Brian Clough

There's not a lot that hasn't already been said about Brian Clough, a man that has gone down in history for being one of the greatest football managers of all time but it wasn't until I watched 'The Damned United' that I became interested in Brian.

He had success everywhere he went (besides Leeds and Brighton) winning trophies and doing the almost impossible; winning the European Cup with Nottingham Forest twice in consecutive years, something that to this day rarely ever happens. He oozed charm and charisma, yes he was arrogant but he was a winner, he knew the game inside out and knew how to get what he wanted. He was a breath of fresh air in an era that had seen nothing quite like him before.

I think its unfair to call him a celebrity football manager but he was, he loved being on camera and was never shy to express his opinions on this and that, unafraid to trample on other peoples views, he 'was' the first football celebrity.

But that's just the gloss, he used his status in the media to his advantage, merely a tool at his disposal. What truly brought him success was his phenomenal man management skills, nearly all the players he ever managed have at some point said he was something special in the dressing room and out on the training field. His philosophies regarding football where years ahead of the time. His teams played with style and discipline, also, it should be said Clough's teams were not always made from the best players but he always managed to bring out the best in them.

One of the things that I recognize, looking back, is that he saw Football for what it was, he saw the faults, the greedy fat cats who ran football, he foresaw what football was one day going to become. Everything that is now wrong with football at some point in his life Clough saw it coming and perhaps, unwillingly, helped it on its way . By his own admission he said that he would never really have survived outside of football but I'd like to think he could have, he was clearly something special.

Thinking about Football today, I actually think Brian was one of a kind, even now there is no one quite like him, perhaps Jose Mourinho has a bit of a young Clough about him but I think he lacks the loyalty Brian showed during his career.

It would be wrong of me not to mention that not all of Brian's success was by his own hand, Peter Taylor, his best friend and assistant manager, was a key figure at his side. Some even say Brian was just the face and Taylor was the shrewd operator, perhaps this is true. Clough never really had much success on his own but I think that was more down to his terrible drinking problem. But, regardless the two were certainly a great team.  

One of the biggest disappointments in English football is that Brian never had a shot at managing the England team, he really was the best English manager England never had.

Rod Serling

 

As a fan of the science fiction genre 'The Twilight Zone' TV show has always been something I've been aware of, I've skirted over the principle idea behind the show at times without ever really taking that much of an interest, until recently. 'The Twilight Zone' is now one of my all time favourite shows and that's because of the man behind it. Rod Seling in my view is nothing short of a genius, his ideas portrayed in each episode, theories and philosophies regarding writing in general have captivated me in a way that's changed my own views on storytelling and science fiction.

By his own admission he claimed he's no scientist, his understanding of science and physics are very limited at best but somehow he uses science to portray ideas, ideas that seem so relevant today even though the show was first aired in the 50's. He critics the nature of human beings, asks questions about government, he delves into the darkest and most illuminating aspects of the world. His show is a social commentary on the world around us and he uses science fiction as a platform to help make his point clear. What fascinates me is that I myself enjoy writing science fiction but also know very little about science, I have no desire to learn about science but somehow I'm drawn towards science fiction to help portray my own ideas and stories.

Rod Serling has quickly become a huge inspiration to me, he's so 'anti establishment' he makes me believe with hard work and a good idea you can create quality stories/films without having to follow the rules set by previous writers/film makers/artists. He's made me trust my instinct a little more, he's helped me trust my own techniques and styles. There are no rules when it comes to creativity and/or art so do what you feel is right, get the idea down on paper, make it happen the way you know how. If you have the passion to say something then say it. My only disappointment is that I didn't know of him sooner.  

These are inspiring words for any creator;

Final Grade

Well I think all that needs to be said is that I got a DISTINCTION!

Exhibition Night

Finally after months of toiling away with my film it was great to at last see my film on the big screen as 20 - 30 people all sat around watching it with me. Some of my family came to support me and the feeling was just fantastic, I had a few reservations about how my film would be perceived but everyone seemed to enjoy it and for that I can be quite proud.

Preparations For The Exhibition

This is the diary of the week during the run in to the exhibition night.

Monday
I continued to build the display boards and painted them white, I then moved them into our space with the help from a few other students. As the boards were quite wet we couldn't really much do more that day.

Tuesday
I moved more boards into the show space and then moved some into our cinema room. In the cinema we created a corridor leading into the viewing space. The boards had to be painted white, we also put up a few wooden beams to help support the boards.

Wednesday
We finalized the gallery space by putting up the display boards and fixing them to the floor for safety reasons. They also had to have a quick lick of paint.

Thursday
We continued work in the cinema by attaching curtains to the display boards and the walls to create a realistic cinema space. We also had real cinema seats placed in the centre of the room for the audience to sit.

Friday
Today I didn't do much work on the show rooms but as a class we all had a quick meeting about the display of our work and how we wanted it to be presented.

