Unit 1 Part D

ARTS CAREER RESEARCH

●      Learn about the film industry organisations through participation: career pathways and how to participate in  local arts provision

Guest industry professionals: 

Ryd Cook -

Studied at Long road Sixth Form College

Been making films for 14 years

Started by filming skateboard videos

A part of the BFI Film Academy

Went to University for a bit but realised it wasn't right for him

Made films on his own/friends

Started working at Picturehouse

Films screened at Picturehouse

Won 2 awards at film festival

Teaching filmmaking for 9 years

Tips -

No excuses
Keep making films
Make friends + connections
Help others

It was interesting to see the steps Ryd has taken to get to where he is now, especially as I am currently studying at Longroad and similar to him got into film making by making videos with my friends outside of school in my spare time. Living in Cambridge he showed me that there are opportunities close to me that I can be a part of that will help me achieve more experience in film making. 

Henri Salonen -

• From Finland
• Studied Popular music at Anglia Ruskin 
• Composing music for the past 19 years
• Moved to composing film music and sound design.
• 
  

Stevie Haywood -

• Front of house engineer for bands
• Worked on music in studios
• Worked on films as a sound mixer
• Degree in film studies
• Just finished working on Sense 8 series 2 and about to start working on UK Say Yes to the Dress.

I found it fascinating how Stevie started off working with bands and then moved on to sound for films. This showed me that every thing you do is important and could lead to something greater, as well as that anything is possible and things don't always happen as you expect it.

Bradley Stearn -

Studied film, media and ICT product design at Long road
Went to Ravensbourne college to study film production
Twisted all units into cinematography as that was his main interest
Worked as a camera assistant during uni
Freelance camera assistant
Kept a blog, listing things he learnt mainly as notes for himself and to help others

Hearing from Bradley was very interesting as he was still quite young however took every opportunity he could get and so has achieved quite a lot for his age. He showed me that you must never stop working and learning as work experience is key. So even though the job role you get may not be what you want, it'll lead to valuable experience and will help you get to the role you want.


David Winstone -

• Studied Film, English, Psychology and History at Longroad
• Studied film and tv production at Westminster university
• Graduation film won student ward
• Scholarship to NFTS to do a 2 year MA
• Worked on a web series, BigTalk. 

Research for the future -
I am currently studying media diploma and english literature A Level.
I have been researching on several universities to study media and film production in 2017.

I looked online at several courses choosing courses I liked and thought would suit me best.

Leeds - Film, photography and media - http://media.leeds.ac.uk/ug/film-photography-media/
Attended an open day and went for talks on the uni as well as on the course I was interested in.

Sussex - Media Practice - http://www.sussex.ac.uk/mediapractice/
Attended an open day and went for talks on the uni as well as on the course I was interested in.

Newcastle - Film and media - http://www.ncl.ac.uk/undergraduate/degrees/p303/#courseoverview
Attended an open day and went for talks on the uni as well as on the course I was interested in.

Brighton - Moving image - https://www.brighton.ac.uk/courses/study/moving-image-ba-hons.aspx
UWE - Filmmaking - http://courses.uwe.ac.uk/W293/2017

Visited both cities but didn't attend open days, however have spoken to people who study at these universities and have read as much about the courses as I could find.

I have also looked into what film opportunities there are around Cambridge. I have a membership at picture house and have checked brochures to keep up to date with what they offer.


I was also informed about Ruptured screen and have created an accounted and asked to join.
This will inform me on any film related cambridge vents and opportunities as well as get to know other film makers in Cambridge.

●      NFTS residentials applications



What I have learnt
The masterclasses with the industry professionals taught me a lot. As I realised there were lots more roles I could be interested in as well as a lot more elements within one role. Beside this I also learnt that it does not hurt to start from the bottom, the most important thing is to always keep working and learning from others. I also learnt that if the opportunity arises for a role in the film industry I'm not particular interested, it's best to take it as it'll only help me agin more knowledge and experience. From the research I've done, I've realised there is a lot that I can do around me that will help me become a better film maker. I've also learnt that different places offer different things and the possibilities are endless. 

