The document provides an evaluation of the student's research, planning, and time management for their final major project filming a short film. Some key points: - The student's research included analyzing similar existing films and conducting primary research via interviews and surveys with the target audience. This helped shape the film's story, camerawork, and appeal to viewers. - Planning included casting, crew recruitment, location scouting, scheduling, storyboards, and contingency plans. Thorough preparation helped deal with issues that arose during filming. - Time management allowed the student to complete all assignments and film/edit their project within deadlines, though daily reflections could have been done closer to events.

1. Evaluation
Georgia Brown

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research
When I did the research for my final major project I looked at existing films that were similar to mine and at their target audience for my
secondary research. I also did interviews and a survey with my target audience for my primary research. There were many strengths to my
research first being how much detail I went into when looking at the existing products and how relevant they were to my product. I looked at
four feature films, Before I Die, Shutter Island, A Cure for Wellness and Fight Club and I analysed them thoroughly to see what aspects of
them I could use myself and how they were similar to what I was hoping to make. Doing this definitely helped me to create my film by
showing me how the story’s arc should go and how I should reveal different parts of the story and when to make it more effective for the
audience. Researching them also showed me better and different ways in which to use the camera which positively impacted my film by
making it more realistic and professional and changed the way it was perceived by the audience. Another strength was that my primary
research was answered by the target audience of which I intended to aim it towards which meant that my answers were useful and important
as it helped me to create something that would better appeal to my audience as I then knew what they liked and disliked. You could however
say that my primary audience research was slightly limited and bias as everyone who answered it was within the age group for my target
audience and therefore that didn’t give a very wide view. However seen as that is who it was directed towards I think that it was a good thing.
I also thing that there was variety in my primary audience research as even though my film was aimed towards girls it was asked to both a
mixture of both boys and girls meaning I got views from both sides and I could see how to improve it effectively. There were also some
weaknesses to my research as I only looked at feature films which are obviously very different to my short film especially since two of the four
are over 2 hours long. This meant that parts of my research wouldn’t be related and would be unnecessary however I think I combatted that
issue by choosing films which had a very similar theme or storyline. My research definitely helped me to make my final product as good as it
could possibly be as it helped me to choose the exact storyline I should take and to choose the actors which would play the main role. This in
turn affected the entire outcome of the film and without this feedback my film may not have been as well perceived by its target audience.
My secondary research also helped me massively as it showed me what kinds of angles were used to create a certain impression or to give a
certain view of the person on screen. It also helped me to choose the correct colour correction and tone to use for each scene if the film as
they showed me how important colour is in affecting peoples moods and interpretations of the film. Without this research my film would
have been a lot less professional or moving and it would have looked armature and plain. If I were able to re-do my research and improve it
even more I would research some existing short films so that I had looked at the demographics for who watched short films and what they
expect out of the tideline and lengthen. This would have helped me to direct my film more towards people who enjoy them and would have
helped make it a full and complete story with a proper arc throughout. I would have also asked a larger range and number of people to
answer my survey and interview questions as my answers were slightly bias and this therefore means that it is less likely to reflect the real
view of people. The more answers you have the better. The results will be and it would have a more effective impact on my film. During my
research I definitely learnt new things which I can take on to different projects in the future, mainly around how what’s on screen effects and
gives the audience an impression so changing the colour and angles is very important in creating the vision you want.

