Hello post-audio, hello score, goodbye sanity

Writing this post early in the week because Josh & I will have our hands full with editing audio all Thursday and then I'll be placing the score in the film.

When I think about this class I feel a lot of things: frustration, pride, anxiety, excitement. The time constraint is very unnerving and I just want to make the film the best it can be because we've put in so much work into it. There just isn't enough time in the day at this point to make everything perfect.

There are so many things out of my control. We wont get the edited ADR until Thursday, and I'm not getting music until Tuesday night. Then there's waiting for graphics editing/placing foley in. So I can't do anything on my end until at least tomorrow when we get all of that. (which is why I'm blogging now)

I know I'm the type of person who takes charge of things but I didn't expect to have to do so much of the actual work in post. I volunteered to do it because I know how to and it was easier to do in the time constraint than teach someone else how to log footage, etc. There are things I would change about the production, including my own work on it. I'm not perfect at all but I certainly tried. The film could not have been completed by the help of many of my group members and friends who are angels for stepping aside from their own productions to help in pre-production. This semester has given me so much stress and I am ready to be done.

Brb, crying over a bowl of cereal/pouring over all my other undone work/praying that I make it through this week in one piece. That was hella melodramatic and I know that everything will get done somehow. I'm trying to stay positive because I know the film will be great.

Sigur Rós - Valtari

Because it is officially finals week I figure it can't hurt to post about something a little lighter. Sigur Rós - Valtari is a beautiful work of art, the music and the music video. The dancers in the video are outstanding and the video itself is just extremely well done. From the editing to the coloring it was just outstanding. While it may be unpleasant to some people I think most can appreciate this piece for what it really is. There is so much that is told visually in this piece; with no dialogue to drive it forward it has to tell the story through the actions and the editing.



The piece is a little lengthy for what is supposed to be a music video however I would consider it a short film and not a music video. Anyway it can be a little unsettling so here are some still photos if you dont feel like looking at the whole video. There is a little bit of nudity but not much.

And for all the cool people here is the link: Valtari

It Only Took A Day

It only took one day back from break and I am feeling just as stressed as the week before we shot our film, if not more. So I thought I'd blog twice this week, to take care of next week's now, because next week I will be editing audio LITERALLY ALL WEEK. (Help me).

I feel an array of emotions now when I walk into Fiction Field. I'm happy. I'm angry. I want to cry. I want to go home. I used to be so eager to make videos, but now thinking about producing a project just gives me a headache. Thinking about all the planning, arguing, coordinating, failing, changing, adjusting--it makes me very, very anxious.

I sometimes regret taking Fiction Field 2, not because I didn't learn (I learned A LOT) but because it's caused me so much stress this semester that I reached out to CAPS to seek help. I've been having problems because many components of this project are out of my control. We couldn't shoot at an earlier date because of scheduling conflicts. I can't get the picture lock of the film done because I'm not editing. I can't score the film. I have to rely on many other people for this. And I know that's part of life.

I don't believe I have enough time to edit the sound for this project. I will get it done, but I don't think it will be the best it can possibly be. Typing that physically hurts me.

I wanted this project to be something that I would be extremely proud of. I wanted people to see it and say "Wow, Sam was a part of that? That was really good." But now I'm afraid people will hear it and see my name in the credits and think, "That girl had no idea what she was doing." It is partially true that I don't have any idea what I'm doing. In this class and in life. I'm trying to do my best.

I just want to enjoy what I do and right now I'm not enjoying it at all. Next semester I plan on taking a step back from many extracurriculars and trying to work in smaller groups. I also plan to focus more on my mental and physical health. If you read this blog, please don't bring it up to me in class. It's sort of an automatic response now for me to start crying when I remember how stressed I am.

Thank you.

Learning from our Mistakes

WE FINALLY SHOT OUR FILM. I REPEAT, WE SHOT OUR FILM IN ONE WEEKEND. I cannot put into words how much better I feel. I am ~glowing~.

Obviously we made mistakes this weekend, some of which could have been prevented early on. If we don't learn from our mistakes, how are we going to get better at anything? So, I compiled this list of some issues we ran into and how we can fix them (for next time).

1. Insufficient budget - Our third day on set was very low budget when it came to crafty, and when the people need crafty, they need crafty. Perhaps we could have set up an Indiegogo campaign like Stopover City did. Then we wouldn't have to worry about paying for food.

