Break It Down!

It's about 12:30 in the morning and I'm sitting at my computer because I just realised I have to updated my blog! It's a matter of life or death here! I have to do it! NOW! Okay maybe not, I guess I could leave it until tomorrow but still, it's true that the creative side of the brain doesn’t fully kick in until about midnight so I'm sitting here hoping for great blogging inspiration...I'm thinking....I'm thinking...I'm thinking...

...still thinking

...Oh yeah, well I guess I should talk about what came up in my Directing class at CIT at 8:30 this morning...or I should say yesterday. I walked in, half awake as I always am in the morning, and sat down in the front row and was given a page of a script to breakdown.

While breaking down a script the director has to first read it over and over, a general rule is at least five times, to understand every aspect of the script down to a T. He/she has to bring his/hers... (this is getting annoying I know but we live in an equal world people!) ...own interpretations to the story he/she is telling. They also have to breakdown what is happening both externally and internal with the characters and be prepared to discuss this with the actors on set to reach the performance right for the film.

Other reasons to breakdown a script:

1. To understand the script's basic "Moral Premise"
2. To shot list
3. To determine all technical aspects, sound, lighting, costumes and props
4. To be prepared each day of the shoot by having a breakdown of each individual scene and you (the director...hypothetically) want to get out of it.

So that’s it from me for now. I’m gonna go pass out on my bed now. Goodbye

Cheers

Blake Lockett

Why Would I Wanna Make A Short Film?

So it is week three of Diploma in Film (and television apparently) and I am pleased to see I have two, yes count them TWO subscribers to my blog. Because these two people are so awesome as to have the taste to subscribe to my blog (hahah jokes) I will mention their names, cheers to Trav and Nick. So I hope other filmies will subscribe and read my ramblings and....yeah anyway lets get to it!

Okay, let's be honest, we all dream of making a billion dollar movie, with brilliant actors who all cost about half a million a day and doing it how we want. But the truth is....it aint gonna happen! Nah...not to stunt your dreams of being the next Michael Bay but lets be realistic, Western Australia aint spendin millions on films.

So how do you really get funding behind something like a feature film? Well you attract investors by showcasing what you can do in a short film:

Other reasons to make a short film???????:

. You can enter them in short film festivals around the world
. Its easier than making a feature....okay not really but it takes a lot less time
. It can have a defined theme, whereas a feature film will have a major theme and other themes going on in and around it, a short film is more defined in what it is saying most of the time.
. It's how you get your start (yes even Michael Bay made short films....I think)
. The budget is a little more modest than a feature.

I had the pleasure of viewing a couple of great short films in class today. One by our very own lecturer Chris Richards-Scully and I was very impressed I have to say with all of them (I'm not just saying that to pass either)

So yeah that's it for this week. Keep reading my blog! And keep attending Mr. Richards-Scully's class, don't want no drop outs! And keep watching the skies!

Cheers

Blake Lockett

Yeah...so far

I hope you guys are enjoying my blog, or at least enjoying laughing at it! So I will be discussing my projects with all you internet dudes over the next 20 weeks. I don't know if anyone will be interested but hay, it entertains me for a short period of time, so I’m happy!
It's been pretty cool so far, haven’t dosed off to much...hahah nah :)
It's great, we're still gearing up, developing ideas and stuff but I'm looking forward to seeing how it all goes.

Well that's it for now catch you all on the flip side homies!

Blake Lockett

The theme of this post is...Themes!

Theme? What's a theme? I don't know what a theme is do you know what a theme is because I don't know what a theme is....what's a theme?

That's what the dummies would say! Ha! Okay admittedly I was unsure how to articulate in full, or sum up briefly what a theme is in class today. So I will attempt it now:

A theme of a film is the ideas the filmmakers want to get across in the medium. A director has a large input into what the theme of a film will be, even a writer may have intended a script to have certain themes and a director will com along and change it. Which is why writers always change their name to Allen Smithee in the credits...nah...well some do, it all depends on wether or not the writer agrees with the themes. If its a writer/director there’s no problem then is there!

In class we watched a couple of great little short films, both witch had quite unique and challenging themes: "Bound"
"Splinter"
 Look ‘em up!


The Moral premise is also something that springs from theme. It is basically the blueprint for a writer/director and what he/she is indenting to get across to an audience. It is the down to bras tacks one sentence or statement
Mistakes lead to bad stuff, realisation leads to good stuff...or something like that....haha well its basically that. It is basically the complications and challenges a character has to go through in order to reach his/her goals.

So if you're a budding filmmaker and you are about to write your masterpiece script, think about what you really want to say with it. Even if you just want lots of explosions and blood you may find that you end up telling a story with a hidden moral...deep like the moral of the film "Mars Attacks" even I'm still trying to work that one out.

Ps. here are some writers you should look up!

. Syd Field
. Michael Hage
. Linda Seger
. Robert Mckee

 Film!!!

What are the qualitiies of a directwaaa....director?

So I woke up at about 6:30 to catch the bus into TAFE....cough cough* I mean "The Central Institute of Technology"(much better name in my opinion) and I walked into the first class and was happy to hear that it would be a directing class first up.
 
This meant that not only would I be wide awake and interested, but that I had a chance to be creative in the class. I don't want to get beaten up by camera and sound dudes, but I do enjoy the creation of a story with characters and drama a little more then I do trying to figure out how a light metre works (give me five and half F stops!!!) Don't get me wrong I am very interested in the technical aspects of film, but I think the core, the thing that holds everything in a movie together, is the characters we all can related to and, also not relate to. The human drama we all associate with....because we're human (elementary Watson).

So what is the director's job? It's been made clear many times throughout certificate III & IV by various lectures (namely Charlie Gurbiel) that the director is not the BOSS. No, the director has a boss and that’s the producer. So if the director isn't the boss, what does he actually do on a set? It's simple, he/she has creative input in all the aspects of the film, working with the actors, the DP and his buddy of all buddies the first AD to help him achieve his vision of the screenplay he is shooting. On the budget afforded to them by the studio of course!

So Mr. Richards-Scully, our lecturer has told us all to think of a list of ten attributes and qualities a director should have. Here is my list.

1. Has creativity (don't want some boarding dude who used to be an accountant directing my movie)
2. Has a vision
3. Has good communication skills
4. Can work well under pressure.
5. Has trust for the crew he is working with
6. Wants the best out of every shot
7. Will tell the crew when something is not right and work to make it better (and wont just go cry in a corner or chuck a fit at the crew).
8. Is easy going and doesn’t put the crew under stress (maybe a little pressure is okay, but stress is bad, people take medication for that!!)
9. Knows exactly when a take is perfect
10. Has a sense of the bigger picture

So that's it for this one! See you soon! But not before you see me!

Cheers filmies

Blake Lockett