My brain is leaking out my ears. So I am forcing myself to blog in an attempt to try and find some sort of structure. (This is not helped by the sounds coming from downstairs. It sounds as though the father is beating up his kid, given the unearthly screams and thumps I'm hearing. Perhaps I should report him to childline... but there again it might just be a computer game or something.)
So last Monday was Showlight where I grabbed some experience on the Vision Mixer. I'd seen one used before back in Glasgow Uni, but never operated it myself. It's remarkably stressful doing a live edit, and inevitable slip ups occur.
Monday evening was a posh dinner at the Fruitmarket which I very much enjoyed. I got blethering to some punters - such as a student from Maine, a previous lecturer at the Academy and a random bloke called Tim - but always had Paul and Phil to chat to if things became too geekishly lighting-centred.
Tuesday was back at the BBC for Sound. I was thrown into the hot seat when the woman who was supposed to be doing the job turned up almost two hours late, rather hungover, or possibly still drunk. In her absence I had been placed in front of the PA mixer desk, and pretty much told "This does this. That does that. Any questions? No. Good" and left to get on with it. After she turned up, the excitement slumped, until we were just handing microphones to audience members.
All in all an excellent experience. I enjoyed the talks I heard, I enjoyed meeting some interesting folk. I enjoyed the free food. Ultimately I enjoyed the atmosphere and working in that environment.
Wednesday was a Screening of Easy Riders and Raging Bulls, which was in insight into a period of film-making history about which I knew next to nothing.
Thursday was a final lecture on TV, looking at the future of the medium.
Fridaywas a class with Abigail. We saw the film Floating is Easy for which we had previously done a schedule. It was even more depressing than the script, but it seems that Scottish Screen and other groups in Scotland have convinced themselves that this sort of drab grim grey material about unhappy people being miserable is somehow meaningful and connects with people on a deep level. As far as I can tell it is quite the reverse and generally people go to the cinema to see beautiful people doing interesting things.
Having finished Kim's assignment, we now have Andy's to be working on. Meanwhile Adam's and Richard's are looming, Dust continues to run into scheduling difficulties, Little Clown presents a host of new challenges, I am trying to organise a conference for my church on June 13th and I am to be working at STV for the rest of this week. While this last item is very welcome, it is another thing to add to my extensive list of things to do. I hope driving a van is not as arduous as it looks!
Friday was
Monday, 25 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
Week Beginning 11th May
Monday kicked off with a tutorial with Richard. I'm working on two ideas at the moment, and am quite fond of both of them. I'm finding the development process very useful. It seems that I am far more likely to come up with something good if I am tweaking and twisting an idea that already has promise than if I am trying to break up new ground with a completely new premise.
Monday lunchtime was supposed to be a shoot for Dust. As it turned out, we had to cancel due to a major lack of communication between the team. I have decided to try being the point of contact for everyone: cast and crew. Previously, we had Phil, as Producer, talking to the crew, while I, as Director, talked to the cast. But I don't think that is a good solution.
Monday afternoon was our class with Kim, looking at Storylines and how they would fit togehter in an episode. I think we had a little problem in only having three storylines. Some episodes would have next to no plot. With a fourth or even fifth story ongoing, we would have been able to keep each episode engaging.
Tuesday was a short Technical class with Ray. Not much happened, but I found some old tapes from Sound classes lying around in Paul's locker and started taking some of the edited highlights into Final Cut. Our class are rather odd!
Wednesday was a location recce for Dust, followed by a hectic shoot in the Cafe Bar and the Fyfe lecture theatre. It was rather crazy towards the end, and I haven't had a chance to review the footage since, but it all looked rather nice on the monitor.
This was followed by a screening of Bonnie and Clyde. I'll try to get some thoughts up on my other blog when I get a moment.
Thursday was a Mobile and Web class, where we pitches our ideas, as they are so far. I am developing an idea I originally had for a short film before I started this course, and which I think tranfers rather nicely into an interactive series.
Friday was a talk from John Yorke. I think I was mildly in awe of the rank he had reached in the BBC hierarchy, and also being utterly exhausted after working till midnight the night before, I found it difficult sometimes to follow the intricacies of his psychological illustrations. But I certainly got the gist, and found it all very engaging.
I had to rush off at the end for a two hour Maths tutorial with an Advanced Higher student.
Then Friday afternoon was a tutorial with Abigail, which was short and sweet. However I then heard that our shoot for Dust, scheduled for that evening, had to be cancelled due to a mix up with the kit booking.
I think the problem with scheduling Dust was that we had originally planned for the following week, but then we heard that the kit would be unavailable then. We had to then pull the whole thing forward and we weren't properly perpared when we were going into production. We now have two weeks off for planning, and we need it all, certainly with all the extra things that are coming up.
