Thursday, 20 October 2016
19th October - Finalising Screenplay
This was our first production meeting as a team. From the session before, we found out who would be in which group with a possibility of each tutor as a mentor. The mentors were Alex, Anna, Edwin and Emily. I got put in a group as producer with Callum Dawson as director, Thomas Henry as DOP, Iris Hobson as production designer and Nathaniel Thomas as sound designer. We got put with Alex so she would be able to us along the way in making the film eventually.
Before this session, we found out a groups the week before and as producer, I wanted to get us organised so I made a private group chat on Facebook messenger so we could keep in contact and discuss more about our film.
My group and I went into a meeting room to plan our film and come up with different ideas for the which we could include. Iris started off saying that she had an idea that people should be wearing masks as if to hide their identity from the rest of the world. After lots of discussion, we decided only one person, our main female actress would not be wearing a mask as she hasn't conformed to having no identity, nevertheless, we wanted her to have an office job due to the fact that she could be half way there to not having an identity. We thought the masks could include horse heads and different kinds of animals. Then we discussed a relevant topic today and how clowns are murdering people. This, therefore implied that we would change the horse masks for clown masks, furthermore, this idea was sooner rejected due to how we would film outside and we wouldn't get a good response from the public. We also thought we could depict through a much more intellectual way.
In the end we found that the best way to show this is with the use of blurred faces and we talked about how we could edit it in post production.
We then drew a hill type drawing on an A3 piece of paper and came up with structure for the narrative; a beginning, middle and an end. We had then started to speak about props and which would be necessary, however we still had Saturday to plan as well as Monday, so we left that information till then. Although, Iris took on the role of co-writer as Armand couldn't make it that day, so she would help him write a rough draft of a script in which we would all look at on Saturday.
I was very proud of my group as we had come so far in just two hours. I have high hopes for this film.
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
5-16 October LFF Press Reviews, Screenings and Events
During the London Film Festival, I went to see a total of 8 feature length films and four shorts due to the fact we were allocated student delegate passes and therefore, we were able to get in for free. The films that I saw go as follows:
-Moonlight:
-Moonlight:
This film is about a black man coping with being gay within a poor society. This is one of the main concepts throughout the film and due to the fact it's relevant to today's culture, it really intrigued me as well as the rest of the audience, in my opinion, due to the fact everyone looked engrossed in the film. It is a film that includes drug and school violence, furthermore dealing with real life issues and grabbing the attention of the audience. Stories of LGBT people of colour have been largely ignored in film or at least relegated to the side-lines while instead, we’re offered up the whitewashed history of Roland Emmerich’s tone deaf Stonewall or straight-friendly Oscarbait like The Danish Girl. Writer/director Barry Jenkins’ astonishing new film is both proudly black and refreshingly queer. It’s a thrilling, deeply necessary work that opens up a much-needed and rarely approached on-screen conversation about the nature of gay masculinity. Jenkins doesn’t pull any punches in showing the crushing loneliness and horrific violence of being a gay man in a culture where homosexuality is seen as a weakness. We see the visible and invisible scars that develop from a lack of acceptance and by the time we finally meet adult Chiron, played with incredible nuance by ex-athlete Trevante Rhodes, he’s trapped by his own desire, regulating his behaviour to remove anything that could be seen as “gay”. The third act sees him return home to reunite with a school friend (an exceptional performance from Andre Holland) with whom he had his one sexual encounter with during his teenage years. There’s a thrilling, heart-pumping chemistry in these scenes as we see Chiron’s performed toughness fade in the face of a love he’s so sorely needed throughout his tortured life. It’s beautifully choreographed and easily the most believably intimate gay pairing since Andrew Haigh’s Weekend. Every single aching glance is a poignant reminder of what Chiron has endured to get here.Moonlight is a profoundly moving film about growing up as a gay man in disguise, a difficult and damaging journey that’s realised with staggering care and delicacy and one that will resonate with anyone who has had to do the same. We’re starved of these narratives and Jenkins’ electrifying drama showcases why they are so hugely important, providing an audience with a rarely seen portrait of what it really means to be a black gay man in America today. It’s a stunning achievement.
-The Handmaiden:
Park Chan-wook’s last film Stoker, his first foray into Hollywood, had Mia Wasikowska’s burgeoning killer masturbate after helping to murder her attempted rapist, a fascinatingly perverse scene that acts as something of a precursor to his latest. The rare focus on a woman’s experience of sex without a man involved is key in his adaptation of Sarah Waters’ award-winning novel Fingersmith, which relocates the story from Victorian Britain to 1930s Korea. A con artist, calling himself Count Fujiwara, hatches a devious plan that sees him working alongside pickpocket Sook-hee to steal the many riches of beautiful heiress Lady Hideko. Isolated and bullied into an impending marriage with her uncle, Hideko takes on Sook-hee as her handmaiden. But while Sook-hee’s task is getting her new mistress to fall for the “Count”, she finds herself sexually drawn instead.
