The
concept for my films, both the 1 minute piece and the 5 to 10 minute piece,
came about from a personal experience of feeling more self- confident and
secure in my identity. I was experiencing a great sense of freedom from fear of
other people’s opinions of me and a diminished fear about my future and career
plans. I broadened this into a general concept about ‘Freedom’ because it comes
in many forms- some more obvious than others. I drew upon my knowledge of the
philosophical concept of Plato’s Analogy of the Cave, which I studied for
A-Level R.E., which describes the process of becoming enlightened as coming out
of a place of captivity and deception via a long, difficult and dangerous path
into the open air where there is real sunlight and sensory experiences that
were absent in the Cave.
The strength of my 1 minute film is the framing of the image of the garden, and the inclusion of the 2 Little Ducks song which nicely sums up the theme of children being released into freedom by their parents which was juxtaposed with the image of a place where children can be free and the audio of children playing inside, in a place of confinement. My intention for this film was to present the idea that people can become happy in a place of captivity and I think it was successful. The film could have been improved if the image was of a wider, more open space such as a park or open field; the garden still has restrictions in the form of the surrounding fence, which makes it a limited space.
The strength of my 1 minute film is the framing of the image of the garden, and the inclusion of the 2 Little Ducks song which nicely sums up the theme of children being released into freedom by their parents which was juxtaposed with the image of a place where children can be free and the audio of children playing inside, in a place of confinement. My intention for this film was to present the idea that people can become happy in a place of captivity and I think it was successful. The film could have been improved if the image was of a wider, more open space such as a park or open field; the garden still has restrictions in the form of the surrounding fence, which makes it a limited space.
When
I began to contemplate the 5 to 10 minute film I had expected I would create a
series of scenes, each of which would represent a question that is being asked
of the audience about their own freedom, questions such as ‘Are you free?’ “Do
you want to be free?’ ‘How can you become free?’ ‘What is Freedom like?’ I had
planned scenes which would require an actor and various locations. It had also
not been in my original plan to use much interview material in the sound design
but that was an idea that developed simply from using the equipment. The strengths
of the finished film are that the process of constructing the cave structure is
quite engaging, particularly for an audience who do not yet have any
information about the film’s concept, it invokes curiosity about what is being
created. There is also a good variety of pinions and experiences in the
interviews I collected; each interviewee spoke about freedom from a very
personal perspective but for some it was very much a political issue, for
others it was practical matters of physical freedom and for others it was more
psychological or spiritual. The simplicity of the image can be seen as a
strength of the piece, even though it’s not what I had initially planned; it
allows the audio to be heard without distraction. There is a strong correlation
between the imagery of the cave structure and the underlying concept of Plato’s
analogy.
There
are also elements of the film that could be improved. One such weaknesses is
the poor quality of the sound recordings; they were initially meant to simply
be research material and preliminary interviews that could be re-recorded but in
the end I had to clean up the recordings as best I could in ProTools, removing
as much of the background noises as I could. The underlying Platonic philosophy
isn’t obvious to the uninitiated audience; this could have been resolved by
including an audio definition as part of the sound design. Part of the poem
that is introduced two thirds of the way through the film was an opening cry of
‘Freedom!’ however the poet, Samuel Parry-Howard, only spoke it loudly when
really it would have been more powerful as a full scream, as it is in the film Braveheart which inspired the poem
somewhat. At first I simply cut the word out of the piece but thought there
needed to be something to punctuate the break between the interviews and the
poem. I repeated the half-cry of ‘Freedom’ and added reverb and delay to try
and give it a sense of importance and to emulate the epic nature of its use in Braveheart.
The
film is not what I thought I would make when the project began however through
the making of the piece, with its strengths and weaknesses, I learned a lot
about the nature of experimental film and my own working methods. The process I
went through to make the film had several stages from my initial idea to a discussion
with tutor about making the concept accessible and non-preachy which led me to
consider asking questions through the film and ultimately landing on the idea
of constructing the cave and using interviews with a variety of people. I
experienced a lack of visual inspiration and suffered creative block, which is
particularly difficult when trying to meet a deadline. I had thought that the obstructions
of the brief would aid me in my planning but I still found the brief to be very
broad. I found that doing something practical helped me to make a start on
unpacking the theme that I had chosen so I began by recording audio interviews
and then making the model. It occurred to me to ask my friend to write a poem
for the film which could serve as a base for the visuals I had begun collecting;
I was very happy with the poem he wrote because I felt I could sympathise with
the content of it, that it didn’t jar with the personal nature of the film.