4. Planning
I did a lot of planning for my short film, all of which was very necessary. Seen as my film was so intricate I had to organise
schedules and call sheets so that actors and crew knew were to go and when. I therefore had to cast the actors and get crew and
find locations for filming. Additionally I did written and digital storyboards and a shot list so I knew what I had to film and how I
wanted it to look. I also needed to write a script so that everyone knew what to say and what to do. On top of this I needed to do
a contingency and health and safety plan so that I was prepared for any problems that may occur. I’d say that the main strength of
my planning was the amount of things that I had planned and how prepared I was for the problems that did arise. I had backup
actors encase people couldn’t make it, which happened twice, I also checked out each location thoroughly to make sure that they
fitted with the storyline and the theme of the film. I made multiple call sheets and I had everyone's contact info and details in
case I needed to update them on the situation. There may have been a couple of weaknesses to my planning for example my
written storyboard was very poor as I am not good at drawing and therefore that wasn’t used at all and was just a part of the
process I knew I had to do. There weren't many weakness as I had planned everything pretty thoroughly however the main issues
were with actors not being able to film and kit not working properly and having to reshoot. I would say in future to avoid that
problem I should give the actors as much notice as possible weeks before hand so that they know when were are filming to avoid
any confusion. I should also check the kit straight away to see if I the camera and audio work before filming and then realising that
it doesn’t work. Therefore I could get a camera that worked and wouldn't have to literally halt production whilst I wait for another
camera t become available and film at a later date. Without my planning I wouldn’t have been able to make a film at all as I
wouldn't have had actors, kit, a location, a script or anyone In the right place at the right time, never mind that I wouldn’t have
known what to film as I wouldn’t have had a shot list and therefore y planning was completely necessary and was very helpful in
making sure everything was ready and in organising the entire shoot. There aren’t many ways in which I could improve my
planning however I just think that doing it earlier would have helped to avoid the casting issue and that would have sped up
production massively. I also think that doing a more detailed storyboard would be good so that I can visualise everyone shot on
paper and then have that with me when I shoot so that I don’t miss any of the ideas that I had. I definitely think that my planning
was similar to my final product as I followed it almost to the word as I knew that I had thought about each part and organised it
enough to know it would work properly. This meant that the shots fitted well together and it all worked which wouldn’t have
happen if I hadn’t have planned it as thoroughly . Doing all of this has definitely shown me how important planning is as without it
you cannot make anything worthwhile as there are so many different components involved that you need to arrange everything
correctly for it to work properly together. I did do some changes after I was given feedback which was mainly to add shot numbers
to my storyboard so that t correlated correctly and so that it made more sense however everything else was good and it all went
according to planning.

5. Time Management
I think that my time management was very good throughout the entire final major project as I have finished everything to a very
good standard within the allotted time that I was given. There were some parts in which my time management was slightly poorer
for example I didn’t film scene 4 until the last week of production however that wasn’t really about time management it was more
a case of people cancelling and not being able to get to the shoot. However to manage my time better in future I will properly
plan out the whole shoot and have it on a document that everyone has bee given so that they know, in a lot of time, what they
will be needed for so that I don’t miss out on filming and therefore halting production. However despite a couple of hiccups of the
same nature my time management was fairly accurate as I finished PowerPoints 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the allotted weeks that we had
to complete them in. I also managed to film and edit my film in he 4 week period that was set out for us and therefore altogether
I successfully managed my time. If I hadn’t have managed my time as well then I wouldn’t have been able to do everything that I
said I wouldn’t and I may not have been able to hand it all in in time ad therefore I could have failed the course or not finished my
film in time. It could also have meant that my project was rushed and that it wasn’t as good quality, therefore having everything
planned out and managing my time well meant that my project was on track thought the set period of weeks and it meant I could
complete each piece of work to a high standard. If I could improve the way I managed my time I would have definitely done my
daily reflections on the day in question rather than leaving it until a few built up and I was overwhelmed as I think it could have
reduced the quality of them. This often happened as I was busy or forgot to do them and said I could do them later however in
the future I will definitely do them each day so that my mind is fresh on the subject that I am discussing and therefore making my
reflections better and more relevant. After finishing my project I realised that I definitely learnt a lot about time management and
how important it is for example finishing all of the planning and written work on time left more time free to film and edit which
overall makes the project better as everything needs to be completed to make the project work and be the best that it can be. I
definitely followed the original time plan that was set out for us by our tutor as I completed every piece of work on time and had
it put up on the blog as soon as it was due so that I could move on to the next part of the project without leaving and loose ends.
If I had additional time I don’t think that my project would have improved that much as I had planned for what I made and I
planned specifically for the amount of time that we had. There was one point when I thought that I could have possibly needed
more time as one of the weeks we only had 3 hours of lessons instead of 16 because there were exams and our lessons were
cancelled however we had our deadline slightly extended to accommodate for that and therefore there wasn’t any problems. If I
had additional time I would have made a longer film with more dialogue and more character development. This would have
helped the audience to attach themselves more to the character and therefore enjoy the film more. It would have also meant
there was more time for extra scenes and more dialogue to help explain the whole storyline better. However I think that my film
was acceptable and still told the same story just as well with the amount of time that we had.

