Participation and Contribution

All in all, I thought our group did a great job in creating an interesting, insightful seminar that gave students a real understanding of the best ways to get jobs overseas. I feel that I played a major role throughout the semester in making it successful.

I did have some trouble working my way in to the group initially as I came three weeks late into the semester. It was difficult to adapt to the new semester and come on into a group that already had a path and a direction they wanted to go in. So I had to be open minded and go with whatever they wanted, as I was the one that came late and needed to do whatever needed doing. Finally, I took on the role of social media manager. This meant running our social media platforms before the seminar and throughout it. I believe this was a very important role as social media is one of, if not the biggest thing today. It is an important aspect in getting hype surrounding our seminar as well as putting forward information about the seminar and other media industry news. I think that I did a very solid job and did what I needed to do. It was done in a very professional and competent manner, I was very consistent and made sure there were Facebook and twitter updates occurring daily. And once the seminar began I was putting up posts and updates very rapidly and instantaneously. I put up quotes of some interesting things our guests were saying. I also managed the Q&A and tried to get people to ask questions via social media.

While I stuck to my job and made sure it was done properly I also went outside of my job and helped do whatever needed doing. I didn’t want to be too one-dimensional and wanted us to succeed no matter what. This meant going outside of my comfort zone and do things I didn’t think I would be doing. Some of those things consisted of putting up posters around the entire university, collating all the photos of our guests etc. I was also always available and attended most of our group meetings and discussions except for when I had a family matter or I was extremely sick. I gave advice to areas I wasn’t in charge of and just made sure I was collaborating and participating whenever and however I could. I was at the seminar an hour and a half before helping to set up and make sure everything was being done so we were ready in time for our audience. While it was very frustrating that only half our group showed up early and the other half only came half an hour before the seminar we couldn’t get too angry and had to keep focused and make sure things were done quickly so we could get the show on the road. I carried down couches, organised the chair set up, put up posted, helped with the lights and was just an extra hand when someone needed help. Once our seminar was over I also stayed back an extra hour to help pack up and bump out.

There was definitely value in the seminar series and something that I will take into my future career. When we first got given the task of creating the seminar it seemed very daunting and I couldn’t imagine how we would pull off such a task. I felt that we were small university students and there was no way we would be able to get real professionals to come and speak to us. Once we got into it, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was incredible how open and friendly these people were. Professionals are so keen on talking and helping other people out. I guess they realise that they used networking and favours to get them to where they are today so there is no reason to stop and become ‘too high’ to help people below them. Once upon a time they were in the same position as us, relying on favours and the good will of people in a higher place as them. I have learnt so much from this idea and it has made me realise how important networking is. In every single seminar, the professionals stressed how important it is to make contacts in the industry and to keep them. If there is one thing I will take out of the seminar series, it’s networking and how important it is. It’s all about the people you know. People don’t just get jobs overnight and like all the professionals said, it’s about being open minded and enthusiastic and always saying yes to any opportunity that comes your way; paid or unpaid. Bigger opportunities and networks come from the smaller ones. I’ve learnt that it’s all about persistence and never being scared of something that seems too hard. Like I said, I thought that creating a seminar was far beyond my reach, but I was wrong. I feel like it’s the same for when I go out into the industry. Anything is possible.

 

Proud

For perhaps the first time in my movie making ‘career’ I have come out of the experience truly proud of my work. I have watched our film several times since the screening and every time I watch it I realise new and interesting things about our film. I think it is very deep and has elements in it that I never thought possible. Everything just came together by the end. We need we had the content it was just about putting it together coherently and beautifully to create a story and a narrative that would capture the hearts of the audience. And I believe we were extremely successful in doing so. I have shown the film to peers and colleagues and everyone is affected by it and enjoys their experience.

