Project Evaluation

I have now completed each stage of this project including the production and completion of the two minute video and a final draft of my 10 page short story as a script. I found the storytelling project quite challenging, as this was the first time I have attempted to write a script. Although, the camera workshops were very helpful as they allowed me to experiment with some of the tools on the cameras, learn about audio and how to shoot in the most efficient way, I still found it relatively challenging when I had to film for my video and set up the camera myself. When it came to thinking of an idea for the short story, I thought about the advice that Steve Coombes gave us where he said to think about our own experiences as this can help to think of and develop ideas. For the story, I started with location first as I was on a long train journey and decided that this would be a good location for a meeting as it is a confined space and somewhere we often are forced to interact with strangers nearby. I then decided I wanted a protagonist and an antagonist so that the audience will root for the 'hero' of the story. I decided I wanted my character of Natalie to be somewhat talented but not know it yet and to always doubt her ability. In this way, this makes her much more likeable than if she were completely confident and sure of herself. It took me a while to establish my idea and what I wanted the aim of the story to be but was happy when I had decided on the ending. When it came to writing the script itself, I found it very challenging making the transition from telling a story where you write detail about every aspect, describing how the characters are feeling and the events of their past. However, after submitting my first draft and receiving feedback from Steve Coombes, he said that I needed to focus less on any backstory or description because the action in the script should only focus on what the camera can see. I amended my script to remove any unnecessary description. I also decided to change some elements of the story itself including how Natalie loses her novel and the ending where she believes that John Smithers will publish the novel for her but instead publishes it under his own name.
For the video, I had a number of issues. I shot the video twice, the first time being in London which is where the script is set. However, there were a few problems with the final footage which meant that I needed to re-film. The second time, I shot the video in Rochester, which was a much easier and a less stressful location to film at. I also changed my cast to improve the performance so that it was fitting with the mood and atmosphere of the video. I had already filmed the video before making amendments to the script which meant that the events of the film are slightly different. After a second viewing with Simon, he suggested that I film a few glimpses of the man she meets on the train sitting at the platform and have him getting on the train after her. This makes the video fit the brief a bit more as it gives the audience a little hint about later events in the story.
In terms of improvements, I would say that I should have improved my planning of the shoot so that I was certain the cast and location would work and be fitting for the video. In the final video, I would have wanted to include more footage of the man she meets, maybe including him walking to the station as well, however, his pace being much slower to create contrast with the shots of Natalie. I would have also liked to put more emphasis on the natural sounds of her journey. I hadn't originally intended to use a lot of natural audio so in a few of the shots you can hear talking in the background. I would have also liked to have had more time to plan the filming in Rochester, maybe choosing a slightly busier location that would create a sense of a busier environment, so that the vibe of the video seemed more hectic and rushed.
Overall, I would say the project turned out relatively well, despite the changes I had to make within  the time constraints of the last two weeks. However, I enjoyed the element of writing a script as this was very new to me and found it really exciting using the cameras at the studios and learning more about Adobe Premiere for editing. I am looking forward to learning more as the course progresses and hopefully seeing an improvement in my skill level and work.

Re-shooting/Re-editing

I re-filmed the footage for my video with Laura and Jack in Rochester. The general plot and events of the video were incredibly similar to before as my character Natalie is still making her way to the train station. I wanted to do the filming roughly in chronological order so that the clips would be easy to find and edit without having to rummage around the folder looking for the right ones. We started in the morning at the halls for the Uni. Once I had looked through my storyboards, I decided that the very first scene where she is looking through her things in her room didn't add anything to the story and would be unnecessary. Therefore, I decided that the first shot would be Laura opening the front door to the flat and checking her watch before beginning her journey to the station. I wanted the shots to be quite fast paced as she is late and is struggling to get there in time. I covered quite a wide variety of shots that would show her walking there in the most interesting and visually exciting way. I used a few different locations on the way including the a tunnel near the halls and the station itself. However, as I had to shoot within a few days I could not get permission to film in the station and had to compromise by filming with my own camera for the shots of Laura running up the stairs and onto the platform before boarding the train. There is no dialogue in the video which means that the only thing we discover about her as a character is that she late for her train but I think this creates a bit of intrigue and hopefully will evoke some interest from the audience as to who she is and why she is so desperate to make her train in time. I also wanted to capture some natural sounds such as cars driving past and the sound of her shoes on the stairs to create quite a natural rhythm that gives you the impression of ongoing movement and the idea of a journey taking place. When editing, I found that I had covered quite a good variety of shots which was useful because I had quite a lot to work with so that I could choose the best ones. I found that when editing them together in a sequence, it was much easier to make the cuts flow well, whereas most of the shots in the previous footage where the location was changing all the time were much harsher. I also learnt some new things about Adobe Premiere from editing my footage the first time which allowed me to edit much more efficiently and with ease the second time.

