Today was our last class of film for the year and we spent it watching each person's presentation on a music video of their choice. Unfortunately, I was not prepared for this class for two reasons. Firstly, I thought that the presentation was supposed to be on one of the music videos made in class so I assumed I wouldn't be able to begin work on it until after Monday's lesson when we watched them, and also on Monday night I was very busy as I had to go to the Film Premiere of the documentary Sharkwater in Tsim Sha Tsui and didn't get home until late.
Regarding the film Sharkwater, it was amazing and I highly suggest anyone to go watch it. It is a documentary based around the issue of shark finning by a young Canadian called Rob Stewart. I particularly liked the films amazing cinematography and the content and way it was presented. As it was about sharks, a lot of the filming was underwater in amazing clarity, in some frames there were about 30 hammer head sharks swimming around, it was absolutely amazing. The story itself is also amazing. It started with Rob Stewart simply wanting to make an underwater film about sharks in general, until he found out about the seriousness of shark finning and how endagered they were in our world. For example, there are estimated to only be 3,500 great white sharks left in the world. And by 2050, there will be no sharks left at all if nothing is done. I can not express how amazing this film is, it has won 35 awards from all around the world over the past two years.
Regarding the class, the presentations were all very interesting. I particularly liked the music videos with stories behind them, such as the one of Nathaniel's choice - Here comes goodbye. I must admit, I didn't like the actual song, but the music video was very effective in not only incorporating music video conventions but also amazing cinematography and editing with a strong narrative.
I've really enjoyed film this term and have learned a lot about cinematography, editing, and film in general, as I had never taken it before. Although there have been its challenges, overall it's been really enjoyable and am looking forward to working with film in the future!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Reflection - June 7, 2010
Today we spent the lesson watching all of the group's music videos including our own.
I really enjoyed watching all of the videos and seeing how differently they all turned out in the end. I found it interesting seeing how they approached them and how some people used music video conventions and some didn't.
When we watched our group's video I was feeling most like the IB Leaner Profile - reflective - as I thought about all of the ways we could improve based off of my opinion and the class's. I always knew that our theme was not being covered very well and this was evident when the class was asked who understood what the theme was and no one raised their hand. I think we could have improved by planning out the storyline better so that the theme could have been better developed.
I also think that next time we should think more carefully about the choice of theme and whether we actually think we could incorporate the theme into our music video.
I really enjoyed today's lesson and look forward to watching more music videos in my free time now that I am more familiar with them.
I really enjoyed watching all of the videos and seeing how differently they all turned out in the end. I found it interesting seeing how they approached them and how some people used music video conventions and some didn't.
When we watched our group's video I was feeling most like the IB Leaner Profile - reflective - as I thought about all of the ways we could improve based off of my opinion and the class's. I always knew that our theme was not being covered very well and this was evident when the class was asked who understood what the theme was and no one raised their hand. I think we could have improved by planning out the storyline better so that the theme could have been better developed.
I also think that next time we should think more carefully about the choice of theme and whether we actually think we could incorporate the theme into our music video.
I really enjoyed today's lesson and look forward to watching more music videos in my free time now that I am more familiar with them.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Reflection - June 4 and 5, 2010
Friday was the last lesson in class that we had to work on our music video and I was also the only group member present in the class. Initially, I was slightly concerned at the absence of all my group members but then I realised it was a really good opportunity for me to get as much done of the music video as possible without anyone arguing and telling me to stop and do other things.
Therefore, the lesson was very successful and I managed to get a lot of work done. I carried on with the storyline we had previously set out. I had trouble sometimes deciding which clip to go next in the sequence for it to make sense, but also to sound good with the music. To solve this, I wrote out another list with a short description of each different scene of footage in order and wrote down if I had a lot of footage of it, if the white person was in the scene, and if Harry was running or walking. Once I did that, it was a lot easier to bring the clips together because I could string the footage together in an order that built up the suspense of the story.
Over the two days, I learned how to change the color of clips. For example, I figured out how to make a clip go black and white, or green, blue, or red. I used this sometimes to make clips look like he was remembering them, rather than them actually happening.
I decided that I had to stay after school on Friday because I was no where near finished and it was due on Monday. I also decided that I needed to come into school on Saturday to get the music video completely finished.
