Evaluating my short-film project.

1. PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT
EVALUATION
SHAHZAIB YAQOOB
YOU SHOULD USE THIS TO EVALUATE YOUR FINAL FILM
PROJECT. EACH QUESTION SHOULD BE ANSWERED FULLY, USE
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FROM YOUR PROJECT WHERE NECESSARY
AND EXPAND ON THE POINTS TO FULLY EXPLAIN AND JUSTIFY
YOUR ANSWERS. YOU MAY ADD ILLUSTRATIONS AND ADD
EXTRA SLIDE WHERE NECESSARY, BUT YOU MUST ANSWER
EACH QUESTION.

2. PRE-PRODUCTION
Broadly explain your pre-production process. What went well, what could be improved? How did you organise and
plan your film.
For my pre-production, I had a lot of visual ideas for my film and how is going to look. I have made sure that I have
kept my film in sync to the genre which was crime/noir. My film was also set in the a different time era which was
the late 50s, so I thought It would be really important to research a lot to that era. I went and found a lot of different
kind of 50s clothing, looks styles, vehicles and environment.
Another thing that went well with my pre-production was my storyboarding. I have drawn my storyboard to look
very detailed and it is accurate to my vision for the film. My film is consistent with how I storyboarded. Each
drawing looked exactly accurate to the shots I did for the film.
For my location I wanted to film the main scenes in a bar so I travelled to my local city and found a few places that I
can film. My first choice was originally Las Iguanas which I went in contract to the manager and organised the
filming schedule but there were a few issues with the area as the location was a bit too modern for the film’s look
and the timing wouldn't work with my actors availability. I then decided to find somewhere else and eventually
ended it up with Cosy Club. Cosy Club worked really well, everything was perfect and the layout was exactly how I
want the film to be. For example, the lighting was great, the wallpaper was very old fashioned and the staff was
really positive and kind. In addition, I wanted the bar to have some spaces between the chairs and tables and I find
Cosy Club had that space so I can set up the camera equipment. If I did the pre-production again the one thing I
would improve on is researching more of the 1950s dialogue. I feel this is one of the important parts of my film
because If I have the right look for the film, the dialogue needs to be authentic to that time as well to make it
believable that the film is set in the late 50s. I feel the dialogue could have been more authentic.
I organized and planned my film by planning a shots list for each camera angle for each of the scenes, a call sheet
for the actors to appear on the day of shooting, a table breakdown for the cast and crew to make them understand
their each of everyone's roles.

3. PRODUCTION
Broadly explain your production process. What went well, what could be improved? How did your filming go?
Most of the Production went really smoothly when filming my short-film. A lot of things went according to plan,
for example; we filmed at our chosen location, my actors performed their roles well, I managed to find some
really good props and costumes which fit perfectly that my film’s time era. Most of the shots I have filmed was
exactly accurate to how I visualised them from my original concept. I have also managed to get all the filming
done before the deadline.
One of the main things that I have enjoyed in this production was the filming at the actual location, this makes
the story really feel real and transformed my ideas to life.
There were still a few problems during filming, for example: when we were filming in the bar, we had some
disturbance with the sound. The time we were filming was a bit late from schedule and a lot of customers started
to come in. This caused a big noise distraction during recording as it was really hard to hear the dialogue. To fix
this I had to re-organise with the manager to re-shoot the scenes. The process went a bit more complicated as
the person who was in charge and let me film wasn't the main manager so they had to contact to the main head
office to get permission to film there again due to the bar being a franchise facility. This delayed a bit of time for
the film but eventually we received a full permission by the head office clarifying that it was ok to film our movie
in their venue.
What I would improve for next time if I did this project again is first to organise the filming to start at an earlier
time. The second thing I would improve would try and book a better audio equipment such as Mic pole. In that
way I wouldn't have so many issues with the sound quality, I would need to hire another crew member to hold
the mic pole.
Another thing I would also improve is to add more lighting, I felt the scenes were too dark and maybe adding
some extra lighting equipment could improve that.
Lastly, I think the focusing of some of the shots were out of focus, I would probably try to ask the camera
operator to focus the shots a bit more in scenes.

