Reflective Log

31/10/22

In my fist lesson I started to write my rationale to gather my thoughts together and explain what I want to do for my FMP. I planned out what I want to do for this project and established what I will need and where I need to go to make this happen.

31/10/22 I finished off my rational at home because in lesson today I was not 100% sure what i wanted to write and that wasted some time so I finished off my rational when i got home. I am very glad i decided to finish this at home because getting behind is the last thing i want when creating a important project like this FMP.

2/11/22

In today lesson I started to write my proposal and this gave me more of an idea of what I'm going to be doing and how I'm going to make it happen.

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3/11/22 Today lesson I finished my proposal and got feedback from some peers.

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7/11/22 In today lesson I started my top slice. For my top slice I looked at different shot types and i also finished off a script I wrote in previous years. This lesson was very productive and i got a comfortable amount of work done and therefore I am pleased.

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7/11/22 I worked on my top slice at home some more to make sure I was going to hit the deadline. I completed a lot of my top slice at home so that means my next lesson will be less stressful because i can just brush over it and change what I need too.

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8/11/22 I finished off my top slice in this lesson, I looked into adobe premiere and recreated a project from clips I have taken from a different project. This was very useful to me because premiere is something I wasn't to keen on and this has helped me to explore and experiment areas I find difficult. I also used this time today to watch videos on how to use specific tools in premiere so when I come to do my real editing it will be easier.

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9/11/22 I started on my research and gathered all my ideas what I want to present and wrote them down on a word document. Although i didn't actually produce any research today I prepared myself so i wouldn't be going into it without knowing what I am researching and how I am going to do it.

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10/11/22  The research went well, I had a bit of a panic because of the thought that I haven't got long on my timeline to do it but I produced a great amount of work in today's lesson so I'm on track.

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13/11/22 Today I researched into different conventions of a short horror film and this took some time because there are many conventions that make a horror film. This was very effective research to me and from me doing some more research in my own time I am now ahead of my scheduled what means I either have more time to produce effective research or I can start filming sooner what will give me more time to produce a better bit of work because I have more time to create rough copies.

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14/11/22 I carried on with my research today and it went very well I have covered a lot of the main parts I wanted too already so that's good. I have still got a lot more research to do but with my time out of lesson I can make sure I stay on track and keep this project stress free.

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16/11/22 Today I carried on with my research, I made a list of everything I need to include using trello. I stressed out a bit because of how much research I need to produce but I will slowly get myself through it and if I have to move on its okay because I have got some more time over the Christmas holidays to add more. The research I did today was very effective and beneficial to my film, such as establishing different locations and how I am going to make it happen. 

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17/11/22 Today I carried on with my research, I established my shot list and looked at different narrative theories that I can apply to my film. I also started to write out what I am going to ask my interviewees so I wrote out some questions. At he end of todays lesson i had feedback from a teacher, this feedback was about making my plan more organised and doing some more to my top slice, although this is annoying because its ruins my plan I am making anew one so I will be able to edit and make it so planned I will know what I am doing next lesson. I am grateful I got this feedback because negative feedback is only going to improve my work even more so I'm thankful for the feedback I got.

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19/11/22 Today I amended my plan because I said some feedback from a teacher and they said make it more detailed. This task took me just over a hour because I wanted to make it as detailed as possible to make this project run smoothly and be planned everyday. I chose to do this on a Sunday because I don't want to waste any lesson time. I am very glad I have finished this so i can now get back on track for my research.

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21/11/22 In todays lesson I carried on working on my research, I am very pleased on how my research is going i am getting down my trello list quicker than I thought meaning I will be able to start production earlier or amend my previous work. I had feedback from a draft script I wrote. The feedback was positive but had a few comments on what needs changing, this was just a draft so its nothing final.

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22/11/22 Today I used up the majority of my day to work on my research, on a Tuesday I have a lot of free time so this was perfect to complete some work. I interviewed my actors today and figured out who I was using for the real film. I ordered a horror mask of amazon today and it is due to be delivered before shooting date so I am hoping that sticks and it will be delivered in time before shooting.

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23/11/22 Today I spoke to a teacher and some feedback, the feedback was to go test some scenes so in the next future lessons that is what I am going to do. The feedback was very positive because by speaking to someone I got many more ideas and this has helped me develop my script even more.

24/11/22 Today i started to write my script, i found this very difficult because i have never wrote a script properly before but after looking at some existing ones i feel more confident to write one.

 

26/11/22 My research was due yesterday so I handed it in but I still had some work to do so i carried on.

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27/11/22 I done some more pre production today and established a script and got feedback on it from my peers. 

