On reflection, I learnt a lot from the process of working out the idea for my FMP.

 

A week into our FMP, I was getting concerned, since the deadline for submitting our Official Proposal Document was getting closer and I was rejecting my second idea. I really don’t like to miss any deadlines.

 

I had to reject my first idea, of using different camera movement techniques to good effect to film a chase scene, due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown. To have filmed this I would have needed cast and crew, which was not possible since we weren't allowed to meet with anyone not in our household, or leave the house for "non-essential" reasons or spend longer than about 1 hour a day out exercising. When I filmed my last project, a Neo Noir Interactive film, it took 2 days from about 8am-8pm of pretty solid filming. All this knowledge let me see that there was no way I could get my chase idea filmed, from cast, crew, time and practical points of view. On reflection, I still feel that was the right decision. I am certainly fine with a challenge, but realism and practicality are also valuable and vital skills.

 

At this point, no one knew how long the lockdown would last, so it seemed more sensible to think of a different idea. I feel my strengths are for fiction films. However, when I evaluated the situation, I could see that all the issues that were a problem for my chase scene idea were also issues for many fiction film ideas that I was thinking of. My parents were being supportive and offered to crew for me. My tutor, Tom, suggested that maybe I could still do a fiction film by my parents acting. I could see that this could work, maybe using my house and garden as a location. However, from discussions, I was aware that neither of my parents felt comfortable with acting, and I respected their feelings. Again, I feel this was the right decision, since I was grateful to my parents for offering to crew for me and I think that consideration of other people's feelings is important.

 

What about me acting in it? After all, I ended up speaking to camera, so couldn't I just have acted instead? At the time, I didn’t seriously consider this, mainly because I too am not that comfortable acting to a camera. I act for my friends' films because they are my friends and I want to help them. Also, I act on stage with my drama group. So yes, I know I can act if called upon to, and I can enjoy it, for example, when I'm part of a supportive group on stage, or when acting for my friends when we are all together.  But at this point nothing was even remotely coming to mind as to what I could film with just me as an actor. So, although I didn’t exactly rule this idea out, I just left it at the back of my mind to bounce around a bit.

 

I was interested to try the process that my tutor Tom had suggested to come up with ideas. I detail that in my Initial Ideas section. Although I ended up rejecting the first idea that this produced, of a documentary/informative video about how Dungeons and Dragons (fantasy quest role playing game) can teach useful skills for real life, I feel that the process was a good one.

 

Reflecting upon why I wasn't convinced about this particular idea, is what revealed to me the flaw in how I was carrying out the process, which I discuss in my Initial Ideas section. So, I learnt early on in this project how useful reflecting on what you have done, and why you did it, is. I had made a mistake, but by reflecting, analysing and evaluating what I had done, I was able to correct it. That is a skill that I have used many times throughout this project and will use frequently in the future.

 

On reflection, I feel that idea I came up with finally, and went ahead with, of a documentary/informative video about "Camera Movement in Film and TV" was the right way to go. It tied in nicely with my reasons for initially wanting to do the chase scene, i.e. my fascination with Camera Movement. It enabled me to use, and develop further, skills that I have learnt on the UAL course this year. For example, all the camera movement that I have been incorporating in my films from the start, information delivery (in an interesting way) that I learnt in my Podcast, and use of 2 cameras which I started to experiment with in my Neo Noir Interactive film.

 

I had been concerned that my final documentary/informative video idea wouldn’t allow me to be as creative as I could be with a fiction film. However, when I did all my research, I started realising the possibilities for creativity are still there. I love planning and setting up camera shots, especially with a view of how I am going to edit them together. I learnt that not only could I still do this, but that actually it could be what makes the difference between a film looking amateur or more professional. For example, considering all the elements that will be in frame (mise-en-scene) is not just relevant for fiction filming, it is just as relevant for documentary/information style films, and if you don't plan for it, or you get it wrong then the audience can be quite unforgiving and not take in the information you are trying to impart. Audiences tend to be more forgiving of slight "cock-ups" in fiction films, and often fans delight in finding the shot of the medieval character who forgot to take his watch off. This is because they know it is not "real", even if it is set in current times. However, in a documentary/informative video they know that it "is real". Except it sort of isn't, it is still staged to a certain degree to make sure the audience still do what the director (me) wants, looks at the right place on screen and takes in the information that I want them to. But the creativity involved can’t be too obvious, or the audience could feel manipulated. So, still needs my creative skills. So that was good.

 

This idea also needed all my technical skills too. I had considered asking my Dad to be camera operator, since I knew he had the knowledge to allow me to direct him (as director/cinematographer) as to what I wanted to happen with the camera. But I ended up needing him as boom mic operator as he has stronger, and longer, arms than my Mum. My mum, by her own admission, has no experience at all with DSLR cameras, she prefers her phone camera. And after some experimentation I ended up filming using Manual not Automatic for filming. So, I couldn't rely on ANY knowledge from my Mum as to the camera operation. This meant that I had to set up the shot, with my Mum as stand-in for me, set the camera all up, arrange the lighting, frame the shot, focus it, so that literally all she had to do was press the button to start and stop filming. I had to practise the slider movement to get what I wanted, then walk my Mum through exactly how I wanted her to move the slider, speed, if I needed it paused at any point etc. I discuss further implications of this in my Filming Evaluation and Reflection. But, if I had thought that being in front of the camera would in any way limit the possibilities and challenges, I was wrong. This was every bit as challenging, and rewarding, as filming a fiction film.

 

Again, it makes me feel that, upon reflection, my final idea choice of "Camera Movement in Film and TV" has been the right one, allowing me to experiment with and develop a wide range of skills, apart from the obvious one of experimenting to show the difference that camera movement makes to a scene.