NFTS Residential

So I'm back from my 11 days in Beaconsfield at the NFTS. Possibly some of the greatest film making experience I have ever taken part in! Learnt so much.

So we arrived on the Sunday 28th March and got straight into pre production for our short film 'Jigsaw', a short rom com about one couples break up and the emotional piecing together that they both go through for them to get back together again by the end of the film.

Planning would often
mean working into the
"wee" hours as according
to our director!

Over the next two days, we worked to organise filming locations, schedules, call sheets, crew roles, equipment listings, production design, shot listing/storyboarding etc! We also made any adjustments to the script that we thought necessary, though we were all agreed our writer Julia had already made such a concise and well balanced script we made very few changes. We also met with our actors Josh Miles as Jake, Lauren Trickett as Nance & Richard Leeming as Guy. All went very smoothly and rehearsals went well apparently.

our actors; Josh Miles (Left),
Lauren Trickett, Richard Lemming

Very long winded and paper work heavy but we made it, especially as an editor who at that moment in time was at the very bottom of people to listen to right then when surrounded by the director, producers, location scouts, production designers, sound, cinematographers. Our role wouldn't come for several more days yet. That evening though we would have the first of our masterclasses with industry professionals, such as Steven Moffat, writer for Doctor Who and Sherlock, and his wife Sue Moffat producer for Sherlock, Noel Clarke, writer, director and star of many different renownned films, including Kidulthood.

Master Class with Steven and Sue Moffat

On the Tuesday was our first look at the equipment we would be using. We were each sent off in our respective specialities to different parts of the school e.g. cinematographers off to the studio, sound off the the dubbing suites. Editors were sent off to the red epic suites where we were each assigned a suite per film. Myself and my co editor Tara Williams then began getting to grips with our assigned software, Avid Media Composer. A very professional piece of editing software, a real privilege to use. I found it very simple to understand surprisingly.

A big step from my default editing software Final Cut Pro X but I have been meaning to expand my knowledge of different editing platforms for some time! What I did find surprising about it was it did not use the conventional select and drop function you see in FCPX or Adobe Premiere, rather you had to play back the individual slates and select ins and out points before either inserting or over writing into your timeline. Another more unusual aspect to the software that I was not expecting was the unusual method of cutting. Usually you are given a blade tool from your tool box in our editing packages, however in Avid, each video and audio track is separated in to individual tracks, which to cut means you need to cut all those individual tracks not just one cross cut across everything. Did mean on several occassions at the beginning of my getting to grips with the software, I would fail to cut out either a video or audio track entirely, causing audio to become out of sync later on in the timeline. I did begin to miss FCPX's magnetic timeline function which prevents this from happening!
Eventually I did get the hang of it and became much faster and more accomplished on the software, which would be a necessity as we would move into the later stages of production one week later!

On the Wednesday, we then continued to plan for the big shoot now only 3 days away! We now finally had our locations which we would be filming at, a flat and a cafe. There had been concerns before as our location scouts were struggling to find the location we would require! So it was a great relief for all of us, not only our director and production designer to finally have a location to film on. We would later that day take part on a location recce where we'd go out and see for ourselves our locations, which turned out to be the location scouts own flat (yes he had obviously got that desperate to find one over the Easter Weekend!) and the cafe just down the road from the school.

Flat Exterior Doorway

  

Flat interior living room

Cafe interior unlit.

The Thursday and Friday were our off days after 4 days of solid preparation for the film whilst the first three of six filming teams went off and filmed their films.

Gave us a chance to recover and take a wider look at the project. We even went and visited the Tate museum in London to apparently try and gain some inspiration from the art there? Found more humour in the expressions of the uni students there just staring at blank canvases...

Saturday then came around and we went straight into filming! Starting off with the connecting scenes at the flat, we filmed from 11-6 that day. We had some trouble setting up and getting going as the camera department was getting distracted by their tutor, which became very irritating. Most of all for our Director Antonis who actually had to ask that he just let the cinematographers get on with their job rather than constantly lecture them on where to put a C stand for each individual shot! 

For the shoot, obviously as an Editor, Editors usually aren't really expected to be on the set and would later recieve all the shot listings and continuity information later in the editing suite. However, in this circumstance I was instructed to be clapper guy and act as camera assistant, helping change out batteries etc and act as on set gaffer, moving lights around, camera equipment etc.

Bit mundane but an experience none the less, considering many filming careers do begin doing these sorts of tasks, and under the circumstances necessary to make up for lost time made by the camera department!
We eventually finished behind schedule with about 7 shots still outstanding but thankfully as we were filming at a private location we were able to leave equipment still set up so we did not require any setting down time, which would mean we could continue to shoot for longer and begin filming the next day sooner.