I had my second viewing with Simon yesterday and he pointed out that with only footage showing Laura, you do not get any sense of a meeting between two people. This is because in the first two minutes of my script, she does not come into contact with the character John. However, he suggested that I filmed a few short clips of a man waiting at the station already. In contrast with Laura who is rushing, he would be calm and collected with the final shot being of him getting on the train after Laura. I filmed those clips with Josh at Rochester station. The character of John is dark haired and smartly dressed so Josh fitted the criteria for the part. I managed to get a couple of waiting shots of him sitting on a bench waiting and then looking at his phone before getting on the train. When editing this clips in, I think it works quite nicely, contrasting with Laura rushing through the station in comparison to him being completely relaxed, already waiting there. I also think that the final shot of him getting on the train creates suspense, almost leaving it on a cliff hanger as the audience are left thinking about when they will meet and for what reason.

Script Feedback/Development

Click on images to enlarge

After my script feedback session with Steve Coombes, I had quite a few adjustments to make to my script. He said that in a lot of my action, I was describing backstory as well as how Natalie is feeling which is too story like. For a script, the action should only describe what the camera can see so that when you're filming, the camera operators know what to film and how to do it. The characters and dialogue should help to convey what the story is about but the action should show it. When amending my script, I started a new draft and had the first draft open as a separate tab to work from. I noticed I used quite a lot of backstory about the character of Natalie in the first few bits of action. Therefore, I cut this out and focussed on telling the reader a bit more about what she looked like rather than the events of her past. Steve also suggested that I shorten the first section of the script where she is making her way to the train. I wanted the script to start
off with a short montage of her being late and rushing, just making the train in time. However, I used too many unnecessary scenes and dialogue in this first section which I have adapted and shortened. I wanted to keep in some of the opening dialogue including her neighbour wishing her a good weekend as this gives a hint that she's going away somewhere. He also suggested that I make the meeting itself into several short scenes as opposed to one long scene, making small changes to the way the conversation is set up. For example in my first draft for the main section where she describes what happens in her story, I said that this would be a montage. However, Steve suggested that I cut to a scene showing the montage itself so that when she is describing a location, it appears on the screen, therefore changing the setting and allowing the audience to really imagine her novel so that they believe in this world Natalie has created through her novel. I also changed the way that she loses her novel, as during my feedback, it was pointed out that even though the laptop had broken, it is very likely that she would be able to retrieve the data by taking it to a technician, therefore there would be no need for her to repeat it and write it down. To change this, I have altered it so that there is something unusual in the way that she works, in that she carries notepads wherever she goes and makes notes, observing her environment for ideas and therefore only has a hard copy of her novel on paper. For the way she loses it, the loose papers are sitting on a table in the train and due to a strong gust of wind are swept out of the train door and lost under the tracks. I think this is a much more final way of losing the novel because there is no way she can retrieve them, therefore she has to re-write it in that moment of time before she forgets it. I have also changed my ending slightly. I still wanted to leave it on a cliffhanger where John publishes the novel. However, previously he doesn't tell her that he is a publisher and leaves her thinking about he prospect of taking it to be published herself. However, I decided to alter this so that he is enthusiastic and excited about her novel, tells her that he would like to publish it for her, but instead publishes it under his own name, therefore taking the credit for it. I think this is a better ending as the audience will think that something good will finally happen for Natalie now she has been discovered but are left just as bewildered as her to find out that he deceives her.

