Evaluation
The final aspect of my list of inspirations I wanted to comply against landed in the rule-breaking way New Wave French Cinema is able to set its films aside from the conventional mould of Hollywood filmmaking. I first began toying with the movement's various editing techniques through my last two projects on the course, experimenting with the odd use of jumpcuts that allowed each director to cut the tedious establishing shots that connected two scenes togheter in the hopes of creating a faster-paced sequence of scenes. This technique engaged my rather poetic way of combining a series of shots cut on the beat of the score chosen but was never quite able to exercise it effectively. How I finally utilised this is through the page scenes of my film. I could have had the protagonist inspect the 'inspiration book', walk to his desk and begin flicking through the many pages, but I chose to show him pick the book up, open it up through an initial inspection, cut to a God's Point of view of him placing it on his desk, a low angle of him opening it while cutting back to a closer God's point of view of each page. Although not within the basic conventions of filmmaking, it cuts the rather uninteresting parts of the scene as the audience is still capable of following the sequence due to the character's clear motif of reading on. Another very effective technique I had been able to draw from the French New Wave is the use of a Freeze-frame. Up until this project, the connotations of a freeze-frame had never been clear to me. I was never quite able to understand why directors chose to focus on a singular frame out of the 24 others they could have used until I began comprising some basic research on Jean-Luc Godard's cinematography. He is famously stated saying, "The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second," a quote that allowed me to consider the significance of a Freeze-frame for the end of my final act. As we join our protagonist in his journey of gathering inspiration, we as the audience should feel that his struggles weren't for nothing. I decided that at the end of act three, once our protagonist has finished his painting, a subtle smile of satisfaction appears on his face, having the freeze-frame focus on that moment in time. Although insignificant when placed alongside the trouble he had gone through when gathering inspiration for the piece - it shows a genuine human emotion of content fulfilment he has gained through this journey.
Moonrise Kingdom Colour Grade
One of the many successful ventures that have allowed my final product to receive the great feedback that it did, was my use of the Moonrise Kingdom colour grade. I started the project off by wanting to experiment with the colour found throughout Peter Greenaway's Drowning by Number, quickly becoming uninterested by the juxtaposing nature it created with the bright and bizarre characteristics of my film. When considering Moonrise Kingdom's exaggerated Yellows and Greens, I knew that they would play an important role when livening up the marsh filming location seen through the first half of the first act. Although I had to plan against a fairly good weather forecast to achieve this joyful nature, I decided that the further optimistic metaphor the yellows had created when complimenting the protagonist's aspirations was too good of a technique not to use. After filming some of the early practice footage of my inspiration montage, I decided to familiarise myself with Final Cut Pro's different colour grading interface. As I was no longer able to edit on Premiere Pro, I began looking for an alternative software in which I could assemble my final product. Even though I decided to edit my footage on Davinci Resolve, more on that later, the colour grading of each shot would be done on Final Cut. I am aware that the free version of Davinci provides a more extensive catalogue of tools one may use when colour grading footage, but the sparse time I had on my hands didn't allow me to spend any more than a few days learning a new colour grading program. Final Cut had been easier to grasp while also allowing me to embellish in specific colours like the yellows and greens of Moonrise Kingdom, as seen on my experimentation document. Because of this, I was able to not only grade my footage alongside my critical form of inspiration but was able to come out on the other end with something I am very proud of. As seen in the examples above, much of the interior and exterior shots have traces of the sun-washed browns and yellows, introducing a striking red that still retained a yellow tint throughout the various light reflections on the metal surfaces of the paintbrushes and the watercolour set.
To go alongside this fairly bright use of colours, I knew that the font used for my non-diegetic form of text needed to stand out. When further consulting the many Wes Anderson moodboards I had created through the weeks, I began noticing a few common characteristics of his typography. The main being the very geometrical way his fonts aligned with one another. After trying out a few examples, I found that the Bold Helvetica variant offered a similar look to his uses of the Futura font. After this had been decided, I applied a brighter use of a yellow colour to the font when further complementing the yellows of the colour grade while still having the text pop from each frame.
