EVALUATION Q3: Development of Production Skills

EVALUATION Q3 - HOW DID YOUR PRODUCTION SKILLS DEVELOP THROUGHOUT THIS PROJECT?
In this post, I will be discussing how I have developed my production skills throughout the AS year. I will be talking about the practice exercises I did and the things I have learnt from doing these practice exercises. Also, I will be talking about the things I've learned to change for next year during the production process such as preparing shoots thoroughly and informing cast on details for shoots. 

Here in this video below (My YouTube show video), I have provided a summary of the content explained in this post:
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PRELIMINARY EXERCISE
Preliminary exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. This task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180-degree rule.

We shot handheld in this exercise for speed. We had to get it filmed and edited as soon as possible.

After this exercise Richard and I learnt many skills from filming under pressure.
We filmed the whole exercise handheld. Also, we learned how to apply the 180 degree rule while filming, to use continuity editing when editing the final product and to film and edit shot reverse shots.
So, the three important, main things we learnt were:

• Applying the 180 degree rule
• Using continuity editing and filming shots that would allow us to apply this continuity editing in the editing process.
• Filming and editing in shot reverse shots.

This was a basic exercise that was trying to get us started with using technology such as the Sony A58 camera and using Final Cut Pro X for the first time and applying basic skills of editing.

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MICRODRAMA 

We had to use chairs instead of tripods because initially we didn't know how to use the tripod, but at the end of the filming for this exercise, we finally got the tripod to work and used it for the final shot that you see in the Microdrama.
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For this short micro drama our task was to use the narrative theories played down by Vladimir Propp, Levi-Strauss, Barthes and Todorov. 

Richard and I were under pressure for filming this. We filmed the entire thing in one evening. We had to come up with a narrative that was entirely existent around the theories: Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposition, Todorov's 5-Part Narrative and Barthes' Narrative Enigma theory. We also had to include Propp's 7 Character Archetypes theory, so we had many different characters.

After this exercise, Richard and I learned:

1. How to include different narrative theories in a short film. (Propp's 7 recurring character archetypes, Todorov's 5-part narrative theory, Barthes' narrative Enigma).

2. How to think under pressure, as producers would who have to make TV programs 3 times week e.g. Eastenders.

3. Enforcing continuity editing, 180 degree rule, match on action shots, shot reverse shots and just achieving general verisimilitude throughout the short film.

4. More editing skills such as adding transitions (ellipsis), using special effects, using coloured filters. We did make some other cuts that had special effects on, just to experiment with what other effects would look like.

TYRANNOSAUR SWEDE
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After this exercise, Richard and I learned:
We learned how to edit a lot better in terms of cutting to different shots in a non-linear way and using continuity editing also. Also, we learned about lighting, how it can be different in many different shot angles. I think that my filming skills improved by being able to use the tripod and camera together, making certain camera angles and filming shots with no shakiness or blurriness. I thought the second scene in the sixth form common room was edited very well compared to the other scenes. I did think the editing process took longer than that of the editing of the 'microdrama' but that's because I learned that, to make the quality better and to make the film look fluent and non-linear you have to spend more time working on the editing, but overall I enjoyed the editing process. 

FINAL FILM OPENING
Equipment used:

I used a variety of different technology throughout the filming process for my film opening:

• Sony A58 
• Amazon Tripod 
• Manfrotto tripod 
• GoPro
• Gimbal 
• GorillaPod
• 2TB Hardrive
• SD/MicroSD Cards

In this production, I learnt many different production skills such as:

• How to film with a GoPro, Gimbal, GorillaPod,
• How to organise cast.
• How to plan shoots (e.g. with call sheets, shot list).
• How to film in the most efficient way in a limited amount of time.
• How to make sure to get cast that will be reliable or to just ask very in advance if they can act in your film; but even still, you should make sure you have a replacement/substitute actor for them even if they say yes they can come.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE UPDATES
I made many podcasts on production schedule updates to show my journey throughout the year. I thought making podcasts was one of the easiest ways to illustrate this journey because you could make a podcast every week discussing all the new things that have happened and what you plan to do next.
I had many problems throughout the filming process and in these podcasts I discussed these issues:
such as 
cast not being able to make it.
cast dropping out/not coming to shoots.
making new scene ideas because of these cast members not being able to make it.
switching casting roles around 

