What we did in Prague ... my first little film about exploring

It's been a while since we've been to Prague with girls. I thought I would share this little film - it is not really finished, but I am being told by Vikram Jayanti, great documentary filmmaker and our course tutor that you never really finish your films, you abandon them ... so this is what happened here.

This little piece requires back story - as the story unfolds in the film so did our few days in Prague unfold, without really a proper plan, without any set agenda, but with open eyes and curious minds. We met so many amazing women in Prague - Jennifer, Marketa, Teresa, Dana, Lisbeth and Eva, just to name few of them - Czech and expats, we hosted a swap party in our flat, took an active part in conference about women in business and glass ceilings in Eastern Europe, went out for some nice lunches and boozy dinners with out new friends. This film is just a little memory of these happy and fascinating days with them and a short introduction to what 'exploring' is .. enjoy.

The music comes from my favourite film ever, Czech film of course - Samotari (The Loners,Samotni), photo shows sculpture of Czech artist David Czerny

Storytelling 3.0. Final cut pro is my new powerpoint! Yihaaa

Editing has opened up the whole sea of possibilities I have not thought about before. It’s like going to a hidden place in which you had never been and have no preconceptions about.
Obviously, knowing me, I always find something to worry about. I can already see the risk of over - editing footage to the point where it’s only about form, not about the content any longer. And surely, there’s a temptation … with all the glamorous things that final cut pro can do for you. Surely editing will not replace a good story, but it can still make things a bit more visually bearable and interesting. And there’s this really weird moment where you look at your digitized footage and you know it can travel in thousands directions, you can tell the story of the same footage in unlimited number of ways. It would be interesting to see what different people with different experiences, backgrounds, and interests would do with exactly same footage. But I guess if you know what you what to say in you film, you know exactly what goes with what and how many editing spices you need to add …

On the other note, I am getting ready to shoot the THE FINAL thing. I’ve seen couple of visual references that you recommended, including Chantal Ackerman and Alan Berliner …. In different ways, totally impressed by both of them and touched by it to the point where I am starting to realize the impossibility of the challenge that faces me. OMG, 15 minutes is a really long time to say nothing. I’ve started to shoot couple of little things - like preparing morning coffee, unlocking my bike or opening window to embrace spring. I wanted to work out the style, tone and most importantly, the frame and the angle. And I am trapped a bit in thinking that somehow I need to try to get beyond what looks like just very generic scenes. I should give to each and every on them a special character, so they feel in a specific way, so they are there for a reason… so what I am trying to figure out if maybe I should decide that I do only particular type of shoots - like close ups, extreme close ups and than a wide plan with me walking out of frame…

For a moment, I guess I am thinking that the way to establish my presence is through my hands … hands that do things, hands that show hesitation, hands that take part in life …

Also I already hear the music (which is key since as you know NOTHING is going on in the bloody thing)

And I found a way to communicate my thoughts - though email, blogs, facebook, diary, mobile conversations. And I think that if not overused it can serve the purpose of pushing the narrative somewhere and giving some cues to the viewers about how to look at the film.

It has all quite a funny effect on me as I feel I am ‘narrating’ my life, not only my film…. Very weird feeling.

Photo by Alana Rae

High Hills Filmmaking. Can this be a perfect match?

Documentary Filmmaking Course. Diary Week 2

My first steps in filmmaking are actually much more intimidating that I have ever imagined. When I actually eventually found something interesting to shoot, by the time I unpacked the huge backpack (over 20 kilos), checked all settings, grasped the right angle ... my object of filming has long been gone .... The same trick of ‘disappearing objects’ repeated three times until I decided to give up the exercise of filming the ‘story’ and went for something that is there to stay for a bit longer ... like building, street or sky ...

It may does sound like a ‘hello I am blond’ type of story, but, trust me, there is some merit to it. First of all, the entire equipment is totally heavy. So there is no way you can wander around for the whole day, looking for interesting things. Especially, if you happen to wear high hills, assuming wrongly there is LIFE beyond your camera and filmmaking. The process of unpacking the entire ‘thing’ as well as make ‘it’ work is totally time consuming. Even if you want to keep most of the options on auto settings, you d’ better get patience - licence before.
And the most important – the process of filming itself. Its’s totally NOT how our dads used to hold camera on the beach, close to the eye, trying to shoot happy family moments and ladies in bikinis few meters away. You actually hold it in front of your belly or chest to make it more stable. In my case it meant, I was physically exhausted after 20 seconds of filming and my hands started trembling like the overstretched mussels in the gym. So probably I would be great for ‘shaker’ effect. Even once we a script like this.

Observation 1. Camera looks and weights like a gun. Hello brands, can we please ‘demasculinize’ professional filmmaking equipment ?

But there is more unfamiliarity involved than just technical issues. The process of shooting completely changes the way I see and interact with the world outside. I am referring to it as ‘IT’, because it’s like a ‘third person’ constantly present and imposing its presence on me and the people I am talking to. When I am taking photographs while talking to people camera is like my support, little visual notebook, yes, maybe a little interruption, but always a PART of interaction. It doesn’t change the way I see the situation. It helps me to express how I feel about the situation. With camera, its different, I feel it as something totally external to the situation. External, yet fundamentally changing it. And suddenly, I start telling story not from my point of view, but from a point of view of the ‘it’, that doesn’t feel ‘me’. And it’s still IT, cold, black and heavy and alien. Maybe I need to internalize it. Or maybe I need a partner.

Observation 2. Camera is a ‘third’ person in the situation. I need to internalize IT to make other people feel that my ‘artificial eye’ is mine.

The Good Pitch is a one-day live event organized by Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation bringing together specially selected partners

Indeed I was a slightly 'tired' after previous night's Saatchi 40 party, but what I saw at Royal Institution was truly groundbreaking. All day was around finding creative ways of supporting films which do good and have ambition to have a lasting impact – be it support education model in Kenya, sports among older people, fight against drugs, understand homelessness, or live with cancer. Each one was a huge social cause in its own right.

Throughout the day eight different filmmaking teams were pitching their films and its associated outreach campaign to the assembled audience with the aim of creating a unique coalition around each film to maximise its impact and influence. Filmmakers were looking for money, but also for distribution, postproduction, different ways in which their ideas could travel. So for every pitch presentation special panel would be assembled, everytime tailored to the needs of the film and the idea – brand people would sit with broadcasters, with academics or think – tank leaders, NGOs, policy - makers. All hosted and moderated by amazing Jess Search, head of Channel 4 BRIT DOC Foundation.

Couple of thoughts.

Amazing format to encourage brands/ marketing companies to engage in social causes that goes beyond sponsoring and actually make them excited. Opportunity to co - create rather than take for granted.

Amazing format to recreate in Poland or anywhere else. I would love to see this happening around ideas, not necessairly ready or half- ready films. I think it's an amazing opportunity to encourage a grass roots participation, fresh artists, non- professionals.

Amazing day of inspiration for my own documentary project about Palestine. And made me realized that making documentary is a huge project that takes much more than just an idea – and I have no idea about any of the important things – do I need dierector? Who will be my producer etc. But, hey nothing is impossible.

Below, the list of films that were pitched - enjoy!

http://britdoc.org/real_good/goodpitchuk2010

And a trailer of one of the films - One Small Act

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmeMvkWbCgc