Film Arts Consolidation

FILM ARTS CONSOLIDATION..........Our class tutor, Andy James, introduced us to the Film Arts Consolidation assignment.  I knew immediately that I wanted  to demonstrate violence on film . Initially drawing direct comparisons to the Belgian film, 'Man Bites Dog' directed by Remy Belvaux in 1992... and the homage of it byAmerica's Shia Laboeuf called 'Maniac' in 2011.. This intention to make my version will contemplate the double-standard of tolerance within a society ..where the repulsiveness of urban killings maintained in society's media is contrary to permissible ending of life in a military solution- aiding a political agenda.
There is a satirical pathos in the original's use of definite dark-humour combined with an ordinary man's pub-rock /light punk soundtrack. The sequel forces its way through with a 'GoWhere' Hip-Hop relentless soundtrack attributing a nod to the European story and harbouring a multi-racial Hipster image of the genre's attitude to nihilistic violence.


Below is the one and a half minutes of clips from both films , followed by my immediate response to the brief . Within two hours of Andy's outline I enlisted the 'included-in-the-scenes'  film-crew (as is in both films) and the 'victims' and choreographed the murders and directed where the actual camera position was to be with a handheld approach on a Kodak Play...I then edited and presented it as my pitch to the class.

 

My project will in pre-production will encompass a series of storyboarding designs that will capture the scenes in detail ....also location hunting for backdrops to my vision...researching more on the reasons and consequences of accepted or non-accepted violence within various cultures with a view to  build some sets and arrange crew and cast.

The strengths lie in my passion to execute an idea to fruition with creativity being my core value.The intention for me to use a mixture of reggae/dancehall/hip-hop/jazz/grind-punk as a sountrack is my major harmonious motivation.

The actual scenes will be realistic in nature , and I fully expect there will be a varied consensus of opinion to classify the nature of violence depicted, in highly contrasting styles.

Video

Development Proposal

CONSOLIDATION PROJECT

                         Development Proposal

This is a transcript from different notes scraps of paper and recordings I made during the last 2 months or so.

The initial concept of Consolidation I set out to create was to illustrate violence as a conundrum for society to deal with.  To be able to accomplish this in the U.S was a challenging experience not to miss,This was my other reason for wanting to go to New York, other than to support my film being screened at Tribeca.

Envisaging the actual three films proved to be very easy in parts and proved to be a bit more difficult during the latter stages, then astonishingly right at the end the best possible result …(or should I say the one that captivated me immediately) …was the answer to which film soundtrack to use to guide the viewer.

I’ll start with explaining how I put the cast of volunteers together in New York.  Rapidly during my time there a huge friendship grew between all the filmmakers and actors/actresses and some of the curators. I made good contacts and people seemed to be carried up by my enthusiasm and ideas and were eager to participate within my filming schedule.

I researched for different locations online but  kind of felt my way around the five boroughs as if I was on a lightning man-about-town mission.

I took the Canon7d up to the 42^nd storey of the apartment complex I was staying  for the first few days. The panoramic view hit me and I realised I was really smack centre in the middle of  the centre of the universe ( Well that’s what it appeared to be right at that moment…looking one side to the Statue of Liberty and then across to New Jersey and then to the Empire state building and the final side of the building gave me the whole street laid out in front of me all the way to City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge in the distance………I knew that this was going to be one giant opportunity to fulfil a few filmmaking dreams.

During the many director hang-outs and sponsored after-parties at Tribeca Film Festival I was lucky to embark on a network frenzy and liaised with many festival curators from all over the States and the rest of the world, who wanted to screen my film. With this amount of attention I was on a professional high of being recognised as a filmmaker. This had a huge effect on a burgeoning self-esteem  and led me down the road of increased confidence with my filming ambition.

I managed to brief a lot of actors with a quick scenario of the storyline about a serial killer on the loose. They followed my lead when I choreographed some of the ‘killings’ and I allowed a lot of room for them to improvise their interpretation of the scene.

In my mind I wanted the collage of images that would run alongside the killing narrative to interweave a frenetic pace of the city and what violence really lies under the surface at any given moment. The unique urban landscape lent me a perfect landscape to let the characters form and take shape. It also enable some beautiful shots of events, characters and interviews, some spur of the moment.

Editing the whole project is something I wouldn’t like anyone to go through.

A nightmare of piecing together what I initially wanted and further editing to leave myself three rough films. The soundscaping involved using my music and adapting and writing some new pieces to suit the footage ..and working vice-versa

I intended and still have completed three separate films …that stand on their own merit. But the viewing pleasure is meant for all three to be viewed with one of the audio tracks only playing.

This worked well and led me to rework some of the editing to accommodate the viewer to watch a particular screen at a given time…but the best option I chose was to have all three audio pieces playing at the same time…This really hits home on creating such a frenetic set of happenings and rapid flitting of the eyes directed at a lifestyle so different to anywhere in the world.

I really enjoyed the experience and there are so many variations to still be made to this piece of work.The projections on the three screens I made specifically for this project will be used another time. There are a few reasons for this...being the studio-theatre is booked by the fashion department and the smaller rooms are also booked....also to set up for this type of installation takes so much time that the previous one I presented for this project, didn't allow me to witness and experience my cohorts' projects and I definitely need to be there for them this time around.

