Review pre-production of a digital media product

 

Introduction:

As a team we were asked to carry out pre - production for the opening of a thriller film opening that we will go on to create. We carried out this task as a team of 8. Through the research of our team, we found out that our main target audience was of  people in both genders from the age of 16 - 30. The product we created was in the subgenre of a medical thriller and we decided to do this due to our financial limitations. This was because the school we are in has a science lab set up that we felt would be a good use for our thriller opening. We worked as a team, however we all had individual tasks we had to complete and carry out for our pre production. The tasks were to produce a rationale, create a budget plan, carry out a location recce, costume and make up plans, props plan, equipment plans, risk assessment and contingency plan, planning titles, research music and SFX, produce a shot list, produce a storyboard, produce a pitch, collect audience feedback, produce a filming a editing schedule and finally produce a filming diary. 

 

Onset of the project:

The first meeting we had as a team, we discussed the subgenre of film we would create, and then also the actors involved. The decision we made was that we would produce a medical thriller. This was due to the access we had to the school science labs and thought with all the access we had, this was going to be the best option to use to make the best film opening. Also, we discussed the actors who would be involved would be me and Laila. This was the decision because the group felt that we would be the most comfortable people in front of the camera, and were both happy to take on the role. We also decided that Jack would take on the overall role of being director and that Carly would be our make up artist. These decisions were made as Jack was happy to take on the role of the director, and Carly was also our most skilled and experienced makeup artist so she was also happy to take on the role. Within the meeting, I felt all people were productive in the meeting and all decisions and delegations we made were correct and successful. Especially being the delegation of Carly to be a makeup artist, as in the production the general feeling around the team was that the scene with the makeup was the most successful part of the team. The only way this could've been improved, I feel, is if we planned out more of the storyline and made it more clear, as this caused some confusion within production. 

 

Research process:

Initially the research we carried out was done in class, where we looked into different openings of thrillers in different subgenres. We used films such as The Net, The Pelican Brief and I Am Legend. We carried this research out as a team, stopping the footage at certain points and talking through ideas and conventions. We needed to find out the conventions of thriller openings, and how they differ between subgenres. We carried out this research by watching the opening scenes, then stopping the footage at certain points and creating a timeline of what happens in audio and video. The research was purposeful because as a team we were able to discuss our thoughts on the conventions and how we could use them. Personally I would say this research was unsuccessful due one of the main conventions of an opening is how titles are used within. I felt they were added in a way which didn't fit the conventions. To improve this as a group should look back at re editing these sections and making sure they are added in the conventions that a thriller film has. 

 

Logistics:

Within our teams pre production, we had to carry out plans for logistics. This included making a production schedule for filming and editing, location recces and a risk assessment. These were carried out by different members of our group, such as the location recce was carried out by Kai and myself, the production schedule was made by Annie and the risk assessment was made by Jacob, which were important to complete as during our actual production. Such as, the location recce was completed when producing a shot list and storyboard, we understood how the area and set we were going to work in looked. The production schedule was made to make sure everybody had a clear idea of what they needed to do and when. The risk assessment was very important to complete to ensure to the school that the production we were carrying out, we had clear proof that it was safe and a clear way to solve anything if something went wrong. 

 

Finance:

Jai was set the task of making a budget plan for the financial area of our production. In our team's circumstances, we didn't have a budget or any finances going towards this project so in our case a financial plan wasn't needed. However, it was important for our team to carry out a financial plan to have experience of how pre production would occur in the industry for a real, professional product. 

 

Personnel management:

For personnel management, everyone in our team was set multiple tasks to complete, and to take individual responsibility to complete the tasks. This responsibility was high as everybody in the team also needed the tasks that each member had to complete, thus if you did not complete one then every member wouldn’t have that task. Also, we had personal responsibility to make sure we were in the filming and editing sessions that were set. On occasions, we failed to do this as a group. Such as, the first filming session I was stuck in traffic and therefore late to, and we therefore had to film a different scene to what we had planned. Also, Kai was absent from school for the majority of the time of filming, so other members had to take on his role in the group to cover his absence. This could've been improved with extra planning to ensure we had back up plans and a clearer idea of what we had to do if members failed to turn up to sessions. Also for me, I needed to have a better plan of how I was getting to school that day, to make sure I wouldn't have been late.

 

Resource management:

For the resources, we had a set list of all the resources we thought we'd need within our production, this was created by me and Kai. However, due to me being late to the first filming session, which led onto the group having to film something different to what was planned, Jai came up with the idea of changing the shot choice and using coloured water for a shot instead. Therefore, we decided to get some food colouring to create this shot. Apart from this, I felt that we planned our resources well .Such as, making sure we had cameras available, and planning our filming sessions around when the science lab would be free. This made the rest of production flow fairly well. However, there was one occasion where we had to swap two filming days around as on the day Laila didn't have the correct costume on her that day, therefore we filmed a scene of me, which was just my face so costume didn't matter and filmed the shots of Laila the following day. Next time, we should’ve had a costume box where the clothes we were wearing would always be on set. 

