For my 3 minute drama I chose to do a Drama that was based on the initial idea of having a secret agent who discovered some secret information that would then proceed to have him make an impossible choice. This was among 3 other ideas that were fairly similar compared to each other, such as having a comedy where two politicians would bicker during the election, telling humorous stories about each other (Image To The Right). When given feedback from other members of the Media Class, but everyone had a difference in opinions. 2 out of the 5 appropriate responses said they’d prefer the Drama idea because it would give me more opportunities to use a wider range of camera shots/angles, which I later found out to be true. They also suggested that if I chose this idea that it would give them as the audience to come up with there own ending instead of seeing it on screen. This was my original idea which I came up with days after we were given the brief, and I stuck with it until it was ready for production.
The first element of Pre-Production that I did first as it is something that I’ve been passionate about since the age of 13 so I got into it as soon as possible. My first draft of the script turned out to be longer to film than expected due to how long the dialogue was. The first time I edited this I cut out most of the voiceover because of how much time it took away from the action seen on screen. The second edit I had to cut out most of the monologue voiceover at the the end again due to time keeping, but also to keep up the pace of the scene being played out. I learnt from this experience that although when the script has been finalised, it can easily be shorten, because of the time limit you’ve been given.
Comparing the script and the storyboard is something that I need to consider in future productions. On set I referred directly to the script instead of the shots I had previously planned to capture. And although most of the shots in the storyboard were cut in the final edit or changed to make it more suitable to the chosen location. One thing I’ve learnt from this is that on set it’s always important to always have your shot list and storyboard to always refer back to in case of any sudden changes that you may want to make.
Luckily the audio was fine to complete because there is no background sounds or special effects that I included in the finished product. I did this because I wanted the full focus to be on the character and how he reacted to certain things, which is why I chose that particular music. The soundtracks chosen were born Copyright/Royalty free so it was free to us, and during researching for suitable tracks I came across many tracks that were either too dramatic or ended up with a dubstep ending which would not of been suitable for the theme of the film. This I think makes it build up tension towards the sudden ending. In some feedback I received, people said that to improve I could've used foley sounds such as the TV channel being changed at the first sequence to make it more realistic.
The visual side to the production was something me and the crew thought about a lot to give the setting and story line a bit more contrast than the original plan. We turned on the two lampshades that were situated at both ends of the room, and this made the room light up to a certain extent. The weather wasn't great the day we filmed at my house, but this made the mood of the story come across with how the character is portrayed. For close up scenes such as the shot of the eyes (Above) , James Marcelle suggested we used two IPhone torch lights to reflect the light off of his face to compliment his facial expression. We also used this for another scene set in the Media Studio which again complimented the shot. Through this idea I now know that you don’t need loads of expensive equipment to make the sequence look presentable.
The camera shots I used were basic but made sense in the overall plot. I wanted to create the tension between the character and what he was doing, and adding the score on top of that made it more intense. I structured the shots so that when certain points in the soundtrack, it would show that during the sequence; for example as he looks up at the ceiling at one of the final shots of the film (Left), the music would easily create the dramatic effect I was going for. I wanted to use a range of different camera shots that made the film original and not a concept of only a few basic camera angles. I tried to incorporate as many as I could without it looking out of context, so I looking thoroughly at my storyboard and tried to imagine how it would come together in the final edit. It’s something I’ve done with all my productions, I always visualize as many scenes as I can to see how it would play together during Post Production. What I learnt from this process is that when you come to producing your final edit, you need to consider what demographic you’re going to be aiming this at, not just for your own personal entertainment.
For my future productions I am going to be involved with planning each individual aspect out before I can jump ahead into the actual filming side of things. Throughout this process I did tend to rush things a little bit because I was slightly concerned on the timing and the constant changing of Pre-Production due to the 3 minute time limit we had to reach. In the future it given a certain time limit, I would definitely research more into how other professionals have structured their own work to get a better overview on what to expect when I produce another Film/TV series.
I got 4 responses for feedback that were written down on paper which I then copied onto this document below and all of them were really nice when it came to writing down their thoughts on the final productions. They all gave examples of aspects of things they enjoyed and what I could improve on in future productions. Below is their responses…
Maisie :
I really like the shots and camera movements throughout the film. The soundtrack also works very well with the film. The script + story is also very well written. Some improvements you could make could be to add some foley sounds at the beginning eg, TV turning on & letter box
I agree with adding the Foley sounds onto the first sequence; the plan was to cover that up with a drumbeat soundtrack, but I couldn’t find anything that was appropriate or copyright free.
Jess :
I thought Vicki’s film was really really really really good, I liked the dark lighting and the suspense, and tension caused throughout the film. I NEED A SEQUEL...NOW!
Dan :
Good sound synchronisation, Good acting, Good shot choreographic, Brilliant camera positioning, Excellent music synergy
Blaze :
Boom! Sounded great, loved the scenes; contrasted well with the audio & video. Really good, Congrats!
Overall I’ve enjoyed this film project because it’s allowed me to express my imagination while fitting it into the 3 minute time limit. I liked having the freedom to do whatever you wanted with the set brief, meaning you could take it into your hands and have the freedom to create something you never have before with other students who share the same passion as you. My group when filming were quite helpful when it came to filming, with suggesting little tricks to make it easier to film and helping set up the camera equipment. Although Production is a stressful job but it’s so much fun if you get into it as much as I do. And also it helped me learn a few tricks that will come in useful for future productions that will make it a lot easier to produce, with putting together case studies to get a wider view of what you want to achieve. Hopefully this experience will benefit my future career, showing employers that I can improve for their purposes as well as my own.
