Short film evaluation

Overall, I think that the process of making our short film went smoothly and I am very happy
with the end result. However, there are some aspects which could have been improved.

The pre-production for our short film was successful. We worked well together to fill in all
necessary sheets, for example the script breakdown, location recce and risk assessments.
These were helpful for creating our short film. Furthermore, doing a script readthrough was
very helpful. We timed how long it took so that we would know if our film would be too long
or short. This was a very good idea as we found out that the script was a little too long, so
we edited it down.

The production process of making our short film was more challenging but was overall
successful. However, there are some things we could have done differently to make it better.
We used a dolly for the scene where Oliver and Dan are walking down the corridor. This was
a good idea, except for the footage ended up being a little shaky. We should have found a
way to make the dolly run smoothly. In spite of this, I think that deciding to use a dolly was
the right decision, as the footage was smoother than it would have been had we not used a
dolly. In addition to this, when filming the murder scene in Poole Park, the first shot of Oliver
and Grace walking ended up being a little shaky as I filmed it handheld. Ideally, we would’ve
used a dolly for the shot, however, the ground was too uneven. It was a very cold day when
we filmed this scene, which may have made the footage shakier as I was shivering. It may
have been a good idea to film on a warmer day. Furthermore, there are some continuity
errors that we didn’t pick up on while filming. For example, in the first scene Oliver is
wearing two earrings, however in the next scene (which takes place straight after) he is only
wearing one. Another continuity error is when Oliver and Dan are walking down the corridor
there is no door to the right of them. However, in the next shot there is a door. This is
because we filmed the classroom scene in a different room to the one they are about to
walk into in the corridor scene. This could have been fixed by us filming the corridor scene in
a different location, perhaps the corridor outside the classroom in which we filmed the next
scene. I should have paid closer attention when we were filming to notice these continuity
errors to make our short film more cohesive. Additionally, in one of the shots of Oliver that
we filmed in Poole Park there are some people behind him. This is a problem as Grace and
Oliver are supposed to be on their own. To fix this, we should have either moved somewhere
different to film or waited for them to leave. Furthermore, I think that getting a few shots of
the trees in Poole Park for our scene there would have been a good idea, as these would
have looked good in the final edit of the short film.

One scene of our short film which I think worked especially well is the classroom scene. The
lighting in this scene is very good. This is because we decided to film with the window
behind us, so that it was in front of the actors, making them well lit. This makes the scene
look more professional, in my opinion. Another aspect of the production of our short film
that we were successful in was problem-solving. When filming the scene of Oliver and Grace
walking and talking in Poole Park, we found that their voices were too quiet when using the
boom mic. To solve this, we went back to college and got some lav microphones to clip onto
the actors. This worked well and I was able to edit the audio to the video when editing.
The post-production editing process of the short film went very well. I was able to edit
together the shots we filmed in a cohesive way so that the film makes sense. I also used
appropriate sound effects and music and made sure they were the right volume. I debated
using a few more shots from different angles in the first scene of the film, however, I decided
that only using a different angle shot focusing on Oliver puts emphasis on his plan to commit
murder, and makes the scene effective. I also like the way I edited the classroom scene, using
shots focusing on the characters when what they are talking about becomes more
important, putting emphasis onto what they are saying. I think that this makes the scene
more effective. Furthermore, I like the way in which I edited the murder scene. I think that
the tense music which starts at the shot of the rock gets louder, and the fading to black
twice were effective editing choices.

In conclusion, the parts of our short film which were successful in the pre-production
process were our working together to successfully complete the necessary sheets, and the
script readthrough, which helped us to figure out that the script was slightly too long. Parts
of the production process that could have been improved were the scene filmed with the
dolly being a little shaky, the shot of Oliver and Grace walking being shaky, continuity errors
and people being in the background of one of our shots. Parts of the production process
which worked well were our good use of lighting in the classroom scene and our problem-
solving skills. Finally, parts of the post-production process which were effective, in my
opinion, was my editing choices, such as use of music and sound effects and fading to black.