D’oh!

The shoot went quite smoothly, of course there were some minor problems and we had to do several adjustments because of them, but all in all everybody did a really great job, especially the two actors, Glen and Amy, who gave a fantastic performance and 110% of effort. I managed to watch the raw footage the next day, on Monday, and I was quite happy with the result; this made my trip to Perth during the semester break much easier, because I wasn’t worried about seeing the footage. Later on in the semester, we were given another workshop, this time with a professional editor. But before we met the editor, we had to cut a rough cut first, and we managed to do that in the couple of weeks following the shoot. The editing was not an easy process though; on the second time that I watched the footage, immediately I could see several mistakes in the camera angle and direction. Then as we go with the editing, more mistakes started to crop up; the lighting in the dining scene was too strong and too yellow, there were several continuity problems that made it more difficult to cut the scenes together, especially given the Ozu’s long take style that I had incorporated into the film. After a couple of weeks of long editing sessions, we finally able to make a rough cut to be presented to the editor. When we finally met the editor, I was very nervous; I am afraid that she might not understand the story or might not like the cut and editing that we did, or worse she might not like the whole film. But it turns out that she liked the film, and she could follow and understand the story. She watched the film a couple of times before she said anything about it. I told her about the idea and inspiration that I had, from Yasujiro Ozu’s minimalistic style, to Rumba’s contradictory elements, to the directing choice that I made by giving more authority and control to the crews and actors. She seemed to understand what I wanted to achieve, and even liked my idea. After listening to my explanation, then she gave her opinion and points out the mistakes and weak points of the film. She suggested that we made the scenes much shorter and compact, and she proceed by demonstrating and edited one scene. It is clearly evident that she had been working as an editor for a long time, she made the cut and adjustment very quickly, and it is obvious that she knows what she is doing. Watching her cut, I was amazed by how big a difference a small cut would make to a film. Seeing her example, it was easy for me to understand her point when she said that with our rough cut, the film feels a bit bloated and there were plenty of moments that is unnecessary and could be taken out without affecting the overall storyline or mood. We followed her advices and managed to slim down the film by almost two minutes. She also liked the idea that we changed the opening scenes, and made it as triptych scenes. I asked her whether it would be alright to edit the film different from the script, and her reply really made me think, she said that after the shoot, the script is just a rough guide and the real filmmaking starts in the editing room.
Now that the film is finished, I find myself reflecting back throughout the semester. With all the shooting and other assignments going on, this semester feels to have gone by so quickly. I have learned so much from shooting “Baby Fever”, both through all the workshops and from my fellow colleagues, and also from the mistakes that I made. “Baby Fever” is my first film, or to be exact the first film where I had the role as the director, and I learned so much from that experience. I am so glad that I decided to take the role as the director, instead of my usual role as the producer. I was afraid at first, but my group mates encouraged me to take the chance and learn from new experience. To tell the truth, I am entirely satisfied with the result, and it is mostly due to my lack of experience as a director. I did not think that I have successfully incorporated Yasujiro Ozu’s minimalistic and subtle style, the acidic and contradictory of “Rumba”, and the warm comedy of the story quite well, at least not to the degree that I had intended to. And I would definitely learn from this experience, and make better films in the future.