Saturday was our first day at the BBC - a fascinating day indeed, even if the Vision job seems for us to be either to be a case of sitting around drinking tea blethering with the professionals, or else watching them rushing around like headless chickens for a moment or two trying to sort something.
Monday lunchtime was supposed to be a shoot for Dust. As it turned out, we had to cancel due to a major lack of communication between the team. I have decided to try being the point of contact for everyone: cast and crew. Previously, we had Phil, as Producer, talking to the crew, while I, as Director, talked to the cast. But I don't think that is a good solution.
Monday afternoon was our class with Kim, looking at Storylines and how they would fit togehter in an episode. I think we had a little problem in only having three storylines. Some episodes would have next to no plot. With a fourth or even fifth story ongoing, we would have been able to keep each episode engaging.
Tuesday was a short Technical class with Ray. Not much happened, but I found some old tapes from Sound classes lying around in Paul's locker and started taking some of the edited highlights into Final Cut. Our class are rather odd!
Wednesday was a location recce for Dust, followed by a hectic shoot in the Cafe Bar and the Fyfe lecture theatre. It was rather crazy towards the end, and I haven't had a chance to review the footage since, but it all looked rather nice on the monitor.
This was followed by a screening of Bonnie and Clyde. I'll try to get some thoughts up on my other blog when I get a moment.
Thursday was a Mobile and Web class, where we pitches our ideas, as they are so far. I am developing an idea I originally had for a short film before I started this course, and which I think tranfers rather nicely into an interactive series.
Friday was a talk from John Yorke. I think I was mildly in awe of the rank he had reached in the BBC hierarchy, and also being utterly exhausted after working till midnight the night before, I found it difficult sometimes to follow the intricacies of his psychological illustrations. But I certainly got the gist, and found it all very engaging.
I had to rush off at the end for a two hour Maths tutorial with an Advanced Higher student.
Then Friday afternoon was a tutorial with Abigail, which was short and sweet. However I then heard that our shoot for Dust, scheduled for that evening, had to be cancelled due to a mix up with the kit booking.
I think the problem with scheduling Dust was that we had originally planned for the following week, but then we heard that the kit would be unavailable then. We had to then pull the whole thing forward and we weren't properly perpared when we were going into production. We now have two weeks off for planning, and we need it all, certainly with all the extra things that are coming up.
Saturday was our first day at the BBC - a fascinating day indeed, even if the Vision job seems for us to be either to be a case of sitting around drinking tea blethering with the professionals, or else watching them rushing around like headless chickens for a moment or two trying to sort something.
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Postscript regarding books, theatre etc.
In terms of what I am reading, I am getting stuck into a novel called Byzantium Endures, a historical novel set in St. Petersburg during the Russian revolution. The main character is highly flawed. A Jew-hating, woman-beating, self-obsessed cocaine addict who, utterly unconcerned when his mother (back home in Kiev) is in her final illness, prefers to stay in Odessa with a whore he is attracted to. Despite this, we can still empathis to some degree with him. Michael Moorcock has made a disgustingly flawed protagonist his trademark in most of his novels.
I'm also reading "And Is It True?", looking at the poetry written by Christians and non-Christians during the trench warfare of the First World War. The savage passion and emotionalism of some of those who called themselves atheists is contrasted with the fatalism and even despair of some of those who called themselves Christians. It is little wonder to me that the mindless carnage of the war changed the the outlook of Western society for ever.
I've seen four shows at the Citizens Theatre recently. The first was "Romeo and Juliet": a production by Reid-Kerr college which butchered the play beyond anything I would have believed was possible. It comes to a sad situation when I (who am a mediocre student actor) felt I could have taken any of these parts and done it better. (Even Juliet!)
The second was "Pillowman", one of the best shows I have ever seen, performed by the students of Langside college. The grotesque brutality and the raw emotion was intertwined with a particularly dark sense of humour, which meant that the audience could have a lump in their throat and then laugh all in the same moment. But the real genius of the piece was in taking our archetypes (the totalitarian government, the anarchic poet, the mentally challenged brother, the abusive parents) and turn them all on their head. You think you are watching one show and then you realise you are watching something entirely different.
The third was "Wuthering Heights" a Bollywood musical version. I realise my appreciation of Bollywood tastes is not sufficient to pass judgement, but it seemed to me to be cliche after cliche, with overblown sentimental songs and hackneyed dialogue.