After school and on Saturday, I continued to work on the music video. After working on the first minute and a half on it, I reached sort of a block and I didn't know what to put next, as I felt I had used all of the clips. While I didn't know what to do, Harry and I decided to work on the ending and then build up from there till the clips met. We found doing the ending relatively easy because it is very similar to the first 30 seconds of the music video. We just didn't want it to be exactly the same, so we changed the speed and the order of it slightly to make it look slightly different.
When it came back to filling the gap Harry had to leave and I was left to sort it out for myself. After watching through what I had of the music video so far with the help of Ms Wong, we decided that it needed a clearer political theme. I didn't have time to go filming, so I decided to do this by having him running away on the MTR, and the momentum of the MTR reminding him of all of the small hints of the poster and the white people before he realised. So I had flash backs within the flash back.
Although this editing process was really time consuming, I actually really enjoyed it and feel I have really improved from the last unit on oral history. It was nice doing something more creative for a change, rather than a documentary.
I still think my whole group needs to improve on time management though.
These past few days, I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profiles Thinker and Risk Taker. Because I was encountering many problems, and had to dive right into them and solve them without over thinking it.
Therefore, the lesson was very successful and I managed to get a lot of work done. I carried on with the storyline we had previously set out. I had trouble sometimes deciding which clip to go next in the sequence for it to make sense, but also to sound good with the music. To solve this, I wrote out another list with a short description of each different scene of footage in order and wrote down if I had a lot of footage of it, if the white person was in the scene, and if Harry was running or walking. Once I did that, it was a lot easier to bring the clips together because I could string the footage together in an order that built up the suspense of the story.
Over the two days, I learned how to change the color of clips. For example, I figured out how to make a clip go black and white, or green, blue, or red. I used this sometimes to make clips look like he was remembering them, rather than them actually happening.
I decided that I had to stay after school on Friday because I was no where near finished and it was due on Monday. I also decided that I needed to come into school on Saturday to get the music video completely finished.
After school and on Saturday, I continued to work on the music video. After working on the first minute and a half on it, I reached sort of a block and I didn't know what to put next, as I felt I had used all of the clips. While I didn't know what to do, Harry and I decided to work on the ending and then build up from there till the clips met. We found doing the ending relatively easy because it is very similar to the first 30 seconds of the music video. We just didn't want it to be exactly the same, so we changed the speed and the order of it slightly to make it look slightly different.
When it came back to filling the gap Harry had to leave and I was left to sort it out for myself. After watching through what I had of the music video so far with the help of Ms Wong, we decided that it needed a clearer political theme. I didn't have time to go filming, so I decided to do this by having him running away on the MTR, and the momentum of the MTR reminding him of all of the small hints of the poster and the white people before he realised. So I had flash backs within the flash back.
Although this editing process was really time consuming, I actually really enjoyed it and feel I have really improved from the last unit on oral history. It was nice doing something more creative for a change, rather than a documentary.
I still think my whole group needs to improve on time management though.
These past few days, I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profiles Thinker and Risk Taker. Because I was encountering many problems, and had to dive right into them and solve them without over thinking it.
Reflection - May 25, 2010
Today was our second last day of editing in class, and was also the first day we finally managed to begin editing.
We began the lesson by capturing the footage we had filmed over the weekend. Whilst it was capturing and we couldn't really do anything, we decided to use our time most efficiently by writing down all of the shots we watched so that later on it would be easier later on when we were rearranging our clips to see what we had and in what order.
When it had finally finished capturing, we set straight out on putting the music in and then working on the beginning. We did the beginning relatively quickly and without too much difficulty because we had carefully planned it out prior to the lesson. However, we spent the first five minutes working on the wrong beginning because we had forgotten we'd changed it. This wasted some of our precious time, but it was not such an issue because we are now all familiar with how to use Final Cut Pro, unlike in the first unit.
When arranging the beginning, it was quite difficult to make it really flow. We wanted it to look like Harry was running and then jumped off of a roof top / bridge. It was hard because he did not actually jump off, but we filmed as much as we could to make it look like he could. To make it look the most realistic and best, we played around with the speed in some areas speeding it up or slowing it down. We also often changed the angle of the shot, for example sometimes it would be a front view and sometimes it would be from underneath him or behind him. In the end, I am very happy with the beginning we have, I like how the scene transitions in time with the music, which is quite hard to do but we managed to.
