EVALUATION Q3: Development of production skills

EVALUATION Q3: HOW DID YOUR PRODUCTION SKILLS DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT?

In this post, I will be discussing how I have developed my production skills throughout the year. I will discuss the practice exercises and what I have learnt from them, as well as elements in the production process that I can improve for next year. 

I created a Youtube series called "Laura's Tech Tips", similar to a channel like the one below. 

I have used this series as past of Eval Q3 and 4, as well as for my tutorials. 

The points I discuss are summarised below: 

Preliminary Exercise:

The task required having 2 characters, filming outside of and including a door, engaging in conversation in a shot reverse shot sequence and maintaining the 180 degree rule, including over 20 shots, using narrative enigma within the story. 

I created a basic shot list with my class and small script. We also created the two characters of a director and actor as the Proppian hero and villain, but slightly blurred their roles. We had previously practiced shot types in the exercise seen below.

The equipment I used was: a monopod, a tripod, a dolly tripod attachment, SONY 158 DSLR camera, and 2 lenses. 

We then downloaded the footage off the SD cards and edited them separately. 

This is my continuity edit:

What I learnt: 

The importance of planning when filming under pressure, how to apply the shot reverse shot sequence and 180 degree rule, as well as using continuity editing when editing the final video. 

This was a helpful exercise, as I was able to use the DSLR camera. After seeing how bulky and time consuming it was to set up, I decided to record on my phone for my film opening. 

Genre Edit: 

To further practice editing on final cut, I created a horror genre edit of the preliminary exercise. I used various effects like the black and white filter, and added music and foley footsteps to create tension and suspense. 

What I Learnt: 

How to apply and modify visual effects, rearranging shots and reframing them to change the initial genre signifiers, not to use long clips when uploading onto Youtube to avoid a copyright infringement. 

Sample Scenes: 

The playlist below contains the sample scenes I have filmed this year. 

To summarise what I learnt: 

Importance of shot variety and extra takes to use when editing, repeating actions in order to cut between different takes in editing and maintain continuity, other continuity elements (mise-en-scene and props), verisimilitude in the mise-en-scene and clothing, costuming elements, maintaining narrative enigma, blocking and rehearsing a scene or script with the actors beforehand, planning around weather conditions, and recording foley sound while shooting for verisimilitude and efficiency.

Final Film Opening: 

Equipment used: monopod, tripod, 2TB hard drive, MacBook Pro, portable microphone, Apple iPhone 11

The production skills I learnt, in addition to those from the sample scenes, was how to organise my cast and how to prepare for them in order to be efficient, shoot planning (shot lists), taking extra shots, finding good lighting, and the detail of the mise-en-scene. 

Production Schedule: 

I created a post containing the production schedule so I could easily update it and look back throughout the year. 

I did not encounter many issues revolving cast while filming, as they were all available as we had agreed it. 

The largest issue encountered while filming, was due to the weather. While filming the street scene, it unexpectedly began hailing. As it was already very late, we continued filming but the hail was seen in some of the shots and the footage was unusable in the final cut. 

Rough Cuts: 

Here is the YouTube playlist of my rough cuts:

 

The differences between each cut are detailed in separate posts linked below: 

Rough Cut 1

Rough Cut 2

Rough Cut 3

Rough Cut 4

Rough Cut 5

Rough Cut 6

Final Cut

Audience Feedback: 

Below is my playlist on Youtube of all the audience feedback I have collected:

 

I received audience feedback after every rough cut or sample scene, but this was mostly written or I wasn't able to record it. I found getting audience feedback to be very helpful as I also asked different age groups and gender, to get a comprehensive overview. 

Evidence of Directing: 

Below is my Youtube playlist containing my evidence of directing: 

 

Street Scene: 

Here I was directing the cast and blocking their movements for the jump scare. I demonstrated how I wanted Norman to grab Marion's shoulder. 

Forest Scene: 

Here I was directing the cast on their blocking to ensure it was in the shot range of the camera. 

Locker Scene: 

Here I was instructing the cast on their lines and where to walk when we were filming the tracking shot. 

What I have learnt for next year: 

- Planning every detail of the shoot and preparing for inconveniences such as the weather

- Bringing all the equipment 

- Planning for more shots in the shot list for safety takes in editing

- Meeting with the cast before the shoot in order to go over the script, costumes, and blocking

- Shooting as soon as possible in order to have time to re-shoot and edit