4. POST-PRODUCTION
Broadly explain your post-production process. What went well, what could
be improved? How did you edit and produce your final piece?
My process with post-production was the easiest part of the project. As I
have dealt with some challenges with the filming, the post-production stage
really benefited my film and definitely fixed some of my production issues.
The issues I had with my film was generally the sound quality. In post-
production, I managed to fix that by lip syncing a clear audio recording from
my actors dialogue and syncing it to the scene. I then also added some
ambient sounds to give the scene some atmosphere.
I edited the colour to be black and white by changing the hue and saturation,
this helps to show the Noir style of my film and to make it more old
fashioned. I then added some fuzz with a filter to make the film look dated
and like it was from an old film made in the late 50s.
If I would edit this project again, I would try and fix some of the audio levels
so all the volume are balanced. I would also try improve the editing by
creating my own music to make my film a bit more original.

5. SCHEDULING
How did you plan the different parts of your production? Did you use any
specialist software or techniques? What problems did you have?
I mainly planned my production by creating tables for each schedule. I first
designed a weekly timetable to show all the days of production and post-
production. Most of the table was accurate but there were a few delays due to re-
shooting. I then designed a call sheet. This helps me to keep track of everyone's
roles, the times of day for shooting and the list of equipment. I could keep track of
what I was bringing on set and the location so I know and I can inform the crew
and actors where to go for filming.
Due to some of my actors working on other projects and having part-jobs, I have
created an availability schedule to know when each of my actors are free. This
was a big help because, from past experience, a lot of my actors didn't turn up to
filming. So in this way, I can work around each person’s free time and get an
advanced confirmation if they are free or not.
The only problem I had with the schedule was adding the extra re-shoots days
which changed the actor’s availability at short-notice but, luckily, I managed to
get the location and the entire crew on the same day for re-shooting.

6. INDIVIDUAL
PERFORMANCE
Assess your performance in your chosen roles. What did you do? How do you think performed in this role? Can
you think of any areas where you could have improved your performance?
My role on this project was multiple in this project, I had to manage my time for all each role and I luckily
completed all of them. The first role is a researcher, I first researched the film’s genre. Most of the research I did
was researching the time period that I'm setting this film in. I did this by looking a different 50s films, searching for
50s props and costumes and finding out what kind of history is set in that time in case if I add a reference.
My second role was managing, I mainly managed the production elements, such as finding the facilities and
locations, finding props and costumes and managing the schedules of each crew and actor.
My third role was the writer, my role was to come up with the film’s plot, write the script and dialogue and bring
the story together.
My fourth role was the film’s director and camera operator, I had to make sure the actors are performing their roles
correctly and shoot the movie perfectly. This was the easiest role for me because being behind the camera and the
director allows me to put my vision in the film.
My last role was an actor, originally I had an actor in mind for the role of Bugsy but due to complications with the
schedule he stepped down, I was happy to step in because I have experience acting before, it wasn't a large part
and I am not camera shy. For the role of Bugsy I had to keep in character and direct the film.
I think I performed the writing role the best as I thought I came up with some good dialogue and made sure the
story fits all together. I was pretty proud what I wrote.
I think the areas I could improve was definitely the acting role. As I was balancing different jobs, I didn't really had
time to practice much with my performance or my dialogue. As the film is set in America, I think I should have
practice more on my accent because most of the takes I just sound the same with my normal British accent but in
a deeper voice.

