'Watched' Evaluation
Pre-Production
For this unit we were tasked with producing a crime drama or film. We started by doing some research into this genre and we decided to set up an online survey. From this survey we learnt that audiences enjoy the key themes of murder, abductions and drugs. We also found out that there was a gap in the market for a stalking theme. We decided that a good option would be to combine stalking with one of the three main themes. Murder, being the most popular theme, would be the most logical choice. We then planned a basic story arch of our film before storyboarding and scripting.
The concept of our film was that a young woman, Sophia James, would accidentally mix up a hard drive with a German spy. She would then realise that she found this potentially dangerous hard drive and call a friend to arrange a meeting with a detective. Whilst on the phone she would hear a knock at the window and then be stalked by the spy. There would be a dramatic stalking scene before Sophia would eventually lose the spy. In the next scene the audience would see a homeless man, that had been in previous scenes, spotting the spy before being murdered. Finally Sophia would give the hard drive to the detective before leaving and the detective finds the body of the homeless man.
Before this project I had done very little in the way of pre-production work. I had never scripted or storyboarded before and so this was a good experience. I learnt that I need to work in a little more detail, especially when storyboarding, but that I can also contribute well to a group discussion when coming up with the plot.
We initially planned the film well. We quickly came up with a decent storyline that we scripted and storyboarded well. We then came up with a filming schedule which we thought would suffice. However once we had started filming we quickly discovered that we needed a contingency plan. There were a number of shots that we ended up changing but we weren't that good at updating the paper work as we went. We originally planned to have the spy following Sophia through the graveyard but instead changed it so that the spy killed the homeless man. However when it came to filming this scene we struggled as we had not fully storyboarded the last minute change.
In the next project I will work on making a contingency plan in case any problems occur. I will also work on storyboarding any changes before filming them.
Health & Safety
A risk assessment is important to the safety of all cast and crew. It outlines any potential dangers to any member of the team from slipping in water to being run over. It identifies the people most likely to be at risk at any point whilst also providing a solution to lessen that risk. In one of the scenes we were filming in an office space where we needed additional lighting. The biggest risk of this scene was that the light cables were a trip hazard for both the actors and the crew. To combat this, we made sure that everyone knew exactly where the cables were and adapted the scene so that they would not interfere with the actors' movements.
Production
I had some previous experience of using a camera and filming before this project however there were certain rules that I was not aware of. For example I did not know about the 180 degree rule but when filming this project I learnt how much of an effect it has on the final outcome. I also learnt a number of cinematic movements that really helped improve this film.
The overall quality of our film was fairly good. After the initial screening we were given an average of 7/10 from the audience. We also asked the audience which aspects of the film they liked best and around 80% said that they liked the use of different camera angles throughout the film. However, the audience disliked the quality of our sound because there was too much background noise and the music didn't flow well. Because we had storyboarded we knew how we were meant to film each shot which made it easier when it came to post production. There was a problem, however, in that we had a number of clips without audio so we then had to fill those gaps in as best we could with sound effects and music.
Next time we will try and improve the quality of the sound by using more Additional Dialog Replacement (ADR) and making better use of Foley sounds. I think we could also improve the quality of the footage by filming in Ultra HD (4K) instead of standard HD.
Post Production
One of the biggest things I learnt from post production of this project was the importance of Foley sounds and how adding those layers made the film a lot more realistic. I also learned that working with different editors can produce a really interesting film as everyone has different styles and perspectives. To produce this film we had three or four main editors who each had different skills and this is reflected in the final product as each different scene is edited in a different way.
The editing was not too bad considering it was done in a very small period of time. There were however a number of problems with the finished film especially the smoothness between some clips. For example there is a B roll clip that follows a time lapse of clock that were edited together but were not long enough and were a bit too jumpy. I think the stair scene worked extremely well as there were lots of short clips in a sequence that when added to music, really gave that sense of drama and suspense that you expect in a film of this genre. Two of the biggest issues, post production wise, for the audience were the overall editing style and the quality of the sound. A couple of people also said that it was a little boring to watch as it went on too long.
I think that next time it might make a better film if less people were to edit and we decided on a certain style and stuck with it. I also think that we could film more action in a shorter film so that the audience don't find it boring. The biggest improvement however, needs to be made in sound quality. Although we did some Foley and ADR, I think we need to make sure that the majority of the film's sound is done this way in order to avoid unnecessary background noise.
Media Processes and Skills
At the beginning of this project I knew how to operate a camera and how to edit but very little else. I was confident in setting up a camera and filming but didn't know any filming techniques. I also didn't know how to do any of the pre production work such as storyboarding, scripting and location recces. However, I now feel confident in the majority of filming stages from pre production to post production. The hardest part for me was learning to do all of the paperwork but I have practiced both storyboarding and scripting and feel happier about them. I still want to work on adding detail to my storyboards as they ended up just being stick men. I would also like to better understand sound and how I can utilize it to improve my work.