They will all be on DVD by December 9.

2010 will see the completion of my new short film THAT YEAR THEY WERE BRIDESMAIDS and (hopefully) a bunch of festival screenings. HER PARTY is also looking forward to some festival exposure while LIVING WITH BENJAMIN enjoyed some great horror screenings last Winter.

With completed films playing on screens and the others finalised on DVD it’ll be time once again to look forward to new projects. And baby, I’ve got a doozie in store for 2010. I cannot wait to get started!!

Earlier this year I invited viewers of Her Party – a short student film I directed in 2008 – to provide me with solid, honest (constructive) feedback. I always knew there were issues with the first cut of the film, which was hurried to meet graduation screening. Now, with festival submissions and a DVD looming, I wanted to ensure I turned in a film I was (more) proud of and happy to be shown to wider audiences.

I personally called the project Party Redux (geddit?) and set about making sensible changes; using the razor tool to improve pacing and the paintbrush to improve grading.

The results are wholeheartedly satisfying. Her Party now runs just over five minutes (instead of the original, painful painful 10) and looks fantastic:

Click here for more information and media for Her Party.

During pre-production I had planned my shots and shot them accordingly. I had gauged a pace for the film, a pace I felt was necessary to lay out all of the emotion on the table. Turns out – as learning goes – I was wrong.

I recently had a discussion with a colleague about my decision to re-cut Her Party with the intention of shortening it. I explained that, for some reason, people who view it seem to think the fact that the mother’s daughter has passed is supposed to be some sort of surprise reveal, despite the music, pace, shot selection and overall tone from very early on the film clearly illustrating otherwise. I explained I had decided to cut off the fat and get to the meat quicker. My colleague agreed – having seen the film screen in a cinema, he said one thing that convinced me my decision was right:

“You’ve got a strong closing performance that delivers at the end. The sooner you get the audience to that moment, the better…”

I definitely agree. So, with this in mind, as well as the constructive feedback I received from those who took the time to watch and email me or comment, I have started working on a fix for Her Party. This new cut will be the one I send to film festivals and put on DVD for those involved. I will be posting it online as soon as I’m done.

If you’re keen to compare when the new cut goes live, be sure to watch the old version here while you can.

The new (shorter) cut of Her Party is almost finished and the DVD is right around the corner.

It takes substantial bravery and confidence to put an experiment on show — not just for friends and family, but also colleagues and anyone in the world who happens to stumble upon it online.  An experiment the filmmaker no doubt sees riddled with mistakes yet screens for an audience expecting the real deal.

Regardless of its content, the creator of a short film should just be thankful for the feedback.  It means, at the very least, took the time to watch something you created.  Furthermore, they actually took in what they watched and formed an opinion of your work, bringing them to you as criticisms, suggestions and compliments. I wouldn’t dare ask for much more than that.

It has become easier than ever before to get feedback for a short film.  With the widespread connections the internet provides, and the speed in which media can be delivered, there is no reason why a short film can’t be seen and reviewed the very same day it was completed.

I first began collecting feedback for HER PARTY the evening it screened at the FTI VP9 Graduation Night in Fremantle.  There is an eerie quality about watching your film play on the big screen in a cinema packed with near 200 people.  You count every hush, every whisper, every cough.  The simplest shuffle in someone’s seat triggers your mind to wander; curious if the audience is paying attention.  You can generally gauge how well the screening went once the credits roll.  HER PARTY received a warm reception, followed by some timid discussion amongst the isles.

Afterward, while sipping wine, eating nibbly’s and introducing my wife (and her pregnant belly) to everyone I could find, I started receiving complementary feedback.  Some complimented how it looked, some (mostly females) said it had saddened them and choked them up.  Either way, I was very happy to be receiving feedback for my film moments after it screened in public for the first time.

The toughest thing I found about ‘releasing’ a short film to an audience was searching for the ability to let go.  I’d imagine that if I didn’t let go of my personal associations with the film, negative feedback might hurt my feelings and negate the point of the feedback (and indeed the purpose of short films in general) — to learn from them.  Learn in every way.  Learn what worked and why, learn what didn’t.  The aim being to bundle all of that feedback together and roll over as much as possible into the next project in an effort to fine-tune elements in directing, shot selection, lighting, pace, performance… even script.  So, before the negative/constructive feedback can be made affective, one has to make sure they aren’t dismissed because of any emotional or personal connections they may contain.

I had to invest a lot of myself in HER PARTY to obtain the film I was after.  I had to bear my soul and let things out that I otherwise might have kept to myself.  Especially with actress Penelope Andrews. We had many deep discussions about the finer details her character required in each shot.  There were things that I personally went through in my life that I wanted portrayed on the screen, both because I knew them to be affective, and because I knew that what I was creating was coming from something real.  That’s incredibly important in film – in all art, I believe – and I will continue to think of the craft this way.

These moments within that short film have been both criticized and praised, depending on the audience.  What’s important is that I didn’t dismiss the negative feedback by taking it personally by becoming offended.  I’ll store it in the back of my mind and recall it next time I need to create something similar.  I’m only able to do that because, once the film is absolutely finished, ready to be put on DVD, uploaded to the internet and screened in a cinema, I do my best to remove myself from it.  After all, a film is for an audience, so once finished – once screened – it becomes theirs.  Theirs to relate to, theirs to discuss and critique and make their own.

The magical thing about filmmaking is the memories of production that will always remain for those involved.  You see a woman polishing ballerina shoes; I see a rainy day, fast shooting and limited light – yet still being able to pull it off.  You see a candle burning out and a woman breaking down over it, becoming more upset;  I see an actress in full emotion capitalizing on a convenient mistake.

If you took the time to watch my short film and provide me feedback, either via facebook, email, telephone, this blog, YouTube or in person – I truly appreciate it and thank you.

The high quality video is embedded below. To watch lower quality (smaller download) click here.

I approached the writer of the story, Mrs Irma Woods, and discussed my intentions with her about changing the title of her scrumptious screenplay from “The Party” to “Her Party.”  She agreed that the new title conjured up more intrigue about what the story had to offer, and changes reflection on what the short film is really all about: “Her”.

“Her Party” is the story of a mother preparing a birthday party for her daughter to which nobody is invited to attend.