Project Review

What happened on the project?
I produced a short film as part of the BFI Film Academy within a group of other young film-makers, in which I had the leadership role of cinematographer. We produced our short film in the space of around 3 months, completing all of the necessary stages in order to create a short film. This include brainstorming ideas, auditioning actors, planning practical issues, creating shotlists, finding equipment and locations, shooting the film and finally editing. We arranged many meetings as a group in order to discuss and plan our short film, and a few of these were conducted online as Google Hangouts. Our completed film was screened at the Borderlines Film Festival last week along with the two other films from other groups participating in the BFI Film Academy. 

What was the end result?
The end result of this project was 'Disconnected', a very short film of approx 2 minutes in length, which focused on the theme of technology/communication. Our short film can be found here. 

What parts of your original plan worked well/less well?
One thing that worked well was our timescale; we managed to get everything completed to a high standard within the allocated amount of time and the film was finished ready to be screened on the 5th March. However, we used a lot more time for brainstorming ideas than we had hoped, as we had planned to have a concept for our film by mid-January, when in fact we did not have a concrete idea until one week before we began the shoot. At points I think we actually had too much time, which meant that we were occasionally too relaxed and lacked focus. I was also pleased with the resources that we were able to use, as in my original plan I was expecting that we would have to use our own equipment. However, we managed to acquire the Black Magic camera, which I enjoyed using as it made our film look more professional, and a number of different lights, as well as the track which allowed us to create our final shot.

What did you enjoy most on the project?
I enjoyed auditioning the actors for our short film, as I had never organised my own auditions for a short film before, and it was encouraging that so many actors auditioned and that we were able to choose between them. This way, we could really see who fitted the roles. I also enjoyed working as part of a team, and it was great to work with a group of people who were all passionate about film but were interested in different areas. This meant that I was able to learn from everyone else, and that we could share our ideas collectively to have more of a creative input. I also liked the experience of being in a leadership role, as I was able to be more independent and make my own decisions whilst having an influence over the final product. The shooting day was definitely my favourite throughout the whole process, because it was amazing to see all of our work come together and be able to really experiment with my role as cinematographer, trying out different shots and angles. I also enjoyed working with the actors who were very patient and cooperative whilst I was filming. 

What worked well on the project?
Our communication was very effective and we were able to regularly keep in touch by using a number of different ways of discussing our ideas outside of the scheduled BFI Academy meetings. We used Facebook, text and organised Google Hangouts on a regular basis. The most useful method of communication was Facebook as we could attach various files such as scripts, sound effects and the audition tape so that we were all aware of what everyone else was doing. In this way we could make sure that all our decisions were made collectively. I really liked the collective approach we took to the project, as although we all had our own individual leadership roles, it meant we were all included in all aspects of the project at every stage, so that the final film felt like it belonged to all of us. The screening of our film at the Borderlines Film Festival also worked well as a way to showcase our work and gather feedback from audience members, such as our friends and family. 

What was challenging about the project?
One of the most challenging stages of the project was coming up with an idea for our film. We spent a long time brainstorming initially but our idea changed drastically at almost every meeting, and we eventually had to completely abandon our idea and develop a contingency plan due to the weather and the lack of a finished script less than a week before we were due to start shooting. This meant that all of our planning time had been wasted. I think the problem was that we were so desperate for an idea in the first stages, that we used one of the first ones that we discussed without properly taking the time to consider important details such as locations, characters and weather, which meant that the idea we were working on was far too complicated and implausible within the time. When we realised that this idea was not going to work, we then had to rush to create a script and shot lists for this new idea, so we went into filming without a clear plan of what we were doing. I was not happy with the way we did this, as it felt like, in the end, we settled for an idea that we were not 100% invested in. Therefore, lack of organisation was a major challenge. There were also some moments where we did not get on very well as a team, or struggled to focus, when the process became overwhelming or we felt under pressure. However, I think that the project was a valuable lesson in team work. 

What have you learnt from the project?
I have improved my leadership skills and have learnt what it takes to be a good leader; it is important to be assertive and make decisions quickly, whilst listening to everyone else's input. You must always try to be enthusiastic and optimistic even when the process is challenging. For example, I found it difficult to be positive when I was not entirely happy with our final concept, although I realised that I needed to put in just as much effort in order to make it work, and in the end it paid off. I have also learnt a lot about the planning process and especially how essential it is to plan when working on a film, as we made the mistake of going on to the shoot without knowing exactly what we needed to do and when. You should have a clear shotlist and storyboard even if you do not stick to them religiously. Luckily, we worked efficiently and managed to get all of the footage we needed on the day, but we would have felt more comfortable if we had planned more comprehensively. I have also improved my knowledge of the film industry, specifically about the role of a cinematographer, and all of the stages necessary to complete when producing a film. 

What would you do differently next time? 
If I was to complete this project again, I would like to spend more time at the very start of the project developing a good concrete idea which was plausible to create within the limited time frame and constraints, whilst still having a strong theme and story. This would mean that we would not waste time or become stressed later on in the process. I would also like to try out some different leadership roles within film, such as directing or editing, areas which I am interested in but have not had much experience of.