Story-Telling: Project Evaluation

Pre-Production and The Writing Process

I began this project with a small idea of what kind of story I wanted to make. I knew I wanted to set my film inside a hospital and so I need to come up with and idea to fit this location. After some lectures about story-telling I began writing down a few ideas (Ideas Blog) and eventually the idea I came up with was about a young man who has done something wrong and so has been banned from seeing the birth of his son. See this blog post to find out more about the idea: Story-Telling: The Pitch. I was very happy with this idea and happy with the feedback I received about it. Before I could continue developing the idea I had to do some research about hospitals and the maternity ward in particular. After completing this research I decided to make a few changes to my idea which can be seen here: Idea Changes

Next I began thinking about my characters. I decided that Dylan, the main character, would be a young man (20-25) who had done something wrong. I decided that he would wear dark clothing, to represent the emotions that he is feeling. Dylan repeats himself a lot and hates it when people tell him what to do. He never takes responsibility for his own actions. For Rachael I decided that she would be a young woman (18-20) who is disappointed with Dylan and on the side of the fiancée. She would wear light colours, so show how she contrasts with Dylan. She always speaks her mind, however sometimes it can make a situation worse.

Next I began working on the first draft of my script. I started by writing all the scenes I had already thought the most about, these were my moments. I then added other scenes in around those. This was the first draft, it was awful as you would expect a first draft to be. Most of the dialogue didn't make sense and it was a bit too tell not show. For the second draft I went back through the script and took out the bits I didn't like anymore. I either then replaced them with something better or used the free space to improve a different and more important scene. I worked on all the dialogue and tried to make it as minimal as possible. I also worked on some of my location descriptions at the start of each scene and I worked on the character descriptions too.

Next I made a few more changes to form my third draft and after a feedback session with my tutor, I made more changes that then formed my fourth draft. Before writing my fifth draft I had a feedback session with Steve Combes, a professional screenwriter. Steven and I went through the script together and picked it apart, deciding what worked well and what could be changed. Steve made some suggestions about the opening scene. He said I could give the van a reason to be there so the accident isn't just a coincidence. Next we moved onto the main character, Dylan. Steve thought it would be good to think about his back story and what it is he might have done to annoy his fiancée. We both decided that Dylan was a gambler. Finally we looked at the structure of the script and how I could break the story up a little. Steve suggested that I split my first waiting room scene into two separate waiting room scenes. Overall I loved the feedback I got from Steve and I'm glad he liked my script, he said it had a lot of potential. I made most of the changes he suggested and produced draft five of my script. This draft is the one I used during my shoot.

Now that my shooting script was ready, I needed to start working on my pre-production. I started by thinking about the locations I could use. I though about using The Maidstone Studios because I felt it looked like a hospital and that with a little bit of work I could turn one of our base rooms into a waiting room. I also though about using a local park, Vinters Park, as the location for my opening scene. Once I had decided on these locations I went about getting permission to use them. I filled out risk assessments for both locations and handed them to the right people. The Studios gave me permission to use one of their carparks and the University gave me permission to use one of their lecture rooms. For these risk assessments I had to literally think of everything. The risk assessments can be found in this blog.

Once I had got my locations I had to think about sorting out a cast and crew. I asked fellow students if they could help me out and eventually I had a cast and crew. Next I worked on creating a call sheet and schedule for my cast and crew. I wanted these to be very detailed so every knew everything they needed to know. The schedule and call sheet can be found here. Once these were complete I emailed them to my cast and crew. I also emailed them an edited copy of the shooting script so they could have a read through before we began shooting.

Next as part of my pre-production work I wanted to test out an effect I had would have to pull off for an essential part of my script to work. I needed to see whether I had the ability to fake someone being hit by a van. I went out a shot the footage in the same way I was planning to for the final shoot and then edited it together. Here is the result of that test and the process I went through to create it: Crash Test.

And finally, I created a set of shot lists for my camera operator to help him understand how I wanted the film to be composed. These detailed the scene, shot number, description, framing specs, takes, and additional notes.

Now my pre-production was complete, it was time to start shooting.

Production

Day 1: I had arranged for my crew to meet me at The Maidstone Studios. Once everyone arrived I went to see Fergus, our technician, to pick up my booked camera equipment. Unfortunately my equipment was not available straight away and meant I had to wait around until it was available. Instead of sitting around doing nothing, my crew and I set up our location. Once this was done I called my actress in and we rehearsed the scenes we were going to shoot.

