1.1 Develop your current knowledge, understanding and skills

^^Digital Painting for A-Level Art – Photos taken and edited for A-Level Photography ^^

Currently my experience in making films independently is limited, other than a couple of school projects that I directed and wrote, however I believe that my knowledge of Film theory and criticism is good. In the last couple of years, along with watching a lot more films both old and new, I have spent a lot of my spare time learning film techniques and engaging with critical views on the medium. Additional I help run the film society at my sixth form and that has helped me engage more with film history.

I am interested in a number of different areas involved in film making and I believe that my skills adhere to these interests. One area of interest to me is in story writing. I believe I am good at conceiving concepts for narratives and stories and I am constantly having ideas that could be developed upon. I am also interested in the editing of films and how editing can be used both stylistically and practically.  Another area of interest I have is in cinematography, something I believe both my art and photography can aid in.

There are multiple roles I could see myself taking in the process of creating this film, one being in the creation and development of the story. I believe storytelling is something I am good at so I could see myself helping in the script writing and story ideas for this project. Another role I could see myself filling is cinematography as I believe I have an eye for composition and colour. Finally I think animation is something I could put my hand to, again my background in art and illustration aiding in this along with a basic knowledge of  animation fundamentals. Finally production design is a role that I believe I would be well suited to.

From the BFI course I hope to gain more in depth knowledge of the various careers in the film and television industry. Additionally it will allow me to contribute both my imagination and passion to a project and see my ideas come to life, and hopefully from that I will gain the motivation to pursue my other personal ideas and see them come to fruition. Finally I hope to meet and engage with people who have a similar passion for films as I do and share and learn from each other.

I would like to improve my knowledge of the inner workings of the film and television industry and the different possible roles open to me. Additionally I would like to further my knowledge of the technical elements of film making surrounding the tech but also the theory behind film making.

In terms of further study in film, it is definitely an option I am strongly considering and would love to explore further.

1.2 Take a role in the production of a short film

I have a number of roles in the production of our film that span both pre-production and production. I am evolved in the writing team and the Production Design team.

Writing Team.

As part of the writing team I am responsible for the creation of the story, its beats ,themes and messages as well as the the development of the script which encompasses the stage directions and dialogue. This role is primarily involved in pre-production however it may stretch over during production. There are multiple people contributing to the writing team meaning one of my responsibility is to acknowledge everybody’s input. Another one of my responsibility is to ensure that the script is subtitle for the film we are creating, in run-time but also more complexly in tone and in fitting whatever message we are trying to convey. In terms of skills and qualities I need to carry out this role I believe creativity is important but also an ability to solve problems related to the script and story of our film. The primary document I will be involved in is the script but I will also use others such as character notes or notes made by other members of the writing team.

Production Design team.

As part of the production design team I am involved in the art direction of the film, which ranges from props, costumes, sets and special effects. Although as a team we are all involved in every element of the art design my specific role is in designing the Incubus that features prominently in our film. The main skill I will need in this role is again creativity but also an understanding of the aesthetic and tone that the film is going for. In our case the film we are making is going for a retro future look inspired by the 80’s so it was important for us to have a knowledge of that era and then apply that to our designs and choice of props and costumes. During production I will help with creating the sets that our film will take place in, adhering to the laid out aesthetic. The production design team is just that, a team, meaning one of my responsibilities is to acknowledged everyone’s contributions and ideas towards the art design. The main document I am involved in is the mood boards which we use to put all of our ideas together and then from there decide what direction we want to go with each element of the art direction.

1.3 Gain feedback on how you performed your role

This was my feedback given to me by my peers who worked with me on the Production Design team, Alejandro Martin Cora Ingles and Jack Mcgilvary.

1.4 Review your technical skills and use of equipment

Overall I agree with the feedback I was given by my peers on how I carried out my role. I thought that the feedback was helpful in identifying the areas that I did well in like the visual design of the film, but I also thought it was helpful in identifying the areas I could improve on.

I personal think that I carried out my roles on production well and I have learnt a lot about what my strengths and weaknesses are. I think one of my strengths is in my creative vision and my ability to visualise things, especially elements of the art design but also visualising story elements and scenes. However, I think one of the main challenges I faced was in my ability to not get too invested in certain ideas and not allow them to be changed or cut completely. This was often unhelpful as it meant the production didn’t move forward creatively and thus sopped us developing other things to make the end product better

I think that my technical knowledge of Filmmaking has improved massively over the course of our production, mainly in the way that the film industry functions and the various terms and processes unique to the process of making films. I also think my knowledge of the kit used on set has improved and I now understand the amount of equipment that is needed in order to achieve a film that looks professional. From being on set and from our cinematography masterclass I learnt the importance of lighting as the lighting in our final film was very good and I was aware of how long it took to set up. From viewing the final rushes and having a go at editing a scene I also learnt the importance of editing and how it can drastically change the effectiveness of a scene.

I think from viewing the final film I have learnt most importantly how much work goes into making even a short film production, ours being only 5 mins. Specific to my roles I learnt a lot as well. In writing I learnt a lot about how you turn a script into a film and the importance of showing and not telling in this visual medium. On production design I learnt how important consistency in design is and how design can inform the mood of a scene and distinguish it from others in tone.

I think learning how an actual crew functions on set and the various elements of etiquette and protocol has been really valuable for if I am ever on a set in the future. I also learnt how crucial it is for all the teams on a crew to work together and how all the teams are equally as important in order to bring a film to life.

In the future I would like to further my knowledge on the more technical elements of filmamaking like lighting and camera but also Editing and post processing as that was something I didn’t do as much of on this course as I would have liked too. I would also like to develop my skills in writing for drama as it was one of the elements I most enjoyed from our course. I will hopefully enhance my skill in this by writing more scripts and studying script writing, something I intend on doing.