MAJOR PROJECT: Critical Reflections/Evaluation

Now that the Major Project is completed and the film has been finalised, I can reflect on my role and input into the project and the final outcomes. In particular I will be focussing on my roles as the Producer, Writer and Production Manager, the successes and challenges I faced and how I overcame them.

What was successful?
I think on the whole there were many more successes than problems, starting with the writing. The script writing was a long process which began with the concept. Josh took the concept and wrote a temporary structure of events for the first draft of the script. We then worked through the characterisation and story structure together, culminating 11 drafts in total. Although, there were several times where we felt like we had writers block, I think that with Simon's support during tutorials which helped us to troubleshoot any problems, we were able to finalise a script that is comedic, lighthearted and punchy with a real twist at the end.

Casting was an important part of my role as the Producer. I think that this was very successful, as we had lots of interest in the roles which enabled me to shortlist them down to 6 people, all of which had lots of potential. The audition process was also very successful and highlighted the right choice for the casting, which we wouldn't have had without this process. Overall, I am very pleased with our final cast choices and think that they really help to invest the audience in the story and give it believability.

Admin was a huge part of my role as Producer. It was essential to have all of the documentation completed to a good standard to enable filming to go ahead. Prior to filming, I made a list of all of the documentation that would be needed prior to and for the shoot days. I then updated these accordingly as we got closer to filming.

On the shoot days, my main responsibilities included the schedule. Due to bad weather, I had to think on my feet and update the schedule on the shoot days to ensure that we had time to cover everything. I was very conscious of time and prompted the Director when we were running over during a scene to keep the schedule in order. I am also pleased with my managerial and leadership skills during the shoot days, and ensured that all of the contributors knew what they should be doing at all times.

What could be improved?
There weren't many things that didn't work as such, but instead there were several challenges and room for improvement.

During the shoot days, I was very conscious of the schedule and overrunning. We only had 3 shoot days in total and I think realistically, 1 more day would've been beneficial to ensure that we had as much coverage as possible. During the edit of Scene 5 where they take their masks off, we were unable to cut this shot down because of a lack of coverage, which would have been simple to film.

Another aspect during the shoot days was some inconsistency in the lighting. During Scene 7 which was filmed across 2 different shoot days, the lighting is noticeably different. As the Producer, I should have checked that they matched as it made it difficult to match them in the edit. However, with some adjustments in the edit and the colour grading, this was massively improved.

Working as a team
I think that the experience working with Josh and Ellen as part of a team to create our film 'Bobbie & Clive' was very positive. All of us were passionate about our individual roles and we all wanted the film to be a success and be our most confident piece of work on the course thus far.
I worked more closely with Josh who was the Director, as it was his concept and vision, but it was my job to enable production. He is very certain in all of his decisions, which is a positive thing but I found it very difficult at times to communicate some of my creative ideas to him as often he didn't want to take on my ideas. As the production went on and we established the final script I found that he came round to being more accepting and willing to take on other ideas which showed improvement in our level of team work. Working with Ellen as the DoP was also very positive. I found it very easy to communicate with her. She was enthusiastic about her camera work and lighting, which gave me confidence as she was very professional on the shoot days.
Generally, the experience working with this team was successful and I feel I learnt a lot from both of them.

To conclude this unit, I am very pleased with the final outcomes, the film in particular. Although, it has been a lengthy process, I am proud with what we managed to achieve in just a few months as a team and individually. I am glad that I chose to take on the roles I did, particularly Producer as I wanted to challenge myself and have input into every aspect of making the final film.

