Paradise Now

Said and Khaled are Muslims who are trapped in a state of injustice and oppression and they see a suicide mission as their only chance of escape and retaliation, and as an opportunity to earn their place in heaven. Both were very well rounded characters and through the course of the film their views and goals swapped.

I am, of course, quite unfamiliar with the culture and background of the characters so it is hard to empathise entirely and it seems, judging by the representation in the film, that suicide-bombers are generally people who can be easily manipulated; neither characters needed much persuasion but both changed their minds judging by what others said. In this way we could see their vulnerability and how those who took advantage of it (i.e. Jamed) could easily lead them onto the wrong path.

However, I believe they were honestly and realistically portrayed, with emotional depth and personal journeys. When we think of a 'terrorist' it is so easy to distance ourselves and form a caricature of what that is. This film broke straight through the misrepresentation of Western media and provided us with people with stories behind the faces and a state of mind which is in some way relatable.

Week 2 – In the Heat of the Dance

Fighting is pointless, rugby is dangerous, driving is hazardous but the real risk is found not in any of these things, but actually in ceilidh dancing. Kim Millar warned us of this by injuring herself during a Strip the Willow at the weekend so postponing our Content class where we would pitch our story ideas for Coronation Street. I hope she recovers soon.

The search is on for the ultimate seven minute script idea… In my tutorial with Richard we both came to the conclusion I haven’t found it yet.

Tuesday was assessment day for editing which meant it was quite relaxing, since I only needed to be there for an hour and the actual test (logging and capturing) couldn’t have been easier.

Wednesday morning was used productively as we recorded some voice-overs for Dust. In the afternoon we had a screening of In the Heat of the Night; a slick edgy murder mystery which tackled issues of racism and prejudice. It was one of those ‘only just colour’ films and there was an obvious sense of the movement into a new Hollywood era. It presented some interesting and memorable characters and featured the much quoted line “They call me Mister Tibbs!”. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thursday was a full day of Andy! The morning class was continuing on from our screening the day before with a look at the representation of gender and race. This is of course hugely important and I was struck yet again by the responsibility we have as practioners in this medium of mass communication to produce content which is not only fair but which is encouraging what is good and discouraging what is bad. I am so conscious that so many films blur this principle and excuse themselves by calling it a joke, or style, or realism. We must live up to our responsibilities and be fully aware of the huge effect that films can have for good, but also for bad.

In the afternoon we returned to our study of television and looked at it as a political force. We watched the pilot episode of Boys from the Blackstuff which was compelling viewing though perhaps a little drawn out by today’s standards. I enjoyed the story and could see the political significance but I confess what fascinated me most was seeing King Theoden of Rohan with a black moustache and a broad Liverpool accent!

It was good to see that Adam is still finding the time to teach, and we had a very interesting class on Friday morning looking at the technology surrounding mobile and web-based content. It’s almost scary to see how far we’ve come in such a short time and where we will be in the near future. However the fact is, as Adam is constantly reminding us, no-one has yet managed to harness these new systems and make them commercially beneficial and it’s got to happen soon…

We finished with a short Production class with Abigail where she showed us an actual Strip Board and went over some principles of scheduling. Our homework, then, was to do the same using the script breakdown we had already done. There is something so satisfying about the tasks of the producer. There is much less subjectivity compared to writing or directing; the correct information entered into the correct boxes and the desired results will be achieved.

Week 1 - Good to be back

There are two options when it comes to holidays. One is to maintain a continual awareness of the responsibilities and requirements of work in order to remain on top of everything and in control, which really means not having a holiday at all, and the other is simply to forget everything ‘work-related’ for the duration of the vacation and on returning to it risk being swamped by it. On this occasion I did the latter and remained faithful to these ‘holy days’ but paid the price for it on my return. I was hit by a tidal wave of emails containing unresolved issues, newly formed issues and issues soon to come! Ah, thought I, it’s good to be back! So term started, and I began swimming for shore.

