Evaluation - 1 minute short film

Introduction

There are three main things I've learned after planning, shooting and editing my first professional short film. Firstly, and most importnatnly - communication is key. Make sure you conversate with your production team so you all know what needs to be done and so that everbody knows there roles and what will take place, when, where and why. Lack of communication will result in unfinished prep work, confusion and prolonging of planning or shooting. The second thing I've learned is that you should be organised and prepared by a certain deadline; this is done by completing all pre-production requirements and keeping ahead of all work that needs completion. Myself and crew memebers had not completed certain pre-production requirements which resulted in us having to push back our shooting scheldule and having to re-do some parts of work. Lastly, I learned to listen to all crew members as this can be a way of advancing in production work. Other people may have better ideas and/or advice which my benefit the production and members in a great way. Not listening or selfishly dismissing memebers will create tension and negative creative differences.

My team and I had several problems (around six issues) with the whole process of production. Not all were solved in the way it should have - but we eventually found a way through to pull of the production. I now know and 100% believe this could have all been resolved with much more communication. Talking and explaining allows others to know how things will run and most probably run smoothly.

Main Body

The shooting schedule was almost perfectly made - however, it sometimes conflicted with lesson times. Other than that, it was realistic and completable as most shooting times were after an early morning lesson - which left us with hours to shoot our production.

The storyboard was made a little late - however, when it was produced, it was clear to depict what was going on - until the end; as the twist was slightly unclear. However, I believe my team members and I can produce a better storyboard next time with a much more advanced illustration.

The shot list was well thought out and produced with a wide-enough variety of shot types, angles, scenes and actions which were all appropriate for my 1-minute short Thriller film.

My short film was shot almost-entirely shot in a nearby woods/park, local to my sixth form. Therefore, my team didn't seek for permission to shoot in this location - however, our back-up locations required permission. The woods were pretty quite as there was hardly any people or animals there. It was far from machine objects (building crane, cars, etc.) and the weather wasn't breezy creating wind-blowing-noises. Therefore, my team and I had no problems with interfering sounds. However, my short film was supposed to be shot at a later time of day, meanwhile we shot in midday which caught bright sunshine. This can be resolved by shooting at a later time or adding a gloomy colour grading to the lighting edit on final cut, which is then added to my footage.

My team added a male actor to the production, named Trevor. He was skillful at acting and made our production look professional. Roopa, played a dead character in the production - although she was good, she moved in several takes. Next time, we could add another actor/actress to the production who is skillful at acting or Roopa could just 'rehearse playing dead' before shooting.

Everyone in my production team responsibly took on their roles eventually - creating a seemingly professional short film.

My team and I had to book to use the college's film equipment due to high usage of them. The camera was charged and checked for our usage for long periods and the lighting equipment and tri-pods were accessible for us also. This allowed us to get on with shooting without any difficulties.

Call sheets were hardly used. However, some team members and I contacted each other for information, availability and other important enquiries.

Conclusion

The production was a success due to good footage and camera work. However, The production could have been excellent. Had I been present more - which I definitely will be next time around and if some team mates spoke up more, communicated and were just so much more vocal with all the team members. This whole process was a great lesson for myself and I hope for others: be organised, communicate, and lastly listen more.