The fourth was "Singin' I'm no' a Billy, he's a Tim", which was one of the funniest things I have seen. I am not a football fan, and my knowledge of the issues of bigotry in that area is very limited. But I found myself completely drawn into this world in which a Rangers and a Celtic fan are locked up in the same cell on the night of the big match. At times a little cheesy (they end up having swapped strips, put the world to rights, smoked a joint and singing a song about how they now see things differently) but especially at the beginning the dialogue is as sharp as I have heard anywhere.
I'm also reading "And Is It True?", looking at the poetry written by Christians and non-Christians during the trench warfare of the First World War. The savage passion and emotionalism of some of those who called themselves atheists is contrasted with the fatalism and even despair of some of those who called themselves Christians. It is little wonder to me that the mindless carnage of the war changed the the outlook of Western society for ever.
I've seen four shows at the Citizens Theatre recently. The first was "Romeo and Juliet": a production by Reid-Kerr college which butchered the play beyond anything I would have believed was possible. It comes to a sad situation when I (who am a mediocre student actor) felt I could have taken any of these parts and done it better. (Even Juliet!)
The second was "Pillowman", one of the best shows I have ever seen, performed by the students of Langside college. The grotesque brutality and the raw emotion was intertwined with a particularly dark sense of humour, which meant that the audience could have a lump in their throat and then laugh all in the same moment. But the real genius of the piece was in taking our archetypes (the totalitarian government, the anarchic poet, the mentally challenged brother, the abusive parents) and turn them all on their head. You think you are watching one show and then you realise you are watching something entirely different.
The third was "Wuthering Heights" a Bollywood musical version. I realise my appreciation of Bollywood tastes is not sufficient to pass judgement, but it seemed to me to be cliche after cliche, with overblown sentimental songs and hackneyed dialogue.
The fourth was "Singin' I'm no' a Billy, he's a Tim", which was one of the funniest things I have seen. I am not a football fan, and my knowledge of the issues of bigotry in that area is very limited. But I found myself completely drawn into this world in which a Rangers and a Celtic fan are locked up in the same cell on the night of the big match. At times a little cheesy (they end up having swapped strips, put the world to rights, smoked a joint and singing a song about how they now see things differently) but especially at the beginning the dialogue is as sharp as I have heard anywhere.
Week Beginning 4/5
Monday was a holiday, so therefore was a particularly busy day. I was working as a runner on Shrink-Wrapped, one of the grad shoots. I have not the foggiest notion what was going on in the film, as I was mainly involved in lifting and carrying items (including a pleasingly large amount of food) and in rigging and derigging lights.
The afternoon was spent feverishly writing a three minute script for Richard. (Is that my sixth for him?) The idea had struck me on Sunday when my minister had been preaching on the verse "What is your life? It is a breath on a cold day that appears for a little time and vanishes away"(It's the Bible's equivalent of "Out out brief candle") So I spent Monday afternoon putting something together for that. Due to the rush to get it in for five, I had no time to redraft or even reread it, but I hope it has some spark of something in it which can be properly developed.
Tuesday was compiling an edit of Love Mugs and Stickmen. I hope I will not be misunderstood when I say that the acting talent on display was truly unique. Editing for continuity was particularly difficult, but I enjoyed the challenge of taking shots from widely different parts of the film and seeing if they could help to bridge a gap in the narrative. I do not claim to be a particularly sharp editor, but (certainly at this level) its something I find very enjoyable.
Wednesday was a morning screening of Paradise Lost, which I found very engaging, followed by a short talk by a rep of Film G. It is certainly a competition I hope to enter, if for no other reason than the shameless mercenary view that Gaelic films are showered with money!
Between the screening and the talk, I was involved in the first proper shoot for Dust. It was a simple set up. A single shot, three point lighting, a painted backdrop courtesy of Luisa and Karen of TPA and a rather remarkable actor from 2nd Year. We took the shoot fairly easy, but with Ray running 20 minutes late, we were late getting into the Film G talk.
Thursday was a class on the representation of Muslims. I have no doubt representation is an very important issue, and deliberate or careless misrepresentation is an example of irresponsible film-making. But equally every minority group (and in case anyone accuses me of bigotry, I'm including evangelical Christians in this assesment) believes itself to be better than it actually is. A true representation of a group by an objective outsider may well be viewed as a hostile misrepresentation by someone from within the group. Of course then we come to the issue of whether an outsider is ever neutral and objective, and I suppose they are not. Everyone has their open prejudices and bias with which they approach a situation. The best we can hope for is to be able to admit our preconceptions to ourselves and not fool ourselves than we are seeing things exactly as they are.
Thursday afternoon was a look at some webseries. These are obviously trying to break new ground, but with the micro budgets attached to them and the lack of any financial gain for the producers, there is nothing worth watching that I've found yet.