2. Poor(ish) location - I threw the 'ish' in there because there were some great things about our location. For one thing, it was a two minute drive from campus--this made it super convenient to haul equipment, cast, and crew there and back. It was also Connor's friends apartment, which made coordinating times to shoot fairly easy and we didn't have to pay for it. However, Danby is a highway where cars drive by at 40 miles per hour and I could hear every single one. This is going to make my life a living hell when I try to edit the sound. I tried to prepare for the damage by putting lavalier microphones on our actors. Next time we'll have to look for a place in a quieter neighborhood, far away from any main roads.

3. Bad timing in the semester - Due to group members' commitment to various other projects, this weekend was literally the only weekend that worked for everyone. What sucked was that it was Cortaca weekend, which meant people's friends from home would be visiting, loud music would be playing, and people would want to take a post-game nap (understandably so). There were a number of times we had to hold for people moving in and out of the house, and I felt terrible keeping these people from sleeping at 3:00 in the morning. Next time we'll have to figure out more than 3 long shooting days and break it up.

4. Bad time of day - We shot our exteriors at Connor's house in the morning and it was cloudy, which was a great thing. But the next two days we were seriously rushing to get in all our daytime shots because there are only so many hours of daylight this time of year. This gave us ample time to shoot our night scenes because the sun went down by 5:00 PM. Next time we should definitely make sure that the call sheets have sunrise and sunset times on them and factor that in to the shooting order.

5. Production design - This also goes along with location scouting issues. Most of the walls in the house are white, which made production design a bitch. This kind of went along with our story though, because our antagonist is supposed to be obsessively clean. If we could do it again, it would be better if the location had different colored walls; this would also make lighting much easier.

6. Call sheet errors/lack of info - Our call sheets looked super professional and that's just dandy, but they were lacking information. Maybe it was because we were trying to accomplish so much in such a short amount of time, but for me they were hard to follow. I would like to see the specifics of what we're shooting on them. Instead of the scene number and a couple word phrase explaining it, I want to see the page number in the script that coincides with the scene, the exact actions the actor takes in the scene, and which actor(s) are needed for that scene. We realized after arriving on set that the call sheet for our first shoot listed both actresses, but we only needed one to be there.

I don't mean to be a negative Nancy, I just want to make sure that I or my group doesn't make the same mistake twice.

Can You Pay Our Bills?

*cue this song.

The reason I've been getting so involved in our story and constantly editing it is for two reasons. (1) I want it to be as good as it can be (obviously); and (2) I want that Pendleton grant!

Everyone in our group agreed that Dollhouse would be a low-budget film. However, having some grant money would be very helpful. I think that if we want to be a serious contender for the grant, we need to have a grammatically flawless script, which is why I've been working with Theo to edit it. Last fall I took Developing Story Narratives with Julie Blumberg, so I have a good amount of experience editing scripts. I also brought our textbook for that class, The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley, back to school with me specifically for moments like this.

After about five drafts (and help from Anna), we've created a story that is more compelling and interesting than it was a couple days ago. Tomorrow it should be ready for storyboarding, which is super exciting.

How we would use our money:

• Gas money - to transport talent, crew, and gear ($30)
• Craft services - food for cast and crew for a 3 day shoot ($70-$100)
• Production design - printing photos, props, room/house decor ($30)
• Wardrobe ($20)
• Gaffing supplies ($25)
• Emergency fund - for when we inevitably have situations to deal with that are unpredictable ($40)

_________________________________________________

Total - $245

I am rounding up to get these estimates, so we may not end up using all of the $245. Any leftover money would be used to submit our film to festivals.

Hopefully our submission goes well and we're awarded some grant money. The next step is for us to focus on pre-production and prep everything that we can.

One Group to Rule them All

I recently returned to the U.S. after studying abroad at the Ithaca College London Center last spring. It was an amazing experience, but I'm glad to be back in Ithaca for an entire year. I'm especially excited to be taking production classes again.

It really has been a while. Usually I try to balance my schedule with half of my classes in Park, and half out of Park. However, there are no production classes offered in London so I can't help but feel a little behind. This summer I interned for the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and it was awesome, but I wasn't doing video production there either.

Woah. What a crazy flashback.

Arturo said we could choose our own groups or work in one huge group and I immediately had a flash back to when I took Fiction Field I last fall.

