Acting

This week was about getting to know each other and forming our group dynamic. It was obvious that each member of the group jumped into the roles they feel most comfortable in right away. The next weeks will be interesting as we switch things up and try different things. Everyone in the group is highly motivated and engaged, with really good communication.

Even with the very short time we had, we arrived well prepared for Monday’s film shoot. One thing I noticed on our set that took extra time was, being all creative people, everyone had more ideas once on the set. Having only a short time to prepare we hadn’t really got the chance to get to the sets beforehand, to try different angles and block out camera and actors’ movements. As we worked through these, new opportunities presented themselves. We tried to capture as many as possible to give ourselves options during editing. There was a very positive attitude that welcomed these new ideas and no time was wasted discussing what was best, just action to get it done.

Even though each member took on individual roles there was a lot of collaborative work throughout, sharing ideas and helping each other. Even throughout the editing process there was a feeling of support and comradery. It gives me a lot of confidence for the coming weeks that this mutual respect as individuals will help us to work through any problems we might face as a group.

Lesson of the week: The Difference a Sniff Can Make; or ‘all important elements of the story must be made clear to the audience.’

After the viewing the resounding criticism was; ‘why was the cocaine a necessary part of this story?’ This left me feeling guilty and like I had let my group down, as it had been my idea to add it. I still think it added another layer to the narrative and if the loud sniff had been in its place (it was recorded separately as I didn’t want to actually inhale any of the salt) it might have made just the difference – making it evident that the protagonist could have had some inkling of what the Teacher was doing outside the stall. I personally like the more subtle dramatic irony leaving it open as to what the characters were privy to. (Did he know what she was doing? Does she think he knows what she was doing?) I also like the added twist and layer to the story, we originally think it is about his embarrassment but actually her shame is far more dire in the circumstances. In a way he is saved from his own embarrassment having only been observed by someone doing something worse, and his secret will be safe (though honestly what teacher would go around and tell people she heard a student crapping himself?). Being observed in an embarrassing situation can be funny but it makes the story more interesting and multilevel depending on who does the observing.

Making the story clear is a particularly important lesson for me as I love storytelling but tend to be more subtle in my approach. Two ways to make the story clearer would be; one – the loud sniff, and two – some reaction from him in the stall like… ‘was that what I think it was?’.