I went to two workshops this semester, the actor’s workshop and the cinematographer’s workshop, and I think both of them really helps me shape up my idea for the film and for my future projects as well. The actor’s workshop is really useful in that it allows me to place myself in an actor’s position and try to see things from an actor’s perspective. I mad e me realize how difficult it is to act, and how bad I am at acting. For someone who is not use to acting, or not having any prior training in acting, I find it very uncomfortable to have everyone in the room looking and judging at your every move. The two professional actors who taught at the workshop were really good at their profession; it is amazing to see them work and to hear their explanation on the process of acting. The exercises that were given in the actor’s workshop were also very useful, we were given several scenarios or scripts that we have to act on, and most of the time we have to do some kind of improvisation, and we are encouraged to be spontaneous, reacting to the other actor’s performance instead of remembering the lines. I found the exercise very interesting, and I am even thinking about taking some more acting classes, as I am sure that by understanding how actors work would definitely help me to be better director.
The second workshop that I attended was the cinematographer workshop; where each group had a set time to talk and seek the advice of a professional cinematographer. Well three people of my group went to the workshop; Tee Pao, Wye Keen, and me. We managed to talk about our ideas and asked for his advice, I told him about the inspiration that I have for my film, the lighting effect and mood that I wanted to achieve, and the how all the aspects of the mise en scene will play out with the story. I especially mentioned that I wanted to create a sense of contradiction between the style and the genre and the story. He seemed to like my idea and suggested several ways and lighting techniques that would help me create the effect that I wanted, and he even gave me several ideas that he think would better create the contradiction that I wanted. I find his advices very helpful and definitely helped me in visualizing my idea better. After the workshop, I talked with the DOP, Wye Keen, about the advices that we have just been given, and he was as excited as I was, and we were eager to try the technique that we have learned.
The place that we used to shoot “Baby Fever” was an apartment that belongs to Wye Keen’s friend; it was a warm and cozy apartment, and we were very fortunate to be allowed to shoot there. We went for a test shoot about a week before the actual shoot, and I’m glad that we did, because looking at the apartment for the first time; I could see that there were a lot of differences from what I had expected from Wye Keen’s description. So when we got there, the first thing that I did was walk around the apartment and looking everything from different angles, I was trying to get a good sense of the space and dimension of the apartment, and try to fit them into the vision that I had of the film. Luckily we had brought a Z1p camera, as well as a still camera, so we could try several set-up and camera position, to see whether we could get the framing and angle that we wanted. And immediately I saw that we have to change most of the set up that I have planned before. But aside from the camera angle and position, in terms of color and lighting, the apartment was perfect. The walls in the living room have that warm tone to it that gives out a cozy and family-type of mood. The bathroom is about 6m by 6m, so it’s quite small, but should actually suite the story better, because the bathroom scene is very intimate and personal, and the closeness of the bathroom, would enhance the intensity of the scene. One thing that I was worried about the bathroom was the big mirror that propped right in front of the door; this would give us little room to move around without getting our reflection in the mirror, and this would also mean that we have to be very careful about lighting the room without getting flare reflected in the mirror. But overall, after spending a couple of hours around the apartment, trying different set-ups and discussing different ideas, we were quite prepared for the shoot.

My inspiration for “Baby Fever” is the films of Yasujiro Ozu and a French/Belgian film called “Rumba”. I first heard about “Rumba” from my group mate Tee Pao, during the first week of the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival, he highly suggested the film to me, and he praised the film for its’ innovative use of lighting, as well as its’ unique story. So, that night I went home and I searched the film on the Melbourne International Film Festival’s website, and luckily for me there is a second screening if the film on Sunday August 10 at 3 in the afternoon. I booked one ticket for “Rumba” straight away, as well as one ticket for “Persepolis”. After watching the film, I was amazed by the use of color and lighting, and the stark contrast in the storytelling, presentation, and subject matter. I think the three filmmakers, which are also the main actors, Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy have made a fantastic film. I fell in love with the film so much that I wanted to incorporate several cinematography aspects of the film into “Baby Fever”. I love the lighting and the color of the film, it look harsh and high contrast, with a veil of yellow throughout to make it look a little bit acidic; and the color resembles pastel. The acidic and harsh tone works really well with the subject matter, and even enhances the nuance of the story. This is a film about a couple who tried to continue their lives after a horrific traffic accidents, which left the husband with fractured memory, a la “Memento,” and the wife with only one leg. The remarkable and brave decision by the filmmakers to take this subject matter and create a musical comedy is surely worth to be lauded, and to actually manage to create a touching and hilarious film still amazes me even now. The minimal use of dialogue to present and carry the story on reminds me a lot to Yasujiro Ozu’s style, which is also why I was inspired to try to incorporate the two styles together.
I first watched Yasujiro Ozu’s film back in 2000, of course back then I did not know who Ozu is, or even that the film was made by him. I have just returned from work, around 11 pm, feeling tired, but too bored to go to bed. I sat down on the couch, turned on the TV, and flick the channel to Public Broadcasting Service or PBS; lucky for me the World Cinema Late Night show was on, and tonight they are showing a Japanese film. The film was “Tokyo Story”, and it blew me away so hard, I did not budge from the couch for the whole show. I even slept on the couch after the show, and ran the film again in my mind. How can something so ordinary, yet so extraordinary; something so subtle, yet so profound? It was very different from other Japanese films that I have watched before; at that time I have only watched a couple of Akira Kurosawa’s films and mainly contemporary Japanese films and anime. I found out that the director of the film is Yasujiro Ozu, and I went to a Blockbuster store in my neighborhood to find more of his films; unfortunately they don’t have any copy of films by him. It was later in Australia that I finally was able to watch many of Ozu’s films in the library. Many of my friends did not like Ozu’s films, they find his films too slow and boring, and the story bland. Sometimes I too find his films to be very slow, and I do realize that his choice of story and subject matter never really deviate from the banal life of middle class Japanese family. I think, like any other films of any genre, the viewer have to be in “the mood” to be able to enjoy and appreciate a film, for instance someone would be unable to fully enjoy a romantic movie if he/she has just broke up with their significant other. Another thing that the viewer need is an open mind; in order to try something new, we need to keep an open mind; imagine if we only stick to things that we already know and never try something new or different, we would still be living in caves, never venturing out into the world or other continents. The same thing goes with films of Ozu, especially those who grew up on MTV, Disney channel, and Hollywood films, as I have. It will take some time to get to use to Ozu’s style, but when you finally do, his films would open a whole field of emotion and experience that surely worth the effort.