The main things I learnt from the experience was the fact that a story line or a specific idea needs to be known before you go out and start shooting. That was perhaps our biggest problem which is why the shooting section of our project took longer than anticipated. We didn’t have specific ideas which led to ‘blind’ shooting and messy work. Another thing I learnt was to choose the people you work together with properly. Make sure they seem like people you would be happy to share such an intense experience with. I think I did this very well in that our group worked so well together. It was perhaps the best group of people I have ever worked together with. We had no arguments, conflicts or confrontations. If people didn’t agree with other people we would speak our opinions and the other person would forget about it and move on. It was all based on consensus which worked extremely well for our group.

Another reason that I feel very satisfied after completing this semester is the fact that I have come out of it realising I may be interested in something I never knew I was. I practically shot the entire film on my DSLR and I really enjoyed the experience. If there was one thing I would do if I was to pursue a filmmaking career would be cinematography after the experience I just had. A big reason for this is that I feel our film looks beautiful and is shot well…and knowing that I was the one behind the camera makes me extremely proud. It was an interesting experience shooting the entire film on the DSLR. I believe it looks way more beautiful than it would have on any of the rmit cameras. It is easy to use as it is much smaller and it doesn’t intimidate the subjects when shooting. The in and out of focus technique we were going for worked really well as it is very easy to maneuver the focus with the DSLR.

All in all, the experience was very successul and I think this truly comes out in our work.

Will post the film shortly… 

Feedback

Great to see this in someone elses blog:

First of all, I was inspired by “Cubbies” documentary. Excellent choice of the content! I really liked the beginning of film – it successfully establishes whole environment of cubbies – with its great choice of music and intercuts between the kids and the main subject as it is his point of view. It was nice to see children introducing themselves to camera and their excitements of being on screen – they have done really good job with buying the attention from the audiences into the story. It was pleasing to see different cutaways of children playing around throughout the interview, it was visually very entertaining and it also created better understanding of his statements. The way that they have approached children to interview was what made this documentary very special. Asking exact same questions to different children and exploring the story from them came to me very fresh and adorable – It made me want to know more about cubbies. I loved how this documentary contains the observation style footages of children doing various activities. It felt like the audiences were invited to be part of them, showing their lifestyle thoroughly. I liked how the film was very natural and wasn’t forcing the audiences strictly structured story.

SHARQIYA; PART OF THE 2012 JEWISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Stephen Baker Media

November sees the start of the 2012 Jewish International Film Festival in both Melbourne and Sydney.

Last night, I had the good fortune or a shtik naches, if you will, to see a preview screening of Sharqiya; the story of an unappreciated Bedouin Kamel Nadjer working security at a Be’er Sheba bus station whose home is facing demolition.

At this point I must disclose that I was involved in writing the festival guide, so feel free to take both my enthusiasm for the festival and the films being screened therein with a grain of salt or scepticism. I’m writing this, not as a shameless plug for work that I’ve done, but more because I genuinely believe that this is a really good festival of films that should be seen by as many people as possible.

While Sharqiya wouldn’t have been my first choice for a preview screening, it was…

View original post 186 more words

JIFF

Check out this website!! It is the new look Jewish International Film Festival which has an incredible line up this year including 15 or more documentaries!! There are some absolutely mind blowing documentaries and not only because of the way they are made but the subjects and events they deal with. 

Take a look!

http://www.jiff.com.au

 

 

Clayton Jacobson – Kenny

I came across something very interesting the other day…I got in contact with Clayton Jacobson – the director of Kenny. I thought it would be interesting, especially considering Kenny is a sort of documentary. Its more of a mockumentary but the film has lots of truthful elements. You know what , I reckon it is a doco…regardless!! Read below the little interview I had with him!!

• Do you think the Australian film industry is heading in the right direction?

Not sure the industry ever heads in any specific direction in Oz – its so cottage based – we are not like Hollywood or other countries when it comes to film making. The media knows this which is why every new Hit is proof positive the industry is thriving and every failure is proof positive we are doomed. Hollywood never makes such commentaries. But I’m an optimist and the more accessible technology becomes the more readily film makers can tell their stories the more our craft improves. I think we are getting braver we are starting to tell more compelling stories in varying genres. 

