Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 1

FILM PRODUCTION UNIT EVALUATION AND RESEARCH PORTFOLIO

By

Course

Professor

Name of Institution

City and State

Date
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 2
Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio

In my opinion, one gains considerable knowledge and skills about directing a movie and

also being generally innovative while at it. While working in the movie industry as a director, it

is important to develop a particular interest in sound production. My role as a sound assistant is

to ensure that the sound in films is used simultaneously with particular film shots to engage the

audience. The music in the films especially, thriller films, creates an intense atmosphere that

makes it easy to understand and enjoy the film. My sound specialism ‘Flipped Meaning’ requires

me to ensure the microphone and communication devices are working effectively. Developing a

better understanding of sound engineering and also how the sound department works in harmony

with other sectors in the film industry is paramount. This helps in discovering the significance of

teamwork and organization in such an environment. As a competent sound assistant, I am

optimistic that these Level 6 Graduation films meet the standards of my bachelor’s degree in film

making.

I must admit that the skills I will gain will be instrumental in advancing a professional

career journey. I will continue to advance in my studies and even in the future when I join the

movie industry. I believe the movie I am working on will allow me to work with like-minded

people whom I have always wanted to collaborate with. This will encourage me to strive to

develop quality relationships, especially in the film industry (Belton & Weis, 1985). I believe

that I will also establish a good rapport with colleagues, and as such, I will be in a position to

easily direct the fiction movie in its entire process of production.

I have worked on two other university projects, but I have a new project that is working

on that I believe will help me in utilizing my leadership skills. I know my self-confidence will

also be boosted particularly because I will direct the film and I have a flair for movie production.
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 3
Moreover, I have realized that the team under me is not only cooperative but also immensely

talented (Proferes, 2017). I am optimistic that the film production will be a great success, and the

shoot will allow me to network with talented people who I may consider working with in the

future or even in the University.

I like new challenges, and for this reason, I believe the skills I have gained will help me

tackle challenges in the movie industry as a sound engineer and director. The film industry

requires one to have the ability to work under pressure and also keeping calm under stressful

situations. I choose to work on two films; Thrall and The Landing Platform. The Landing

Platform script focuses on the loneliness, imagination, and fantasies that young adults

occasionally go through. It speaks to young teenagers and adults who may be going through

depression because they frequently feel abandoned.

I believe that young people facing loneliness will realize that they are not alone and will

prefer to receive guidance and counseling if the situation gets worse. Zemeckis notes that Jacob’s

activities with his Boombox are similar to Chuck’s interactions with Wilson in the film

Castaway. Dickerson argues that Jacob must be slim because he lost significant weight. He is

more boyish due to his fantasies and imaginations (Rodrigues, 2006).

He argues that although Jacob’s sense of fashion is poor. He is independent and has a

unique lifestyle. I believe that movies have influenced our way of living as compared to any

other type of art (Katz & Katz, 1991). The audience engages with films more than any form of

art. Sometimes movies depict controversial issues happening in our society, and this can cause

public debate, however negligible. This happens when the film is creatively done especially

when there is a narrator behind the scenes whose chief objective is to entertain.
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While working on the film, Thrall as a sound assistant, my role is to operate on the audio

mixer and troubleshoot the sound devices in case a problem related to sound issues arises.

Edward Zwick held an interview and talked about his movie Blood Diamond, which features

Leonardo DiCaprio (Ings, 2006). He said that while entertaining the audience, a filmmaker

should also include challenges that the audience can relate with. Edward categorically said that

innovative stories and themes are paramount in every movie. With these two, films become more

captivating and interesting. He further added that the main objective of a filmmaker is to

entertain the audience. However, this simply means that as much as directing is important,

quality audio is paramount too.

The Edward Zwick interview helped me to think about the Thrall film critically. It is

about a man who was enslaved during the First War but decides to break free and in addition to

avenging his father’s death, meet his ethnic group (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier 2013). The movie

will ostensibly make the public think about the problems slaves go through. This is something

that I am passionate about, and I would like to continue producing such films even after

completing my studies (Lyver & Swainson, 1999). This doesn’t mean that Thrall is the only

movie that can spark debate among the public or entertain the audience. However, I believe the

movie will have immense dramatic potential.

