5. production reflection sf 2017

1. STAGE 5
PRODUCTION
REFLECTIONS
Jay Birkin

2. I started the week by experimenting, using all of the equipment and software that I was going to be using later on
in the project in weeks to come. The first was filming with a camera, I have never really done camerawork before
but once I started I got the hang of it fairly easily. There are many things which the camera can determine such as
focus and lighting all of which will help me when I film the final short film, as well as this I also revised over all
camera shots and angles which vary the effects of the movie to make a point more clear or stand out. After filming
I went on to editing, with editing I was fairly used to it since I had knowledge of most already and knew my way
around pretty well, all editing is done in premier pro which I am quite familiar with because I have worked in it
previously. I just put all the video clips together in a folder, which I exported from the SD card in the camera and
made them go in a certain order and made sure that it ran as smooth as it possibly could have, with no clunks or
judders. The sound added over was just an extra bonus because I had extra time in the project. I used an effect
which I have never used before and this was colour contrasting(I also experimented with a few others by just
playing around), with this I made all the clips black and white and this really added much more of an effect on the
video plus it suited the film rather well. Earlier on I actually did a little experimenting with planning as well where I
made my own storyboard. My drawing did not go as expected because when you are actually filming things can
change and you can immediately change your mind about a shot.

3. This week for my video rotation project was focused on doing research, I did this research all on a power point(s).
From my research I got lots of facts that were interesting and relatable towards my idea that I was creating, so I
created a link between everything that I was making and researching which is a good thing to do so people can
see how my product came to be. I did two different types of research primary and secondary, with primary I used
questionnaire and the website surveymonkey.com which helped me get answers and gave me an idea of what my
intended target audience liked. Secondary was different and I used sources such as Google for this to get
interesting facts and figures. The research will help me for later on when I come to actual making the video. One
of the main things I would say I need to do is to get information from a wider range of sources instead of using
limited ones such as Google, which could not actually be true, these could include articles, books etc.
I had some days off college this week due to taster days, on the days off I had some tasks to carry out for the
project, which I did, however I would have preferred to have been working in a college environment because it is
less distracting. Even though my work was done at home I still think it is of great detail and works up to the
expectations of what people are looking for. Another main task I did was creating a proposal, in the proposal I
decided the audience, a schedule, the concept and any techniques that I am planning on using. The proposal
allowed me to bring all of my ideas and planning so far together and bunch them up to make my idea a whole, this
is explained in a few simple words in the proposal. The audience is the base line of my project in which I will carry
out my short film around this, this is just a guideline in which I am using, maybe this audience might not even
watch. When creating a target audience for any other project I will want to do the exact same with what I have
done here for this one. A schedule is a great thing to have mainly because it helps me get all of my work in on time
and I can spread out my work over the period of time I have to complete the project, when working on a project
you should always have one of these because it helps out a lot and even though I missed a few days I still got my
project done on time.

4. On this week I finished all of my planning and starting next week I will be doing my actual editing/filming for the
project. With planning I finished a storyboard and shot list, the storyboard and shot list linked together nicely
putting my whole story together. The storyboard was made up of many shots and I drew it free hand not by using
useful websites which were linked, maybe if I ever do one again I will use these for help instead of using my
artistic skills- which are not bad but they could be better. I don't think I need to make one of these for my FMP
because it wont be relevant. The shot list was a backup of what the storyboard was implying. I also had to write
out many other documents such as a call sheet, risk assessment and contingency form. In my opinion the most
important document in this project was the contingency form, this form was a taking of every possibility that could
go wrong in the creation of this project so before I even started filming I could go through every possible task. I
was so decided and ready for this project ad I need to be like that on every other project because it the best and
most useful way to work, being extra prepared. Although my planning was all done I was still unsure about things
coming up whilst I was filming but I think and hope that in the end it sought of turns out how I want it too.

5. As of this week I have finally started on the production process of my project. All of my planning came into effect
whilst I was in the process of creating my film. The video was all original and I filmed it all by myself at college,
unlike previous projects, it was filmed outside under a bypass which was a great location for the type and theme of
movie that i was aiming for. The bypass was of darker colours though and when a place is darker you can adjust
the camera settings exposure to make it film brighter but I found out that when you do this it distorts your image
when in premier pro. Even though it is distorted, in my opinion it makes the film as a whole better, again relating to
the thriller genre.
I then went on to editing, editing is the easier part, with it all you have to do is gather all the images and place
them in one folder on the computers desktop(if I ever make videos again in later projects I should do this,
otherwise their will be massive problems). Once there then you can import the whole folder into premier pro and
start the editing process. Whilst editing I visualized my video and cut down the shots using the razor tool. I only
spotted one error in the creation of my film and that was a continuity error, in which one shot there was a bag in
which was not in any others, this was unfortunate but it is just a small error so I am not going to film it again.
Whilst in the editing process I thought of some ways to improve my movie which was placing the time in the same
hot as the death and unmasking, this was a great idea but I don't know how to make it so I have started searching
up on YouTube tutorials, this could help me later in the future.
I am probably not going to do film again in the future because I found it more difficult and I am not that good at it,
although you don't know until you try, however this project was good practice to see how I could do and if it would
turn out well.
I added some special effects to this video to improve it slightly, I used the flip effect to get the screen the other way
and the colour and brightness to get the image looking better.

6. When I dragged all of my videos into premier
they appears slightly distorted, this however
looks okay and actual adds that little extra to
my film. I have not yet done audio which I will
record and will then place over the video
during next week. I have put the same
section of my video in twice and I did this so
people could understand that the movie was
a loop, this made it longer and of course
more slower, I improved this by creating a
new save file and speeding the other section
part up, so it shows the same thing in a much
shorter amount of time.
I have finished my entire editing for my video and it
turned out great, it could definitely be improved but I like
it how it is. The video runs smoothly and it mixes up so
you are not bored watching the same repetitive task
over and over. The colour and setting fit the genre of my
film that I was going for well, so well that I didn’t even
decide on changing it. Because the film is supposed to
be between 60-90 seconds is yet another reason why I
had decided upon looping the video.

7. This is the three colour select wheel
which I have personally never use
before, this was my first time and it
helped with the colouring of the shots so
I could improve them from their original
state. I also changed the lightness of the
shot to make it relate to my genre more.
This was the final week of the video project, i think that this didn't go exactly as i
planned, i sort of just winged it, but i finished it and think that it still came out with what i
wanted in the end. I do not think that i am going to do video in my final major project
although i am okay at it i think that i am better suited for other projects which i find more
interesting anyway. I used many tools and effects in this project which i have personally
never carried out before such as the three colour correction wheel and muzzle flashes.
The three colour correction wheel was a helpful tool and made my video even better
because i added different tinted effects over the shots and that allowed my movie to
have deeper meaning and gave it more of a story not being all distorted and random.
The muzzle flash was one that i hadn't used again either and this gave the shot effect
with the gun the muzzle flash added extra depth to the film, the flash was placed well in
line with the gun and the distance between characters, i am probably not going to use
this again but it was great and useful to learn and get to know. I had to hand in all of my
planning and my final finished video which i got in on time and all of my planning was
good and helped the rest of my project, the finished project of audio and video worked, i
could have probably added in some more audio to the shots to make it better i could
have also added in some more shots such as an establishing shot to develop the story
and character of the story more.