Art Activity - Short Experimental Film
The Art Activity of which I took part in was Filmmaking. For my Part A Bronze award, I wrote, directed, shot and co-edited a short film called ‘Requiem’ which explored the themes of family, grief and loss. The film is stylised as experimental and abstract, it features no physical actors but has the protagonist guiding the audience through a voiceover. My film’s duration is 1 minute and 10 seconds.
Three areas I believe I improved upon during the making of my film:
I believe I have improved upon my collaboration skills as I co-edited this short film with Kaylee Haycock and together we chose sound effects and ambient genre music which greatly benefited the outcome of my film.
I believe I have also improved upon my writing style in terms of script writing. This is because I focused on the details within the action of my writing and tried to ensure that I conveyed the tone and feel of my scenes using metaphors, similes etc. which I have struggled to include within my writing previously when devising other scripts.
I believe I have also improved upon my sound recording as I had to record the voiceover for my film using Voice Memos on my Mac-book. This was challenging due to exterior noises and tinniness, however I overcame both of these issues by wrapping myself and my computer under my duvet, by doing this it suppressed exterior sounds and enclosed the open space which prevented echoes and distanced dialogue, making the voiceover outcome to be overall high quality and clear.
What did you enjoy most about your arts activity?
Overall, I enjoyed the filming process the most as I was able to experiment with shot types and create an atmosphere of spontaneity due to my film’s abstract style. I was not limited in what objects and general scenery I could film either, making the tone of my short very ambiguous, which fitted nicely alongside the experimental feel.
Was there anything about your arts activity you didn’t enjoy?
I did not enjoy editing my rough cut which I edited alone using the program After Effects and later shared with my co-editor. I disliked cutting my scenes because I felt once I made it into a whole ‘piece’ and crafted film it was unsuccessful in what I wanted it to show and convey in terms of a melancholic atmosphere and dark tone, instead I felt it came across as cringey and pretentious. However, once I began adding sound effects, colour grades with my co-editor, I felt more comfortable in the way in which these added elements enhanced my desired and initial feel/tone of the film.
What other arts activities would you like to try next?
The next arts activity I would like to explore is working as a cinematographer on a documentary. as the immersive and shooting 'in the moment' atmosphere of capturing people in interviews or settings etc. appeals to me. I also have never worked on a documentary that requires actual shot footage and believe it would help me develop as an aspiring filmmaker by teach me more about spontaneity within non-fiction narrative films.
Record any other comments or thoughts about your arts activity.
LINK TO FILM - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2-1Vt1zC2Y
SCRIPT SHOWN IN IMAGES BELOW:
Great short film! So good to read you were worried it came across as pretentious but pushed through with the process, that's such a skill to not get pinned by your perfectionism