Unit 1 Part C

ARTS REVIEW

Review of a live cinema/film event
Virus of Fear

The story is based on a children's swimming school. One of the swimming teachers, Jordi is accused of kissing a child. The parents do not react  well to this. Jordi insists it was a gesture to calm the child as he was scared. However the story escalates. The film is based on a Catalan theater production and discusses the difficult subject of the sexual abuse of children. Raising questions of modern day society and how we are quick to judge and don’t think what we may say or do on social media could impacts us which results in things quickly spinning out of control. The film frequently goes back and repeats the same scene showing the audience a slightly different view point or starting at an earlier point that we didn't see first. When this first happened, it was quite subtle as it started at a different point but then soon led into the scene we had just seen, I turned to my friend sitting next to me and we both exchanged a look of 'oh' as we realised we had already seen this, the 2nd time around the 'oh' turned it confusion, why was this happening? I and never seen a film that took on this method, however I started to quite like it as I soon realised it was showing us how one is quick to try understand the story and make assumptions without all the details, which was the case in this film and the situation Jordi was in. However after a few rounds of going back it did get a bit repetitive and I ended up getting a bit fed up as it meant saying the same scene again and again and by now I just wanted to know the ending. This method of that the director and editor chose to use in the film was interesting to me as an aspiring editor. The creative impact and the message they tried to achieve through this method came across, which was down to the editing of the film. As it maintained a good pace and started off quite subtle and gradually went into the repetitions being more obvious.

There was an interview with the actor who played Jordi, he acted in both the play and the film. I remember him saying how watching it again a few years after its first release and when he first saw it, he didn't like it as much as he did before. He also explained the reason for the film going back and showing the same scenes, he explained that as a theater performance they had the stage in the middle of the audience, therefore they would rotate so that both sides of the audience had the actors facing them at one point. I found this interesting, as I've always been in to plays and especially different styles.


As I Open My Eyes

I saw this film when it was screened at the 2016 Cambridge Film Festival .

Set in Tunisia as the revolution in 2010 was beginning. The film follows the life of Farah a girl who is approaching adulthood. She’s just done her a levels and her family want her to study medicine and become ha doctor, however she wants to study music and is a part of a band where she uses music to express herself and the situations in Tunisia. The film was a sort of musical as we followed Farah through her band practices to performing on stage, all leading to conflicting issues within her love life, family and politically.  Having once lived In Sri lanka, I noticed many connections with the rulers being tyrants and the expectations of womens behaviour. As even within the youth you see how Farah is expected to behave primarily because of being a woman. The cinematography was basic and nothing to be amazed by, however this highlighted the importance of the story as the beauty of the film was in the direction of the story, acting and music. Overall it was a very moving and a thought provoking film.

After the screening there was an interview with the Baya Medhaffer who played Farah. The interview was insightful as she mentioned what its like under the dictatorship of the president and how it’s still prevalent. She also mentioned how she was not a singer and all the scenes with singing was shot live. This was interesting as the singing scenes were filmed making the audience feel as if the were at the gig watching them perform which created the characters emotions within the audience. 

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.

Unit 1 Part A

ARTS CHALLENGE
I want to be an editor and work in the film industry and so have set myself the challenge to find out as much as possible about this role and the industry around editing and film. All though I have previously edited, I plan to work in a larger group and therefore this will be a challenge as I haven't had people rely on me and worked on editing for others as well as myself.

 List of Aims -

•  Attend BFI Film Academy
• Make as many short films as I can
• Apply for film production undergraduate courses 
• Study Film production at university and keep making independent short films
• Get work experience in any film production role I can

Action plan to achieve arts challenge -

I found out about the BFI Film Academy through college and wish to a apply as I think it will be a great place to achieve my challenge in learning as much as possible in what it takes to be a film editor and a part of the film industry. Being accepted and attending the BFI Film Academy will be a superb opportunity for me to find out about the role of an editor as well as other roles and work closely with others increasing my ability to work in a team.