Premiering at Cannes exactly a year after the handsome yet overrated lesbian romance Carol, Park has provided us with something of a compelling antidote. Unlike Haynes’s chemistry-free drama, this film is simmering with genuine sexual tension. There’s explicit sex but more importantly, there’s longing, affection and intimacy between the maid, impressive newcomer Kim Tae-Ri, and her sexually inexperienced heiress, a layered turn from Kim Min-hee. What’s so fascinating is how unsatisfying and often grotesque male sexuality is in comparison to the eroticism and warmth generated by the women of the film. The Count, played by The Chaser’s Ha Jung-woo, is merely an annoyance to the pair, a repugnant fly on their windshield. While the uncle, who involves his niece in perverted “readings” for a male audience, is a sadistic fool indulging in pornography over reality. Men are pathetic, unwanted voyeurs; misusing, abusing and misunderstanding what women really want. Given the nudity on show, some are already quick to criticise Park’s direction as gratuitous and to claim that his male gaze is affecting the depiction of lesbian romance. But the impotency of the male characters helps to counter this while the sex scenes themselves, as lovingly shot as they might be, feel vital to the narrative. The couple are exploring each other and their previously untapped desires, unshackling themselves from the men around them. The film is exquisitely designed and sexually liberating, this is a hugely entertaining thriller.
-Bleed For This
-Interchange
-Goldstone
-Chi-Raq
-Dog Eat Dog
-Free Fire
-Short films such as My Mother and I (Directed by Anna McGuire, one of our mentors at the BFI), Candyfloss and two others
From watching these films, I have learnt about different types of cinema from different countries
-The Handmaiden:
Park Chan-wook’s last film Stoker, his first foray into Hollywood, had Mia Wasikowska’s burgeoning killer masturbate after helping to murder her attempted rapist, a fascinatingly perverse scene that acts as something of a precursor to his latest. The rare focus on a woman’s experience of sex without a man involved is key in his adaptation of Sarah Waters’ award-winning novel Fingersmith, which relocates the story from Victorian Britain to 1930s Korea. A con artist, calling himself Count Fujiwara, hatches a devious plan that sees him working alongside pickpocket Sook-hee to steal the many riches of beautiful heiress Lady Hideko. Isolated and bullied into an impending marriage with her uncle, Hideko takes on Sook-hee as her handmaiden. But while Sook-hee’s task is getting her new mistress to fall for the “Count”, she finds herself sexually drawn instead.
Premiering at Cannes exactly a year after the handsome yet overrated lesbian romance Carol, Park has provided us with something of a compelling antidote. Unlike Haynes’s chemistry-free drama, this film is simmering with genuine sexual tension. There’s explicit sex but more importantly, there’s longing, affection and intimacy between the maid, impressive newcomer Kim Tae-Ri, and her sexually inexperienced heiress, a layered turn from Kim Min-hee. What’s so fascinating is how unsatisfying and often grotesque male sexuality is in comparison to the eroticism and warmth generated by the women of the film. The Count, played by The Chaser’s Ha Jung-woo, is merely an annoyance to the pair, a repugnant fly on their windshield. While the uncle, who involves his niece in perverted “readings” for a male audience, is a sadistic fool indulging in pornography over reality. Men are pathetic, unwanted voyeurs; misusing, abusing and misunderstanding what women really want. Given the nudity on show, some are already quick to criticise Park’s direction as gratuitous and to claim that his male gaze is affecting the depiction of lesbian romance. But the impotency of the male characters helps to counter this while the sex scenes themselves, as lovingly shot as they might be, feel vital to the narrative. The couple are exploring each other and their previously untapped desires, unshackling themselves from the men around them. The film is exquisitely designed and sexually liberating, this is a hugely entertaining thriller.
-Bleed For This
-Interchange
-Goldstone
-Chi-Raq
-Dog Eat Dog
-Free Fire
-Short films such as My Mother and I (Directed by Anna McGuire, one of our mentors at the BFI), Candyfloss and two others
From watching these films, I have learnt about different types of cinema from different countries
15.10.2016 - Born in Flames screening and screenplay masterclass
In this session at the BFI, we arrived at LS1 and we practically started playing the film almost straight away, so that we would have enough time to meet the director and then have a screenwriting masterclass with Gabriela Apiccella.
