Director's Reflection of Film 2: Suspense Scene

NAME: _____Kent Thalman______

DATE: _______10/06/16______

FILM: _______Scene of Suspense______

DP: _______Hannah Harper S.___

TMA 285 DIRECTOR’S REFLECTION

Overall response (2-3 paragraphs):

In 2-3 paragraphs, write an overall response to your film: Were you successful? What are you proud of? What would you do differently if you could remake this piece? What did you learn?

I felt that I was fairly successful with this film. The biggest reason is because I (unlike my first film) sat down and meticulously planned the film out before hand. This allowed me to actually test myself as a filmmaker, make specific decisions, and learn how those worked. So this scene helped me grow far more than the Evoking Childhood film. I am proud of how the images turned out, and how much I was able to control the visual component of space. If I did it again, I would prepare more after plans fell through. I should have taken about ten minutes on set after I realized that the bishop wasn't coming to just write down a new game plan. Essentially, I should have recut the film right then and there.

What did I learn? I learned a lot about myself, specifically that I make far better stuff when I plan it out before shooting. If I make the decision in post production to change something because it's totally not working, it usually will be confusing in some way (although not always). But when I can really see the film in my head while we're shooting it, then it always turns out if I take the time to realize it.

Briefly answer the following:

What, specifically, did you want to communicate? Were you successful? Why? Why not?

I wanted to communicate the feeling of how bittersweet repentance is. There should have been a sense of freedom at the end, that was totally not there, because the way I planned the scene was changed last minute on set because of a time constraint. This made the film read more melancholy than I intended. This could have changed if I wouldn't have changed the last shot of the film.

How, specifically, did you try to say this? What visual elements, techniques, etc. did you use?

I obviously was trying to utilize flat and deep space. I wanted the deep space to represent the freedom of confession, or at least the exposing or naked feeling it gives. Flat space however was the confined feeling of holding onto and living a lie. Flatness was mostly achieved by framing walls parallel to the picture plane, or throwing the focus to be super shallow. Depth was created by deepening the focus and bit, widening the focal length, and occasional subtle camera movement.

What did you learn about Storytelling: SUSPENSE IS CREATED WHEN THE AUDIENCE KNOWS SOMETHING. I really tried to do this, but the stupid drugs still just read as candy on screen... so from an on set directorial standpoint, I need to know what story beats are critical (such as, “She's addicted to drugs!), and how to make those super clear on screen.

Working with actors and getting performance:

Blocking — camera and actors: We moved Anna around the room a lot for spacial purposes, which worked well. I really liked how showing Anna's hands played out (inspired by Coppola's The Rainmaker).

Visuals — composition, framing, visual elements: Take you time. This is a lesson I learned from Howie. I just need to take my time on an image until it's right, then shoot it. As I get better, I'll get faster, but for now, get it right. I'm good at shooting pretty footage, but not purposeful footage. The latter takes time.

Design & Art Direction: Candy doesn't look like meth. Haha. Bright objects can also really ruin a shot (under the chair is all sorts of distracting on the low tracking shot).

The Production Process — collaboration with crew, the logistics of making this: Hannah rocked this. She worked really hard, and was very patient with herself and myself. She was extremely attentive the whole time, and focused on her job. This was a great experience working with her. As she gets faster at being a DP, she'll deliver these kinds of results on all the films she shoots.

What was it like to watch your film with an audience? Did they understand it? Miss the point? Why did they respond the way they did?

I have a really hard time watching my stuff with the class still. I get really nervous, and it usually takes me some time to calm down. Hopefully as I get more used to this, I'll be able to focus more on how the room is receiving my films. The class missed a lot of key points. The drugs weren't clear. The recommend dropping was an accident that I should have addressed in post. However, there was some strong emotion being communicated I think, and a few classmates got it. So it was a mixed experience.

Other observations: I hope the class doesn't feel to nervous about being honest with me. I learned a lot from this film, and wouldn't have if they would have kept their mouths shut about how the film was communicating. I think we're all still a little afraid of speaking up, but nothing that was said offended me or got me down on myself or angry at anyone. It's sometimes encouraging to get a film ripped up when I've really tried hard on it, because I leave knowing exactly what to do differently next time!