Pre-Production
During Pre-Production I struggled, having submitted a poor pitch I didn't have a solid idea and was starting to panic. However, I found a solution by going out and reading and researching into the Sonnet I had chosen. By doing so I was able to find out the story behind the Sonnet and rather than adapting the sonnet itself I took the story of how it was made and adapted the Sonnet into that. I was able to get a script together which meant I had a document to work off and develop. I did do a lot of independent work with the script which I managed well, looking to my fellow students and actors for advice on it so I could make the right choices. I broke down and planned out my entire shoot, shot for shot and broke down the sonnet and detailed what I could do for visual shots in relation to the sonnet's lines. I used visuals and my own research to help get this across. I also managed to get a constant theme across my film which I'm really happy with. I feel my biggest achievement in this is how quickly I turned this project around for myself. When I had my proposal meeting with Mike I had no idea and no story and then from researching I was not only able to get an idea, I was able to make a narrative which is something a few students didn't have but it meant I had a story I could tell. Casting my actors I feel is a strength I've improved on. Rather than just going off their experience, I looked into what sort of person they were as well and really thought through who would work well. My choice of Sophie and Carly was good because they have that Sister relationship that I needed by being actual sisters. I pulled in all my resources for this and used past projects are reference and research to help with this such as my practise with the Track during News Production and also my lighting practise I'd be lucky enough to get from Derek during an outside project which meant I knew the sort of lighting equipment I needed for the project. As well, my choice to change the character last minute I would say is a strength. As I looked into how someone would actually act with the loss of a child I tried to make the film as real as possible and believable as possible and ended u using the experience people have told me about to change the script and improve the story. Finally, throughout I stayed organised with all my paper work and when it came to the day before shooting I was able to send out a detailed call sheet to everyone which showed detailed plan for the shoot and all the needed information.
I'd say that my main weakness was what lead to my strength, the fact I didn't research into my sonnet and really plan out the film for the proposal meant I began to fall behind and then ended up shooting and editing later and rushing myself. Although it worked out at the end, it could have been avoided and I may have even been able to get a full crew together or improved the film even more. It would have also allowed me to get more feedback from my tutor Mike which might have led me to experiment even more with the story and the sonnet. I also didn't handle organisation very well as I was so determined to get the locations I needed, I didn't check the availability of my fellow course mates and this resulted in me only having Jemma Cotterell in my crew, although we both worked really well together and I couldn't have done it without her, it would have made the shoot easier for us both if, in Pre-Production, I had planned and been more organised with the shoot planning.
If I did this project again I think I would certainly research into the sonnet and really get my head around it BEFORE writing up a brief or proposal. I think this could have easily broken my project but I was able to turn it around and get a story and a script together. But next time, organisation is what needs to be improved.
Production
During the Production of 'Ribbons' I had to double up and be the DOP as well as the Director. Although this proved very challenging, I feel I did a really good job with it. Working alongside Jemma, we were able to get all the kit to each of the locations, set up and shoot, following with the call sheet and the shot order that I had written up in preparation for the shoot. I communicated well with the actors and as we went along we didn't just keep to the script, we changed what felt right to change like some parts of the voice over to dialogue that Stacey would speak aloud. We were able to move between locations and work safely and most importantly, I want able to carry out some of my main experimental aims for this and that was camera techniques and also the lighting. I got the tracking shots that I wanted as well as the slow reveal with the flowers which works really well. I was also able to get the light for the night shoot, although still a bit noisy, for a first attempt and an experiment I think it was really effective but with more practise I think I could improve it even more. Me and Carly worked well together as Director and Actor when recording the voice over.
My weakness during Production I would say is that I didn't get some of the experimental footage which was my selling point of the film, the footage which was meant to intertwine with the Sonnet's lines so I didn't get shots of the Ribbon in the bedroom, Stacey with the puddle, etc. and this was my main way of adapting the Sonnet. Although I've worked around this and ended up with a good film, I don't feel I fully adapted the Sonnet and more adapted it's origin which is still an experiment in itself but I feel like I've failed at my main experiment which was to adapt the sonnet into visual images.
Post-Production
During Post-production I was able to quickly and effectively catch up on the time I had fallen behind and get together a cut for Mike to review and comment on. I worked around the issues with sound and got together a good quality edit. When looking into the branding, I stuck to the theme of the film and got a good font which worked with this. I not only worked through the edit but ended up going off the script and editing where it felt right and what worked well with the story that I had in front of me, which does often happen in edits. Although I ended up cutting a scene, it made the film better and brought the quality of the film right up and made it better to watch. The music choice helped create the moods and atmosphere that I wanted and the flash back scene worked really effectively, being able to show Stacey alive with her sister Becky really showed the closeness they had together. The transition from flash back to current day worked well and I think it was nice and simple but explains that it was a memory rather than the classic fading to white. The sound effects of the car worked really well, rather than showing the car accident I wanted to have the audience hear it and then show the flowers to show them what happened and this worked exactly how I wanted it to. The grading for the film I think really helps bring out all those emotions that we're getting from the characters. Having the grey and sad colours for the majority of the film helped to show Becky's emotions and helped create that tone. The change of colours for the flash back really helped stick that scene out and made it more obvious that it was a flash back, mixed in the with content of the scene and the transition between coloured footage to the slightly darker one of the modern day at the end of the scene.
I think my main downfall with my post production was my timing and my sound design. If I had planned ahead I'd have had more time to edit the film together and a lot more room to really experiment with the footage. Due to the fact that I only had a few days (my own fault) I couldn't really experiment I had to get the film edited together. My sound design really needs work, although the sound is good and helps tell the story I can hear differences in the audio in scenes which brings the quality. This refers back to my weakness in Production having only 1 crew member and being rushed for time which wasn't the best.
Conclusion
Overall for an experimental adaptation of a 12 line sonnet I think I've done very well. With all my research I was able to find not only visuals for the sonnet but also a narrative which really brings this film up. Having a story to tell as well as the story being the origins of the sonnet I think was a very clever way to go with this adaptation. The changes that happened along the way were done in the interest of the film and what felt correct during the time of either Pre-Production, Production or during post. For all the challenges that came forward I over came them and pushed through, working with only a crew of 1 or not having an idea till later in the set shoot week I improved so many different skills and as a experimental film, I think it's a success.
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