MAJOR PROJECT: Group Edit Viewing & Final Cut

Yesterday, we had the group edit viewing with the rest of the year group. This was an opportunity to show all of the films to our peers before they were finalised to get some constructive feedback. This was an important process because it was a way of seeing the reception the films got and would highlight any major problems that needed to be solved before handing in. Initially, I was quite nervous about this process as I think it is nerve racking enough showing a finished piece of work on the big screen, let alone an unfinished piece. However, our film was in its very final stages, with just some minor colour grading left to complete, so I was feeling fairly confident about the viewing. Watching everyone else's films was really enjoyable and I think that the range of work across the group was really diverse and interesting. As usual, everyone in the group was very positive about everyone else's work which takes the pressure off and made the screening an enjoyable experience. It was interesting to watch ours on the big screen as we have been editing together largely using the TV in the production room. I think that the film played well and the sound was perfect, which I was really pleased about. The music levels were also high enough but not overbearing which is good. The only thing that really stood out was the colour grade which looked different on the projector than it had on a smaller screen. Otherwise the feedback from Simon and the group was positive which is really reassuring.

Bobbie & Clive

Since the viewing, we went back and looked at the film again on the TV and on the laptop and noticed a few imbalances in the colour grade. It was the most noticeable during Scenes 7-9 in the main office with Craig. However, this has since been resolved and the final cut has been completed. Although, there were several challenges throughout this project (which we knew there would be), I am confident that we overcame them and collectively wrote, produced, shot and edited a film that we can all be very proud of as our final project for University. Although working as a team can have its challenges, I think that individually we all were keen to undertake our roles and we worked very well together to create 'Bobbie & Clive'.

MAJOR PROJECT: Editing Process/Development

The editing process for me hasn't been very hands on or technical, I have been there to oversee the edit, offering my creative ideas and feedback and assisting the Editor, Sound Designer and Colourist in any way that I can. During the editing sessions, which we have been either doing in the production room using the TV or in lecture room 2 with the projector. Having the edit up on another screen for the other members of the team to see has been useful so that Josh can show me what he's been working on. He started by putting the rough cut together by syncing all of the sound and putting together a rough picture edit. This gave us a starting point to work from as a group rather than trying to work on it from scratch. Josh is very organised with his editing so I felt confident that he didn't need my assistance during this process. As a team we generally agreed on the best takes to use and the cutting of the scenes, which translated well from Josh' shot-list onto screen, making it very enjoyable seeing his vision come to life.

The Edit

During an edit viewings with Simon, he watched the rough cut and offered some suggestions for improvement. These included potentially undertaking a re-shoot for Scene 10 as the shot we had used was very dark. However, we found an alternative shot for this scene which worked much better. Other feedback included making some of the movements tighter, such as putting the masks on and taking them off. Unfortunately Josh was unable to cut one of these movements down due to a lack of coverage for that scene. Josh tried to troubleshoot this by speeding up the shot but that was too noticeable.

Colour Grading

Once we were happy with the picture edit, it was over to Ellen to incorporate her sound design and colour grade. She showed me her sound log which included several sound effects, all of which I thought were suitable to use. Regarding temp music, we decided to all go away and find some tracks for the underscore. After another viewing with Simon, his feedback included incorporating more music in the film, as it would be fitting. This is something that I had pushed for initially but Josh was happy without it. After we went away and found some suitable tracks that were subtle and added to certain scenes, Josh and Ellen were keen to incorporate these into the edit.

Ellen had chosen to go for a natural to cool toned colour grade for the film, picking out the colour blue in particular. I am very happy with the colour grade choice and think that it gives the film the cinematic look that I had envisioned. 

On the whole, I am very pleased with how the editing process went. Although, my input was only creative and not technical, I feel like my ideas were considered throughout this process and I am very pleased with the outcome. 

MAJOR PROJECT: 'Bobbie & Clive' Behind the Scenes

To give you a idea of what it was like behind the scenes of our production entitled 'Bobbie & Clive', I have attached several photos across all 3 shoot days. We had Isaac Carter as our Set Photographer which meant that we didn't need to rely on crew members taking photos which took the weight off us all massively. Throughout the shoot days everyone else had other jobs to focus on, therefore I am very pleased that we had Isaac to focus on capturing the shoot days for us. I think that the level of team work across all of the shoot days was very professional and improved as the shoot progressed and everyone felt more confident in their roles. I think that the level of communication, both with myself and all of the contributors and individually was really efficient and successful. From these photos, we will be selecting 2 behind the scenes for the hand in.

