Ben Week 5

This week I have started to cut scenes from my character selects. This has been the most fulfilling aspect of the process yet. As I'm working, I'm starting to see actual cuts that could make it into the final product. Thus far, we've been organizing, logging and familiarzing ourselves with our footage, which is great and important. But I know I'm thinking, "O.K. how are you going to cut important and impactful scenes to elicit a response from viewers?" This is an important question to me as I hope to instill political/social action from viewers after initiating an emotional reaction after viewing.

I recently saw the film Attack the Block, which is a British film set in London about killer aliens that are terrorizing a group of young boys. Which sounded stupid and crazy when I was told about the film and I felt that way halfway through my viewing. Then I realized that the film was really commentary on surveillance, informal policing and racism towards ghetto youths of color in London. The social commentary was so subtle for most of the film, I didn't even realize it. I felt inspired by the filmmaker's limited use of political voicing. He let very quick, unassuming scenes tell a larger story. For example, the most impactful scene for me was when one of the film's characters, a professional woman that has teamed up with the gang of young boys to protect their estate, must go through the film's main characters flat to set a trap for the aliens. Earlier in the film, she was mugged by the boys and has felt violated and judgmental towards them. As she goes through his flat, it becomes apparent that this fifteen year old boy pretty much lives by himself and must survive on his own, circumstances which forces the viewer to rethink the main characters violent behavior. The scene itself was probably less than a minute, but it made the entire two hours worth it for me. I hope to create a similar circumstance in my film, where one small scene can say what a two hour movie or a long book cannot.

I have also thought deeply about the feedback I received during my last screening. The big takeaways for me are to 1) take advantage of the aspects of absence and invisibility of my characters, 2) let landscape create the space, 3) find subtle, but impactful scenes - like the ramen noodle scene, 4) utilize portrait scenes, because it allows characters to be ambiguous and cinematic, and 5) don't force anything, there can be a simple connection between the prison and the town. I'm taking all of this in and feel like I have more direction. I think it is best to use a series of portraits to let the characters build a relationship with the audience. The audience can make the connections to the private prison after showing the oppression of Tutwiler.

Also, to help build my scenes and build my characters, I will be writing a series of short stories for each of my characters for our Literature class. Using actual dialogue from my footage and my own observations I will create a narrative that is a mix of non-fiction and fiction to create a usable account that I can utilize in my film. By using fiction and allowing myself to create a story, I feel like it will help my creative voice as I work to create tension or drama for my characters on the screen. I will have a greater understanding of my subjects and by choosing narrative literature on the back-end, I think it will help make a more cinematic film.