 

Time management:

When completing all our individual tasks for the group, we ensured that everybody had completed their set task by the date they were due, this was before we started production. The first filming session was on the 20th of January, therefore everybody in the group knew that our pre production had to be completed by this date. There were some circumstances where some tasks were not complete by this time, such as the finance plan. Luckily, this didn't affect our production because as I said before the financial plan was just to get an experience of how this would work in the industry, however it didn't affect our production. Next time as a team we should have set our tasks to individuals better, such as giving a long task to a student who was happy to take on a longer task to do. 

 

Professional practice:

In our group, I’d say the performance of some members was better than the performance of others. I say this because I feel some members who were in for every day or pre production and production, whereas there were cases of members hardly showing up at all. Therefore in terms of the group we were very mixed. I feel the contact we had with each other and the way we dealt with each other was good, but also could have been a lot better. Such as the group chat we had was a good way of communicating, but sometimes people miss messages which have been sent, which is why I believe more team meetings would have been more effective. I feel as a team we were very good doing things together and not getting on with a job without the consent of the other members. Also, as a group we managed the use of copyrighted footage and audio really well. This was because of the way Jacob created the music and SFX research, and made sure the clips he came back with were definitely non copyrighted clips. This had a good impact as the team were happy with the chosen backing track and there was also no risk of large companies targeting us for using their copyrighted products. 

 

Risk management:

To ensure all risks that may have occurred were considered, we created a risk assessment and a contingency plan. The risks on set were the use of glass, and the potential of the glass smashing and causing injury. To prevent this, we made sure we had the correct tools and safety equipment to move the glass. Also, our make up artist Carly did some thorough research on the risks behind the use of the make up. The make up was placed on my arm and face. During pre production, Carly did a latex test on my skin, placing small amounts on my wrist and behind my ear. She did this on a small level to check if my skin had any allergic reactions to the productions she was using. The test came back clear, so Carly was free to use the makeup on my arm. Also during pre production, Carly had a practice run of the make up and the way she was going to use it. This was to double check that my skin would not have any allergic reactions during production, as this would have caused major changes to schedules and roles, if I had ended up not being able to complete the project with the team. This make up test was also to give Carly extra practice before production and ensure she was confident to do it well on the day of shooting. 

 

Crisis management:

During production, we had occasions where members of the group didn't turn up, such as me being late due to traffic and Kai not being in school for the majority of the scheduled production. To react to this, as a team we decided to shoot different shots that day, in which we went to get food colouring just before filming. Also, in the times that Kai was absent, we delegated different roles around the group to cover his absence. Such as, on a day where Kai was meant to be filming but was not in, we asked Jacob if he could cover the filming for that shoot. There was also an occasion at the end of production, where we came together as a team and thought it would be best if we added an extra shot to the film opening, as Kai was in the day we scheduled to do this we thought it would be best if he re paid to time he missed and took control of shooting in that session. 

 

Maintaining documentation:

All of our team members were able to access material from shared areas in our computers. However, all footage used in premier pro needs to be downloaded from this area to ensure the footage would work correctly. Another use of documentation was the use of Wix, this was to help create our blogs. In many ways, Wix was a really quick and easy way of storing our work to our blogs, in a neat way. This made it a lot less time consuming to use than if we had used other platforms. However, there were a few cases that uploading footage, for our filming diaries, would often fail which made progressing through the tasks a lot more tedious when Wix would fail to respond. To improve this we could have used another platform, however I feel that that would have made more problems, so there was instead potential for us to be uploading the footage to wix in a different way. There were some cases where some documents we found were incomplete, such as the equipment list didn't have the use of the tripod. Therefore, I had to go back and edit the document and correct it, to ensure that as this document was on everybody's blog, everybody had the task completed. To change this, when doing the equipment list we should have communicated better to make sure everybody knew what equipment would be in use, and also when Kai and I made the document, we should have had a better understanding. 

 

Difficulties with project management and ways to improve:

As we worked through pre production and production, we came across some difficulties. Such as some members being absent when they were needed on set, not having the correct costume and also adding in shots to the film opening at the last minute. If we did this again, to make sure this would not happen we would have to plan better. Such as making sure other members are available to cover when one member is absent, also having better communication to know when one member will not be in for more preparation time. Also, we could have had a costume box, where every time we were meant to film the clothes we needed to wear on set would be there, so there was then no chance of me or Laila forgetting what clothes to wear on what day and they would all be there on set waiting for us. Both of these solutions are for individual errors that people in our group have made, but ultimately as a group we should have prepared better for these scenarios. Also, there was a shoot we decided to have at the end of production, to add in a few shots to the film that we thought as a group would make the story a lot more effective. This was not well planned and during pre production we should have had better communication with the storyline, and also better planning with our shot lists, especially as this shot was vital to our story and should not have been missed. 

If we had been split up into smaller teams, I think this would have made the overall production worse, due to the fact we would have less ideas within the group. Also, that means having more responsibility per person and I don't feel that that would have been effective for some members. However, I do believe that as a group we should have had better communication than a social media group chat, such as holding more meetings between the group more regularly. This would have made sure everybody was still all on the same page and confident in the tasks they had to complete for the team. I feel this would have solved a lot of the issues spoken about above.