Well I’m back! After two weeks of high fever, violent coughs, chest pain, cold sweat, and total bed rest, I’m finally able to get to my computer and do some work. I still have to rest for a few more days, but I can get around the house now. The only thing that really annoy me now is the medicine; I can stand the bitter taste, but it contains strong antihistamines that makes me sleepy every time I took it.

The way I’m seeing the scripts, we actually have three short films to make instead of two: the ‘reality’ part of Kate and Dan, the ’soap opera’ part of Kate and Dan, and the story of Alex and Brian. We have discussed how we are going to approach the scripts, and we’ve decided to make three complete short films, each of which can stand on their own, but will relate to each other in the bigger context.

Schedule

To be realistic with this project, since we have to share the actors with the other groups, I think it is imperative that we keep to a single location and a single day of shoot for each shorts. Even with that arrangement, we still need three days of shoot and three different locations and sets of decorations.
My ideal schedule would be to spread the shoot in six weeks, that means one shoot every two weeks, which should give us enough time to decorate the next set in the week between shoots. But this would mean one and half month of time commitment from the actors just for our group’s project, we will have to discuss this further with the other groups. I would also limit the working hour to three hours for each rehearsal and six hours for each shoot.
I don’t think it would be wise and feasible for our group, or any group, to shoot early in the semester. I would estimate the auditioning process to take about three weeks until we get the right actors; keep in mind that we need to find actors who are willing to work for no pay, be available and willing to commit to the project for four months, AND fits the roles in the scripts; it’s no easy task I can imagine.
The semester start on July 21 and I think it would take several days to organize auditions. That means the earliest audition would probably begin from July 25 and would last until August 17 the latest. In the meantime, all the groups can work to finalize the script and decide the order of the shoot, and hopefully able to secure locations, props and decorations. The first group who can gather all of those, will work with the actors first. I also think it would be a good idea for the actors to work exclusively with one group/project at a time, to build trust and a good dynamic between actors and crews.

Let’s just suppose that our group would go first. I would schedule the ‘soap opera’ part of Kate and Dan to be shot first, because I think this is the hardest segment, if we are going to try to emulate the American soap opera lighting. The best location that I could think of would be studio A in building 10; shooting in a studio would give us the most control over lighting, and studio A already has a lot of lighting gears, as well as some very helpful technicians, and it’s FREE!!! The week starting August 18, we will have one or two rehearsals for the first short. The week starting August 25, we will have another rehearsal before the shoot, then we’ll have the first shoot on the weekend.

The second segment to shoot would be the ‘reality’ part of Kate and Dan. It would be best if we can get someone’s apartment around the city to shoot, because an actual apartment would feel more natural, even after we redecorate the whole place. The week starting September 1, we’ll have one rehearsal, while the crews start setting the location. The week starting September 8, we’ll have another rehearsal, then shoot on the weekend.

And then the final segment would be the story of Alex and Brian. This is because after four weeks of constant rehearsal and shooting, I want to finish with a lighter mood, so everybody can have more freedom and fun during the shoot. As our group have discussed, we would make Alex and Brian to be light-hearted and comedic piece, we are even planning to have a dance and musical score in it, and thus we would really need to have at least three rehearsals before the shoot (at least one rehearsal exclusively for the musical scene). For this segment’s location, I am thinking if we could get a house in the suburb, or somewhere a little out of the city, so we could really work on the musical without bothering the neighbors. I am really hoping that we could use Wye Keen’s house, because it’s in the middle of nowhere. The week starting September 15, we’ll have one acting rehearsal and one musical rehearsal. The week starting September 22, we’ll have one rehearsal, and if possible another musical rehearsal. Then, we’ll shoot on the weekend.

