Introduction
The three things that I have learned from his experience about the process of managing and organising film production is firstly, as a producer, I had learned that I had the most important role because I was in charge of the budget, locations, and scouting the locations for potential risks. Secondly, I learned that you have to be precise when choosing a suitable time and date for when you will film because of the weather. Thirdly, I learned that you had to have permission in order to use that location by contacting the film office.
The problems we faced as a whole is that the jobs that we were given didn't match the production roles assigned to us as a group and our chosen location was too cold and it was also too far to travel. The footage we got from abbey woods was far too dark and grainy which caused the whole team problems because we couldn't use any of the shots.
Main Body
The shooting schedule was realistic enough to achieve the footage before the deadline because all of us agreed to film on a day of which we were all free to do so. With that said, we were able to choose a day which was Wednesday 1:30pm so we were all able to achieve the footage. We also shot them in order of the shot list. We also needed to have contingency plans meaning that if any of the footage was unusable in terms of focus, then we would have extra time to acquire some pickup shots.
The storyboard was detailed as it showed the action and each drawing also included the rule of 3rds so that we could build perspectives. and the arrow to indicate the direction of which the characters was walking in and each shot was correctly named. However it would have been better if the duration of the shot was included in the storyboard and whether we will be using ambient sound or using foley or royalty free music. The storyboard was enough to cover our 1 minute short film but not 5 minutes otherwise we would need more footage.
The Shot list for Paranoia was detailed and correctly organised because in each shot, we included a description of what was happening and it also helped the actors know when they will be filmed so they will be able to prepare when their turn comes. We also found the shot list to be of use to us as a team because it also included the duration of the shots unlike the storyboard.
The location recce was very detailed since it included actual pictures not google maps to show evidence that we actually went there and studied the locations in depth we had pictures of the backup location and our chosen location. After doing a recce, I scouted the chosen location and the backup location in terms of identifying the potential risks which was hazardous to the team including the actors such as robbery and slippery areas. We also needed permission from the film office so I signed up for the website and sent an email asking for permission to film there but I didnt get a proper response from them so we decided to film there anyway.
The was no dialogue in this short film so there were no lines to rehearse but still the actors were reliable as they were able to show up on the times we requested them to so that the process can flow smoothly. They also came in costumes to show their commitment towards the production of the 1 minute and so that their role in the film is solidified. They didn't really have a degree in drama but they were still able to play their parts effectively.
As a team, we didn't really understand our roles when we first started out. So we had a small meeting to assign the correct tasks to the person incharged of that role. So after that we fully understood what we were supposed to do and then were were able to do it before the deadline. Daniel was the director, Shanee was the camera operator, and I was the producer.
The equipment was checked and working properly and we were given a charger to charge the camera and we had a working tripod. I used my own SD card of which I spent my money on.
The call sheet was detailed enough since it included when we are shooting our film, the props needed, the actors and the team's contact details and where we were going to shoot. Our call sheet was effective that everyone had fully understood what was going to happen and everyone had great attendance throughout our shooting session.
Conclusion
In my opinion I think we all had synergy between each of us as we were able to solve problems which would have botched our production process such as filming in Lesnes Abbey Woods which was terrible because the footage was grainy, it was raining, and it was too cold and dark for us to see anything. So we ended up using Chislehurst woods to reshoot our film in addition to accumulating pickup shots. The footage turned out to be so much better and we were able to use the single camera techniques effectively.