Also, during this year, on the 31st of January, all the media students in year 11, 12 and 13 and the actors for their productions went to Centre de Jeunesse Marienthal, rue de Keispelt, L-7411 Marienthal that has a greenscreen. We all had an opportunity to film with a proper green screen. So, another production skill I learned was how to film with a greenscreen background and how to edit the greenscreen footage to make the background be of something else other than the greenscreen.

ROUGH CUTS
I made 7 rough cuts that were all a bit different. I stated the difference between all these cuts on seperate blog posts (rough cut 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). I listed through 1., 2., 3. etc... all the things I had changed since the last rough cut.

Rough Cut 1
Rough Cut 2
Rough Cut 4
Rough Cut 5 
Rough Cut 6
Final Rough Cut
Final Cut

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK
I only collected some audience feedback from rough cut 5 unfortunately. 

EVIDENCE OF DIRECTING
While filming the greenscreen abduction scene:
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Here I came in the shot to direct these actors on what to do for this greenscreen scene (the second scene in my film opening). I was telling these actors to applaud really happily and loudly when the director says "that's a wrap" as if everyone is celebrating that they have finally finished filming a scene.

While filming the rape chase scene:



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Here I was directing these actors on what to do for a certain shot of the rape chase scene. The actors asked me questions on what they should do and how they should wear their clothes. 

Over the course of the filming for this there were many issues that I have now learnt to overcome for next time:

Preparing for shoots:

• Plan every shoot in detail with a precise time schedule, the list of all equipment needed
• Bring more than one battery for the cameras (e.g. GoPro, Sony A58).
• Bring more than one SD card if you have more than one just in case your SD card storage gets filled up. If you don't have another one just make sure the SD card is cleared or has enough storage on it before filming. 
• Dont forget any equipment at home. 

Casting:

• Tell your cast exactly when you want them and what they need to bring, wear and look like. Give them a copy of the call sheet and write everything down for them that they need to know about the scene they are acting in and the costume needed for that scene.
• Prepare a substitute actor in case the actor you are relying on for the main role or any role can't make it or bails out on coming and acting for you. 

The entire year experience - what should be different for next year:

• Start the filming process and pitching process a LOT earlier than january (advice for myself for A2 Media Studies). 

FINAL CUT PRO X SKILLS

I used this software throughout the entire year. I thought it was very good and I liked using this software. I learned many skills on Final Cut Pro X such as: key framing, cutting videos, layering, making a greenscreen background turn into a different background, changing colour of things, using shortcuts for certain tools.

On the left you can see a list of different options that are on Final Cut Pro X. The letters on the right stand for the keyboard shortcuts that you can use instead of actually clicking on the tool itself. Out of this list of tools, I mainly used the blade tool and the select tool. So, for shortcuts, for the blade tool you can press the letter B on the keyboard and you are able to cut and blade anything you want.






I also used many different special effects on Final Cut Pro X. You can see here on the left the special effect called Cool Tones. This effect made the shots look cold, dark, creepy and gloomy. I used this effect on the shots in the green screen abduction scene with the electric noises, of Alex being tied up in the lair. I also used this effect on all the shots in the lair scene, to make the lair scene seem more scary and creepy by being in the dark.


This special effect on the right is called Crisp Contrast. This effect made all the shots very sharp, crisp and harsh. I thought this effect worked best on the shots in the green screen abduction scene with the electric noises, of Alex being tied up in the lair scene. 

I used this special effect for the first scene (rape chase scene). I decided to use this effect because I wanted the rape chase scene to be set back in time (3 years ago) and using black and white connotes that the setting is back in time. 