Friday was a class on TV as a force for political change. I found this quite inspiring, until I realised that programs like this had died out when Tony Blair had come to power. The populace aren't concerned any more with politics - and with all the main parties looking like clones of each other it is no wonder. Even my Granny, who has voted in every election since she was 18, has said she will not vote this time. What I think is that if a party has a vision and a worldview, then people can support that or disagree with it, and the party will succeed or fail depending on what people think of their way of doing things. But when the parties have no overriding themes, beliefs or visions which motivate their policies, and when their main concern is to be seen to be planning policies which will be vote-winners, the argument stops being about ideologies and instead is about personalities, about individuals in the Cabinet messing things up now and again, about who has got the most TV charisma, and about who is most "progressive". For all that can be said about Democrats and Republicans, at least there seems to be a fairly clearly defined core to both their beliefs, and they stick to these beliefs even when they appear a little unpopular. (Maybe that is just my UK perception, and I realise I'm beginning to ramble so I'll stop.)
The afternoon was spent feverishly writing a three minute script for Richard. (Is that my sixth for him?) The idea had struck me on Sunday when my minister had been preaching on the verse "What is your life? It is a breath on a cold day that appears for a little time and vanishes away"(It's the Bible's equivalent of "Out out brief candle") So I spent Monday afternoon putting something together for that. Due to the rush to get it in for five, I had no time to redraft or even reread it, but I hope it has some spark of something in it which can be properly developed.
Tuesday was compiling an edit of Love Mugs and Stickmen. I hope I will not be misunderstood when I say that the acting talent on display was truly unique. Editing for continuity was particularly difficult, but I enjoyed the challenge of taking shots from widely different parts of the film and seeing if they could help to bridge a gap in the narrative. I do not claim to be a particularly sharp editor, but (certainly at this level) its something I find very enjoyable.
Wednesday was a morning screening of Paradise Lost, which I found very engaging, followed by a short talk by a rep of Film G. It is certainly a competition I hope to enter, if for no other reason than the shameless mercenary view that Gaelic films are showered with money!
Between the screening and the talk, I was involved in the first proper shoot for Dust. It was a simple set up. A single shot, three point lighting, a painted backdrop courtesy of Luisa and Karen of TPA and a rather remarkable actor from 2nd Year. We took the shoot fairly easy, but with Ray running 20 minutes late, we were late getting into the Film G talk.
Thursday was a class on the representation of Muslims. I have no doubt representation is an very important issue, and deliberate or careless misrepresentation is an example of irresponsible film-making. But equally every minority group (and in case anyone accuses me of bigotry, I'm including evangelical Christians in this assesment) believes itself to be better than it actually is. A true representation of a group by an objective outsider may well be viewed as a hostile misrepresentation by someone from within the group. Of course then we come to the issue of whether an outsider is ever neutral and objective, and I suppose they are not. Everyone has their open prejudices and bias with which they approach a situation. The best we can hope for is to be able to admit our preconceptions to ourselves and not fool ourselves than we are seeing things exactly as they are.
Thursday afternoon was a look at some webseries. These are obviously trying to break new ground, but with the micro budgets attached to them and the lack of any financial gain for the producers, there is nothing worth watching that I've found yet.
Friday was a class on TV as a force for political change. I found this quite inspiring, until I realised that programs like this had died out when Tony Blair had come to power. The populace aren't concerned any more with politics - and with all the main parties looking like clones of each other it is no wonder. Even my Granny, who has voted in every election since she was 18, has said she will not vote this time. What I think is that if a party has a vision and a worldview, then people can support that or disagree with it, and the party will succeed or fail depending on what people think of their way of doing things. But when the parties have no overriding themes, beliefs or visions which motivate their policies, and when their main concern is to be seen to be planning policies which will be vote-winners, the argument stops being about ideologies and instead is about personalities, about individuals in the Cabinet messing things up now and again, about who has got the most TV charisma, and about who is most "progressive". For all that can be said about Democrats and Republicans, at least there seems to be a fairly clearly defined core to both their beliefs, and they stick to these beliefs even when they appear a little unpopular. (Maybe that is just my UK perception, and I realise I'm beginning to ramble so I'll stop.)
