MDA2300 - Final Essay Idea

For half of our final grade we have to write an essay discussing an innovation in film (whether that is how they're made, used, displayed, anything really,)

I have decided to write my essay about the idea of expanded cinema, and using film in an art installation.

I will probably write about how the medium of film in this case has affected artistic expression, and will use examples and perhaps concentrate on one particular artist.

One artist I am particularly interested in is Marina Abramovic, who often uses film and video in conjunction with performance art. An example of this is her performance Balkan Baroque in which she sits atop a pile of bones, cleaning them, as folk music plays and a film is displayed behind her.

I still have a lot to think abotu with regards to finding a firm point on which to anchor the essay, but this is an area I am very interested in, and will coincide with the fact that I plan on making an art installation for my final portfolio piece.

MDA2900 - Project Schedule

Here is the schedule I made for the project:

Schedule! by amini93

MDA2900 - Project Brief

We have now been given our final project brief for MDA2900. We have until 08th May, to either produce or direct a ten-minute short drama or documentary film.

I am producing 'The Next Step', which is the short film I have written for my screenwriting module. After discussing the film with her, I have decided to work with Ira Merzlichen, who will be directing.

My reasons for not directing my own work are the fact that curently, I feel more confident as a producer than a director, and on such a large-scale project, I wouldn't want to jeopardise a grade by choosing a role in which I am not very strong.

After bouncing some ideas off of each other I think that Ira will be great to work with; we both have a passion for surreal/arthouse films and hopefully her directorial creative vision will reflect this in the final piece!

We are now preparing a pitch to present to David and Eddie in class soon.

This week I had a producer's tutorial with Eddie

Personally, I find it went really well, he was pleased with the presentation and amount of planning which went into my work

My main task now, he said, is making sure that I get the work off Ira which I need, so that I can start to schedule the shoot days, so that when we come to auditions, if any of the actors ask how long/what times they will be needed on set, I can give them a good idea, which will increase their confidence in the amount of planning which has gone into the production.

Here is the production booklet I used in the meeting with him:

Production Booklet by amini93

MDA2900 - Assignment 01 - 'The Unwanted' Adaptation

Here is our film which we made for the first assignment, based on a scene taken from the play 'The Unwanted', by Walter Wykes.

https://vimeo.com/57633696

One of the main problems in this, is an issue with the sound, as several sound files shot for one of the camera positions became corrupted, so we were unable to use them. This resulted in having to use the sound recorded into the camera, as we didn't have the time to organise voice-over sessions.

Our sound technician managed to take-out the background noise in the clips we used, but unfortunately a difference in sound quality is evident, which takes away from the believability (for audiences) of the film.

Despite this, I have, however learned a lot about how better to organise myself, were I to produce a project again, and to have more back-up plans, as chances are, something will go wrong at some point on the project

MDA2100 - The Next Step

This is the final version of 'The Next Step', which I have submitted for the MDA2100 Screenwriting project.

The Next Step - Final by

MDA2100 - Idea Change

After trying to redraft the story of 'One Night Only' I have decided to redraft and write the script for another idea I had early on in the project.

My reasons for doing this are that I feel, due to parts of the story being based on personal experiences of myself and friends, too personally attached to certain parts of it, which is, in my opinion, inhibiting me from changing too much of it and carrying on writing to the best of my ability. I do enjoy the idea, but I feel that right now, I am unable to make it a better script, and still keep some of the essence of what I enjoyed about the story in the first place, so I feel it is better for me to start afresh with another idea which I still feel for and which I believe has the ability to be an entertaining and suitable script.

The new idea with the working title 'cold feet' is a story involving a young couple, moving to the next stage of their relationship and spending their first night in the new flat they recently bought.

Returning home from work, the man finds that his girlfriend has cooked a meal for them to celebrate, and is wearing conventional, feminie clothes. This is unlike their real personalities (the conventional, 9-5, working couple), as they are much more bohemian and still young at heart, and neither express their fears of changing and maturing into the real world.

In the night each partner has a dream which explores their unexpressed fear and as they awake the next day, each partner's actions indicate that perhaps a part of their younger self still exists in them.

While I feel the above description doesn't do the story justice, I feel the completed script will be an intriguing story of how people, especially around my age group, are afraid to face the fact that one day they must grow up, and enter the 'real world' and how some people do it even though they are not exacty ready. I plan on using surrealist and almost avant garde ideas and techniques in the dream sequences, which will draw parallels to the now-mundane lives of the couple, and also to use the actions and visuals to express to audiences the character's individual fears which they are too scared to express to one another.