I also intend to work on a contemporary documentary film probably after working on The

Landing Platform. My view is that documentary filmmakers should utilize archival elements

such as photographs, recordings, and other film footage. Interestingly, some documentary movie

producers have used their archives and this is quite tedious. I believe it is important to borrow

from other documentary films or other archival materials especially when the documentary is

based on a historical subject. For instance, Night and Fog documentary film borrowed heavily on
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 5
the Holocaust. Emile de Antonio’s documentary films are also skillfully edited thanks to ample

research from quality archival materials. Vivian Sobchack argues that documentary films do not

only come across as movies but also as a real-life experience. According to her, the documentary

does not only entail entertainment.

“The term documentary designates more than a cinematic object. Along with the obvious

nomination of a film genre characterized historically by certain objective textual features,

the term also—and more radically— designates a particular subjective relation to an

objective cinematic or televisual text. In other words, the documentary is less a thing than

experience—and the term names not only a cinematic object but also the experienced

“difference” and “sufficiency” of a specific mode of consciousness and identification

with the cinematic image.” (Gaines & Renov 1999, pp.241).

Upon Sobchack’s ideology, I am more inclined to produce ‘appropriation films’, that is,

films that provide knowledge and information in the long run. I have decided to direct the Thrall

script based on my methodology and mindset because I feel I am in a better position to work on a

film that resonates with my life. I even rewrote the script after watching an Interview with Mark

W. Travis, a filmmaker too. He admitted that most directors change the plot of a movie into

something they can control and direct (Dancyger, 2006). I realized this could be a challenge, so I

contacted Mark to advise me more on what to do. I wrote him a couple of my rewritten scripts

because he was a bit busy but was more than glad to reply online. Fortunately, his feedback

showed me that he wasn’t against my idea of rewriting the film.

One of the most important issues we agreed on was doing away with a lot of dialogues on

the script and instead used more human components. We also discovered that omitting

information from the beginning of the script and using it at the end would make the final piece a
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 6
bit entertaining (Sauer et al., 2003). Withholding information can create suspense among the

audience, and as such, I will give it a try by withholding the identity of the main characters. The

backstory in the film I intend to work on will influence the dressing of the characters, props, and

costumes, so my mind is not stressed into making these decisions. The backstory is not relevant

to the audience, and for this reason, I will not let this affect the shooting of the film.

I did some research, and I stumbled upon a book written by David Mamet. He argued in

his book that a character's trait is more important than the character. According to him, the

character’s behavior influences the agenda and the quality of a film (Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier,

2013). I plan on revealing the identity of the characters as opposed to my original thinking. I will

ensure the character’s roles and qualities are clear. I have had the opportunity to direct two

mother projects in the past, and I have realized I have had a challenge in explaining my objective

in a group meeting (Sauer et al., 2003). It has not been easy trying to explain my vision of a film.

The book ‘The Director's Idea: The Path to Great Directing’ made me rethink about this

issue once again. I will need to share my vision in writing to the group even before we shot the

film (Dancyger, 2006). I will select the best phrases when writing the vision statement to ensure

the team understands my vision concerning the film. I will have no problem when the team

makes different suggestions from what I envisioned about the movie. To my advantage, I could

still use the original script if I find that I am not impressed with the plot of the film. However,

this time I do not want to feel like the movie is taking the wrong direction as it has happened

before.

The effectiveness of German films attracted me because they have great at creating

tension. I wanted the protagonist in our film to appear unique and extraordinary. My original

idea was to make the star woman appear real before the movie starts so that the audience can be
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 7
glued to the film until its end (Sauer et al., 2003). German films are expressed more clearly, and

since I prefer using this expressionism, it will be easy for us to create a captivating film

altogether.

