Unit 12: Producing a Feature Film

 

Task 1: Research

Fact Sheet

 The role that I wish to be interviewed for is the role of 'director'. The director is person during the production of a film who controls the making of a film and supervises the actors and technical crew.

My Media CV

My Application Letter

The 'Coming-of-Age' Drama Genre

 TV drama is a popular genre that has been captivating audiences for decades. It refers to fictional programs that are designed to be shown on television and typically feature complex characters, intricate storylines, and emotional content. Some of the most popular TV dramas include shows like "Game of Thrones," "Breaking Bad," and "The Sopranos."

Codes and Conventions of a 'Coming-of-Age' Drama

 TV dramas have certain codes and conventions that are used to create the desired emotional impact and keep the audience engaged. These include:

 Character development: TV dramas typically feature complex characters that evolve over time. This can involve exploring their backstory, personality traits, motivations, and relationships with other characters. The audience is drawn to these characters and invested in their personal journeys.

 Plot twists: TV dramas often include unexpected plot twists that keep the audience on the edge of their seats. These can be used to create suspense, shock, or surprise, and are often used to build tension before a climactic scene.

 Emotional content: TV dramas often deal with heavy emotional themes like love, loss, betrayal, and redemption. The audience is drawn to these themes and invested in the emotional journeys of the characters.

 Cinematography: TV dramas often use elaborate cinematography to create a specific visual style that reflects the tone and mood of the show. This can involve using different camera angles, lighting, and colour palettes to create a unique atmosphere.

 Music: TV dramas often use music to create a specific mood and enhance the emotional impact of certain scenes. This can involve using original music or licensed tracks to create a unique sonic identity for the show.

Using codes and conventions in your own 'Coming-of-Age' drama

 To create a unique visual style, I would experiment with different camera angles, lighting, and colour palettes to create a specific mood and tone for the episode. As the director, I have been working a lot with the art department throughout pre-production to try and make sure there is a consistent style of direction, whether it's through costumes or production design. I personally am a surrealist when it comes to things like this, so this project has been an exercise in toning that down, in order to create a more realistic and grounded environment for the characters and the story. I would also use music to create a unique sonic identity that reflects the emotional themes of the story, which may include looking through music tracks with the editor during post-production.

 Ultimately, the key to creating a successful TV drama is to create a story that is engaging, emotionally resonant, and visually compelling. By using the codes and conventions of the genre, it is possible to create a show that stands out from the crowd and captures the attention of the audience.

Task 2: Your Role on the Shoot and Your Team

My Role

 My role on this project is 'Production Designer'. This means that I will work closely with the director in order to ensure that costumes and sets match the shared vision between him and I. This also means that I am the manager of the Set Designer and Costume Designer, and I am basically their own director in my own right. I work closely with them to make sure that the work fits my standard, because if it doesn't, it could negatively impact not only the quality of the film, but also the world that we are immersing the audience into.

Peer Review

 Maisie Smith is my Set Designer. During pre-production, we have been working tirelessly together to design high quality sets that match our vision and the world we are creating. My role is important to the set designer, as I am the one 

What Went Well

 Maisie is focused and hard-working, and often sketches her ideas so that it is easier to see her vision.

What Went Wrong

 Maisie's ideas usually end up not being fully realised due to our budget, and the end result usually looks nothing like the concept.

How I Affected Their Role

 I am her manager, and her point of contact for the director. I overlook any of her creative decisions.

Anonymous Peer Review Sheet

 We filled out anonymous peer review sheets in class. This is the one I received:

 I agree with most answers this person put about me, however this person does not understand that I was not on set for the scenes filmed on location, because I live very far from all of the locations that they chose, I could not make it for any of them.

My Team

 My team is the production design team which consists of me (Production Designer), Maisie (Set Designer), and Shayne (Costume Designer). Maisie and Shayne work on set and costume, while it is my job to overlook their work, and communicate our progress and ideas with the director.

