Blurry telly banished...

Our 2009 48Hour Film

Ees made of seeely. 

Wintry week!

 Ugh, it's too cold and rainy. Unlike Dom, I don't find splashing about and throwing stones in puddles to be great fun so I find little appealing about the current weather.

Personally, I think it's time to hibernate and we should only venture out into the cold to go on foraging missions to hunt/gather dunkable biscuits and warm comfort foods. I'm trying to convince the outdoorsy Dominic that staying inside in the warm is fun. I even got him a comfy foam armchair to encourage couch potatoness.

Filmed another show

Weekend photo

Makin' all the papes

And a clickable scan of just the story:

Farm walk photos

I've been meaning to post the photos of Dominic at Lindale's farm walk for a while. They're a couple of weeks old now (hence the sunny weather).

 

Farm walk photo 1. Dominic walks... on a farm. No animals nearby yet.

Cute pony! Luckily for the pony, it didn't fit in my pocket so I didn't steal it and take it home.

Feeding ponies is a good way to get them to come closer to small children.

And stick their tongues out for the camera.

Pigs are cute but really slobbery. And muddy.

Heh. This goat was on guard and ready to stick its head out for food the moment we arrived. I like the cheeky, pushy attitude of goats.

Deer are so cute. I think they were Dominic's favourite. He was so enthralled just staring at them.

Cows rock. In a perfect world, cows would taste yucky so no one would eat them and ugly animals like spiders would taste like beef steak.

This bunny (and the baby guinea pigs) also nearly got smuggled out to come home with us. So cute!