Once our equipment was available we began by shooting scene 3 and then we shot scene 4, which was meant to be set later on in the day. After we had done all this we had a lunch break. After lunch I booked out the camera track and set it up in the waiting room. We then re-shot parts of both scenes, mostly the walking parts, using the track to get some nice filler and establishing shots. Finally we used the track to shoot a time-lapse sequence that is going to be used to show the time passing between scenes 3 and 4. Once all this was complete we packed up and reset the room. The shoot went really well. Even though we had a couple of set backs, we managed to finish on time and I managed to get all the shots I needed. My crew and cast were amazing and very cooperative. I think I directed everyone very well, and even though I wasn't behind the camera I think I managed to get the exact shots I had in mind, and I think this was down to my detailed shot lists.

Day 2: On this day I had to film a big scene involving my main character: the accident scene. The scene had to be shot in a specific way for it to work and so it was a very nerve racking day for me. However, before we could begin shooting that scene, we needed to re-shoot some things from day one. We set up part of the waiting room again, set up the equipment and began shooting. I ensured everything was the same to avoid any continuity issues. Once this filming was complete, we reset the room, packed the equipment up and took a short break. After our break we headed to a next location which was a park that ran around the back of the studios. Once there we set up and began shooting scene 1. I was pleased to see that we finished ahead of schedule, which meant we would have more time to shoot scene 2 which was the crucial van accident scene. After lunch we headed out to the car park. First I looked around at the space we had been given and blocked out the scene, deciding were the crucial moment would take place. We then shot the scene, which involved a lot of running, all the way up to the moment before the accident. Then we took a break whilst I set up for the camera for the final shot. Finally, we shot the accident and then we were done, ahead of schedule.

A more detailed look at these two days can be found here (day 1) and here (day 2).

Post-Production

Now I have completed my filming, I can being working on the post-production.

Before doing anything, I imported my footage into Premiere Pro. I then sorted through the footage and separated it using bins. Once I had organised everything, I began working on a radio edit. That meant that I was only going to focus on getting all the audio in the correct order, insuring all the lines spoken followed the layout of the script. To do this I went through each piece of footage, choosing the shots with the best audio and then placing it into the timeline. Next I used the edit tools to go through the clips and match all the audio up. Once I had a smooth sounding radio edit I used the same tools to go through the footage and match it up, layering some shots over audio from other shots to make the cuts seem less obvious.

Next I moved onto the shots that required some visual effects work. For this project there was only one shot that required some VFX work. In this shot my main character is struck by a van as he runs out into the road. To pull off this shot I had to ensure I shot it in a specific way. Unfortunately, when it came to editing the shot together I realised I had to shot it correctly. My blank slate (a shot of just the background, no actor) was different from all of my other shots. I thought I had locked off the camera but it must have moved between takes. Because of this I had to think of a way to work around it and still pull the shot off. I took an image of a van from a stock photo website. I opened it in After Effects. In this composition I animated the wheels so they would spin around and then stop as though the van was braking. I also slightly animated the van so it would move a little when it stopped, like a real vehicle would recoil if I were to suddenly brake. I then added some motion blur and finally I saved it.

Next I opened up my original shot, without any VFX, in After Effects. I added the van composition to the shot. I then added some motion to the van so it would move onto screen and then hit my actor at the correct moment. Next I had to crop my actor so his leg would pass in front of the van like it was hitting him. Finally I added some motion blur and that was the shot finished. I added in a 3D camera. I then used a special After Effects code [wiggle(1,50)] that adds a handheld style look by adding a random movement to the 3D camera. Once this was complete, I added a camera zoom a few frames before my character was hit by the van and then the shot was complete.

Now all of my footage was fine tuned, it was time to add all my sound effects and music, adjust the sound levels and mix it all together. I also needed to add my titles. I used the YouTube Audio Library for all my SFX and music. I added a braking sound effect, horn sound effect and engine sound effect to the van accident scene. I also added ambience sound effects throughout the scenes set inside the waiting room and I added some ambience sounds during the opening scene in the park. Next, I added my titles to the opening scene and the other titles needed between scenes to help establish which parts were flashbacks and which were not.

These edits formed the rough cut. A more detailed version of my post-production process can be found here. Some of the changes I made to form my fine cut can be found here.

Overall I am happy with the feedback I received for the rough and fine cut. All the changes suggested to me by my tutor have heavily improved the final cut of my film.