~It was a dark and stormy night~

Kidding. It was probably 2:00 in the afternoon and there were no windows in the classroom so I have no idea what the weather was like. Anyway, for our final project (we only did two projects total) we divided ourselves into three groups. At first, each group was super motivated. But then came The Dark Days.

#tbt to when we pulled our hair out. <3

Okay. I know that I'm being dramatic, but the fact of the matter is, even a short film (one that is ten minutes or less) requires a ton of hard work. When people started feeling the pressure and stress that comes along with a huge project, they would argue, freak out, and soon we were all on the verge of pulling out our own hair as well as every other group member's hair.

It was extremely difficult and when we eventually screened our projects in class, I didn't feel like it was my best work. I had this feeling of "well this is the best we could do given the circumstances." I don't want to have that feeling. That feeling is the worst feeling.

Arturo said we could work in one huge group. I don't know if it's this one experience or just a feeling in my gut, but something is telling me that one group might be the best option for all of us.

Yes, actually.

Pre-production, production, and post-production groups could work together and independently, potentially eliminating the need for all of us to meet at the same time. There would also be no need to run around Park, trying to fill crew positions if everyone has a specific job. For those of you in my class, please just consider it for a day. You know, let it marinate in your brain.

Obviously, this will take one great idea that everyone can get behind and coming up with said idea might be the hardest part of all. Yet I have confidence that if we combine our skills, we can make something truly spectacular.


Perhaps, as Arturo said, something that can be submitted to festivals.

Let's Get Into a Film Festival.

You’ve finally finished that short you’ve been slaving over for a year now. You’ve re-scripted, re-shot, edited, edited again, and edited some more. Your film’s been color-graded, sound designed, and reviewed by all of your family and friends. You’ve put more blood, sweat, and tears into this movie than you even thought you had but it was all worth it because now, your film is festival-ready. 

Congrats! But that doesn’t mean you get to put away your box of tissues. On the contrary, you’re about to see your perfect film get rejected from festival after festival. However, there are some things you can do to possibly lessen the blows. But first— what are the benefits of entering a film festival? 

The Benefits:

The Bathroom Situation:

Film festivals (especially *Majors) provide the best opportunity for an aspiring filmmaker to rub shoulders with high-profile people. Everyone goes to the big festivals which means you never know who you’re peeing next to. 

You Get to Expose Yourself:

Although the Internet can open the doors for your film to be seen, film festivals are a great way to get audience feedback from real, “film people. ” This exposure can also lead distributers to buy your film, which is a lovely, lovely thing. Any buzz about your film is good buzz, and it never hurts to be able to say that your film got into a festival. You may even get your own article!

Potential Opportunity for Ice Cream:

The cool thing about winning an award at a film festival is that you win an award at a film festival. Depending on the caliber of the festival, winning an award could jump-start your career and make your name known in the filmmaking community. You can put it on your resume, and best of all, your parents will be so proud of you that they’ll probably take you out for ice-cream or something. Yum!

Now that I’ve hopefully renewed your excitement for film festivals, you’re ready to start sending your short around. Maybe. A short that may be new and exciting to your family friends may not be "festival” material in the eyes of the festival judges. Senior programmer at the Sundance film festival, David Courier, describes the sheer mass of applicants entered into Sundance alone:  

“Last year, we received overall, close to 13,000 submissions including shorts and fictions. Of those 13,000, close to 8,000 were shorts. The rests were features. Of those features, I'd say about 1800 or close to 2,000 were documentaries. Of those, we show 41 feature films." -- Courier 

You would imagine that based on the magnitude of films being submitted into the festival, there must be a lot of different evaluators. That, or they don’t actually watch the films all the way through. Courier responds to tis concern as well, 

“We have eight feature programmers, a whole separate set of shorts programmers and about 35 screeners who are the first eyes on most of those films. They are all people who have terrific jobs in the industry and who want to do this also. We pay them. They rate the films. They write coverage and they grade the film on a 1-5 basis with 5 being the best. One of our programmers covers all of the 1s and 2s to make sure the screeners didn't miss something -- or that possibly, it was an experimental film and it was meant to have burnt footage. The rest of us cover the 3s, 4s and 5s….Every film gets watched in its entirety. They have to watch the entire film even if they think it's the worst thing they've ever seen in their life." -- Courier

Eight people watch 13,000 films. Every year. These people have seen everything. In every panel discussion, interview, or Q&A with film festival screeners they offer the same advice:

Your Film Should Be:

Something different. This goes without saying. If you don’t stand out, you’re going to rejected. Every time. That means don’t open your film with an alarm clock. Don’t be cliche. Going beyond just getting into a film festival, if you have interesting or exciting content, you’ll accumulate more buzz. The more buzz about your film, the more likely distributers or big execs will hear about it. And well, that’s the dream isn’t it? 

