Zach's Blonde Moment

IM Film Completed!

Click the image below, which links to our finished Integrated Media 1 K-Film! Commentary is in the attached essay, which you can find a link to on the main page! Enjoy.

Film Reviews!

Here are my reviews for the films that were screened on Thursday night, overall it was a brilliant screening and it had opened my eyes up to the vast amount of talent that is present in our program. From this I shall be definitely securing strong connections with some of the awesome filmmakers in the hope to collaborate and produce more amazing works. The future is exciting! Anyway here are my reviews, three of them have been copied and pasted from my last blog post, where I reviewed my three favourite films:

I shall be using the “Hat’s critique” in order to review these films in the most honest way I can. There were a few films, which I couldn’t remember based on the title, I know what these films are, I just cannot assign them to the titles left, so I have left them blank, sorry!

Here is what each category represents:
Red- emotional response
Yellow- positives
Black- negatives
Green- constructive

“01        Jerk at Work
Alex Switzky
Ellie Cameron-Krepp
Steph Veljanovski
Cassie Wright
Ally Hamilton”

Red- It has a quirky feel, colourful feel to it and I enjoyed it.
Yellow-  It has a nice rhythm that adhered to the Dr. Suiss style, I actually liked how it wasn’t too ‘over the top’, making it a little bit more believable.
Black- There are some awkward pauses, and maybe it could have been cut down a lot more to make it flow a little bit nicer.
Green- Get rid of the awkward pauses and maybe add some more dramatic score and SFX? Overall great job!

“08        Occulus Mentis
Annie Carroll
Hana Bahari
Verity Trott
Hannah Hollis
Kieran McGrath”

Red- Really funny in it’s own, unique way.
Yellow- The actors were great and even though the script may not have been conveyed in it’s best sense, there is a great potential evident and I think a little further editing will enhance this.
Black- A lot of awkward pauses and some instances of jerky camera movement.
Green- I’m not sure if it was colour graded, but I think if that was done properly it would have made a big difference.

“02        conscience
Harry Hughes
Hashim
Michael
Jo Hawley
Eli Mak”

Red- Creepy in a good way, left enough open for individual interpretation.
Yellow- Fantastic Lighting and location, great casting and a brilliant mood created through the soundscape and increase in suspense. Great ending.
Black- May drag on a little too much and the moment where the ropes fall free is a little confusing and could be clearer, but this is being picky.
Green- Some extreme close-ups with amplified breathing noises would have added to it in my opinion.

“05 Preteintiux Art
Lucy Bellomarino
Adrian Giovannucci
Dom Bonnice
Beatriz Ramirez Lopez
Melissa Wong”

Red- Great concept, a little awkward to watch, but I liked it in some senses.
Yellow- Great casting, locations and production design.
Black- Awkward cinematography.
Green- I would have played on the awkwardness of the cinematography and found a way to edit the film so that it almost becomes another character to it, otherwise a re-shoot?

“16        The Job
Lucia Clark
Tristan Lai
Yaqian Huang
Claire Wheaton
Tracy Chen”

Red- Hilarious at moments, awkward at other moments.
Yellow- Some of the jokes were quite original and found them to be hilarious
Black- I didn’t quite understand it, maybe it was the script, maybe it was the way in which it was filmed and edited? I am not sure, there was just something that didn’t allow the story to connect with me.
Green- Obeying the 180 degree rule would have been beneficial for this film and if a lot of the pauses were taken out and the lines were clearer and volume levels were more consistent, I think it would have been a strong comedy.

“18      Donna’s Deed
Sissi Wang
Zara Cooper
Rachel Yan
Lara Ouyang”

Red- Quirky and funny at moments.
Yellow- I love the dog! It was a nice concept.
Black- Camera work and editing could have been improved.
Green- Colour grading and general tightening up would improve the film.

“04        Family Traditions
Pat Swan
Paddy Hassall
Daan Bol
Bella Buffon
Maddy Kilby”

Red- Heartfelt and encompasses a comedic tragedy that begins by drawing you in and explores the story in a comedic way before ending on a tragic note.
Yellow- Nicely filmed, great story.
Black- Could have been a little stronger if it was tighter in terms of editing.
Green- I think a different colour grade and matching all the shots together with the grading might have brought a consistency that the film was lacking (in my opinion), then it would enhance the montage, which has a completely different grade that suggests the moments are flashbacks or in the past.

“07        Incubus
Evelyn Ng
Celine Choo
Sally Tabart
John Roebuck”

Red- Nice concept, stunning location shots.
Yellow- Well thought out and a nice variation of shots without deterring too much from a central location.
Black- More close ups would have been nice, as I think this was all it was lacking.
Green- I think if it all went a little faster we would understand the concept more and maybe a different colour grade for all of the footage in between the cafe scene?