Locations

When choosing my locations to film, I wanted the footage to look authentic, therefore I decided to film in London which is where the first two minutes of my script take place. The main location in my short story is on a train going to Nottingham from St Pancras. However, I decided to do the opening scenes for the video itself which required some stations in London. I went up to London with my friends, Lauren and Mitchell and we started in Angel which is where the character Natalie is currently living. I chose this area in my story as it is quite a small area that isn't too central therefore would be slightly quieter to film at. I shot some tracking shots of

Lauren walking down the streets, whilst showing some of the surrounding environment so that the audience would recognise it straight away. As she is rushing to the station, I wanted the environment to be busy and hectic to reflect the mood of the video. I then shot the video in chronological order, taking the journey with Lauren to St Pancras station on the tube and filming her along the way to capture quite a natural vibe. The tubes were incredibly busy making it quite a stressful location to film in. St Pancras station was also very chaotic with many people rushing around. Again, this was ideal for the footage itself but made filming for me quite difficult.  

                                                                       
For my re-filming. I chose Rochester as my location as this is a much less busy environment to work in which I thought would give me much more time to carry out each shot several times to achieve some footage of good quality. I also know the area very well, having spent lots of time in Rochester last year therefore, I could choose some locations that I thought would look good in the video. I started from the halls for UCA students as my script required some footage of Laura leaving a flat. I thought a flat would make the shots look most effective as I could capture her running down the stairs in a hurry to catch the train. I also thought that the train station in Rochester would be ideal to film at because it's not too busy, therefore I could take my time and not have to worry so much about getting in the way of people.

Re-planning

After editing some of the my footage from London, I was finding it difficult to cut everything smoothly with each aspect of the journey to the station not really linking and working as a final piece. After a first viewing with Simon, he suggested that I reshoot my footage using someone else as I wanted the mood and vibe of the video to give the impression that the character Natalie is rushing to get the station. In the script, she is struggling to reach St. Pancras in time to make her train but this did not come across in my footage as she looked quite calm and casual with not much facial expression. I have asked Laura to be in the reshoot and have decided to shoot the video in Rochester as this will be much easier to navigate and should allow each clip to cut more seemingly as the locations won't be too different. London was a very busy location to film at because of all the people and the general atmosphere of the city. Therefore, I will have more time in Rochester and a calmer atmosphere to work in to ensure I get a much wider variety of shots that I can edit more easily. The location will not accurately reflect my script but for the video to work as a final piece of work, I am going to aim to get across the idea of someone rushing to the station with very little time to spare in order to create tension and excitement for the audience to really engage them. I will pair this footage with some very fast paced music, eliminating dialogue so that it is quite quick and dramatic.

Shot-list 

Location: Flat 

- Medium shot - bedroom, grabbing items and walking out of the door
- Long shot - walking down the stairs
- Long shot - walking through hallway
- Medium shot - walking towards door, shot from behind
- Extra long shot - Front door from outside, leaving and walking towards the street

Location: Streets

- Tracking shot - over the shoulder walking up street
- Long shot from the side of Laura starting to run up the street
- Medium shot - from the front showing her expression
- Medium tracking shot - road in front, showing point of view
- Extra long shot - Laura crossing the road
- Close up of Laura looking concerned
- Tracking shot over the shoulder
- Extra long shot - Laura walking fast round the corner
- Extra long shot of the station, point of view


Location: Train Station

- Medium shot of Laura rushing through the doors
- Medium shot of the station boards, then again of Laura scanning them for her train
- Long shot of her walking through the barriers and round the corner
- Medium shot walking down the stairs
- Long shot of train coming into the station
- Long shot of Laura getting on the train

Storyboard
For the storyboard, it wasn't too difficult to adapt as I had my original story board and shot list to look at where most of the shots and angles could be used again. The story itself is still the same so I just needed to consider a new location and how I could use that to tell the same story so that it wasn't too altered. Here I have included two pages from my new storyboard.