The Sunday went a lot smoother with far less problems but we still had 35 slates to get through! This day we would tackle the flashback scenes and the more complicated set ups in terms of lighting and set design. I was becoming more and more involved in the production design of the set, arranging plates, bottles of wine, cutlery, baloons, party stuffs etc. One scene even required us to completely black out the room, which is where I learnt perhaps my most useful indie trick on how to cheaply black out a room. Take a bit of water, a sponge and some tin foil. You first dampen the windows with the sponge and water, then once wet cut the foil to size and stick it to the window. The effect is immediate, surprisingly effective and lasted the entire shoot of the scene without falling off! A great tip for future reference.

Despite the much more efficient work environment we were still running late, so we were required to reduce our shot list but about 10 slates and then move onto the cafe shooting which we would not be able to light for, which was a disappointment for our cinematographers but under the circumstances of the just getting the film finished a necessary one!
With only 2 hours remaining, we were able to shoot all 15 slates inside the cafe in time with a few minutes to spare! Everything was of course hand held but I don't feel it really detracted from the final film.

So now with all the shots in, totalling 53 slates! A record for the NFTS! Monday would see the first day of the edit. Finally, my job had arrived! We quickly got to work sorting shots into their respective scenes and labelling accordingly to my clapper calling. We then began going through scene by scene editing the shots together, first by referring to the script then by own judging of the scene, cutting where we felt it necessary. Thankfully we didn't need to worry about syncronising any of the audio and video clips together as we had direct injected the audio from the boom and radio mics into the camera via the sound departments mixer. Surprisingly for having 53 slates to sort through, we actually finished a first cut with still 2 hours of the 11 remaining! Which left us time to give the film a colour grade to give it that final wow factor for the next days first screening in the NFTS cinema! Needless to say we were feeling extremely chuffed with ourselves considering other teams had barely if at all managed to get a final cut together.

Tuesday our first cut was shown to the other 5 teams and met with great enthusiasm! Lots of nice things said with only a comment of conciseness to worry about and rhythm to focus on that day. So we set about with our director to get the right speed of the piece, cutting at times entire scenes which we deemed as irrelevant. This is where I consider my greatest gain in editing ability to come from, the knowing to not hold back from being really brutal in your editing style and only keep what is absolutely necessary! It really helps the mood of the film and keeps the audience interested without being distracted and losing attention. I also learnt to not be so concentrated on who is actually talking in a scene, rather to look for the reactions of those that they're talking to. If you have a choice of going from one actor who's talking to one who's listening, always go with the one who's giving a reaction to that dialogue. It's always far more interesting and allows us to empathise with that character!
Having come up with a final edit which we were happy with, we regraded with far more detail and regard for continuity to lighting etc which was ironic seeing as we had been told throughout the entire preparation process that we would not have time to grade. We even had to film at a lower bit rate to reduce the need to grade! I did take up most of the editing time by request of my co editor Tara who by won admission realised she was not as fast as I was with the software and we would get the job done much faster and efficiently if I were to take the helm for the rest of the edit. Bit sad but we were to get a job done.

That night our film would go off to the sound department in the dubbing suites to have music, sound effects and our audio stuffs added to the final product for the premiere on Thursday at the BFI Southbank on NFT1!

Wednesday was predominately taken up with a lot of debriefing from the shoot as we prepared for the next days premiere. A few tears were shed from some of the girls after realising tomorrow would be the last day of the residential and we would go back to our respective homes sometimes many hundreds of miles away!

Thursday then arrived and the premiere of our final films took place as a conclusion to the residential on screen NFT 1! A great privilege seeing as some of the biggest names in the filming world fail to get their work shown on that screen. It went off without a hitch, the sound department had done a great job on the film with only a few slight hiccups in the dialogue but never mind! The audience loved it and laughed in all the right places!

We were then awarded our "graduation" certificates from the NFTS for participation in the residential course and given a final goodbye from the director of the NFTS.

And that was that. Unfortunately I can't post the final film up on here for legal reaons as the BFI will be placing it up in various different film festivals, and so would defeat the purpose if it were to go up on youtube or some such place. A great experience though, and while at times I did wish I was back home, I enjoyed every moment of it. It was especially nice to be surrounded by other young professional film makers, especially seeing as there is very little filming presence out here in rural Norfolk! I am going to miss it, but with all the opportunities which will spring off from this, such as allumni opportunities, job placements, internships, work references and even the ability to have some of my other future works shown in some of the biggest film festivals in the UK, I'm sure I'm going to be reaping the benefits from this course for many years to come!

