This semester I have learnt a lot about the industry, my style/preferences and also myself. I have taken part and completed a range of projects, a few that wouldn’t necessarily be in my comfort zone. As my chosen role is directing, I have focused all my studies in becoming a better director and developing my skills. I wanted to break them down into smaller sections so I can really evaluate myself.
Pre Production
Pitching
The pitch was one of my strong points in the project. On the national occupational standards, it describes a director to be able to “15. how potential distribution and optimum multi-platform plans can work for ideas… 16. how to create and pitch effective packages for potential investors… 17. how to work with others in an encouraging and constructive manner through the development process” (Creative Skillset, 2019, NOS CODE: SKSP1) I kept all of these things in mind when creative my projects. For Nation Wide, I created an option for a 30 second TV advert, and also a longer social media advert. I showed that I could work with teams in previous projects, and people liked working with me. One of my strongest attributes as a director is that I’m confident talking in front of large groups of people and I can give a really strong pitch. Going back to my feedback from what Peter Waiting, he said “Your pitch stood out from the others due to you being conscious about the brand. You took the hashtag #InTheirShoes and worked with it rather than trying to fit into stereotypes…You were the only one that had a vision for the brief that hit every point and this was done in a way that wouldn’t distract from the brand or the message.” (Waiting, 2019) Furthermore, when I gave my pitch for Don’t Fear The Reaper to try and win a major, I have the same quality of feedback. “Izzy’s pitch was delivered with confidence and she came across very well to the panel. She had clearly prepared and put a lot of thought into the logistics of the shoot.” (Lincon, 2019). The pitching process has been something that I have really looked into over the past few years, and I have really tried to increase my level of confidence, so I’m glad the hard work has paid off.
Pre-production documents
On the other hand, another part of the pre-production is creating the documents needed to shoot. One of these documents is a storyboard. I learnt from Dave Mill’s, a commercial director, that you don’t have to be the best drawer but people able to show what shots you want within the film. Something that I know that I have to work on is my terminology, which would help in me in my pre-production documents and also on set. Kitty Fish said, “To improve on this, she could learn more terminology, which I think would enhance her treatments and her on-set discussions with the DOP and camera teams” (Fish, 2019). This is something that I will definitely work on in the future, as I know it important to be able to get across your ideas in a clear and strong way.
Script Writing
I focused a lot on the script writing for the short film Don’t Fear the Reaper. Script writing was my original passion and my pathway that took me into directing. It was hard switching off my directing brain and get back into script writing at first, as I wanted to describe exactly how I would picture it. One of the parts I struggled with most was the dialogue writing. In the book Making a Winning Short Film, it goes over the different types of dialogue. We didn’t want the script to be to on the nose, so I research sub-text. The book said “When you write, you can indicate subtext with one or two words in parentheses.” (Levy, 1994). This actually was really good advice as a script writer as it helped us cut down the pages and make the dialogue more fluid, furthermore it showed me as a director to be able to read more into subtext and learn what the characters emotions were.
Production
Working with Actors
I believe that I have really improved in the way that I talk to actors. It’s a skill that I’ve tried to develop over the last three years as it’s something that its vital for a director to know. Bad acting can take away from the production value of the overall film and van be distracting for audiences. I was really happy about the performance of the actors in the advert, “In Their Shoes”. The actor who played the boy in the advert said “I love working with Izzy as an actor because she understands what we need on set in order to do our job properly and she knows what she needs from us. She makes this clear to us in order to efficiently carry out her splendidly cinematic and artistic vision.” (Hanley, 2019) Furthermore, Jack Barlow the first AD said “On the Production of nationwide (in their shoes) Izzy who was the director did an amazing job in getting the best performance out of both the talent. She was calm, confident and understanding of what feelings she wanted the talent to have in each scene.” (Barlow, 2019) One of the ways I have tried to improve this year was actually learning about how actors work, and trying some acting myself. In the book Acting for Film it address directors by saying “So be an actor and try out all the exercises. The more you you know about how actors need to function, The more chance you stand of getting them to do it the way you mean.” (Churcher, 2003) I’m really happy to see that all my hard work paid off.
