When our group sat down for the first time and decided on what script we should make we ended up choosing my script mainly because it was the easiest to shoot as it was set in a college environment allowing for us to film almost whenever we wanted and not having to worry about time as much as we would have if we had to travel to the set and when it was available to do so. There was certain things in the script that we had to change due to the time of filming and budgeting just as there would have been with any script but nothing was changed dramatically and as we went through filming there was even bits that we realized were not really needed.
Although this was not my first time shooting with a DSLR as I have done it for previous college projects and projects outside of college such as Zirus it still proved to be challenging in some aspects as there's always things to learn and things that can easily be forgotten. Some of the hardest things to get right when filming was the correct exposure and focus and even if the focus was right it was easy to accidentally change it during a shot. This is also backed up in some of the class feedback as some of the comments we received included "Ext. Cinema shots are too bright" and "The Cafe entrance shot is out of focus." Exposure proved to be harder the lighter or darker the area was and especially so if we were trying to get a shot from outside walking in as the screen would just go black due to the extreme change in light. Another problem we encountered was stability if we weren't using a tripod and in some certain shots we didn't use a tripod because it physically wouldn't fit into the filming area and as a result the shot looked poor and ultimately it was cut from the final product.
When filming we often went out and got what we needed thinking that would be enough only to come back and find that it resulted in us having either a continuity error or a jump cut or sometimes even both so when it came to obtaining adequate footage sometimes we did not get as much as we needed. A prime example of this is in the last scene we had to add the Christmas lights before we walked into the cinema holding hands otherwise we had a jump cut and continuity error so although we found ways around our errors we did realize what we had done wrong however as a result of this it made the last shot a bit pointless and this was picked up on as on piece of feedback we received was "Don't like the shot at the end after the lights have shown once." So our error didn't go unnoticed and caused a problem with another shot.
During the pre-production stage each member of the group was assigned a certain scene which we would direct in filming and edit ourselves which was interesting as we had never really done anything like that beforehand so when filming came it proved to be an interesting challenge. My ones to direct were the final few from the cafe onward and |I feel the went well but could have been better. When we were shooting the scene where Sophie opens the present from Tyler the shot where she opens the present was rather long so in editing we cut it up but it looked alright however when the present was open the title was cut off so I decided to get a reaction shoot in which we could cut to then get one more shot of the book where the title could be seen. So although things didn't go to plan all the time I managed to work around it but the were other times where I wasn't as observant and things didn't work out as well.
I was reasonable happy with the finished product however there was things which I wasn't happy with and thought could have been done better. I was really impressed with the camera and editing in our piece as most of it looked really nice and professional and when it came to editing we all pulled our weight and helped out with it making it relatively easy and fun to do however there was some times where the camera was over/underexposed or out of focus and during editing certain things we messed up on may have made the edit harder such as shots that don't look good enough or in some cases having a lack of shots. I thought the mise-en-scene was really well done as it was written to be set in a college so it worked really well and even in the Cafe and British Heart Foundation the fact that we got permission to film there was brilliant and made the scene look so much better however my only problem with the mise-en-scene was the lack of Christmas decorations so the theme didn't feel very believable. I personally feel the worst part about the finished product was the sound, the songs were used effectively however when it came to the sound recorded from the camera there was always loads of background noise and the sound would jump horrendously so some bits of dialogue didn't sound very good at all, I think this was easily the worst part about the final product. The class also picked up on this as some of the feedback we received said that "The ambient noise is far too loud throughout" and that the "Sound at the start is tinny" which I do agree with another comment was that they "Would have liked some more music throughout and less ambient noise" So there was a lot of areas where we can improve on when sound is concerned.
Although there were many things that went well with the project there was also things that didn't go so well such as the sound issues and some issues with coverage. I feel the scenes where mise-en-scene were important ultimately went well and were some of our strongest scenes especially the cafe scene as it was really eye-catching due to all the colors and you could easily tell it was a cafe. The things that didn't go so well were the sound issues and coverage so next time I will make sure to get enough coverage and more so that I know we have enough footage also if we get more shots that should help with certain sound issues otherwise the only other answer would be to invest in better sound equipment. This project has taught me many things one of them being how to manage a schedule although we didn't exactly keep to the schedule this is why I learnt how important it is to have one and to follow it. It has also taught me to be less impatient with my work as if things are rushed then your work can suffer from it and it shows in the final product.
Jack,
ReplyDeleteWell done for showing new skills and knowledge during this production - the video is excellent. You have been awarded a distinction for the video.
EllieB