back and let your heart lead the way and play with the innovatives.
Also finding interesting subjects play a huge part in making an interesting docu,I am amazed by how films like elvis at the market,the nest,bare witness,mind games…etc.and how their producers set out finding the perfect subjects to arouse our interests.Although if I have to pick a bone here, I would have to say that with bare witness and mind games, although it is tricky to actually document the situations as they happen(say actual stripping ,or actual pickup artists doing their mindtricks in clubs),seems like our audience doesn’t get enough from the talking dominated visuals.It will be ideal to actually set foot in the clubs to shoot,but as students I know it is a little tricky to do,so maybe an ITIMATIVE set up would be nice to give the audience a visual go-through of what happens? Or using blurring tool to hide the subjects’ faces so they don’t get exposed?Otherwise maybe asking friends to play the picked-up girls and play a little “sit-com” for audience?
Als worth mentioning is and then there is claude and the end of line.Two very “cinematic” films.Then there is Claud demonstrates how visual richness as well as occasional black humor are great tools when telling a story,bravo on the sound design as well.I rememeber when Jo told me he is going to pick classic music for his film my reaction was “how is that gonna work on a politician?”guess what,it did!Also had a blast at the witty jokes that Jo and Ralph played with in the film.”Joking with your audience” is a great way to make documentaries funny and catch broader attention.
The end of line has a haunting effect on me,which I believe is what Jacqui wants to achieve(?).The sound design as well as the eye-catching shots(sometime deliberately tilted) give a great vision of the “outback”,and distinctive feeling of being an Australian film with the wild landscape. When it comes to docus ,the image that is delivered is also very important if you want the docu to be inscribed in people’s heart.In the end,I would like to quote Christopher Doyle in his interview,and congratulate my fellow students on their daring to try different photogtaphy and topics!Summer summer summer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I work better when I walk straight out of a bar and on to a set.Most people who approach me are not expecting the Mother Theresa of Cinematography!”
REFERENCE
Christopher Doyle Life Through a Lens, James Mpttram. Film Review. Jan 2008.p81 F214@Visual Imagination Ltd 2007[From Our docu Screening!!]
It was fantastic see all of the documentaries last Thursday. Everyone has done an excellent job and it is amazing to see how much they vary in style and topic.
It is funny to think that at the start of the screening I was sitting next to Jenna and we both said that we hoped Victory: Our Way (our group’s doco) would not be the first of the screening. And then when it was the first one I decided that it was a good thing. Our documentary was all about lots of energy and excitement. It was not an intense or dramatic topic but a fun one. It was a good way to get the audience into the right mood. They did not have to think too much straight away. The reaction at the end of the film was good to hear too, especially considering the last time we screened our film was for the rough cut screening. I think our film improved greatly between then and Thursday’s screening.
While all of the films were impressive there were a few that really stood out to me. My favourite would have to be ‘The End of the Line’. From the beginning to the end I loved the film. It was beautifully shot and executed. I found it haunting and mesmerizing to watch and I don’t feel like I am exaggerating what-so-ever in describing it like that. The characters they had interviewed were incredibly engaging. In some ways I would have loved if it went on. On the other hand I think they did a brilliant job with the length of the documentary. There was almost a paradox presented within the story and I think this was a good thing. The town of Broken Hill seemed both beautiful and eery at the same time and I imagine this is a difficult thing to pull off without making it seem as though the documentary was trying to tackle two different paths.
Another favourite of mine is ‘Westgate’. This was one from my class so I had seen it a few times before. I think the sound design along side the still images had a lot to do with why I enjoyed this so much. This was the only documentary about a single past, historical event. It was quite moving in it’s style. The ticking clock in the background was great in the idea of time passing and that this happened in the past. Previously I had actually had no idea about the collapse of the Westgate Bridge so this documentary gave me some insight into that.
Two other documentaries that were stand outs were “Never Work With Children” and “About Warden”. I think this was because of how reflexive they were. The opening of “Never Work With Children” was hilarious and at the same time effective. It stated exactly what the documentary was about and had one of the documentary makers, Damien, in the staring role. “About Warden” showed the difficulties that can arise when trying to make a documentary. This made it a great film to close the screening with. Despite all of the amazing films that everyone came out with, “About Warden” highlights the difficulties that many groups, including my own, faced during production. Of course, in “About Warden” these difficulties were multiplied and magnified to the extent that the group had to make a documentary about not making a documentary. I hope they are happy with the final product that they came up with and not disappointed that they were unable to make the documentary about a Prison Warden. I also enjoyed the comedic element present in these two reflexive documentaries.
