I’m very interested in the camera work that goes into filming, and I would like to chose a career in either film, TV shows or music videos. In different groups through college and university, I have directed, and co-produced numerous film and video projects and independent projects. Planned, organized, and budgeted film shoots utilizing Budgeting and Scheduling. Edited projects and assigned scenes using Adobe Premiere and AVID. Performed sound editing. Wrote scenes, treatments, and portions of scripts. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed all forms of production, my university course has helped me narrow down that I have a strong passion in cinematography and is something I would love to pursue.
I’m hoping after I finish my 3 year course, I graduate with good grades and would’ve had one experience within the industry, whether or not I decide to take a placement year. Those experiences will have gained me a variety of contacts and in an ideal situation it will open doors for me so that I am able to find work straight after leaving university through the contacts I had built up by working hard to show my dedication and passion, then I would be able to work on saving money for a house of my own near a city where I could more easily work on my career. To get started in the industry, I hope to work in the UK for a few short years because I hope my work takes me to live and work in Los Angeles for a huge famous production company.
My ultimate goal would be to make a name for myself and let my work be known and loved globally, I hope to be recognised not only for my films but also for my activism and for trying to make the world a better place through my art. I’d love to inspire other creatives who to be in the industry, to show people that hard work pays off. I would love to produce both fiction and non fiction film that brings with deep important meanings to help teach and shape our society. My dream would be to write and direct my own films by this point in my life, working with loads of passionate and talented people to make beautiful films.
My first year on the BA (hons) film production course is nearly at an end so I have decided to write a post about how I think I have improved over the year and what I want to focus on next.
I took the film knowledge I gained from my two year course at college and applied those skills in my university course. I only had basic editing and camera skills that I really wanted to improve on. Thankfully I’m good at learning how to use technology as it’s something I’m very interested in so I found it quite easy to get used to the camera, the sound kit was a bit of a challenge. I struggled a little with avid as it was a lot more advanced than what I was used to, and for two years been learning and growing on premiere pro, and still now there are a lot of things I’m still not sure about. But the more I have practiced using the editor the more I have got used to it and it gets easier to use every time.
The group projects I have had to work on were all a challenge. The first project went a lot smoother and the outcome was a lot better than I was expecting. We worked well together as a group and made sure everyone did their part. Our second project was a mess as there was a lot of immaturity/dictatorship and people not getting an equal say in the whole video concept which left us with very unprofessional work. The second group project I worked on was a lot more of a struggle as that group didn’t really work out very well. The work wasn’t divided equally and the outcome was quite frustrating, but thankfully managed to have just passed when I wish we produced better work and got a better grade. The third film project went very well and I felt my best work out of the other projects I produced, I had the role of the director which was very challenging, I tried to do my best and made sure everyone in my team was happy and satisfied with the work. I’m hoping for next year we will be allowed to choose our own group members so I can make sure to be with people I can work well with. I’m also looking forward to the new units next year as they are all something I am very interested in. I have chosen Cinematography, creative music and sound, fiction film making and scriptwriting. As I would like to become a director/creative/ camera-man in the future and I think these units will help me a lot, especially as I am mostly interested in the pre and production side of making films.
Overall I have really enjoyed my first year at uni as my skills have already greatly improved and hope that in the next year I will get to work on more exciting projects that represent my style of work.
I am about halfway through the semester now so I wanted to talk about myself and explain why I chose Film Production as my course and what I plan to do with it in future.
I’m Nayan Sharma, a 19 year old University film production student. I’m a highly motivated, reliable, organised and a confident hardworking individual. Seeking a job in the film industry I’m very passionate about. I am a conscientious person who works hard and pays attention to detail. I’m flexible, quick to pick up new skills and eager to learn from others and develop personal skills in a practical Environment.
Though my experience may be limited being a student, I have been able to gain wide-ranging knowledge of film and video projects from inception to completion. Effective at organizing and coordinating shoots; experience using production equipment. Conduct script analysis and contribute to script changes. Ability to write and edit scenes, treatments, and scripts; competent in film and sound editing as well as being confident with use of camera, lighting and sound equipment.
