#tri3

- How did you feel about the screenwriting process?

This trimester was an absolute treat from beginning to end. Starting with screenwriting, I learnt much more then I thought was possible. My mind was pretty much exploding. Even though it was only 4 weeks of screenwriting, I felt I matured as a writer especially when it came to structure. I know that in future writing projects I will feel more confident with my stories and how to put them in writing.

- What was your role within the film and did you undertake your duties to the best of your ability?

Originally being an Editor, It was a challenge Directing this trimester. Intimidated of what was expected of me, I overcame these difficulties by doing extra research on how to direct actors. In the end I was very pleased with what I did. I was happy, my crew was happy that I had control and all the answers and the actors were happy.

I now personally feel that I am a calm, head strong director and I’m good at what I do. In the future I know i’ll be pitching for Director roles.

- Discuss your distance travelled? Do you feel you have come a long way since the beginning as a filmmaker?

I believe that everyone always has more to learn, even when they think that they are the best at what they do. Completing this trimester on a high, I still feel that I could have created a better film. But being a Trimester 3 student, I was very pleased in what the whole crew created. I have learnt great lessons from this unit that I know I will take with me on future productions.

- What filmmaking skills from this unit, do you think you will use in your future film career?

In the future, I will definetely bring my communications skills with me as it is of major importance throughout the industry. I will also bring my calmness with me. It may sound a bit boyish, but I realised that due to my calmness my crew and actors were calm, and to me that is amazing.

- Is your film finished? If not, what do you still need to complete? Why have you not managed to finish your film on deadline?

The film This Life After was an extremely ambitious film, involving many special effects and  sound effects. Amazingly for the due date we finished with product that only needed minor effect changes and audio corrections. To me this was amazing to have such a hugely intense film produced so quickly.  

Write ten goals for the next year!

It is safe to say, I had an amazing first year of film making. I love it. and I know exactly what I have planned for 2016. To Direct more films, write more scripts, meet new faces, deffinetely eat and sleep better, and finally to produce a film that means the world to me.

The most enjoyable part of film making is seeing the footage put together after long hours on set. For week 11 we were expected to bring in a rough cut of our film for feedback. Planning to have a very strong audio composition and mix for This Life After, we were pretty embarrassed to present our work in this stage. But it was for the best. We acknowledged feedback, took down notes and went back to the drawing board. To me I personally hate doing this stage of a production, but it is essential that it is done.

While having no editor for This Life After, the producer and myself bumped the rough cut between each other week in week out. While not missing a class for feedback we slowly progressed to what was becoming the final cut.

During the 2nd week of rough cuts, we finally had a rough sound mix to present to the class. It made a dramatic impact as class members became shocked at how the audio brought the film to life. We became more confident with the work and as Director, I was starting to see the film how I envisioned it. I was really pleased.

This week I’d really like to address This Life After’s pre production process and organisation skills. As a team I feel we have a strong connection umungst ourselves and that we respect each others skills and roles. We have all been pulling our weight and I can see that this team will work fluently during production. In the beginning there were minor conflicts with creative tastes and styles, but in the end everyone respected each others creative thinkings and we came up with a combined like minded style that everyone agreed on.

The green lighting pitch was not as successful as our teams bond, we had missing documents and unprepared information. We spent the following week fixing up our production bible making sure that everything missing was filled. In the end we were green lit, but this was just before production.

Week 7 was really our first opportunity to test everything we learnt from the cinematography lecture. We were provided with all the equipment we needed and we were even fortunate enough to have actors on board. This week was especially good for me, as I was able to practice talking to actors in preparation for actual production. They are not as scary as I thought. My Director of Photography and myself already planned that we were going to practice the closet scene in the film This Life After, as we knew it would be our greatest challenge. We ran into a couple of difficulties like lack of light etc. but these were easily overcome with the change of settings in the camera. In the end, the final look that we finished with was very pleasing and it enhanced the the film with a familiar unique look.

At film school this week, everyone had to pitch for a main role in an upcoming production. Obviously I pitched to be an Editor and colourist. 

It started off very chill but eventually got very competitive, with everyone motivated and determined to sell their skills to the best of their abilities. I started off very relaxed but as it came to my turn, my nerves shook. Hands shaking. Sweating.

Standing at the podium was a very traumatising experience, like I was running for President. I looked up and saw dozens of eyes looking at me in interest. My hands were still shaking, but I become comfortable as I became more switched on to present my abilities as an editor and story teller. As the presentation went one I became more relaxed and focused. I believe I did my best. 

When all the pitches ended, we had time to personally introduce ourselves to the producers of the projects. Some one on one, casual chat. 

I was shocked as well as honoured when one of the producers Matt Smith, approached me very interested in my editing abilities using After Effects and Premiere Pro. He began telling me about his Zombie film and how it is like non other. He grasped my attention instantly and I begun envisioning his story. I was hooked. He eventually asked if I could the editor for his Zombie film. Without hesitation I said “YES!”