5. Production Reflection

1. STAGE 5
PRODUCTION
REFLECTIONS
Your Name

2. PRODUCTION REFLECTIONS
This proforma is to record how you worked on your production
You should complete this each week during production
Consider all relevant areas that you covered that week
Think about what worked/what didn’t work/how you can improve
and actions for the following sessions/weeks

3. PROCESS – WEEK 1
Week One Of Video Production:
This week is our first week of video rotation. My initial reaction for this project was positive due to wanting to do more practical work
with a camera. I feel like this will benefit and help hinder my skills for the career i will chose to go down in the future.
At the beginning of the week we were shown how to work a camera and how to set up a tripod. After this we were sent to film a
short clip which had to be relevant to a 'key'. This could of been interpreted in different ways but the majority of our ideas consisted
of including a key. We worked in groups to start with, which lead to picking two ideas that we thought worked well. We then began
to construct a story board so we knew what shots/angles and lighting we would be using. I didn't use the story board effectively so
when it came to practical, it became harder and more time consuming.
When it came to practical i found it hard to visualise creating our ideas with in the college. However, after planning and looking at
locations it became easier to identify where we would carry out our work. With in the production we used a lot of different shots
from: medium, long and close up shots. We also included panning which i had never done before. This was good but i did find it
hard to keep the camera in focus.
After shooting our clips, we then moved onto audio.
Within audio we were given a clip from 'Shaun Of The Dead' and had to figure out what sounds would work more effective. We
were given a tape recorder and had to create original audio. Even though this was fun, it did become challenging. This was
because whilst trying to focus on a sound, there would be backing noises which made the noises less effective. I feel like in the
future, we could of planned the noises better and worked more effectively as a group. After creating the audio we had to attach it to
the silent clip. I found this difficult due to the audio we collected not being amazing. However, i made the noise sync as much as i
can and made the clip effective. I did have to take a 'car alarm' noise from online due to not being able to recreate it at college. I
feel like in the future, i need to plan what audio to take because i didn't gather all the audio i wanted. This was because i didn't
think of what backing noise to include in the clip so it wasn't random bursts of noises.
Towards the end of the week we began our initial planning for our actual video clip. I have found this difficult so far due to not
knowing what to produce that will be realistic within a college environment. However i have a few complicated ideas which i will
have to simplify to make it less confusing and more relevant to the 60 second video.
From making a mood board it has given me a basis of what emotional route to go towards. I have considered making a sad clip, a
scary clip and a comedy. This is because they are simple emotions that can be interpreted in many ways.
Overall, i feel like i should use my planning time more effectively and try an write as many ideas, even if they are terrible.

4. PROCESS – WEEK 2
Week Two Of Video Production:
This week in video production we continued to do our Research and Proposal.
For the Research we had to conduct a survey and gather information from them so it can help us with
our production. For this i did a survey on surveymonkey. From doing this survey, i got a mixed
response on what different people would expect out of short films which lead to me analysing the
data.
After this i researched into 3 different products which related to my initial ideas. I chose to research:
Gone Girl, audio and the black swan. I chose to research these tv series/films because they reflect my
ideas for my short film.
The Black Swan is an expressive film which has a lot of hidden meaning behind it. This film is about
a girl who does Ballet and is trying to become 'the black swan' because she is too 'innocent' to play the
role. This leads to her journey and her struggle to come to terms with who she is. Eventually, her
struggle kills her.
From these products i analysed and research into what camera angles they used, lighting and how they
have composed the film together. This will help me decide on effective ways to present my film in.
The Proposal helped my get a clearer image on what i was wanting to produce. This helped develop
my initial plan which helped indicate what scenes i am wanting to film/how to edit it effectively. This
helped me come to terms with my target audience which lead to research into this. This helped make
sure my film was relatable and effective. I felt like the proposal has helped my construct my idea
more.
Overall, from this week i feel like i need to work on my research skills. This is because i feel like i
haven't taken it on board and helped it develop my work further. In the future, i shall research and
make sure to apply it to my ideas. This will create a more effective piece of work.