I have edited projects and assigned scenes using Adobe Premiere and AVID. Performed sound editing. I’ve written scenes, treatments, and portions of scripts. I’m enthusiastic and creative; demonstrated ability to meet deadlines and objectives. I have excellent organizational and communication talents; solid skills in improving productivity and efficiency while reducing costs.
I have always been a creative person, I see possibilities everywhere and I am constantly taking in information which feeds into my creative expression. I love to express my creativity in artistic traits such as painting, fashion, photography but Film is the medium that inspired me most, film to me is a form of expressive art and culture and I have grasped many opportunities to gain more practical experience on all forms of production.
As I had always loved editing I saw myself as working as an editor before I started uni. I was looking forward to trying out a better editor and editing things to music and adding effects. But once I actually started I realised that Avid was a lot more complicated than I had expected. After one of our film projects I then realised that I actually very much enjoy directing and cinematography, especially if the film is about an idea I had envisioned. So now I could see myself more as a director and cinematographer than an editor. So hopefully now I can actually be able to work on set and direct my own movies. I still plan on getting better at editing though as I want to keep my future options open.
As I mentioned before I love working with equipment and I found it very exciting to start working with the Canon 7D as it was a lot bigger and better than what I had previously used but I’m more excited for my second and third year as our equipment will be upgraded and I can become more hands on to produce more film content of a higher quality.
My role in the film was as a director and cinematographer. Our opening title sequence is about A girl struggles with a murderous alternate personality; whose immorality leads to the deaths of many in our protagonist’s life. I worked closely with Seb our producer during pre-production to organise what props and equipment would be required, the actors we’d work with and the locations used. I made sure that the timetable suited everyone involved, so that actors would be available whenever we were filming. Together Seb and I made a list of all the equipment and props we would need; I booked out the equipment from the loan store and agreed to store it in Seb’s flat, as it is the easiest place to do so thanks to it being opposite Trafalgar Halls. I also secured booking time for the Eldon Studio and organised risk assessments and permission for every location we would use for filming.
Through our shoots taking place, I would organise the set, equipment, lighting and props. I helped to arrange much of the set, including a dolly we unfortunately didn’t use. Due to conflicts with another group booking out the one we wanted, myself and Seb was able to negotiate with the loan store to acquire another one, however this dolly was of a different design, and even with the help of the loan store staff we were unable to use it as we desired. As such, the group elected to not use it.
Outside of the studio, I remained active at shoots, helping Seb set up shots and carry equipment to and from location. Sebs room was used to film a handful of shots, which was significant as it allowed us to establish a realistic setting and ground our film in realism. I also helped looked after unused equipment during outdoor shots, as we were worried that items might be damaged or stolen by the public.
After filming our shots, me and Leon our editor went into the editing suite and made our rough cut and from there we made our final cut by colour correcting as well as playing around with effects and sound in terms or music and Foley so the piece looked more visually appealing.
Overall, I am satisfied with my contribution to the project, as I feel that I kept the production organised and safe throughout, whilst putting in my creative traits to orchestrate a well put together opening title sequence.
For our first assignment this year we had the task of making a film proving that we know how to set up the camera and sound equipment. Apart from proving our knowledge we were also assessed on the quality and the creativity of the film which ment we weren’t supposed to make just a regular tutorial.
For our info-film, based around how to use the recording equipment we use for the course, we decided to film an action – thriller style piece called ‘don’t die’, where a girl is held hostage and is put in a life or death situation where she has to assemble the equipment within five minutes . Ben Morgan was director, Adam was executive producer and editor, myself and Lewis were cinematographers, though we all shared each others roles so we can have a equal understanding of the roles for future project purposes. – I helped ensure with the rest of my team that we had all of the equipment needed, time management so we knew when to film and our actors were accounted for, crew diligent and arriving on time, and that the footage was edited before the deadline came. All four of us worked collaboratively in the editing booth to finish the film the week after filming.
The film aims to blend the surreal with the mundane realities of our existence. The Man in the doorways character acts as a surreal representation of our hidden anxieties which often obstruct the goals in our daily lives, appearing as unsolvable problems, which is ratter to be avoided an ignored. Thus, ‘A Man is The Doorway’ is a short and experimental piece which aims at portraying human escapism and argues that there is little difference between our inner state and the physical world by creating a visual metaphor in the shape of a strange man, standing in the doorway.