7. TEAM PERFORMANCE
Assess how your team performed, did you have any problems? Did they
undertake their roles effectively? Could you have improved performance? How?
My team performance was really positive in this project. All my actors were
reliable, they all turned up and on time during filming. My film does include some
difficult characters to act, due to the film is set in a different era and the language
would have to be American. But both of my actor and actress who plays Walter
and Betty really nailed their roles. They really put their energy and time to the role.
They both took their roles professionally and I was really impressed by how they
changed their normal accent into American. This really helped the setting of the
movie.
The only problems I did face with my team would mainly be creative issues e.g.
rushing the process on filming. A few times on set they would be some
disagreements with my team due to how long some shots took. I personally like to
have many shots as I can but some of my team would prefer to speed up the
process. I respect and understand my team’s point of view and I do agree that it
does save a lot of time on production but the reason why I disagree with this is
that having one or more shots really benefits me during editing because it gives
me a variety of shots to choose from and it also avoids a lot of bad takes.
I didn't think that anyone needed to improve because everyone in my team
worked really well and I was really happy with everyone's performance on the
project.

8. TROUBLESHOOTING
Think about the problems you had in your production [consider technical, logistical, organisational and
personnel related issues]. How did you resolve them? Did your contingency plan work? How could you have
improved this?
During production I still faced a lot problems, most of these problems were to do with organisational, technical
and filming
My first issue I had with this project was the audio issues during filming. When filming my project, we had a lot
of issues with the public making loud sound due to the location being a bar. This caused me to reshoot the
whole scene again but the organisational part of this went even more complicated. When I managed to get the
two actors free on the same day, the venue was fully booked for a different event so we had to reschedule the
week after which cause delays on filming. The week after I finally got the venue free again but the manager
needed to contact to the head office to see if we were allowed to use the venue. This caused a lot more stress
on production but in the end it wasn't too worrying because I resolved the issue by re-recording the dialogue
and syncing it up at post-production. At the end of production I still had audio issues, even with the reshoots,
so decided to just try to sync all the diologue which solved my audio problem. The bar being busy was one of
my list of problems I could face on the contingency plan list, I felt that that I overcome this issue by expecting
this issue to happen and being prepared.
The second issue I had was filming the city scenes. I had planned to film a shot where Walter walks down the
street for the ending shot but during the filming the city was getting really busy and people are keeping
appearing in shots. This cause a lot of delays in production time and caused a lot of moving around to different
locations. We eventually solved this issue by finding a spot that was quiet, sadly the spot we filmed wasn't the
best compare to the one we had originally.
The last issue I had was the battery running out during near the end of filming. It wasn't the biggest issue I faced
because the crew were about to leave 15 minutes before it ran out. But for the re-shoots, I remembered to bring
a charger which was really useful during that time because I needed to film something till it ran out of battery.

9. RESOURCES
You may have mentioned your acquisition and usage of resources in your broad overviews
above, however, are there any specific issues you encountered [getting equipment, props,
costumes, etc] that can discuss?
For most of my resources I managed to get a lot what I needed which includes filming
equipment, costumes and props. Before production, I was worried of how to get all these
resources due to the film being a low budget but everything worked in placed before filming. The
filming equipment was all stored in my college facility so I managed to book everything that I
needed. Their wasn't any issues with booking because I made sure I booked all the kit early
before filming.
I also thought the costumes and props would be a challenge due to the clothing and props need
to be set at an older time. I luckily found a lot these old costumes and props from some of my
local charity and antiques shops. This saved a lot of production cost which was my biggest
worry on this project.
One of my main prop resources was the typewriter as it was one of my key parts for the opening
scene. Due to the filming is close to the deadline, I wouldn't be able to purchase any props or
costumes from online, due to it would take weeks to ship. I struggled for those couple days to
find an old fashion typewriter but luckily a local neighbour who had a shop owned one. They let
me borrow the typewriter for the next couple of days to help with my project.
Probably the only issue I did encounter was not knowing the sizes for each persons costumes.
When searching for these costumes there were all different designs and not all in certain sizes.
If I had found a perfect design that I wanted I had to be wary if it will fit my actors. To resolve this
issue I should of listed the sizes from each actor before purchasing them. Luckily most of the
costumes fit.

10. PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES
Did you have to learn or develop new skills are part of your production? How did
this change or influence your choice of production techniques? Of the techniques
used which did you rate as the most successful and why? Which techniques were
not as you had expected? Why?
On this production I think I have learnt a lot of new skills in terms on editing and
production. With editing I never really learned to lip sync audio and it wasn’t
really my first choice to do as I am use to just recording dialogue from the
camera. This was a challenge but was really useful and gives me a new technique
to do for my future movies. This also gives me a better understanding how to use
with the boom microphone. Another piece of equipment I also learned to use is
the slider. This has also never been used with my other films so it was interesting
trying different equipment for different shots.
My other skill I also learned was probably leadership, as I had many roles that I
need to be in charge of. I had to lead the crew to the right direction and the vision
of my story. I guess I have applied some of these elements with my directing to
my actors. I guided them through the role, I told what they need to do and this
gave me a big vision to think about for my film.
Although, my biggest skill is management of the team which takes a lot of time,
patience and working under pressure.

11. MONITORING AND
REVIEW
How did you monitor and review the progress of your project? Essentially, how
did you track the project to keep it on deadline?
When working on my project I tried to make sure that everything was completed
before any deadlines. Sometimes I can get delays from reshoots, rescheduling
with actors or mainly editing everything until its finished.
For this project I tried to balance everything. When I usually film I try edit the
footage of what I got then go back and film the next scene. This is usually my
quickest technique of editing, as this gives me an I idea of what the film is going
to look like and it also helps me to find errors so I can film again.
I also created a timetable to keep track with everything that’s going on with the
week. The table helps me to get a more clear idea of how many days in the week I
am filming or editing. The timetable also pushes me more as the table shows the
dates. This gives me a better preparation of when the deadline and helps me
manage what to do in case I get close to the deadline.

12. EARLY VERSIONS OF
YOUR FILM
Explain the process that you went through in order to complete your final film. This
should consider your choice of interim screenings and what feedback you received,
how you used this feedback and whether it affected your final film.
Once I have finished the rest of my filming I have already edited most of the early
version of the film. The opening was completed but their was still a lot of worked
with the audio and the cuts.
I rendered and exported the first one minute and showed it to my tutor for
feedback. The feedback that I was given was helpful, I made list of all the things I
needed it to fix such as; make the music quieter so the audience can hear the
narration audio, tighten edits between shots by checking the timing of the
dialogues so it is punchier like the standard noir films. And my last advice was to
keep all the volume levels balanced.
I have used some of these feedback to try improve the final film, I recently made
sure that the music volume is quieter between any dialogue and I also tried to cut
some of the pauses from each shots so the dialogue can be a lot snappier.
I think the feedback has affected my film in a positive way because there are things
that even I can miss out when editing and having someone watching it really adds
big help because it also gives you signs of what can the audience think afterwards.

13. FINAL FILM
Assess your final film in the following areas; technical qualities, creative qualities and whether it
fit your plan. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each area and suggest how you could
improve it further.
I am really impressed with the outcome of my final film. Everything I have been visualising for
my story has come on screen. I think my final film shows all the hard work I went through for
this project. Everything I assembled worked really well e.g. the camera angles, the props and
costumes, the colouring tone, the dialogue, the lip syncing and the coordination of the music.
One of my favourites parts of the film is the entire look of each characters costumes, I felt that
the costumes really blends the audience to the era and makes the film realistic as possible.
Another thing I like about my film was the music choice. sometimes the music matches the
dialogues tone, for e.g. when it is a intense scene the music changes to be darker. I think I added
a good choice of music work because it really presents the tone of what the story is going
through.
I think the weakness area of the film is mainly the out of focus shots. I would try next time to
make sure all the shots are fully focused before moving on to the next scene.
The other element I would also improve is to try to add better camera angles between shots. I
think some of the camera angles are good but could be better and maybe trying to add some
high and low angles could give some more variety.
Another thing I would also improve would be to add a lot more lighting in the darker shots. I
think that one of my most disappointing things I have with my film is the lighting areas. Some
shots are good but there are few bad ones because of the lighting. I think if I would do the
scenes again I would defiantly improve this by booking some lighting equipment to fix the
lighting.