Evaluation Final Major Project

Evaluation
I think I envisioned my production much differently to how it ended

up. This is due to lack of planning. I had it all planned out in my head
but then left too little time to write it out on paper so most of my ideas
were forgotten and I had no way to perfectly create my production
how I wanted to. If I had put more effort into my planning and my
research, I believe I would’ve had a better outcome as it would’ve
been more thought out and less rushed.
Context – brief, competition – how did you work to these.
When it came to the competition, I tried following the brief to the best
of my ability. Starting with the deadline, there were multiple
deadlines for the short film category. I finished my production on the
6th of May meaning there were multiple hand in dates I was left to
choose between. First one on June 3rd, second on July 1st next July
22nd and the final hand in date which was the 15th of August which I
would make as I’ve finished in May. As I said in my research, I had
planned for my production to be a drama suspense which it slightly is
more of the suspense is at the end. I also noted that it can only be up
to 15 mins which mine is so fits within the timeframe given as my
production is around 9-10 mins. On their website they state that in
order ‘to qualify for the student fee you must have proof you are
currently in full time education’. Which I can easily do as I am in full
time education.
The research I did do helped me as I saw what type of themes work

well in. the genre, I chose which was thriller/ suspense. I looked into
different films under the same category such as 28 Days Later and I
Am Legend. These films follow a similar sort of theme/ topic to my
short film. It’s mainly the film 28 days later that links most to the
short film I created. When I was analysing the two films, I noticed
one important think they both have and that’s back story. At the
beginning of each film, they show how each character ended up
where they are. In 28 days later it shows it from the very beginning,
you see the violent virus infected chimpanzee being released by
animal rights activists causing the apocalyptic scene. Then there’s the
film I am legend that shows a flashback near the beginning of the film
where you see the main character driving his family out of New York
city as the island is being put on lockdown due to humans and dogs
being infected with a zombie-like virus.
When it comes to the genre thriller camera movement and angles is
key when it comes to helping the audience identify what the
atmosphere is and what’s going on, whether the scenes meant to be
scary or not. One of the main common shots I really wanted to use
was a wide shot as this is certainly used when trying to create a sense
of isolation in film.
I believe that in this shot I presented a good example of creating a

sense of isolation. This is one of the main shots I’m really happy with.
I struggled a lot deciding what angles to use. I think that due to the
fact I didn’t do many test shoots, I didn’t really have practice or
experience using other angles this meant my film lacked imagination
and made shots seem more boring than they were due to the angle.
When it came to planning for my production, I most definitely lacked

at putting enough effort into planning everything. This meant that
when it came to filming my production, I had little idea of how I was
going to film as I had done very little test shoots so deciding what
angle to shoot from was difficult and took time.
I also hadn’t done my storyboards in time for when I had to film this
meant I had no visual plans of what my production was going to look
like. All the ideas were in my head instead of on paper which was
very unhelpful as nobody else knew my ideas, so it was hard to create
a film when you’re not great at putting your thoughts onto paper.
Although I was very slow to get started, I eventually put the effort in
and managed to catch up and ended up with a decent script and I
managed to get the rest of my planning done quickly soon after.
Production – focus group to support.
One of the first films I watched when researching was called Tunnel
by Quixotable. You can see that I gained inspiration by watching this
short film as in my short film you can see that I use some similar
shots. In the Tunnel short film, they use a lot of centralised shots
which I liked.
Another short film I took inspiration from was Annie’s Lamp by
Deformed Lunchbox which is a horror film. They use a lamp in a
symbolic was which I liked and tried take inspiration from.
In a few shots I use a candlelight as the only light used by the
character as I liked using lighting as a theme.
What would you do differently?
If I was to do this all again there is a lot I would do for a start I would
focus from the very beginning of the production as this year I was
very distracted at the beginning which meant I got behind very
quickly and had to catch up at home and using extra hours in college
which I wouldn’t have had to do if I began focusing sooner in the
year.
When it came to equipment, I didn’t seem to be very organised
although I thought it was. For example, when I was out filming for the
day, I only had one battery which meant that halfway through filming
the camera started losing battery quickly meaning we had to stop
filming sooner than I had liked to. This also meant I had to find
another day to film scenes I didn’t get the chance to on the previous
day due to the battery dying. Another problem I was faced with when
filming was lighting. Due to most of my shots being shot in natural
lighting I had to make the most of any light I got. On the main day of
filming my SD card ran out of storage for anymore footage which
meant I was running about trying to find another one. After going
home and to a shop I finally got another but at thus point we had
already lost most of the natural lighting and it had begun getting too
dark to film this again delayed filming another day due to my lack of
preparation.
I was originally meant to be filming some important clips on an old
kodak mini camera. Unfortunately, due to the problem with my SD
card having no storage I could not film on the mini camera as even
after I bought a new SD card the camera would not work with it, so I
had to end up cutting out the scenes that were meant to be filmed on
the kodak. The scenes I had to cut were a really important part of
telling the story so without the scenes my film doesn’t tell the story as
it should and makes little sense unfortunately. I definitely regret not
trying harder to get those shots filmed as now when anyone watches
my film, they will not understand the story that’s being told.
I believe I followed certain aspects from my topic research. First one