RESEARCH
Themes: our main themes for our piece were on Existentialism, Escapism and surrealism.
DEVELOPMENT
Cinematography:
This is a story of a man trapped in his own inability to confront the problems he faces, he is anxious and an escapist by nature. We are aiming at representing his troubled state of mind by using a variety of shot types and editing of varied pacing. Examples of shot types that we could use are for one; close up shots which can be used to make the viewers feel slightly uncomfortable and in touch with how our protagonist is feeling being filled with anxiety, or even however the audience perceive his emotion and makes them really question whether they have felt the same way. Tracking shots can be used to follow the protagonist through the hall and give a sense of realism for the audience as if they’re actually following up with them. If our film was to incorporate this it would really give the viewers a real sense of going into the unknown however we would have to be careful that it doesn’t come off as a horror shot more of a curious yet anxious scene. We will too be using wide shots in the film to give off the sense of emptiness and loneliness that the protagonist is feeling, the wide-open space can be seen as discomforting towards viewers with all the bleak and exposed space available. The Location we will be using also has ties to the films theme due to the long wide and dingy hall having an anxious feel to it yet the urban location that is pictured is a staple in society seen everywhere showing that the protagonist is going through an everyday experience which is being disturbed by the man in the doorway. Visuals for our piece mainly involve Autumnal/Urban pastel like colours which convey the protagonists drained lifeless state.
Editing:
The editing that we want to use will hopefully portray the character’s anxiety to the audience. We really want to highlight the sense of discomfort that the character is experiencing throughout the film so that the audience really sympathises and can almost feel a quintessential taste of it. Fast paced cuts will be used to show the characters chaotic thoughts, as he imagines his life if he were to avoid confronting the man in the doorway. Of course, the human mind does not work in an organised, chronological order, so we are going to attempt to use the fast cuts in order to achieve this effect. We want to highlight the fact that the main character is going through an intense change in his routine life. The impact of the man’s presence is going to be implemented using the fast-paced cuts in the scene when the man is revealed for the first time, thus contrasting with the opening shots, showing the protagonist routine way home using long, uninterrupted takes. As the story advances, it gains momentum in the middle part, before ending abruptly, which will mirror some of the opening scenes in the way of using long takes, thus creating a sense of conclusion.
Sound:
The music in our piece will use early 20th century modernist music, this will be used to build an uncomfortable atmosphere which will intensify throughout the short. to connect the audience to the character on screen as his anxiety will get worse as he is left for longer in this uncomfortable situation.
Resolution:
Ideally,I would have wanted the communication in this group to have been strong. Being able to communicate creatively if I had an idea I feel was taken out of my hands in this group and didn’t get to express that in my role as the cinematographer. I just felt that the director was very controlling which is understandable but at the same time it’s group work and everyone’sopinion is just as valuable as anyone else’s. I would have liked to help more with the shooting as I want to progress more in cinematography.
Outcome:
I personally would have wanted the concept of anxiety to have been pushed a bit more into the short film because that’s what I really wanted it to be about. However,it ended up being a bit more about being odd and quirky than being about anxiety. I definitelywant to do a piece on anxiety as I think as someone that relates to it I could create something amazing. I really should have pushed for my ideas to be heard a bit more, I just find it quite hard to push through when it seems like my ideas are being belittled and sidetracked by big headed, selfish, egotistical, ignorant members of my group.
I believe that what we wanted to highlight in our film was shown. I think anxiety and what it can do to a person is shown throughout our short film. It is important to understand that anxiety can affect many people in a plethora of ways. I myself being a sufferer know how that feels. I think if I could have changed anything about our film I would have made it a bit more obvious that the main character is suffering from anxiety rather than leaving it open for interpretation. I might be contradicting myself just a bit but it was a bit difficult to get my point across when there were such headstrong characters in my group. I wanted the short film to be more about anxiety however I’m not completely sure that it was ideally the case. For myself, I would definitely say in future projects that I need to speak up more because my opinion and ideas are just as important as anyone else’sideas in the group. It’s still worth mentioning my ideas to the group because at the end of the day it is a group and groups are supposed to work together. This is not group work and I just think it honestly shows immaturity by ignoring others in the group.
Nayan's Blog 