For this project I looked back on the production of the Alcoholic Project: Objective POV.

What you set out to achieve

The briefing for this project was to produce an objective sequence of an alcoholic looking for a drink, getting distracted and then continuing to drink. Since the course notes had been primarily about framing, this was also one of the focusses of the project. I added two additional objectives to what I wanted to achieve. The first was to create continuity of movement between shots and the second was to take advantage of high and low angles to convey meaning during the sequence.

How you can identify what you achieved

For this exercise, I did a shot by shot analysis of the final product. The analysis was a bit unstructured and relied primarily on my subjective view of what was important to that shot. Looking back on my analysis, I concentrated on the two objectives I set myself and paid less attention to other aspects such as framing, composition, decisions about what to include in the frame and what to leave out.

Whether you achieved this

For the continuity of movement objective, I believe this was achieved with the exception of one cut where the 180 degree rule had been broken and I needed to be creative with the cut to make the transition work.

For the high and low angle objective, the filming of these angles was achieved. As to whether they conveyed the meaning I intended, is a more subjective judgment. I believe that the angles did contribute to the meaning but others may have a different view.

What have you learned from this

• Pre-production planning makes the filming (and editing) significantly more efficient and organized.
• Coming up with a credible, interesting movie (even a short one that has a briefing) requires a certain amount of creative discipline.
• Storyboards are the key to the creativity process and pre-production.
• Something I did not do, but on reflection think will be very useful for the future, is to write up a set of clear statements about what I’m trying to achieve with the movie from the perspective of meaning, creativity, technical competence and any very specific objectives. These statements should drive any decisions I might have to make during planning, filming or editing. This list should include the elements of the project or assignment briefing.
• A second list that could be useful, that will be based on the statements in the bullet above, but only compiled after the storyboard is complete, is a checklist of what I will do at various stages during the process (i.e. during filming, during editing and on completion). This list will be more detailed and specific than the guiding statements, e.g. Shot X – the ceiling lights are not disturbing the composition of the low angle shots, Shot Y – the shot must be wide enough to enable the actor to be start off fully in-frame before they walk toward the camera and into a close up view. It would be complimentary to the storyboard.

These are my reflections on the more generalized questions:

Is it better to struggle and improve your weaker areas or should you cut your losses and focus on your strengths?

It is important to improve your weaker areas and enhance your strengths.How much effort and energy you put into improving those weaker areas depends on how critical they are to achieving your overall objective or, in the case of this course, how critical it is to becoming a competent film-maker.

How can you ever really know what your strengths and weaknesses are?

Identifying and acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses is the first step towards improving or enhancing those areas. Objectively analysing your work against a clear set of criteria will enable you to identify strengths and weaknesses. The criteria are most likely to come from the project briefing and your elaboration of that briefing. Feedback from course colleagues who know what your are trying to achieve can be extremely valuable and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your work. Feedback from others interested parties (family, friends, work colleagues etc.) can be very useful but should be viewed in the appropriate context. A friend is likely to give a subjective, first reaction to your work and whilst this is generally helpful in knowing whether you’ve ‘hit the mark’, it is unlikely to be a critical analysis. During this course, the feedback from your tutor is likely to be the most critical (in terms of content and importance) as at this stage they are commenting from a position of expertise, knowledge of the evaluation criteria and experience with similar work from other students. They are most likely to be providing very good pointers as to strengths and weaknesses and how those weaknesses can be addressed.

How can you know what you need to know if you don’t know what it is yet?

An interesting question. I think the answer relies on your ability to listen to others, objectively evaluate their feedback and decide if it is relevant and requires action. It also relies on your own subjective evaluations of your work. At some level, I believe we all know when we have produced a competent piece of work and when we haven’t. If we realize we haven’t done a great job, then a critical, honest and detailed evaluation of the work may help to highlight the areas that need to be improved.

Who can you ask or where can you find out?

Aside from the above mentioned people (Tutors, fellow students, colleagues etc.) there is a wealth of information on the internet (sometimes overwhelming) that will help. There are countless books on the subject that can guide you with a particular challenge. However, in most instances, no matter who you ask or where you get your information from, the key is in practicing, reflecting and then practicing again … and again.

How do you know if you have improved? When is it time to move on?

Comparison with earlier, similar projects is a good indicator of whether you have improved. Sometimes though, this can be difficult to do because each project will typically have a different focus and learning objectives. Possibly the best criteria to use in comparing earlier and later projects is the evaluation criteria that will be used for assignments.

Not every project is going to be a masterpiece – they are all part of the learning experience. It is important to evaluate your work, identify the strengths and weaknesses, determine what you will do about the weaknesses, possibly practice correcting the weakness and then move on. Over-correcting errors or repeatedly reworking a project can lead to stagnation and sometimes it is better to learn from the mistake but move on none-the-less.