Here is the evaluation for my final major project

1. Evaluation
By Harry T. Docwra

2. Research
• For research I went and looked at famous sitcoms, such as both the US and UK versions of the
office, as well as unrelated shows like Faulty Towers and Bojack Horseman which was on Netflix. I
also watched projects on YouTube that were similar to what I was making.
• Watching these helped me figure out a tone that I could set for the project and what kind of jokes
I could have in it. It gave me an idea of what kind of characters the actors would be portraying. I
also managed to get an idea of what kind of continuity the storyline could have.
• To help understand my audience better and what they would want from a sitcom I conducted a
survey using “Survey Monkey”. I asked a series of questions like what they’re favourite sitcom is
and what they expect from one when watching one. This also helped me understand my audience
better and more personally.
• Research was very helpful in some aspects but it did take a couple of weeks to get done, and at
times it was hard to pin down what kind of sitcom shows I should watch apart from the office and
what I could write about them. I feel if I had less time with the research and more time with the
planning of my product I would have had more time to write my product and add more jokes and
ideas.

3. Final Concept
I would say that my final product DOES reflect the original concept of the “Office-
style” sitcom or “mockumentary”. The film;
• Is set and filmed in the college building
• Has a comedic main character
• Has other comedic characters
• Is almost entirely handheld and looks very mockumentary like
• It involves interviews with certain characters
• It also has nods to the office
• Has a wide range of different characters
• Discusses COVID and how it has affected teaching and learning.

4. Planning
For planning I started out writing two scripts for my project as college was empty because we had just gone into the third
lockdown when we began planning our projects. One script involved students being in college, the other involved college
being completely empty and focused Harry being one of the only people in college. The second one feels like it would have
been an interesting concept but would have prevented there from being as many jokes in the film and would have been
harder to work with. Thankfully as I was writing both scripts college reopened allowing students to come back in again and
therefore I was able to go with the idea that I liked, the one where everyone is in and I am available to film with other
students.
As well as the scripts I also drew up a storyboard and wrote up outlines for scenes that take place in the film. However not
every scene in the film was planned. All of the scenes involving Jodie were completely unscripted, the only script we worked
with was the one I had created completely in my mind, the same goes for the scene in the stairwell where the student is
dancing on the stairs.
Research helped me gain ideas on what my project would look like on camera and what the jokes and script would be like. I
was able to think about what I could do to prevent accidents or fix any possible occurring problems, how I would treat my
cast and crew if they had any requests or particular needs.

5. Production
Filming my project went really well for the most part, especially considering the fact everyone was
back in college when I needed to start filming, so that was a major advantage! However people
being back in came with a cost of following COVID rules(wearing masks, social distancing, etc.).
Adding COVID to the plot of my film really helped with the safety rules as we were wearing masks in
front of and behind the camera, ensuring that it was a safe production.
I didn’t have many problems with filming however there were one or two occasions where the cast
and crew felt a bit hard to control, when there were too many people at a certain place having too
much fun with each other and not really feeling professional enough. There were also sometimes
where they didn’t understand what directions I was asking of them. The only I could do to get them
to work better is by just letting them fool around until we eventually managed to get SOMETHING
done. It was the most professional when there were just 3 of us working (Sam, Ben and me).
I used my canon Camcorder to film the project, this is because it had the right kind of video quality
as some of the early seasons of the office. The only problem I had with it was I had to export the
footage off the memory card and email it to myself from my computer and save it from my email on
my iPad.

6. Post-Production
There weren’t many problems when editing the film apart from the fact that the
footage was taking up a lot of the storage space on my iPad. To edit my project I
used iMovie on my iPad, I felt like I would have been able to do more with it then if
I used the software on my computer (also my computer is occasionally very slow),
for example; on iMovie I am able to drag the sound from one clip under another
clip which really helps my film seem like it’s had more effort put into it in a way.
Occasionally at some points in editing I would save entire scenes as films
themselves, this is so I wouldn’t have to mess around with as many scenes in the
films original iMovie timeline. This helped me in editing and I think it might have
helped me save time with some of the editing.
I also made a trailer for the film, again, using iMovie. I just took parts of the film
and placed a song over it. By doing this I was able to set a mood and vibe for my
project. If someone watched the trailer they would be able to get into the vibe of it
more.

7. Technical Problems
To make sure that I wouldn’t have any technical issues I ensured that my iPad AND my camcorder were
both full charged the day before filming. If my camera wasn’t charged I would have been able to film,
although I did have the option of using my phone which I used to film my intro. If my iPad wasn’t charged I
wouldn’t be able to edit the footage I had filmed, although there was the option of editing the film on
premiere pro on the macs in the classroom. I would have considered this an option but I felt more
comfortable using iMovie, also I would be be able to take the editing home with me using my iPad.
When adding the soundtrack into the film I had a deal of concern for YouTube giving me a copyright strike
for using it. In order to protect my video from a copyright strike I went and recorded an 8bit cover of
“Kids” by MGMT and placed it under the sound in my intro, making the sound technically mine by
copyright law and therefore almost entirely protected from getting taken down. For the song in the
credits, “Rollercoaster” by Bleachers, I recorded some drums playing and did the same thing I did with the
intro and placed the sound under the song.
With some of the scenes taking place in a large open space(for example; the main hall or outside) there
comes a problem of sound. When recording different clips the background noise will change between
them, and when one clip cuts to the other it can sound very distracting and not very well put together,
and maybe make it seem like it all takes place at different times which is something I don’t want. To fix this
problem I detach the audio from each clip, trim a clip down and drag the audio under another clip. This
will make it sound more like it takes place at the same time and less jarring.

8. Management Problems
My main management problem on set was really just controlling the
cast/crew. There were times where they were talking too much/when
we were trying to film and making it very stressful when I wanted to
get the scene done. This problem is inevitable when your entire cast
and crew are teenagers who take advantage of when it is appropriate
and inappropriate to mess around. The only way to really deal with this
problem is to tell them to settle down and remind them that the scene
needs filming. If that doesn’t work you have to either work with it or
ask one of them who isn’t needed to leave.

9. Emotional Problems
The only emotional problem that I had was the concern of making my
project as great as it could be and the worry that some people might
not like it. For some reason I never felt too stressed when making the
project and I never rushed filming even when I was desperate to get
the scene done I controlled my stress, because I knew it wouldn’t help.
I was never stressed about COVID because we followed the rules sort of
in front and behind the camera, and when there were just three of us
so it felt professional and I felt calm for most of filming.

10. Did I meet the brief?
The concept for the project was completely of my choice, as it requests in the brief. I have
used skills I have learned over the past two years and used them to test myself to see if I
can create a project which explores my abilities of filmmaking. In creating this film I have
developed my skills of conceptual thinking, planning, research and organisation. I did a
mind map then research, storyboards, risk assessments, experiments, reflection and
evaluation for the film. From development through production to evaluation I met all of
the set deadlines and timescales.
For my experiments I created an intro for my film. It was different to the one used in the
project as it didn’t feature any people in it. However I did use an experiment in the film, I
put in a piece of music and edited it to sound like it was blaring out of some speakers at
college. I chose to do a mockumentary sitcom to see if I could create something that was
funny, rather than scary like my last two FMPs. I unfortunately had to make a shorter
version of the film which was very difficult for me both as someone with a creative mindset
and an editor. I managed to reduce the film form 15 minutes to 7.1/2 minutes. I wasn’t
comfortable doing this and I wasn’t keen on the second cut but I was proud of myself for
doing it. Directing also helped me improve my communication with other people by telling
where to go and what to do in a scene etc.