Pre Production: Andrea Kappos Masterclass and Idea Feedback

Andrea Kappos Masterclass

Today's session with Andrea Kappos was very informative and eye opening. Not only did I learn tips for future projects, looking at her work actually inspired me to think about and gain greater insight into the world of working with non-actors for commercials. I also really enjoyed the pieces of work shown to us as I never really thought about what it would be like to work with children. 


Casting and Directing: One of the main things we were advised to focus on. Here are some of the most important tips that I listed during the session.  

• One of the main things I learnt was the importance of Casting. She made it clear that the contributors play the biggest part in the content she creates because it has to have a watchability. 
• Get a sense of their personality beforehand, i.e skype, auditions. Natural surroundings
• Its about the methods used to get natural performances from non actors. If you keep asking a contributor or actor to keep repeating the same thing, it may loose authenticity. Its about being efficient. 
• Actors should feel safe and not pressured to do wrong. 
• For Andrea, she rarely uses clapper boards as this can sometimes stun the contributor and hinder an authentic performance. She says you can get the the contributor talking or practicing but secretly record as you can sometimes get authentic, relaxed performances because they don't think they're being recorded. 

Project Managing:

• Work backwards from the due date.
• Make sure you have a good understanding of the concept and the vision. You cannot make good input if you don't know. 
• When it comes to your vision, think about How you see it looking, the tone, the cinematography. 
• Think about post production just as much as pre and shoot days as they all intertwine. 
• Having a Treatment is always helpful because it allows you to always be able to look back and remind yourself of the original idea if you ever get stuck along the way. 
• Story boards : very important for visual representation but doing it yourself is better because it allows you to approach it with an open mind. 
• Location Recce: Find what will work, what won't work and always take reference pictures. 
• Angles are important on the Recee, anticipate movement. Especially with a multi camera set up
• Art department: This includes the DP - very important. The DP she always works with (Oliver Schofield) helps create a calm set, puts everyone at ease. 
• Wardrobe - Think about the colour palette and how it effects the mood of the film. 
• After pre production is finalised, it is important to have a meeting with all crew so that everyone is on the same page and knows what will be happening. This creates a smoother working environment. 

Shoot Day:

• Repeating shots can hinder as it loses authenticity. Know when to stop.
• Rehearsing scenes can hinder it if it is in full force. You may not be able to get the same performance again so just block the scenes instead. 
• Important to give positive feedback to both cast (and crew). The cast are in vulnerable positions so it is important to make them feel good about what they are doing.
• Allow the cast to get out of the habit of following the script perfectly. Let them create and add their own spin to it. 

Other Useful advice: 

• Andrea claims that it is important to just create stuff and get your work out there because you get jobs when you put your content out there. Even if you think it isn't the best. Something is better than nothing.  
• Immerse yourself within the world of what you want to do and try out different things whether that be a runner etc, being in the environment is never a bad thing. 
• Keep going to galleries and exhibitions as it allows you to keep your ideas fresh. 
• Its important to keep an idea diary or visual idea diary when you see things that you like. You may find that when you're stuck on something, an idea diary may help you gain a new angle on things. 
• The importance of networking - Things that seem small could matter in the long run. This includes classmates as you never know where anyone will end up. It wont hurt to keep in contact with people. 
• When thinking about what you want to do, be honest. Do what you want and what you think you are good at. "if you can name it, you can be it."
• It is okay to turn things down, as this can actually better your career direction if you know thats not the direction you want to go in. 
• It is important to love what you do. 
• Let people know what you do. 

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Andrea's Feedback on my current Idea

After briefing my idea to Andrea, she gave me some useful feedback that I will have to the think about. As it stands, My idea involves my main character successfully being able to take his life. But I was very unsure about this. I was also unsure about using actors or finding a real family that would be able to play this part. 

Her feedback;

• The family relationship seems real, details about them can be justified
• There is trouble when asking non actors to act major roles. Things may not be to the best quality, even if authenticity was the aim. 
• She said she feels sorry for the audience if they come away with an ending that did not have an element of hope. 
• Is there a sense of hope for the parents? try not to have a flat ending that just ends there. 
• What is the counter point?
• How will I plot the journey the character has?
• Try to allow the audience to wonder about the characters after the film. 
• Look at the idea that what you see isn't what's going on. How could you incorporate this?

My Thoughts on her feedback; 

• I totally agree about everything Andrea made me think about. It is my aim for my film to have an impact on the audience. I want the audience to come to a realisation somehow but I also don't want it to be doom and gloom. From this feedback, I think it would be a good idea to hear the mother coming to realisation as her son is being revived. I think it would also be a god idea to hear that he hasn't died. Allowing the element of hope.