Story-Telling Unit: Critical Evaluation

CRITICAL EVALUATION

(Thursday 1st December)

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later."

Stanley Kubrick

Looking back over what I have achieved in the past few months, I realise that I am proud of my final product. I look at my initial idea, and how that evolved and developed over time; and despite the work being quite a step-up from what I did last year, I have managed challenges well. For example, my problems with actors and locations were eventually rectified, and despite filming several weeks after schedule, everything has been completed. My final location worked out very well, and despite not getting all of the coverage I might have needed on, I coped without in post-production.

Similarly in my script, I have now adapted my story and characters profusely from my original idea, and I have come up with too many different ideas to count, but with the assistance from my script tutorials I have a final, completed narrative that I am satisfied with. I have learnt plenty about the art of screenwriting and scripts themselves, but I also hope to learn more through future units, as it is this aspect of my work that I have enjoyed the most.

Having said all of this, there are several things I would have, in hindsight, done differently. 

Before even filming began, I would’ve like to have been more organised / managed my time better especially with regard to locations, so I wouldn’t have had to mess about and get permission for one not ideally suited to my film – only to push back my shooting for another week. Even when I found a more ideal location, I will in the future remember to check the weather before any shooting happens. 

Furthermore, if filming at night, or in a dark place, I would have liked to use sufficient lighting. Although this issue can potentially be amended in post-production, extra lighting would assist the process. Or alternatively, film in the day and darken the footage in post-production. This was a pretty big issue in my film, as it meant that certain important plot details could have potentially been obscured to the audience.

As well as this, I would’ve liked to have been more prepared on shoot with regards to shot-lists / storyboards. I did have my storyboard on set, and I followed it very closely, but I think in hindsight I would have had a shot-list as well – to ensure I had plenty of coverage and didn’t miss anything out. I’m pretty happy with all of my shots individually, though I would maybe think about smoothing out my opening shot – as even using warp stabiliser there is still a bit of shake in the footage.

Regarding my script, I would now have worked harder on it, completing more drafts and asking for more feedback. I am satisfied with my final piece and how much it has evolved, but I would’ve potentially liked to develop it more, for example, looking more into dialogue and giving it more of a dark-humoured twist.

To conclude, I am very happy with the way my final film and script have turned out, I just hope to be more prepared in my future projects in order to reach the highest possible standard.