There wasn’t much to be done in our final Screenwriting class on Monday morning. We handed in our seven minute premises, continued learning about dialogue then finished the story exercise we had started before the holidays which turned out to be a rather amusing disaster. So from now on we will be having individual tutorials with Richard instead of classes and our writing is our own responsibility.

I confess I was more than apprehensive when I heard that our Content class on Monday afternoon would be with Kim Millar on soaps. However, I was very pleasantly surprised as we started to learn about Storylining and the process involved in writing a serial drama such as Coronation Street. Understanding is a wonderful thing and I may say that during that session I gained a fair portion of it… and some interesting homework. For next week we were required to assemble a story idea for certain characters on Corrie. Although I would never voluntarily choose to watch a soap, writing one is an entirely different (and more exciting) kettle of fish!

On Monday evening we got free tickets to see State of Play, a new film by Kevin Macdonald based on a BBC TV Series. It was quite enjoyable, and I did get caught up in that Thriller/Detective story to a certain extent, though probably I was appreciating Russell Crowe’s performance and the journalistic setting more than the actual story. I was outraged to discover, during the live transmission of an interview with Kevin Macdonald straight after the film, that he is now working on a film adaptation of the book The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I expressed my disfavour rather volubly in the cinema and wouldn’t anyone whose dreams had been shattered so suddenly? This book, it must be understood, was one which I wanted to make should I become influential enough. Ah well, he’d better do it justice!

Tuesday was supposed to be a day of editing but Gavin was absent. I conscientiously used some of the time to catch up on some Corrie in the IT Suite. In the afternoon we had a class with Andy continuing our journey through the history of cinema and looking at the work of the crazy pioneer William Castle.

All of Wednesday morning was spent auditioning actors for Murdo’s film Dust and then the afternoon was a screening of The Best Years of Our Lives. I really enjoyed this look at the experiences of soldiers returning home after the war and I was newly impressed by William Wyler purely due to the sheer contrast of this piece compared to Ben-Hur. The film was not technically flawless or structurally compelling but it made up for this with loveable characters and an emotionally satisfying story; unlike most modern glossy Hollywood features which look good on the outside but have no heart.

We had no classes on Thursday so I used the time to deal with some of the holiday tidal wave and get my feet back on solid ground.

On Friday morning Gavin, Paul, Galina and myself met up to come up with our story idea for Corrie. I was really quite pleased with our idea and I had imagined it so clearly I knew I would be disappointed when the characters did something different in the actual show!

That afternoon we had a great Production class. Abigail introduced us to an initial Script Breakdown and handing us a ten page script she simply sent us off to do one for it. I found this exercise extremely useful (if somewhat monotonous!) and I am quite excited that we are getting into the actual practicalities of producing a film. I only wish I could have done things properly on previous projects that I’ve worked on… if only we could have done this sooner!

I must admit that the pressure was on this week. It’s hard work being busy, and it’s also great fun! In fact it’s what being a filmmaker is all about, and I still can’t quite grasp just how lucky I am to be here at the Academy, in my dream course. Still, it was a relief to get to the end of this week and feel a bit more on top of things. The tidal wave has passed, the sea is calming and my foot has at last settled on the sand. It’s good to be back.

Week 11 – Action!

Monday was a full day shoot for Lord of the Rings in 60 seconds. I was so impressed, even honoured, by the way everyone worked together. At one point I was in need of set-dressing for Gandalf’s classroom and I set some TPA students on the job. Within minutes a large white-board, a small blackboard and a boxful of amazing props were being wheeled in the door! Ultimately it was an amazingly fun shoot, which went really quite smoothly; we got all the shots I wanted in the can, and more. I just hope the finished product does justice to the great team of people who worked on it.

That night I had a bit of a panic about an actress we’d engaged through an agency for Ross’s film who I was worried we might have to pay. This would involve Adam drawing up a contract which practically would not be possible and could very likely get out of hand financially. I didn’t sleep all that well that night… a Producer’s lot!

