Rory Dempsey

s3528654
Project Brief 2 Reflection

Submission available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ZL9TFpffs&feature=youtu.be

The second project brief for the semester proved to be a challenging but wholly rewarding
process for me. Having missed the class in which it was explained, I entered into the assignment in
a somewhat flustered state of confusion, exacerbated by a number of factors, namely that I did not
know which topic I had been assigned. Admittedly, this would not have been too much of an
inconvenience if I had actually read the project brief properly and noticed that, no, we could not
pick whichever one we like and that, yes, if you start planning for one that you have not been given
you will have to start the process again.
I began my planning stage by being as broad as possible. The theme I was assigned was
Changes in Communication, a topic I thought to be at once general and specific. I was fortunate
enough to overcome a short-lived, preliminary bout of writers block by reverting to a reliable mind
map. In the centre I placed the word communication and was able to come up with a number of
branching ideas. At the conclusion of this effective, albeit short, exercise, the idea that was jumping
out at me the most was the ability of communication methods to not only define the era in which
they exist, but to offer bridges across decades and generations. What would happen if I combined
the nostalgic click of the typewriter with the modern-times glare of the computer screen? More
specifically, what would happen if I combined the versatility of this humble, manual word-processor
with the constraints of Twitters 140 character limit? These questions not only offered me with a
more concrete path to follow, but opened a number of other avenues down which my mind could
wander.
Of course, as is customary of the creative process, there were ideas before this final concept which
did not make the cut, due primarily to the inability to acquire relevant props or equipment an old,
1990s era computer, for example but also due to time constraints, given that I was several days
behind the majority of the cohort.
In settling on the idea of blurring the lines between the old and the new at the risk of veering to
close to the other project theme of Old vs. New Media I knew that a storyboard would be
required if the finished product was to be anywhere the standard I wanted. The shot list I had
hastily compiled would serve a purpose, yes, but with such a limited timeframe within which to
operate, I knew that each shot if not the most important or difficult ones would have to be
carefully pre-planned so as to ensure ease of filming.
The development stage of this creative process was thus relatively kink-free. The post-production
stage, however, was an absolute nightmare. And I do not use the term lightly.
OK, maybe I do. But there were myriad problems which reared their ugly heads during the editing
process, though I was able to deal with each of these with consummate efficiency as they did so.
My somewhat naive decision to incorporate footage recorded directly from my computer and
iPhone screens, respectively, was perhaps the most difficult to navigate. My initial panic after
having loaded said footage on to Adobe Premiere and realising that the resolution and size of the
footage was completely incongruent with that filmed on the Canon D90 was assuaged with the
aid of a handful of YouTube tutorials and calming self-reassurance.
I hope you enjoy the finished product!

Rory Dempsey

s3528654

1. A black screen. Superimposed over this, stark white in colour: Nexus.

2. The silhouette of a typewriter at a desk in a darkened room.
3. A candle is lit, illuminating the typewriter. The match is blown out.
4. A piece of paper is gently loaded into a typewriter.
5. A finger hovers gently over the H key. It presses it down. The noise is clear and crisp.
6. We see the Twitter Compose new tweet box. The letter T appears.
7. The next key o is pressed.
8. We see h appear in the text field.
9. The hands continue typing.
10. We cut back to the text box to see the words How in the text box.
11. The hands continue typing.
12. In the text field, we see the words appear as the typewriter noises continue: we
communicate says a lot more about us than what we want to say.
13. The typewriter ding sound is heard as we cut to a close up of the share button being clicked.
14. The hands push the typewriter back to the beginning position.
15. The tweet is published and appears in the feed.
16. The hands begin typing again.
17. The words appear in the tweet box: Our modes of communication are more than just ways of
relaying information.
18. We see a man in a darkened room using his iPhone. His face is illuminated only by the light
from his phone. He types, and the clicking of the keys is crisp and clear. Click. Click, pause.
Click, pause. Click, pause. Click, pause. Click, pause. Click. Click, pause. Click. Click, pause.
Click, click. Click, click, click.
19. After about 3 clicks, we cut to another man at a desk, lit by a candle, holding a receiver to his
ear. He scribbles down the word They and continues listening.
20. The man on the iPhone continues typing, only the clicks of the keys are Morse code letters. As
he types, we cut intermittently to the man transcribing his words. We see a shot of what he has
written: They are icons of the era in which they existed. Wistful reminders of an erstwhile age.
21. Back to the hands at the type-writer, who types feverishly.
22. The words appear this time in the iMessage text field. A bridge between now and the future.
23. The message appears in the iMessage feed.
24. The man smiles and begins typing on his iPhone.
25. Superimposed over a black screen: Wrote/directed/starred: R Dempsey
Shot list/storyboard
Releases location release
Back-up
Media Management:
Workflow
Legend:
Purple: to be filmed Monday with typewriter
Green: can be done on computer tonight (13th August)
Blue: to be edited last
Red: can be filmed tonight

Rory Dempsey

s3528654