After the summative meeting with Andy about the assessments we have had so far yesterday morning, I feel much better. It's true I haven't been blogging enough and so over the next few weeks with vegetarian mince pies and my remote at the ready I'll be posting much more about what I think about the course, what I'm watching (finally I'll be able to feast on TV programmes, even the word documentary makes me terribly happy) and what I'm reading!
So far I've had a great time, but the course hasn't been without its up and downs! The first few weeks were mainly about settling in and getting to know our small and quirky DFTV family (and with 7 birthdays so far we've had a lot of cakes and celebration!) and I'm still so excited about spending the next three years working with everybody's different styles and collaborating with them as well as working with other courses.
But then it was to work...Mondays have been devoted to plant pots and premises and I think I've enjoyed this the most so far. I've always loved writing short stories and so the screenwriting classes have been comforting in that I know what I'm doing. Richard has definitely slyly led us into thinking about things I never thought of before and my favourite exercise has been postsecret. Making my postcards made me able to face to some secrets and more (I had an alarming 5 pages worth of secrets!) but in a good way, because it gave a chance to start moving on from them. Sometimes I wish I could've kept mine, but I know Richard is looking after them, and there is something good about physically letting go of them. What I've really gained from these Mondays so far is the realisation that I can share anything and someone, somewhere will be able to identify with it. That person might be someone who you would never stop to talk to, or even look at but equally it may be the person you call your best friend but the thing you're both thinking is never talked about. But film can change that because as soon as you turn it into a fictional person's story others are able to move forward and connect with that character and by doing that you can give so many more people a feeling of togetherness than you could ever do just by yourself.
My stories, I hope, will start to improve as well and I'm hoping to start working together my fiction and my own personal experiences into convincing scripts in the new year and I want to try out different styles so I can work out what else works for me.
Having Ray for camera has been good fun :) if not a tad complicated for me! I've learned I'm not too great with buttons and finding them, but once I do and when I know the purpose behind it I get much more confident about using it. I need to be taking the kit out and playing about with it though (I'm hoping to do an hour this week before we all leave for Christmas) to really get to grips with it and hopefully I won't be so scared of the equipment next term. I'd also like to go on a shoot to watch the 2nd years work with the equipment and see how it all works, but maybe that would be too complicated...
In post production, if I'm completely honest, the bits I've liked the most have been the assessments! This is because with Part A (when we had to answer 50 questions about keyboard shortcuts and technical things) I was able to read it all over, highlight the key points and then apply the answer to the question in detail. I haven't felt like I've been able to do this in class and a lot of the information has just washed over me. What Gavin was doing on the projected screen never has seemed to happen on mine and I've often been confused.
A different thing happened with Part B (when we had to edit one minute's worth of footage .. “It's a Ducati..” {woman gazes into the sunset} haha) in that I was able to be creative in the DTU, but I still was much happier than I have been in class. I know it's important to get to grips with the technical stuff but I've fallen behind and it's frustrating when I know editing can be so much fun. I love building up a visual story and experimenting with the tone and mood of a piece.
Over the Christmas holidays I'm going to read over the booklet again and write down the key facts and print out the diagrams (which really help) into a nice notebook titled 'Post Production' and so hopefully the theory and the action will click next term. (:
I really like Adam's classes as well. Working on my premises has been an interesting process. I sometimes feel like I'm one of those board games when at the throw of the dice I could either move forward one step with a good premise or move backwards 5 spaces with a bad one! I find the trouble is compressing it but at the same time keeping the attraction of the idea there, the “sexiness” as Adam likes to say! I like writing them though, so I'll just keep working at them until I know I can throw a good number on the dice each time.
In Andy's classes we've been treated to painful episodes of Coronation Street (but hey, they're only 22 mins) and upsetting group exercises. Only kidding, I have enjoyed CCS1 with all of its marketing facts and the way the film industry works. The classes have given me a good background which we need to keep in mind when we're being creative because essentially our careers will be based on selling at TV programme or a film. What I've learned most from Andy so far is that TV is huger part of my life than I ever thought....I've really missed watching television and when I am at home, I'm amazed at how often I switch it on and how much of an impact adverts have on me, when I always used to dismiss them.
Finally on Fridays we've been able to kick back and watch a variety of films this term. I have to say I've enjoyed Chaplin's films the most and the film about him as well (this was the first time I'd watched Robert Downey Jr and now I'm in love)! Everything about The Kid in particular appealed to me and it deeply moved me as well. The way it was shot was really impressive given that it was made in 1921, and as Andy said, Charlie Chaplin really knew how to manipulate film and how to use timing to great effect (for example when he is running over the rooftops to catch up with the van, the van is always in a realistic place for the time supposed to have lapsed.)
I guess appreciating Chaplin's sense of humour helps as well and I was just as entertained by him than I would've been watching a modern comedic film, maybe even more so because his humour was stripped down to simple facial expressions, body movement and timing without even the help of dialogue. Jackie Coogan's performance as the 'orphan' was stunning though, and I was really surprised at his capacity to act at such a young age.
I think what helped make me love the film even more was that I'd watched Chaplin before The Kid and so I knew about Charlie's own childhood. In addition to that, being without a father whilst growing up has made me more aware of how people can forge their own personal relationships with people who aren't necessarily relatives and one of the father figures in my own life is called Charlie, so even though the film is 88 years old and the situation is different, I can still relate to it.
Overall it's been a great term altogether but I'm going to address the things I've been struggling with like the frequency of blogging, my timekeeping and being able to submit my ideas more confidently! As I can't wait to get back home for Christmas and relax, I know I can't wait to get back again refreshed and ready to go again!
Merry Christmas my lovelies :) XOXO
No comments:
Post a Comment