 

but more importantly Entertainment is no longer a dirty word here – for many years Worthy was the order of the day – due mostly to gov funding desires to be socially relevant and accountable – rather then servicing an audiences desire to be entertained – we have found the right balance now i believe.

 

and it can only improve.

• Is it a good industry to be a part of at the moment

You need a tough hide to be a part of this industry at any time – nothing is ever real till the cameras start rolling – its an industry built on fantasies and gatekeepers – movie making is a subjective artform made by committee and getting all the ducks to line up is near impossible 90% of the time.

• Is the quality of Australian film getting better or worse??

again technology is driving this – in fact its never been easier to have you film look wonderful – which means we are easily bored which of course forces us to tell more engaging stories – effects no longer wow us – better stories – many more films being made – how does your get noticed – have a better story. the real key is finding effective ways to find your audience thats the biggest challenge now – good work can get lost in the mirth. 

 

• And an outline of the process Australian filmmakers go through to make a movie. Is it a hard or easy process?? (like your situation with Kenny).

in my case i did everything on kenny including catering from time to time so it was hard work but also for-filling – all film making is hard as Terry Gilliam once said film making is a slow motion catastrophe – its takes years to make – the average films has a gestation life of 5 – 8 years. 

 

in terms of outlining the process

 

write and idea – find someone to back it with money – find you cast – get your crew and start filming = thats the easy part and its hellishly hard. the real difficultly is getting it distributed marketed and sold internationally.

 

i was exhausted when i finished KENNY – then i realised i had at least another year of selling it to the world.

 

the financial rewards are not so great either – films in OZ generally have to make as much as 16 times their budget before the film makers see a return.

 

so bottom line if you are entering the industry to relax – make money – or age gracefully – FORGET IT!

 

but if you like the energy of constant change and the ground moving under your feet and the feeling of blood cursing through your veins – you might enjoy film making. one film maker told me  “i hate making films but i love talking about making films” most film makers including me do it purely because we feel driven and we fear what lies outside of the experience. meaning “what the hell else am I good at”

 

I think it is a very insightful interview that not only lets us in on the Australian film Industry but what its like making a documentary for an Australian filmmaker. 

 

Thats all!

 

Feeling good!

We’re on track!! We have finalsed all our shooting and we are ecstatic with what we have. We have booked edit suites for the next week and we are planning to have a very clean rough cut by the end of the week. Its a giant aim but we believe we can do it. 

WOOOHHH!

Lecture week 8

COPYRIGHT!!!!

Its there to protect us and to stop other people from making profit from our work. By making it, writing our treatment, shooting, editing it it is automatically copyrighted.

Use of others work:
Creative commons is cut and dry. Generally you can use whatever is in creative commons.

Copyright always seems very boring and dry…always seem to zone out!! focus, focus, focus.

Fair dealing: if it is transformed in any way you can use it. Because you are taking it our of the realm for which it was originally designed.

Cant just use fair use for something because it may be too expensive or cant track down the person.

Music:

Another draft for Treatment

TREATMENT – DRAFT:  Maddy, Julia, Elle, Benji and Victoria.

One Liner:
We meet at the playground behind the commission flats and get to know the children who play there.

Synopsis:
Nestled behind the dreary commission buildings in Fitzroy, lies a vibrant and welcoming playground. A safe place for the children living there to socialise and play.

Cubbies is a non-for-profit adventure playground that has supported disadvantaged children living in the public housing at the Atherton Gardens Estate since 1974. The majority of children who access the playground are at “risk youth” and recent arrival immigrants. It provides a community background for children in the local area, where they can play create and explore in a supervised and nurturing environment.

This documentary talks to those who work at cubbies, the children who play there and their families.

