Reflection

In reflection, I feel my understanding and appreciation for experimental film has come a long way through this module. When initially watching experimental film prior to the module although enjoying it I thought the idea behind it was to make the least sense as possible and to just confuse audiences, this opinion has now changed through the process of editing this film. The level of detail I have put into every aspect of the film, more concentrated in the last push of the project has changed the previous mindset I had. Every single element of the film I have made is well thought through and can be explained. For example the choice of audio selected in the History channel sections relaying our group's thoughts towards frustration.

In addition, to address the elephant in the room which is the current pandemic. I feel choosing to continue to work in a group aided the creative process more than hindered it as I initially thought it would of. My group and I have made the most of every meeting and used the information and recommendations Matt gave us to expand on the film and work effectively at a distant. I’ve also found the emphasis on using technology to communicate surprisingly more effective than I initially thought. A large role in this being the shared Google drive folder. I believe this folder was perhaps the most essential component to the project and the final result of the film. The creation of the folder allowed for every single team member to keep informed with current versions of the film and a tool to share resources to add to the film. As the editor of the film, this was incredibly useful as it allowed for backups of footage in one organised location making the process very efficient. My contribution of regularly uploading sequences for my group to give me notes on allowed for me to make multiple edits very quickly and efficiently without leaving to conjecture what my group wanted from the result of the film.

The initial ideas of the film were to be reflective of our generation and the frustration we experience and I feel for the most part we have achieved this aim, in some areas I feel the film is too subtle in its frustration, such as in the minute details of the graphics. It's also interesting that as time went on the film became unintentionally political in some places such as the Regan/Trump parallels becoming a more prominent feature and narrative to the film. The frustration element also took on new relevance as lockdown began and we all became increasingly frustrated with our daily lives. Which I believe makes the film more effective in its aims of evoking an emotional response from the audience as frustration is an emotion everyone is currently feeling. However, I am glad as the film progressed our group went for a more lighthearted approach to these matters than the overtly serious film we set out to make. As in learning about audience engagement through this process to create a frustrating film, it must be entertaining so the viewer doesn’t switch it off. Throughout the module, I've really developed as an editor as initially I really struggled in creating a coherent film from a mass selection of clips which don't belong together. I also learnt more about how to effectively pace an archive film from watching Adam Curtis and other filmmakers, in order to create maximum impact on the audience, which I believe is evident in the final result of the film.

The Film:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11tF05vkKVe9psKNeHvzOLse9RXnKzJnF

The Drive:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xRiR2QrrwmKyFpToDP_rc8xjfzj-di0E

The Last Supper

On Matt and the group reviewing the 12th sequence of the film although the film had come a long way over the past couple of weeks. The ending came across as too flat compared to the dynamic nature of the rest of the film.

Initially, the idea for the ending clip was that the 'viewer' switches off the TV and goes outside which was to be represented by a minute-long clip of Mariam's garden. However, moving forward although we liked the idea. It just didn't work and our respective peers didn't understand the last clip when we showed them the film.

As a new suggestion for the ending Mariam came up with the idea of all the channels going to 'No signal' suggesting programming has stopped. Another suggestion from Matt was a really fast credit roll much like that the end of Sean Baker's Tangerine discussed in an earlier blog post.

As a group, we decided to incorporate both the ideas into the end sequence. The last clip goes back to Lillie at the side of the pool as the murder audio plays on the catch-up channel '5STAR'. This links back to the beginning of the film, so it is as if the audience has missed the entirety of the story, hopefully creating a sense of frustration. Just as Lillie is about to fall into the water the screen shows the channel number '030' and 'no signal' indicating programming will start again at '10 am'. The channel switches to the end credits of 'Casablanca' except they are running at a comically fast speed so the audience cant read them accompanied by the main theme music from 'Casablanca'. The channel then switches through various other channels all saying 'no signal'. The screen turns then black suggesting to the audience the film is over except it isn't as the DVD logo bounces across the screen again. Having the end of the film reflect the beginning of the film suggest the cyle of frustration we go through daily. I do believe the ended is more humourous that my group intended but I think that is largely due to me doing all the editing and I usually end up making whatever work I'm doing largely satrical.

In adding the final credits of the film, I decided to bounce them across the screen in the same way the DVD does so the language of the film doesn't just end at the credits.

Lillie also came up with a title for the film "Working Remotely". Which I thought was very apt considering the majority of this film was made via zoom calls and working remotely.

Ironic Adverts

Now the main template for the film's structure was laid out. My group pointed out something which was evidently missing and perhaps the most irritating and frustrating feature of TV altogether: adverts.

Lillie and Matthew both found a good selection of daytime TV adverts which make you want to rip your eyes out such as the 'ShamWow' which I amped up the frustration on by not letting the audience see the final wipe of the mess cleared up.

Lillie managed to find an advert for a television show called 'Home' and one for a holiday company which said 'Time for a holiday?' which regarding our current lockdown situation were rather hilarious jabs at the fact we are forced to stay at home and even though we may want a holiday we can't leave the country as of the moment.