Moving Image Evaluation- Last Chance

Project Evaluation

This project has been a huge experience for me. It is the first time in DP2 where we have been asked to work in a group. I found this quite difficult, after being put in a group of nine and I was assigned to be the producer, I wasn't sure on what this role entailed, I only knew that I needed to be organised. Following the seminar I researched more about the role, and began to understand the different tasks I needed to complete. Looking back over the five weeks I think I would have preferred it if I had a different role, Nevertheless, I still feel as though I have accomplished and achieved lots.

Working in a group is something which I have not done for a while; our group was made up of nine people. I feel that nine was too many, if we were broken into smaller groups, I think that we could have been more productive during the planning stages. Although at times I feel that I would have preferred to have worked alone, I know that I have gained a huge amount of experience within production, planning and editing of a project. I had a big responsibility, it was my task to ensure that everyone attended meetings; I planned locations, completed various forms and ensured that the crew and cast knew what they were doing. During pre-production I felt as though I had a mountain of work to get through; however Nick Rook my assistant helped me repeatedly and assisted me throughout the project. I feel grateful that I have been able to work in a group with people that have so much creative knowledge; this has definitely been a massive positive for me. I feel that as producer, I worked very hard to contribute towards the progress of the project.

I feel that my own personal research and development has helped me to progress through the project, without my development I would not have the knowledge to complete the edit and understand the themes which run through the film. I documented every meeting which the group had, this was part of my role as producer- but it also aided me in remembering the groups input.

From when we were handed the brief, I feel that we stuck with the same vision/theme for the script and style of the production. Because we were the last group to have 'Last Chance', it was important for us to try an interpret it in a different way. The group decided to set it in a forest, and try a transform it into a party in the woods between a close group of friends. I think we definitely achieved the style that we was aiming for. I am very happy with how the shots and edits demonstrate the vintage theme and captures the relationships between characters.

 

The film shoot taught me invaluable information about the production side of things, it was tiring and tedious, but the results were worth the long days. During the shoots we all came together and managed to gain all of the footage required for a successful edit. Meeting and working with actors was a great experience, we all met some fantastic people who helped us out immensely. The tasks which we completed beforehand such as, recceing the locations gave me an insight on the style of film the director was aiming for, looking back I am very happy with the decision the to make the film 'rural', it adds a different dimension to the script and characters. 

Because of the late filming schedule, we had just over three days to complete an edit. At first this worried me slightly, but because of the careful research I had completed I felt that I knew what I wanted from the script and what story I wanted to tell. After two very long days in Waverly I finished my edit, I am pleased with the result. However I did encounter several problems during the process. I've listed a few below.

Sound,  I found it difficult to match up the audio clips with the visual files. We could have solved this by ensuring that we brought a clapper board, it would have saved me a lot of time whilst editing. I also wish that we would have got a few more sound recordings of the dialogue, some on my film are a little muffled.  Looking back over my edit I have noticed that the levels of the music and dialogue do not match up, it is very simple to resolve and would improve the sound quality of the edit. 
 

 

• Whilst I was editing I noticed that some of the shots that we had, were different in the light/colour/shadows. After I had completed my edit, I tried my best to colour correct the parts which I felt were the worst. Below is as example of one of the corrections I did. For this, I used RGB curves, which lifted the shadows, without loosing colour quality

• Looking back, I wish that I had given myself a longer window to edit in, I feel that I could have improved my edit further once I had feedback.
• I also would have liked to experiment with using more dialogue, my edit features quite a noticeable soundtrack. I think this takes away from the acting slightly, If I had chose mellower music, I think the audience would concentrate on the facial expressions and smaller details.

The project has given me a close insight to working with new people and having a responsibility within a crew. I feel as though my knowledge has excelled in the moving image area. I discovered that so much hard work and effort goes into a short five minute production.