Evaluation

Question 7:

I feel that I have developed as a film maker and editor quite dramatically since first starting media. During the preliminary we realised how important it was to not make the same mistake twice and make sure you have plenty of film. It also taught us the unconventional ways of shooting things sometimes pay off. Quirky camera angles helped create some shots we wouldn’t have thought of doing if we hadn’t just gone for it. This came across when shooting out main task because we thought back to our preliminary task and thought about giving it a go succeeds or fails letting you know not to try it again. It also helped me develop my attention to detail. Normally I would say “that will do”, but after studying media you realise how important it is to piece everything together and go the extra mile. We learnt the colour change editing skill in our preliminary and we wanted to use this in our final piece as a kind of signature to our work. People who have seen our preliminary task said that it was something they associated with our film so we used it again. I feel that it worked just as well, if not better the second time. I realised that planning for all events is a must and being clear with all your ideas and plans is equally important. Allowing others to express themselves in the group helps this because they might have the solution to an idea you have that doesn’t quite make the cut. Sticking to the plan was important but as in our preliminary, a lot changed from our initial plan. Even when you have a picture in your head of how it is all going to pan out, it doesn’t tend to happen. The changes we made were quite significant but I am pleased they happened because I think that it really added to the final product. I have learnt that producing a short piece of film is a lot more time consuming than you would expect it to be. I have also learnt that team work is key, as well as adding originality to the piece. If I were to do the project again, I would try organising things a lot earlier and better. We didn’t have reserve plans so when the location we thought we could have failed it stopped us in our tracks and hindered the whole production. I would also make sure everything is filmed a few more times. Maybe going everywhere and communicating together more would have helped because when it came to the day of filming, Niall and I had only seen pictures of the location that Ed had taken. I feel that as a group we worked really well. We are all interested in similar genres and directors so we can relate to each other’s inspirations. We also know each other well which meant we could spend a lot of time editing together. We all took on different roles in a way. Ed took a very creative position which he thrived in, as well as setting up shots and checking continuity. Niall helped with the continuity and offering a different perspective and eye for detail on the editing process. He also did a fantastic job of writing and performing both pieces of music in our piece. I took on the role of camera work at first, as well as helping the other two get to grips with the cameras. I was also quite heavily involved in the editing process with Ed and Niall. I would say that the editing was the most evenly spread part of the team process. I really enjoyed filming our thriller and I couldn’t have chosen a better group to do it with.