Directions: Self-Portrait- Questions + Answers

When completing my research I came up with some questions I felt my self-portrait had to answer. Here are the answers and how they are answered.

What was my childhood like?

As a child I lived on a rough council estate. Nobody on that estate was the type of person that had a dream. All my neighbours were happy to just stay jobless and live off their benefits. I didn't want to end up like that and I think that is where I get my motivation from. To show this I will use images of my surrounds. Although I live somewhere different now, it will still help show how my surrounds shape me.

What made me want to work in TV/Film? Who/what were my influences?

Since I was a kid I have wanted to make films/tv. I'm not really sure where that all started out. All I know is that as a kid I would build Lego tv sets and create my own little shows. I'm sure why I did that, I just did. My influences are J.J. Abrams & Steven Spielberg. I will show these two points by using Lego in my film and sounds from my favourite films made by those directors

How did I start out?

I'm not sure when this was but my Grandad gave me an old video camera and I started using it to make little tv shows. Half the time the videos were not planned so I just filmed whatever I could come up with on the spot, which is one of the reasons why I like to use improvisation a lot in my current work. I will show this by using clips from those videos.

What kind of person am I?

I think I am a fun, humourous person to be around. I have a personality like marmite, you either love it or hate it. I like to be kind, I treat others with respect, because I expect it back. I'm not sure how I will show this.

What's my directorial style?

I like the handheld look. I tend not to use a tripod. I also like the use of close ups and a shallow depth of field. I like to tell stories using the camera, not the characters (an influence I got from watching Spielberg movies). I will show this by applying these techniques when filming my self-portrait.

What do I think it means to be a director?

I think it means that you are the vision. It is your job to translate words into images. You control the story, in terms of how you control the storytelling device-the camera. I will show this by keeping this in mind when directing my self-portrait.

What kind of TV/Films do I want to make?

In terms of TV I want to make entertainment television, mostly studio based. In terms of film, I want to make very visual stories. I will use this by carefully using visuals in my self-portrait.

Why am I interested in TV/Film?

I love to be entertained, and I feel TV & Film does this best. I'm not really a fan of reading for entertainment. I will show this by using television & screens in my video.

Where do my ideas come from?

My ideas come from my vivid imagination. I write them all down in a little book, even if it's a bad idea, because they could be developed in the future. I will show this book in my film.

What are/were my surroundings like?

Refer to the first question.

What scares me?

Failure. That's it. Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) says "Failure is always an option". Even though it's an option, it scares me. I want success in life not failure, and I'll work as hard as I can to get it. I will show this by hopefully not failing this project.

What do I think my future will be like? How will I move towards that?

Hopefully my future is good. I will just continue to work really hard and hope it pays off and gets me to where I want to be. I will show this by including some hints to what I want for the future.

And that's it, all the questions answered, now I just need to translate this into a shot list.