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Week Beginning 27/4
Monday morning was a tutorial with Richard, looking at the ten premises I'd submitted for seven minute shorts. Five of the ten were considered to have a little bit of a something in them which might be worth looking at again. I have realised this week that I think I have real difficulties in getting excited about short films. For me a short film is a story that is so inconsequential that it's not worth taking any longer to tell. Especially three minute films seem to me to be on the verge of impossible. They have to be so small, so pointless, that one wonders whether they are of any merit except as a technical exercise. I think I can see why we are starting small, but it seems hard to imagine a good story working at three minutes. (Beyond of course something so unexciting as "Person Loses Object. Person Looks for Object. Person Fails to Find Object in the Allotted Time but Learns a Cliched Lesson About Life.") After all, I have only ever seen two short films that I have thought were good. One was La Cheval, which is a gag, and which Richard would sneer at. The other was Divine, which ran to about 15 minutes or more, but was highly entertaining throughout. But at 15 minutes, it has the time to be able to tell a more engaging story.
Monday lunchtime was our second Design meeting for Dust. Things are proceeding well, though a couple of Permission issues (for booking kit, booking rooms, getting cleared for locations, getting risk assesments, even just getting Adam's mandatory stamp of approval) are holding up progress.
Monday afternoon was supposed to be a class with Kim but turned into a class with Gavin, looking over the footage we shot last term. Some of it looks great, some looks really dodgy. It's exactly what I expect, and when we come to edit it, we'll hopefully begin to analyse why certain shots aren't working and what we could have done better.
Tuesday was an assesment of editing skills, which was fairly straightforward. The lunchtime was a rehearsal with the principal actors for Dust. Mildly intimidating, as I can't help feeling they are more talented in their field than I am in mine, but anyway we muddled through.
Wednesday was Recording voice overs for Dust in the morning. This went smoothly, albeit a minor issue with an unresponsive mixer, fixed by putting the battery more firmly in its holder (after five minutes of pressing every button and flicking every switch that was to be seen!)
Wednesday afternoon was a screening of In the Heat of the Night. (See other blog)
Thursday was Cinema class in the morning, looking at representation of gender and race. I find it very interesting that the battle for racial equality has been won, but gender equality has been lost. I try to puzzle out why this is. Is it because the industry is ruled over by male chauvanists? I doubt it, because then the independants would thrive on a feminist platform. I am drawn to the conclusion that the mass audiences want to watch male heroes (with eye catching females hanging off them) rather than watch strong female heroines (with, perhaps, eye catching males supporting them in the background). Is it something to do with the different roles that society continues to ascribe to men and women, despite the most strident efforts of the feminist movement? Hmmmm....
Friday morning was a class on Mobile and Web Technology, looking at the different uses of mobiles and internet that society has had since their conception. Quite technical, but rather interesting. Friday afternoon was a Production class. After an exceedingly shaky start, Abigail's classes have become vastly more interesting (for me at least). Now that we have a practical project to work on and we are learning in practice rather than in theory, it is much easier to remain focussed.
Monday lunchtime was our second Design meeting for Dust. Things are proceeding well, though a couple of Permission issues (for booking kit, booking rooms, getting cleared for locations, getting risk assesments, even just getting Adam's mandatory stamp of approval) are holding up progress.
Monday afternoon was supposed to be a class with Kim but turned into a class with Gavin, looking over the footage we shot last term. Some of it looks great, some looks really dodgy. It's exactly what I expect, and when we come to edit it, we'll hopefully begin to analyse why certain shots aren't working and what we could have done better.
Tuesday was an assesment of editing skills, which was fairly straightforward. The lunchtime was a rehearsal with the principal actors for Dust. Mildly intimidating, as I can't help feeling they are more talented in their field than I am in mine, but anyway we muddled through.
Wednesday was Recording voice overs for Dust in the morning. This went smoothly, albeit a minor issue with an unresponsive mixer, fixed by putting the battery more firmly in its holder (after five minutes of pressing every button and flicking every switch that was to be seen!)
Wednesday afternoon was a screening of In the Heat of the Night. (See other blog)
Thursday was Cinema class in the morning, looking at representation of gender and race. I find it very interesting that the battle for racial equality has been won, but gender equality has been lost. I try to puzzle out why this is. Is it because the industry is ruled over by male chauvanists? I doubt it, because then the independants would thrive on a feminist platform. I am drawn to the conclusion that the mass audiences want to watch male heroes (with eye catching females hanging off them) rather than watch strong female heroines (with, perhaps, eye catching males supporting them in the background). Is it something to do with the different roles that society continues to ascribe to men and women, despite the most strident efforts of the feminist movement? Hmmmm....
Friday morning was a class on Mobile and Web Technology, looking at the different uses of mobiles and internet that society has had since their conception. Quite technical, but rather interesting. Friday afternoon was a Production class. After an exceedingly shaky start, Abigail's classes have become vastly more interesting (for me at least). Now that we have a practical project to work on and we are learning in practice rather than in theory, it is much easier to remain focussed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