As it was my first day back on Final Cut Pro in quite a while, I learned a few more things and my mind was thoroughly refreshed. I learned that it sometimes would not let you change the speed of a clip if it was on top of another clip on a different layer. I had encountered this problem many times last unit and couldn't understand why and now I do.
I really enjoyed being back editing the project, but I also realize now that we do not have a lot of time to complete the project and I will have to start staying after school sometimes. In order to finish the project by the deadline of June 8, my group will need to improve on decision making skills and sometimes compromising and not always have your idea put forward. Because if we continue to argue over every detail, the film will never get done. I think I will have to start taking charge of the situation because it is getting out of hand and the project otherwise will not be completed or not completed well.
Today I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profile risk taker because it was the first day we could finally begin editing and I didn't have time to really think through my actions, but instead I just had to take a chance and try my best at getting as much as possible done of the music video.
We began the lesson by capturing the footage we had filmed over the weekend. Whilst it was capturing and we couldn't really do anything, we decided to use our time most efficiently by writing down all of the shots we watched so that later on it would be easier later on when we were rearranging our clips to see what we had and in what order.
When it had finally finished capturing, we set straight out on putting the music in and then working on the beginning. We did the beginning relatively quickly and without too much difficulty because we had carefully planned it out prior to the lesson. However, we spent the first five minutes working on the wrong beginning because we had forgotten we'd changed it. This wasted some of our precious time, but it was not such an issue because we are now all familiar with how to use Final Cut Pro, unlike in the first unit.
When arranging the beginning, it was quite difficult to make it really flow. We wanted it to look like Harry was running and then jumped off of a roof top / bridge. It was hard because he did not actually jump off, but we filmed as much as we could to make it look like he could. To make it look the most realistic and best, we played around with the speed in some areas speeding it up or slowing it down. We also often changed the angle of the shot, for example sometimes it would be a front view and sometimes it would be from underneath him or behind him. In the end, I am very happy with the beginning we have, I like how the scene transitions in time with the music, which is quite hard to do but we managed to.
As it was my first day back on Final Cut Pro in quite a while, I learned a few more things and my mind was thoroughly refreshed. I learned that it sometimes would not let you change the speed of a clip if it was on top of another clip on a different layer. I had encountered this problem many times last unit and couldn't understand why and now I do.
I really enjoyed being back editing the project, but I also realize now that we do not have a lot of time to complete the project and I will have to start staying after school sometimes. In order to finish the project by the deadline of June 8, my group will need to improve on decision making skills and sometimes compromising and not always have your idea put forward. Because if we continue to argue over every detail, the film will never get done. I think I will have to start taking charge of the situation because it is getting out of hand and the project otherwise will not be completed or not completed well.
Today I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profile risk taker because it was the first day we could finally begin editing and I didn't have time to really think through my actions, but instead I just had to take a chance and try my best at getting as much as possible done of the music video.
Reflection - May 24, 2010
Today we spent the lesson watching a Hong Kong film the Chungking Express, as the computer systems were being operated on. Whist watching the film, I felt I was most like the IB Learner Profile open-minded, as I watched the film with no real prior knowledge of it, and from it feel that I have learned more about Hong Kong Culture. In this reflection, I will talk about my observations and views on the film Chung King Express by the director Wong Kar-Wai.
I really enjoyed the parts I watched of the Chungking Express. Although, it was in Chinese, I still managed with the subtitles and was able to understand the Mandarin. I found the language barrier did not phase me in terms of enjoying the movie. I thought it was a nice balance between action, romance, and sometimes even a bit of mystery. Either way, it kept my attention and would have loved to see some more of it.
The aspects of the film which I liked the most would have to be the music, setting and the characters. I must admit I am slightly biased when I talk about liking the music because before watching the film, I was told the director is famous for his choice in music. I particularly liked the way he used it in situations that didn't always seem like that would be the right choice in music. I found it interesting how the music completely changed the mood of the scene despite an opposing dialogue. I also liked how the themes of the movie were local to Hong Kong and therefore partly to me. Living in Hong Kong, it's not often I watch movies filmed here so I really enjoyed looking out for places I recognized or general scenes of Hong Kong. I also liked how he used variation in his cinematography, for example sometimes it would be really sunny, or really dark or sometimes the camera would be in motion and very blurry.