Production/ShootDay 1:

Clapper Board

Canon 7D

Ellen as Cinematographer

Monitor

Scene 6

Crew & Cast

Boxes of Apples

Scene 7

Scene 7

Cast & Crew

Production/Shoot Day 2:

Josh as Sound/Boom Operator

Cast & Crew

The Team

Scene 5

Exterior Scenes

Crew

Sophie & Nik

Production/Shoot Day 3:

Craig & George

Rotolight

Set up for Scene 12

Scenes 8/9

Jack operating Sound

Crew

White balancing

Clapperboard

Cast & Crew

Sophie & Nik

Craig

MAJOR PROJECT: Composer's Credit Track

I have been working with the Composer who has written and produced the credit track for the film. After sending him the rough cut, I sent him the exact timings for prominent parts of the track. Although it will be the credit track primarily, we wanted it to start during Scene 12 when Frank and the balaclava man are caught in the warehouse stealing the apples. The composer asked me for specific details regarding the style, tempo and intensity of the music we wanted. I said that the first reveal where the warehouse door is lifted up should start with some subtle drumming which should build up to the reveal of Frank in the warehouse. However, the final track shouldn't kick in until the credits actually start. I also sent the composer a few extracts of the instrumental sounds we had in mind and the temporary track which was quite similar to what we had in mind. The track that I have uploaded below is the second version of the track. The only tweak he made, was some added bass towards the end of the track. I was very impressed with the track that he's written, which he said he'd really enjoyed working on. I think that it is similar to the temp track but has it's own unique signature which is perfect for the comedic tone of the film. I also think that the timings are all in the right place for the reveals in the ending which is just what we were looking for.

Overall, I am very pleased that I pushed to have a composer to write the credit track for us. Josh and Ellen were very apprehensive as they didn't want to put any more money into the budget and felt like the temporary track was suitable enough. However, upon hearing the track that the composer made, Josh agreed that it gave the end of the film and the credit sequence a lift and was the perfect fit. I'm so glad that it paid off and that this is something that I pursued to have in the film.

MAJOR PROJECT: Film Poster: Development/Final Design

As part of the submission, we are required to create a poster for the film which will need to be printed out. As a group we decided that we would base the poster off of the Quentin Tarantino ones that I had researched for the branding and title card. Our title card is very simple but bold, using the 3 primary colours - red, blue and yellow. We decided to use this colour palette as it is very fitting for the film and is reminiscent of both the graphics in the original Bonnie & Clyde film and Tarantino's films. The posters created for Tarantino's film have a particular design which is overly simplified and just uses simple shapes and outlines to highlight the imagery in them. The text is always bold and striking, contrasting with a bright coloured background. I previously analysed the poster shown below for one of his most successful and well known films - Kill Bill, which we took inspiration from for our poster design.

Before we shot the film, collectively we designed a mock up design using imagery from Atomic Blonde as Bobbie and Vince Vaughn as Clive, just to stand in as the characters in the time being. This mock up poster was used when it came to creating the real one as we used the same layout of imagery and text. We experimented with different posterising effects on Photoshop, as we wanted the imagery itself to look quite simple and not very detailed like in some of Tarantino's posters where they just use outlines and a two toned effect.

Poster - Version 1

Here is the first version of the poster. The 3 colours are evident with the yellow and blue for the font and a bold red background. We have added the bleeds of blue round the edges also like in the title card. As a temporary slogan for the film, Josh came up with and added the text 'They're middle aged, They're married, They need cash'. I suggested that we should change this to 'They need money' to continue the alliteration which we played around with before the final slogan. The image itself is very simple and doesn't tell the audience too much. 