It is difficult to say which documentaries I was most engaged by simply because they were all engaging in different ways. I did not feel bored throughout the entire screening. There was such a broad range of topics covered and for the most part i did not know what most of the films would be about before hand. Last semester I had seen a number of the films before the screening whereas this semester I had only seen those from our class and part of “And Then There Is Claude”. So for the most part I was able to see the films a get an initial reaction to them shown on the large screen and with an audience.
[From The Screening]
The screening on Thursday night of TV-2 documentaries was a fantastic night and what Peter Kemp described as a ‘joyous and genuinely impressive experience.’ The screening showcased a beautiful array of shorts highlighting the hard work we have all put in this semester. Below are my top three of the night.
Mindgames
A revealing and thought-provoking documentary that had Peter Kemp in stitches in the back row (not to mention most of the theatre). Mindgames showed the power of solid interviews. Firstly each interview was strategically set up to reveal certain things about the characters. The lighting, positioning of subject within the frame and choice of location are to be commended. It seemed fitting that the first male (colored t-shit) was mostly shown through low angel shots highlighting his arrogance and ‘power’ he seemed to have over ‘the ladies.’ Shooting it at night was a nice choice as most of his stories revolved around picking up woman in a nightclub/night environment. The lighting was soft around the subject and the clear night sky served as a nice backdrop. The second male’s interview was shot in a bedroom (which I assume was his own) as a mid shot and where the subject was slightly right of screen. An opened cupboard lined with a colorful assortment of clothing and shoes was a fitting background. Again the mise-en-scene served to help the story. The subject’s eclectic style was a trait picked up from The Game in helping to attract woman’s attention. It was obvious that each of the guys interviewed had been prompted in a way that enabled them to tell their story in its entirety without needing to show the questions. Whilst there was minimal ‘moving’ or ‘action’ footage in Mindgames it still worked well. It was great how they were each first painted as fairly normal blokes (which they may well be) simply going by ‘the game’ for a little extra confidence in picking up woman. However what we witnessed through the help of some great editing was a slow reveal of two (in my opinion) sexiest game-players. It was as if they were ripping back their skin layer by layer revealing more and more each time. Congratulations to this group!the end of the line - broken hill Such a fitting title for the Broken Hill portrayed in this film. The End of Line was a stand-out in the screening for its beautiful imagery, haunting soundtrack and intriguing characters. Throughout the whole film I wanted to know what had happened to this lady to make her feel this way. Who had broken had heart so much that she felt it necessary to run away to a baron land to die? These questions kept me intrigued throughout. This lady was such an interesting and intricate woman her wrinkled face showed years of living. Her constant religious connotations to the land bought a new way of thinking to harsh images of the bush. The recounts of ancient Old-testament stories in the bible of the Jew’s plight in the desert were scary.
Elvis at the Market -
The film was a beautiful portrayal of an Elvis impersonator that spends his days at the Camberwell markets. The film had so much life so it. I’m so glad they didn’t cut it for the constraints of the project because the long takes were what made the film work so well. It was quite delicate. Under the exterior this extroverted performer was a broken man. The scenes in his commission flat were my favourite as he awkwardly sat on the bed not looking at the camera. A poignant moment was when he told of the death of his brother to a drug overdose. His reluctance to divulge details highlighted his immense pain. I would love to see this one in it’s entirety.A big congratulations to everyone on such wonderful films and a big thanks to Paul and David!
[From five star screening]
WOW! If anyone missed the screening I feel extremely sorry for them! It was so so impressive!! What really amazed me about the documentaries was their variety and the dynamic range of stories to be told.
‘The Game’ was really a stand out for me. What I think made the documentary was the strength in the characters, they were so strong minded and confident yet their appearance and the way they described how they ‘play’ was absolutely ridiculous, I think it would be interesting for them to have seen the audiences response to their thoughts. I found however that visually it could have been much more visually rich. I thought the interview with the guy in the striped shirt was lit particularly well however the guy with the sideburns I found the location of his interview quite odd. He was in a bedroom but the scenery seemed very against his character portrayed - the perfectly ordered coloured tshirts in the wardrobe and the lined up sneakers were heavily juxtaposed with his messy hair and sideburns and slightly tatty clothing - im wondering what the director was trying to portray here. Although the overall mise-en-scene of the peice was very simple and they only cut between two interviews it was the overall talent and the content of the interviews that made this peice a success. I was consistently stunned and amazed at what they had to say.