It turned out, when I phoned first thing on Tuesday morning, that the lovely lady I’d organised everything with at the agency had assumed that it wasn’t paid, as had the actress herself! So I could breathe a sigh of relief and in the end we just gave a donation to cover expenses for our actors.

So Tuesday was yet another full day shoot this time as a First Assistant Director on Ross’s film Love, Mugs and Stickmen. Maybe it was the willing co-operation of the cast, maybe it was the size of the location, maybe it was Ross’s time-saving directing, maybe it was even my spacious scheduling, or maybe it was due to all of these things but whatever it was the shoot seemed very smooth, relaxed and productive. I can’t say if the footage reflected this with creative quality but then that’s not my responsibility. We got there, we got it done, we got away. Job done, I’m happy!

Wednesday morning was slightly more panicky because we had extra shots to squeeze into the schedule and the palates class, that would force us out of the location, was happening an hour earlier than we previously expected. Nevertheless, we managed to finish with plenty of time and a full can ready for editing. I must confess that two and a half days of strenuous shooting, with barely any sleep in between, did throw off my groove somewhat. I was barely a shadow of myself for the rest of the day.

For some reason, beyond my own comprehension, I had volunteered to help as a student mentor for an open day for S6 pupils on Thursday morning. So instead of catching up on some much needed shuteye I found myself following five sixth years’ around led by two volunteering (wide-awake) student mentors from TPA. Thankfully my job was relatively simple. “Here’s the Edit Suites. Here’s the Kit Room. Yeah, it’s a great course.” Which of course is true, and deserves enthusiasm, but I regret to say I lacked vigour.

At lunchtime we had a brief initial production meeting for Dust; the collaborative project that Murdo pitched. Again, only half of me was present but we covered everything we needed to cover I think. Following this I took some time to digitise the footage for Lord of the Rings in 60 seconds. Some of it looked really quite impressive and I look forward to when it’s cut together to see if it was all worth it!

The last day of Term Two was spent away from the Academy. Charlotte and myself reported to the big BBC building (only seven minutes late) for our induction in preparation for the Showlight shoot in May. Contrary to what I had hoped this involved the fairly mundane duty of sitting at a computer and watching some videos that discoursed on the importance of safety and the correct procedure regarding risk assessment, etc. at the BBC. However, it was exciting to get inside the BBC building (it is so awesome inside), be shown the lift, the toilets, the water dispenser and the canteen and then sit at a computer in the midst of a working BBC office. Of course, the best part of the experience was that Sheila Kane, the nice lady who showed us around, let me keep the BBC pen!

So, philosophical reflection on Term Two: it was grand, even better than Term One! Seriously, I did enjoy it and can barely wait for next term but at the same time I’m very grateful for a holiday. Do try and carefully consider the real meaning of Easter this year. There’s a serious message behind all those chocolate eggs and it has an eternal significance so it would be worth some thought.

Week 10 – “You Cheeky Bugger!”

So it begins… Pre-production that is. We were supposed to have an editing class on Monday morning but Gavin didn’t turn up so we used the time to finalise crews and get going on our three-minute class films. I agreed to position of Producer and First AD on Ross’s film, perhaps foolishly as I really didn’t know if I’d have the time.

On Monday afternoon, while Adam was advising the rest of the class on such exciting things as hiring actors, I was involved in an ELIR Meeting with a panel of people picking apart the teaching system in the Academy. It stood up to the questions admirably and it made me realise, once again, just how lucky I am to be part of this institution.

Gavin, Ross, Graeme and myself nipped down to the office in Queen Street later for a quick location scout. It seems pretty much ideal. How exciting.

We had fun class with Andy on Tuesday morning where we got to plan how we’d shoot a short scene and it took us far longer than it should have. I suppose that’s what comes of having a class-ful of students all wanting to be directors! It was interesting to identify the Hollywood influence and imagine the purely industrial process that filmmaking had once been.

