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chelizefilmworkshop · 7 months ago

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Reflection

Throughout this module, I have learned more about the role of a producer. As a producer, I am responsible for overseeing the entire film production process, from the initial concept to the final product. I work closely with the director and writer, influencing their roles significantly. Over the course of the term, we have gone from a blank sheet of paper to a fully developed film, which I am incredibly proud of, considering the challenges we faced to get to the final product.

Pre-production

The pre-production phase started off smoothly. The initial grouping of me, Ethan (Director), and Nick (Writer) was interesting, and I was looking forward to seeing what we could accomplish in the upcoming weeks. Not long after, we were grouped with our actors, Samuela and Jordan. The instant connection between us and the actors was evident, and they were willing to fully commit to this project. The collaboration between the team and the actors was instant, and we all shared and listened to each other's ideas. We saw this as an opportunity to involve everyone in the process, given that we had all been paired up so early on in the process.

what pushed the intitial ideas was the delgation of lines from the lecturers that we had to develop into a script/ story for our film. what came out of the intitial meetings/ sessions was a detective esc drama/ horror that would play into the concept of the dark web/ red rooms. The actors loved this and offered ideas on the story and their charcters which helped us understand how to accomidate their style of acting. A few weeks later we had gotten a first draft of the script from our writer and we all loved this initial concept. there was some feedack and issues from the lecturers about the idea of showing gore in the film (and logistically as a producer i was unsure of how to pull this off), so our writer went away and tweaked/ developed the script more. It was a battle to develop an idea/ script that not only the leacturers approved of, bt we could realistically pull off. There was conflicts between our writer, Me and the director, and the lecturers. what ended up happening was a major rewrite of the script, which understandably our writer did not like as his idea was comletyly changed. after a lot of debate and stuggle we finally made it out with a script that our writer and the lecturers could settle on and my job began.

Due to the script issues, my role as a producer was delayed, leading to issues that could have been avoided. While I was on top of paperwork and crew recruitment, location scouting became a significant challenge. We had been searching for locations that could resemble a detective office, but due to university policies, many suitable rooms were restricted and could not be used. Initially, we had planned to film in mid-October, but due to only securing a fitting location for November 1st, we had to change our plans. This change meant that equipment needed to be sorted, some crew members were swapped out due to conflicting schedules, and our actors needed to be made aware of these changes. This change in date meant we had to compromise and sacrifice our initial plans. Our actors informed us that they could only come to the set at 11 am, and one would have to leave before 5 pm. This meant I had to ensure that the call sheet and shooting schedule were changed, and we had to change the order of how this shoot would go.

Production

Call time for crew was 9:30am. I made sure to emphasize this as we needed to pick up kit the same time and would need all the crew to help. This early start also meant that we could set up and shoot some b-roll to avoid it biting into our time with the actors. It got to 9:30 and only 5 out of 12 crew members showed up. I was extremely disappointed and felt disrespected. What made it worse was nobody informed me that they would be late, and when they got to set an hour (or some people 2 hours) there was no apology or accountability. Looking back, I wish I had pulled my crew up on this, but due to the time being already wasted, I chose against it. This delay meant that the actors had arrived, and we were still setting up. This also meant that no b-roll was shot and would be scrapped to make sure we got our actors coverage. Shooting only started at 1pm which was not ideal. Luckily, we picked up our pace and when it came to the lunch break, we already had half of the coverage. After the break we knuckled down and got all of Samuela's coverage just before she had to leave at 5pm. After that we got all Jordans coverage and wrapped up with him around 6/6:30pm. Just as Ethan suggested we shoot some b-roll that was missed earlier in the day, certain crew members disregarded the idea and were adamant they had to leave (even though I had scheduled the shoot till 8pm). Before me or Ethan could respond, these members of the crew had already begun packing away their kit and not long after that left. These members of the crew were the same people who showed up late, which really angered me and Ethan. We felt like they had not respected us and the project and do not plan on working with them in the future. However, I want to express my deep gratitude to Flo, Jacob, and Ben for their unwavering support. They stuck around to help take down the set, pack away kit, and even offered to store items and return them with us the following Monday. Their dedication and support were truly appreciated.

Post-Prouction

Not a lot to say about post as it all went smoothly and there were no major issue with footage or sound. only issue would be the lack of b-roll for our editor to use due to certain crew leaving before it could be shot.

A list of what I've learned:

I've learned about the collaboration between each role and how each one can effect the outcome of the film.

The importance of time management.

Working with actors earlier in the filming process can be helpful and allow you to tailor a film better when you have them in mind.

Improvals:

Schedule better

Have crew meeting before the shoot to develop a better chemistry on set

Cater to the actors more on set

Be more strict on call time and pull up people more

Final Thoughts

I have enjoyed this process, immersing myself in the intricate role of a producer and learning how to effectively collaborate with actors. This journey has been a source of immense determination and growth. A key lesson I've learned is the importance of being assertive and vocal about on-set issues, rather than letting them slide. This proactive approach will undoubtedly serve me well in future projects, helping me to prevent such issues from recurring.

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