Unit 1 Part B

IMPLEMENT & REVIEW ARTS CHALLENGE

I am thrilled I got accepted for the BFI Film Academy where I attended masterclasses which helped me get a better understanding of other roles in a production team I hadn't considered. Learnt more on the role I want to be and was extremely happy I was given that role as all though I had to continue working on the project I was doing something I enjoyed and furthering my skills. 

Below is my acceptance email to the Bfi Film Academy

Master classes and training 

Saturday 22nd - The first masterclass was on script writing held by Rick Harvey, the writer of the script we were given to make. He taught us that descriptive writing is often prioritised over dialogue.

The five step process of screen writing -

1. Story concept - Test your idea, is there an interest in it?
2. Outline/treatment - Capture idea in 1 page or less
3. Step outline - Expand idea to multiple pages(dialogue is not important at this stage)
4. First draft - Dialogue is thought of
5. Rewrite

The essential elements -

1. Story
2. Characters
3. Settings/ Time period
4. Significant moment
5. Conflict
6. Genre
7. Theme
8. Structure 

The 2nd masterclass for that day was with a writer and director Ryd Cook. Below is his trailer for A single to London.

We were told our roles and then he went through setting up a take which we then ran through a few times. He taught us how the process of setting up and taking a shot with a film crew. The order of the commands is written out on the hand out we received from Ryd. I was given the role as editor, which meant on set I was the clapper-loader, Ryd ran through what this role meant and taught me how to correctly mark a shot. We all got into the positions that our rolls entailed and we ran through the steps. As this was our first time it took a couple of goes in getting it right. I hadn’t previously realised how many commands there  was in taking a shot with a proper film crew.

HOW THIS HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE MY CHALLENGE

The masterclass with Rick helped me immensely as I hadn't given much thought to script writing. I still don't particularly like writing fiction however now have an understanding of putting together a script and what is essential in a script. This helps me in achieving my challenge as I learn about another role in the industry and it is important to have a basic understanding of script writing as a main part of an editor is to get the story across and the story originally exists in the script. 

The masterclass with Ryd was useful as I didn't know how to set up for a shot and the commands that were run through before a shot was taken. It helped me achieve my challenge as I was more aware of what the other roles would be doing on set and being clapper-loader was important in making my editing process easier, as if the shot wasn't marked properly the editing process would slow down as it would be confusing to match shots to the sound and fit the shots in place.

Sunday 23rd - Stevie Haywood held a masterclass on sound recording. He spoke to us about the importance of sound, and showed us that sound is a major part in a film all though some tend to overlook it. He ran through how to use certain sound equipment, like operating the boom mic, I found this interesting as I never had a proper understanding of sound eqiupment before. He took us out in our group and gave us a chance to test the sound, he told us to use two mics if possible, one facing the characters in order to get their dialogue and another further away facing away from the characters which would be picking up the atmos noise and as little of the dialogue as possible. He also showed us the correct way to wrap up the mic wires.

HOW THIS HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE MY CHALLENGE
Prior to this I never took much interest in sound. I learnt a lot about sound that I never understood or thought about. All though I still wouldn't want to become a sound recordist or a sound role, I am now comfortable in using sound equipment which will help me when making my own projects. I will also have a further understanding of other roles which will make me a more rounded film maker, especially as I can think of the sound when editing.

Monday 24th - Tanya Jones taught us more about the importance of sound in film, as she taught us sound terminology. As I studied film GCSE I already knew some of the terms like diabetic and non digetic, however I learnt lots of new terminology like contrapuntal sound, cacophony and discordance  which is a harsh, jarring sound that doesn't go well together.

HOW THIS HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE MY CHALLENGE
I learnt lots of new terminology that'll help me when analysing and reviewing films in the future. I also can use some of the sound terms she taught us when creating my own films, as I didn't know about the importance of some of these before.

Tuesday 25th - Bradley Stearn gave us a masterclass on cinematography, we saw some of his previous work and he taught us that cinematography is not just about the different shot types, but about lighting as well as filters and polarises create a certain look by changing and enhancing the light. Every shot is thought out and positioned to achieve an affect from the audience. Our group was given Bradley as our mentor on shoot days. I found this aster class extremely exciting and helpful as I learnt different elements to cinematography and I learnt about filters and polarises which I didn't necessarily know about. His key tip was to always keep working, get as much experience as you can no matter what it is. He also gave us some useful sites like http://www.cinematographydb.com/author/mattworkman where we could learn off.

David Winstone was a director and spook to us more on directing. Below is the trailer to his short film 'Sick'. We watched this short film during our masterclass with David.


Majority of this short takes place in a hospital, he mentioned after that the set was entirely created by them as they couldn't film in a hospital due to legal and ethical issues. While watching the film, nothing made me think it wasn't a real hospital so when hearing that I was quite surprised. He told us how he used everything he learnt in college in his film making, which could be seen in this short as he studied psychology and it was about a woman who suffered with MBPS. He told us that how you work with others is key, always shown interest and don't be a person that people may unlike as you never know where and who may get you a job in this industry.

HOW THIS HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE MY CHALLENGE
I learnt a lot from Bradley, mainly to do with filters and polarises. I had never seen or used filters before and assumed that majority of the softening was done in post. I now have a bigger understanding of this and how to use little and excess light to your advantage. Cinematography is a very creative role and I would love to further study this as well as continue editing. I think a good understanding of cinematography will make me a better editor.

From David I learnt how important it is to be a like-able person when it comes to directing as well as using everything you've learnt when directing a film.

Saturday 29th - Michael gave us a masterclass on editing. As I was given the role of editor I was excited to learn more about editing than I knew.
He reinforced the five micro elements of film

1. Mise en scene
2. Performance
3. Cinematography
4. Sound
5. Editing

The first four elements we had achieved. The last element left for our short film was editing.

He taught us about spacial continuity which tells the audience exactly where they are and creates a sense of motion, temporal continuity which is the time the current event is occurring and how long these all I would have to consider when editing, in order to make sure the audience is aware and understanding. 

His key point that stuck with me was editing should be invisible, one shouldn't be sitting there watching thinking about the editing, it should run smoothly as the audience should become a part of that world. 

Henri Salonen taught us about sound design and composition. He ran through some software as well as show us some of the work he is working on. We then had to think of all the sounds we had in our film, and what we wanted from him as he would help us in sound composition. He reenforced how important sound is in a film and how without sound a film is not quite complete, showing us how music creates certain emotions from the audience. Sound is important and within the music track a few seconds of silence is key!

HOW THIS HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE MY CHALLENGE
I want to be a film editor and luckily got this role for the BFI Film Academy. The Masterclass with Michael further confirmed that editing is what I want to do. I love the concept of story telling with editing, as you are piecing the story together for the audience. 

I've never been very musical, however Henri showed me how important sound composing is. Especially bringing together the final product. He also showed me that sound mixing is more than putting together instrumentals and as an editor I will mix sounds. All though I wouldn't be able to create a music track by myself I believe I can listen and fit it well wight he visuals in order to get the correct emotion from the audience 


Arts Challenge - 

I feel my arts challenge was achieved in many ways, as I am now more aware and have a greater understanding on several roles in a film crew. This will enable me in becoming a better editor and filmmaker. The masterclasses have further reinforced that it is editing that I want to pursue, however have also opened ideas and options into areas like cinematography. The masterclasses on sound have taught me a lot on sound that never crossed my mind however I still feel these roles aren’t best suited for me but the knowledge I have will help me become a better editor. Overall I think in many ways my arts challenge was achieved.