Being A filmmaker

Unit 1A

Why I applied to the BFI Academy–

As being an aspiring filmmaker, with no connection to the film industry and very minimal knowledge of production processes. I saw the academy program as a good step in creating the network necessary to be a film-maker. I come for a background where my creativity was considered as a hobby and pushed to pursue an academic path. Due to this fact, I haven't had the opportunity to meet people who are as enthusiastic about films and film-making as me.

As I have learned in the industry, you are as good as your network and experiences. The BFI academy was also an opportunity to getting an in-depth understanding of film-making and the process behind it. Also, meet people who I could work with and grow.

I am hoping at the end of this program: I get to participate in a project which I could add to my portfolio, get to meet other like-minded film-makers creating a network and get help or guidance from the program in my future career and projects.

Strength.

I have a unique perspective when it comes to my film-making, more than most people I enjoy the technical aspects. As my academic pursuits in Maths, Physics and computer science make the technical aspects easier to understand. I am also pursuing to know about the newest DSLR and the new features that come with it. Or find out the difference between a prime lens and a zoom lens.

Weaknesses before joining the Academy,

Minimal experience making films
Understanding film industry jargon
Never been on a professional set
Haven't been able to understand sound design.
Minimal Practical understanding of, ISO, focal length, white balance and etc.
I haven't had the opportunity to use film lighting

After the BFI Academy,

I had the opportunity to work on a professional film set with industry professionals.
I had an understanding of such things as DOP, set call outs and AD.
Dr Neil gave the most technical and in-depth talk about sound design.
Daniel Alexander using his professional broadcaster camera explained what Iso, focal length, exposure( histogram metadata) and many other features.
The director of photography, Chris Kenn gave a talk on lighting using a professional studio at Birmingham city university.

Unit 1B

Being a Filmmaker Part B

Final reflections

The BFI academy has provided me with the skill, knowledge and network to move forward in my filmmaking career. It has given me the reassurance that i could prosper in the film industry and can have a place in it. The masterclasses provided from the industry professionals was astoundingly informative and coprandandable. Personally, i found my passion to pursue cinematography and understood how sound plays an important role in the visual medium that is film. I had always had the doubt filmmaking was just a hobby, but the BFI academy had put me on the right path for me to make it a career. Using the network I got from the academy i have been able to expand my portfolio and find opportunities like National film and television school.

Throughout the process of making the short I got an opportunity to work and discuss with industry professionals, which would not have been possible without the academy. I am delighted and proud of the film we created and it was wonderful to see it being played on the big screen, not once but twice. As it was selected for short fuse, in Birmingham. I learnt that planning is one of the most important things in filmmaking, and an organised filmmaker has a higher percentage of success. Due to this i have learnt not to take pre-production lightly as it could make or break a film, especially an indie film with tight budget.

I am usually a one man band when it came to my creative endeavours, so working with a group was challenging in the sense it took me some time to adjust. As there is a fear when it comes to personal opinions and being a creative endeavour means a wrong comment could easily offend someone, as Art is personal to artists. Due to this at first i was reluctant to discuss my ideas out in the opean. As time went on and i got to know the group I was then comfortable sharing my idea, even saw some part of my idea in the final film.

Now i have completed this part of my journey I am excited for what the future would bring. I will be studying film production technology at City university Birmingham and will be taking part in NFTS as a sound engineer. I am also working on a documentary about Birmingham with my friend and former alumni Rajab Mohamed. I also have plans to shoot a documentary a group of young people, going on a mission to Michigan USA and are simultaneously working on my script about drug use in young people.

Filmmaking sessions

The filmmaking sessions were over three days and one of the best experiences I have ever had. There was no denying that shooting a film is not an easy endeavour as it involves; standing for hours, being organised as a team, coming over creative differences and solving things creatively. But it is an endeavour I enjoyed and it made me understand even tho it is challenging there is nothing I would rather do.

On the first day of shooting, we had a problem when we were shooting the doorway scene with the two zombies. We realised that they don't have makeup on so we can't show them on screen. But the scene wouldn't have the same emotional impact if we can't see our main characters. There was no way we could get the makeup artist down here because it was 9 pm and we can't reshoot because of the time constraints. After a while, we came up with the idea of shooting it in silhouette. I assisted Chris Keen(DOP) to set up the lighting and framing with his instructions. Out of this came out one of the most memorable shot of the movie.

Story Ideas sessions

I found the story Idea sessions to be the most difficult, as I had a direct vision for films I wanted to create. It was hard seeing, after pitching my ideas, it was being dissected and changed. I felt as if I wasn't expressing myself the right way and found it a little frustrating.

After I saw what we came up with at the end, I now highly value other ideas as it brings a new perspective on a project makes a fantastic product.

Masterclasses

I found the Masterclass with Daniel Alexander to be the most enjoyable. This is due to it involved a good ratio theory and practical application. He was able to answer all of our questions and able to elaborate it until we understood the concept. I also attended the masterclass with Chris on lighting which I found the most challenging as I didn't know anything about lighting and there was some complicated theory involved inset lighting. But it was valuable knowledge to gain to improve film production quality. Lastly, Dr Neil gave a very in-depth Masterclass on sound design. He gave us advice on what gear we could acquire on a budget, why sound was one of the most important things in film and even left us a copy of his powerpoint presentation.

Production sessions

Production sessions taught me how important it was to plan every aspect of the filmmaking process. I learnt what the Job was an AD was, with keeping the production in schedule and designing a schedule with the director.