Working with Crew
One of the aspects that I have struggled with overall has been learning about what all the other roles do on set. On the site Career Trend, it states “the director must manage all creative aspects of production while also working with producers, who tackle the business end of films. Actor, editor, camera operator, sound engineer — a director must speak the language of each to successfully accomplish a film. Directors must then use technical, creative, interpersonal and leadership skills on the job while shouldering responsibility for the financial and creative success of a film.” (Johnson, 2019). A director has to be a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and needs to understand each role. Going back to my testimonials, Kitty Fish said this was something I needed to improve on in the sense of pre-production and post-production. “she could learn more terminology, which I think would enhance her…on-set discussions with the DOP and camera teams” (Fish, 2019) In the next coming months, I will try my hardest to learn the terminology which is needed from me. I have already started this process by reading camera trainee books, so I can learn about lenses and how to get the shot I want. Furthermore, when I spoke to Jack Barlow he said: “ (on what I could improve on) it was to knuckle down her look/ idea for the set and make sure the Art Department follow her demands.” (Barlow, 2019) I had several problems on set when it came to the art not being to my level of perfection. In the future, I will make sure I check it beforehand to make sure that it is up to standard as the art department may not know what level I am expecting. Having problems with the set made the whole production delayed. Another point that came up during my review sessions was that I wasn’t taking advice from tutors. If this was an agency, I wouldn’t be able to pass off the comment, I would have to take it on the chin and take the advice, even if I knew it wouldn’t work.
Post Production
Learning about editing has really helped me advance as a director as I have learnt more about shooting styles, coverage and what works and doesn’t. The LeapFrog TV adverts were the first commercial editing I had done, so it taught me about telling a story in a 30 second commercial and how to sell a product. This helped me when creating the Nation Wide commercial as I understood the timings more and that every frame included is important.
Overall
One of the challenges I faced was proved within the project of “In Their Shoes.” Even though I felt very passionate about the project, I found myself struggling with it more than others. I believe this is because it required more technical skills than creative. In the book The Art of Film – An Introduction to Film Appreciation, it states “Although the motion picture medium more than any other calls for the imaginative mind, more than any other too, it calls for the practical mind.” (Elliot, 1948). This is probably one of the oldest books I’ve read one filmmaking, but this quote still stands the test of time. I’ve always concentrated on letting my creative side out and having the creative control on set, but this project forced me to get technical and prove myself as a practical filmmaker.
Another challenge I found was learning about all the terminology. I will carry on learning about other departments, even try going to some workshops like I did with acting, so I can learn about the terminology and the mechanics of filmmaking. I can also read books like Screen Craft, it states, “People who work successfully in the medium seem to understand this (screen grammar) instinctively, yet you never hear this or see this explained.” (Rabiger, 2008). This to me shows that I have to put the effort in to learn the grammar use on set so I can get my vision across clearer, and the best say to learn is hearing it being used in a professional context.
I do believe I have proved myself as a filmmaker and a director over the last several months, and improved my skills by pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I need to carry on learning and keep motivated, as there will always be something that I can improve.
Bibliography
Lindgren, E. (1948). The Art of Film – An Introduction to Film Appreciation. 2nd ed. Hertfordshire: George Allen and Unwin Ltd.
Lincoln, L. (2019). Testimonial. [email].
Waiting, P. (2019). Testimonial. [email].
Fish, K. (2019). Testimonial. [email].
Hanley, B. (2019). Testimonial. [email].
Churcher, M. (2003). Acting for film. Kent: Virgin Books. Pg.8
Johnson, S. (2019). What Are the Skills Required for a Film Director?. [online] Careertrend.com. Available at: https://careertrend.com/what-are-the-skills-required-for-a-film-director-13653592.html [Accessed 12 Dec. 2019].
Levy, E. (n.d.). Making a winning short. New York: Henry Holt and Company, Inc., p.78.
Rabiger, M. (2008). Directing Film Techniques and Aesthetics. Burlington: Elsevier Inc., P.61.
Izzy Pye - Filmmaker 