Statement of Directorial Approach:

• Create a film that allows the audience to know the kids and show cubbies from their perspective
• Aware that this film is in deep cliche territory which we want to avoid. We don’t want to fall into some cliche promotional video.
• We want to focus on the kids have to say about their situation and life and give them this opportunity to show us their home and life rather than a political social view.
• We don’t want to try and make it emotive but rather let it unfold and be natural.
• Want to allow the local audience to connect with the place and setting of the film.
• It’s a place that people walk past all the time and don’t know anything about, so we want to shed some light on it.
• we also want to address some of the issues that might be facing cubbies or a specific child
• We want the film to be ultimately uplifting yet not ignoring or straying away from real life. Not scared to face the “nasty things”.

IDEAL CHARACTER:

• An ideal subject will be a child who is around 10 and is confident and comfortable in front of the camera to let us into their world.
• This person would have been at cubbies for a while and ideally have an interesting background. ie; refugee from a different social-economic/cultural background.
• Has a family who is accepting of us to come into their homes.
• Have a good rapport with those who work at cubbies.

INTERVIEW SUBJECTS:
PETER BROWN
STAFF
Gonsales
KIDS
Tony 8  –
Mary 5-
Gangsta guy 10 –

KIDS FAMILIES

Producer’s statement:
SCHEDULE

• Regular visits to cubbies – usage of camera in visits gradually increases with familiarity of kids and crew.
• Saturdays is busiest day and Monday suits everyone so these will be the main shooting days – Sat open all day, Mon 3:30-6:00.
• Elle and Victoria have cars
• Used mainly as an afternoon program

DISTRIBUTION

• Due week 14
• Plan to start editing Week 10
• Rough Cut due week 11
• Consistently consolidating footage after the shoot.
• Keep log sheets during shoots
• Gather music throughout entire process
• Provide copies for kids involved and staff
• Footage will also be used to compile a promotional video for cubbies to use.

Context Research:

• commission flats
• Do other places have a similar org
• Where are the kids from
• What activities they do at Cubbies.

Approach to visual style:

• Archival photos of cubbies
• Mixture of night and day times atmospheres
• Structure of the story is start of day until evening ie; start with them arriving and
• formal interviews with staff
• informal interviews with children and possibly staff
• observational footage of children interacting with each other and activities at cubbies
• footage of commission flats
• child tour guide of cubbies and the commission flats
• Close ups
• Scenery footage of different times of day
• Cutaways of artwork and various areas around cubbies/commission buildings
• Vague shot list
• People entering cubbies
• Kids leaving cubbies
• ….kids cooking
• close up shots or a hand in
• Establishing melbourne/location shots
• Close ups  of someone slipping down the slide
• Close up of swing
• Close up of someone looking  through the bunnie cage
• Staged hide n seek?

Approach to Sound Design:

• Atmos soundscapes  – collecting sounds of community
• Sound of “rapping class”
• Children singing
• Simple non-lyrical music (TBA)
• Interviews – include sound of activities surrounding interviews.

Approach to Editing:

• Inpspirations from other documentaries  or films we have seen. Ie editing

Audience Statement:

• Melbourne audience.
• People who have walked passed or know this area but don’t know what it really is.
• Those who are politically aware of the “situation” of refugees.

Style + Documentary research:

• directors we want to replicate
• To be and To Have
• I am Eleven

First Doco Conecpt

Here is my very first concept for a documentary:

We follow the life of an ordinary young lady with very interesting and unusual talents and interests. This girl has been involved in 4 different university courses, travelled the world and is super athletic. She is currently studying psychology and is a qualified yoga teacher. And by the way, she is also an advanced pole dancer. Not in the stripping sense but simply for exercise – her fitness and strength is breathtaking. She is considered one of the best in her class.

We don’t see any conventional speaker-to-interviewer footage but rather voice over while we see the story on screen. She is introduced at the beginning staring into the camera and we hear her voice but her mouth doesn’t move. There is music throughout the documentary and we hear this girl as she tells her story.

There will be plenty of visuals of her day-to-day life and intriguing, eye-opening shots of her skills and talents.