We were all squashed into what was little more than a cupboard for the beginning of what was possibly our last Screenwriting class before we move to tutorials. We waded through some more premises then allowed Richard to heap hordes of holiday homework onto us before our final farewell.

After a quick tutorial with Andy, where I was assured that my ‘Moodling’ was quite acceptable, we had a programme meeting where Adam used his powerful influence to soothe our growing fear at the approaching shoots. Although, I can’t say I was actually that worried; except at my own lack of concern for the whole situation.

Cathy Come Home was a particularly impressive piece of filmmaking. Had I been told it was a documentary, rather than a drama, I would have believed it and this realism made it all the more moving. My only qualm would be that it could be seen to be abusing the power of storytelling, as many dramas do, by creating a problem, asking a question, then neither solving it nor providing a possible answer. What is the point of raising an issue, and going to lengths to display how terrible it is, if there is no attempt to suggest a solution? It is actually wasting a great opportunity to inspire people to do something about the issue. This is sort of what I felt at the end of Cathy Come Home because it was such a hopeless situation but I think in this case it was almost acting as a news bulletin for society at that time where no-one actually knew what the answer to the situation was and therefore the hopelessness solidified the point it was trying to communicate.

Thursday was spent plodding through the preparations for our class films and in the afternoon we had a class where Ray randomly rambled through different aspects of shooting a film which was ever so slightly overwhelming but at the same time hugely helpful.

A very quiet Open Day for DFTV on Friday; there were only two prospective students for the course. Not so for me though. Somehow I managed to juggle finishing our Moodle task, working on the class film, manning the booth, attending a workshop on track and preparing for shooting Lord of the Rings in 60 seconds in the evening! I would have liked to take a tour, but somehow I couldn’t find the time. The highlight of the day was when I approached Chris Underwood (Head of Vocal Studies, with a striking resemblance to Bilbo) to follow up my email requesting if he’d like to play the part of Bilbo in my remake of Lord of the Rings. He good-naturedly commented that I had a nerve to ask such a thing, that I was “a cheeky bugger” but that yes, he’d be willing to play the part.

Week 9 – “…a beautiful friendship.”

Under the Stars was the title of the Family Drama that Gavin, Paul and I pitched to Barbara on Monday afternoon and personally I think it’s a winner! A disused observatory is turned into a B&B by an old wizard-like astronomer and a strong single mother. A little bit of development and some enthralling storylines and we’re ready to pitch it to the BBC! I’d certainly watch it.

Screenwriting this week was very full. We started off discussing our analysis of The Shawshank Redemption and the interesting use of two main characters. Andy Dufrane is clearly the protagonist but the whole point is that he does not change over the film and instead Red is the character whom the theme is projected onto and who learns something which causes him to change. Then we panned through some premises (a mere seventy-two or so) but, although some were very interesting, none shone out enough to completely satisfy Richard. Then we had a quick session on dialogue which was all relatively familiar, with the general rule being “Less is more”.

Conscientiously doing overtime I strolled in on Wednesday morning for MER Training by a company called SPARQS (Student Participation in Quality Scotland; yes, I don’t know how ‘AR’ translates to ‘in’ either…). It was actually more useful than I thought it would be but still mostly common sense. Also, it seems the Academy is very much ahead of the curve in most areas, and it’s a conservatoire, so a lot of it didn’t really apply. However, I did meet a third year actress from Thurso which was a pleasant reminder of home and a surprise for both of us to know that we are not alone!

After a programme meeting with the one available member of staff we had a class, with said member, on how television reflects society. We watched an episode of the British sit-com Tony Hancock called The Blood Donor. It was fantastic and very funny. It put me in mind of the type of humour that Flanders and Swann would employ, to great effect. Very witty, very clever and very English! Then we watched the first episode of another series by the same writers; Comedy Playhouse: Steptoe and Son. This wasn’t particularly funny, in the sit-com sense, but it had a poignancy and honesty which was quite pleasing. I didn’t find it as entertaining as Hancock but I could appreciate the value of the writing.

