Creative Critical Reflection Draft #3

How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Approaching the subject of creating a film opening appeared to be quite daunting in the beginning. Working through the AICE Media Studies AS course helped provide understanding to the general process of producing, editing, marketing, and distributing a film. It has improved my comprehension of different styles and conventions that vary according to genre and a targeted audience. I was also able to gain some knowledge for using various applications such as Microsoft Publisher, iMovie, Photoshop, Phonto and VSCO. Throughout development of the project, I had a clearer understanding of the steps involved to transform an idea into a completed product while engaging and distributing to an audience.  

By utilizing the Blogger application, I was able to organize my thoughts and gradually develop ideas of the film into a finalized product. This was crucial in helping me understand the thorough process needed to support a well-executed film. Every step before the actual filming shoot was just as essential, if not vital, to the success of the project compared to the editing afterwards. Blogger was crucial to display the process of concept to distribution every step of the way. The first few posts involved the first developed concept of a potential film opening. With my partner, we decided on our film involving elements of drama or comedy. The idea of a film involving Santa Claus losing his job seemed to be quite appealing, as it seemed relatively unique and exciting to execute. While many films have had holiday themes, incorporating this twist to the traditional idea of Santa Claus provided an opportunity for drama and humor to engage potential audiences. Research into the conventions of films with similar genres was significant to help us understand the elements needed to provide similar effects and meanings. This included understanding of camera shots and movements, editing techniques, sound, and mise en scene. By studying different films, we were able to adopt some conventions into our own production.  

Each step of the process has helped me understand the importance of setting a clear goal and being proactive in execution. For instance, writing up a script, shotlist, and storyboard proved the importance of setting a goal and the steps needed to achieve that goal. Learning how to properly format and develop a script was important in setting the scene and narrative to communicate meaning to the viewer. The struggle of developing a shotlist and storyboard showed the need for clearly visualizing the film taking place. In retrospect, both the shotlist and the storyboard provided some space for interpretation and new ideas to take place. Although it made some of the development a little unclear, it provided an opportunity for improvisation and creativity to take place. Ultimately it helped me understand the importance of detailed guidelines to construct the opening. Without it, there would be little structure and it would be much more difficult to extract meaning out of the production. The storyboard was crucial to help visualize what shots we needed and the key elements of the opening plotline.  

At first it was difficult preparing for the final steps before production. For example, it was necessary to plan out locations and schedules in addition to casting members. It showed the importance of taking leadership and direction into production. It was vital to be able to be proactive in bringing people together and organizing a plan to work together at a certain location. Logistics were a bit of an obstacle when looking for a location, but through taking advantage of resources and communicating with others, our goal could be met. Only by communicating and scheduling for an open space for the administration's room could we be able to establish the ideal setting for the film. It is crucial for a director of a film to be proactive with workers and peers in order to accomplish their goal. Communication with the cast members was also essential to establishing the vision we wanted. It was a little difficult bringing the actors together and staying focused, but we eventually reached our objective. This experience helped me understand the significance of firmly establishing a goal and being focused and proactive to reach it.  

I also had very little experience with photo and video editing. While my partner worked on most of the video editing and mechanics, we both discussed the types of shots to cut and job titles to utilize. Choosing a white color and strategically placing in darker backgrounds made it easier to call attention to but did not look out of place. In regards to timing, the titles appeared and disappeared as the individual take settled in with the scene. It was important to understand how to balance audio and timing of shots to ensure that the film flows nicely. From a director or producer’s viewpoint, it is essential to understand how every single element of a film needs to fit together for the final product to be successful. For marketing and distribution, studying the traditional and more creative ways of advertising and presenting a product helped us adopt common elements to apply to our own. I got more familiar with editing pictures using Phonto, Adobe Photoshop Express, and VSCO to provide appealing images.   

Overall, I was able to gather significant insight over the progression of the film project to understand and improve skills of scheduling, video editing, and filming techniques.