Unit 1 task 4 diary and evaluation

1. Unit 1 Diary and Evaluation Task 4
All of Unit 1 was completed solely by me.
Production diary
Saturday 20th February 2016
Created and wrote my narrative script for ‘A Troublesome Girl’.
Friday 10th June 2016
I had already decided on an idea for my film noir as I wanted to produce something that I was
interested in, as I am more likely to produce it to a good standard then. I completed a mind map
and I started a contents page today. I also started my individual brief of researching Film Noir
pictures and choosing five to eight pictures that best represent a film noir production. I labelled
each picture and completed this task today. I also wrote a voice-over script for my main character.
Monday 13th June 2016
I also started researching film noir for my pre-production work and presentation, which was task
one and task two. Firstly, I did this by splitting the research into four areas - topic, audience,
conventions and legal and ethical considerations as there was a lot of information to research. I
then sub split into primary research and secondary research. I researched each area and it took
me all day to research the style of film noir. I found a vast amount of information on each area,
which contained some good information. I completed the Bibliography as much as I could so far,
so that I did not forget which websites I researched.
Tuesday 14th June 2016
I completed all my research on film noir today. I also completed my PowerPoint presentation from
my research notes I had typed earlier.
I also did not find out much information on audience researches for film noir. I think I will complete
a survey next Tuesday, to see what responses I receive and if my murder idea is a good idea. I
wrote out eight questions for my survey, ready for Tuesday. I think this is a good way to collect
feedback, as I am working on this on my own and asking people on the street is an unbiased way
of finding out if my film would work. Because I am completing this unit on my own, all the decisions
rest with me. I liked having this responsibility as I had a clear vision and knew what I wanted to
produce. My aim is to finish this short film by Friday 1st July – so far I am on target and spent a
good day researching all the information I shall need.
Thursday 16th June 2016
I completed the writing for my idea and found a survey online by Harris Interactive UK that
involved nearly two thousand people, which I found useful. It made me think about the narration,
voice-over, footage and props I needed and what I was going to film. I also thought about when to
film and decided to look at all the locations on Tuesday, to see what the light and noise levels
were like because this could affect the overall quality of my film. I don’t want to have noisy traffic
whilst I am trying to act on camera, as it won’t look very professional then.
Tuesday 21st June 2016
I went to each location for a reconnaissance today to see what the light, noise, crowds and area
were like. I walked around each place and decided exactly where I was going to film, so it would
be easier on the day of filming. I also stood on the High Street and asked members of the public
some questions that I had created to complete an Audience survey to help me establish if I am
creating this film noir along the correct lines. The overall result was positive and today has been a
huge help in knowing how I am going to complete this short film. I am glad that I completed a
survey and I can’t wait to film it now.