Some advice specifically for short films:

If your short is 5 minutes, don’t have a 2 minute opening credit sequence. Do you really want the audience to be distracted by a weird font for half of your movie? Just don’t. You also want to avoid making a short any longer than 10 minutes. If you can’t tell the story completely in 10 minutes, make it a feature. Have you ever noticed how uncomfortable a 20 - 30 minute film is to watch? People are either praying for it to end for the entirety of the last 10 minutes, or completely thrown off and feel it ends abruptly. 

If it’s a short, make it short.  However, if your 10 minute is going to compete with features, then every shot NEEDS to be perfect. Check out any short film that’s won an award at a Major festival. You can pause the film at any point and it looks like a piece of art. If you can’t do that with your film, re-shoot it. Seriously. Also make sure you’ve covered your 3 As. Actors, audio, and art design. If your film doesn’t get into a festival, chances are you’ve either made something uninspired, or you’ve messed up one of the A’s. I’d go more in-depth about audio, actors, and art design but then you’d be reading a novel and not a blog post so I’ll try to abstain. Just make something great. Festival’s are expensive, don’t waste your money on rejection letters. 

Speaking of money…

Help Us We’re Poor: 

You may have noticed that I’ve been leaving subtle hints about the increased monetary expenditures you’ll be making if you decide to send enter the festival circuit. $50 is the average cost of submitting your film to a festival. That’s not too bad right? It’s not, depending on the number of festivals you “Apply” for. Much like when applying to college, you are paying for the reviewee’s time, so you won’t get that money back even if your film isn’t accepted. Money is just one of the reasons why it’s important to do your research about the types of festivals and which ones would be a good fit for your film. I”ll go more in depth about the types of festivals soon. Unfortunately, applying for festivals is the least of your worries. God forbid you actually get ACCEPTED into one! You’ll need money for travel expenses, hotels, money for schmoozing at the bars with distributers, etc. Furthermore, many festivals with lower submission costs make you cough up an additional fee when you’re accepted. Here’s a doc that you may find useful while budgeting for film festivals. Long story short, production is simply one aspect of the film-spending business. Hopefully by now you realize the importance of long-term budgeting, and are particularly cautious not to spend your entire savings on props and location. It’s great to have a great film, but it’s unlikely to get the exposure it deserves if you can’t afford the festivals.

All the Flavors of Festivals:

As I’ve already mentioned, researching the types of festivals to find the  film festivals are divided into categories based on the number of acquisition executives that attend. Major and mini major film festivals charge submission fees, (boo), but they also give you a chance to schmooze with some really important people in the filmmaking industry from all around the world. It is here that your film has it’s best chance of being seen by a wealthy distributor. 

Majors: Major film festivals are the ones you hear being thrown around most often; Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam and Venice are the most famous  Major festivals. Most of these are foreign film festivals, although Sundance is dominated by American cinematographers and has become a sort of “launching pad” for Hollywood Films. 

Mini-majors: Mini-major festivals are also excellent festivals to launch your films, and vie with the majors for industry and celebrity turnout. Festivals such as SXSW, Locarno, San Sebastian, Raindance, Tribeca and Karlovy Vary have hundreds of celebrities and paparazzi attending and can be a useful springboard to getting your film noticed. Also, if you have a really “indie” looking film, you might want to look into the Raindance festival which often shows very, “cinematic” pieces. 

City Festivals: Many cities host their own festivals that predominately attract the people within the surrounding territory. You’re less likely to run into any especially important film people, but city festivals still provide great exposure for your film.

Genre Film Festivals: Certain film festivals cater to specific genres. If you make a horror film you would probably make Sitges your number one choice. London has the London Sci Fi and Fright Fest. While fewer acquisition executives attend genre festivals, those that do are there because they are interested in that genre. in marketing speak, these buyers are pre-qualified.In human speak, you’re chances of selling that script is more likely than ever. 