6. Audience Appeal
The audience that I decided on for this short film is 16-24 year old women and therefore I tried to aim it towards that group as
much as possible. I think that there are many strengths with my audience appeal as I made the film and I fit within that group too.
I tried to aim the way they encounter people, the clothes and locations around the average 16-24 year old way of life as much as
possible and I think that I captured it quite well. Whether or not my audience is still in education they will have been at some
point and can therefore relate to being at college which is where most of the film is set. They will also relate to having a family
hoe where they have breakfast with their parents and where they have family pets. They also chat with their friends and get the
bus around as they are young. That is why I added in many of these things into the film as if the audience can relate to the main
character more then they may enjoy it and feel more for the character and I think that it will have worked as I also used actors
which fit the criteria too. If anything was weak in my audience appeal it may have the language used as it wasn’t very young or
hip it was just quite plain however it is an impossible situation that my protagonist found herself in and therefore there was
nothing for me to refer to and so overall I think the language was acceptable and didn’t stand out massively. If I had have gone
the opposite way and had tried to use lots of slang words it could have seemed fake and stupid and therefore I decided the best
course of action was to leave it to be simple. If I were going to try to improve the appeal I would have maybe shown her bedroom
to show that she is stereo typical girl, with clothes all around and lots of make up and is in a rush getting up late, this may have
been even more relatable to the audience however I wasn’t quite sure how that would fit in and what the ‘boundaries’ of her
deadness were and so I didn’t put that in. I completely stuck to my original plan and therefore I think it was just how I had
planned it as I tried to make her seem normal and nice and I think that she does which should help the audience to connect to
her and feel sympathy and almost fear for her life. Another way in which my audience appeal was appropriate is by the fact that
my protagonist was a girl. In my questionnaire the majority of girls who answered said they would refer female lead as they could
relate to the character more and since I am a girl I felt also that it was easier to tell a story of a girl than it would be of a boy and
therefore this should have meant they would be more connected to the character more so than if he were a man.
Remember:
Main character
Sat in class.
Before I Fall:
Main character
Sat in class.

7. Aesthetic QualitiesBefore I Fall
Remember
Blue tones and
colours to
represent
Mid shots
of the
actors
Young girls
at school
School
area

8. Aesthetic Qualities
I think that the aesthetic qualities of my short film are very strong as I created what had planned for and it looks like I wanted it too. After
researching other real and professional films I knew that I wanted to change the colours and tones so that it would impact the audience, and
after practicing on my experiments I decided that I would bring out the blues in each shot to create a sad impression for the viewer. However
after comparing it to the other film, Before I Fall which has a very blue tone throughout and is also a teen based around a high school student
and is aimed towards teen girls, I realised that mine wasn’t as blue as it perhaps could have been and that might itself be a weakness of my
films aesthetics. This causes an issue as the colour isn't only an aesthetical property but it affects the feelings and emotions that the viewers
feel when they watch it and it may therefore not give them the sense of sadness or emotion that had aimed towards. Never the less there is
still a dramatic difference in the tones of the shots in the before and after pictures on the slide above which does show that my colour
correction did work but just not as much as the film I am comparing it too. Another weakness of the film is her outfit, as we were filming on
different days and the weather changed each day, one of the days we filmed for scene 2 Sumiah had black tights on which she doesn’t have
on in the rest of the film or at the beginning. This is a discrepancy however once it had been noticed it was too late to do anything about it
and as it isn't very noticeable as it is only on screen for about 5 seconds and I just had to leave it. I definitely made what I had planned for
and I think that she looks like a young 18 year old girl who goes to school and therefore I definitely got what I wanted. I made and planned
the film with all the people and locations in mind and so everything was exactly like I wanted it to be. I also made a news story which I think
was very successful as it looks very realistic. The banners and time and colours look like they would on the BBC news which is what I had in
mind when making it. I also got a microphone so it would look professional and I think that Ian who I cast looks very much like the average
middle aged news reporter and therefore I was very happy with that scene. The only weakness of the aesthetics of that was that it is set on
the same day that Sumiah leaves the house, however it is sunny at hers and windy and grey in the news report. This was unpredicted yet
unavoidable and I just had to leave it. However you could possibly say that it was set early on in the morning or that she had died more than
one day ago and that she could have been in hospital until the day we meet her and the she wakes up and that is why the news report is gray
as it is a day old. After I was given feedback I did make some slight changes however the only main one was adding a different adjustment
layer over the first exterior shot and changing the effect to make it more similar to the ones inside as the lights in the house had a red tone
yet outside was bright and whiter. This made the transition into the house a lot smoother and less sudden or different. I do think that my
work looks good as I think that all of the cast fit their roles and it is obvious that each scene is in either a house or at a college, and you can
tell that she is 18 and a student which is what I was hoping for. I also think that the recap helps to bring the mood down more as the colour is
faded and sad which works well with the moving and slow music. If I could improve anything as I said I would make it a little more blue just to
create that slightly sadder feeling for the audience. I would also have more in each scen that could be clues to the plot twist, for example the
poster that is in the background of scene 4 at the table, as these help the audience to understand what is happening. I like lots of aspects of
my film however my favorite one is probably the slow-motion as I think the effects really make it look like flashback and they are a good
reminder/explanation for the people who didn’t catch the clues throughout.