Learning a new editing software in such a short amount of time can prove to be a challenge for most people. My first and only use of Davinci resolve had been on the first project of my first academic year on the course, a time that proved to struggle with the technical aspect of my work due to my inexperience with the various camera equipment and different photo and video editing programs we had been provided at college. As I wasn't able to use Premiere Pro at home, I reached out to my tutors, and they directed me to the free version of Resolve. Due to my inexperience in editing, I hadn't been able to create a satisfactory final result that met a high-quality standard. As a result of this unfortunate time with Davinci, I had never gone back to the program and had decided to complete the editing side of my projects at college. With the nature of the Extended Final Major Brief, I wanted to get a lot of my practical and post-production work perfect, meaning that I would either have to travel to college for the editing of my film, or I would teach myself DaVinci so I could edit from home. I knew that just enough practice could teach me the basics of the program, so I decided to create several video moodboards for various sections of my research and experimentation documents, having each video have its shots be cut on the beat of the songs used, being able to prepare myself as this was the nature in which I would transition from shot to shot for the editing of my final product. After some time, I noticed that I had become more comfortable with various key shortcuts that sped up the process and overall efficiency in which I edited these montages. When it came down to my film, I had learned just enough to be able to complete my invisible way of cutting, not having any major techniques that needed hours and hours of practice. Going into the future of my career in the industry, I want to continue using DaVinci as a result of its accessible nature and begin learning about the more advanced tools the program has to offer.
Problem Solving Skills
Saul Bass Inspirations
Although my dedicated attitude throughout the brief has been able to keep my workflow on track, I was still prone to experiencing issues with the various production processes that led to the creation of my final product. As a result of the documentary piece I created on the expansion of the psychedelic revolution of modern-day Australia, I knew the importance of setting up a shot as a result of my practice in the perfect interview backdrops. I had become more conscious about what exactly I wanted in and out of the frame, but even this level of preparation experienced its fair share of issues. The first two filming days I had spent on the marshland filming location had been riddled with one problem after the other, first having the camera battery complete break, being unable to now power the camera, and, losing the very important plate bolt that mounted the camera onto the tripod itself. This had been my first mistake. Although I had planned every aspect of my shot sequences and the exact time I would hopefully shoot them in, I wasn't prepared for any equipment malfunctions that could slow the overall efficiency of these first filming days. Even though I had been pushed back for time, I had begun to treat failure as a way of further improving my skills. To catch up for the time I had lost, I cut various sections of my free time throughout that week to complete the written work I had planned for my new filming days In which I could film the remaining shots I didn't finish. In addition to this, I created a list that showcased the number of problems I could encounter with the various sections of my kit I had been using so far, having each problem include a solution that could prevent me from losing any additional time. This further venture into a more grounded organisation ultimately helped my future filming days after these various disasters. I began giving myself more time at each location before my actor was meant to start filming with me, meaning that I could possibly test a few of the shots and change aspects of my plan that no longer complied with the weather or restrictions of the public locations used.
As seen in my experimentation and presentation strategy documents, the creation of the poster I am going to use to further advertise my film to various independent art-house cinemas and several film festivals didn't go as expected. My original concepts of combining the Dada-like collage art I had explored throughout my research with the various art-house cinema posters I showcased throughout my presentation strategy was unfortunately cut due to my inability of obtaining a satisfactory cut out of my actor's figure from the poster shoot I ran before leaving for my holiday. I wasn't quite able to remove the green hue around the photoshopped object while also having what appeared to be sharp edges around his hair. As a result of this failed experiment, I decided to move on to another idea before I had spent too much time fixating on the issue. By linking back to my pitch presentation feedback, I could remember that one of my tutors, Cara, had expressed that she thought my heavy fixations on certain problems were what wasted a large majority of my time. With such a packed schedule, I couldn't afford to waste any time on an idea that may have not turned out that well. I assessed the criteria under which I wanted my poster to fall under, having much of the imagery supplied offer a strong ambiguous nature for the overall plot. I began assessing Saul Bass's famous style that had turned the art of film posters on its head. It was perfect for my desired effect. After I had equipped myself with another free Photoshop trial, I began tracing some of the early sketches I had created for this idea. As seen in my experimentation document, the journey I went through when creating this advertisement had been nothing but an overall success. I am happy that I didn't fixate on something that could have further altered my already shifting timetable action plan. I am also proud of the development and refinement of my basic Photoshop skills, familiarizing myself with the overall catalogue of tools offered by the program while introducing a new comprehension of the several overlay modes that assisted both of the textures I added to the piece.
