assignment one, plan b December 11, 2008
1. Subject – Who is your film about. Why do you find them interesting? Is this someone whose story is happening now that you can film in actuality or are they retelling a story?
My film is about ballroom dancing. Coz I have learned it for 2 years, and I knew UK is a great place of ballroom dancing, so I want to find some ordinary people’s dancing lives. I find 2 people they are dancing partner and really enjoying their lives now.
2. Creative – What will the film look like – what images will you use, what style of camera work, how will you use sound. Describe the film visually.
My film will make people to know why people love dancing and how their lives look like. I will use cinema verita, and use the songs when they danced. Begin and end of a piece of when they danced in public, mix their interviews together to the same question and use some scenes and picture instead of they are talking.
3. Production – What considerations do you need to take practically and technically to make this film?
The most consideration is, I need to learn how to film something what I want and think deeply about the question what I ask, coz there are most important to a cinema verita documentary.
4. Impact – what do you want your audience to feel or do when they watch your film.
I want to make my audiences comfortable and happy when they finish watch, coz dancing is a very good thing for people’s lives, impress them and make them want to know more about dance.
Assignment one, how did idea develop? December 11, 2008
· How did your idea develop
When I finished filming, I watched the clips again and again, to think about the links between them. Because there is just 3 minutes, so I need to make a strong structure about it, but I take 10 minutes interview for 2 characters, then I need to cut some part of it. I choose the questions which are most fit to my theme:
1. Who you are? 2. When you start to dance? Why you love it? 3. Do you think dancing is a good thing of our lives? 4. Do you think ballroom dancing is popular in UK and why the British love this kind of dancing?
When I decided the questions, I mixed their answers to the same question. Then I choose some scenes are fitted to their voiceover. Such as the close up of when she trying on her shoes, smiles on their faces, the sunshine on the CDs. I choose 2 pieces of their dancing for the beginning and the end, make it has a strong structure.
· What things didn’t go according to plan?
Actually, at first, the final clip is totally different from my oringinal plan, coz I think I can’t make 3 mins too complicated. Secondly, I prefer CJ to be the male character, but he was sick. So I had to change the plan. And when I filming, I can’t make a good flame and light of the camera coz this is first time I filmed by myself, and when I watched other students works I start to have a concept about the technique of filming.
· How did you deal with difficulties and how did this affect your film?
Because of the poor filming technique, I got a lot of clips which I can’t use, so I need to find everything I can use to instead of which I used to want to use, such as some pictures and photos.
· What decisions did you make when editing your film?
Because I think the assignment one need to be cinema verita, so I just use cut, fade in fade out and dissolve to depict it and make the things reality.
· What things might you do differently next time?
Maybe I will try to find some more deep things next time, other perspectives(pessimistic and alternative) of people’s lives, try to use other kinds of editing transition and improve my filming technique.
Reasearch of second project December 5, 2008
Who is the enemy of democracy?
In 2008, there is a troubled year of China: the 314 firing incidents of vandalism in Tibet; the torch relay is blocked overseas. At the same time, some split forces embark upon a political venture: so-called peaceful protest. But who attack whom? Why they all have selective BIAS, neglecting truth? It is simply a transaction between Dalai Lamar and the Bush administration. Here reports from the main west media all with distorted voice, has surprised us. And they lie…again and again. Obviously, there is a cabal, a cold war against China! We need to stop violence, stop media distortion. To guard the Olympic torch this is the symbol of peace and friendship but there are always various obstructions on the progress of torch relay. A hard long march!
In Paris
In London
In Canberra
In Soul
It’s all about interests – political, “national security”, economical etc. The US government doesn’t give a shit about human rights or democracy. For the US, It’s just an approach of retaining the dominance over the world. When they’ve done something nasty in Mideast, Latin America and Asia and “unfortunately” screwed it up. There is always somebody to be made a scapegoat for what happened and the “SO-CALLED” free media to save their ass.
Thanks to CNN, BBC, Spiegel, all the liar western media, their behavior have educated a whole young generation in China. As chairman Mao said: “All reactionaries, paper tigers!”
From second piece of work, I decide to make a video about this topic. Make the world listen to our voice.
