Film Form – Feedback from the Crit and Reflections
Film FormThe Crit
For our Film Form crit we had lecturer Zoe, teaching assistant Leo, and Subject Leader for Screen & Performing Arts Paul Gray, present. We screened the 8 films in succession before re-screening each film followed by a 40 minute feedback session immediately after.
My group was more so towards the end of the crit, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching each group’s film and hearing their feedback. I was able to reinforce and learn several new things as a result of this format for the crit, particularly because the feedback was incredibly detailed and specific.
In my opinion, I think all of our crits should have the same format and scheduling as despite it being a long day, it was far more enlightening and less rushed than other crits I’ve had for different modules. We’re at the stage now where the critiques require an example and an adequate amount of time to inquire further and ask for clarification.
Reflections – Lifeline Feedback
I was overall very happy with the feedback we received for our film Lifeline. As the writer, I learnt an abundance of new screenwriting approaches and techniques through pre-production tutorials with Catriona and Caio. Despite the fact I had wrote screenplays for years prior to our project, I still had a lot to learn when working from an outline that was not originally my own. I incorporated action as a storytelling method, learnt the importance of ambiguity, nuance, and subtlety in characterisation and dialogue, and most importantly, how to effectively and cohesively structure a screenplay.
I took notes specific to the screenplay for Lifeline as below:
- Dylan should’ve gone in the opposite direction to Finn as he follows him out from the party. This would’ve made it more believable when he runs up to Finn in the park with the older man.
- It isn’t communicated clearly enough why Finn has left the party and it didn’t translate well onto screen. I think I should’ve included more action cues to illustrate the nuance of Finn feeling excluded and isolated from his peers.
- It appears too staged when the older man arrives to find Finn struggling with the phone booth. I should have specified the amount of time it takes before the older man walks past. The pacing is off in this moment, so a consideration of story beats would’ve been helpful.
- Eye contact is crucial when conveying a connection between characters. I didn’t specify in the screenplay whether or not Finn and the older man were making eye contact, which was admittedly an oversight. Remember to consider: what does it mean if there’s no eye contact? When does eye contact start?
- We didn’t linger long enough on some shots to allow our characters and the viewers to process certain revelations. This is something that could have been conveyed through the screenplay and in the direction of our crew.
Other general feedback was as follows:
- Leo commented that our footage simultaneously looked more professional and also more amateurish than other groups but couldn’t tell why. He concluded it looked like it was a television show, not a cinematic short film, which we later discovered was the result of the wrong shutter speed setting. (Note to self: it’s 180 degrees, not 360 degrees. Otherwise the movement looks too fluid.)
- The pacing and story beats were slightly off and lost in translation from the script, to the film, to the edit. I believe this was a result of timing cut-offs, but it would’ve created more emotion and empathy with our characters had we had more time to process information and reactions.
- Check the location for any continuity issues. The audience will notice every small detail.
Self Evaluation and Reflections for Film Form
Overall, I’m very happy with the screenplay I wrote from Robbie’s original outline and the lessons I learnt along the way. It was also interesting for me to learn to not be the director and just take a step back and allow others to do their work. I’m excited to take these new insights and skills forward with me into third year and hopefully produce even better films and screenplays.
Reflections – Other Groups’ Feedback
Below are notes I took from other groups’ feedback, which I’ve expanded on for this blog post and for my own learning.
For a short film, do not underestimate the importance of your opening and closing shot. The opening shot sets up so many aspects of the film pertaining to film form itself, and also establishes pre-conceptions and expectations for the viewer. The closing shot must tie in with the opening shot and also effectively conclude and communicate the story.
Ensure that exported sound files are in stereo and not mono. Even if done accidentally, this communicates something to the viewer and should be a decision made with creative intent.
Remember to leave time for silence in a script. This should be considered for timing at all stages of production, but will prove particularly important for the edit.
It appears the most cinematic and professional to set-up a shot according to the actor’s blocking and not forcing the actor to make the shot work. The shot should work with the actor. Leave some space in the shot for blocking and the actor’s movements.
For the sake of constructing the narrative in the edit, ensure you have a clean closeup shot of each character that is unobstructed by any other characters.
Use worldised sound for enriched storytelling and world-building. This means to allow a sound to play out as it would in the real world – especially props like phones – and record that sound. This does not involve adding the sound as recorded in a foley booth or sound studio in post as this will likely sound inauthentic and not fit the film as well as it could have.
In sound design, make sure you know who you want the audience to connect with in any given moment and how you intend to use sound to achieve that. Everything should be purposeful with sound design, not ever accidental.