“10        Blitzkreig Tots
Damian Filippone
Steph Miles
Herald, Jun Hao Chia Eunice Tan”

—?

“06         Movie Addicts Anonymous
Lincoln Mackinnon
Yoon Jang
Heath Garvey
Santilla Chingaipe
Caitlin Royse”

Red- Hilarious, engaging and interesting.
Yellow- Fantastic camera work, great actors and performances, excellent lighting and sound, clever ending.
Black- The script may be a little vague.
Green- Nothing too much else to say about this one! Yeah if the storyline were a little clearer then it would be perfect in my opinion.

Intermission
“17        Hard Light of Day
Jess Hallay
Damian Gould
Georgia Sampson
Edna Lim Xin Yi
Stella Foster”

Red- Stunning and captivating.
Yellow- Really interesting camera work and it allowed itself to take its time to fit in some great location shots, engaging the surroundings with the events that were unfolding. Fantastic script.
Black- I don’t really see any negatives in this one…other than I can’t really see a guy getting rolled off a pier into a lake during daytime, but I think the title of the film suggests that this was intentional.
Green- If it went a tinnnnnnyyyy bit faster and had a little more guts to the sound that would be great, but this is being really really really picky.

“09        Still Waters
Victoria Ong
Ginny Leng
Eliza Herbert
Ming Chieh Lee”

—?

“12        Screw Youssical
Rocky Rapke
Shushan Lam
Hugh Brophy
Lynette Chua”

Red- Hilarious.
Yellow- A great dedication to the production design and shot planning, with a good sense of comic timing and a brilliant rendition of the Dr. Suiss style of storytelling.
Black- May have actually been a little too over the top for me…I still need to believe a film, even if it is fantasy etc. and I didn’t see myself believing this one.
Green- There was a lot of moving about over the location, which it ok, but it exposed all of the location and made me think about what the location is used for in real life as opposed to the world in which the film in about. I think if it was a little more restricted, I would focus on the characters and the story more.

“13     Head Case
Maddy Featherby
Elena Szymanski
Carmen Holman
KB (Katherine Buzza) Leona Jiang”

Red- Brilliantly, creepily, scarily awesome.
Yellow- Fantastic build of suspense and the flashbacks were amazing and tied in with the present story beautifully. Great story idea (*cough*cough*).
Black- I can’t really remember, but I think there was a little too many close-ups and I felt I needed to see more of the room.
Green- Yeah, just lingering on some wide shots would have really enhanced it I think.

“14        Grind
Charles Bai
Julius Lim
Michaela Palmer
Paris Thomson
Karina Pribadi”

—?

“11        Crossing Live
Mel Gleeson
Zee Ko
Ryan Jafarzadeh
Abbie O’Brien”

Red- Engaging and captivating.
Yellow- Fantastic cinematography, brilliant script and soundscape. Awesome, original idea that hasn’t really been explored in film.
Black- Dressing room scene felt a little cramped with the close-ups, but that is an unbelievably picky statement.
Green- I wonder if the lipstick was a darker reddish colour it might enhance the shocking effect of the cross-dressing? Again- pickyyyy.

“15        Press one
Michaela Palmer
Georgia Morgan
Jason Tseng
Alene Tan
Jae Won”

Red- Amazing, exciting and engaging.
Yellow- Really well structured, shot and great colour grading and soundscape.
Black- No negatives!
Green- Simply brilliant, so I have nothing constructive to add.

Pipe Dream Completed!

After finishing off Pipe Dream and screening it I have to say I am rather happy with the response it has got. I knew from the first day of Film/TV1 that I wanted to do something fun, light and comedic, which is why I had really enjoyed filming and editing Pipe Dream. I think we have successfully created a good visual and aural representation of the script based on the story idea that we had picked, which is great, yet I have recently been thinking about what we could have done better…what would have made it award winning?

Then as I was thinking about this, I realised that if I were to do Film/TV1 all over again, I think I would have chosen the same story idea and approached filming and editing it the exact same way that I had already have this time. Why? Because I think that A) I was completely set on doing something humorous (for a number of reasons- the main one being it reflected by mood at the time of story idea picking), B) I wanted it to be extremely fast paced and have a vast amount of different shots in it (the main reason for this being to reflect the energy about the film- making it almost like a film that was of some sort of speed-like drug), C) Based on the amount of shots that we had, it would have been difficult to really master each shot and get it perfect and artistic.

