Film 01 - Evoking Childhood

AWAKE - 2019

https://vimeo.com/360735112

Write about your overall response to your film in 2-3 paragraphs: Were you successful at achieving what you set out to do? What are you proud of? What did not work as you expected? Why? What did you learn?

Screening my film, I was proud of the way that everyone felt the general emotions that I was going for. However, it was surprising some of the interpretations that my classmates had of the wall segment. I was confused that some of my peers got a feeling of body exploration rather than constriction. Additionally, it was surprising to me that the footage ended up as blown out as it did. I found it distracting as well as Jeff and the others in the class.

I was proud of the way that the film captured the ethereal and disjointed nature of memory with the final sequence though that wasn’t exactly what I was going for in that segment. My goal was a connection with the innocence that we have when we think of our childhood. Though this other interpretation doesn’t bother me because it isn’t detrimental to the overall feeling that I was seeking with the film.

What, specifically, did you want to communicate? Were you successful? Why? Why not?

I wanted to communicate the ethereal feeling of a dream contrasted with the harsh and cold reality that a sleepwalker often awakes to. I think the contrast was successful but the emotions and interpretations of the points being contrasted were not clear. This could have been fixed perhaps by adding some additional shots of the real world to the beginning to show that the main character is dreaming.

How, specifically, did you try to communicate this?

I tried to communicate this with a harsh cut and high tonal and color contrast. Sound also played a roll in communicating the change of space and the change in emotion.

What did you learn about storytelling:

That storytelling is hard, and doing it well requires you to juggle a million things all at the same time when you get to set. Most of all I think that I realized the importance of having a clear story plan going into production because without this good plan you’re putting yourself at the mercy of the universe. And the universe is cruel.

What did you learn about working with actors and getting performance:

It is important to be clear with your actors if they are doing something that you do not want. Letting them simply act is great, but their interpretation of a scene may differ from yours, and in the end it’s your job to get an understandable story and believable performance.

What did you learn about blocking the camera and actors?

We shot primarily on a 50mm on a micro four thirds crop sensor with a step-up ring. This surprised me with how far away we had to be to get some room on the actor. I realized that again, it’s important to be aggressive in making sure that the actors are in a place that their performance will read. Or, that the camera is in a good spot to capture their reactions.

What did you learn about visual elements such as lighting, composition, framing, etc.?

Because of my limited experience with lighting I learned how much light it takes to get an image at exposure when you’re working from darkness. On the opposite side, it is so important to be considerate of your exposure when outside to prevent over-exposing the image. Compositionally I learned that everything in your frame should have a purpose, if it doesn’t then it can distract from other elements or pull the audience out of the film.

What did you learn about design and art direction?

I learned simply that design and art direction are important in conveying traits about characters. I tried to choose clothing for the cast that would not be distracting. Overall, I did not have a lot of art design in the film so I did not have much to learn from.

What did you learn about the Production Process such as pre-production, collaborating with crew, securing equipment, etc.?

Communication and preparation are key to working quickly. It can be hard in these projects to get a lot of prep time with your DP and your crew with the limited time available. I learned to be proactive and make sure that all your equipment works BEFORE you leave the checkout.

What was it like to watch your film with an audience? Did they understand it? Miss the point? Why did they respond the way they did?

I enjoyed watching the film with an audience but the switch to the dark scenes was really cringy for me because it projected much darker than it looked on my computer when it was colored. I was impressed that the emotions which I was trying to convey came across, but the specifics of the plot were lost to confusion in acting and story choices.

If you could remake this piece knowing what you know now, what would you do differently?

I would drop down the exposure on our exterior shots by at least two stops and cut out the hinges in the bathroom scene. Additionally, I would add a wide to the wall sequence and some additional reality scenes at the beginning. Perhaps a close-up of scuttling feet.

Any other observations or notes:

I felt rather confident going into the screening for this film and was surprised by the way that the audience understood the bathroom and wall sequences. I was not happy with the way that the final home video read as a part of the film though I love the emotion that the shot added. I’m not sure what I would have included otherwise but perhaps a different home video without the digital degrading would have been more evocative.

---

Director's Plan - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_DRaPT7EndgI9FiGaaKTmyLIaqnqxKSQ