Abigail’s class on Thursday morning involved looking at the Development stage of production. We examined an Option Agreement and a Writer’s Agreement which were, like any legal document, very long and complicated. I was fascinated to discover that in a standard Option Agreement, in paragraph 4.1.5, there is a clause stating that “the Work… is not defamatory, blasphemous or obscene”. This evoked two contrasting feelings when I first read it. First of hopefulness, as it seems those who made up this standard Option Agreement were attempting to set in place some moral boundaries and a sense of decency. Second of hopelessness, as they have failed and these guidelines are often taken out; because so many works these days are simply that: “defamatory, blasphemous or obscene”.

That afternoon I managed to catch the second half of the first episode of Lime Pictures’ Apparitions that was being screened. It looked like a fascinating series and well worth watching. It can be dangerous fictionalising something which can be a very real problem, in this case demon-possession and exorcism, for fear that people mix it up with evil presented elsewhere in the media, for example fantasy, but in this case it appeared to be handling it quite cautiously and I think the realism was integral.

What first struck me about Tony Wood (Creative Director of Lime Pictures) was that here was an intellectual. Within minutes of introducing himself he had used a number of sophisticated words which I’m sure no-one else in that room had even heard before! I could see he was well educated, with a firm knowledge of the television industry and the world in general; he was open about his beliefs and views, and aware of the strength of an argument; and most of all he was respectful, mentioning positive things about a number of people he knew and never being derogatory about individuals. I’m sorry to say that Kim, sitting beside him, looked like an enthusiastic schoolgirl and the rest of us were no more than children. I think that’s the one thing we get very little of at the Academy compared to a university. I find myself forgetting that I’m actually not very learned and there are some intellectual giants out there who do know much more than me. That’s the only problem with Student Centred Learning. It’s just a bit too student centred!

I have now come to the conclusion that I am no longer in control of my body. Perhaps I never was. It has a mind of its own, which is sometimes so strong-willed it can overrule my own mentality. Such was the case on Friday morning when, again, I slept in without warning or justification. I am assuming it was down to my extra engagement on Wednesday morning that my body decided I was due a morning off this week whether my conscious mind agreed or not! Thus I awoke on Friday morning – refreshed and alive – twenty minutes after Barbara’s last class had begun.

Casablanca is a fabulous film. Spoofed and copied many a time but no less classic for it. Some say it is the best screenplay ever written but until I have seen all the screenplays ever written I’m afraid I am in no position to judge that. It was good however and delivered a story both interesting and entertaining. I have a habit, when it comes to ‘classic’ films, to set my expectations too high and then be disappointed when the film doesn’t reach them. For some reason I expected Casablanca to be set on a ship, don’t ask me why, but when that notion had been ejected it did very well in almost reaching the height of my expectations. Certainly it delivered well enough to avoid any sense of disappointment and I was able to simply enjoy the show. Also it conveyed a theme of selflessness, in the sacrifice of personal happiness for the sake of others, more effectively than any other film I’ve seen. This is a hugely important message to be communicating today in our consumer society where everything is saying, “You can have whatever you want”, “You need more”, “Your happiness comes first”… The whole Quality of Life argument is a dangerous view to have. If we’re living life solely for what we can get out of it then we’ve missed the point. In fact we’re missing out. There’s so much more to life…

Week 8 - Real or No Real?

This week began with a brief class looking at and comparing Generation Kill and Wild at Heart. Neither interested me much, but for different reasons. Generation Kill clearly displayed very high production value and was well made but the constant bad language and rude references became wearying and ruined my enjoyment of it. There is quite enough of that in real life. Wild at Heart was almost the complete opposite. It was very safe and definitely more enjoyable but I was a bit frustrated by the melodrama, predictable characters and poor acting. However, it was a helpful class and we were given an assignment to come up with our own Sunday 8pm family drama for next week which was a lot of fun.