Filming/Editing - Take 1

For my video, I booked one of the Sony EX cameras out for my filming as I wanted the filming to be of good quality and these are the cameras that were in most demand. To play the character of Natalie, I asked my friend Lauren who fitted the criteria for the part. As a crew member, I asked my friend Mitchell to come up to London with me and Lauren in order to help me carry the equipment and ensure I wasn't getting in the way of the public. For my shoot, I filmed in several different locations in Central London including Angel tube station and St Pancras International station. However, I set the first sequence in Maidstone at Lauren's house which isn't ideal as the script is set in a flat but I needed the interior of the house in order to show her collecting her things before leaving for the train. I intended on editing this into the film so that it appeared that she lived in Angel. The first stage of filming was quite simple and easy to carry out as I could do each shot several times without being pressured for time. I set up the microphone before leaving so I could just attach it straight away when I got to London. Shooting in London was incredibly stressful and busy because of the amount of people and the buzzing atmosphere. However, we kept moving and I did quite a few natural shots of her walking around to get a sense of the environment. In order to get enough shots of each scene, we carried out the same journey that the character would so we walked through Angel to the station and got the tube to St Pancras International. I wanted to incorporate as many of the shots in my storyboard as possible as well as a few extra ones, using a variety of angles so that I would have more footage to choose from in the editing process. Overall, the filming took about 3 hours because each time we left a location, I had to pack the camera away completely to keep it safe when moving through stations. Filming on the tube was particularly difficult because it is a very confined space with lots of people which made travelling with the camera bag quite difficult.
When editing, I found it quite difficult locating all of the clips as I didn't shoot everything in the correct order. This was because I wanted to get a wide amount of coverage to give me more to work with when editing. I tried to use as many shots as possible and think I managed to get a good range. When editing, I found that the clips edited together quite smoothly, however, when the location changed, the cut was much less smooth and continuous. I wanted the vibe of the video to give the impression that she was rushing because she wants to make her train to Nottingham. In the script, there are a few interruptions including a queue at the station which push her for time, creating suspense so that the audience isn't sure whether she will make the train in time. However, looking back at my shots, she doesn't look like she's rushing at all, this was quite difficult to capture which means that it doesn't reflect my script. I decided to use Adobe Premiere to edit the video as we have had our editing workshops with Fergus and I felt confident enough with what I learnt to be able to use this software for my video. I found it relatively easy to use when editing the video as each aspect of the editing process is divided into sections with your sequence at the bottom. This makes it easy to see with the monitor just above, allowing me to view each section I edit straight away. I experimented with different audio but have not chosen anything final.

Today, I had a viewing with Simon so he could see a rough cut of how we were getting on with editing. Looking at it now, the footage I had shot with Lauren in London did not match up with the opening two minutes of my script as Natalie is supposed to be rushing to make her train in time. However, in the video, she looks quite calm and casual, therefore taking away from the theme and mood of the piece entirely. The best thing for me to do is to reshoot the footage, choosing a different actor and location that will allow me to get the idea of my character rushing to make her train across to the audience. I have learnt that London was too daring as my location as there are far too many interruptions as well as a fast paced and busy atmosphere which is difficult to work with.

Storyboard and Shotlist

Before shooting any production, a storyboard and shotlist are very important parts of the process. Storyboards are a series of sketches and a planning tool to allow you to visualise a piece of work before beginning to shoot it. They can be incredibly detailed or diagrammatical. You should focus on the key frames and moments that make up your sequences so you can recreate them in the production process. Action dependant films often use a lot of storyboards as they can be fast paced and incorporate several people and props/equipment which requires extensive planning and thought. Storyboards can be used at all stages of the process including conception as a way of conveying the concept for a piece. However, they are mostly used during preproduction to enable each department to work out what will be required.
There are three main styles for a storyboard. These include a graphic style which is the most detailed version and used in action dependant films to allow the crew to work out exactly how each shot will be carried out. Diagrammatical is the next style and the most widely used. It is less artistic but still gives you an idea about the design of a shot. The last style is plan view which is one drawing for each scene and is viewed from above for camera positions and angles.