So this brings me to my question as to why didn’t we pick a script where there was a smaller amount of shots, with one location etc., where we could really focus on getting each shot perfect? Because I wasn’t interested in perfect.

I wanted: Fast, Messy, Quick, Tight, The audience wanting more.

The last one is my main philosophy. It doesn’t matter if the films I make are shot terribly or the lighting is dodgy or the sound is out of whack….as long as the audience is left wanting more, then I have succeeded. And based on that philosophy, I think I have achieved exactly what I wanted with Pipe Dream, and couldn’t have done it without my beautiful cast and crew who were completely dedicated to the project and who were absolutely amazing.

The Screening

Thought I would make a quick blog post in regards to the screening. It is currently 3am…I am a little bit pissed and fairly tired so this may be quite incomprehensible, but apart from that- I am actually doing it, which is the main thing. The reason why I am doing it at 3am? Because I won’t get a chance to do it between now and when the blog is due, due to my need to be at work tomorrow…to you know…work…and make money etc.

Anyway, the screening. Was rather awesome. Was a little bit stressful getting there and making sure the cast/my parents made it to the room safely and on time, but apart from that it was great to see everyone’s films up on the big screen. I will use these few moments before I drift into a coma to reflect on my 3 favourite films, which I have forgotten the names of, which means I shall refer to them based on a short phrase that I think may be understandable as to which film I am relating to.

Lincolns film with the DVDs.
I thought this film was the best due to the casting, direction, lighting, cinematography and overall mood and tone about it. The script wasn’t exactly a stand-out, but I didn’t think the script was the important aspect of the film…I didn’t think it was needed in order to carry the film along. What made the film so captivating was the creation of these fantastic characters, who all came together in this quirky situation. The film made a point, which I think is extremely important. The point that is made doesn’t need to be defined, but I think there is something there, which says that a lot of work has gone into the film and it deserves its position among the films of the highest quality in the screening tonight.

In the harsh light of day
This film in one word is: Art. That is all it is really…the cinematography was brilliant. The location was lovely. The way that the film ‘took it’s time’ was nice…as it allowed the viewer to take in the beauty of the surroundings despite the fact that it was a gritty little darker piece. The colour grading shifts was what really captivated me, which really showed that a lot of thought has gone into what message the film is trying to send and how it is going about connecting to the audience in order to send this message. The sound design also fitted the film perfectly.

Press 1
What can I say? Just brilliance. Every aspect of this film was fantastic. As I said to Jason tonight…I believe that it was “a western film that was conveyed as an action film that was filmed in an arty way”. Everything about it was nice and I’m getting too tired to reflect any further on that, so I shall leave it there!

Gooooooodnight.

14 Colour Grading

Why hello there.

I have been in hibernation over the last couple of weeks and have completely neglected my blog- whoops! The reason for this was inevitable- assignments, assignments, lack of time, assignments. But I’m back! (Well, for these last couple of hours before our Film/TV1 blog is due, which I shall be updating with all of the things that I have missed out on over the last couple of weeks.)

So here I am sitting up at about 2:30 am making blog posts because I didn’t get back from the screening until now (which I will be blogging about in a little bit), but regardless of that this blog post is about colour grading!

I actually did not have that much experience about colour grading coming into this course, but I knew how to do it and an idea of what colour grading is good colour grading. The lecture in the week that we learned about this was quite interesting, as it explained not only how to approach colour grading and how to go about getting the result you in-vision, but also the method behind finding the best option.

My best advice would be to practice with the colour grading controls first until you are completely comfortable with using them. This video below explains how to use them and what each control and button on the interface adjusts:

Then I would pick a scene from a good film or TV show, which best represents the ‘look’ that you want your film to have and pretty much, well….copy it! This is the method that I used when I approached doing the colour grading for ‘Pipe Dream’:

I had taken my inspiration, which was from ‘Secret Diary of a Call Girl’ and located some similar scenes in terms of lighting and location. And therefore looked at our raw footage, the first shot below being of Ali:

Then based on my inspiration I had lightened the shot quite a lot, added a pink tinge to it and then crushed the blacks for a more contrasting look. I kind of didn’t want it to look as ‘cold’ as my original inspiration image, which is something you will find…once you begin to adjust the colour grading…you seem to tailor it for what you feel looks best for that particular shot and seem to veer away from the colour grading that inspires you, you really just need that initial inspiration to get you started if you are not quite sure what to do yet.

And this shot below is the reverse shot of Genya. The most important thing in this case is trying to match the colour grading of the shot previously. DO NOT make the rookie error of assuming you can just ‘copy’ and ‘paste’ the same colour filters over all of your footage, as you will find different shots are lit differently and will not match.