Evaluation Question 4 - How Did You Use Media Technologies in the Construction, Research, Planning and Evaluation Stages?

I also used the clone stamp tool to edit the main image for my double-page spread to make it look more professional. 

Overall

What Went Well?

• I produced a short film which successfully both conformed and challenged the conventions of drama short films with the intended effect on the audience.
• I used media technologies effectively to enhance my production skills and the overall quality of my work.
• I used the internet amongst other sources available to me to construct thorough planning and research, which enabled me to write a believable and relatable narrative
• I was organised and used my time wisely which lead me to meet deadlines on time and have a detailed pre-production portfolio which aided me during filming to make the most of the filming days I had.
• I used non-destruvtive editing software to edit my short film and in this process learnt that although filming is key, it's the way you edit in post-production that really makes the product and determines whether it will engage your target audience or not 
• I created two supporting ancillary texts to go alongside my short film that were not only conventional but also had synergy with my short film, creating an effective promotional package.

What Went Wrong? 

• Some of the scenes I filmed differed from my script. For example, in the kitchen scene Gen spotted that Henry had left the tap on, when originally this was supposed to be a boiling pan on the stove. This was due to the stove not working, and also because eventhough I conducted health and safety assessments when visiting my location prior to filming, I did not check with the home owner whether such things like the stove worked, I just assumed it did which is why it was included in my script as part of the narrative. 
• When I wrote my script I didn't take into account how long the film would be. For example, I didn't do any timed read-throughs with the actors beforehand and the first time they all met was on the first day of filming. This led to my film being two minutes over the allowed length, meaning I had to cut it down for my final draft. During pre-production if I had done a read-through and timed how long it took to go through the script scene-by-scene, I could've edited the narrative down then which would have meant that the filming days could've been cut shorted because we wouldn't have had to film as many scenes. However, having to cut down the film provided me with some constructive audience feedback which has been useful when evaluating my work. 
• Due to how much time I spent editing my video, I didn't spend as much time on my ancillary texts, and I am therefore aware that my doube-page spread isn't as good as my poster and isn't at the standard I would like it to be. For example, I don't like the font I used for the main article on the page.

What Would I Do Differently? 

• I would have timed a reading of my script before I sent the final copies to the cast so that I would know how long it was and been able to cut out scenes which were not needed. (However, over-filming did lead me to have a lot of footage to chose from which was useful in my edit because I could pick the best shots from the scenes I had). 
• I would've spent more time on my double-page spread.
• I would've got audience feedback a lot earlier on in my production process (when my first draft was published) as this would've allowed me to make changes according to their responses.