Category: Assignment 3

Mr. Hercules | Fixing the end

This one ends with a special thanks to Kong Kong before the audio fades out.

I also try to do the putting in another photo so that the trophy photo doesn’t stay on for too long. Maybe it’s okay, maybe it’s not. I’ll ask around for opinions.

 

Artist’s Statement process.

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Okay, not really. This was all done digitally but handwriting shows thought process so- there we go.

I really did not want to include “my” as can be see in the last sample sentence. It just feels so needlessly manipulative of emotions. I want it to be understated. I am going to go with My Kong Kong is Mr. Hercules.

Mr. Hercules

This first one is one of the final edits but with the title as Josiah Tan’s Mr Hercules. In the intro, he talks so passionately about his friend being Mr. Hercules that I thought it was a good set up for the rest of the film, hopefully, being me passionately presenting him as my “Mr. Hercules”.

Using Josiah Tan’s Mr. Hercules was a little quirky so I tried to just put Mr. Hercules. The idea is for people to form the connection themselves. Hopefully this one works.

I tried shifting the timings for the title and credits, but I think I will stick to the first one. It also feels like the ending is abrupt. I need something to end the film. I am really hesitant to do a film dissolve- I’ll try to find some other way around it.

I am considering putting in a shot of my grandparents with my father and his siblings during the part where he talks about his family going to see him at the competition. Will draft it out and see how it goes from there.

End of Landscape

And a new beginning.

This film is entitled Josiah Tan’s Mr. Universe with the idea that he is my Mr. Universe. (Yeah it’s cheesy, let’s move on) He was my hero growing up because he was so strong. Mr. Universe is a title given to a bodybuilder who has won the the Mr. Universe Bodybuilding competition. Hence- connect the dots.

From the interview, I had him talk about his bodybuilding “career” from a couple of photos. In all honesty, I chose not to use footage of the interview because I had to hold the camera up (refer to the previous 4D post). I feel that the way the interview was done gave off the atmosphere that I wanted and it transitions well to the final scene.

 

Okay this is in the same post, but I came up with this version (the proper version). There was a soundbite of him talking about one of his gym buddies posing together near the old Cathay building. He talked about how his gym buddy won the the Mr. Hercules competition during the release of Hercules (1958 film). After listening to that, I decided to include that soundbite into the start of the film before introducing him as my Mr. Hercules. Because I show his face towards the end of that one scene, it allows the audience to see him as a regular person before seeing him as I see him.

Maybe this is the last version?

Who am I kidding. I have one more day. Post-production never ends until the deadline.

Landscape of You | Changes

I decided to change the shots and feel of the film. It felt too much like I was working around with a found audio and that did not mesh with with the visuals. The damn laughter was disrupting the feel of the scene.

I interviewed my grandfather in hopes that something good will come out of it.

I faced many challenges in that it is not possible to get him to repeat lines in the way that certain documentary/corporate videos do. If I don’t have the camera already on him, I would miss certain soundbites that I just won’t ever get again. He does this thing where he talks as if he is narrating to someone instead of talking to me. It messes things up for me as I am trying to make this feel personal.

In my attempt to get the most natural soundbites, I have to face him; actually having a conversation with him. As a result, I can’t focus on the camerawork. Furthermore I don’t have a tripod and to add on, he keeps moving around. I have to hold the camera.

I might just use the audio from the footage which I feel was of decent quality, I feel.

In the post-production stage, I will having him talking over images/photos from his bodybuilding days ( I might cut to show him looking more plump and regular before cutting to him flexing his muscles in the garden).

I hope things work out.

Landscape of You 06

After consulting friends, I have crafted the next draft.

First of all, I tried to place the titles with the shot instead of on a black screen. I am considering removing the titles either at the front or the end.

Next, I cleaned up the editing just a little to make the jump cuts a little smoother. Although the jump cuts are jarring, it still has flow.

I changed the font of the thank you to be “handwritten”. This feels more personal. I might try actually handwriting the text out.

I played with the use of black screen to give off the feel of quiet. It flows better, in my opinion. I am still hesitant about using the black screen as it, technically, does not add anything. It does, however, gives the audience time to breathe.

Hopefully this will be the 2nd last draft. Sorry for posting so much.

Landscape of You 04

As promised, the first two draft.

Just a few minor differences in the middle. I personally prefer the second one.

Overall, after watching the two films without sound, I realise that it feels choppy. I might try another edit to see how it will fit. Maybe a one take shot is all it takes. It is hard to find the right audio element to compliment the visuals.

To be continued.

Landscape of You 03

Following the shoot of my grandfather in his trunks, I decided to make a radical shift in concept.

I took inspiration from some of my favourite documentary films:

nobodys-business
Nobody’s Business by Alan Berliner

A film about the filmmaker trying to find out more about his father. I like the director’s use of found images to compliment the soundbites. Also, this is unlike the film I’m trying to make but I love the fact that it was a conversation between a son and his father. This is part of the first scene:

dearzachary
Dear Zachary: A letter to a son about his father by Kurt Kuenne

A film about- well, to explain the film would be to ruin your first experience. I like that this film was directed at a person; as if this film was meant for someone.

grizzlyman
Grizzly Man by Werner Herzog

I’ve talked about this already, but I liked the idea of holding a shot long after what was needed – just like this famous scene in The Graduate:

With these references in mind, I’ll proceed with a first draft.

Landscape of You 02

On 22nd Oct, I met up with my grandfather for dinner to celebrate my birthday. I asked him if he was coming over on Sunday for mahjong.

“Ya, you want to take picture again?”

“Yea, I want to film you doing your poses again.”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Next day, this happened-

Yeah! Watch it in all it’s conversational glory. I didn’t expect him to actually bring his trunks as well. This was interesting and so surreal.

I’m not entirely sure if this is the look I want but it is definitely a once in a lifetime kind of experience.

I did a couple of different versions as well, just to get some variety

clothed topless

Personally, I think that either the topless one or the trunks one works better. What I dislike about the trunks shot is that it was shot a little too tightly. I doubt that I will be able to recreate these shots again. It just won’t have the same intrinsic experience attached to it anymore. I like the topless one too. It has a little more of an organic feel to it as it was the first shot I took.

I will now have to figure out if I want to readjust the concept to fit the shots. It definitely tells a different story now. I still want to hold on to the idea of having a landscape of a person – that is to say that a person is a culmination of experiences and the people who have entered and left our lives. It could still be in appreciation of it but I don’t know if the concept will be as strong if I were to place a longer focus on my grandfather than the people who have come into his life.

Alternatively, the credits could come crawling along with the shots. The credits could also come in, fading in and out of the scene. It does feel like it might come off as generic or dull/uninspired. I need to think harder about how to go about expressing this concept.

This is tougher than I thought.