Part of the process I went through in order to decide what imagery I anted to use was to firstly conduct a simple internet image search for ‘freedom’. Many of the images that came up were what you might expect- people stood with arms outstretched against beautiful sunsets, birds in flight, open vistas, people running etc. I wanted to avoid such images because they are clichés and I wanted to engage my audience with a serious concept, inviting them to consider the topic on a deeper level than they might normally, however whilst I was considering what images might be appropriate I collected material using whatever camera I had as various moments occurred, from a DSLR to my mobile phone. The sorts of images I considered ranged from juxtaposed audio about being locked out of a house over images of an open field to the switching on and off of a light switch, which I thought represented Plato’s quest for revelation and enlightenment. In the end I decided to keep the visual of the film simple, focussed solely on the cave construction and destruction by fire.
I learned that there is great value in the teamwork of traditional filmmaking. At first I thought it would be easier to work by myself, to get to work on my own idea without the need to compromise with another teammate. However, working in teams can provide motivation as you have other people to answer to in terms of keeping to deadlines and staying on track with an idea. I found myself to be overwhelmed with possibilities whereas sharing ideas with other people can help to refine them. I chose a very broad concept to try to unpack in my film and for this solo project I might have been better choosing something more specific. One thing I learned about my own working process is that I work well with ‘to do’ lists and with manageable, practical tasks I can achieve. In future I can produce storyboards, still photographs and mood boards as early practical steps in the development of projects.
Part of the process I went through in order to decide what imagery I anted to use was to firstly conduct a simple internet image search for ‘freedom’. Many of the images that came up were what you might expect- people stood with arms outstretched against beautiful sunsets, birds in flight, open vistas, people running etc. I wanted to avoid such images because they are clichés and I wanted to engage my audience with a serious concept, inviting them to consider the topic on a deeper level than they might normally, however whilst I was considering what images might be appropriate I collected material using whatever camera I had as various moments occurred, from a DSLR to my mobile phone. The sorts of images I considered ranged from juxtaposed audio about being locked out of a house over images of an open field to the switching on and off of a light switch, which I thought represented Plato’s quest for revelation and enlightenment. In the end I decided to keep the visual of the film simple, focussed solely on the cave construction and destruction by fire.
I learned that there is great value in the teamwork of traditional filmmaking. At first I thought it would be easier to work by myself, to get to work on my own idea without the need to compromise with another teammate. However, working in teams can provide motivation as you have other people to answer to in terms of keeping to deadlines and staying on track with an idea. I found myself to be overwhelmed with possibilities whereas sharing ideas with other people can help to refine them. I chose a very broad concept to try to unpack in my film and for this solo project I might have been better choosing something more specific. One thing I learned about my own working process is that I work well with ‘to do’ lists and with manageable, practical tasks I can achieve. In future I can produce storyboards, still photographs and mood boards as early practical steps in the development of projects.
As
this became a solo project instead of a paired project I had to take on every
role in the production including camera, sound, writing, directing and editing
which stretched me a lot as I feel my strongest skills lie in being a writer
and a producer and taking on project-management rather than the more practical
filmmaking skills. I was aware that this module would put me in the position
where I would need to practice new skills and was excited for the opportunity.
I had the chance to try things, which I haven’t done since Level 4 of
University, such as cinematography as well as to practice the skills I’m
gaining in my sound design and editing modules this year. I received positive
feedback about the framing of the shot in my 1 minute film 2 Little Ducks which has given me confidence to practice my camera
skills and to trust my own eye for future projects. Although some of my initial
ideas for the film involved location-based scenarios and the inclusion of performers
it was necessary for me to keep my film simple without complicated setups or
lighting design. The fact that I recorded the images mute and recorded the
audio interviews and poem separately allowed me to handle each of these roles.
Filming synced sound and film as an individual can be a challenge and can limit
the sort of camera or microphone or location you can use. I recognise
that my personal strength and interest is in contemplating larger themes and idea,
such as the analogy I incorporated into this film. In other projects, where
there is an existing script or treatment I find I can unpack the layers and themes
but I prefer to verbalise my thoughts and process ideas externally which is why
working solo was such a challenge.
