Critical Reflection

Reflection.

I'm going to look back on how this project went, in hopes of improving the work for the next project.

Stages

Ideas

In the beginning of the project, I went through the process of trying to plan ideas and settle on something that was viable as well as interesting. When I have an idea, I know it's the one, but for this project I struggled with it coming to me. I had some trouble in the beginning of the project which disrupted the flow of development but some of the ideas were good, just didn't have the viability.

Development

When I settled on the idea I began to develop it further by attempting to start the script and planning the characters.

I used Powerpoint because it allows for an easier presentation of the individual character profiles and also allows for ample image use, such as moodboards.
We began the casting call to get people interested as early as possible. We also started researching locations to get an idea of setting to help the development of visuals.

Script-writing

Initially, the script-writing process was a struggle for me and it took me some time to find the flow. I knew roughly what I wanted the plot to be (this developed at the same time as I started my first few drafts), but I only really knew where I wanted to go with it from Draft 3, which combined my first 2 drafts in style to make something that was realistic but still interesting to read. 

Producing

The planning of the project started as soon as we could, with location recces and casting. We managed to get casting done quickly and carried out a recce visiting multiple locations to decide which to use.
Further in the project, planning of locations and extras started.

What worked 

casting

I was very happy with how the casting went. We had a few people turn up to our casting that we held at the studios and went in with a schedule plan so that we didn't waste time. We paired up the actors to get the best pairing and tested them all individually to get an idea of how they were to work with.

location

We were really happy with finalising the location at Herne Bay. We were able to find everything we need in terms of shoot locations such as a pub, a somewhat tired beach-front, and we also considered using an arcade (which didn't end up in the final script). 

location recce

The location recces that we did were all very productive. There have now been 3 for myself (one not written about because I went the day before hand-in). I have managed to make good progress location-wise, finding the pub, sourcing the fishing rods, and seeing what might affect sound in the different places. For example, on the Fishing Mark in Hampton, it could be very windy as it's a very open location surrounded by water and not close to very much land-mass.

script plot

I was really proud of the development and how the plot ended up. It went through a lot of different stages and going from having very low confidence in the idea to loving it, was something I was proud of. I was happy to include the character development, a plot arc, and positive and negative scenes that develop the story.

website

I was very proud of the outcome of the website and the way in which I made it very accessible in terms of navigation of the site. I also was proud of it as I think it represents our brand well and I'd be proud to pass it on to other people in the industry if they wanted information on the project.

What didn't 

Initial idea planning

Initially, I found it really hard to get started with the planning. I did have some health problems which affected my ability to focus, but it was also disheartening to have that pressure of not feeling in control of my ideas. However I overcame this by persevering with an idea.

Shoot schedule

I found the shoot schedule really difficult and it was a long and arduous process. I feel like I could have streamlined the process by just including scenes/ locations rather than each shot, which I will define and work on in the next project to make it a bit more workable.

extras

Hiring extras has been a really long process. It's been difficult to get people who would be appropriate for the scenes because a lot of them looked too young for the scenes such as the AA meeting.
I made this easier by making the casting spreadsheet where I could decide who would play who and also keep their contact details.

What did I learn?

How to properly budget

I learned how to budget and use Excel properly. I found it a lot easier to put together and collate the information, because usually I find maths and functions difficult. I was really happy with the outcome of the budget sheet and I will be using this new knowledge in the future for sure.

Writer's frame of mind

I learned about the writer's frame of mind, which is to not be happy with the script ever! Mike told us that this was an actual thing writers experience and although it sounds like self-criticism, it actually helped me to decide on parts of the script. I was happy with the outcome of the script in the end and I feel like it was because I could understand that if I kept changing it, I would never be happy with it. I also know that the actors are likely to want to change parts to what feels more natural to them and that's totally fine.

What could I develop?

Shoot schedule

In the future I'll change the way I carry out the shoot schedule. It took too much of my time that I should have spent doing other things.

Time management

I have struggled with time management this project particularly in the beginning, but now I know how to combat that and time management in the beginning will help a lot in the end. This is something I plan to do a lot in the next project.

Conclusion

To conclude, I felt that this project could have gone better in terms of time management. However, I've made a lot of progress with my script-writing and I think the difference from first year is vast. I was so insecure about my writing but I'm now even considering it as a career path. I'm still not completely happy with it, but as Mike told us, that's the writer's frame of mind.