Week Nine

This week’s session was my second time in the directors’ chair. I think things went better this time around but it’s difficult to judge objectively. Initially, after reviewing the script and giving it a good proof read, I proceeded to edit the script. There were a few typographical errors which I found amusing. Police Chef was referenced twice instead of Police Chief. In context, it was meant to be chief, however a drama about a Police Chef does sound vaguely interesting and certainly entertaining. Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares meets The Bill.

Some of the grammar and sentence structure felt a bit clumsy, so I tweaked the dialogue. I did feel like I had at least partially overstepped my mark as director. This quote from 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair, illustrates my potential error in judgement. “Don’t change the author’s words. Director Lloyd Richards said that if you continually find yourself itching to make changes to a script, consider whether you should give up directing and take up playwriting”. However, after reviewing my edit, the scriptwriter was happy with the work we had produced in this collaborative fashion.

Halfway though the session, we were meant to switch roles in preparation for exam conditions. I left the gallery and assumed my secondary position as a camera operator. Everything quickly fell apart during the second half of the session. The other director became unwell and had to leave the studio. This was no ones’ fault, it’s just one of those things that happen. Unfortunately, we as a group were not prepared for this eventuality.

The second half of the session was detrimental to our groups morale. Another practise session has been scheduled. However, with my childcare restrictions, I can’t make myself available at the required time, so another member of the crew will have to replace me for that extra session.

My half, went well. We were slightly behind schedule but were still on track. I would have preferred to have dressed the set, immediately after we entered the studio instead of going over text describing our individual roles. This process took 30 mins. Time in which we could have had the set dressed before the cast had arrived.

I would have liked to have had at least one more rehearsal session with the actors prior to getting into the studio. But we are working with unpaid actors, so availability is at their discretion. I’m going to end this blog with another quote from 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair “The best compliment for a director: “You seemed from the beginning to know exactly what you wanted.” Actors and others will follow you even if they disagree with your direction. But they will not follow if you are afraid to lead. A clear, confident presence and strong direction are highly reassuring to everyone.”  We only have one final session this week before our practical exam. At least, by this point I feel somewhat confident in my skills/ability as a director.

Week Eight

This week’s session was exhilarating. After such a long hiatus it was a relief to get back into the studio. The set had been built and we were free to walk through and around it. The layout is of two boxed rooms with doors and furniture. It kind of felt like playing with a real-life doll house.

An actress joined our session to help us run through the script we were using as source material to cover the basics of shooting a multi-camera drama. It was a stupidly hot day so were allowed to bask in the sunshine whilst we blocked the scene. Whilst blocking the scene, we found out that there had originally been plans to build an amphitheatre, but someone thought that a parking lot was more important.

We were set a reading for this session. I went to the recording studio, recorded me reading the chapter, scanned all the pages from the chapter and created a multimedia version of the chapter. I found it to be an engaging way of understanding and memorizing the chapter. 

In this session, I got the opportunity to operate camera one. This was my first time in session using one of the big studio cameras. It was a lot of fun. I was shooting a Medium/Close-up of the actress answering the phone. In the beginning, the actress was seated on the sofa and her head was partially visible in the bottom corner of the screen. I tried to crop her head out but was told to leave the shot alone. It took me a moment to realise that it didn’t matter that her head was partially in shot whilst she was in the seated position because my camera wouldn’t go live until she was already stood up. As such, all I had to do was maintain the shot composition and follow direction as given.

As a group, we started to select and research the roles which we intend to undertake during our practical examination. I was hesitant to approach the directors chair again. But the producer from the last project I directed said I did a good job but need to communicate with the production assistant more effectively. With that constructive criticism in mind, I’m intent on taking the reigns one final time. In the words of Samuel Beckett “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”  My last effort as a director didn’t go as well as I’d have liked, but I did learn a lot and intend to apply what I have learnt to this next challenge.

In researching my role as director, I came across this great book which I highly recommend to any and all aspiring directors, 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair. Here is one lesson which I most certainly will bear in mind, “You are not the parent of this child we call the play. You are present at its birth for clinical reasons, like a doctor or a midwife. Your job most of the time is simply to do no harm. When something does go wrong, however, your awareness that something is awry—and your clinical intervention to correct it —can determine whether the child will thrive or suffer, live or die”. It is a really good read despite being a tad dated, with a reference to Bill Cosby which sticks out like a sore thumb.

We are meant to select a second smaller role to assume during halftime of our exam. I have opted to use the autocue again. Although I haven’t been able to find any academic writing on the operation of the autocue itself. I have been researching editing practise as a comparative skill to directing.

I’ve found Film and Video Editing by Roger Crittenden, to be especially insightful. “Kevin Brownlow has described editing as ‘directing the film for the second time’, and it is not surprising that the cutting room is the single most frequent source of directing talent from amongst the various crafts.” My experience in video editing has given me insight into directing and vice versa. I like editing because there is much less social interaction. Editing is a long, almost private process with man, mind and machine blending together to create cohesive moving images. Directing, by nature needs people to be directed. You must socially navigate through everyone’s expectations to birth a sustainable project. 13 Questions every director should ask according to Crittenden are included in the following appendix.

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Bibliography

Crittenden, Roger. Film and Video Editing, Taylor & Francis Group, 1995.

Hauser, Frank, and Russell Reich. Notes on Directing : 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair, RCR Creative Press, 2003.

Beckett, Samuel Worstward Ho. 1983

Appendix

“The shooting script or, in the case of documentary, the shotlist, is meant to provide us with a template for the film or video before it exists. However, each director is dealing, at the moment of shooting, with the fundamental question: how do I shoot to provide the most effective material for editing? If we understand the dramaturgy of the script we can analyse how the details of the mise-en-scène can be captured on the film or tape to provide the raw material that the editor needs. So what questions should be kept in mind during the shooting? Each scene should be examined to identify the following:

1. Where is the focus of interest?

2. When and to what does that focus shift?

3. What is the mood and consequent pace of the scene?

4. Does that mood/pace change?

5. Are there natural pauses which should be reflected in silence and stillness?

        6. What significant detail must be seen?

7. Conversely, when is it important to see the whole area in which the action takes place?

        8. When is a reaction more important than an action?

9. How should movement be encompassed?

10. Does any off-screen or non-synchronous sound contribute to the scene?

11. How do the beginning and end of the scene relate to those immediately before and after?

12. Does the setting occur more than once in the script, and therefore need to be established in a particular way?

13. Can the turning point of the scene be pinpointed?”

EASTER BREAK

The Easter break was so long it deserves its own blog. I was lucky to get the opportunity to work with Aberystwyth TFTS alumni Luise Leschik on a conceptual performance piece titled "Heul doch!" I got the chance to gain additional practice using both a single and multi-camera set up. Filming continuous action from two angles then editing the footage together utilizing continuity editing principles.

The project was by nature experimental. Which afforded me the flexibility to learn new editing techniques and think abstractly which, was a refreshing change of pace. Unfortunately, I got severely ill two thirds of the way though the project and was unable to be present in the physical space towards the end. However, I processed as much material as I could once my health was back up to 100%.