9. Technical Qualities
Canted
angle
Canted
angle
Centre
of shot
Camera
facing up
Camera low
down, facing up

10. Technical Qualities
When making this film I tried to use as many different techniques as possible to create the most interesting and professional piece of work I
could. I think that the technical qualities of this film are quite strong for the level I am at making it as it could have been much much simpler.
The first strength would be the actual shooting of the as I think its flows very well together and I shot the angles in a way which meant they
fitter together smoothly. For example in the dialogue I made sure that everyone was at their respective sides of the shot so it looked like they
were having a conversation and so that the audience could place them in the scene and in the context. The only thing that hindered me being
in the place I wanted for the right angle was the limited room in each location as it was an actual house I filmed in not a set and therefore I
only had a certain amount of space to work with, however I think it went well and looks good and flows properly. I was planning on using lots
of abnormal and canted angles however when I got to filming there weren't many scenes in which it suited that kind of shooting and I thought
it best to just shoot it normally as if it didn’t work it could ruin the experience for the viewer and throw them off the real themes and storyline
of the film. Another strength I think was editing as that is what makes everything run well and it is what brings all of the audio and footage
together. To do this I also used lots of transitions and dips to black/white as these helps to show when a scene had ended or to give a
indication as to what has happened. I hadn't really used any transitions before in previous films however I will definitely use them again as
they helped to smooth out the way my film was presented and they also made it easier to listen to as it didn’t suddenly play loud music it just
faded in which is much more professional. When I first shot scene 1 it went fine however when I put it onto a Mac and listened to it the
dialogue was inaudible and all you could hear was buzzing. This was because the camera was broken and what I should have done and will do
in the future is test the camera out before I leave college so that I don’t waste time and slow down production. This meant that all of the
footage I had shot was unusable and so I had to re-shoot the entire thing again with a shotgun-microphone and a sound recorder to separately
record the audio incase the one on the camera wasn’t any good or I wanted a clearer version. For the most part the camera audio was fine
however there were some scenes like scene 4 and 5 which had slightly quiet or fuzzy dialogue and therefore I used the recording instead. One
disadvantage I had was that I didn’t know which piece of audio fitted with each shot as I didn’t call out the shot and scene number which next
time I will do so that I can easily find the matching pair. Another thing I didn’t do on every take was make a clap or use a clapper and therefore
next time will just use a clapper so I can see the shot number etc. and I definitely have a sound to cut from so that I can link up the audio and
video together so that it isn't out of synch and fits properly. Once I had found them I had to then use another piece of audio over the back as
background because the microphone generally only picks up the talking as that is were you point it. Thankfully I had a 15 second piece of just
background however next time I will make sure to do that again so that the footage sounds natural when you add the recorded audio in. This
makes it seem for realistic and professional. However what I have learnt from this was that I always need to use a shotgun-microphone and a
handheld recorder along with my camera so that I don’t have to reshoot anything and waste time and that I need a clapper to keep my
production efficient and organised. In comparison to other products obviously mine isn't as technical with no CGI or expertise however I still
think it has the main foundations that are used in all films especially in Shutter Island and Fight Club, like in the photographs above. As shown I
did use slightly obscured angles like low down pointing up to give a feeling of inferiority and on an angle to show confusion which both other
films also used in the same way, this shows that I was using my techniques appropriately and that they worked well. Overall the technical
qualities of this film and the way I made were pretty similar to the way I had planned and therefore I am very happy with the end result as I
can decided on an idea and work towards it well and overcome problems when they arise easily.