The film Born in Flames was a very interesting film that had a lot of archive footage and was based around politics and feminism. I personally connected with the film on a higher level as I feel quite strongly about how women are presented within our lives as well as in the film as whole.
when the film finished we were lucky enough to have a question and answer session with the director of the film. She was a very inspirational person and I learnt a lot from her. We spoke about the main themes in the film and how we feel strongly about each concept.
After this we had a screenwriting masterclass in which Gabriela showed us what a proper film script would look like; it has to be in size 12 and in Courier front as well as being centred. She told us about the stage directions and how they should be in italics to make it clear and distinctive from the dialogue itself.
In order to understand how to write stage directions, Gabriela showed us a couple of minutes from certain films that we analysed as a class. Cry Baby was one of the films that we analysed and she told us that we didn't have to write about lighting and other technical elements as the writers job is to tell the actor what to do.
This helped my class and I as we needed to know how to write a script professionally for when we would come to making our own films.
The film Born in Flames was a very interesting film that had a lot of archive footage and was based around politics and feminism. I personally connected with the film on a higher level as I feel quite strongly about how women are presented within our lives as well as in the film as whole.
when the film finished we were lucky enough to have a question and answer session with the director of the film. She was a very inspirational person and I learnt a lot from her. We spoke about the main themes in the film and how we feel strongly about each concept.
After this we had a screenwriting masterclass in which Gabriela showed us what a proper film script would look like; it has to be in size 12 and in Courier front as well as being centred. She told us about the stage directions and how they should be in italics to make it clear and distinctive from the dialogue itself.
In order to understand how to write stage directions, Gabriela showed us a couple of minutes from certain films that we analysed as a class. Cry Baby was one of the films that we analysed and she told us that we didn't have to write about lighting and other technical elements as the writers job is to tell the actor what to do.
This helped my class and I as we needed to know how to write a script professionally for when we would come to making our own films.
12/10/2016 - Masterclass in music and soundtrack 6pm-8pm
In this session, we had a master class from two speakers that are professional musicians. They taught us how music and sound fits into film.
Dr Vasco Hexel teaches at the royal school of music and did a PHD in music as well. His presentation was on 'Narrative Film Music.' He showed us a quote by Stanley Kobrick that inspires him to make music.
He told us that:
a film is split into 3 sections:
-sound FX -compiled (selected pieces that exist) -CGI
-Foley
We then discussed what music does, and the goes as follows:
music...
...helps establish geographic location
...establishes a time period
...provides continuity between shots
...bridge temporal and spatial lapse
...direct audiences attention
...induce mood/emotional response of the viewer
...communicates meaning and furthers the narrative
...supports dialogue emotionally and dramatically
...establishes character (a character being accompanied by a particular sound
...heightens the sense of reality
The different types of music include:
The next speaker we had was Dave Dirch who titles his presentation "A hackers guide to composing for film"
In order to create certain atmosphere and emotions, he said that one has an option of sound to use such as:
-Foley
-Effected Foley
-Built up layers (adding levels of sound)
-Cutting most of it and selecting the best parts to use
For example, if we wanted an emotion of sadness to be portrayed in a film, a piano would be used as an instrument to compose for that particular emotion.
Dave also spoke about the 'intensity map' which is how various instruments rise in tension in particular times of the scene. - I found this concept very insightful as it allowed me to understand how filmmakers hook the audience in specific scenes in films.
Some composers layer feelings, use foley and portray atmosphere not themes through the use of a sound collage. Nevertheless, there are other ways to compose sound, such as, FX. These include Reverbing: examples include-Large space, eerie, strange; Delays: examples include - repeating, echo, fade; Distortion: examples include - aggressive, confused, surprised, suffocated. Last of all, musicians gain the emotion they want from an audience with the use of scales as they have the ability to change the mood and emotions. For example, there are scales that convey positivity, sibilant and melancholic emotions. One can also blend scales whether its in harmony in order to depict peace or in dissonance to display conflict and aggression.
We were then able to create our own music on the app thumb jam on his iPad and this gave us an insight as to what it would be like to compose for our films later on in the course as well as later on in our career.
Dr Vasco Hexel teaches at the royal school of music and did a PHD in music as well. His presentation was on 'Narrative Film Music.' He showed us a quote by Stanley Kobrick that inspires him to make music.
He told us that:
a film is split into 3 sections:
Sound Music Visuals
-dialogue -composed -footage-sound FX -compiled (selected pieces that exist) -CGI
-Foley
We then discussed what music does, and the goes as follows:
music...