The film will also borrow heavily from thriller films like the Black Sabbath and The Ring

and for this reason, we will be in a position to create a dramatic effect that is similar to these

films. The film will also be borrowed from horror films such as Stragmata since it employs

German expressionism too (Dancyger, 2006). I was fascinated by the female character that is

attacked by an evil spirit that tortures her the same way Jesus was tortured in the bible. Even

though the storyline of the movie is quite disturbing, it was still instrumental in creating the

Thrall film.

I made a list of these reference movies and I sent them to my production manager. He

developed other reference films we can borrow from, and I was impressed (Rodrigues, 2006).

The teamwork spirit in our crew is encouraging. I believe it is important for us to hold several

group meetings to ensure we all had the same goals and objectives. I drew a storyboard version

which I knew was a bit sophisticated, but I never wanted to limit my vision about the film. My

cinematographer took my drawings and conceptualized the ideas. After that, we developed a

photo board since this would make it easier to understand and shoot the film (Katz & Katz,

1991).

The next stage is shooting the film. Some shots may not turn out as expected. For

instance, the star woman apparition is not easy to cast (Lyver & Swainson, 1999). For this

reason, I will do the best I can to ensure the shots have similar effects as the movies I envisioned.

Moreover, this will make it possible to strategize on making the other shots as captivating as

possible.
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 8
We will regularly change the position of the video camera since this will make the visuals

of the shots more appealing and interesting, especially with background images. We will also

focus so much on the positioning of the video camera to ensure that we deliver the best when we

shoot the movie. Additionally, we will also look for the best lenses and lighting. The design of

the production has to be the best if we want to churn out a quality film (Ings, 2006). The idea I

have about the bible characters will require evaluation too. Props will also be set for the star

woman apparition. For this reason, we need to work extra hard to ensure this is spot on. This will

enhance the quality of the film since it provides every detail as opposed to a general visual

description.

It is important to have as many shots as possible although I understand that time may not

be on our side. I require two good actors and one actress in the film. The movie will depend

heavily on their roles, and as such, I have realized that it’s going to be a bit challenging than I

previously thought. Jacob is supposed to be a man who has a boyish demeanor and it’s not easy

to find an actor who could exactly fit into the character’s qualities in The Landing Platform film

(Katz & Katz, 1991). It’s a daunting task. The character that will be auditioned will need to be

highly experienced. That’s why I decided to consult Proferes on this. I will also hold a meeting

with my actors to give me their opinions. I used Elia Kazan’s idea described in Proferes' book.

I believe that this will enhance the performance of the mediocre actors in the set. We will

advise the less experienced actors to rehearse their lines as much as possible. Lucky for us, we

still have much time on or hands to focus on the rehearsal part. We will give lines that prove

difficult to the highly experienced actors (Crittenden, 2012). The backstory may be irrelevant to

the audience but it plays much significance to the crew since we know the reason as to why a
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 9
character is in a particular place. When cutting out scenes, I will use dramatic beats by changing

the characters’ positions or the positioning of the video cameras.

Nicholas Proferes noted in his book that it is important to separate scenes while casting a

film since this enhances clarity to the audience and eliminates any kind of confusion. (Proferes,

2017). He compared changing scenes to new essay paragraphs. I have always used this method

because it always had positive results, and my intuition strongly feels that it’s the right thing to

do. After watching many films, I have realized that dramatic blocks provide clarity and help the

audience to understand the movie script better. Proferes used a dramatic scene from the film

Hitchcock’s Notorious to explain the importance of changing scenes, the camera’s angle, and the

characters in a film. As a director, I always ensured the characters were filmed in different scenes

and positions, and I realized that this provided emphasis on the film (Belton & Weis, 1985).

Our selection of props will create the platform that Jacob built so that he would once

again have a meeting with the star woman. I must admit that I have worked hard on this Level 6

Graduation film. I have developed an unwavering passion too. I also get a feeling of excitement

when we shoot films, and I can attest that this is truly my calling. I learn new directing ideas

every time I work on a film project, and this will comes in handy when I will possibly work on a

more challenging task. Moreover, the knowledge I have gained regarding sound engineering will

make it easier for me to become the best version of me, particularly in my next unit, which also

has a project I need to work on.