The Final Cut

Finally Dreamer's Rest is complete, the editing process was relatively simple. Before I joined the course I was already familiar with the various editing tools and with the help of Brian I was able to get the film bang into shape without much fuss. However, I spent a little longer editing than anticipated, this was due to the long filming process and the little problem I had with the sound. I had to re-record all the sound again and overlay it back onto the film, it was a blend of luck and perseverance, all the dates I spent recording and all the audio I have recorded are documented in my production diary.
One thing I noted in my diary was that I felt the film hadn't turned out well and that I felt the music let the film down, I have had a change of heart since then, I feel incredibly passionate about my work and sometimes I read into the negatives more than the positives. Now that the film has been watched by a number of people and been liked I can now see that the film is a success and that even though the filming process was hard and at times to much for one person to handle I have indeed created a good piece of film. I should be proud and I am.    

Visual Motifs and Meanings

       Here I’ve created a list of all the meanings and visual motifs within my FMP;

·         The Colour Purple; The main character is seen wearing purple all the way through the film, even when he’s at work and at home. Though purple is widely considered the colour of royalty I’ve read that purple is rare in nature and can appear artificial. I wanted the lost spirit to be like a star shaped block trying to fit into a circular hole, I doubt many people will notice the meaning of his purple attire but it’s there nonetheless.

·         The Empty Village; In my early story boards I wanted the village to appear empty, like the villagers were unable to leave their homes and walk the streets because nature had taken over. In the final cut there isn’t much of the empty village on show but what we do see are empty playgrounds and pitches, for such a beautiful day no one is around to enjoy it. I also have a shot of an angel statue, I wanted to show that not even religion or God can stand in the way of nature.

·         The Flowers; I wanted to show that the nymph was part of nature but without a budget to buy suitable clothes or effects to help blend her into the woods I decided to have her hold onto different flowers in each of her scenes, we see her playing with them, admiring them. I think this is the strongest visual motif in the film, it had to be.

·         The Pear; Having briefly read a Japanese myth were if one is to eat food from another realm it would make it difficult to return home I wanted the lost spirit to receive a piece of fruit as a gift. At first I was going to use an apple but after some time I changed it to a pear, the pear is symbol of immortality. The lost spirit is offered the chance to live amongst the woodland spirits until the end of time.

·         The Ruined House; When both characters approach the ruined house the nymph becomes exited, that is because in her realm the ruin is a beautiful manor where people gather to dance and hold market stalls. You can see the nymph begin to dance when she moves into the centre of the ruin and you can also hear the noises of the crowd when the lost spirit closes his eyes.

·         Removing The Mask; When the lost spirit finally catches up with the nymph he removes her mask. I wanted to show that he has finally remembered who he is and the veil of uncertainty has been lifted. He also greets her as an old friend and gladly returns to the nether realm with her.

·         The Stone Circle; As both characters fade away back to the nether realm you’ll notice they are standing on a stone circle this is an ancient magical teleportation device that can be used to travel between realms.  It’s my little wink to all those video games that have their characters travel around using magic stones and portals. I was heavily influenced with the video game ‘Folklore’ early on in the project so I thought it was a nice way to finish off the film.    

Audio Recording Done

3rd June.

I finally managed to get out and finalize the much needed audio for my film, again due to the wind ruining the sound while I was out filming the actual film I've had to record new sounds to place over the images.

More information can be found in my production diary.

Editing And Sound Update

25th of May.

I have blended the 'Wind Waker' theme tune with the 'Greek market sounds' to create a lively atmosphere - I've used Adobe Audition to do this. The process didn't take long, I just needed to adjust the volume levels.

I've also recorded the prologue voice over with Cameron, it sounds good, he spoke very clearly and in the manner I wanted. He mumbles towards the end slightly so I'll have to re-record that once we get back to college.

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Most of the editing for the film is complete, I've gone over each scene and adjusted the sound and the contrast. All that's needed now is the wild track and the theme music.   

Filming Is Now Over

On the 24th of May Cameron, Millie and Myself went to Cornholme to finish off my film. The weather was a slight problem because it didn't really know what it wanted to do, the sun was out then it was grey, didn't help me with the camera as I was trying to get the lighting and the white balance right, during editing I've had to mess around with the contrast.

The day went as smooth as it could have, Cameron and Millie were game and I felt I directed the shoot much better than before. I communicated better and the actors responded better. Also, for the first time I felt we nailed every shot, before I had to sacrifice some of my ideas because I couldn't get the shot just right but on the day the key shots were nailed and that's something that should be considered very pleasing and positive.

As the project is coming towards its end I wont be able to re-shoot any scenes. I'll just have to make do with what I've got. I'd like to say I don't have many scenes in mind to re-shoot but that's not the case. As the project has gone on and I've pondered on the final images I've come up with new angles, new shots and cut ins that I would have liked to put in to the final film. Sadly I'll just have to take it on the chin and take those ideas and newly developed techniques into my next project.