Failure

 Given my tendency to become something of a neurotic and angst-ridden Artiste when reflecting back on projects, it’s not surprising that I’m finding the middle of this week tough. Matt, Dom and I had a fairly hectic weekend with the 48 film shoot at Matt’s school. Dom loved romping around the nice students’ centre with his lion walker, hanging out with teenagers (especially getting crumpled up bits of paper out of the wastepaper basket and handing them to the boys to take shots at the bin with) and exploring the college grounds while scenes were being shot. I ended up being more involved than I had expected. I got to write a couple of scenes when Matt got back from the school on the Friday night after the alarms had gone off, forcing the writing team to leave the base of operations. I then also helped with the panicked rewrite of briefer versions of some scenes late on Saturday night when Matt realised the film was way too long. I had a cameo role which was awesome fun, and I got to edit the 30 second breakout sequence which was heaps of fun. All in all I should be thrilled. It didn’t seem possible going into it that there would be any way I would get to write, act or edit whilst looking after the wee one but I actually got to do a bit of all three. Knowing what a mammoth task the 48 is, Matt and I had set our expectations reasonably low. The standards of the Wellington films tend to be really high, and as a couple of enthusiastic amateurs with a bunch of teens, many of whom hadn’t been involved in film-making before, just completing a film in time was going to be a challenge. As Matt said, as long as there wasn’t an outputting disaster and there was some sort of film on the tape we handed in, it would be a success. I think there are two possible approaches to the 48. One is to work as hard as you can to produce the best possible film with your resources. The other is to focus on the experience itself – make sure everyone who wants to be involved is in it as much as possible and give everyone a go. Unfortunately, I think we were a little caught between the two approaches, possibly to our detriment. On the one hand, we let students write (with Matt supervising), direct, operate the camera and do some basic editing stuff and every student who wanted to act got some screen time, even if some were non-talking roles. However, when things started to get in trouble (not enough coverage to edit the film, running out of time etc), Matt and I stepped in. On Sunday morning pickups, Matt took over the camera and the student directors kind of left the technical side of things to him and just focused on giving the actors feedback and direction. The end result feels a bit of a mish-mash that half feels like a student film and half doesn’t. Elements of the original longer script are there but they aren’t fully explored. Some of the best lines and great character moments have been cut out but on the plus side, the film is probably faster paced for it. By the standards we set for ourselves in advance, it should feel like a success. Did we and the students have fun? Yes. Did the students involved learn a lot about film-making? Yes. Did we make a film that they like and feel proud of? Yes. (From the comments we’ve heard from them about the screening). However, I can’t shake feeling a bit of a failure. Firstly, I am annoyed with myself that I think I made really obvious amateur mistakes in the script writing bits I was involved with. I had thought a lot in advance about the lessons I’ve learnt and the things to avoid, and yet I still did some of them. I guess when it comes to actually doing anything in the 48, the excitement and stress (and later on, sleep deprivation) can make you do dumb things. I hate that during the following days my mind seems to continually work out what I should have done when it’s too late. I have the briefest appearance in the film but I’m still not entirely happy with it. I was told ages ago that I exaggerate my facial expressions too much for film, and I still do it. There’s nothing like film to highlight all your mannerisms that you don’t like. Head wobbling - cringe. Tense neck with chicken throat syndrome – double cringe. And I was only in it for 3 seconds! But the real blow came from reading the harsh, but not surprisingly so, review from Steel Potato this morning. 2/5. Below average, therefore, in my mind, a failure. The really upsetting thing is that he slams one of the kids for being annoying. Now I’m worried that one of the students will find the review. Nothing sucks more than having nice, bouncy, enthusiastic teens being hurt by harsh personal criticism. I don’t know why the idea of the film ‘failing’ gets to me so much. I think I have a personal issue with the concept of failing. I remember in my first year of teaching when I had to hand back marks from moderation for sixth form research projects. One really nice girl had done an elaborate and beautifully presented research project on The Globe theatre. Due to some technical problems with the research log and source sheets, she got a ‘Not Achieved’. When I handed it back to her, she started crying and said ‘I may as well have not bothered doing it’. She had spent hours on this project and because the grade was Not Achieved and she would have 0 credits on her transcript, she thought her efforts had been pointless. This upset me then and it upsets me now. It goes against everything I believe in both in terms of education and life in general. The project wasn’t pointless. She must have learnt something from doing it. Heck, I learnt stuff I didn’t know about The Globe just from reading it. Even if all that experience taught her was some general knowledge about Shakespeare that might help her answer a question in a pub quiz 10 years from now (and the importance of a well-referenced bibliography), it wasn’t pointless. Yet the idea of failure is a powerful one. It can make you cripplingly afraid. I remember turning up to an audition as a teenager and wimping out from actually auditioning because I was afraid I wouldn’t get the part. It was ridiculous because the only way you can ensure you won’t succeed is to not try but back then it was easier for me to reconcile the idea of not getting a part I wanted because I didn’t try than to try and not be good enough. I didn’t want to fail. Not failing was more important than succeeding. Now that I’m older I try to force myself to try to do everything I want to be good at. I make films for competitions and I actually send the things I write off to publishers as opposed to keeping them hidden away where they are safe from rejection. Of course, this leads to a gut-wrenching amount of disappointment. Of the many competitions I’ve entered, the Rolling Thunder film is the only one that has ever won and I suspect that is in no small part due to the fact that noone else entered the contest. However, I am trying to re-programme my brain to view not winning as ‘learning and developing’ rather than ‘failing’. There is no audition that doesn’t help make you a better actor. Every film I’ve ever made has taught me something about making films, no matter how big or small my involvement. Everything I write helps me become a better, more disciplined writer. My goal should never be to win but to get better at what I do. However, that is easier said than done. I still want success on some level, I’m pretty greedy for praise too. I have to try to listen to my own inner Mr Miyagi. If my life can be likened to The Karate Kid film, and nearly everybody’s can, I may not be at the triumphant tournament scene yet. I’m probably still at the ‘wax on, wax off’ stage, cleaning a car or something. I may have to write 20 more novels and help make dozens more films before I can do the crane with a broken ankle.

