Evaluation - Question 7

Looking back at your preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt about the progression from it to the finished Product?

Our preliminary task was to film two characters having a conversation in a room, using the same camera and software that we would use in our Foundation Project, and to edit the footage into a short linear sequence. We filmed the sequence in an interior set, and used two found actors. One actor entered through a door and established themselves, while the other character got up from a chair, after looking through a bag. A few lines of dialogue were then exchanged between the two characters, before the character that first entered the room then left again. We shot our preliminary task as a thriller, and did this by centring the lines of dialogue around the person in the room searching for something in the bag, as if they were conducting a robbery.
When we did this preliminary task, I had little or no idea about how to use a camera, or how a media shoot actually worked. Before the shooting day, I was taught how to adjust the relevant settings on the camera, e.g. shutter-speed, exposure and aperture settings. I was also taught how to film, attach the camera to a tripod and how to pan the camera while on the tripod. On the day of the preliminary shoot, I was very nervous about using the camera and had the settings done for me by the technician we had on hand to help us. However by the day of our real shoot, I was perfectly confident with all the settings on the camera. I set up all the settings on the camera and checked them myself. I also did a lot of the camerawork on the shooting day, which was all done by handcam, as I felt more confident with my ability to use the camera and take decent shots.
We were helped extensively on our preliminary shoot, especially with organisation. The staff allocated us a specific time, and when we arrived all our equipment was setup and left at the location we were to be shooting at. However when we were put into groups and decided on our idea, we had to take matters into our hands. We wrote up a detailed shooting schedule for the day of the shoot, after obtaining permission to shoot in the location we wanted to use. On the day of the shoot, we all turned up early to the equipment store and took all the equipment we needed. We then brought it to the shooting location and set it all up, making sure it worked before any of the performers had even arrived.
I also learnt the useful skill of how to write a script and a treatment. Our preliminary task was scripted for us, and we were given precise shooting specifications. When it got to our Foundation Project, we were allowed full control of what we wanted to shoot and how. To do this, our teacher taught how to write a treatment in 3 acts, and then to take the opening of the first act and turn it into our idea for our Foundation Project. We then took this idea and write a script for it, under our teacher’s guidance.
Teamwork was also a large part of the entire learning process. At the beginning of the preliminary task, communication was almost non-existent and we all completed the task while still being inside our own individual little bubbles. When we got into our group for the Foundation Project, we spent several sessions arguing over what idea to chose, and relations were very frosty within the group. However when we had finally settled on the idea, I feel that the initial arguing brought us all closer together, as we knew exactly what each other liked and didn’t like. This played to our advantage, as ideas were quickly thrown around the group and using our newly acquired skills in researching and brainstorming, we were able to quickly get the idea into shape. When it came to the day of the shoot, we kept in constant contact when any of us left the set by calling each other on our mobile phones, to run decisions by each other. We also communicated during the editing process, agreeing times to meet up and edit together.
The shoot day was probably the biggest learning experience for everyone. Our shoot day for the preliminary project was not set up by us, and aside from almost going over the allotted shooting time the whole day went well. We did a lot of planning for our Foundation Project shooting day, but unfortunately not all of it helped on the day. We had the majority of our actors cancel on the beginning of the shooting day, as they hadn’t had permission to leave their lessons. This played into our hands however, as we had an extended amount of time to set up the equipment and choreograph the sequence, so that everything would run smoother later in the day. When we got all our actors together, it was quiet late in the day so we had to carefully select what footage we wanted to shoot, as the light was fading. We also showed out adaptability out on our shooting day, as we changed the ending of our original idea due to the time constraints we faced and also the fact that our lead actress took ill halfway through the shoot. The days were completely difference, in terms of both timing and structure. The preliminary shoot was only one hour long, as we didn’t have to shoot much footage and got most things done in one take. As a result of this, we didn’t have any breaks during the shoot itself. However during our Foundation shoot, many things were different. For a start, we needed much more footage, so the shooting day was 8 hours long. Consequently, we had to allow our actors to have breaks, especially as the acting work was strenuous as it involved running around a lot. We also implemented a call system on the day of our Foundation shoot, whereby only actors that were needed would be called to the shooting location. This worked well, as it meant we didn’t have people hanging around on set and interrupting the shooting when we weren’t shooting the group scenes.
Editing was a real eye-opener for us. Our preliminary project editing was fairly basic, we were shown how to take all our footage and cut it into little useful chunks using Final Cut Pro, a professional video editing software. We were then shown how to cut these chunks into small clips, and thread these clips together into a sequence. This worked well for our preliminary sequence, which wasn’t complex at all. However, when we did our Foundation Project we wanted to make a more polished and interesting product. So we did the basic editing, and then took it to the next level. We used an industry-standard effect program Abobe After Effects to change the saturation levels and colour some of the footage. We also used it to create black vinyetting around the edges of the footage to focus the audience’s attention on what we wanted them to see. We also used Soundtrack Pro to create the sounds for our Product, which heightened the tension and mood of the whole sequence.
I f I could go back I wouldn’t change much about the whole experience. In the majority, it was good, but also had down points which helped us to learn from our mistakes. I probably would have spent less time arguing about the original idea. I also definitely would have made the actors agree in a more concrete sense to come to the shoot day on time, and made sure they were confirmed and able to attend. I feel like what we did gave us an experience of what it would be like to work within the Media Industry as we experience deadlines and the pressures of working in a time constrained environment. We also had to plan and devise everything we did, and adapt it on the spot as happens in real film production. We also used industry-standard software and equipment and had the experience of working like real post-production specialists.

Over the process of 4 months I feel that I have developed many relevant technical skills and broadened my interpersonal communication abilities. I have realised that film making is a challenging, sometimes frustrating and yet rewarding experience. In the end, I am very proud of the product that we managed to create, and the whole experience life changing.