MDA1700 Communicating in Film Adam Amini M00347480 Reflective Analysis Throughout my progress on the first year of my BA Film Degree,

I have been keeping an online blog to keep track of my advancement through the degree programme, and evaluate my learning on the course. My blog can be found at the following link: http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/ . I aimed to regularly update the blog with information regarding my learning on the course and my assessments and practical assignments completed for my modules. With regards to the theory side of the course present in the module MDA1700: Communicating in Film: Styles and Movements, we started looking at classical Hollywood; starting with silent comedy01 going through the stylistic aspects of the Hollywood Continuity System and ending with looking at the stylistics in action in the genre of Film Noir02. As we were studying this part of the module, we were also covering practical use of the stylistic elements of Camera, Sound, Editing and Lighting in MDA1300. I feel that this made the concepts I was being introduced to and grasping easier to understand in both modules, as learning and understanding the theory behind the more practical aspects helped me apply them more and use them to create the desired effects. The most challenging of these stylistic elements for me to grasp personally in MDA1300 was manipulating the lighting03. While I feel that I understood the theory behind it (i.e. the three point lighting system, and the different effects of different types of lighting, such as low key, high contrast and soft lighting), I found the equipment unfamiliar, and feel that I wasnt as adept at using it as I was at other filming equipment. After initial difficulty, I then chose to help with the lighting in a) the final short film brief for MDA130004 (as mainly being editor, I needed to do something more on the actual shoot) and I also manipulated lighting in the MDA1400 Campaign Film Brief05. In the short film The Gift I feel the lighting is most effective in the guitar-playing scenes, in which the soft and warm feel to the lighting adds to the emotions the film portrays. I feel that through the year my confidence with the lighting equipment and my ability to use the equipment to light a scene efficiently has improved. I believe that with regards to MDA1800, my blog shows as, as the course progressed, I related more to the content of the module and, as a result, I feel my assessments and work completed had more of a creative individuality, and was of a higher quality than it was at the start of the module. For example, I feel that the first assessment I completed: a short, filmable version of The Ballad of Barbara Allen06 was the poorest one I have completed. While I did what was asked and created a filmable scenario, the only way it really related to my studies was through the reference of the ballad being the main inspiration; i.e. I did no background research nor did I look at other materials which could serve as inspiration before writing the piece (one of the comments given in feedback). As a result I believe the story lacked any real depth and while it was a feasible scenario;

the lack of depth would have taken away from any appeal the story may have had to any form of audience. On the other hand, when comparing this to my final assessment for MDA1400 (the film treatment and critique07 based on one of my previous weekly assignments for the module08 it becomes clear that I have progressed both in my creativity, and the development of my ideas and the depths to which I research and draw inspirations to help the aforementioned development. For example, as the basis of this assessment was a previous assignment (in which we had to think of a contemporary adaptation for Macbeth) I already had feedback from my tutor for this assessment, so already had initial pointers on how I could improve the story. Two points I already knew I was going to improve on were the fact that in the story I had mentioned characters using an unnamed drug after receiving feedback I was told that using an unnamed drug to cover over plot-holes comes across as lazy an can be quite risky. As a result I initially researched illegal drugs with effects similar to what would happen to characters in the story, yet in the end after studying Macbeth more in 1800 with regards to shakespearian characters and their psychological depth, and the study of Tragedy, I decided that to make part of the story involve Sophia MacBeths descent into evil, she would start out as a wholesome, good character. This meant that I would use prescription drugs so that her reputation wasnt tarnished from the start of the story. So, unlike in my previous assessment, I researched appropriate areas and in the end, decided to incorporate the prescription drug Diazepam into the story, as it provides psychological effects similar to those needed for me story. I also looked at a wider range of books and films for inspiration for how best to extend the story into a length which would be appropriate for a film. MDA1400 was, I feel, the module which allowed me, for the first time, to truly exercise my full creative potential as a filmmaker. For the first assignment for the task I was made director for the one minute film based on the theme of Space.09 After first discussing ideas based on the idea of Outer Space, I had a thought, and pitched to my producer (Chris Salisbury,) the idea I had of a more experimental film based on the idea of No Space, which can be taken to mean no personal space, no room to breathe or when a person feels trapped in themselves so to speak, which I believe is a feeling many of us in todays hectic world can relate to. The idea I had involved a person against a grim-looking background, looking more and more uncomfortable as the camera moves closer, and the tension (and sounds) build, until they let out a scream. After an initial production meeting in which I showed the storyboards and explained the ideas Id had for different editing and text techniques the producer set a date and we were set to film. While I feel that the week-long deadline may not have been long enough for me to get such a wide variety of shots as I had hoped to use, the ones I did manage to get went very well, I believe, and I feel that the film we created effectively fulfilled the brief in what I feel was a different and creative manner. While filming the piece I really enjoyed experimenting with the different imagery, such as using the black tape to emphasise the rigid, entrapping lines on the cinderblock walls, and making the shape of the window which later has bars

across it, intercut with the shots of the actress looking increasingly uneasy and distressed; signifying her long for an escape (the window) and her denial of such freedom (the bars). In relation to my interest in experimental and the more artistic side to cinema, I also really enjoyed a lot of the content in the latter part of MDA1700.10 The part of this subject I found most interesting was the sessions on the American Avant Garde, and the work of Deren and Brakhage. While I initially was mostly looking forwards to the lectures on the Horror genre, which had always been a favourite of mine, I found the ideology and themes behind the American Avant Garde, and the way they used the stylistic elements of film in a distinctive, creative way particularly striking and interesting. I found Derens Meshes of the Afternoon and Brakhages The Way to Shadow Garden both very distinctive and intriguing films to watch and have the chance to study, even choosing to reference them in my final summative assessment for the module.11 Overall, while I dont feel that I fulfilled my initial aims of keeping a regularly updated blog, as I feel that there was a definite lack in my posting and use of the blog as the year went on, when looking back over they year now it is evident that the blog is useful in organising my learning, and allowing me to see how I have progressed in certain modules (i.e. 1800, and my practical skills form the start to the no space film, for example). It is also useful in reflecting on my work and showing links between the different modules in the course. I feel that while it may not be as in depth as it could have been, with relation to my overall learning, the key points and factors on my blog, as shown in this reflection, are ones which display what I feel are the most important sides of my learning: i.e. development of practical skills, development of the effort I myself put into the assessments I am given, and my interest in different styles of film, such as the American AvantGarde, which thanks to this course, I have had the opportunity to study in-depth. Blog References: 1. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/mda1700-weektwo.html 2. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/mda1700-weeks-3-6hollywood-continuity.html 3. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/mda1300-weekfour.html 4. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/mda1300-gift-shortfilm-brief.html 5. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mda1400-brief-03campaign-film-dont.html 6. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/mda1800assessment-01-death-of-barbara.html

7. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/mda1800-finalassessment-film-treatment.html 8. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mda1800-finalassessment-development.html 9. http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/mda1400-brief-01-nospace.html 10.http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/mda1700-weeks-1924-theoretical.html 11.http://adamamini-ba-film-pdp.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/mda1700assessment-03-final-american.html