Director's Commentary

For my short film 'The Desolate', there are a number of areas which I was extremely happy with, however there were a few moments whereby I would have put more emphasis, or changed small aspects if I had the chance again. The benefit of hindsight is that you are able to improve upon past mistakes. From both of my films last year, I witnessed several repeated flaws. This flaw was the gradual loss of continuity in shots. With this in mind, I filmed my Short Film, covering every angle and every moment on the girls journey. This paid off in the appearance of the film, as it appeared much more professional, and made the characters seem more like people, rather than actors. Another feature that I was extremely happy with in the production of my film was the convergence of different camera technologies. For the majority of the filming, I used the Nikon V1 HD slow motion camera, however for the underwater clip, whereby it shows the blood falling from the girls arm into the water, I used a Canon Powershot D20-3. By using the two forms of technology, I was able to capture a range of different shots, and made the piece appear more interesting. The film revolves around two actors, and their struggles. By using just two characters, I was able to delve into their lives, and further emphasise the emotions that these characters were feeling. I was able to understand the need for a limited number of characters in a dark narrative, as a vast character base takes away from focus and emotion. I was extremely happy with the narrative of the film. I felt that films with the biggest impact and influence are often of an emotional narrative. As a result, I wrote a narrative based on the sensitive issue of suicide. Within this, I blended another issue that people face which is being cheated on. By doing this, I was able to emphasise and magnify the emotions within the film. I was learnt a lot from last years narrative when making this years short film. This learning was through the narrowing down of the flamboyant ideas of drama in the piece. In last years film, I felt there was far too much going on, which was distracting from the film and the narrative was confusing at times. Thus, I managed to create the narrative of this years film to follow a series of events that were realistic, with a twist of the dramatic side to the cinematography.