Film Commentary Submitted Copy

8/2/2019 Film Commentary Submitted Copy

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TheAscension

Directors Commentary

GERSHON SNG


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FilmRationale

TheAscension is amagical realism film about a beggar who finds aboxwith the

power to duplicate its content. It employs both Hollywood and silent film

conventions in termsofpacing and direction; and is influenced bycubist editingtechniquesandtheBible.Itisallegoricalandexploresthethemeofgreedinhuman

nature.Itwasalwaysmyintentiontocarefullymonitorallaspectsofthepre,post,andproductionprocessasdirectortomaximizesynergybetweenmyteaminorder

toachieveasenseofescapismfortheaudience.Ifeelthiswassuccessfullyachieved.

WordCount:99

TrailerRational

Thetrailerutilizesthehermeneuticcode(Barthes)bybuildingsuspensearoundtheboxandtheuseofversefromTheBiblebutneverrevealsthefunctionofit.Thisdoesnotgivethefilmsnarrativeawaytoomuchbutsimultaneouslyattractsfansof

suspense. Clear antagonism is portrayed through the selection of shots, which

complimentstheMTV-styleeditingcuttotheupbeatsoundtrack.Thetrailerfurtherexpands the targeted quadrants by addressing film scholars through the official

selectionandawards titles.Crosscuttingandjuxtaposingbetween footage fromthefilmwiththeboxshowsitsunpredictabilityandenigmaticnature.

WordCount:98


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Pre-Production

As director, I wanted to be engaged in the films process from the

conceptualizationof the script tothe finalmix.With the intention ofentering the

filmintovariousfilmfestivals,ithadtoappealtothecriticalmarket,asevidentinmytrailerspromotionoffestivalscreeningsandawards.

Igeneratedtheinitialidea,whichwashighlyinfluencedbytwoshorts-Vicky

andSam(dir.NunoRocha,2010)1andTheBlackHole(dir.PhilandOlly,2008)2.

Thefirstisaboutagroupofscreenwriterswhowerebrainstormingideas.However,whattheydiscussstartsbecomingarealitybeforetheireyes.Theconceptofgiving

superpowerabilitiestothecharactersgavemeasenseofescapistgratificationand

inspiredmetoproduceafilmthatevokedasimilaremotionwhenviewingmyfilm.Furthermore, the enigma of what the characters would utilize the power for

captivatedmeandprovidedcatharsisforme.Thelatterfilmgarneredmainstreamand critical success, which to me was attributed to the theme of greed that was

explored.Ithoughtmostaudiencescouldrelatetogreed,asitisauniversaltheme

andnotgenre-specific,thuswideningtheviewershipofthefilm.

3rd January 2011marked our first groupmeetingwherewebrainstormed

ideasforthefilm.Asthedirector,Isuggestedwetookaspecifictypeofpacingforthefilmfastpacedatthestarttoengagetheaudience.Thiswastobeachievedby

eitherfastcutsorbyoneseeminglylongtakewithmultipleeditsandhighlytreated

footage (the latter was executed in the final product). By 25th January 2011,weagreeduponmyideaofabeggarwhofoundasmallboxthatcoulddoubleitscontent

oncethelidwasshut.However,hegetsgreedyandultimately,uponattemptingtofitalargerobjectintothebox,breaksthelid,renderingtheboxuseless.Thissimilarly

exploredtheideaofgreed.

1VickyandSam:http://vimeo.com/160448122TheBlackHole:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5_Msrdg3Hk

(Figure1.1)ScreenshotfromVicky

andSam

(Figure1.2)ScreenshotfromThe

BlackHole


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Thescriptwriterthoughtthattheendingoftheideawasclichdandneededa

plottwist.Assuch,weutilizedFreytagsdramaticstructuretoguideusonexpandingthestory.Wequestionedthereasonbehindtheboxspowerandcameupwiththe

ideathatthebottomoftheboxwasanopeningtoanalternaterealityinwhichthere was an infinite amount of resource. Thereby, representing heaven. Then,

antagonismwas introduced through the group of beggars. The exposition wouldestablishtheisolationoftheprotagonistthroughthesetting;therisingactionwouldbe the introduction of the magical artifact. While the climax would be the

antagonistsattempttoobtain thebox,thefallingactionwould be theantagonist,

portrayed as the villain, cornering the protagonist. The resolution would bepolysemicinitsreadingasitcouldbeseenasanactofsacrificefromtheprotagonist

ortheprotagonistsactofgreedbydestroyingthebox,heeffectivelykeepsallthepower tohimself.Fromeither reading,thestory stillestablishes thenegativityof

greedandretainsmyideaofnarratingamoralitytale.