LINKS TO THE TECH TIPS VIDEOS:

Layering on FCPX
Cutting Videos on FCPX
Key Framing on FCPX
Uploading a Video to Youtube from FCPX
BLOGGER: Tagging
BLOGGER: Soundcloud Upload
BLOGGER: Adding A Link List
YOUTUBE: Adding Annotations

MICRODRAMA Exercise: Evaluation

Richard and I were under pressure for filming this. We filmed the entire thing on one evening. We had to come up with a narrative that was based around Todorov's narrative theory and Barthes' narrative enigma theory. Also, we had to include Propp's 7 character archetype theory, so we had many different characters:

PROPP'S SEVEN CHARACTER ARCHETYPES
1. The Hero - (Evie) Is the protagonist and goes on a mission to save the dog - succeeds.
2. The Villain - (Richard) struggles against the hero
In here our villain (or antagonist) struggles to get the dog back from the heroine. He succeeds at first, but ultimately fails when the hero and the helper come to save the dog.
3. The Prize - (Alfie, the dog) The hero deserves it throughout the story.
4. The False Hero - (Evie's 'sister') She tries to take all the credit for saving the dog and says the dog is hers.

5. The Dispatcher - (Fred)
6. The Donor - (Fred) Gives the map (magical object) to the hero.
7. The Helper - (Fred) He helps the hero find/save the dog.
In terms of stereotypes the prize is usually a helpless princess. Also a young girl facing up to a sinister adult man (villain) is a common convention of the horror genre.

TODOROV’S FIVE-PART NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
1 . A state of equilibrium at the outset
- The young female protagonist is coming home from school, which is the normal routine for her
2 . A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
- The stray dog suddenly appears at the outset, and this happy state is disrupted by the villain stealing the dog
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption
- The girl soon realizes and the dog has gone missing, and deduces from the writing on the map that someone must have taken it.
4. An attempt to repair the disruption
- Dispatched by the father/donor, the heroine goes with her father to save the dog from an unknown thief
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium
- After having saved the dog, and a clash with the step-sister, the heroine has regained her dog and the text ends with a happy family dinner (for most of the family), restoring the order of things.

BARTHES’ NARRATIVE ENIGMA THEORY
We included Barthes' narrative enigma in the opening of the short film. So, when we see the main protagonist, Evie, walking home from school, she hasn't provided any dialogue to provide exposition for the audience, so the audience is wondering who this girl is, what she is doing and where she's from etc... The clothes she is wearing do give some exposition to the audience about the age of her and the gender she is.

After this exercise, Richard and I learned:

1. How to include different narrative theories in a short film. (Propp's 7 recurring character archetypes, Todorov's 5-part narrative theory, Barthes' narrative Enigma).

2. How to think under pressure, as producers would who have to make TV programs 3 times week e.g. Eastenders.

3. Enforcing continuity editing, 180 degree rule, match on action shots, shot reverse shots and just achieving general verisimilitude throughout the short film.

4. More editing skills such as adding transitions (ellipsis), using special effects, using coloured filters. We did make some other cuts that had special effects on, just to experiment with what other effects would look like.

MICRODRAMA Exercise: EG and RD

Microdrama Exercise:
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For this short micro drama, our task was to use the narrative theories played down by Vladimir Propp, Levi-Strauss, Barthes and Todorov.
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To start with we have an establishing long shot of a detached house (connotes wealth).There is a Mercedes car parked at the front to connote wealth again and middle class-upper class (A-C1). There are little bits of shaky camera movements here but this can create verisimilitude. There is also diegetic/ambient sounds coming from the road in front of the house, of cars driving by which also creates a sense of realism.

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The second shot is a worms eye view with a very shallow point of focus which gives a sense of narrative enigma (Barthes theory) of when the girl walks into the shot.
She is wearing jeans rolled up which connotes some femininity. 
She could have been on the phone speaking to someone to give the audience an idea of who she is, where she is from, how old she is and where she's just come from. But since we have no vocal evidence of any of this, this creates a sense of narrative enigma. 
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The next scene is of the girl walking into the house through the door, no shaky camera movements, long shot and there is already a sense of continuity editing. I have taken the continuity editing approach for this scene and the next approaching few scenes of the girl getting into her bedroom to sit at her desk.



