Feedback- Degree Short Film Tutor

After the presentation that was given to us two weeks ago on tips for telling narratives by the short film Tutor, Keith Temple, I decided to schedule a meeting with him for a one to one to see if he can provide any advice or constructive criticism on the general state of the project and what directions to go in.

Not only has Keith written for various Television show such as 'Doctor Who', but he has also written a fictional book about the story of a young child that loses a parent. Keith told me that even though he wasn't exposed to the same level of grief of losing a parent at a young age, he is still very interested by theme of grief as a whole. This means that he was familiar with how grief features a mixture of emotions.


He pointed out some things that he liked about the idea for the film:

• He thought the non-linear narrative structure is a divisive method for conveying the narrative to the audience.
• the narrative structure on the whole was solid.
• Using my own personal experiences was an appropriate choice for making a film about grief, as my story can be related too by the audience.

From this, I can see that the choices that have been made to the narrative structure and using my own personal story to communicate the positive and negative sides of grief, will be very effective in communicating depression, anxiety, motivation and joy out of the stages of grief in my life.

This is the advice he gave me at the end:

• After asking whether to include music over the top of the film, he recommended that I not use any music at all.
• consider asking someone to film certain shots for you whilst you are in frame, to allow for zooming or movement of the camera.
• He also suggested that I film a part with me standing in a crowded area, where the depth of field blurs out the crowd around me.

I was initially unsure as to if I should use music in film. From looking at my research into Sergio Leone and the music video 'The Golden Age', It was clear that music can intensify tone and emotion that is being portrayed through the visuals. This also comes into the debate of whether the editing style should follow an amplified cutting pace that would match the rhythm of the music to the pace of the visuals. From the feedback I have been given from Keith and peers, I have come to a conclusion that using no music at all would be appropriate for the tone of this film, as the idea of subtlety is the direction I am taking the visuals, due to grief not being a loud subject matter. A lack of music could potentially also attract and audiences' attention, because of un-nerving silence in the film that would make the audience feel uncomfortable. Not using music also saves time, as I would have to find a suitable piece and then ask for permission from the the copyright holders.

I think that having someone else film some of the shots that I am in would be helpful for when a shot needs camera movement, zooming or focus shifts. This is because I i found that I am unable to manipulate the camera whilst being featured in the film, which has resulted in only static tripod shots. The static shots were not a big problem, as the film did not require a high kinetic energy sensation to it, as the film is meant to be slower paced to connote a mostly somber tone. However, a static shot does not add anything to creating a slower pace. Therefore, I am considering using another person to film a number of shots that feature the use of slow panning and slow zoom ins, which could be most effective in the 'Black Hole' segment that could use slow paced camera movement to connote a sense of time flowing much slower and different to the world outside of the house. The drawback of asking someone to handle the camera is that unless they are experienced in cinematography, they could create errors in the framing of the shot. By not having full control over the camera, there is a chance that the shot may not capture exactly what you want.

Finally, the suggestion to go out and film clips of me standing in a crowded area would be useful at conveying a sense of loneliness and isolation that accompany the grieving process. It is a case as to whether this could fit into the narrative and setting that I have already established in the planning and if I can film this in the time I have left before the deadline date on the 18th May. I will have to review my narrative structure to see where such as scene could potentially fit and whether I can afford to slot in a filming schedule. I am aware that I need to reserve time to work on developing the editing process for the film, so this idea may or may not be used.