Matthew Frost's Short Films

Matthew Frost is known for creating music videos for bands such as M83 and also directing commercials and fashion films. He creates advertisements for brands such as Levis,  Louis Vuitton, Nike, Reebok, etc. His award short films for Vogue feature Cate Blanchett, Jessica Chastain, and Kate Winslet. He uses aesthetically pleasing shots with beautiful girls mixed with blithe humor.

In his most recent short film he created, "Aspirational" starring Kirsten Dunst, Frost explores the "selfie culture" and comments on how social media effects our interactions, even with celebrities. It's entertaining and funny, while making a sad statement about our society. Watch the two minute film below:

ASPIRATIONAL from Matthew Frost on Vimeo.

If you enjoyed that, you may enjoy his previous short film with Lizzy Caplan, titled "Fashion Film." It's a commercial for Viva Vena and spoofs fashion advertisements that you'd normally see. (Clever for a fashion brand to make fun of other fashion advertisements... I see what you're doing here, Viva Vena.) And as always, Lizzy Caplan is hilarious.

Here are the three award short films for Vogue if you want to check those out:

SLOW MOTION from Matthew Frost on Vimeo.

SCRIPTED CONTENT from Matthew Frost on Vimeo.

BEST ACTRESS OF ALL TIME from Matthew Frost on Vimeo.

I would not consider myself an advertising or fashion person at all, but I really love the charming humor that comes through in these beautiful advertisements.

Tyler

Whilst on my weekly routine of scouring Short of the Week, I came across a four minute film called "Tyler". After finishing a short of about the same length about children myself, I was interested to see what it was about. What I saw was the opposite of what I expected. Director Sam Benenati created something that I consider a cross between a film, a music video and poetry. "Tyler" concentrates more on emotions and visuals than a completely concrete story, which I believe is why it's so strong. Coming from a writing background, I find it very difficult for me to come up with experimental concepts rather than a locked down story, so I found this film refreshing and inspiring.

The sound design immediately jumps out at you. The entire film is a fluid, memory-like sequence, which was perfectly assisted by the overlapping music and dialogue. The shots were just as beautiful. I am a huge fan of natural lighting, and in this film, it really humanized each of the characters. 

Although the film is technically about a young boy who falls in love with his older brother's girlfriend, it really touches on each of the characters' relationships with each other, even with the missing father figure. Dakota Allbecker, who played the young boy, did a phenomenal job expressing the character and interacting with the older actors. Short of the Week writer Ben Watts reported that Benenati had "a knack for directing children without making them feel precocious or 'child-actor'-y", which I admire much more now that I have worked with children myself. I think "Tyler" is a very successful short film and I plan on looking up more of Benenati's work.

The Neverending Shot Story

1982. A year of big hair, The Rolling Stones, and a lack of child services intervention. Kidding... kind of. Jeremy Breslau's latest award-winning short film gives us a look into a man's memories of his troubled childhood, and the result is incredible.

From the detailed production design to the flawless camera work, what you get is an astonishing piece of visual art. The film starts in the modern day, with a father putting to bed his scared son in the middle of a thunder storm. From there, we dip into a montage of the father's childhood, where the true filmmaking magic happens.

The camera never stops moving. The entire flashback feels like on long sequence, with seamless transitions and barely any cuts during each memory. I was floored, pausing and replaying each scene, wondering how and where each transition took place. The flashback takes up most of the ten minutes, but you won't be disappointed with any second of it. Here's Jeremy Breslau's "1982":

                                                        1982 from Gina Breslau on Vimeo.

Does the camera work look familiar to you? If you've ever seen the film "Children of Men", that's why. Cinematographer Frank Buono was the man who designed and shot the infamous four minute long, one shot car scene. Here's the clip of the scene, plus a behind the scenes look at the making of it.

Besides Alfonso Cuarón, Buono has worked with filmmakers such as Spike Jonze, Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay, and now, with 1982, has obviously proved himself as an accomplished cinematographer. 

The editing, done by Alan Edward Bell, also stood out to me in cooperation with the cinematography. The transitions were fluid and basically seamless. Additionally, although shot with a "real time" feel, Patrick M. Sullivan Jr.'s work on the production design brought a real sense of change, which really drove home the "montage-ness" of the scene. 

Finally, the small, subtle attention to detail truly amazed me. From the scar on the boy's hand to the quick moment where the father lingers his hand on his neighbor's for a second too long, it all seemed natural and not in your face. This only attributed to the "real time" feel, as there were no cuts to exaggerate or emphasize a particular moment in time, which I felt was an excellent decision.

