Evaluation

Throughout the three stages in the production process for the final major project "Repression" I believe we dealt with the important issues as a team but upon seeing the finished film, it has been possible for me to identify various improvements at each level of the production.




We worked together to come up with a set of Initial Ideas that all leaned towards the sub genre of British Social Realism. This suited the themes of homophobia, racism and abuse that we were concentrating on within the genre of Drama. It also made filming easier as the locations needed were available in our region. The run down estates and anonymous backdrop would make creating a convincing Mise-en-scene a more realistic task than it would be for say a horror film where finding convincing locations on a very limited budget and doing it convincingly is a more difficult task in Weymouth.


Scouting the bridge scene on the Location Recce

On the whole the pre production was completed without problems, important aspects such as the storyboards were worked on with input from all members of the team because we all have a role in every aspect of production whether they are our asigned roles or not. This is because the decisions made at this stage are likely to directly affect the work that has been asigned to us. The editor had to observe the camera work because it could stop them from being able to complete the film in the way they intended because of the availability and length of certain shots. Therefore a difference in visions of the finished production by members of the group meant that the filming deviated from the storyboards by a shot. Although i don't believed it suffered as as a result of this. I do think that in future producions it would be preferable to co-ordinate with all members as to exactly what they want to film & following this up, they should visualise each shot exactly during the Location Recce to be certain that it would create a convincing real time ellipsis between shots.




One important conclusion that we reached from the preliminary project was the importance of refering to the call sheets and storyboards during the filming as prior failure had left us with many shots missing. We built on this mistake and the filming for the main project was fully completed with at least two takes of each shots providing the editor with cuttting space at each end. However the over reliance on the storyboards in comparision to the call sheets made their creation somewhat redundant. To prevent this happening and keeping to schedule is important in the professional industry and it should be consulted regulary to ensure the production is keeping to schedule. If we had been filming earlier in the year then any delays could have meant us running out of daylight and potentially ruining the continuity and verissimilitude of the film by shooting at a later date.
The establishing shot














One of the most effective parts of the pre production was that of the Location Recce and our research into British Social Realist Drama that influenced the choices we made. The film opening sequences we studied were for Love + Hate and A Way Of Life. Both of them dealt with the theme of racism and the characters reaction towards it. This has parallels in a film about homophobia where the only important difference is the victim. Both the research and our film "Repression" concern working class identity and the characters difficulty to be accepted. I feel that without this research then we would not have been able to establish the right atmosphere for the piece through the use of a soundtrack and the filming and editing techniques that remove the elements of escapism found in other genres by focusing the lense on this single individual and providing a melancholic soundtrack that reinforces the characters emotions to the audience. Conforming to the codes and coventions of British Social Realism help the audience to identify our film as one within the opening two minutes.

During the actual production of "Repression" there were strengths and weaknesses that have been identified. One of these weaknesses was the locations that we filmed being in public spaces where people often obstructed the shot during filming requiring numerous re takes. This can't be helped when filming in public but we could have alotted ourselves more time in the worst affected locations such a along the Weymouth Backwater so that we won't feel rushed to film within the schedule. Fortunately all the talent we used were reliable and turned up when expected so we had no issues in this regard although the quality of the acting left something to be desired, i don't believe it was so poor as to obstruct the message we were trying to display through facial expressions, body language etc, although it was helpfull that they had no dialogue.
The characters roles are clear here








We could also have improved on some of the camerwork in a few shots. I failed in some of the longer shots to have the natural horizon in the centre of the image, shooting at too high an angle. This was casued by the combination of poorly detailed pictures in the storyboards and a lack of judgement on my behalf. To some extent this can be put down to learning through mistakes but it could also have helped to have had more knowlege of the conventions of filming when the storyboards were being drawn.

At the post preduction stage, my prior experience with Adobe Premier meant that we were able to use the more professional software then otherwise. This gave us more control over making fine edits and transitions. At first the editors lack of experience with this software delayed the editing process but this was overcome with advice from the other members of the group. I think that the added time it took outweighed the superior quality of the final product than it would have been using other software. One bonus was the time reduction feature which made it possibe to compensate for some of the problems with the footage. For example when the stalker was walking too close to his victim and there was a very short gap between the two when they were both off shot. We expanded this segment by reducing time to about 5% making the distance between the two more convincing.
The Adobe Premier Pro software being used



A major problem encountered was the possibility that we would be unable to use the soundtrack we had found at the pre production stage due to copyright issues. The dependance we had on this music was highlighted by this. We had no diagetic dialogue in the opening sequence and the music was key in establishing the atmosphere of the piece. It would have been a good idea to have some form of dialogue or original music in the piece so we weren't so dependant on one source and emotions it was meant to induce. Thankfully our copright for the piece was found and we were able to use it but it could have been a major issue for our film.

The copyright for the track

Any use of music in this film complies with 'Fair Dealing' under the 1988 Copyright Designs and Patents Act (UK), Sections 6(i) and 6(ii);Fair dealing is a term used to describe some limited activities that are allowed without infringing copyright. Briefly these are as follows:Section 6i. Research and private studyCopying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or of a typographical arrangement of a published edition for the purpose of research or private study is allowed under the following conditions:· The copy is made for the purposes of research or private study.· The copy is made for non-commercial purposes.· The source of the material is acknowledged.· The person making the copy does not make copies of the material available for a number of people.ii Instruction or examinationCopying parts of a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work or a sound recording, film or broadcast for the purpose of instruction or examination is allowed under the following conditions:· The copying is done by the student or the person giving instruction.· The copying is not done via a reprographic process.· The source of the material is acknowledged.· The instruction is for a non-commercial purpose

Again the thorough pre production work had given us a clear instruction as to how we should create the titles and edit each shot. This was important when members of the group were away and the others knew exactly what they needed to do. This asset was emphasised when I was unable to make it to college for a week and the editing was still able to be completed exactly as we had all envisioned . This good planning was useful in making the other stages of the production a lot simpler and easiet, therefore it achieved what pre production work is meant to do.
The takes selected for the editing







The final film was completed without major problems and from seeing it I think that the lighting and sequence of the film were done without any serious issues. The greyish, dreary locations suited the downbeat mood of the film and the progression from suburban to urban was convicing through the use of shots that didn't reveal where the characters were going within the current location. With the exception of one shot we managed to keep the stalker victems face from facing the area of the camera. This was done intentionally to make him seem elusive and unobtainable to the stalker. Although if i could do it again i would have changed the one shot where the victem was facing the camera as it somewhat spoiled the effect we were trying to create. I also think the point of view shots were particularily effective as they conveyed the sense of fear the stalker character was supposed to be feeling. The reverse close shot of his face created a claustraphobic environment for the audience that emphasises his social awkwardness.
The talent

Overall I think our film achieved the intentions we had by creating a sequence that established the film to the audience without revealing any important plot points too early on. The main character and their environment were introduced effectively through the use of Mise-en-scene to establish class and background through the grim locations and appropiate costume. My main issue with the piece was the sound and i believe that the use of some diagetic ambient sound would have created a more emersive environment for the audience to be absorbed by. This is important in creating the Realism in British Social Realism and we failed to do this. The sounds of traffic and other man made noises would have improved this.