And lastly, the final major aspect of my crucial problem-solving skills came in the form of my setting for the film. When I first began outlining my basic narrative, wardrobe and list of props I would use to set-dress my filming location, I utilised much of the research I created on the surrealist genre of art when historically supporting these visual aspects of my film. I was further able to support and justify my protagonist's thought process which drove much of his relentless optimism for the constant need to reinvent his style. I decided on a strict late 50s to early 60s decade that borrowed much of the: last traces of surrealism's mainstream appeal, the bright and colourful clothes tied to the ever-growing youth rebelliousness of the time, and finally, the distinct absence of modern-day technologies that complimented Moonrise Kingdom's vintage feel. Due to the unexpected restrictions I faced in the art room filming location I used for a large bulk of my film and the budget restraints for the wardrobe aspect of my character, I wasn't quite able to follow these strict guidelines I had originally set for myself. With time, I grew to accept this unfortunate change but was still able to introduce a lucid blend between decades that gave purpose to the various props I had sourced before my filming days. One example of this is the God's Point of View shots of the protagonist's desk. I was not only able to effectively clutter all aspects of the table's surface area in the hope of achieving fuller framing but had tailored the props to fit my overall colour palette and mise-en-scene. Although not what I expected to achieve, much like the shift of my poster idea, I quickly came to terms with this sudden transformation of ideas. Even though I hadn't been fully satisfied with this outcome, various written and verbal feedback I received from my tutors and college peers had expressed otherwise. I have always exhibited a rather perfectionist nature for every aspect of my work, being the reason I sometimes feel unsatisfied with rather successful outcomes of my visions.
Conclusion
What a journey I have had. Confidence has always acted as the main driving force for the ambitious ideas I have introduced for each project, but as a result of the absence of this much-needed force, many of my projects had fallen short and mimicked a stripped version of their intended incarnations. I believe that my constant need to improve in every way possible has given me the determined nature to further my practice with the practical side of my work. Rome wasn't built in a day, and so wasn't my understanding of the significance theory brings to each aspect of my filming ventures. But it's not all just pretty shots, what significance are they able to bring to the overall film? Does their inclusion serve any real point, and if so, is this communicated to the audience? I believe that my documentary project taught me the implications of a perfectly planned frame, having my short film project enhance my understanding of the technical elements that went into the set-up of a camera's settings and carrying out my much-needed experimentations with various director styles and specific cinema movement techniques in my previous film poem. All of these circumstances culminate in what I believe to be my best project so far. The way I went about translating my ideas from paper to the screen allowed for very little to be changed about my original narrative. I knew that the gimbal stabilizer would be a hot item booked by many first and second years on the course, allowing me to practice the Wes Anderson's idle 'planimetric' way of framing shots when complimenting the subtle pans and whips I had introduced with the basic functions of the new (smoother) tripods. My ideas have always gravitated towards the mixture of rather philosophical topics that make the audience think and a generally stupid and bizarre way of portraying them with the dry-comedic undertone set through much of the film's runtime. I believe that I have perfectly encapsulated this with "Haricots Sur Toast' and think that the metaphorical nature of the narrative isn't too abstract, acting like a poem one may read on multiple different occasions to fully grasp the ideas of. Although I hadn't met some of my original goals: like the use of various paintings as one to one influences for different shots, a havier use of a comedic tone and a stricter decade related mise-en-scene, I have problemed solved and thought of several effective alternatives that didn't disrupt my original concept. I am looking forward to my future in the film industry and hope that I continue utilising director influences when uncovering various unconventional techniques that elevate my personal style.