My first real assessment in Technical involved setting up and de-rigging a camera and lights, to light a subject using the basic three-point lighting system, entirely by myself. It went extremely well. I wasn’t really worried about it at all so I just took my time and enjoyed it. I’m hoping the shot turned out okay (Ray informed me that I’d passed as soon as it was over) and I am proud to say I was the first to have completed the assessment within the designated time.

Richard was “called away this week” so Screenwriting involved watching The Shawshank Redemption and analysing it, particularly for structure. I think what this film does best is to give the protagonist a hidden goal that is not actually revealed until the end; to escape Shawshank. There are little set-ups scattered throughout the story which of course are obvious only after having seen the film before. This is an idea I would certainly like to try in my own writing. Tuesday was also the day for submitting our re-drafts of the chosen three-minute films. Then it was a case of waiting to see which would be picked to go into production this term…

On Wednesday lunchtime we had a long and indecisive production meeting discussing what to do next in the effort to allow DFTV and TPA to collaborate. As far as I’m concerned it’s worked. I’m well into pre-production with a project involving an equal number of DFTV students and TPA students and I’m looking forward to being involved in another, one which Murdo pitched at this meeting. This is, I am aware, very self-centred of me because the idea was to get everyone collaborating, not just a specific group. However, I think this is the start. Something needs to be done to forge those links and open those doors which will then allow others to step up, follow on and get involved.

In Andy’s class we started by researching the ITV profit-drop and all the effects that it will have and then continued by looking at the representation of males in television advertising. We watched a documentary called Washes Whiter which contained some very amusing adverts from the old days. Back then they weren’t worried about being arty or vague; they just told the male consumers what the product was and told them to buy it!

We were discussing the Golden Age of cinema on Thursday morning and I went for 2001 as being the best year in Hollywood. I’ve said it before but it seems like Hollywood just aren’t delivering like they used to. Since Return of the King no film has been a ‘must-see as soon as it is released’ for me and there is none in the foreseeable future that fit that category either. I hope Hollywood is planning another Golden Age soon!

On Thursday morning we had our first Mobile/Web Content class where we looked at the definition of Mobile Content and things like User Generated Content. It was all fascinating and made more compelling by the knowledge that this is new, uncharted territory in terms of filmmaking. There are no answers yet, no business models, so we are, in a sense, pioneers. We touched on the unexpected phenomenon that is YouTube. I think the reason for its popularity is that people long to feel part of something, to belong. That is what motivates them to spend their lives at a computer, as part of a Global (but Virtual) Community and in doing so forget the importance of the real community around them. We can be who we want to be on the Internet, can’t we? It’s an alternative existence, a better one, where we can feel popular, important, respected and even loved. But it’s not real. Deep down, in the centre of our humanity, we just want to be loved. We want to be accepted for who we are and that’s why we indulge in this semi-reality and virtual world where we simulate acceptance and love and become a person that we like. We do this on the Internet because it isn’t always possible in real life. Sometimes we simply aren’t who we would like to be, and we aren’t accepted, and we aren’t loved. Yet, we can be. This is exactly what God offers. He knows who we are, he accepts us, and he most certainly loves us. We long to feel part of something, to belong, to be popular, important, respected and loved because God made us to be in his family where we are all these things. He doesn’t require us to be on a computer to be part of it, we simply have to ask. It’s our choice.

Stagecoach was a little bit disappointing. I haven’t seen many Westerns but I’ve seen enough to have fallen in love with the genre. They’ve got everything needed for a great movie and Stagecoach, as the defining film of this genre, supplied just about everything too. However, for me the beauty comes from the setting. Wide open plains, thick yellow sand, red sunsets, empty horizons; the romance and lure is in the cinemascope and colour, both of which were missing in Stagecoach. That said it was still an enjoyable film with a good story (almost a road movie!), interesting characters and some exciting action.

No Abigail this week unfortunately so we watched Double Indemnity with the third years instead. It was good fun and my first taste of Film Noir. It was basically a murder mystery but told in a more interesting way from the murderer’s point-of-view. Apart from the slight over-use of his match-lighting mannerism I thought it was an excellent film.