ARTS3061 Exercises
Assessment 1 - It Was Just Once (Scene 5)
Exegesis
My main job in this production was preparing our production documents needed before filming. This included contracts for the team and actors, no-shoot list, risk sssessment, and call sheet etc.
For actors, we were lucky that our team members had worked with some good actors before and they are happy to join our project, this made my job much easier. But in order to allow more flexibility, I still made a poster to find backup actors. Another key aspect of my role was finding a suitable filming location. We found it difficult to use team members’ homes, so I turned to Airbnb. There were some problems communicating, but finally I was able to get an appropriate space that met the script’s requirements in terms of size and visual suitability, allowing us to finalize the shooting schedule efficiently.
The team worked well together. They often had creative ideas, for example, regarding lighting setups and props. Coincidentally, I was able to provide several of the required equipment and materials, which supported the creative direction of the project, and I was very happy that I could help. Although our shooting schedule ran slightly behind the initial plan, the delay remained manageable and did not significantly impact the overall workflow or outcome.
ARTS2065 Exercises
Assessment 1 - Behind the Glass
The museums are where memory, art, and time meet as well as the stillness of the past and the movement of the present. My photo essay is written in the form of an exploration of the museum as the museum is not merely a site of exhibition, but a living environment where visitors, architecture, and artefacts constantly interrelate. The photos, captured during various years in various museums, follow my ever-evolving viewer, student and picture-maker perspective. The two of them collectively present a thought-provoking perspective of how museums form our perceptions of culture and the way we as human beings occupy these premeditated spaces.
Artist Statement
The development of this project was initiated by a simple habit, namely taking photos every time I went to a museum. Initially, these pictures were informal, snapshots of paintings, rooms and light. As time went by, though, I found myself more and more interested in the empty space between the exhibits, the silence of the hallways, the stares of people, and the glimpses of glass cases. I understood that the museum itself may be considered a piece of art due to its design, lighting, and silence, which created a certain choreography that leads the viewer through the experience. This realisation inspired me to work by helping me understand that museums are also places where objects are not the only things curated, but feelings and motion as well.
The creative process also included viewing my photo stockpile, re-sequencing the photos, and discovering visual and conceptual patterns in it. I became attracted to opposites: light and shadow, ancient and modern, exhibit and audience. The editing is also an example of non-linear editing since I constructed the photographs in rhythmic and thematic reverberation rather than chronologically. This has enabled the essay to seem like a continuous journey in memory- a museum of my experiences.
The issue of finding coherence between images captured in various seasons of the year and locations was one of the main difficulties. Things like lighting conditions, camera settings and even my style of photography have changed over the years. To solve this, I emphasised tonal harmony and emotional coherence as opposed to visual consistency. I applied experimentation in terms of fine-tuning colour grading and cropping in order to relate the photos with a sense of place instead of place. The other challenge was the patience to avoid the urge to provide too many pictures. Learning about the importance of restraint, I learned through several selection processes how absences and representative images could make a piece of work more meaningful.
This project eventually transformed into a reflection on life about museums' positioning of our relation with the past and beauty. Being at the same time a crossbreed of cultures and languages, I tend to see in museums an element of both familiarity and alienation. Having got into these spaces, I tried to comprehend that different across both sides of glass, the opposition between conservation and change, silence and inquisitiveness. The subject of my photo essay, however, is not so much about museums, but about the process of seeing in itself: the point at which it becomes remembering.
Assessment 2 - Little Forest
Exegesis
This project gave me the opportunity to work across two roles—Art Director and Sound. Both of them shaped the overall atmosphere and helped the process of our film remake. Because our work involved recreating the visual and rhythmic feel of an existing film, much of my creative decision is about understanding how specific details contribute to the meaning of this film. My approach was therefore very practical and in details, I needed to source objects, manage the sound recording and music, but I also had to think constantly about why each choice mattered.
My work began with analysis of every shot in the original sequence. Before any sourcing, I made a detailed list of the props and costumes required, noting the textures, colours, and numbers of objects within the frame. This process helped me understand how art department works in both pre production and on-set. With this understanding, I visited multiple stores including several op shops, Kmart, IKEA, and Asian markets to source items that could match or thoughtfully reinterpret the originals. Because some props could be borrowed, I also consulted with team members to see what they could provide.
In the pre-production meetings, I worked closely with the director and producer to refine our visual approach. These discussions were important because they allowed us to negotiate what needed to be copied precisely and where our own creative decisions might actually strengthen the mood.
On the shoot day, I transported the props including a coffee table from Maroubra to our location in Gorden, and helped set up the environment. Thanks to Stephanie, our great producer, the home already had a warm and intimate atmosphere, our work was to make it like the original film, and it was not very difficult. I also supplied practical equipment like light sticks, which gave the cinematographer more flexibility in shaping the lighting.
Once filming began, my focus shifted primarily to sound. The challenge was to stay out of the frame while still capturing clean audio, especially in a relatively confined domestic space. We had some technical issues, the headphones lost sound in one ear, but the recording process still remained smooth, and I adapted quickly by monitoring through one side. Another issue was about forgetting the bulb for our newly purchased floor lamp, which was my fault, but I solved it on set through an online order, so it didn’t bother our shooting. These small problem-solving moments reminded me how much filmmaking relies on good pre-production, and also flexibility and fast decision-making.
Throughout the process, I also filmed some behind-the-scenes footage for fun, which became another way of reflecting on our teamwork. Looking back, what stands out to me most is how the art and sound elements worked to create a unified tone. This project strengthened my understanding of film grammar not in an abstract theoretical way, but through the practical reality of making images and sounds speak together.