However, I found it really confusing how the plot completely jumped to a new story halfway through the film. Unfortunately, I never managed to finish it so never found out what really happened. I may get a copy of it and finish it in the future, but for now I'm finding it really mysterious and it is edging me to want to finish the movie. So in a sense, the director has made it not only a romantic movie its also a suspenseful, mysterious film, making it all the more interesting.
Regarding the characters, there were some I liked and some I did not. I liked the first male actor in the first story of the film, I preferred his character over the second police man character because he seemed like of a real person people could relate to. The other character seemed quite superficial and boring. Another character I found quite annoying, yet interesting was the girl in the second story of the film. She was quirky, and made you want to find out more about her, but her overall character was slightly rude and strange.
Overall, from what I watched of the Chung King Express, I really enjoyed it and am keen to finish it. It's a well made film that gives insight to its viewers of the real Hong Kong , away from its famous, and very un-Hong Kong districts like Central.
However, I found it really confusing how the plot completely jumped to a new story halfway through the film. Unfortunately, I never managed to finish it so never found out what really happened. I may get a copy of it and finish it in the future, but for now I'm finding it really mysterious and it is edging me to want to finish the movie. So in a sense, the director has made it not only a romantic movie its also a suspenseful, mysterious film, making it all the more interesting.
Regarding the characters, there were some I liked and some I did not. I liked the first male actor in the first story of the film, I preferred his character over the second police man character because he seemed like of a real person people could relate to. The other character seemed quite superficial and boring. Another character I found quite annoying, yet interesting was the girl in the second story of the film. She was quirky, and made you want to find out more about her, but her overall character was slightly rude and strange.
Overall, from what I watched of the Chung King Express, I really enjoyed it and am keen to finish it. It's a well made film that gives insight to its viewers of the real Hong Kong , away from its famous, and very un-Hong Kong districts like Central.
Movie Poster
Here's a trailer of the movie, you can instantly hear the interesting music:
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Film Reflection - Monday, May 17, 2010
Today we focused on getting completely prepared to commence filming that week and the coming long weekend. To do so, we tried to think of the best, most comprehensive way to see when everyone was available. I therefore made a calendar, and found out when everyone was free. We also wrote out which times everyone was free at. After doing so, it was very easy to work out a filming schedule. We have planned three filming sessions in the coming week to try and capture all of the footage.
However, we knew that we were not completely ready to go out and start filming yet, so we tackled the next preparation - costume. I then devised a Google document that everyone could access and wrote out everything everyone needed. We then went through the list together and discussed what we already had and what we didn't. I then volunteered to go shopping for the costume that day and they would pay me back. I wanted to get ready as soon as possible so that we would not have any excuses to postpone filming.
As we discussed all of the different shots we had to take, we also noticed that we needed some props - the posters. So then we investigated into the best and quickest way to make a poster of harry saying LOST. Initially, we used a camera and took a picture of him, but then realized we did not have a cable to plug into the computer and we wanted to get it done that lesson. So we investigated into our options and decided to find a picture online in one of his photo albums, we found a very appropriate picture and began to edit it immediately. I think that this is a good example of us beginning to work better as a group and we were really learning how to use our time in the most efficient way possible.
While editing, we realized we had to learn some new skills to find the best way to edit it. We wanted to get rid of the backdrop and just have his face in black and white. We decided the most appropriate way was to use Photo Shop. However, none of us were very familiar with the program, so we all learned how to use it together, trying out the different tools and playing around with the software. I really enjoyed learning how to use photo shop, and I think that it will become very useful in future film or other subject's projects.
We then spent the remaining part of the lesson, going over exactly what we wanted to film so that when we were there filming, we would not waste anytime.
I feel that today's class was a very efficient one in terms of getting ourselves finally organized to begin filming. It was a real milestone in terms of getting the film done. Hopefully, we will continue to work this efficiently when we begin to edit next lesson. However, I still think that we can improve on agreeing things as a group. Sometimes I feel like we don't always give each other the chance to express our ideas and this affects our morale as a group and we get a bit mad at each other. Today, I feel that I was most like the IB Learner Profiles "Knowledgeable" and "Thinker", because today I learned a few things and had to explore all the different ideas and come up with the best way to organize us as a group. Whilst on the other hand, I was a thinker because I had to consider who was available on which days and approach these problems and find the best solution for them.
