This trimester we were instructed to form teams of 4 and work together on 3 different projects, the first project being an experimental film. We were given one week to prepare and were told one thing: Be creative, but don’t be afraid to break the rules. Up until now, experimental films haven’t really interested me. In fact when I knew I had to make one this trimester I wasn’t really looking forward to it. Although, my perception changed once I was able to grasp just how experimental our films could be and so I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and took a lot away from it.
Leading up to the shoot, everything ran pretty smoothly. The group was able to quickly come up with an initial idea which made things a lot easier with regards to the planning of the entire day. Additionally, the script, schedule, props and the shot list were organised well in advance ensuring the shoot would run as smooth as possible. Just like on any film set however, our team did face several problems throughout the day. Probably the most difficult part of the day was the very beginning. Unfortunately there was some confusion regarding the equipment and the location in which we were supposed to shoot. Once we had finally sorted out that problem, we soon discovered our camera didn’t work. As a result, we had to change cameras 3 times before finally being able to shoot the first shot of the day. Overall, these problems put us 1.5 hours behind schedule already, which caused a lot of stress on set.
Another difficult part of the making of this film for me personally was putting it together in the editing suite. As I’ve never really edited an experimental film before I didn’t really have any ideas on how I was going to capture Robinson’s (Director) vision. After spending hours upon on hours on trying to make something work, I realised that the soundtrack was the reason for majority of the creative problems I was having. As a result I made the choice to change the soundtrack, which thankfully made the film a lot easier to edit. As the edit the progressed however, another problem occurred. I found that we lacked footage that wouldn’t convey the subtextual meaning behind the film. After finding some useful stock footage that fixed this issue, the group and I found that the new music didn’t actually work well with the story. As a result, I decided to stick with the original music and tried again. This time I was able to make it work and was able to assemble something somewhat acceptable thankfully!
I found the creative process associated with experimental film to be extremely different from the creative process I am already familiar with. I am used to going through endless weeks of planning that comes along with weekly team meetings and several drafts of the script. The experimental film process however involved limited planning which made me feel slightly unprepared. However, once I was on set, I quickly realised that limited planning is perfectly ideal as long as the initial idea is strong. After reflecting on the entire creative process, I’ve realised that experimental film has taught me how to let go and to not be afraid to break the rules. Learning not to be afraid to break the rules is definitely something I have a new found appreciation for within experimental cinema. I strongly believe this will benefit me when creating other projects in the future as I won’t be so reluctant to abide by guidelines. Rather, I will allow myself to think outside the box and become more creative which is unfortunately something I struggle to do when its needed most. Hopefully, I will be able to tap into the same mindset that I had whilst creating this unique project when creating bigger and better ones in the near future.
Our group had several inspirations when making this film, the main one being the LGBTQ+ community. Furthermore, Our director Robinson thought it would be beneficial to look back on famous experimental films and get ideas that way. He took the eye cutting scene from the French silent surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou (1929). Robinson wanted to recreate this iconic shot but shoot it in a way that would create a totally different meaning. His vision was for this shot to resemble the negative stereotypes that exist within todays society with regards to LGBTQ+ community. Below are screen caps from Un Chien Andalou and our experimental film to compare:
Another influence for this film was taken from Panic! At The Disco’s music video “This is Gospel”. In one particular part of the video, Brendon Urie (lead vocalist) is seen being held down by nurses in a surgical theatre as he tries to sit up. Robinson used this unique idea and changed it slightly so it would convey our intended meaning. To do this, we decided to write degrading words such as “Fag” “Poof” “Bent” on the hands that would be holding our actor down. This was done to symbolise the inner demons of his sub-conscious stopping him from being who he truly is. Below are two screen-caps of the scene from the music video and our experimental film to compare:
I think there are a number of ways our group could’ve improved on this project. The amount of time that was allocated to complete each shot was unachievable which as a result put a lot of stress on all crew members. While we faced other issues with regards to equipment and rooms, I believe that the schedule would still be unachievable even without these obstacles. As a result, scheduling is something that could definitely be improved on. Another thing I think we could have improved on is avoiding the attitude of “We will fix it in post”. This was a phrase that was used a number of times throughout the day which in my opinion is a bad attitude to have. Furthermore, I definitely think we could have made more of an effort with the lighting. While we took the time to do some lighting in some shots towards the beginning of the day, as the day dragged on, we got tired and decided just to “fix it in post”. While we were lucky it was experimental and got away with it, in any other circumstance the lack of lighting we did on the day would not be acceptable.
Overall, I learnt a lot from creating this project. I am grateful for the experiences it gave me and there are definitely certain aspects of the creative process I will implement into future projects. After hours upon hours sat in the edit suite I can now finally say I am very happy with the final product and excited to see what other people think as well.
You can check out our experimental film here:
Buñuel, L. (Director). (1929). Un Chien Andalou [Motion picture]. France.
Panic! At The Disco: This Is Gospel [Video file]. (2013, August 11). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGE381tbQa8
Through a Filmmaker's Eyes 