being I showed the main character hunting for food with his hunting
gun which shows he’s using his survival skills to find food. Another
survival skill I showed him using was finding warmth to avoid
hyperthermia by using scenes of him chopping wood which was
clearly going to be used to make a fire.
I definitely put my problem-solving skills to the test when I had to

find ways to work around not having any storage on my SD card or
running out of battery on my camera. All of these problems I faced
made me become much more prepared for future projects. Next time I
go to shoot.
When researching about thriller/ suspense films the common answer
for what the target audience tends to be young adults and adults
however I believe my film would also include teens as well as young
adults mainly due to the fact that where I publish my film is aimed for
at a younger demographic. YouTube is often used by the newer
generation as older adults are more likely to go out and by hard copies
of films that interest them, and they may not know quite how
YouTube or social media works. Teens and young adults are more
likely to be scrolling on social media and come across my short film
compared to the older generation who tend to not be scrolling through
YouTube as they may have films/ series they have grown to like and
are set on watching them instead of short videos online that are more
appealing to the younger generation. While creating my short film I
tried to find a way to include the older generation. I did this by having
the main character be a man in his mid-forties therefore if an adult is
scrolling through YouTube, they may be keener to watch the film as
they have seen someone similar to their age in it. This is one of the
key things I thought about when I was thinking about target audience,
as a teen myself I know for a fact that I like seeing someone I can
relate to in one way or another whether that be similar age to me or
similar interests. When you see somebody relatable to you on screen
you are more likely to watch it. For example, a 40-year-old man is
highly unlikely to watch a film about barbies as there is nothing
relatable to him in any way.
Throughout this project I have learnt some major skills which may
help me in the future. Starting with time keeping, when planning my
filming schedule, I don’t think I allowed myself enough time to
actually film. Luckily for me the actor was available for the extra
couple of days I needed him and the location I used was available
whenever I needed it as I had permission from the owners. Although I
managed to pull through and film enough, I still believe that with
extra preparation and time filming I would’ve had more foo0tage to
work with and the shots wouldn’t look as rushed. When it comes to
communication skills, I have learnt id definitely say that I should’ve
communicated with my actor more. I left it to the day of filming to
show my actor the script this meant he was trying to understand the
story while trying to film. Luckily, I’m better at speaking out loud to
get an idea across so throughout filming i would just tell the actor
what to do instead of making him read the script. However, this did
mean that I missed out on some important scenes/shots as I didn’t
give myself time to keep looking at script. When it came to gaining
permission of my filming location, I believe I did well as I asked a
couple weeks in advance for permission which I gained so that was
good as I wasn’t worrying about where I was going to film which
meant I was able to focus on other important things like where I’m
going to film and how.
I published this on my Instagram I made for

films I create. It was really affective putting
it on my social media so that other people
can notice watch my film.
She ate.

Evaluation Final Major Project

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Evaluation

I think I envisioned my production much differently to how it ended

Context – brief, competition – how did you work to these.

The research I did do helped me as I saw what type of themes work

I believe that in this shot I presented a good example of creating a

When it came to planning for my production, I most definitely lacked

Production – focus group to support.

What would you do differently?

I believe I followed certain aspects from my topic research. First one

I definitely put my problem-solving skills to the test when I had to

I published this on my Instagram I made for

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