Wednesday 23 January 2019

OUGD603 - 60 Sec Doc - Evaluation

OUGD603 

60 Sec Doc 

Evaluation

This 60 second documentary turned out better than I expected. It has shown me how much you can learn in such a short amount of time simply by doing. I hardly had time to think about what I was going to document. This actually worked in my favour as I have a habit of spending the majority of time planning rather than getting stuck in. 
It has also shown me what a valuable resource youtube is, especially for tutorials and inspirations. It was the most useful resource in making this film as it engaged me much more than a book, as well as being quick and easily accessible. 
I learnt so much about the importance of lenses within photography and the role of aperture within night time photography. I have always had an interest in photography and always wanted to make a short film but the opportunity had never arose. This meant I did have a foundation of knowledge but I did have to do a lot of research into how to film in low light conditions. I found that although having a rough idea of what setting to use when filming in these conditions was useful, it was a matter of trial and error. 
When reviewing the footage I did notice that not everything was in focus. This was because I was using manual focus as the camera was too slow and jittery to use manual. I'm sure with practice I will be able to improve this skill. 
I found that writing a shot list was the most helpful part of my preparation. I gave me some kind of guidelines when on set. Which was particularly useful when I was also trying to figure out the camera settings and work in a new environment as I would have most definitely forgot at least some of the shots I wanted to include.
In post production I came to realise the importance of a strong soundtrack. I realised that if I just cut the footage together with no consideration to the music and just put a track on top, it would have been a much less cinematic outcome. Cutting the footage in time with the music makes the film feel more professional and considered. 
Colour correction also played a massive part in the quality of the film. It made the shots feel much more cohesive even though they had been taken at different locations, both indoor and out and at different times of day. They also helped with things I had no control over such as lighting. For example the lighting at the swimming pool was very yellow, the filters applied helped to neutralise this. 
If I had longer to complete this brief I would have considered the marketing of the film. I would have considered how I could have built anticipation on social media and how I would have cut together a shorter film (10 seconds or so) to use as a kind of advertisement. 
I will now look at how I can incorporate film into more of my projects.

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