Mr Sparkle

My costume for the 48 Hour film contest this year was kindly supplied by Debbie (plus a scarf from the drama department). The jeans are too big for Debbie now, but just right for me :-) Actually I could have used some pantsupinators on Saturday, as every time I walked more than 10 steps the jeans slid down a little. I even got to wear a pair of Debbie's boots to go with the bootleg jeans - I have pretty small feet and one of Debbie's pairs of boots was big enough for me :-)

I was originally going to wear a singlet with a gaping necked flamingo t-shirt over the top (draped over one shoulder), but I decided that I wanted to be warm, and we didn't know what time the kid with the t-shirt was going to show up, or whether it would even fit me. Given how cold it was I am very glad I went with a warmer costume!

Home sick

48 Complete

7 hours sleep, lots of work. 11 tapes used (though some had only 5 minutes recorded onto them). Output at 3.30pm, spotted a typo or two (the word 'credits' at the start of the credits, and drama/dance instead of musical/dance on our intro titles). Fixed those, handed over finished version to the driver by 4pm. Burger Wisconsin for dinner - very tasty.

48 Script

Finished version 1 - just over 7 pages. Will edit. Is Breakfast Club meets High School Musical, with dance instead of singing. We drew musical/dance :-)

Licensed to Drool

 Dom has completed another short (well, very short) film to add to his portfolio - My First Casino Royale.

We don't really have any expectations of getting anywhere in the 48 seconds competition but it was a lot of fun to make and it provided another excuse to get Dom dressed up in a tux.

As you can see by the following pictures, Dom is pretty much a young Daniel Craig.

Of course now after starring in a couple of films, what Dom really wants to do is direct. :-)

V48 Seconds - My First Casino Royale

Setting up our 48 team

We'll be distributing this to our team shortly - any feedback on it? Also, please check out Debbie's questions for writers and see if anything's missing. ***************************** 48 FILM CONTEST INSTRUCTIONS Making a short film is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. Making a short film in 48 hours is a crazy amount of fun and work. The advice in this document should help you to have a successful weekend. Before the 48 • Sign up members of the team. Actors, director, camera operator, sound, lighting, hair, makeup, editor, crew. • Print out location, actor and music release forms. • Start collecting non-copyright music to use in the film. • Get to know the equipment and locations you’ll be using. • Assign roles to team members. Make sure people understand their roles. • Collect in team fees ($10 per person to help cover entrance fee, catering, tapes etc) • Register and pay on the 48 hour website • Complete permission slips for all team members ROLES Director – in charge of the film Producer – chief organiser Writer – writes the script Actor – lead actors, supporting cast, extras Camera – there may be 2 cameras going at a time Sound – holding/setting up boom mic, checking sound Set – helping set up locations Hair and Makeup – for boys and girls Costume – finding/giving feedback on Runner/Assistant – helping with lots of stuff Editor – capturing footage, assembling the film What a director needs to do: • Know the script well – what its intent is, where the beats are • Have a clear view of how you want the film to turn out. This includes the look, feel, pace, sound and impact of the film. • Control the team during filming, giving people firm instructions on what they should be doing NOW and what they will be doing NEXT • During filming communicate with the camera operator, telling them what needs to be achieved with each shot (shot type, what its purpose is etc) • Give the actors instructions on blocking (where to go), acting, keeping going even if a mistake is made etc. • Give the actors feedback after each take to enhance performances • Call Action and Cut at the beginning and end of each take • Be the team leader What a producer needs to do: • Work closely with the director • Have all the paperwork on hand • Get release forms for all actors, locations, music etc • Find some non-copyright music for use in the film, get release forms • Try to anticipate what will be needed for the film What a writer needs to do: • Include all mandatory ingredients • Keep it simple • Write for your actors – have them play close to type • Listen to the other writers, make sure they hear your ideas • Be creative, but be mindful of the practicalities of filming (don’t write in too many explosions) • Keep the enthusiasm high • Be polite to other writers, be willing to compromise, be critical What an actor needs to do: • Try to learn your lines as quickly as possible • Practise • Keep going even if you make a mistake • Be willing to look silly if the script requires it • Be considerate of other actors • Listen to the director • Bring a lot of energy to every shot, from the first to the last • Don’t look at the camera unless you’re told to What a camera operator needs to do: • Know the script well – what its intent is, where the beats are • Talk to the director about what’s required for each shot • Know the camera, how to operate it, how to use manual settings if needed • Make sure the shot is in focus • Make sure the shot is well framed – head room, talking space, well chosen angle • Listen to the director for when to begin and end shots • Tell the director at the end of a take if there was a technical problem What a sound person needs to do: • Keep your ears open during the shoot – planes overhead, electrical noises, people outside talking etc. • Plug the mic into the camera and get the mic as close to the actors as possible (without being in shot) • Hold the mic/boom pole very steady (using a mic stand can be good) • Check the footage for sound as often as possible What a set person needs to do: • Listen to the director for what each location needs to look like • Have an eye for detail – what’s in the background of the shot, what colours are on screen • Be willing to move stuff around, scout for locations • Remember how things were before, so they can be put back  What a hair and makeup person needs to do: • Have some makeup on hand • Be OK with getting in people’s personal space • Listen to the director for what characters need to look like • Take a look at how makeup looks on screen. Even ‘no makeup’ girl characters usually have eyeliner and a bit of lippy  What a costume person needs to do: • Listen to the director for what characters need to look like • Give actors feedback on how their costumes look, and how they could better • Help people find the costume items they need – raid the costume cupboard, txt people, go to the costume hire place What a runner/assistant needs to do: • Listen to the director for what they need • Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to help • Be prepared to help out in any way – it will be hugely appreciated • Have a watch and cellphone so you can stay in touch What an editor needs to do: • Capture the footage • Listen to the director as to which takes were best • Keep your eyes peeled for problems – boom in shot, actors looking at the camera, continuity etc • Assemble a rough cut ASAP • Save often, and output a rough cut ASAP

