Through the Tent of Grief - Experimental Film

May 29, 2021

Through the Tent of Grief - Experimental Film - Final Blog

Final Link:

I completed my film on the 29th of May and my self evaluation on the final product is not as bad as I expected it to be. I usually critique my work very strictly but in this case I am satisfied with my film.

The End Product:

The story line and execution is quite experimental, the video was completely filmed in my garage, I didn't have access to a proper backdrop so I improvised with PVC pipes and bedsheets, I felt that it contributed to the entire concept of the girl being inside her "mind tent" feel more real aswell. The entire film was made, once again, in the middle of a nation-wide lockdown, so I had to move back to my family home in another city and was unable to access university facilities. I came up with the makeup concepts and applied it on the actor myself, I made all the props and set-ups alone in one day and most importantly, the entire film was based on the exact cycle of grief that I was going through at the time.

Test shot of the Actor on the first day of shooting

Problems:

I think some of the editing could have been executed better, I initially wanted the entire anger sequence to have a completely red background but because the lighting was uneven on some parts, I was unable to make the entire sequence completely red, so I just stuck to the introduction of the anger stage being red.

The second issue was the placement of the background light, I feel that in the acceptance stage, I could have made it slightly dimmer but despite that, I feel like it was a minor issue and did not make too much of a difference in the post production phase.

I struggled with deciding on the music and placing it properly as I was still quite new to adobe audition, I managed to shorten the clips properly.

I also had a bit of difficulty in the experimental editing portion where the girl falls into the tent and the warp portion appeaars signifying that she has fallen into her "mind tent". I think it could have been executed a little smoother.

Screencap of the final editing sequence

Problems during filming:

The biggest issue I faced was space and the fact that I did not have a proper backdrop.

My garage is quite small so while filming, I was completely press up against the wall opposite to the actor, trying to get the best shot possible in the limited space.

The backdrop was bed linens so they were constantly sliding off the pvc pipes and gusts of wind would ruin multiple shots. Mother nature seemed to play quite a role in disrupting the film, we were attacked by a swarm of mosquitos almost every hour after 5pm during the 3 days of filming and after a massacre, I would vaccum the floor every single time.

The filming times were also mainly set in the evenings due to the heat and because the actor and I were both fasting as it was the month of Ramadan which is why we had to try and not extend it past 3 days because it would become extra exhausting for the both of us.