Final Evaluation and Submission

 

Final Evaluation

What went well? 

The shoot day ran smoothly as I was organised and well prepared. This meant I was able to solve problems quickly and efficiently without hindering the shoot majorly. An example of this is when I needed a last-minute teleprompter as the replacement  actor was struggling with his lines, this resulted in me having to use a teleprompter app on an iPad to aid his performance.  

I completed a location recce two week prior to the filming date, this meant I knew the location and space really well and could plan what equipment to take and have plans on the set up/s. I liaised well with the crew and actors, so everyone was aware of what they needed to do. I also completed all forms and paperwork in due time for the shoot to ensure these were with my crew and cast. 

I managed to achieve a warm, orange glow as I mentioned in my director’s treatment. Although, I did not achieve this as well as when I practiced due to a difference in lighting, the room was too bright. I was still able to achieve a similar look to what I had planned. 

In the edit I made sure the cuts were in-keeping with the pace of the dialogue, so it did not feel unmatched, this was different to my original plan, but it had to change due to the delivery of the dialogue. I also made a nice soundtrack to underscore the scene without taking away from or overpowering the acting. 

What did not go well? 

Although I did get quite a lot of coverage, I feel I should have planned to get more than I did. This would mean I was not as limited in the editing process. If I had more coverage, I would have been able to create my intended meaning by using the negative framing to make key statements about their relationship rather than using the negative framing throughout. 

Due to the natural light in the background I struggled to control the lighting on the shoot. This resulted in inconsistencies within the footage and lots of colour grading was done to try and amend these inconsistencies. Although colour grading has been done there are still noticeable difference in the intensity of the warm lighting in some shots. 

As the replacement actor needed a teleprompter to help with his lines the pace of the scene was much faster than I anticipated for his monologue. This made it hard for the emotion I wanted to come across. Overall, this did affect the final cut as it was not as emotion driven as I aimed for. 

The final cut is three and a half minutes to long, although the script was below five pages. I now know for future reference that monologue/speeches will run longer than indicated on a script. The scene was also very dialogue heavy and was not as engaging as I hoped. In the future I will not limit myself with dialogue heavy and static shots as I feel it has affected the final piece massively and has not showcased my skills. 

What did I learn? 

I learnt a lot from the whole project which I will take forward with me into future projects. I learnt how to use the clapper board correctly and the importance of using the camera mic to help link sound files and visual files together in the edit. I also learnt to announce each scene and take before each shot as this will also help to link the audio and visual files. If I had done this for my shoot it would have saved me a lot of time in the edit. 

Some of the most valuable skills I learnt with this project include: how to advertise jobs on various platforms, how to liaise with and interview actors and how to correctly fill out and handle all paperwork. Alongside these is the ability to liaise with location owner/managers to organise a recce and filming dates/times.  There will be many instances in the future where I need these skills and this project has set me up for success in the future. 

I discovered issues when trying to edit away from a negative frame onto the same person as the actor would physically move and this affected continuity. I now know in future that these types of shots would prove difficult.  

What could I develop in the future? 

There is a lot I am reflecting on from this project and there is much I would develop/change in the future. One thing I would develop more are my shot lists, I realised I will need more coverage than I initially thought so a more in-depth shot list will accommodate for all these things.  I would also change my shot choices and become more creative with them to make the pieces more interesting and engaging. Alongside this, I will not use dialogue heavy scenes, like this one from Midnight Mass, as I realised that they become boring very quickly. 

I will also try to use artificial light instead of natural light. On this project I was limited due to the location restrictions/rules however, in future I will push to use studio or LED lights as this will prevent any inconsistencies with lighting. I will also ensure I know the abilities of my equipment better as, for example, I tried to execute a slow and smooth zoom into Riley, this shot was too quick because I was unaware the camera had a minimum zoom speed. I now know for the future that the track would be a better alternative to achieve these types of shots. 

My directing and outcome compared to the original scene

My final cut had more coverage than the origan scene from Midnight mass. The original scene held certain shots for longer and was at a slower pace, I think this was because the scene was more emotional than my final approach. However, if my scene was as emotional as the original, I still would have used more coverage to show the other character’s reactions. I was surprised at how the original scene did not cut towards the other character much when in the monologue therefore, I knew that is something I wanted to include. I also used more close ups than the original scene to focus more on the emotion, as well as this I included some negative framing to signify the characters’ discomfort in opening up. I blocked the actors before the shoot, so they knew where to sit, when doing so I explained how I wanted them to face one another and that I wanted the male actor to move/shift in his seat, this movement was not as dramatic as the one in the original scene. I used a much warmer light than those used in the original, which created a nice orange glow. I also used practical lights and had some of these in shot to show motivation for the orange glow created. In the original scene practical lights are connoted but we do not actually see any. 

I stuck mostly to my story board by getting most of the shots, some I could not use as they did not fit the rest of the scene properly. I started with the two shot and ended with the over the shoulder shot to Riley like I had planned. In-between were alternating shots between Riley and Erin, some of which changed order due to needing to change the pace of the scene. Some shots I could not achieve as the set/location was not wide enough. 

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoyed the project and the shoot as I learnt many valuable skills which will improve all future work, much of this being key paperwork. Despite, not being pleased with the final cut due to making some key mistakes, I feel I have been able to recreate something similar to what I had planned and stated in my director’s treatment. One of the biggest hurdles I had to overcome was trying to find my personal style, I really struggled to find a way to make the piece unique to me as I have not developed my style yet. This is something I tried hard to work on but did not see the success off due to many factors. I understand what I would do differently in the future to make a better and more dynamic piece as I know I have now showcased my best attributes and abilities.

 Final cut