11. Peer
Feedback

12. Feedback 1 – Rebecca N
What did you like about the product?
• Good range of shots especially the initial establishing shot as it set good context and helped
to to understand what the characters life was like.
• Clear story line so I understand what has happened and it all makes sense.
• Nice/relevant sound effects and music to help give the story and videos some effect. The
music helped to show emotion and give the videos context.
What improvements could have been made to the product?
• Sometimes there was background fuzz sounds when people talked which meant that you
couldn’t hear the dialogue that well.

13. Feedback 2 – Ruth M
What did you like about the product?
• I thought the music choice was strong especially the at the start when she
walks to the bus stop.
• I thought the casting was great as everyone seemed appropriate.
• I thought the use of a news reporting was a clever way of showing the
viewer the twist.
What Improvements could have been made to the product?
• Maybe the title at the start could have the title name on a piece of footage
rather than a black background.

14. Feedback 3 – Sophie G
• What did you like about the product?
• Your film had a great storyline, I loved that it had a good quantity of shots and movement,
the music was well fitted to what was happening on screen.
• The cutting rate was suited to the short film as each shot was understandable.
• It flowed smoothly so it made it easier to watch and more satisfying.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
• I don’t think there should be any drastic improvements to your short film, however I think
that some of the dialogue didn’t match as it was filmed one line at a time e.g at the table at
the beginning, but I don’t think anything else needed improvement, overall a good film!

15. Feedback 4 – Clara J
• What did you like about the product?
It’s a really good story idea! And what you included in the film describes the story
well and is easy to follow. The story and order of the scenes flow well together so
it is clear what is happening. The news on the TV is clever. Its really realistic and
you can see it on the TV when she is leaving the kitchen. Really good attention to
detail. It’s all filmed really well, the angles and movement are easy to understand
and help the story flow. The lighting is great in every scene too. You can always
see the characters clearly but the light does change from setting to setting
making the movement of the story easy to follow. Love the music. Its really
appropriate for the sad theme of the film and is soft. The computer was clever
when is said account disabled. I don’t know if that was on purpose but it’s a really
nice touch. There is really good attention to detail. (your mum walking the dog,
the news on the TV, the characters clothes etc.
• What improvements could have been made to the product?
The black pauses are a little long and makes the story move slower making it hard to gage
the time difference. If the next scene is a day later of just an hour later, etc.

16. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
There are many things from my feedback that I agree with from my feedback, mainly about the dialogue being
slightly lost because the sound was fuzzy. As I said in the technical qualities evaluation the sound on the
camera wasn’t very good however I didn’t record everything on a recorder too and therefore some of the
footage has a slight fuzz in the back ground. For the future I know how to fix this problem however at the
moment with this film there is nothing I can do and therefore I tried to make it as quiet as possible and
increase the volume of the dialogue. Another thing mentioned was that the title page could be on a video
rather than on a black screen which I completely agree with, if I could change it now I would record the tree
and the sky and have the title on top of that as it would be more interesting and look better and more detailed
than it does right now. In addition both Ruth and Rebecca said that the sound effects/music were fitting and
appropriate which is good as I chose them to reflect the moment or feeling and this means that the audience
agrees with my decisions too. Finally Ruth said that she felt as though the news report was a good idea to
explain the twist and to make the film seem more professional and real. This is great as that is the exact reason
why I chose to add it in as I thought that it was appropriate for the scenario and that it also showed that I can
make different types of video and can further expand a storyline.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
A few people who gave me feedback said that they thought the story was clear and that it was obvious
however as much as I would like to agree I don’t as I have thought that if you didn’t know what was going on,
you wouldn’t be able to work it out. This is a problem in my eyes as if people cannot understand it then they
wont like it however as far as all of my feedback has said, people like the storyline and think it works well.
Additionally the main problem I faced as I’ve said was the dialogue being quiet however I improved it to the
best of my ability and I know how to correct and avoid that issue in the future.