However, we knew that we were not completely ready to go out and start filming yet, so we tackled the next preparation - costume. I then devised a Google document that everyone could access and wrote out everything everyone needed. We then went through the list together and discussed what we already had and what we didn't. I then volunteered to go shopping for the costume that day and they would pay me back. I wanted to get ready as soon as possible so that we would not have any excuses to postpone filming.
As we discussed all of the different shots we had to take, we also noticed that we needed some props - the posters. So then we investigated into the best and quickest way to make a poster of harry saying LOST. Initially, we used a camera and took a picture of him, but then realized we did not have a cable to plug into the computer and we wanted to get it done that lesson. So we investigated into our options and decided to find a picture online in one of his photo albums, we found a very appropriate picture and began to edit it immediately. I think that this is a good example of us beginning to work better as a group and we were really learning how to use our time in the most efficient way possible.
While editing, we realized we had to learn some new skills to find the best way to edit it. We wanted to get rid of the backdrop and just have his face in black and white. We decided the most appropriate way was to use Photo Shop. However, none of us were very familiar with the program, so we all learned how to use it together, trying out the different tools and playing around with the software. I really enjoyed learning how to use photo shop, and I think that it will become very useful in future film or other subject's projects.
We then spent the remaining part of the lesson, going over exactly what we wanted to film so that when we were there filming, we would not waste anytime.
I feel that today's class was a very efficient one in terms of getting ourselves finally organized to begin filming. It was a real milestone in terms of getting the film done. Hopefully, we will continue to work this efficiently when we begin to edit next lesson. However, I still think that we can improve on agreeing things as a group. Sometimes I feel like we don't always give each other the chance to express our ideas and this affects our morale as a group and we get a bit mad at each other. Today, I feel that I was most like the IB Learner Profiles "Knowledgeable" and "Thinker", because today I learned a few things and had to explore all the different ideas and come up with the best way to organize us as a group. Whilst on the other hand, I was a thinker because I had to consider who was available on which days and approach these problems and find the best solution for them.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Film Reflection - May 10, 2010
Unfortunately, today we lost the first period of the lesson to watching films from the previous unit. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot however this did mean we didn’t get too spend as much time as hoped on the current film project. Harry was absent today, so it was just Zoe, Sophia and I.
We spent the lesson rewriting the storyboard slightly so that we could start doing the script properly, as we all felt after the previous lesson this is what we really needed to work out. Today was a very successful lesson in terms of that, we all communicated our ideas really well and collaborated them together to form a much better, more comprehensible story line. It really has improved it and has given us much more motivation to work on the script properly and efficiently, now that we know exactly what we are doing.
We find it difficult, however, to write down our ideas in sequential order without losing the flow of our thoughts and matching them to the music. To improve, I think we should maybe write it out in bullet points really quickly so that we can get all of our ideas out without forgetting them and then put them into proper script like format.
I feel our group really needs to learn how to work more efficiently, because we are already falling behind the other groups unfortunately. Overall, we have to impove at working faster as well.
Today, I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profile “thinker” again because we are still in the creative stage and are trying to think critically and creatively to approach the music video and plan and film it.
We spent the lesson rewriting the storyboard slightly so that we could start doing the script properly, as we all felt after the previous lesson this is what we really needed to work out. Today was a very successful lesson in terms of that, we all communicated our ideas really well and collaborated them together to form a much better, more comprehensible story line. It really has improved it and has given us much more motivation to work on the script properly and efficiently, now that we know exactly what we are doing.
We find it difficult, however, to write down our ideas in sequential order without losing the flow of our thoughts and matching them to the music. To improve, I think we should maybe write it out in bullet points really quickly so that we can get all of our ideas out without forgetting them and then put them into proper script like format.
I feel our group really needs to learn how to work more efficiently, because we are already falling behind the other groups unfortunately. Overall, we have to impove at working faster as well.
Today, I feel I was most like the IB Learner Profile “thinker” again because we are still in the creative stage and are trying to think critically and creatively to approach the music video and plan and film it.
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