To create a shot-list, you must include a variety of shots to create diversity and interest for a piece of work. Some of the most commonly well known shots are as follows:

-Extreme long shot (ELS)
-Long shot (LS)
-Wide shot (WS)
-Medium shot (MS)
-Close up shot (CU)
-Extreme close up (ECU)
-Tilt shot (Panning)
-Crane shot - move without using depth of field
-Pan shot - from fixed position
-Tracking shot - camera follows something
-Dolly shot - using tracking device, not on rails

My Storyboard

I decided to choose more of a diagrammatical approach for my story board because I felt that this would allow me to understand what each shot was showing and the most important aspects of it. I think if story boards are too specific then this doesn't allow you to picture anything different that what you have planned when it comes to actually shooting your film. I divided my page into four shots, as I thought this left a relatively large box for each shot. I wrote the shot number and location at the top and some directions under the sketch. This helped me to assess where I will be filming each shot and what I would be looking at. I found story boarding quite helpful as a way of organising how I want the events of the video to unfold and how I would like my shots to cut in and out from each other. I will take them with me to film to help me remember the shots I would like to include in the video and to ensure I don't leave anything out. Here I have taken photos of the first and last pages of my storyboard which show how I laid out each shot and labelled them so that I could tell what each shot would require in regards to location, shot and the surrounding environment.




Location: Flat 

- Medium shot - bedroom, grabbing items and walking out of the door
- Long shot - walking down the stairs
- Long shot - walking through hallway
- Medium shot - walking towards door, shot from behind
- Extra long shot - Front door from outside, leaving and walking towards the street

Location: London - Streets

- Tracking shot - From behind walking up street
- Long shot from the side starting to run up the street
- Medium tracking shot - road in front, showing point of view
- Extra long shot -  crossing the road
- Tracking shot over the shoulder
- Extra long shot - walking fast round the corner
- Extra long shot of the tube station


Location: Tube Station/St Pancras 

- Medium shot from behind walking up the stairs to the station
- Long shot walking through tube station towards exit
- Close up showing concerned expression
- Medium shot walking towards barriers
- Long shot of her walking through the barriers to the platform
- Long shot of train coming into the station
- Long shot - getting on the train from the inside

Screenwriters

Abi Morgan
Abi Morgan is a British screenwriter and playwright known for her television work including 'The Hour' and 'Sex Traffic'. She gained her first professional television writing credit in 1998 with the ITV drama 'Peak Practice'. I was particularly interested in looking at Abi Morgan as I found out that she was the screenwriter on 'Suffragette'. This is a film I found really moving with an excellent script that made me feel compelled throughout. When talking about her approach she has said that rewriting constantly is a key aspect to achieving the right script as it allows you to peel back the layers of a draft and discard each version, improving it until you reach a final draft of the best possible quality. However, she often takes all of her drafts with her when working with others in order to gain ideas from them and get a variation of opinions. Morgan has stated with 'Suffragette, one of the most important things was that she wanted to incorporate men in the story as well so that men were encouraged to watch the film also as 'it is a two sex war' which won't work unless there is support from both genders. I thought this was a very wise move when writing it because otherwise, it would be a case of only women fighting for their rights without any male voices to support them whilst appealing to both sexes in the audience.
I think that her method of working is very effective, in keeping all copies of her script. This is something I would like to ensure I do when writing scripts so I can look back and refer to previous drafts where some aspects could be used for a final production. This is also a great way of seeing the development and improvement in your work so you can look at what was successful and what wasn't for future reference.