Belton, J. and Weis, E. eds., 1985. Film sound: Theory and practice (p. 67). Columbia

University Press.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/b329/2b0b9e0446fdf468b2d0525ba5311cf1c806.pdf

Crittenden, R., 2012. Fine cuts: the art of European film editing. CRC Press.

https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=84HOAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Crittenden,+R.+(2006).

+Fine+Cuts:+The+Art+of+European+Film+Editing.+Oxford:

+Routledge+&ots=9sBRuHaYmn&sig=BE77DpAlQjp7-pHqSvLc1BBaR4w

Dancyger, K., 2006. The director's idea: the path to great directing. Taylor & Francis.

https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=O0uF0_zwnsIC&oi=fnd&pg=PT1&dq=Dancyger,+K.+(2006).

+The+Director%27s+Idea:+The+Path+to+Great+Directing.+Oxford:

+Routledge+&ots=rY0DOwBNKG&sig=Tjxs1GEnbV6xoQcYb73UkXb8PTM

Gaines, J. and Renov, M. eds., 1999. Collecting visible evidence (Vol. 6). U of Minnesota Press.

Pp. 241–254. https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=u9oR1bHibFgC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=Sobchack,+Vivian.+1999.+

%E2%80%9CToward+a+Phenomenology+of+Nonfiction+Film+Experience.

%E2%80%9D+Pp.+241%E2%80%93254+in+Collecting+Visible+Evidence,+eds.

+Michael+Renov+and+Jane+Gaines.+Minneapolis:+University+of+Minnesota+Press,

+1999&ots=ZsTXUugMJ-&sig=afqdHHcqhiAifRCZzluTlRFYeWs

Ings, W., 2006. Talking pictures: a creative utilization of structural and aesthetic profiles from
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 11
narrative music videos and television commercials in a non-spoken film text (Doctoral

dissertation, Auckland University of Technology).

https://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/346

Katz, S.D. and Katz, S., 1991. Film directing shot by shot: visualizing from concept to screen.

Gulf Professional Publishing. https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=tNkNacuK8poC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Katz,+S.+(2011).

+Film+Directing:+Shot+by+Shot+

%E2%80%93+Visualising+from+Concept+to+Screen.+UK:+Taylor+

%26+Francis+Group+&ots=LXn3jZ9uDQ&sig=2jxg13Ql2oBZUXdAbfrOPOs7GiM

Lyver, D. and Swainson, G., 1999. Basics of video production. CRC Press.

https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=ztovCgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Nisbett,+A+(1995).

+The+Sound+Studio.+Oxford:

+Focal+Press+&ots=a6c4czq2p_&sig=DRVKMf9jilOg1lul5IasBOfaTi8

Proferes, N.T., 2017. Film Directing Fundamentals: see your film before shooting. Taylor &

Francis. https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=7EcrDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Proferes,+N.+(2004).

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+Routledge+&ots=isD0XHgh9-&sig=B5Mkko1An8UWElRlJS1P3tswH08

Rabiger, M. and Hurbis-Cherrier, M., 2013. Directing: Film techniques and aesthetics. Taylor &

Francis. https://books.google.com/books?

hl=en&lr=&id=iTzVG9CIAn8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR2&dq=Weston,+J+(1996).
 Film Production Unit Evaluation and Research Portfolio 12
+Directing+Actors.+Studio+City,+CA:+M.

+Wiese+Production&ots=bOypUkVpb_&sig=8-1x6-3Cor1cW7PT4wP4izfX9iY

Rodrigues, C., 2006. Animating the image: reflections on character and process in the" The

First

and Last Loves of Leonardo Lopes" (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town).

https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/8134

Sauer, D.K., Sauer, D.K. and Sauer, J.A., 2003. David Mamet: A Research and Production

Sourcebook (No. 18). Greenwood Publishing Group. https://books.google.com/books?

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+Penguin+&ots=efO50EojKE&sig=iwUM57864fyGsAJm2Jk-HDiOWcc