2. Wednesday 22nd June 2016
Today I wrote all my research results from the survey and produced some graphs, so that I could
see a clear picture as to what my audience had said about film noir. This was a good quick way for
me to reflect on what was important in the film and I am pleased that I did it. Because I had been
to all the locations, it was still fresh in my mind. I had a clear idea for my Shooting script and
shooting schedule and completed it this afternoon, with all my camera angles and shots that I
wanted to use. After having completed all this work today, the film seemed real and I can clearly
see how it is going to be, when finished. So far the overall feel for the film noir is in-line with my
vision and I am still on target for finishing it by the end of next week.
Thursday 23rd June 2016
I completed my Storyboard, Production role and Prop/costumes today. Having completed my
storyboard, I could clearly see how each section would look in my finished film. I also completed
my Production schedule, Call sheet and Bibliography. I am on target so far in completing this film
on schedule.
Productiondiary
Sunday 26th June 2016
Today I completed a Health and Safety/Risk assessment for each location I filmed in prior to
filming. I devised the assessment myself and it was very relevant to my situation. It made me
aware of my surroundings whilst I was filming because I was thinking about my tripod, crowds and
vehicles. I filmed the police station, car, inside the car and getting out of the car scene today. It
took me nearly five hours to film but I had regular breaks in between to revise my script, so it
would look professional if I acted and narrated off by heart without stopping the film unnecessary. I
also reviewed all my footage after filming at each location, so I wouldn’t have to go back another
day. This was a very good way of deciding whether the footage was good enough to use or
whether I had to film it again.
Saturday 2nd July 2016
I filmed my short film over two days, on Sunday 26th June and Saturday 2nd July 2016. Overall I
estimated it would take five hours and it actually took just over four hours to film in total. I filmed
over two days, so that I could take regular breaks after each scene and so that I could inspect the
footage I had filmed, to see if it was to an acceptable standard. I did not want to film it all back to
back, take it home, only to discover that some of the footage would be unusable and I would then
have to return another day to film again.
I completed a Health and Safety/Risk assessment for each location I filmed in prior to filming.
Because I was filming myself with a camera and tripod, I filmed the murder scenes from lots of
different angles to ensure I covered all the relevant areas then reviewed the best footage
afterwards and removed all the unwanted footage. This helped to avoid setting up and removing
the camera too often, which also saved me lots of valuable time. I also filmed walking towards the
crime scene and the crime scene. I had a person in the murder scene but they were only there for
that scene and all other scenes, I filmed myself either having the camera handheld or on a tripod.
Post Productiondiary
Sunday 3rd July 2016
I completed the Confirmation of finance as I could complete all the costs, now that the filming had
finished. This was another relevant source of information that could allow me to see, at a quick
glance, how much I was spending and what I was spending it on. If I had a larger budget, then this
would have been invaluable. My predicted cost was originally £16.00 and I spent £6.00, so I was
pleased that I had a surplus of £10 afterwards.
I edited my entire film noir today and was pleased that it was exactly like I had imagined it to be.

3. First I imported all of my footage onto a new final cut project which consisted of forty six minutes of
footage. Because I shot majority of my footage in chronological order, it was easier to edit than if I
had shot it out of sequence. I referred to my script, which I had wrote prior to filming, that included
all the dialogue I had recorded on the day of filming and all the dialogue that I had completed for
the voice over. The majority of the short film featured voice over speech, so I used this as a
structure to edit around.
As it needed to be three to nine minutes, I had to be vigilant and strict with my editing. I started by
quickly using the blade tool to skim through every shot to see what footage I had and what quality
it was. Whilst doing this I removed anything that wasn’t in focus, was too shaky or I felt wasn’t
needed and didn’t add to the narrative. I found that removing the surplus, unfocused and shaky
footage, saved invaluable time in editing this short film as once the unwanted footage had gone,
then I could focus on the remainder of the footage to produce a good quality film noir. An example
of this is below. The footage was out of focus in this take which lead me to delete it. This removed
over half of the footage.
Once I had the bare structure sorted, I skimmed through the remaining footage again, and asked
myself if it added to the narrative I was telling; if yes, I kept it and if no, then the footage was
removed. An example of this is below, where the footage didn’t add to the story. This reduced the
film noir to under seven minutes.
The title screen and end credits were added, ensuring I kept to the original brief.
I started from the beginning and added all the effects that I wanted; like the sound of the twig in
the woods. I then played the film and read the script over the top to get an idea of how everything
would flow. I then moved the murder scenes to the beginning of the footage. I had filmed all of the
Police station, car and inside the car together.
I was conscious of the fact that if I filmed too far in the distance, then viewers might not see the
shot clearly if watching on an IPhone. Therefore when I wanted the viewer to study a particular
shot, I paused on this shot slightly longer, so that viewers would be able to see the shot clearly.
Whereas if the shot had not been seen for as long, then the viewer might not have focussed in
time, on what I had wanted them to see.