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28/11/22- Today I finished off my character theory and this was very beneficial to me because it helped me develop my script even more after researching into this. After I finished my character theory I done some work on pre production, I wrote draft 3 for my script and I'm waiting on some feedback. If the feedback is good and improved from the last one I may use this as the final script. I also established my actors and cast who will be taking part. I also found out who the back up actors and crew are and make sure they know to be free on the shooting days just in case.

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28/11/22- Today I used my 40 minute break to continue on some work and stay on track. I made a group chat of my cast and told them exactly what will be happening. This has been useful because I can get in touch with them all easier and i can make sure they know the exact days we will be filming. 

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29/11/22 Today I used my free time to do pre production. I wrote out the location recce and then got my cast to fill out a consent form this way it shows they agreed to do it. 

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30/11/22 Today I had the crew over to help me with some pre production. We practiced reading out the script and making a rough draft of the fist act, this has helped me to be more prepared for when I come to filming next week. One actor found this difficult and stressful and said she didn't want to do kit anymore, she said she will do it but if not I have got back up actors I have prepared if needed.

 

1/12/22 Todays lesson I carried on with my pre production and filled some forms out, such as risk assessments. I also went back to my research and applied my feedback too it meaning adding what my supervisor thinks needs adding.

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5/12/22 Today I'm starting my production, I had one actor drop out what was very annoying but I'm glad it happened now on not when filming. Due to the new actor being a boy I had to change the name of one of the characters (Abigail) to Ben, this was not a problem because we didn't get to really meet Abigail and understand her life so its okay. This means I will have to now film tomorrow but that should not be a problem because I have got  plenty of time. Later on in the lesson I booked to take home some equipment, due to my production being late I'm going to go home and test out the equipment so I understand how to use it and get it ready for tomorrow.

 

5/12/22 When I got home with the equipment I set it up and tested out merging sound and audio together and how to make it sound professional. I also videoed myself setting up the equipment so when I come to do it tomorrow I wont waste time. I found the audio merging very difficult and I'm very nervous to use it when editing. I am going to try my best, the main purpose of this project is for me to develop more directing skills but it would be great if the audio turned out well too.

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6/12/2022 Production day, before we arrived at the location i finished off my pore production, printing script and organizing how we are going to do it. I have just finished filming the first act, it was very stressful because there are so many components what stressed me out and what i wasn't happy with. I feel like my directing skills were very good because I handled all my responsibilities such as making sure the actors know what they are doing and if they had a problem i could sort this. I am now going to start editing the first act in future lessons and I'm hoping to film Act 2 on Sunday and then edit next week. 

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7/12/2022 Today I started to edit act 1, I was very happy how it tuned out because the microphone was a real worry for me and I could not ask for it to be better. There are some scenes I would like to change but not many, I also had feedback from a teacher and it was very positive. I thought that the lighting was going to be issue but instead it worked very well, if I don't like the lighting I will change it using premier but the main aim of this project is for me to gather more skills on directing.

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8/12/22 Today has been very productive and useful in the sense that I got feedback and pushed in the right directing to improve my work. The feedback has been wrote down on trello and I will be completing this shortly after I have finished act 1. Act 1 is going very well, I have been using a hard drive to transfer my work and this has been very useful. I have also been using a back up hard drive just in case something happens to the last one.

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11/12/22 Today I went over act 2 and prepared equipment and anything else what needs to be before filming.

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12/12/22 Today the actors were supposed to be coming down to the location but Harriet became ill. This was stressful because I could not turn to my back up actors due to the fact we have already shot act 1. I still wanted to make this work so I adjusted my plan and moved the filming for tomorrow and that still gives me two days to edit. 

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14/12/22 Before the actors came round I tested to make sure the equipment is all good and running. I also read through the script and labelled how it is going to go so we stay organize. My actress came round today and we done the reshoots for act 1, I sent her home because she was very ill and not giving a good performance. I have now rescheduled to do it on 16/12/22, this is final and act 2 will be shot on that day.

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15/12/22 Today in lesson as I haven't got act 2 yet and nothing to edit what I done is go over my feedback and applied it to my work. Later on tonight I will be filming act 2, I'm hoping this goes really well because its been a disaster trying to get dates to do this.

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15/12/22 The film was very stressful to shoot because my actress still was not feeling 100% and i had to do it because the equipment was due back the next day. I have now got all the clips and audio and i am going to edit it tomorrow.

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16/12/22 The editing went very well, i finished it all in 5 hours. I have one audio clip what i was not happy with so I will be reshooting that as soon as possible.

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28/12/22 I started my evaluation today and I will be doing a bit most days until the deadline. The evaluation is a great chance for me to explain how the project went and speak about the challenges I faced along the way. 

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