Budget

Considering we’ll be shooting three shorts, I’m expecting our project to cost around $500 to $700 in total, or each person to spend $100 to $150. From the $700 budget, $300 would be for food and drinks during rehearsals, shoots, meetings, and setting up locations. $150 for props and decorations. $100 for transportations and gas. $50 for tapes. And extra $100 for sundries and back-up.

What makes great blog and great overall participation in the course:
I participate a lot this semester, engaged in discussion and creative thinking, although I still didn’t like the blog.
I give myself: 18/25

Collaboration:
- Control
- Time
I think I did pretty good job for both project. I learn an important skill in working with groups this time, I learn to let go of some control and let others be initiative and creative. I realized that sometimes I can be a little control freak, like I did on TV1, so now I actually enjoyed working with groups a lot more. Here is some of my thought. I give myself: 8/10

Lab Themes & Project
I think I have been pretty creative this semester by contributing ideas to the project. Here is the framing statement for Time and Control. I give myself: 12/15

Jenkins
I really enjoyed reading the book, especially the chapter about The Matrix, online gaming, and the last chapter about the political possibility of convergence technology, here is a blog post about what I thought of it. I give myself: 13/15

Skill Modules
I enjoyed the skill module, although I have a critic about it. I give myself: 13/15

Studio Project
I got into the project that I wanted, and so far I work well with my group, but I guess we’ll see how it goes on second semester. I give myself: 12/15

Overall: 76/100

Finally all the editing is finish, and all that we had to do is upload it on the course blog. And thankfully this time our project is all there, and I think that is because this time we use Final Cut Pro instead of iMovie. Oh and here is our framing statement for the ‘24′ project:

Tutor: Dr. Jenny Weight

Tute: Monday 2:30pm

GROUP MEMBERS:
Antony Hananto
Justine McInerney
Kate Beaumont
Jessica Langmair

Our project is a fan fiction creation based on the hit Television series 24. Our fictional character John Blazer is a fan that has been so consumed by 24, its storyline, characters, structure and stylistic devices employed to shoot it. John is so engrossed in the program that he seeks to reproduce further episodes, ones that explore sub plots in ways that the actual series did not. He plays Jack Bauer, physically reliving the action scenes he has written and adapted personally. Our characters interpretation of the series is reflected in the fan fiction he has created.

24 is a series we are using to investigate “Time” by exploring what happens in a particular characters situation when the audience attention is re directed to another character in the story when the scene changes. What at that very moment is happening in the former characters situation? We are usually invited to simply “fill the gaps” and make assumptions about their progress in the story. Or are we to assume that no progress takes place until the viewer once again returns to their predicament? Perhaps this could be a plausible response however, in the case of “24” this cannot apply. For they advertise this series as taking place in real time. Firstly, programs are often set up to influence the way viewers fill in the gaps. Most programs that employ a 60min time slot run for an actual time of 40 minutes with the remaining 20 minutes taken up by advertising.

As such in the case of 24, the idea is that each episode runs for 1 hour with all 24 hours adding up to one single day. It is a program that eludes to run in real time. However, there are 20 minutes of unaccounted progress. When watching the series it implies that events have simply been put on hold and things pick up where they left off. Programs are not going to include events that are uninteresting, for example, eating sleeping, going to the toilet, in transit – unless something vital to the outcome occurs during these events or there is some symbolism relevant to the crafting of the piece. Viewers have learned to assume these instances. We have created fan fiction, which fills in these gaps with possibilities.

Jenkins’ talks about the importance of fan fiction in creating and fostering online communities in his chapter “Quentin Tarantino’s Star Wars”. Jenkins states:

“[Fair use] has been advanced in terms of legitimated classes of users and not a generalized public right to cultural participation. Our current notion of fair use is an artefact of an era when few people had access to the market place of ideas and those who did fell into certain professional classes. It sure demands close reconsideration as we develop technologies that broaden who may produce and circulate cultural materials.”

We have harnessed this by creating fan fiction, which is realised by the use of handy cams, unprofessional filming, nonchalant editing and an overly dramatic soundtrack.