P4

CARRYING OUT MY ROLE

PAPERWORK - 

The role which I decided to take on board was the director. I decided to choose this role because in the past, I have had more experience with being the protagonist when being in a group production, so I decided to take the opportunity to try something new, so that I can gain experience in a different position of work. 

My role was carried out by ensuring that all the relevant paperwork was complete to a high standard to impress the client, while ensuring that we were not wasting time and helping each other if needed. For example, I was assigned certain paperwork by the Producer, which resulted in me completing it before other members in my group. 

So, I decided to use this opportunity to help one member of the group complete the storyboard by writing up all the relevant text underneath the images which he drew. I did this to ensure that I can understand the story better in a visual aspect as well as get this task complete. 

FILMING -

Once we had all of our relevant paperwork complete and approved by the client, this allowed us to begin with filming. Our filming took place over 4 days and each were different compared to others. 

First Day

For our first filming day, the group was lacking in preparation due to not having the costumes prepared by the costume designer, so we decided to change this negative into a positive by filming relevant scenes and audio which did not require costume (The dad parts and his dialogue). Also, due to the timing of the shooting day (straight after the holidays), this resulted in the group lacking in motivation to get work done and more motivated to chat with each other instead.

Overall, this session was not as productive as we hoped due to the group lacking in communication between each other. Personally, I felt as though this lack in communication was due to me feeling as though no one was listening to me, so I decided I would take charge and do what I can to complete the scene. However, even though this session seemed as though it was fairly negative, as a result, we managed to get filming done and got audio recorded as well. 

Second Day

For the second day of filming, the group was more organised and more motivated to get the work done. For this day, we decided to meet up earlier and I gathered the relevant equipment beforehand to ensure we did not waste any time and had more time to film. 

Overall, this session was much more productive than the last session and we ended up completing more than half of the footage needed for the film. We also had more communication between each other, however at times, I did feel as though the others were losing focus in what was needed to be filmed and more focused on the costume. 

Third Day

For the third day of filming, the level of organisation was as well as the 2nd day and we managed to get more footage complete with everyone helping each other stay motivated. We used this day to also reshoot anything which wasn't as good from the day before as well as added shots to make the production better. 

Fourth Day

For the final day of filming, we were also organised and motivated to get work done, however we were slightly pressured with time due to the deadline being in the same week. However, overall, we completed all the relevant footage which was required and completed our individual edits. 

REFLECTION ON THE ROLE - 

Being in this role resulted in me learning a lot more about the media industry as well as learning more about my skills and weaknesses. As a role, being the director is something which has its positives and negatives. 

For example, one positive that I noticed with being a director is that you have the ability to take charge and be responsible. This is a positive in my eyes, because my career goal is to become a teacher. So, having this experience of being in charge and having responsibility is something which will help me in the future. 

However, even though this is a positive in one way, I also saw this as a negative. I saw this as a negative, because at some points, I felt as though I was taking on the role of being the producer and director at the same time, which lead to me feeling more stressed about the production of the film than I should have. 

Overall, I enjoyed being the director for this production, regardless of the negatives which came along with it, because it allowed me to learn important skills which will help me in the future. However, due to the negatives I experienced, I wouldn't want to be in this position again and would rather be in a position which would allow me to learn more technical skills (e.g. cinematographer). 

REVIEWS FROM THE GROUP - 

Review from Producer (Lauren): 

"Completed designated paperwork and also helped others to complete theirs. Directed the film well with style of shots and ensured everyone understood".

Review from Cinematographer (Tyra): 

"Was very good at being the director, helped with the filming and with ideas for the filming. Was good at communicating with everyone else".

ADDITIONAL TASKS I TOOK ON - 

Even though the production was a team effort, there was some things which I did additionally to ensure the production was a smooth process. Examples of this includes: 

- Gather equipment before shooting to ensure we could spend more time filming 

- Help others complete relevant paperwork to ensure we could spend more time filming (e.g. helping Martin complete the storyboard)

-  Work the camera and set up the equipment while the grip and cinematographer were part of the film.