Chris Chibnall
Chris Chibnall is a screenwriter best known for his work on tv series' including Doctor Who, Broadchurch, Torchwood and Law & Order: UK.  His first script produced for television was 'Stormin Norman' starring James Bolam. He worked on Doctor Who from 2007-2012 as one of many writers. Having watched several series of Doctor Who, I would say that the writing is very interesting. Each time there is a new Doctor and side kick they manage to convey a good relationship between them which is incredibly important for the audience because we are supposed to root for them and support them when they get in trouble with any of the many antagonists in the series. There are many aspects which help this including good acting and filming but none the less, without a good script to begin with, this is quite an impossible task. I was particularly interested in looking at his work as I have looked at Broadchurch as my British drama and thought the script was very interesting and thought provoking. I liked the way he created tension and suspense whilst still keeping the dialogue very realistic and natural. The series itself received very positive reviews with critics and was popular with its audience, bringing in 9 million viewers for the final episode of the opening series. I thought the use of characters was very strong in this series as Chibnall managed to make them relatable as real individuals. This was particularly successful with the character of Ellie Miller as she was the 'hero' of the drama who we as an audience rooted for.

Jack Thorne
Jack Thorne is an English screenwriter and playwright. He is most well known for his work in tv on programmes such as Skins, Cast offs and This is England '86. Skins is a British TV series that focusses around a group of teenagers in Bristol. It covers a number of serious issues including mental illness, drug abuse and bullying. Each episode will centre around one character and the problems they face in their own life. Not only does this demonstrate some of the serious but very real problems that people have but has an educational factor as well, bringing these issues to attention. For my short film, I have decided to choose drama as the genre which means that I will need to focus on dramas such as Skins. I want my story to seem quite realistic and natural which is why I think Skins will make good reference material for my project.

Editing Workshops

On Fridays we have been spending the morning at Rochester UCA in the DM rooms, experimenting with Adobe Premiere and learning more about editing. Adobe Premiere is quite an advanced piece of software with lots of features and tools to make a video of good quality. It is the most commonly used  editing software by professionals so learning more about how to use it could be beneficial later on. Using a series of clips showing a short documentary about coffee bean farming, we were instructed on how to import them into the media browser so they could be easily looked at and analysed. You can then choose to have them in list form so it is easy to see which clips you are looking at. Using the hand tool, you can select them all and drag them up to the left hand corner which is called the source monitor. On here you can run the mouse over a clip and it will give you a quick run through of the clip allowing you to watch it quickly without having to open it and watch it on the program monitor. The program monitor shows the clips you have edited so far so you can watch them in a sequence as a final piece. Below this is the timeline which shows the clips individually and this is where you cut them to produce your video. By running the mouse over a clip you can drag either side in or out to reduce or increase the length of the clip, this can be very precise, allowing you to get really sharp cuts that are on time. The timeline is also used for audio which can be placed in different positions depending on how prominent the audio is and where you like it to come in. We were given the task to look at the clips and organise them into different folders to make it easier to select what you're looking for. For example shots showing the coffee beans being picked would come under the category 'Coffee bean farming'. Using this tool was very useful at keeping the media browser very organised and tidy. For this set of clips the audio was separate from the footage. This is much simpler to edit because you can cut the audio separately and insert it anywhere on the timeline. Fergus showed us how to use the timeline and insert a section of a clip. To select a section you have to select an in and out point by clicking 'I' and 'O' which will allow you to cut a clip down the section you want. We were then given some time to experiment with selecting relevant clips and making a short sequence, adding audio to add emphasis and bring the clips to life. In another editing session we were given a series of clips from a tv programme where the audio wasn't matched with the video clips. Using some of the tools, Fergus had shown us, we had to cut the clips into place so that the audio flowed correctly with the visuals. This was quite challenging and tricky to do as each clip had to cut seamlessly into another in order for it to work as a piece but this was made easier by using the Ripple edit tool. This tool enables you to cut down a clip to a fine cut so that you can make the sequence look as smooth as possible. Lastly we used the Edit controls section and learnt about colour correction. There are several different ways of editing the lighting and colour of a clip so that it looks correct and matches any other clips. In particular we looked at the Three way colour corrector which is a collection of colour wheels that you can use to pick out highlights and shadows as well as tints to edit the colour in as much detail as you want.