Assignment 1 Reflection
It's been a great pleasure to work with all group mates in assignment 1. We've tried our best to create something decent within the limitations. I have remarked on a few key learning take away from this experience.
Firstly, learn to work with limitations and be versatile. There are several restrictions we encountered for the production; for instance,
- only basic equipment was provided (for example, no stabilizer/ track/ dolly provided, so we practiced our handheld shot a dozen times to achieve what we expected)
- amateur children actors (we kept revising our storyboard on set to avoid shots that required good acting skills; we learned to direct a child actor with extra patience, and we had to change the plot as the actors were too scared to shoot an outdoor scene at night)
- tight schedule (children actors only can come to shoot at the weekend, so it left us with no option but to shoot with both weekends available; all scenes are at night on scripts, we decided to shoot 'day for night' to squeeze time)
- small shooting venues (we tried to utilize all angles we could get in the venue, and we tried to avoid using heavy tools and equipment)
- lack of extra crew support (we learned to be versatile and help on multiple roles on set, even the role that we are not familiar with)
It's been a problem-solving journey all along. We tried our best to use creativity to improvise and tackle problems. Indeed it is satisfying to see how much we have accomplished at the end.
I have some experience in productions, but this is the first time I have tried to create something with 'groupmates', in relatively equal status. We tried to make decisions together based on respect, it was challenging during the break-in period, but finally, we reached a mutual understanding. Besides, as we choose the script 'Alienation', I have never tried to produce a thriller before, it is a real challenge for me, especially in planning the shots, creating the atmosphere as well as bridging the story to audiences. Additionally, it is an excellent opportunity to leave my comfort zone.
For my final remarks, I think it is essential to understand that there are "chances to be wrong" in schools. For example, this was the first time I directed a thriller. After day one of shooting, I returned to the editing room and found that the footage could not support the storytelling. Then I reviewed all the resources and footage we had got, tried to change the script, and called a second day of shooting to reshape the story. This is exactly what I cannot do in the commercial world. In the commercial world, shooting a video has numerous considerations. I cannot afford to miss the mark, which is very intense and cruel. But what I experienced here is that there are rooms to improve ourselves and try out different creative choices, which is now a significant reason I would love to stay in the program.
