Final Reflection on Film

 After handing in our rough edits done on either i-movie or final cut pro, we had to answer the following questions as a final reflection on the film process.

Reflection for Production Task
Respond to each of the following points (using complete sentences or paragraphs). You should include as much detail as possible in your responses.

1.   Describe any problems or difficulties your group encountered during the planning. These may include; organizational problems, group related issues, etc.
In the organisation process I was with Petra in coming up with ideas. We were well organised but it was hard as we had so many different ideas and separate concepts of what we wanted our horror movie to be. Our storyline continued to change each lesson and we had more and more new ideas we wanted to add and in the end we had to cut it down as it became to complicated. As Petra went on exchange, Lauren and Daisy accepted me into their group which worked really well, and I am really happy with the way everything worked out.

2.   Clarify any time-management issues your group encountered during the planning process and describe the steps you implemented to improve in this area;
Before Petra went on exchange we were really rushing to film, but we knew we were weeks away from being ready. Because of this when she left I swapped groups. With Lauren and Daisy we had no time management problems. We were very organised and has all of the preparation done with time to spare. We filmed in the holidays and so have had nearly 4 weeks to edit which has been plenty of time.

3.   Discuss whether your group made effective use of the provided templates to assist the film-making process;
We did the preparation sheets together and that worked well. In the filming we did use the film breakdown and props list effectively and without it we would have been very lost and unorganised. Although we used it, we did not stick to the specific shot types we planned on. This was because when we filmed we saw more opportunities for good filming. We also effectively used the film schedule so we were on track with filming as we had limited time. This really helped as it took much longer to film than we originally though it would.

4.   Explain whether the planning process helped your group during filming. In particular, discuss whether the use of devices such as storyboards, shot-lists, and rough edits assisted throughout the filming process;
The planning process definitely helped us in the filming process. Most importantly the film breakdown. This was the main template we used as a guide in our filing. As I wasn’t in the group for the storyboarding process, I only saw the storyboards finished but our final footage was different form the storyboards. They were good to get an overall feel of what the film will eventually look like and they did help in making the film breakdown but in the actual filming process we didn’t refer to them much. Rough edits we practiced helped also a it helped to get a feel for what you need to do and what looks good.

5.   Describe any problems or difficulties your group encountered during the filming process. These may include; organization problems, unreliable cast members, group related issues, equipment problems, etc.
Our group worked well together. We were all very organised and knew not to make it too complicated or unrealistic. Our cast was small with only Serena, Daisy sister who was lots of fun and really good when we were filming. She also helped with the props used which were unplanned but amazing.


 6.  After reviewing your footage and completing the rough cut of your film, describe any aspects of your film, which need to be addressed. i.e does your group need to reshoot any scenes; are any additional shots required; are there any scenes which worked better than expected.
The dress up scene originally was meant to be a picnic scene and we changed this when filming as Serena had amazing props to use. This scene turned out much better than expected with the sunlight coming through the blinds. Some of the night time scenes were shot in the morning with the blinds closed and they don’t looks as believable as I would have liked. Also the camera in some scenes is either shaky or is really pixelated and fuzzy especially in the beginning shot of Mr Binx. A few of the night time scenes got muddled with some of them with New Teddy in the dress when she shouldn’t have been as dress up was the next day! Overall our footage was really good, but if we were to do it again we would change a few aspects.

 7  List any skills, techniques or tricks you have discovered during the project.
I have learned many new techniques in the making and process of the film. One trick we learned was instead or our original plan to cut New Teddy’s neck and pull out the stuffing we used stiffing from one of the ruined toys under the bed and placed it around the neck to make it look like the neck was cut when it really wasn’t.

8.   Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to throughout your project. Have you provided enough evidence to support your work? (Look back at your blogs/journals and think about whether it looks like 6 weeks worth of work).
When looking back at older posts I have done ok reflections throughout the process. I do have the shooting schedule and practice edits up as well as a practice video done on i-movie earlier on. I think toward the end and the start of this term I have not done much reflection because I have been busy editing, which has taken much longer than expected. I think I needed to keep up the blog posts even after filming, which I haven’t done as well as I should have.

 Discuss your feelings about the production task:

9.   Are you satisfied with your groups final result?
I am really happy with our final result. Although it may not be terrifyingly scary it is still a scary movie, and once edited more will get better.

10.   Would like to change any aspects of your film?
No, I wouldn't. I am really happy with the footage and way the film turned out.

11.   If you could start the project again what would you do differently?
I would retake some of the nighttime scenes again to make them look more realistic as even edited with the brightness changed they dont look quite as good as they should be. I would also be more careful in muddling up the scenes with what each character is wearing, as it can make the days and editing very hard. I would also use a tripod to get still footage so it isn’t shaky and use a video camera, or change the quality so it is higher to avoid the image being pixelated.