Task 3: Pre-Production

The Schedule

V1

V2

V3

The Screenplay (Sample)

The Director's Character Concept Slideshow

Make Up Mood Boards

Shayne's Costume Slideshow

Task 4: Production

 11/01/24 - Today we completed the first filming day on our schedule, which was shot in the mock doctors office in the college. My job was mostly done when we arrived on set as it was a practise room for medical students so the furniture was not a worry. It was mostly about putting more posters on the wall, and adding a few more medical items to make the room feel like this is actually someone's office.

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 15/01/24 - I was not able to make it to set today, however my team knew what they were doing, as well as the fact that this scene was filmed in a real café so it was less to worry about set and more so just on props. 

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 16/01/24 - Much like yesterday, I was unable to attend. But another thing that was like yesterday, the set wasn't too much of a worry, even less so than yesterday. And costume was already sorted too, as we always make sure that our actors are made clear of the costume requirements.

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 17/01/24 - This is a day that I have been particularly pleased about. This scene is a costume party, and during pre-production we had fun figuring out which characters were going to wear which costumes, and it was even more fun seeing it realised in real life, particularly Nat and Tash as Daphne and Velma.

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 18/01/24 - Today was the second scene we filmed in the medical area at college. The case was pretty much the same as last time we filmed there when it came to set and costumes.

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 24/01/24 - Everyone filmed at the beach again which I unfortunately couldn't make it to, however I was able to communicate with the team on set on the days leading up to the shoot, so that they knew exactly what they had to do.

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 29/01/24 - Josie and Jack's apartment today, where we filmed both of the scenes that take place on that set, and they both luckily only included the same two actors. Maisie and I imagined Josie's decorating style to be classic and floral themed, and while we were limited on the decoration side, we did what we could. such placing vases with flowers around the set. We also imagined that Josie would probably be busy around the apartment all the time with housework, so we laid out things such as an ironing board and a clothes horse.

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 30/01/24 - Daf's house took a lot of planning from my whole team, as we had to build the set ourselves with what we had available to us. It didn't turn out how anyone wanted, so the DOP chose to use more shots that utilise much less of the set.

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 31/01/24 - The second part of filming the party scene. As I mentioned in a previous entry, the costuming is my favourite part of this scene. We were also very lucky to be able to shoot this scene in this venue.

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 06/02/24 - Filming the very first scene of the film, where Jack receives his exam results. We just filmed on the outside of the college, and while my team initially intended for there to be banners hung up, it didn't end up happening unfortunately. However, we were still able to supply the envelopes that were props in the scene.

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Task 5: Distribution

Advertisement

 Numerous posts were made on the UFilms Productions Instagram account all throughout production. My contribution was editing the official trailer which would be posted onto YouTube and Instagram to advertise the release of our feature film.

The Trailer

The Premiere

 The film premiered at the ARC on the 20th of February. I was unfortunately unable to attend the premiere, however I know that everyone who attended had a wonderful time celebrating all of our hard work.

The Film

Task 6: Evaluation

What Went Wrong

•  I originally was interviewed for the director role, but didn't get it
•  Most of the sets and costumes didn't turn out as planned

What Went Well

•  Even though I didn't become the director, I still ended up with a really good role that aligns with a lot of the things I like in filmmaking
•  This year's film was much better organised, leaving us with more time for our final film projects
•  People really enjoyed the trailer I made, and it has become one of the most popular videos on the UFilms YouTube channel
•  The film got completed
•  Everybody enjoyed the premiere

What Have I Learned

•  Disappointments and things going wrong can sometimes lead you onto a path where you are better off in retrospective

What I Should Improve On

•  My ability to effectively pitch a concept that I'm passionate about
•  My ability to make it to filming locations out of reach

 Overall, as much as I didn't get what I wanted in the beginning, I'm glad that things turned out the way that they did. Production designer was a role that I hadn't really thought about too much in the past, but this experience has since broadened my horizons in terms of the roles I'd be happy to take on in film. I'm also glad that this year's film was a bit better received than last year's.