Idea:

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There was quite a broad spectrum with this project although it gave me more creative freedom then I had previously experience on the course, it also made deciding what to do difficult. However from the start of this project I knew I wanted to do something I hadn't yet done because I constantly want to push myself and learn rather than repeat myself. After deciding on my idea the proposal really helped me to consider my idea in my depth and to think through the detail. I was quite nervous to do my pitch I find that I'm more comfortable to write rather than present. At the beginning of writing my pitch it very much just my idea written out and did not appear like a pitch. However after speaking with my tutor Tony I was able to think about what I write more as pointers of what to talk about. I was really happy with how my pitch turned out and the feedback helped me to gain confidence in my idea. 

 

Research:

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I decided I needed a better understanding of the horror genre if I was going to create my own horror short. To do this I researched tropes, codes and conventions of horror which was very helpful it defiantly helped me to understand horror and consider what I could use in my story. A problem I faced at this point was trying to turn an idea into a compelling story. This lead me to research narrative theory and also helped me to find a method for hitting the right story beats. I then applied this to my own idea which was how I started to create my story I think without researching this I wouldn't have made a solid story. I will use these story telling methods in future projects because it just made it so easy to turn my idea into a narrative. One of my ideas was use a blue hue in my lighting I'd never tried to do anything abstract with my lighting before. After I tested my lighting I held a focus group to discuss it I found it challenging and quite time consuming however I think the pay of in the final product was worth it. 

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Planning:

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I had identified my planning to be a weak point in my previous projects I felt I had never left enough time to complete tasks resulting in limited time for my production. However after identifying this I ensured I had plenty of time to do my planning. This meant I could focus on my story board and screen play. I received feedback that my narrative was well thought out and flowed really well. I was very much on track and had lots of time for production until I had to change my plans to adhere to the government guidelines regarding Corona Virus. This meant I had to make a choice on whether to change my story or jeopardise my production and final product by acting in my film myself. I felt like this was a significant point in my course because I had never faced a problem that wasn't my own doing and despite trying my hardest to be prepared this sudden change to my plan had to be dealt with. Although I am happy with the choice I made the repercussions of that choice did effect my production. 

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Production:

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My planning really helped to make my shoot run smoothly while filming I constantly had my shot list and story board available to look at. This really helped me to keep track of what I have already filmed and what else I still needed. This was a weak point I had observed in previous projects I noticed after filming I had missed some shots I needed. However I learnt from my mistakes and this time my schedule was well planned out. As I've mentioned I had to change my plan to follow government guidelines this involved me acting in my short instead of being behind the camera. Also because the location was in my house I couldn't have anyone from my course filming either. This resulted in my family having to use the camera equipment. I underestimated how much this would effect my production having to constantly run back and forth to check the shot and having to do lots of retakes made every shot I had planned took twice as long. This was a change I hadn't fully prepared for and resulted in using the time I had allocated for reshoots which meant I could no longer spare time to do reshoots. I could tell that this effected my final product and if I had more time I would have reshot some scenes where the lighting and continuity doesn't work.

 

Conclusion:

 

Although I'm aware that my final product isn't perfect especially concerning the filming I'm proud that I was able to change my whole plan to fit with the restrictions. I thought that I did my best to work around such a big change however in future projects I need to allow more time for filming and reshoots in case I need to make any big changes again. However these circumstances are completely unprecedented and I'm happy with my final product considering the changes I had to make. 

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