Writers block – and trying to find my ‘style’

Hello friends,

I have been struggling a lot lately with writers block. A lot, a lot, a lot. As an aspiring filmmaker, writing is clearly a very essential part of filmmaking- as that is the basis of your film! But when it comes to thinking of even a simple storyline, I’m completely stuck. Even if on the odd chance that the stars aline perfectly and I manage to fumble together an idea, very rarely is it original. Obviously, people are influenced by other peoples work, as we learn and grow off other people and other things. That is fine. However, the best ideas I always come up with have already been done- way better than I could have ever done them! I am constantly having doubts about my ability as a filmmaker, thinking ‘am I good enough?’ and ‘will I ever make it?’, and I’m a firm believer in ‘if you want it badly enough, you can get it” but, it is hard when you are constantly comparing yourself to cinemas greatest, like Kubrick and Hitchcock. All the great directors have their own style of filming as well. When you watch a Kubrick film, you know you are watching a Kubrick film. However, I don’t know what my style necessarily is yet. I know which films I enjoy watching, and I guess that is the basis of your style. Your style should be a somewhat reflection of yourself, and what you enjoy (whilst maintaining originality.) Although I’m not much of a writer (I prefer the visual aspect) I am still trying to write my own script. I want to push myself to do something out of my comfort zone, and hopefully come out the other side better off for it. In terms of my own work, very rarely am I satisfied. I am constantly thinking of how I can improve, and ‘it would be better if….’, but every filmmaker has a fair amount of growing to do. A flower doesn’t start off as a flower. It starts as a seed, and with the right nutrients, water and sunlight, it grows to be a beautiful plant. Simon Cade (DSLRguide) summed it up perfectly in one of his videos (linked below). He essentially talks about the discontentment that artists struggle with, and that without the low points, there would be no (worthwhile) high points-that the end result will be more rewarding. This video particularly stuck with me. It forced me out of my rut and straight back into filmmaking mode. Filmmaking is my passion, and its what I want to do as my career for the rest of my life. Although its very difficult, stressful, overwhelming and at times frustrating- it is so very rewarding when you have even the slightest success. So, I will continue to write and create, and I hope to take you with me on my filmmaking journey.

L x

RUN AWAY FROM U – ORIGINAL LULLABY

Hello friends,

Ive always loved music, particularly the era of artists like Stevie Nicks and Kate Bush, and I created this little song one night when I was just bored in my room. I had this clip on my camera from a few weeks prior when we went for a walk and there was this really cute and unusual pink hut in the garden, with a green window. I put the two together, and here is my first lullaby and music video! This was again an experimental video, as I’m just trying to find my feet in filmmaking and what I want to do, and as always, it is open to interpretation. I hope you enjoy!

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

Hello friends,

This was the first (and only) promo video I did for a company a couple of months ago. I did it for my dads finance business, Hazelton Mountford Jefferies, when I went their for work experience. As I have very little interest in finance (sorry dad) I decided to make it more beneficial for me by making a promotional video. This literally took about 5 minutes and I had very little equipment with me, but it was interesting to try out a new style of filmmaking. I think its important when new to filmmaking to experiment and find what you like and what you’re good at/not so good at. I actually really enjoyed making this, and although I don’t necessarily think that doing promo videos is what I want to do in terms of my full time career, I still learnt things that could help me for filming in the future.

UNFORGOTTEN – ORIGINAL SHORT FILM

Hello friends,

This time I wanted to share with you the first short film I made outside of school, purely by myself. With this one, I felt I had slightly more freedom as I had no guidelines or rules I had to follow. I could play around with the rules and format of film, and find my ‘style’ and how I like to do things. Again, there is definitely room for improvement. As always, I’m still learning and trying to grow as a filmmaker, and feedback is always welcome! This short is about an elderly couples relationship, and is open for interpretation 🙂 Also, I have started a YouTube channel where I’ll be posting the same shorts as I’m positing on here if you’re interested, it is thefilmbarbie as well!

JANUS – MY FIRST SHORT FILM

Hello friends,

What a better way to start off my blog than with my first short film? I say first, but really it’s the first one that I actually put effort into. I made some others before this, but that was before I developed a love or an interest in film, and I just kind of threw a bunch of shots together without ever thinking about it. I did this for a school project last year about a criminal investigator trying to figure out a murder case that (SPOILER) she’s actually responsible for, but it is also open for interpretation. Although I look back at this and cringe, as I now think of allllll the things I could do to improve it, it’s still funny for me to look at and think “wow, you’ve come such a long way!”. I think for any filmmaker its important to remember that no one is born a genius, and you have to work hard to be where you want to be ultimately. Anyway, enjoy!