Production: Post-Production Schedule

In order to make sure everyone is aware of the deadline and to manage the short amount of time we have to edit, I created a post-production schedule for those involved in the editing to follow. I included micro-deadlines for the transcript, annotations, rough edit, image lock, completion and burning to discs, ensuring that everything was done in time for the presentation deadline. I also included a reminder of the two formats that the film needs to be submitted in.

Post-production schedule - click to enlarge

 

 

I think this was beneficial as it allowed us to manage the edit effectively within the short space of time we had. I also arranged regular group meetings during which the crew could review the edit and give our feedback as to what we liked and did not like. This was also effective, as we did not have the same group 'crit sessions' that we had during the experimental module. These crew meetings replicated that situation on a smaller scale. The only thing I would have liked to have changed is to have been able to allocate a longer amount of time to the editors - unfortunately, due to the deadline, this was not possible. 

Development: Shot Lists

Though it was not all of our jobs, we were all eager to see the still images that Samantha (our cinematographer) and Dominic (our sound designer and assistant camera operator) had caught. We decided that we would all help to make the shotlist by giving feedback on which shots we did and did not like. Some of the still images they captured on location can be found below.

 Still images of the location - click to enlarge

Samantha and Emily then composed a shot list of shots they wanted to achieve, though everyone was in agreement that, given the amount of time we had, there was plenty of room to experiment with other shots too. After they had decided which shots they wanted, I helped Samantha to type up everything she and Emily had done into a clear, easily-readable format.

 Samantha and Emily's shot list, which I typed up - click to enlarge

 

Although it was not necessarily my job, I had taken my Macbook and thought it would be useful to compile a list. As producer, most of my work had already been done and so I was happy to help even if only with an administrative task like this one.

Production: Consent and Release

After meeting Gerard and getting to know him, the cinematographers began taking lots of photographs for their shot lists and likewise the sound designers began looking for interesting noises and making sure there were no strange frequencies that would upset the recording. Whilst they were doing this, I spoke with Gerry about what we had planned and asked him to sign two forms: one to give us permission to use his contribution, and another to give us permission to use his shop. Without him signing these forms, we would be unable to continue with the project.

 

Thankfully, Gerard was more than willing to sign the forms for us, considering I had already mentioned this to him in one of our phone calls. Copies of the signed documents can be found below.

Contributor and location release forms - click to enlarge

 

 

I was pleased with how I handled obtaining these forms. It is a potentially awkward situation and the signing of the documents is necessary for the film to go ahead, but I feel that by mentioning these contracts in advance the difficulty of the situation was taken away and Gerard was more than happy to help. 

Production: Contact sheet

On the way to Liverpool, I asked my crew to fill in a contact form so that we would have a documentation of everyones information in the event we needed it. Unfortunately, I only brought one of these due to an oversight. In future production projects, I will ensure that this is completed before the journey. I would then type up the contact information to improve clarity and print a copy for each member. I also neglected to edit the various fields at the top of the sheet, but I learned from this and this is evident in other documents I produced. Fortunately, this wasn't too much of an issue as we already knew each others mobile numbers from working together, and we also had a group conversation that was active on Facebook for the duration of the project.

Document of our contact information - click to enlarge

 

Despite some oversights, I feel this document provided me some lessons about paying attention to detail that I have taken notice of. The effect of these lessons is evident in my other documents. In reality, the mistakes made were not to disastrous and were more about presentation than importance, but I feel that these elements contribute to the professionality of a document. 

Production: Equipment

As producer, I volunteered to take the responsibility of booking the equipment we would need for our shoot. To do this, I first rose the topic at one of our crew meetings and asked each member what equipment we would require. We had already decided that we were going to use DSLRs, and considering Emily and I both own DSLR cameras we decided to use these rather than loan some from the Creative Media Centre.

 

After finding out from each crew member what he or she would require, I compiled a list and waited until I was able to place my booking as the stores only allow bookings to be made one week in advance. Being so prepared ensured that we got all the equipment we needed, as listed in the Equipment List below.

Equipment list - click to enlarge

 

I printed out copies of the equipment list and gave them to my crew. I assigned equipment to crew members so that everyone had an equal amount to carry. We each used our own methods, such as highlighters or circling, to remind us which equipment we were responsible for. We took these lists everywhere with us and did checks of all the equipment to ensure nothing was lost or left behind.

Production: Call sheet

I made a call sheet for our journey to Liverpool. I omitted several fields that were not relevant to our film as I felt that they made the document look daunting and confusing for the crew members. The result was a clean looking document full of useful, relevant information for my crew to use during our shoot. As we had only scheduled to shoot for one day, I only produced a document for 18/02/2014. I took blank call sheets with me to Liverpool so that, should we need to use the second day Gerard offered us, I could write up a new call sheet and schedule for the additional day.

The call sheet for 18/02/2014 - click to enlarge

 

I feel that although I omitted several fields from the template, this was a wise decision as it purged the document of irrelevant information and made it more readable and less intimidating. I would have liked to have created a call sheet and schedule for 19/02/2014, just in case we did need to return to the shop on this day, however this was not viable considering we did not yet know if we would be returning and what we would need to capture. Thankfully, we were correct in our assumpting that one day of filming would suffice.

Production: Schedule

After confirming a a loose schedule with Gerard, I began to work on a more detailed schedule for the crew members. This would detail what they would be expected to be filming within certain periods of the shoot.

The schedule, made in Microsoft Word - click to enlarge

 

I created this schedule following one of the crew meetings we had, during which I asked the crew what material they intended to capture. They told me that it was quite simple, they would need about two or three hours to capture the 'constructed' material; that is, the interview and the shots of Gerry setting up shop. They then said they they would use the other time to capture cutaway shots and assured me that this would be enough time for them.

 

Taking this information into account, I drafted up a schedule of the shoot for them to follow. I printed copies of this and took them with us to Liverpool so that everyone would know what the current agenda was.