...helps establish geographic location
...establishes a time period
...provides continuity between shots
...bridge temporal and spatial lapse
...direct audiences attention
...induce mood/emotional response of the viewer
...communicates meaning and furthers the narrative
...supports dialogue emotionally and dramatically
...establishes character (a character being accompanied by a particular sound
...heightens the sense of reality
The different types of music include:
- diegetic (natural sound inside the film)
- non-diegetic (outside the movie, songs)
- underscore (composed music accompanies the narrative)
- Source score
- Song or compilation score
The next speaker we had was Dave Dirch who titles his presentation "A hackers guide to composing for film"
In order to create certain atmosphere and emotions, he said that one has an option of sound to use such as:
-Foley
-Effected Foley
-Built up layers (adding levels of sound)
-Cutting most of it and selecting the best parts to use
For example, if we wanted an emotion of sadness to be portrayed in a film, a piano would be used as an instrument to compose for that particular emotion.
Dave also spoke about the 'intensity map' which is how various instruments rise in tension in particular times of the scene. - I found this concept very insightful as it allowed me to understand how filmmakers hook the audience in specific scenes in films.
Some composers layer feelings, use foley and portray atmosphere not themes through the use of a sound collage. Nevertheless, there are other ways to compose sound, such as, FX. These include Reverbing: examples include-Large space, eerie, strange; Delays: examples include - repeating, echo, fade; Distortion: examples include - aggressive, confused, surprised, suffocated. Last of all, musicians gain the emotion they want from an audience with the use of scales as they have the ability to change the mood and emotions. For example, there are scales that convey positivity, sibilant and melancholic emotions. One can also blend scales whether its in harmony in order to depict peace or in dissonance to display conflict and aggression.
We were then able to create our own music on the app thumb jam on his iPad and this gave us an insight as to what it would be like to compose for our films later on in the course as well as later on in our career.
Third session 05/10/2016: Screening and talk of Tyburnia with Director James Holcombe - 6pm-8pm
In this session, we met a director called James Holcombe who spent 5/6 years making the film Tyburnia which focused on historical events. He used Bolex cameras to film and he had to manually dry the footage and clean it etc. in order to make the movie and this is why it took so long to make.
We watched the film for the first hour and 10 minutes and we asked him lots of questions about how he filmed it and where he found the research to make the film overall.
I thought this class was very beneficial as it was getting us ready to start filming with 16mm Bolex cameras on the Saturday of this week. I also wondered how he made the film with all the flickering lights and unique camera techniques and I was intrigued and excited to learn about it on Saturday where we would have a workshop with him.
1/10/16 - Outing to exploding Cinema - 7pm-11pm
On the first Saturday of the academy, a few of us went to the Exploding Cinema at the Cinema Museum for Disposable film screening. The screening started at 7 and was on for the next four hours until 11pm. There were a lot of short films, some longer than others.
For example,
- one film was only 40 seconds long and was animation where an ice-cream was melting. This film had a comedic effect on the audience due to the content as well as the fact that it was so short.
- another animation film called 'Doghouse' was also animation and had more of a narrative where a males voice-over told us about his parents splitting up and the dad had to go and live in the dog house, however towards the end, the parents made up because of the dogs. This therefore, was longer than the 40 second film due to the fact that the story had to be portrayed. This film stood out most of all for me as it had a memorable story that, although can be quite cliche because of parents splitting up, it was also very unique due to the concept of the dogs bringing people together. It had a strong message that inspired me to get me thinking for ideas for when I come to making my own film with my group.
The building was very individual and vintage-like as there were old cameras and historical exhibitions around on the first floor, then on the second floor, there were lots of film books to choose from as well as certain souvenirs that one can take home as a memory of the cinema.
Second Session 28/09/2016: Black Star masterclass and meeting the tutors - 6pm-8pm
In the second session we were upstairs in the blue room and had 3 professional industry speakers that came in and spoke to us about their career and expertise in the film industry. The three speakers were: Tega Okiti, Emily Baily and Edwin. From each speaker I learnt something new that I can put into practice when making films as well as understanding all the different knowledge that each persona said aloud.
-She is the project coordinator and is part of the event production as she makes sure that black star runs smoothly.
-Her studies include English lit and film at uni and she was recommended by careers to go into film which then lead her on to having gained an internship at the BFI, and this is how Tega came to start working in the industry.
-The progression routes that I have found out about is that one is able to get an internship at the BFI and this would be a great opportunity for myself for my future in order to start to become successful in the film industry.