There maybe a chance to show the films as projections to the tutors during the week and the three films need to be assessed seperately and together with the varying soundtracks to understand the total amount of film storytelling involved in the whole process.

Consolidation Evaluation

                   Consolidation Evaluation

                                      

 The whole concept of the Consolidation Project enabled me to sprout my creative wings. It felt like I was let off a mile-long leash and allowed to flourish with innovative ideas.

Practical realisations took centre stage at the beginning with trying to come up with the best design for self-made screens, at my disposal within the college. At first I tried the poster hangers from the ERC but I had difficulty gripping the cotton fabric I bought from a shop in town and in fixing the whole rig securely.

So I came up with the idea of making my own wooden frames from the college carpentry shop. The cotton stretched over the surface and I used an industrial staple gun to fasten them. The three screens then sat on a plinth each and secured by screws.

I made up three films to illustrate my planned project and it went off quite well, considering this was the first time I had tried anything like this. I was hooked on the idea of future film installations and I had projected on buildings outside before but this gave me inspiration to conjure even more elaborate events.

I learnt from the presentation that whatever idea I come up with that’s original for me to demonstrate will not always be welcomed by everyone. No amount of reasoning a point will be able to convince a would-be critic to see further and go with me for the ride. Conversely I did appreciate timely remarks on how to focus my vision into manageable chunks, which has stayed me.

The tremendous achievement of having my film accepted at Tribeca has opened many doors .Not just the normal metaphorical networking ones but the ones deep inside me that beg to torn off by the hinges and to let that rush of free wind come howling in and set sail to those far-off creative corners of the world.

The Robert De Niro Festival is a whole essay on its own and I just want to address it here as an acknowledgement that my whole project was able to be undertaken because of it…and the rhythm of the fest focussed me not just to film at every opportunity, but also to develop the characters in their roles and to be on the lookout continuously for possible footage.

The other feature film directors and their film storylines amazed me and I felt humbled in their presence. Not so, surprisingly, with the celebrities at hand. I saw them as a raison d’être to further an idea and tended to forget what made them so successful in the beginning. This is something I need to reassess and give them heat-felt respect as they truly deserve it.

The learning curve is still spiralling upward for me in America as there really does seem like endless possibilities there. I remember reading the old adages about the difference in England and the U.S. but I definitely needed to see and feel the surplus positivity our cousins across the pond have …and the special friendship does take on a valid personal attachment when circumstances prevail.

Inwardly I was confident enough to direct some seasoned actors and actresses with guiding and embedding in them a sense of improvised theatre with any upcoming mise-en-scene,

Gradually I was nurturing a warm feeling of gratitude to these volunteers who gave their time for free on the whim of this visiting Brit.

Apart from involving myself with Americans I had the privilege of working with some wonderful Russian film devotees. A filmmaker, photographer, theatre actor, curator and a host of Soviet shopkeepers and neighbours when living and filming in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. We shared a sort of increased camaraderie possibly due to being both aliens in the land of the Free. This helped daily with a very efficient and heightened sense of professional, but friendly attitude.

I learnt about how a film crew of two with a Red Epic can pull off some shots with a Russian woman rapper .who was the director also. And with an African American no-nonsense rapper and again was obliged to them for my understanding of directing and cinematographic skills.

The experience of being abroad and in a totally successful professional film-world atmosphere rubbed off and has given me a renewed optimism for realising there are many horizons and it only takes a step at a time to reach for them.

I was very pleased with the amount of footage at my disposal and the joys of editing began. To envision how one set of images would compare to two other sets and with or without audio became standard. The endless scenarios of what could work better or to include or not was never ending, but totally worthwhile.

By stretching myself continuously I developed a way to focus on a set of targets to be reached every day. This helped with the increased workflow and amount of rendering required.

I tended to use the Canon from a tri-pod for the skyline compositions and for some of the killings and the scenes in Williamsburg which turned out brilliantly. But the majority of cinema-verite type street shots were from the Kodak Play (I really loved the versatility of this easy and quick to use pocket camera).

The ferocity of the visual impact of my finished artefact owes a lot to the lightning speed I was able to capture a lot of special moments I sometimes randomly came upon and other times where I staged a scene.

If I had to levy a critique on myself it would take the form of maybe slowing down a bit to enjoy the moment of creativity before moving to the next so swiftly.

To maybe delve into the full range of in camera settings and lighting and sound. I always maintain that telling the story is more important than precise camera options and infinite variations in colour correction and the endless composition of a shot etc…but I definitely need to address those very issues as my favoured method of letting my intuition guide me can be rewarded considerably by paying attention and researching those other traits.

In conclusion I believe the project has been a complete success and I will continue to learn from it. Not just as a continuation of further edits from the hundreds of shots I still have, but also with the mini-interviews I always gravitate to…this can teach me, in the words of Michael Moore to” Invest in a good microphone “. Words of wisdom indeed from a master. Feature documentaries are the way I can see myself developing my craft and being able to convey what seems to be my creative calling.