NFTS residential prep

So less one week to go before I'm off to High Wycombe to be working on 'Jigsaw'. Myself and the team are all buzzing but there are still plenty of things to do before we go back. For myself, this includes preparing all the things we will need in the edit, preparing them now so we don't have to waste time over the two editing days!
So, to explain to the guys what the options are, I created this video to show them what I meant.

Hopefully they'll come to a decision soon!

As for kit, we're packing some of the heaviest equipment I've ever had my hands on! We've been sent a PDF outlining the key bits of production equipment we'll be using over the two shooting days:

Alexa Kit

Naturally, our cinematographers are extremely excited to having the opportunity to be using it. Hopefully I'll have a look in at some point but we are there for a job so maybe not as much as I like.


Keep you posted on the weeks developments.

NFTS welcome weekend

The other 65 top young film makers from across the UK, and Noel Clarke!

So I've just come back from my weekend over in High Wycombe outside London at the NFTS! Met my team and got to read our script, really good!

It's a rom-com called 'Jigsaw' and is about one couples break up one evening, and the people they meet and the lessons they learn which will make them get back together again by the end of the day. Obviously won't reveal too much as once it's finished in 5 weeks time I will try to post it up on here!

Over the weekend, we managed to meet our teams and the members of the other teams as well, already begun networking!

We also partook in some team building activities, including water rocket designing, whole team skies and segway racing!! Unfortunately we came joint 4th out of 6 and I gained a ruined voice from shouting too much during the team skies but still fun all the same.

We then had a master class with non other than Noel Clarke! (guy who played Mickey Smith in Doctor Who? Yeah that guy.) where we got to question him on how it was being not only an actor, but a writer and director, usually on the same film! All the complications caused by that, especially when filming on to film seeing as there's no playback to make sure your camera caught the right angle.

Proper work begins in three weeks time over the easter holidays, where we'll choose our locations to film, our actors who will most likely come from professional agents (Who knows, we may have Daniel Radcliffe starring!), and everything else associated with the pre production process including shot listing, storyboarding etc. We will then attend master classes in London itself and get personalised future careers planning which should prove extremely helpful in getting a job in the industry!

And perhaps most excitingly, once our films are finished, we will attend a full on premiere of them at the BFI south bank in London! What a way to end.

Loved this weekend but think I'll love the next 5 weeks even more as we prepare like crazy to make the biggest films of our lives! Really lucky and also surprised to get in, the must see something in me?
Check back once I'm at the proper residential.

NFTS course - the result.

After 3 weeks of waiting, the NFTS has finally responded to my application. They have accepted it! I now have the opportunity to work with the top 66 young film makers, myself included, in the UK to create a short film, working along side industry specialists. It will be a two week course over the Easter holiday at High Wycombe Lane End conference centre. We will learn about the different tricks to film making whilst also enhancing our skills working in teams to create a final outcome.
I myself have received my first choice specialism, editing. I will edit along with a second editor to stitch together the film over a two day period once its been captured.

This is a huge opportunity and I feel quite honoured to be selected out of 300 applicants to take part! This will hopefully do wonders not only to my film making skills but also for my contacts into the industry, as we all know it is based mainly on who you know, not what you know that gets you a job in this vastly competitive industry.

Really excited! Just 6 weeks away, can't wait. Keep you posted!

Evaluation of my evaluation

So you've seen my evaluation pieces, hope you enjoyed them! But I do feel they weren't as good as they could be so here is my evaluation of my evaluation pieces!

Question 1:
Carrying it on from last year's evaluation, films4review I revived to act as the medium for my answer to the question using the multi-cam set up. I didn't use the green screen though as I would already use that technology in my media student episode which would link all my responses together.
I did find it extremely difficult to attempt the multi-cam shooting though without monitoring the camera's themselves and did result in a few times both of the cameras cutting out whilst shooting, which is why sometimes we don't switch back to Robert during the interview even when he's talking as his camera has stopped without me knowing.
I would also improve the lighting set up of the piece, but unfortunately I did not have enough time to properly set it up and so, while still useable, we do get that rather darkened image of myself and Robert sitting in the studio.

Question 2:
This was me doing the youtube live discussion. I had for this one taken the time to set up suitable lightings and camera arrangement, and mic set up. Though unfortunately the audio system failed and I had to revert to my camera's onboard mic to broadcast, which is why the piece features rather a lot of noise in it's audio track. To fix it, I would use an external mic suitable for my camera which could plug straight into it, rather than my current microphone which isn't.
My performance in the piece isn't to great either, constantly 'erming' and stuttering. If I were to recreate it I would make more detailed notes to refer from, or even script the entire piece to avoid the problem altogether.