Brasleau is currently in development of his next short film, "The Chaplain". If you want to learn more, you can check it out on his Kickstarter page here.

On To The Next One

We are finally done. This whole semester has been a whirlwind of stress, sleeplessness, and getting equipment from PPECS. However, it has been the best semester of my life. Fiction Field 1 was a completely different world compared to Intro to Field. I went from making 1-3 minute videos to making 20 minute short films in a years time. I learned so much about everything film and media involved this semester and I am so happy for it.

I have always been one to learn from my mistakes and Arturo will definitely make sure you know if you have made a mistake. While during class you are stressing out, waiting for him to call out the next error that will increase the number butterflies flapping in your stomach, afterwards you realize "hey, that was really stupid of me but, I will never make that mistake again, and I'm a better filmmaker because of it."

My editing skills have had the most progression out of all my skills, after major critiques from lots of people I have really started to settle into my editing niche. I just started editing the Fall Semester of my Freshmen year and I have really found a love for it. Actually compiling the story that you captured is a very rewarding experience. I also believe being a good editor will help me down the road with directing films because thinking about post during production is better then fixing something in post.

As a director I really wished I had been more forward with the actors then I had been. I believe this would have solved some problems with not liking the delivery of certain lines, and ending up with a take that was acceptable but not the most desired take. I let the actors interpret their character too much rather then really breakdown the character individually with them.

I look forward to continuing in this amazing industry. The key is just to keep shooting and I believe if I do this I will really find my style of cinematography. I loved being on set, and I loved hearing all of Arturos crazy stories, and ingenious methods of problem solving. This was my favorite class and I learned so much as well as got an awesome starter film for my demo reel.

Why "Pas de deux" is Comparable to Chocolate Covered Bacon

I love short films. They're the Hershey's Miniatures of movies. You watch them when you just can't fit a feature length film into your diet. Not only are they convenient and compact, but they come in any flavor you could ask for. Craving animation? Try Paperman. Looking to try a silent mystery? Sherlock Jr 's the one you want. Or maybe you're a fan of the classics: A Trip to the Moon. Despite your personal taste in genres, like Hershey's Miniatures, you can't just have one. [Side-note: If you happen to be one of the rare individuals that can eat just one of these delicious chocolates I envy your self-control. Also there might be something inherently wrong with you. Sorry.]

Anyway, during one of my short film binges, I came across Pas de deux. Keeping with my chocolate analogy, Pas de deux could be compared to chocolate covered bacon. Would I eat it again? No. Do I admire the originality of the composition? Absolutely.

Directed by Canadian filmmaker, Norman McLaren, Pas de deux was embraced instantly by the filmmaking community. Not only did it receive 17 awards, (one including the 1969 BAFTA award for Best Animated Film), it was also nominated for an Academy Award. The short is an interpretation of a ballet-style dance called, get this: the Pas de deux. Content, however, is not what launched McLaren's piece into movie history. The real beauty lay in the filmmaker's extraordinary method of production.

The Canadian cinematographer used light and photography to create a stroboscopic collection of images. First, McLaren took photograph after photograph of the dancer/s; backlit and in front of a black backdrop. This lighting scheme, along with his choice of high contrast stock, contributed to the piece's radical overall look. This ain't your run of the mill Instagram filter.

Then, using the "step and repeat" process and an optical printer, McLaren overlaid the photographs to great some of the most interesting and surreal cinematography I've seen. I can not help but to deeply admire the fact that Norman McLaren manually did the job of both the videocamera, and the editing software.

Regardless of whether you're discussing movies or chocolate; one thing can be said of both. You don't need to consume a whole portion to appreciate the taste.

"Nuit Blanche" and other cool stuff

Last year in my Fiction Field I class, with Steve Gordon, he showed us a series of short films that focused heavily on special effects. One film that changed my perspective on how large of an impact special effects can have on the emotional and visual aspects of a short film, was the short film Nuit Blanche, a Stellar Scene production. The film is directed by Arev Manoukian and focuses on the connection between two strangers and explores their interactions in a fantasy world. I was captivated by the film's ability to display an array of emotions in less than 5 minutes and fully engage the viewer with beautiful music and exceptional special effects. The film is silent and black and white, focusing on the actions of the characters and the tragedies created by their love at first sight.