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This shot is finally when she has sat down already, she has got her laptop out (MacBook pro) which connotes that she is modern and that there is wealth in the family she is in. Also the setting is connoted from this (modern day) so therefore verisimilitude is created through the realistic objects (MacBook pro) in that setting.  There are many signifiers in this shot such as the Pulp Fiction poster of Uma Thurman on the left. This connotes that this girl is not the norm stereotype of a teenage girl. Relating to the Uses and Gratifications theory, this girl must see Uma Thurman as an role model (identifying with her). There is still continuity editing here leading on to her typing on the laptop as soon as she opens it. 
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Normally, in TV, overuse of electronic noises (diegetic sounds) are always used when there is an electronic object to represent a stereotype of electronic objects. 







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There is a huge contrast here between the shots in lighting (more yellow lighting). Also there is a fade cut to connote that there is a large gap in time and that there is a new scene completely different to the first few. There is now discontinuity editing because the shots are very cut up providing a large contrast. There is diegetic sound of barks from outside connoting to the audience there is a dog outside or something at the door.
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There is immediately a huge contrast between this scene and the last. The lighting is very dark in this shot and this connotes the dark vibe of this scene. The voice connotes that this is the stereotypical villain with a german accent also wearing all black. There is a prominent binary opposition here between the villain and dog since the dog is white to connote innocence and purity. Narrative enigma is created here because the audience can't see the face of the person speaking.

The narrative is:

Evie coming home from school, a normal day, then starts studying/working in her room.

She hears a scratching at the door, so she leaves her room and goes to the front door to see what the sound was.

She opens the front door and sees a small, white dog on her doorstep and she is shocked. She decides to keep him as a pet.

We then see the villain speaking in a german accent saying how he knows Evie has the dog now and he is going to come and steal it from her. 

There is an ellipsis in time to Evie showing her sister the dog she found, the sister is so jealous because she wants to keep him.

We then go back to the villain, who has arrived at Evie's house and is holding a map in his hands as if he's just found where her house is. He finds that the door happens to be open, so he sneaks in and picks the dog up and takes him away. 

Another ellipsis in time, Fred comes back home and as he is walking up the steps outside the door he sees a map left on the steps and picks it up and shows Evie once he is inside, therefore making Fred the donor. 

Evie sees that there is a place on the map circled and she thinks it must be where the dog has been taken so she asks Fred to come with her to find him therefore making Fred the helper also.

PROPP'S SEVEN CHARACTERS

1. The Hero - (Evie) Is the protagonist and goes on a mission to save the dog - succeeds.

2. The Villain - (Richard) struggles against the hero
In here our villain (or antagonist) struggles to get the dog back from the heroine. He succeeds at first, but ultimately fails when the hero and the helper come to save the dog.

3. The Prize - (Alfie, the dog) The hero deserves it throughout the story.

4. The False Hero - (Evie's 'sister') She tries to take all the credit for saving the dog and says the dog is hers.

5. The Dispatcher - (Fred)

6. The Donor  - (Fred) Gives the map (magical object) to the hero.

7. The Helper - (Fred) He helps the hero find/save the dog.

In terms of stereotypes the prize is usually a helpless princess. Also a young girl facing up to a sinister adult man (villain) is a common convention of the horror genre. 

TODOROV’S FIVE-PART NARRATIVE THEORY

1.    A state of equilibrium at the outset
- The young female protagonist is coming home from school, which is the normal routine for her

2.    A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
- The stray dog suddenly appears at the outset, and this happy state is disrupted by  the villain stealing the dog

3.    A recognition that there has been a disruption
- The girl soon realizes and the dog has gone missing, and deduces from the writing on the map that someone must have taken it.

4.    An attempt to repair the disruption
- Dispatched by the father/donor, the heroine goes with her father to save the dog from an unknown thief

5.    A reinstatement of the equilibrium
- After having saved the dog, and a clash with the step-sister, the heroine has regained her dog and the text ends with a happy family dinner (for most of the family), restoring the order of things.