Silent Film

The silent film project provided me with a new way to look at my work and helped me to strengthen my skills that aren't as strong. The concept of a film with no audio, pre-selected music, and pre-selected visuals at first seems as though it's limiting all creativity, but nothing is further from the truth. No other project has allowed me to step back from my regular work, and refocus my efforts on things that might otherwise fall by the wayside. One restriction I faced was the story, it had to take place in one setting; this allowed me to simplify my plot. Instead of creating something bigger and more elaborate, I ended up with a simpler but more solid story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. What I came up with is a man who is tormented by an evil banana peel. After being tripped by it many times he tries to get revenge but backfires. I think the simplicity of the story allowed some of my other aspects to shine in this project. The restriction of a silent film freed me from having to worry about catching audio while filming. This helped me to provide more clear instructions while on set. Being able to coach my actor in the middle of takes instead of having to stay quiet allowed for better fine-tuning of performances and better overall acting. Another restriction placed on me was visuals. My video could only be in black and white with a filter. This allowed me to focus more on shot composition than color. Getting creative with my shots was something I relished. It allowed me to expand my skills as a cinematographer and pay attention to the visual storytelling of my film. The more restrictions put on my project, the more I feel it pushed my creative vision and skills as a creator. Through this project, I was able to practice skills that I wouldn't have been able to practice with a regular video. Overall this video helped me hone my skills as a director, editor, and filmmaker as a whole.