The most intriguing part of the film is the use of special effects. The first step used to making this film was  constructing the backgrounds and landscapes piece by piece, from a variety of city landscapes and building structures. Each building was carefully constructed and built to portray the dark feelings associated with this story of fantasy.  The director then used green screens the place the actors in these locations. To portray the car accident and glass shattering, each piece of the vehicle was placed in several frames and layered behind the actor. This created a sense of realism and made the car accident very emotional for the viewers. The special effects are done so flawlessly that you believe the accident really took place. The director also altered the lighting present in each shot, creating a dark and dismal look.  

I recommend every film student to see this film. It is an excellent of example of how short films can have an incredible impact on an audience and that sometimes the most powerful films are done without dialogue. Nuit Blanche is an excellent example of extensive special effects and how flawlessly scenes can be created. Manoukain does an incredible job of portraying the emotional complexities of love at first sight and the sometimes unavoidable tragedy. This film is beautiful and proves that the shortest of films can be the most time consuming. Please check out both videos and take the time to appreciate the beauty of this short film.

Enjoy the weekend,

Brie

En Blomst

After spending time in class discussing short films I've been thinking a lot lately about what goes into making a short film and what the director is trying to tell the audience-especially in such a short amount of time. The other day while perusing the internet I came across an article about a short film by Lars Von Trier called "En Blomst." Intrigued by the idea of a short film made by one of today's great directors, I decided to check it out. The film runs about 7 minutes long and contains no dialogue. It follows a young boy who plants a seed and nurtures it day to day until it grows into a flower. When the plant finally blooms, the look of contentment on the boy's face is disrupted by the loud sound of two military planes flying by. Suddenly, we see the boy's body laying on the ground with blood coming from his head, indicating he's been shot. Next to his body, the once lively flower is now wilted.

The most amazing thing about this simple film is that Von Trier shot it when he was just 15 years old. It reinforces the fact that true artists have an inherent need to create, at any cost, no matter how old or young a person may be. Another striking thing about this film is highlights the central themes (darkness, death) that continue to be the focus of Von Trier's films. Another theme that stuck out to me was the idea of nature and the cycle of life, as everything that lives, plants and people, eventually die. Nature was also a huge focus of Von Trier's most recent film, Melancholia, so there is another parallel between connecting themes in the director's first and most recent work. Despite Von Trier's openness about using his own anxieties and depression to influence his films, it makes me wonder if most directors have constant themes (perhaps unintentional) that can be noticed in their own films.

Surreal short film

I have nothing interesting to say this week, so I'm just going to share with you another Short Film, Yay!

This is one of the weirdest things I've seen in my life. I believe this was the first film directed by Luis Buñuel. Salvador Dali also helped doing it. So where can I start? Well, this short film literally defies all means of explanation. It is extremely abstract. I don't think it was meant to be analyzed anyways but to make the audience feel uncomfortable and confused which are of the feelings we usually experience after waking up from the craziest dream. Given that this is a surrealist film, I feel both Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali were successful creating a bizarre world that explore the subconscious. I also think this movie is pretty insane if we put it in context with the time it was made. This is because some of the shots taken are pretty intense and shocking. Especially the shot when this guy cuts this girl's eye (which was actually a cows eye). Taking in mind my reaction when I watched that scene, I can only imagine the audience's reaction when it was released for the first time. Do I like this movie? No, as I said before It was too odd for me. Do think it's good? yeah, it's an interesting way of making inexplicable into a visual element. Finally, I feel that this movie can be open to anyone's interpretation, but even if we spend all day analyzing it, we wouldn't be able to come up with an exact meaning for it.

Pixar's Knack

Last year in one of my classes we analyzed Knick Knack, one of Pixar's very famous short films that I'm sure most of you remember.

I love Pixar because most of its short films are interesting and appealing to everyone. Knick Knack in particular is the perfect example of a short story told in less than 4 minutes. It also proves that if you are creative enough you can make a simple story stand out from most films. Just like any other featured film, Knick Knack introduces us to a character with a defined objective, and many conflicts that prevent him from achieving it. The creators of this short film made an excellent job introducing the world of the film visually, and in less than 40 seconds. I also like that all the beats of the film are shown visually rather that by dialogue. This aspect of the film makes it even more funny to watch. Finally, another reason I love this short film is because like most good short films it has a little twist at the end. I feel that all of us can take this movie as an example when we work in future projects. It'll be great if instead of trying to tell a complex film with several plot, we would focus in a simpler story. I feel that if we do this we'll add to the creative value of our work.