4. I then recorded the voice over from the script that I had previously produced and I recorded the
Inspector’s voiceover. Both of the voice overs were then added to the film. I also shortened or
lengthened certain shots so they would fall in line with the voice over. Examples of this are the
shots of the detective walking to the woods and different angles of the murder scene.
At this stage the film was almost complete; I just needed to add music. I had previously
researched the internet to find an appropriate classical piece that would match the theme and flow
of my film. I choose Outliers, The Wicked Prevail and Epic and Dramatic Trailer Music, all by Greg
Dombrowski (the secession). This music was added and cut to fit the scenes I wanted it for. I
altered the volume levels in the entire film. I watched the complete film through from start to finish
ensuring that I was happy with the finished product. Once I was satisfied, I uploaded it to
YouTube. My entire process of editing was completed in one day.
It was filmed with one single camera, with some shots handheld, others on a tripod and has a
single strand and non-linear narrative structure. It has a realist structure because a murder
happens on a regular basis and a murder in the woods is realistic in today’s society. Mise-en-
scene was used when I was standing outside the police station acting as if I was a detective
leaving the police station and walking to my car. Different camera angles were used to show
different views of the murder scene and inside the car as I was talking on the phone and looking at
a police case file about the murder, to ensure the film is more interesting to the viewers. I used
close up shots and the murder scene at the beginning so that the viewer could focus on the story
to entice them into my film from the very beginning. I then used a mixture of close up and mid
shots to set the scene and to inform the viewers about my character whilst showing shots of the
murder scene. I used long shots when exiting the car and walking towards crime scene.
First picture taken was setting up my tripod and camera and second picture is reviewing my
footage.
I also completed my evaluation on Sunday 3rd July 2016.
Evaluation
For this assignment I had to pre-produce, produce and post-produce a Film Noir, less than fifteen
minutes by Monday 4th July 2016. I choose to create A Troublesome Girl, based on a stereotypical
film noir detective, with a modern twist, as she seeks to uncover the truth behind a murder in the
woods. Film noir is typically about isolation and desperation and I thought the woods would be a
good way to portray this.
I do believe that I have produced the best short film I possibly could with the equipment I had and
completing everything by myself from the initial idea, all of pre-production and all of production,
post-production and the individual separate brief, as stated in my diary. I believe this was achieved
because of my comprehensive research that I staggered over seven days from websites, a book
and surveys, detailed pre-production documentation and a clear vision from the beginning. I also
think that planning ahead and trying to predict outcomes before I started the production role,
minimised any mistakes and produced a good short film. I had thought about my locations in detail
and I thought that purposely choosing a quiet day and time to film was crucial in obtaining a quality

5. production in the middle of a town. One of the positive things was not having many people present
in the background which made the film believable, realistic and stuck to the lonely themes and
conventions of film noir. I think this produced a higher standard as opposed to people walking in
front of the camera and talking whilst I was filming. I had to delay filming my Film Noir by a week
due to heavy rain, gales and storms that I did not foresee and would have put myself and others at
risk if I had filmed whilst it was bad weather. I was pleased that I completed my film within the
timescale by keeping to a realistic schedule, working hard but allowing for regular breaks, so that I
wasn’t too fatigued and having a continued interest in my project that I wanted to complete to the
end.
I don’t think I could have improved the quality, sound or edit any more than the standard it’s
currently at. I achieved this by editing all my footage meticulously and removing the entire footage
that I did not want and was not good enough to use. I also thought about each shot of the camera
and painstakingly worked through each shot until it made sense and seemed realistic to watch. I
believe by taking the time to think about what I was filming, what shot I would use and imaging the
end result, helped produce a quality finish. I chose black and white footage and music that was
classical and matched my theme for the film noir. I consider that the music does fit the film very
well.
Overall I enjoyed the experience of creating a film in film noir style from scratch and I would not
change the order I completed this in. It was exactly like I thought it would be and I am pleased that
my vision materialised the way I wanted it to.
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