Afterconsideringthepracticalityandsuitabilityofthesequence(figure2.2),

itwasdiscussedwiththeeditorforvisualeffectspossibility.Iinsistedtestshots,asIwantedthegraphicstosuspenddisbelief.Thelookofthefilmwasenvisionedtobesimilarto Momentos(dir.NunoRocha,2010)3 in termsofcolorgrading, setting,

andmakeup(Figure3).

3Momentos:http://vimeo.com/17896628

(Figure2.1)Testshots (Figure2.2)FinalProduct

(Figure3)ScreenshotfromMomentos


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IpersonallydidsomecolorgradingteststoguidetheeditorasIhadavery

clearimageofhowIwantedthefilmtolookvisually(Figures4).

Since I knew that this film was highly production and post-productionintensive,acopyoftheoverallprojecttimetable(Figure5.1)andproduction-specific

schedule (Figure 5.2)was emailed to the group just a little after pre-production.

Pickup sessions were deliberately scheduled in case certain shots were ofinsufficientqualityforpost-productionwork.

(Figure4.1)Beforegrading

(Figure4.2)Aftergrading (Figure4.3)GradeofFinalProduct

(Figure5.1)OveralltimetableforFilm


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Theopeningshotwasacranedown,tiltup,trackforwardshot.Itwascrucial

tothenarrativeasitservesasarepresentationofChristsdescentdownuponearth.

I felt that a smooth execution of the shotwas vital toenhance the narrative; theintentionwasthatthisrepresentedaspiritualjourneyinwhichthisangelicformcan

transcendobjects.Aftermuchdiscussionwiththeteam,Iconcludedthattoachieve

theshot,Ihadtoresorttoacranesystemofsomesort.Myresearchincludedfindingthe appropriate system (including a jib, tracks, ballhead, etc), a rental company,

transportation for the equipment to location, safety measures, and financing.Myeditorand Ispentat least4 daysat the rentalcompanyrehearsing the shotsand

learninghowtorigupthesystemsafely.

(Figure5.2)Production-specificschedule


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Intheclosingshot,theprotagonisthadtobeonaroadforthecartorunover

thebox.Toachievethat,Ihadtoscoutforasuitableroadthatwaswideenoughandwith little traffic (Figure 6.2). I abided by local film regulations and protocol by

notifyingthepolicethroughtheFilmServicesOffice.Togettheschoolchopforthe

PoliceNotificationForm,Ihadtopersonallyconvincetheschoolprincipletoapproveareleaseforit.Ischeduledanovernightfilmingthatcommencedat10pmtoavoid

traffic,increasingthesafetyformycastandcrew.

Production

Throughfilmlanguage,theclosingshot,acraningupshot,wastosuggestthe

ascensionofChrist.Itwassupposedtomirrortheopeningshot,showingthecycle

ofChrist.Thereby,constructingacyclicalnarrative.However,thoughwewereableto successfully obtain the closing shot (Figure8), wecouldnot get a satisfactory

openingshot.Hence,forthesakeofthecoherenceofthefilm,itwasmydecisiontoremovetheclosingshotandreplaceitwiththesimilartypeofgraphicsseeninthe

opening.

(Figure6.1)Atrentalhouse,learningaboutthejib

(Figure6.2)Theuse

ofthejibonset

(Figure 7) 3 separate locations for the road shot, we chose the first for itssecludedsetting.


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(Figure9.1)1:04:46[Location:ChaiWan]

(Figure9.2)1:04:47[Location:SaiWanHo]

(Figure9.3)1:05:16

[Location:ChaiWan]

(Figure8)Closingshotthatwasreplacedinthefinalproduct

(Figures 9) For the majority of

the film,we located inChaiWan Park.

