Childhood Evoked Film (Given To Fly)

Director's Plan

NAME: _Matthew Taggart_____

DATE: _Jan 28^th, 2017________

FILM # & TITLE: _Given to Fly____

DP: ___Pepe Callejas________

TMA 285 DIRECTOR’S REFLECTION

Childhood Evoked

Overall response (2-3 paragraphs):

I was very satisfied with the process and completion of this project. The fact that so many of the class connected with images I knew in my brain and heart would evoke a certain feeling made me feel that I had successfully communicated what I had intended. I was also very happy with the collaboration that happened between me and Pepe. As I said in class, there were several moments during filming where I felt like there was a great synergy between us that resulted in some stellar images. I also stressed about which music tracks to use and was glad that everyone in class seemed to dig the music.

All that being said, it was obvious to me that several moments in the film didn’t convey the feeling I was going for. There were certain shots (the flipping off finger playing guitar shot) that not only didn’t convey what I wanted, but distracted from my objective. Along those same lines, I wish I would have planned a few more shots so that I could have had more freedom in editing. I should have allotted even more time to conceptualization when it came to what each shot would convey not only in terms of information but more importantly in terms of feeling. Also, it hammered home to me that there is a big difference between reality, and cinematic reality, and if I would have focused more on finding a way to turn my own feelings and ideas into cinematic reality, I would have found greater success.

Briefly discuss the following:

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

I wanted to communicate the feeling of freedom, fun and a bit of nostalgia. I think I was 2/3rds successful based on the comments from my classmates. I think the fun and nostalgia came across quite well, while the freedom I felt as a child did not. I think it was because it ended up being to disjointed as a whole piece. Every part may have worked to some degree on its own, but as a whole, it became confusing.

How, specifically, did you try to communicate this?       

I tried to communicate this through several of the shots including the hand out the window, the dancing at the rock show, and the party scene. People seemed to connect with the hand out the window, and the dancing (or overall musical aspect) but not the party.

What did you learn about storytelling:   

I think I learned that I need to put more of myself into my work, and really conceptualizing ways to convey the meaning behind an image. The hand out the window is a perfect example. That was the first and strongest image that came to my mind about the freedom of being a kid, and I think it came across the best.

What did you learn about working with actors and getting performance:  

I should have prepared more samples or animatics to show the actors what I was going for. I think they understood based on the samples I did give them and the shot-list explanation, however I should have done more. I also should have created stronger back stories for each of them so they would have a better idea of how to act and respond at the party or in other scenes. I did this to some extent, but not strong enough.

What did you learn about blocking the camera and actors?     

Think twice about filming anything in a car! Also, having a detailed shot list comes in very handy when dealing with a larger group of actors at the same time. The other element, is that sometimes blocking an actor comes off on screen as being forced instead of seeming natural, the shot in the beginning of the young man looking out his window as an example.

What did you learn about visual elements such as lighting, composition, framing, etc.?       

Sometimes fewer lights make a bigger impact than more. The final shot in the film of the young man listening to the record almost didn’t look that way. Originally there were more lights. Pepe turned off one of them and the shot went from okay, to magic.

What did you learn about design and art direction?     

I learned that there is a fine balance between overloading the audience with information, and not giving them enough. I think I did a fair job with the film, however, I know I erred on the side of not doing enough art direction. Having a more solid look and design would have tied the film together better. By adding more details I could have peppered the piece with more of my personality, and when the audience stepped back they would have seen all those little details as a richer viewing experience.

What did you learn about the Production Process such as pre-production, collaborating with crew, securing equipment, etc.?    

I get the feeling that part of the goal of this class is to make us appreciate pre-production much more than we do. This film was barely two and a half minutes long, was 66% successful, and took a great many hours to get to that point. If I wanted to be closer to 90% successful, I should have taken more time. I think we won’t have this time in any of our projects for this class, but that is part of the idea. I had a great time collaborating with my DP, and I guess in this sense I was reminded that it’s smarter to be open to ideas from your DP than to be so stuck in your ways. There were several shots that I had in my mind that Pepe made a million times better because he brought a fresh pair of eyes.     

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?  

It was fun to see my film in class with everyone. As I said, I think people understood what I was going for, even if they didn’t feel the way I wanted them to. I believe the response I got came because I used images that would feel universal to anyone who saw them. Examples of this would be the record player, the guitar player, or the concert being filmed by a friend of the band.

Any other observations or notes:

My worry about that last question is: did the people in the room respond the way they did because they were film people? In other words, (and I don’t mean to make any judgements) since all of us were probably artsy in school instead of being the metaphorical quarterback of our high schools, was it easy for them to decode my meaning and relate? Would someone who grew up farming or playing football have felt the same way? Would my piece have been stronger if I had focused on single images that evoked the feeling of freedom? I don’t know. At what point would doing that start cutting out my own feelings and experience and therefore cut out what makes this piece personal instead of generic?