Peer Assessment || Castles In The Air.

Pre-Production

 This blog post will be my self evaluation of my project, discussing my experience with pre-production, production and post-production. It will include peer feedback and what I would like to do differently.

  Starting with pre-production I believe I was well organised and I knew exactly what I was doing as I had prepared the necessary documents which are all linked in my brief and explained in a previous blog post in which can be found here. 

Production

  When it came to the production of my film I had hired out a DSLR camera, tripod and microphone as instead of filming in given lesson time I filmed on my day off ( Friday 27th). I needed to do this because my locations for filming was inside a house and therefore required me to be filming in Trowbridge, rather than college. The positive thing I took away from this was that there weren't necessarily and time restrictions and I was able to film as many takes as I wanted, it also of course allowed me to film in the place I wanted to, to fit the aesthetic and visual I had of my film. Upon reviewing this decision I also came across some negative points, for example in the lesson time we had to film I could only complete the pre-production part of the brief and help others film. When reviewing my decisions I feel like I could have put my time to better use and tried getting some shots in college, rather than completing more 'theory' than 'practical' tasks. On the other hand by helping out my group I was able to give my opinion and film for one of my peers. So although it wasn't 100% on my project it was interesting to interpret others' scripts and see my style and how I could incorporate it into theirs with the given locations etc. 

   When it came to filming I was more than happy with the shots I had, the only downsize was that I came to the realisation that I didn't actually have a lot of footage. The only shots I got was the scientist writing and 'figuring' out the formula and waking up in bed, which in my treatment, scripts, storyboard etc seemed to be perfect length for a short film I felt it was too short. However to contradict that point, from the very beginning I knew I would need to have news reports playing and interrupting the film, in addition to the multiple cuts to the clock ticking etc so I thought at the time it would be enough. In my opinion, when I next create a film I want to be more adventurous than 'playing it safe' and use multiple locations, both internal and external. This will give me more to think about in regards to audio and more difficulties to deal and overcome. 

  I rather liked the idea of having no dialogue in my film as it made it seem like an advertisement and short snippet of the film that would engage the audience to want to watch more and know more about the character. So I personally wouldn't want to say next time I want to have a large script and multiple characters, however it would be nice to have the variety, it would also open up more options for more interesting shots to use and things to keep and eye out for (for example the 180 degree rule).

 When on set it was just myself and the character, as previously mentioned I did this outside of college hours so therefore didn't have a massive production team to help out with lightning etc. Together I was able to direct her and allow her to interpret the storyboard and script I had provided as well as film and ensure I got the shots I wanted. I enjoyed the filming process of this project, however when it is just me filming on set I realised it is nice when working in larger groups. I found this because when I worked closely with my group inside college we were able to share opinions and different options, as well as keep an eye out for things on set that might not look right or take away from the aesthetic, this would have been helpful and nice to have when filming my film.

Post-Production

Once I had edited all my footage in Premiere Pro I was able to show my peers the final project and gather their comments, both criticism and constructive criticism, along with other artistic opinions on the way I filmed and edited it together, taking into consideration the footage, audio and general execution of the project. Before the film was completely edited however I was able to get advise and comments along the way, for example a peer discussed how they like the fact I used news reports, it added interest and makes it also relatable as the issue that happens in my film is genuinely happening.  I was also given some advise on how to make my film slightly longer, for example having more suspense (black screens etc) as this would make my project slightly longer but without it being bad, this was very useful along the editing path as I believe opinions and constructive criticism helps me open my mind to others and their artistic views, rather than just sticking to my own and my preferences.

  When the film was completed I uploaded it to YouTube and got peers as well as others to view it and gather their comments and opinions. I received feedback that included the fact I should include more locations. It is clearly filmed inside a kitchen so next time I will film in various locations. I agree with the point as that is the main thing I wanted to improve myself for my next project.
  Another constructive criticism I got was to make it longer as currently the length is just under two minutes. This is understandable as currently I myself think it is too short, despite this I feel like I also have enough footage to make the story flow and make sense.

   To conclude, this project has been very interesting and enjoyable to complete, it has made me realise how much pre-production and thought goes in before filming anything, and that I actually enjoyed the pre-production side of the project. When I next create a film I will use various locations and more characters as this will lengthen my film and also make it more challenging for the Pre-production, Production and Post-production.