I found the themes in the ‘Broken Hill’ doco quite synthetic in the way it was displaying a very stereotyped picture of what Broken Hill. I found the way in which the interview with the old lady was used as a metaphor for the land of Broken Hill quite contrived. Her story was not explained and I felt her interviews where only used to create a depressing impact, her stories for being ready to die laid outside of Broken Hill – I felt as though the interview failed to develop a sense of what the place it actually like. Visually however this piece thrived. Their impression of the territory was extremely well portrayed. The stark colours of orange and yellow and the seemingly endless landscape was captured perfectly. My overall feeling of the film though was that it was too stereotyped, so obviously city raised students going somewhere to show an overly stereotyped depiction of a small town.
The stripper documentary particularly appealed to me – it was shot well, edited to perfection, it had a very interesting character and topic to explore. I found the opening sequence particularily captivating. The use of music, dim lighting and the choreographed sequence for the stripper gave a shock value that wanted me to get to know the character and find her motivations behind her occupation. Then I was immediately drawn to her attitude of the profession. It was an incredibly interesting story - In society we immediately feel story for people in jobs like this - we think they are stuck and they have no choice, we also give them an absolute stereotype. This character moved beyond this and presented us with a point of view which was not so familiar.
[From the amazing screening!]
The first public screening of our film was a success! (or so it seems) Last night was the much anticipated screening of the documentaries for TV2 and i still can’t believe how truly fantastic some of the films were. Its always great to finally get to see what everyone else has been up to in the editing suits. Last semester i had managed to get sneak previews of quite a few of the films, and so the screening had not been much of a surprise. However, this semester with the documentaries i had only seen the films of the other groups within our tutorial. And so it was lovely to watch the whole screening and not having single idea what to expect. Here are some that stood out to me;
1. The Game (it might have had a different name). Whilst this film was in essence a fairly simple idea, it really worked. The interview subjects really made the entire film, and considering the film was made up only of interviews it was obviously essential that they were interesting. Interesting they certainly were. The two guys offered so much about their character and opinions, that at no point did i feel tired of simply watching interviews. Beyond that, the film was beautifully shot, the framing and positioning of the interview subjects said a lot about them without needing words. I particularly loved the set up of the interview of the guy ‘Liam’, in his bedroom. In the back ground was his open wardrobe which spoke volumes to the audience about his personality. The assortment of bright shirts, all colour coded and neatly organised really gave subtle insight into him beyond the lens of the camera (even if it was set up).
2. Broken Hill. Have to say this was the creepiest, most surreal film i have seen in a while. Again, the interview subjects made the film. That women, constantly talking about death and the bible made for some really grim viewing, yet completely fascinating. It was also shot beautifully, the cinematography outstanding. The eeriness of the landscape was constantly utilised in creating a sense of desolation. Again, its so wonderful to be shown things, rather than be told them. It makes for much better veiwing. And the sound! Amazing. So atmospheric. Not exactly music, just empty hollow sounds. It goes to show, music doesn’t necessarily make a film. Sound is just as important, if not more so.
Now, just quickly, here are another 2 that captured my attention, simply because of their content. The one about the ballet dancer, and also the one about the korean girl in search of her identity. I enjoyed the ballet one, mostly because im interested in learning about ballet. When i was younger i used to do it, and i have always had a bit of a fascination for it. On the other hand, the one about Ahyoung was interesting because it tackled a subject im not really familiar with, or havent considered before. Now these two, whilst great films were probably not the most amazing technically, but they still lingered with me after they had finished. Im not sure exactly what im trying to say here, i guess that no matter how amazing or technical, sometimes you just have to be interested in the documentary subject for it to be memorable for you.
I’d like to think ours could be all of these things, but i guess nothing can be everything! I wonder what category our film fits into? Rhys as a subject is wonderful, i find the story of him and his family touching (but then again, that could be because i feel as though i have come to know them throughout the process) and technically its pretty ok…
Maybe it could just fit snuggly into the middle?Watching it on the big screen i couldn’t stop smiling. I have loved doing documentary this semester, ever so much more than the short fictional films we did last semester. I have loved working with my group, have loved our documentary subject, have loved the entire process. I revel in the lack of need to prepare with documentary. Of course, we were incredibly prepared, but not have to do shot lists, and camera set up plans and stick to a tight shooting schedule made for a much happier me. I dont like to be stressed out, and this whole process has been just wonderful. I really will miss my group, and rhys and being able to edit for hours. Did i just say that?
[From TV2 screening]