Overall Evaluation: Critical Reflections

• Strengths-
• My organisations skills made preparing for my shoot very easy. I was able to produce detailed call sheets and schedules that ensure my cast and crew knew everything they needed to know before any filming began. I ensured that my locations were booked a least a week before I planned to film, this meant I had time to complete the necessary risk assessments.
• My overall production skills were good. I ensured every knew what they were doing. I rehearsed the scenes with the actors before shooting anything to ensure they knew how I wanted them to act the scene out. I stayed in contact with my DOP at all times to ensure that he knew how I wanted each scene to be shot. I also allowed him to have some creative input as I believe that having input from others, who may see your story from a different perspective, can be really useful.
• My editing skills came in handy, especially when I had to add some very specific VFX to some of my shots. I think the final film is cut very tightly and visually I think it is very nice. When it came to colour correction I desaturated a lot of the footage and tone down the brightness and contrast because of the connotation the lack of colour has with the mood that Dylan would be feeling, and the overall mood of the story. Another use of colour in this film is that of Dylan's clothing. He is wearing red and black, which are the colours of gambling. This hints at the fact that he has a gambling problem hence why he is in this predicament.
• Sound is a strong point of mine. I ensured that the boom operator knew the kind of sound I was looking for. I made sure he was always picking up good sound whilst we were filming, so I wouldn't have any major issues during the post-production process. When it came to editing, I used a lot of sound effects and ambiences to really sell the story. I then did a lot of sound mixing to help blend all the sounds together. I think the sound of this film came out really well in the end.
• I think my directing skills were good. Everyone knew what they were doing and knew what kind of plans I had for the story. The DOP knew exactly how I wanted to shoot the film and as a result of this all of my final shots came out exactly as I had imagined. My actress knew exactly how I wanted her to say the lines and what body language she needed to use. As a result of this, her sides of the story were perfect, it's just a shame my acting let my side of the story down.
• Weaknesses
• I think in some way my editing skills let me down a little as well. Although I was able to cut together a tight edit, I wasn't able to fix my issues with the television screens in my waiting room. I tried my best to replace the screens but I just couldn't pull it off. I think if I had more time I could have learnt how to complete it properly.
• My acting skills (of which I have none it would seem) let me down. My actress was brilliant and really sold the story. However I feel that every time I said a line I completely ruined the atmosphere. I also did not run fast enough during the opening scene which made editing together a fast paced running sequence quite difficult.
• I think my scriptwriting skills ruined my idea. At first I thought the idea was great, and I still do, however I feel that the script I wrote destroyed any hopes of it being great. I feel that the final product is a little boring. And if you find your own work boring, it isn't a good thing. This is definitely down to the bland script that I produced.
• I should have checked through all the settings on the camera before I began shooting. I didn't see that the gain levels were set to their highest point and therefore I ended up with very grainy footage. I was disappointed with this but I was able to reduce the amount of grain with a bit of colour correction.
• I think I could have spent more time completing research during my pre-production phase. I had an idea of what a hospital waiting room would be like but I still don't think I accurately portrayed it. With a bit more research I think it could have been more accurately portrayed.
• Possible developments- What did I learn?
• I would think about how I would replace the tv screens before production began. This would have meant I could have put a green screen on the tv and then added some tracking markers to make post-production tracking and cropping a lot easier. A few people did suggest this to me prior to filming and I now wish I had listened to them.
• I would complete more research on the hospital environment, gambling, and young couples. This would have made certain aspects of the story a bit more believable. It would have also helped me with my descriptions in the script. And I would have been able to write better dialogue, knowing a little bit more about how someone in Dylan's situation would say and how someone like Rachel would respond.
• I would ask for advice from professionals, like Steve, because I feel my final script was not as good as it could have been. My script let my story down, it had so much more potential.
• I would think of something I can add into the film to make the second half a little more interesting. I personally found it a little boring, which is not good.
• I would ensure I checked all the necessary settings on the camera before I shot anything to avoid getting really grainy footage again.
• I will NOT be acting in my own film again. I completely ruined the atmosphere that the film was supposed to have. I should have listened to my tutor when he suggested that it wouldn't be a good idea.

Overall I am happy with the final product. I think it has been cut together really well. I was able to pull of the van accident using VFX and my sound and visuals came out really well. It's just a shame that my acting and scriptwriting made for a bit of a boring story. The film itself looks good, I think the colour correction process I went through was a good choice and it matches the atmosphere the film is supposed to have. If I were to do this again there are a few things I would do differently, the main one being that I would not have been in it myself. To summarise, visually and sound wise it is good; script wise I think it could have been a lot better. But, to end on a positive, I am very pleased and proud of the work I have produced. I look forward to everyones feedback.