CONTEXT

WEEK 1

I came up with three possible ideas for my FMP; a horror film, an action film and then of
course a comedy (which was MegaBass). After considering each one Holly and I decided
that MegaBass would suit both her filming style and my editing style the most, as we both
find more light-hearted and comedic productions to be what we excel in when it comes to
figuring out a narrative and creating characters. We also decided that we didn’t want to
make anything that would cause the audience to feel negatively in any way, although the
more “negative” genres of film can be extremely impactful and enjoyable to watch, we
specifically wanted out short film to be easy to watch and something that people can use to
put themselves in a good mood. The feedback from my focus group gave me lots of useful
ideas for when it comes to editing. One person mentioned that the scenes should vary in
length as it keeps the audience engaged and adds a slight element of unpredictability to
MegaBass. When it’s time to edit I will definitely bare this in mind; I’ll ensure I include some
longer scenes (which I plan to do when it’s interviews of different characters talking) and
then some shorter scenes that are mostly there for comedic purposes.

WEEK 2
The proposal gave me a very clear idea of what type of content I’d like to include in
MegaBass, such as finding the balance between funny scenes and more serious scenes.
Although this is a comedy, Holly and I want to include a few scenes where something more
serious is going on, as otherwise it’ll seem unrealistic. Seeing as this film is supposed to
seem like a documentary of Ricky’s life, it’d be very inaccurate if his life was completely
perfect with no setbacks or challenges. After receiving feedback from my target audience
survey I was able to see what type of content my target audience finds the most appealing.
This also means I can style my editing to suit my audience better, and I’ll keep referring back
to my feedback during the editing process to ensure MegaBass meets their needs as much
as possible. I’m going to complete my bibliography outside of lesson time as that is
something I’ve not yet finished, and I believe it’ll give me even more clarity on how
MegaBass is going to be made.

RESEARCH

WEEK 3
This week I analysed two clips on YouTube; one was a scene from Trailer Park Boys and one
was a scene from The Office. These TV shows are both mockumentaries, which is the
primary reason why I chose to analyse them as MegaBass is also a mockumentary, and
those types of productions have a certain way of being made. The lighting in these
productions tends to be fairly neutral, mostly going off of how the weather is that day,
which I find very compelling as it adds to the “realistic” feel that mockumentaries have.
When it comes to MegaBass we will be implementing the same style of lighting, however
there will be scenes where the lighting is unconventional for a mockumentary. This is
because Ricky is a Grime artist who has a fairly eccentric style, so we want to communicate
that part of him to the audience by including scenes with colourful lighting (I will also edit
music over these scenes to add to the exciting feel of the scenes).

WEEK 4

In order to understand more about Grime artists and the music industry, I researched videos
of interviews and clips of artists in that genre talking about how they got to where they are
now, and what challenges they had to face in the process. Not only does this research help
me understand the Grime industry better (I.E the topic of my production), but it also helps
me understand how to act as Ricky. Ricky is a very delusional person, who still thinks he’s
going to make it in the industry without actually putting in the copious amounts of work
that’s needed to become well-known. This knowledge I’ve developed from my research will
be very useful to my planning, particularly my character profiles, as I now have a better
understanding of what kind of a person Ricky is and just how oblivious he is to the
difficulties that music artists face.

PLANNING

WEEK 5

I tend to struggle a lot with keeping up with my planning, however working with someone
else has been a huge help as it means we can keep each other accountable and if either of
us are missing any work, we can get an idea of what the work was from the other person.
The planning process for MegaBass has been extremely fun, albeit difficult, as although
there’s been a large volume of work to get done, I’m also extremely excited to be working
on this project. The plot for MegaBass has pretty much stayed the same throughout,
however we changed the ending slightly to suit our target audience better. At first, Ricky
was going to propose to Sally at the end of the film which she would then decline, however
we decided to include a plot-twist instead by having Ricky and Sally already married, but
then Ricky proposes at the end anyway because he forgot they were married. This slight
change in the ending is definitely better suited to Ricky’s character, due to his careless and
narcissistic tendencies.

WEEK 6
Holly and I made sure to contact our actors weeks in advance of filming, to give them
enough time to prepare their character’s lines and mannerisms, as well as giving them
enough notice so that there’s less chance they were busy for when we needed to film.
Writing the script has proven to be difficult, as our dialogue is improvised, so we plan on just
recording the whole production and typing up what we say onto a script afterwards. Our
storyboard was quite basic, as we already had an idea for most the scenes, so we used the
storyboard to plan the order of these scenes rather than the specific actions within the
scene. Our cast is very small, as we don’t require many actors, and the actors are all friends
so managing the cast has been fairly easy, and I don’t really have any difficulties to talk
about regarding this. I am a bit behind in terms of the script but I’ve explained the reasons
for that already.
EDITING PROCESS
WEEK 7

I have found the editing process to be fun and educational. I didn’t have much editing
knowledge going into this project, but I feel I’ve gained many skills, particularly with editing
for comedic timing and implementing music effectively without intruding on the production
itself.

I encountered issues with the compatibility of iPhone footage with Premiere Pro, or rather
the lack of compatibility. I overcame this by looking up my specific issue and watching
various videos to fix the problem. I also couldn’t find the source footage needed for editing,
but luckily, I had a copy of my project so far in video form, and just took this and added
whatever I needed on top. None of the scenes need re-shooting, Holly and I are both happy
with all the shots. I’m on track this week, and I’ve finished all my editing.