This piece is the final outcome for my FMP, this project was the chance for me to really find my voice as I had now explored the beginnings of my narrative likes that laid the foundations for this type of filmmaking. This was due to the FMP being very open in terms of selection as the brief was “shaping our lives” as so I chose storytelling and explored the history of humans and how it relates to storytelling showing just how natural the drive to tell stories is. This piece is obviously shaped by the world wide pandemic and so was changed due to this however the core of the film needed no adaptation as this is a story about human nature and drive to tell a story but conflict it with imposter syndrome.
My intention for this film was to communicate to people the feelings that many storytellers go through and to explain that this drive that people have, is actually a lot more common as shown in children and their love for storytelling. But this was also a way for me to explore my filmmaking desires and to find out whether or not I could tell a story with a more complicated narrative including dialogue which I had not yet touched.
The influences and research I used for this piece began with exploring the history of storytelling going back to the era of early humans and how vital storytelling was to the survival of the human race this is contrasted with the modern view of storytelling which is seen as an entertainment however I also looked into aspects of storytelling which is commonly overlooked this was our experience of storytelling and how we experience it though our lives this included looking at childhood development and how vital storytelling is for a child including both being told stories and being allowed to develop and tell their own. This framed half of my story and created the character that wanted to tell a story due to it being an innate drive we all experience however I needed a conflict and so I went and listened to storytellers experiences and how many of the experience this imposter syndrome and find getting over the fears of storytelling very difficult in this I had found my conflict. Once this was complete I began to research into influences for this film and went through my usual collection of directors however in this I had found that the fast cut inserts of Edgar Wright would be a playful way to show the monotony of this character and how this is his prison that is holding him back from storytelling.
However this was not al the research I did as I also looked into ways of non face to face communication due to the current times and found that the way that many portray texting and Voice chats are clunky and none elegant but found certain examples such as sherlock that portrayed testing by cutting out all the unnecessary and similarly the on screen films influenced my portal of the world of the characters computers and how he interfaced with them being so focussed and this screen recording but focuses on the mouse was an simple way to portray this dedication or distraction. A major part of my research was my audience feedback in which I asked my target audience and people around me to give specifics on what they want in short films this influenced my short film to ensure that it was no longer than 10 minutes.
What have I learnt from this course?
During my course I have learnt many things including video editing, camera setup, composition, framing, camera angles, how to better use the adobe suite including Premiere After effects Photoshop and audition, script writing, storyboarding and more. However the most important thing I have learnt is how and when to collaborate better as certain projects such as the short films collaboration can hold you back as you have a vision and other people's beliefs about this idea are not as in depth as yourself but in areas such as design and aesthetics you should always collaborate to some degree to ensure you get another view and make the best choices as aesthetics are much more easily wrong that right.
What is my advice for anyone joining the course?
My advice to anyone starting my course is to ensure that form day one you document and properly organise your work it is a can be simply done using folders and takes no time to think of a system to stick to however this will mean that you will not lose work and time will not be lost re doing or trying to find what you have already completed.
