Songbirds don't cry

So, a few weeks into my TV drama production module we were giving scripts chosen to be made by the class, the night they were make available i read one script. I guess i did this because i didn’t want to choose between a couple. Especially if i enjoyed them. I simply chose one, read it and decided that would be it. After i read it, i enjoyed the fact it was highly related to music, I enjoyed the fact it was a female lead, compared my previous films which had been male leads. This was an opportunity to explore themes, which were relatable to themes i’ve worked on but different in the past such as male mental health, Sibling-ship and music but from a different approach. In next class around January 22nd we divided into our group using a chart with scripts and roles available. I raised my hand to be director on this project. During the first term i lost some of my confidence, and i have been quite upfront about this, in both my uni work and my out of uni life. I decided to let it go and just do what i enjoy make films. This film was my way to bring myself closure on the whole fucking thing. When the dust settled picking teams, i was still the director of the project. This felt great, no one else challenged for my spot and the group seemed to be pleased that i was in the chair. I knew from my previous efforts in film making i could and would deliver the very best piece of work that i could using skills, knowledge and straight up craziness.

Once in our teams the script was slightly redrafted a few time, most of these were minor chances but improved the script from both a story aspect and a filming aspects. Locations, characters that type of thing. The Script writer Iona Shanks and the assistant director Kevin Glover took this on, with a quite a speed turnaround second draft came back around February 11th. Truthfully, i only had a problem with the age of a character and number of characters, as this would required more gears in the machine to be work or things start slipping. An example would be reliability on people showing up or people dropping out. Less was better.

We had a table read with just the crew, i believe this was a great ice breaker for the group working together, i read for Cassie in the script which received a laugh. just a chance for us to really laugh together, instead of a 5minute meeting to say hi and bye at the back-end of a class. I feel table reads just warms people to each other and get everyone on board with the script as it was at that point in time.

I made a mood-reel, to showcase my ideas, style, tones and shot ideas to the group. It’s something i was taught and now always do heading into a project. I lets my brain think about the feel of something, and although these types of reel can greatly differ from a finished project, the heartbeat of the project for me, starts here. It’s something i will continue to do and i can’t see it changing.

Kris Garden set us up with a production management website ‘Yamdu’, which we all had access to upload any work to when we were due to. I’ve enjoyed the software and will be using similar Production management software in the future. Having access to every item on the production with going through people to get it. Meanwhile Kris, Kevin and myself started on finding locations such as pub, interior house and bedroom etc.

With the script in a good place, i read it a few times on my own and went through each scene in my head, trying to imagine fun shots i want to get. I’m a sucker for B-roll footage, so i try it imagine my main shots, the ones i need to tell the story the way i want. On the day of shooting, i using have my dslr with my lens kit of prime lenses and love to film shots on the fly as well as the shots i have in my shot-list. My shot-list eventually came to over 100 shots which was alright, in the past i’ve made a film of 10 minutes with 48 shots and another of 7 minutes with just 20 shots. 100 shots would be enough to tell it, i was sure. Prior to doing this i discussed it with my camera man and A.D, to which they were happy enough for me to do, i said it could be a collaborative effort and shots could be altered if they had any feedback on it, I like my own way of filming but if someone has an idea which could result in the end production being better, then why not incorporate this into the film, this was around February 14th.

As a class we were giving a workshop on working with actors, I found this class fun and enjoyable, this could be related to the fact that we were all made to do fun little warm up exercises and the sudden spike in endorphins effected the way i think for 3 hours but it was good and i enjoyed it.

We had a small chance to try a screen test kind of session on February 18th using a camera and lights and an actor who i brought, but truthfully here and i, i hated that day. I don’t know if it was the guy taking the class, the exercise itself or just the sheer lack of something. i wasn’t feeling it that day, i never let it stick with me, because i knew it could make the film, i’m tested and have 5 short films, 2 music video and 2 documentaries to my name as a directed. I could to the job. Just that day was utter shit. I get the idea of trying out shots, and practice for anyone unsure of equipment and fully agree with it, but to this day just left a bad taste in my mouth.

I think i might have a problem performing at my best during these practise sessions, because i would rather be filming the actual film with the actual actors. But, as i mentioned before i fully understand why we do it, as others might not possess the same skill set as myself. I think in future i will perhaps try to share my knowledge with others involved and explore the skills of the people i am working with, this would offer a more opportunity for the group to sync their work flow with others.

Uni itself has been kind of up and down for me, but i welcome it. I know life isn’t about having one great day after another and i think i will realise how easy i was getting it before the end of term.