HANNAH

HANNAH, my first proper filmmaking attempt. Writing and directing, trying to figure out how to separate the two.

So, the journey began.

Pre-production, prepping for both filming ad post, trying to maintain discipline whilst struggling with personal issues. Oh god, HANNAH got a bulk of uncertainty and fear.

But it was amazing to create. Starting to understand how to interact with people on set, learning my role as a director should in part mean me maintaining good spirits and good relations with crew and cast members. Learning that being on set and creating a story, making a narrative flow through each shot, each word the actors say, that's what I want. That's the goal.

And I was certainly not there yet! HANNAH is a little work of art with some great shots, but the stress of writing and planning made my ADHD act up in ways I could not move past at that point. I got stuck on the fear of being unable to separate the two roles I had, and the fact my DoP was making no plans and would not meet with me to discuss the filming. Now, when I am not receiving the support I need from team members, I know how to carry on, how to inspire myself. At that stage, it was a dead end.

My vision and understanding of the project carried us to begin with, but the DoP as mentioned had no plans for filming and had actually never handled the Sony FS7 before, he had only ever used his own camera and gimble. My Producer had chosen him for his night-filming skills over other candidates and we ended up using the 1st AC to plan the shots from scratch and camera operate. This led to there not being as much cohesion and thought behind the shots as there should have been, and when watching the film you can tell. Until the final scene, a big fight, we worked almost on the fly. The final scene was actually refilmed after watching it and knowing that it needed more. We put our heads together, me, the 1st AC, the Production Designer, and we planned and planned. The actresses had ended up not meshing well together in-person even though over call they had played off one another beautifully, so we planned to get one in earlier than the other to film her oneshots before the other arrived. This meant she was able to fully get into the emotional swing she needed, and it turned out beautifully.

Another set of new skills that I learned was how to use a greenscreen and work with a child actress! It speaks massively to my previous understanding of children, but after auditioning this child was the most talented and therefore seemed the most suitable for the task. However, after working on set I think part of what set her apart from the others was not as large a divide as I had thought. Children need small instructions, to focus on small parts of the script. They are not able to put instructions together in their head in the same way adults can. As someone who did not know this, to begin with we tried to go over the lines all at once. By the end of the shoot, we faced each line individually.

This worked, and helped me learn that each actor needs their director to pick up on them as an individual very swiftly. Your actor will give you their all, but they need you to listen to what they may not say. Just like with a film, you read between the lines because there is meaning in each moment, each crease of the forehead.

In post was where I learned even more lessons. There were aspects to the film that were cut out, certain shots that should have been chosen for their emotional depth and complexity, yet the Editor ignored my view and did what the Producer wanted. As it was a student film I knew the Producer well, and he though talented at paperwork has not understood the emotional nuances of any project. For production value and working the project through he is great, if I needed to cut things from the timeline he would be helpful to decide by making hard decisions that I couldn’t. For this, annoying.

So, a great learning experience, and a festival winner! I am very proud of how it turned out.