Snapped in the car

 

Dominic's Kung Fu Panda obsession led him to claim the toy panda for his own when he was last down at his Granny's. The new BFFs were then caught by the paparazzi as they left together in a car headed up the coast.

Help with questions for a 48 hour script

 Matt has been enlisted to help supervise a group of enthusiastic teens with the 48 hour film competition. This is his school's first year entering the comp so I imagine the adult input and advice may be quite considerable. One thing Matt and I wanted to do before hand was make a list of questions that the writers team should go through between writing the first and second draft of the script. Any suggestions for additions or adjustments to the questions would be appreciated! (They're pretty rough at the moment). Questions for writers about their script: 1. What is the film about? (50 or fewer words) 2. What is the film really about? (15 or fewer words) 3. What is it really about? (5 or fewer words) * 4. Have all the ingredients been used? (I know it seems obvious but still, it's important) 5.What is the main character like? 6. How should the audience react to this character? 7. How do you show what this character is like to the audience? 8. What does the main character want? 9. What obstacles or difficulties do they face? 10. What has the character learnt at the end of the film? (Nothing is fine as an answer) 11. What should they have learnt? 12. What is the most important relationship in the film? 13. In what way(s) is this a ___________ genre film? 14. How does your audience know what kind of film they should expect from the opening? 15.What's the hook or entry point into the story of the film? 16. What reaction do you want from your audience with this film? 17. This film should be shot in the style of .... 18. What's the climax of the film? 19. Whose Point of View are we following? 20. Can your script be simpler? Shorter? Clearer? Make it so! * I thought this should be three or fewer but Matt insisted on 5. These few questions are a common English teacher technique to get students from a plot synopsis to a theme when studying a text but I think they work well for analysis of your own script as well.

More good Noel Leeming experience

I've done a fair bit of shopping around for stuff for Media Studies, and was impressed today at the level of discount Noel Leeming have offered us on tapes. According to the phonecall I made today they're giving us something like a 48% discount on mini-DV tapes, bringing the per-tape cost below $5. That's pretty awesome when we need to stock up for next term, so we're looking at buying at least 45 tapes, possibly more :-)