Question 3:
I was the most impressed with in terms of how it turned out, everyone I interviewed seemed happy to help and more importantly enjoyed the film! The audio system worked perfectly and we got good footage. Though, whilst the presentation of the material was to my satisfaction, I do feel a larger number of audience members could have been reached. I managed about 10 interviews in the end, all saying roughly the same thing. It would have been good to find someone who didn't really enjoy the film to ask them why they didn't like it and gain some feedback on how to improve in the future!

Question 4:
The radio interview was the piece I was the most pleased with. We got great audio quality and it did feel like a real radio interview, seeing as Robert is himself a part time DJ on SNYA radio. We used one of the schools sound studios and mics to record and got some really nice material from it. To improve though I would alter the amount of waffling we got through, with the unedited interview coming in at over 12 minutes! So in future I would again improve my notes for what I wanted to say and how detailed.

So I hope this clears up some of the issues you may have seen in my evaluation and how I'd go about fixing those issues in the future!

Evaluation - Questions Answered

So I've now created all my answers for the evaluation and incorporated them all into this one Media Student episode, where I guide you through each of my answers to the questions, including links to the full versions of interviews and broadcasts alike.

Evaluation questions - planning

Films done, ancillary tasks done. Now its time for the final part of the coursework, the evaluation! Four questions to answer all presented using a different form of technology or media.

Question 1: In what ways does your short film use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real short films?

in short how is the film different from other romantic comedies that have gone before it.
For this question, I've chosen to answer it by appearing on the Films4Review show same as last year with Robert Thomas. This also gives me a chance to practice multi-cam shooting to capture the footage. We'll also be using green screen to create the background for the piece.

Question 2: How effective is the combination of your short film and your Poster & Magazine?

e.g. how does the two pieces help to sell the film and continue the interest in the film.

This question I shall answer by means of a youtube live piece, where my answer will be put out onto youtube live for people to watch. Maybe the most interesting live broadcast youtube will ever have seen but will certainly be a first for me, practicing live broadcasting.

Question 3: What have you learned from your audience feedback?

Luckily for me, my film has been chosen to be presented in front of the whole school which makes it far easier for me to show the film to a wider audience. This then allows me to answer this question in the form of a vox pop between people of my own age range and the target audience age range of the film itself.

Question 4: How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

What technology did I use in the construction of the film from pre to post production. To answer this final question, I've agreed to appear on local radio station Cinema Radio where they talk about the most recent local and larger productions of the time. This will be the second time I've appeared on the radio channel since last year, again hosted by Robert Thomas. It's a small county! 

NFTS Application

Since my time at the BFI with Culture Works East has been such a success, I'm now eligible to apply for a two week residential at the NFTS (National Film & Television School) outside London at High Wycombe over the Easter Holiday.
Benefit of this is we get to choose a specialty to study whilst we work in teams of 11 to create a final short film or documentary. We will also be working with professionals from the industry and also attending master classes on these areas.
There are 66 places available, so if we get in, we will be considered the top 66 young film makers in the UK!
We get two choice specialties, from which we will have to choose one in the event we get onto the course. I've chosen Editing as my first choice, seeing as this is what I consider my most developed area of the production process and also my most favoured. Directing as my second, as this is my second most specialised job in production.

For my application, we were advised to create a short video showing our skills and experience already in film. Seeing as I would be applying for editing as my first choice, I created this demo reel showing my past works over the last decade:

This (I hope) will show them I have experience in many areas of film, including editing and that I have become far more advanced over the past 10 years.

We were allowed up to three sample works to show them. As my second, I sent them my short film I made with the BFI 'Ebony' as this was the work I was solely in charge of editing and so should show off my abilities purely as an editor:

This should also hopefully show I have expanded beyond comedy and less serious stuff as shown in my demo reel.

For my final sample work, I wanted to show how my abilities as director shine through. And so I placed my A Level short film 'Sweet 18' in the application as this was the film I took most responsibility in directing sound engineers, editors assistants, directors assistants and multiple cast and crew, whilst also being in charge of the editing of the piece.

This should hopefully show my ability to organise people effectively around a set and to produce a film to a high standard and to a deadline.

Well I hope I get in, I'm even more nervous about this application than I am about my university ones! Would be such a great experience. The deadline for the applications are February 2nd 2015 so I expect to know either way by the 23rd February, seeing as a pre-residential trip for the course is on the weekend of March 7th & 8th.

Wish me luck!