CCR Question #3

Pre Production and Planning:

To begin, we had a detailed phase of pre production planning, including storyboarding, location scouting, and creating a shot list. This was a crucial stage towards establishing the film's visual style and mood. A big challenge in this stage was the pacing of the shots. Given just 2 minutes to work with, it's difficult to figure out how many scenes to include in that time period. To refine this, we reviewed other film's in a similar genre, to see how they paced their intro's. Creating a shot list and schedule helped streamline the filming and idea process.

Our storyboard, which helped us
prepare for filming.

Production + Reflection

Our filming process went over pretty well, at least to begin with. We were able to film a majority of the shots at the beginning and end of our project, right away. Some shot's were lacking in theming though. However, by using some careful editing techniques, we were able to overcome this. The MAIN problem we faced, is that with just a few shots remaining to be filmed, which would be taking place at school, I contracted pneumonia and was stuck at home for over a week. This delayed our filming process, and set us behind a bit on editing. However, we were able to film these shots after my return, getting us back on track. 

Lessons Learned

This project taught me the importance of adaptability and problem solving on the fly during filmmaking. Planning ahead and creating a schedule is incredibly valuable, but just as important is the ability to refine choices during the production and post production phases. I also gained a deeper respect for how the visual and auditory elements, which may seem minute, are vital in the storytelling process. Overall, my production skills have grown tremendously, and I feel much better about working with film projects in the future.