5. PROCESS – WEEK 3
Week 3 Of Game Rotation:
This week we had to continue with the planning process of our short film. This was the pre -
production power point. With this it gives you the opportunity to produce story boards, risk
assessment sheets, shot lists and audio organizing.
For the story board, i struggled to figure out what shots i was wanting to use for my film. This is
because my film is a artsy, realistic film which means the angle shouldn't look set up or unnatural. I
feel like i could improve on my story board skills. This is because i need to think more about how to
visually represent my idea. What would help me do this is having a clear plan which will find my
visual representation a lot clearer. This would make my story board better and even improve my films
effectiveness.
I'm also including pictures which will make the film more disorientated and sentimental. This will
reflect and relate to what everyones child hood was like. I will include clips of school plays and dance
shows. This is because as adults, they try and keep there children active and skilled.
For the shot list, i struggled with this aspect too. This is because i didn't know what scenes to film
fully as well as what shots would make the film realistic and neutral. This is because my film is
suppose to be realistic. This is suppose to show a sentimental and a tone that the audience relates to.
However, whilst completing the risk assessment sheets, i found it easy and simple. This is because
there can be many hazards that we have to look out for whilst filming. Also, we need to know what to
do in case the camera breaks. This can happen often which means we have to proceed with caution.
Especially, due to the equipment being expensive.
Overall, i feel like i could improve on my pre production by planning more effectively. This is
because when it comes to organising what i am filming, it will make the process easier and quicker.
This will help me manage my time more effectively, causing my production to be better.

6. PROCESS – WEEK 4
Week 4 of Film Rotation:
Within the week 4 of film rotation, we began film production and editing the clips together. To start
with i began to look through old baby photos and videos to see if they would sit well in my film. This is
because my film is realistic. It is about the journey of someones life, and the moral of the story is about
how precious time is. I found this hard due to a lot of my baby footage being on VHS tapes and i haven't
got a VHS player. However, i found some footage on a USB lead and a disc which will suffice. After
gathering photos on a USB lead, i had to go through a lot of photos to pick the ones that would be good
for my film.
This week has been time consuming due to being a actor in other peoples productions. In the future, i
will make sure to be more organised before hand, so when it comes to editing my own work it won't
take too much of my time up. This means i need to improve on time management.
Also, whilst using premier adobe i need to look into tutorials on how to edit videos and photos
effectively. This is because i haven't used this soft ware often. I need to come to terms with the different
tools which will help me time the different clips effective, as well as syncing the audio in better.
In the future, i will plan and research into tutorials so when it comes to editing, i am not confused or
puzzled by what all the different features do. Also, i will ask for help off the tutor so i can see how it is
done in a clear manor. This will help me with my time suffiency which will lead to more effective work.

7. PROCESS – WEEK 5
Week 5 for Film Rotation:
In week 5 of film rotation we carried on with editing, adding audio and evaluating my work.
I am still struggling with the editing aspect of this project, this is because i am finding it hard to
locate certain tools to create effects. This week i have been trying to insert photos into my clips to
add a sentimental effect to it. From this i used scaling and positioning to create a sequences on
where i wanted the photo to zoom in and move. I kept moving the image in the wrong way which
would make the effect of the image zooming, disorientated and move in a dysfunctional manor.
In the future, i will make sure to research into Youtube tutorials which will speed along my
process and will make my work more effective.
Another aspect i did this week was audio. I really enjoyed including audio into my short film due
to it making the film more effective and it helps add more meaning to the film. The one thing i
struggled with is recording sounds that weren't disorientated or had backing noises. I also
struggled with gathering sounds with the right input, which created a high pitch disturbance. I feel
like with the audio, i could of planned this a lot better. This is because i feel like i could of really
creates a lot of original sounds which would of made my video more personalised. The other
audio i collected from youtube and converted it into a mp3 file. In the future, i will allow more
planning time to gather more original audio which will give off a better effective for my film and
make it more personalised.
In the future, i will make sure to look into editing and audio in more detail before production. This
will allow me to create a more effective project causing my grade to increase.