A little over a month has passed since I started Uni here in Glasgow. Before coming here I had already studied Film at Uni for a year, but it was more focused on the theoretical aspects of filmmaking. Even though I love learning about the history of movies and I enjoy reading about everything related to them, I find learning about cameras and lighting more challenging and helpful.
Last year I was only inducted on one camera, a Canon XF305, so being able to use four different ones has been quite a change. I still need a lot of practice, since my knowledge of cameras before starting here was pretty much none. So this is definitely something I’m working on.
I’m really happy that I was First AD and storyboard artist in the first two projects. These are definitely two of the roles I’m mostly interested in. I think being organized has always been something necessary for me in order to get stuff done. And that is basically the First AD role. As far as storyboards, I love drawing, but I mostly do portraits, so my storyboards are not at the level I’d like them to be at yet. I’m not really good at drawing buildings and applying the correct perspective/point of view in order for it to look accurate and realistic. This is another thing I’d like to dedicate time to.
I was also production designer, which sounds like a nice role, but as far as costumes and set design there wasn’t a lot to work on. I had to make a room look messy and suggest what the actors should wear in a scene set in an office.Production design is definitely a very important aspect in storytelling, but not necessarily something I would look more into.
Last week I got the chance to help a friend who studies architecture with his documentary project. The task was to record the entire process of making a wooden model for the construction of a possible building. I helped him with some shooting and editing. It was a lot of fun, even though I’m not very familiar with editing softwares. Despite having used Premiere for other projects, I am not that confident in my editing skills yet.
I can’t wait to direct my visual narrative short. I’ve directed before but, at the time, I wasn’t really aware of the director’s role, and I feel like now I understand it more. I’d also like to gain deeper understanding of how the industry actually works, what it takes to a movies considering all aspects, and how to find everything that you need in the real world. So I guess this means that I’d like to find out more about the producer’s role.
All in all I’m still both interested in the creative side of filmmaking as well as in the organizational set-up. I think that my curiosity will allow me to develop a wider knowledge of filmmaking, even though this also means focusing on completely different aspects, which requires time.
Frame by Frame 