3.1 Teamwork

Teamwork is key when working on a film production, as we all rely on each individual role to make up the final film.  The camera and sound team need to work together as when recording an interview, having only good visuals with bad audio would ruin the whole clip, and vice versa.  As a Director/ Producer, i worked closely with the camera team to ensure our end goal was reflected by the shots they were getting, and that we sticked to the shot lists that we created in pre-production.  It was also important to communicate to other producers to check we were communicating the same vision to the rest of the team.  Without good teamwork, the crew would become divided, and could lead to audio not being recorded or shots being out of focus and unusable.  If we didn’t all work together, it would have made the shooting weekend a lot harder to manage and would be detrimental to the final documentary.

3.2 Qualities needed to work well with others

Our timekeeping skills were very good, and we were able to work efficiently together, and as a Director/ Producer i made sure we were sticking to our shooting schedule, communicating to the team how long we planned to work on each section of our film for.  As a team we were all really reliable, showing up on time for all shoots as well as carrying out our roles effectively.  I made sure i was always on hand if anyone needed advice, and would take the time to work with different departments so that they knew they could rely on me, which in production i believe is very important.  This lead to great teamwork being shown, as we all worked collaboratively and helped each other if anyone was struggling.  I ensured communication was strong, checking that the camera crew had spoken to the audio team, for example to tell them if the boom came into shot.  As a directing role, making sure the end vision could be reflected in the shots being taken was important, yet i took the time to ask what other members thought, asking the camera team if they wanted to try any shots or shoot something different, so that their input was also valued and would be considered.  In an environment such as the boxing gym, looking out for potential dynamic hazards was key, and getting the cameras in close enough to get good shots but ensuring their safety was not compromised was a large part of the role.  The unpredictability of the setting was a challenge but by using good communication and being aware of where kit was, we were able to achieve great shots.

Tutor Feedback:

Throughout the shoot Tara was on point. She was good at trouble shooting, she could see if their was a problem and attend to it. Tara was very focused and alongside Lauren she led the team. She always had a good sense of what was needed, one example was when she noticed that we needed to turn the music down in the gym. She saw something needed doing and she did it. Tara has been a consistently hard working and engaged member of her group and a pleasure to have on the BFI Film Academy course.

3.3 Working collaboratively on your film production

Communicating and working with the whole crew was very important, from helping the camera team get a wide range of different shots and sticking to the shot list, to ensuring a good amount of wild-track and high quality audio was achieved.  Despite being a position of authority, i really valued other peoples opinions from all areas, and this communication worked really well.  Due to the nature of the gym, it was often hard to communicate due to the high volume and number of people, so talking to each aspect of production worked most effectively in this situation.  Overcoming the challenge of getting shots as they happened was difficult, as on a number of occasions a great opportunity for a shot would come up and by the time this was communicated to a camera team, the activity had stopped.  We found that in these instances, we would try and keep the camera rolling for longer but needed to accept that we couldn’t capture everything.  I could improve my ability to work with others by taking the time to develop wider knowledge about specific kit, as this way i would come across more relatable and i could suggest shots that i didn’t know how to achieve.