Version 1 - Landscape

Here we experimented with the poster as landscape as opposed to portrait to see which looked best. However, I think for a film poster, it looked better as portrait which we will have for the final version. In terms of improvements, I voiced to Josh that I felt like the posterised effect was too extreme and the lack of detail took away from the design and from the expressions on their faces. He agreed and we continued to look for alternatives.

Poster - Final Version

Here is the final version of the poster which I will be sending off to have printed. We found an effect on photoshop which was more detailed than the effect we had previously used which I think looks much better and looks more like Sophie and Nik. I am happy with the final image we selected as I think that the unsure look on both of their faces should give a hint to the audience that they are not real criminals. With regards to the slogan, Simon suggested that we made the last sentence more unconventional. 'They need money' was too obvious for a couple in the real world and didn't offer any real clues to the events of the film. Therefore with Simon's suggestion, we altered it to 'They're about to break the law'. I think that this is much more fitting for the project and should throw the audience off and give them something more to think about. Overall, I am pleased with the development of the poster and think that the final design is exactly what we had in mind.

MAJOR PROJECT: Review of Budget & Paying Expenses

Now that the film is in its final editing process, and all expenses have been paid for, I wanted to do a review of the final budget. Initially, we wanted to try and keep the budget very low of around £500-600, this was the first figure that we came up with. After the casting process had been finalised, we chose the talent over the expense and chose to cast 3 actors that were not local and would be expensive to cover for travel. We knew that the budget would need to be increased, and accepted this as part of the process.

Paying Expenses
In terms of travel expenses, we covered these from the rehearsal until the shoot dates. I worked out an average mileage of 25p per mile and checked that this was ok for the actors. Once the shoot days were finalised, I worked out the total mileage for each actor and asked the crew members to send me their travel receipts or mileage so I could work out their expenses. The travel expenses were our biggest expense at £347 for all cast and crew members.

Food
As well as travel expenses, we covered food from the audition day onwards also. This included a buffet for the auditions, lunch on rehearsal day and meals across the shoot days. As Producer, I went out to source all of the food. I made sure that I bought all of the value items to save money, whilst ensuring that I was purchasing enough to keep all of the cast and crew happy and contented on the shoot days. I wanted there to be options at both lunchtime and dinner time as I was catering for a large group and I didn't want there to not be enough of what people liked. For the second shoot day, we ordered pizza for the group. In hindsight, this was a drain on the budget at £40 but it was very popular with the cast and crew. I totalled all of the food expenses up at £170 which was the second biggest expenditure.

Hotel
I had advertised optional accommodation for the cast members during the casting process. As Sophie was travelling over 80 miles to get to the location, I booked her a hotel over the first weekend of filming which was a 2 day shoot. I shopped around for some quotes before booking the Mercure in Maidstone, as Sophie had a membership there. The cost of this expense was £125.

Props/Set Dressing and Costumes
The props and costumes weren't a huge expense as I was able to source a lot of them from home or purchase them at affordable prices. The only costume item, I needed to purchase was the pair of white trainers for Clive which I got from Pound land for £9. The biggest prop expenditure was the apples, of which I sourced almost 150 of for the shoot. The overall expenditure for props/set dressing and costumes was £95.

Composer
The last expenditure was the composer for the credits track. He was really keen to contribute to the project and was happy to work for an agreed £50 as he wanted to gain some more contacts and build his portfolio. We were very lucky to find someone who was very interested in the project and willing to work to a student budget.

Overall, I am pleased with my management of the budget and although the travel expenses in particular were rather expensive, I think that the decision to have the right cast was absolutely worth the extra expense. The other expenses were as expected and fairly minimal which helped to keep the budget down. As the Producer, it was mr job to organise all of the receipts which I kept together in a folder along with any cash for the budget. The receipts were very useful for keeping track of how much we were spending and for totalling up at the end. The final budget outcome was £787 which I think was a suitable figure, and not much over our ideal budget.