As I didn't know a lot about Black Star, I decided to take some notes:
- Tega Okiti: Works on Black Star (Blockbuster Season)
-She is the project coordinator and is part of the event production as she makes sure that black star runs smoothly.
-Her studies include English lit and film at uni and she was recommended by careers to go into film which then lead her on to having gained an internship at the BFI, and this is how Tega came to start working in the industry.
-The progression routes that I have found out about is that one is able to get an internship at the BFI and this would be a great opportunity for myself for my future in order to start to become successful in the film industry.
As I didn't know a lot about Black Star, I decided to take some notes:
- Emily Bailey: Works as a DJ mixing visuals in films.
-Made her own animations as well as volunteering at the London Film Festival to help organise the event.
-She studied fine art at uni and put these skills into practice when she made her own footage that include artwork.
-She does live visual mixing and projects the work onto particular objects (known as project mapping).
-The two new aspects I learnt from Emily are that people can be a DJ in film by mixing visuals together, as well as volunteering to organise an event.
Below is a video that she wanted to show us when she was giving her presentation.
- Edwin: An artist who works in film.
-Edwin studied philosophy and this helped him to process and develop his ideas for his future in film.
-He sets up organisations such as Depden Cinema, which is part of the Black Star event.
-This tutor also works with music as he has made music and collaborated with others to create the best track they can.
-The progression routes he taught us is that one should begin with a script, then to remove any ethnicity within the characters and only add the ethnicity of the character back when the actors have been cast. This is so filmmakers can be fair to all ethnicity.
Friday, 14 October 2016
First Lesson 21/09/2016: Induction Evening - 6pm-8pm
In our first lesson. We met downstairs at the BFI and had an introductory session giving us an insight to the course as well as meeting 2 of our mentors: Alex and Anna. They both had a very interesting story to tell with where they have been in their career and what they aspire to do when they are older, for example, Alex went to the Future Film BFI Academy herself and then landed a director's PA job on a film set. She is also directing her first feature film soon and in a couple of months she will be off to work for Paramount on contract for 7 years.
Both mentors showed us some work that they have produced (film related) and I was really inspired to see how they achieved their result.
Towards the end of the session, we did an 'ice-breaking' exercise where we spoke to the person next to us and asked them what their favourite and their least favourite films are and the reasons why which we then had to remember and feed back to the rest of the class.
This activity helped us meet our new peers on the course so that we would become closer for when we have to collaborate to make our own films.
Both mentors showed us some work that they have produced (film related) and I was really inspired to see how they achieved their result.
Towards the end of the session, we did an 'ice-breaking' exercise where we spoke to the person next to us and asked them what their favourite and their least favourite films are and the reasons why which we then had to remember and feed back to the rest of the class.
This activity helped us meet our new peers on the course so that we would become closer for when we have to collaborate to make our own films.
At the very end, Alison said she would make a group on Facebook so that we could all keep in contact via social media. We had to find the group and join it so Alison would accept so we could get this group started. Here are some screen shots of the group. There are many more bit of information she has given us, also , this is a place for when we need to ask Alison a question or anyone, and it would also benefit others to know a certain answer.
Introduction
Hello!
Welcome to my blog. I have been accepted into the BFI Future Film Academy where a course takes place for 3 months which gives us skills and knowledge for the film industry as a whole. When I went to the open evening, we were told that there will be lots of industry speakers and workshops that we would be able to attend and meet with in order to teach us about film as subject and how the industry gets a film from pre production to the finished product.
I am also very excited to be able to attend the LFF for the first time as Alison said on the open day that we would receive free tickets with our student delegate badges. I am planning to go to lots of screenings and Q+As just so I will get a feel of what real film festivals are like.
As I don't know whether I will go to university to study yet so this course is very beneficial as it gives me a wider understanding of the industry and I hope it will give be a clearer understanding of where I end up in the future.
Welcome to my blog. I have been accepted into the BFI Future Film Academy where a course takes place for 3 months which gives us skills and knowledge for the film industry as a whole. When I went to the open evening, we were told that there will be lots of industry speakers and workshops that we would be able to attend and meet with in order to teach us about film as subject and how the industry gets a film from pre production to the finished product.
I am also very excited to be able to attend the LFF for the first time as Alison said on the open day that we would receive free tickets with our student delegate badges. I am planning to go to lots of screenings and Q+As just so I will get a feel of what real film festivals are like.
As I don't know whether I will go to university to study yet so this course is very beneficial as it gives me a wider understanding of the industry and I hope it will give be a clearer understanding of where I end up in the future.
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