However, the road in the latter half ofthe film was in a different estate (Sai

Wan Ho). To sell the idea that thepursuit sequence was shot in one

location I had to oversee thecinematography so as it wouldcompliment the editing. To further

enhanceit,Idirectedmyprotagonistto

lookback at the antagonist justbeforethelastshotinChaiWanandlikewisein

the first shot in Sai Wan Ho, andhopefully,duetothematchinggaze,our

audiencewouldnot notice the issueof

locationcontinuity.

Subsequently, we crosscutbetween both locations to add to thebelievabilityofthesequence.Lastly,the

footage was color corrected to matchthe lighting conditions and then the

sequencewasgradedtosuitthepacing

ofthefilm.

Thelastweekofpost-production

wasdedicated to focusgroup viewingsforfeedback.Partoftheexercisewasto

test ifthecutbetweenthetwodistinctlocations was explicitly noticeable.

Never once was the issue of location

continuity raised, which reassured mebeforesubmittingitasthefinalproduct.


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Likewise, focus group viewings

were conducted for the trailer. To testreception from a critical point of view,

film students were asked for theiropinions. Reception testing for the

mainstreammarket, on the other hand,was tested through informal groupmeetings. Furthermore, itwasuploaded

to YouTube and placed as unlisted

(figure10) before the linkwas sentouttoaselectedsample,asYouTubeactedas

my dominant platform for showcasingmytrailer.

Partofmyjobwastosourcethetalentforeach role to suspend disbelief. Since the

film is set in Hong Kong I had to findChinese and mature looking talents to

assume the roleofbeggars. According to

Buscombes Theory that Iconographydictates genre, I had to pay careful

attention to the mise-en-scene. The

costumesandmakeupforthebeggarshadto fit the archetypal role and the set

construction had to conform to theconventionallooksofbeggarslivingarea

asportrayedbythemedia.

Forinstance,theblueplasticcup(asseenontheright,circledinred)isanobvioustoolassociatedwithbegging.Theinclusionofthisiconwithinthismise-en-

scenereiteratesthattheprotagonistisabeggar.

(Figure10)Traileruploadedto

YouTubeunderUnlisted

(Figure11)


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Post-production

Theconceptofthefilmwashighlyambitiousaswehadtoproduce7minutes

offootage.ThiscausedproblemsasIneededtocutthroughspaceandtimewithout

compromisingthenarrative.Iworkedcloselywithmycinematographerandeditoras we used the pillar as a transition (Figure 12.1) to tell the story in a concise

fashion.

Equallyintermsofsound,asoundbridgewasusedtocutthroughtimeandspace, asitwouldnotbe engaging norwouldit enhance the narrativeshould the

protagonistbeseenwalkingdowntothebin(Figures12.2&12.3).

(Figure12.1)01:01:11

(Figure12.2)01:00:31 (Figure12.3)01:00:33


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Intheopeninghalfofthefilm,whenthebeggarisalone,themusicisslowintempo but in a major tonality. I chose a slow tempo to highlight the beggars

isolation; whist themajor tonality is to give a sense of security and safety. The

tracking out shot reveals more within the frame, foreshadowing that when thebeggarunderstands thepotential of thepower representedby thebox,theworld

suddenlyappearstohaveendlesspossibilities.Idirectedmytalenttolookupsoastoemphasizetheextensionofframing.

However,assoonasheapproached the group of

beggars, I decided toendmy

composition,replacingitwitha lowfrequency rumble.This

provides the sense ofinsecurity. Subsequently, I

collaborated with the editor

tomake sure the colorgradechanged to emphasize the

impendingantagonism.

(Figure13)01:52:5801:02:02

(Figure14)01:02:20Changeincolorgradeandmusic


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Asdirector,I knewthat thepaceand intensityofthesoundtrackwouldbe

crucial, and as we had no sound designer I constructed the sound compositionmyself.Iscoredthemusiclooselyandonlymasteredforthefinalsoundmixafterthe

editingwasdone.Thiswasbecausetheeditingtookpriorityoverthemusicinthefilm.However, myworkflow for my trailerwas different the trailermusicwas

masteredbeforeeditingcommenced(Figure15).MyresearchshowsthatthisisacommonpracticeofcontemporaryHollywoodtrailersastheyarerelentlesslycuttothebeattoengageaudiences.

WordCount:1737

The violin track (above) and Foley (right) wererecorded live. Foley was then synchronized to the

visualsinFinalCutPro.

(Figure15)MusicproducedonLogicProwithSampleLibraries

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