Research Background

I HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT raises the question on how to make a long feature film, with a very low budget, with an established overseas filmmaker, by finding alternative ways of doing things within the prevailing conditions, which are normally very limited. And by doing so can also defining the style. Improvisation is the main directing tactic and the feature length film tries to develop it in its own way, in finding the right actors for this approach to filmmaking. In this case, the film starts with a style in mind and tries to find a suitable story for it, and by concentrating it on one major location, in this case, North Stradbroke Island. The students-crew were given full artistic control under the guidance of the experienced overseas filmmaker.

Research Contribution

I HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT finds a unique way to think out of the box, away from traditional workflows to discover an appropriate way of developing both story and style, by keeping an open mind during the fabrication process, welcoming improvisation and other non- mainstream development techniques. In the case of I HEAR YOUR HEARTBEAT, the script is only a guide map for further developments. Some actors cope well with this way of filmmaking. Drawn to dealing with short-term relationships because they can condense the story and reveal characters in an interesting and economical way. Although everything is storyboarded in detail, but on location there needed to be plenty of room to change everything, reacting to whatever the crew would find there at that time. The main contribution of this research lies in investigating alternative challenging journeys to develop unique style and story for a long form, by keeping the budget of a long form similar to the one of a short film.

Research Significance

I HEAR A HEARTBEAT had its first screening in Griffith Film School as part of the Showcase PARK KI YONG’S CINEMA ON HIS ROAD in the first week of September 2017. The film was screened in the 1