Overall Project Evaluation | Storytelling Unit
Evaluating my Storytelling Unit Work
Throughout this unit I have learned a great deal of information, most of which has significantly improved my toolset when approaching media-related tasks. Prior to starting the storytelling unit I only had a basic knowledge of Adobe software, having used Photoshop on a number of occasions, however I now feel confident in utilising the entire creative suite (premiere pro, prelude, illustration, photoshop and after effects) to make my work the best it can be; there's also a lot of room for improvement with the software I've learnt to use due to it's sheer versatility. As industry standard programs, I will be taking this knowledge with me as I go through university and beyond.
In terms of scriptwriting I have learnt how to use scriptwriting software such as FinalDraft and Celtx, allowing me to easily create industry-grade screenplays, correctly formatted and with confidence. Through our frequent lectures with established scriptwriter Steve Coombes, I was able to pick up on a large amount of techniques that are used within film and television that one may not pick up on simply by viewing it, e.g. How specific certain stage directions are and the ways in which an actor/actress could adapt them into their own persona/portrayal of a character. I personally found it interesting that despite going into the scriptwriting side of the task with no interest in it whatsoever, keeping an open mind allowed me to see the appeal in weaving stories and building characters with real emotions, experiences and personalities.
Furthermore developing this blog has been much more interesting that I initially expected. It's nice being able to go back through it month by month and see what my current state of mind and focus was at that time. Similarly it also allows me to express myself a bit more in the way I customise the aesthetic and format.
I will now break down the positives and negatives regarding both the scriptwriting & the 2 minute film side of the course:
Scriptwriting Positives
It was great to get to explore another area of the industry that I hadn't even touched upon throughout my GCSE + A-Level study of media. I've always been told I was talented with creative writing and english subjects were often some of my highest achieving subjects in school so the style of writing, I felt... came fairly easily. I enjoyed viewing a large variety of different TV shows and films and adapting certain aspects of what they used into my own scripts, for example; 'Black Mirror' grapples with real world, ethical issues that trouble both young and old people. In my initial draft I used this ideology to create a very bleak, macabre look into the reality of social anxieties.
Scriptwriting Negatives
While I do appreciate the work that goes into scriptwriting, and the troubles they have to deal with in their day to day careers, I still don't think it's the particular route I'm looking to go down within this industry. Because of that there were certain parts of it that I found challenging - upon meeting with Steve Coombes for a one on one feedback session, he informed me of several flaws I didn't even think of. I chalk this up to novice mistakes, however I still did my utmost to iron them out and rearrange the script for the final re-write. Also, there were certain occasions where I wouldn't be sure of the type of formatting to use for specific actions, for example, there is a point within my script where two people are conversing over the phone and the camera crosscuts between them in their respective locations, I wasn't and still (as of writing this) am not sure how that would be displayed on a script... so I simply opted to put it down as a 'Shot' at the beginning of the scene in which the conversation begins to take place.
I think perhaps with a bit more guidance and more importantly time, I would be able to get a much better grasp on certain aspects of scriptwriting and the ways in which to write characters with depth and meaning.
Filming + Editing Positives
It was fantastic fun getting hands on with the cameras available at the Maidstone Studios, and to have that resource available to us is fantastic, not to mention the camera workshops with Fergus that ensured we all had a basic knowledge of how to utilise the cameras to their full potential. All of this knowledge is something I will take with me going forward in my career, hoping to put it to good use somewhere within the industry. Also, the feeling of independency was great through this task, it really felt like we were given a task and as much creative freedom as possible.
We were given the option of creating either a 2 minute trailer for our script, or the opening 2 minutes - I chose to do the trailer. The main reason I chose to do a trailer was I felt like the opening 2 minutes of script wouldn't necessarily be that entertaining, and so I could do much more with a trailer, thus allowing me to show aspects of the narrative un-chronologically. Looking back on the trailer that I produced, I'm actually very happy with it. By no means do I consider it perfect (see negatives below) but I do think for a first task attempt, it's as good as I could get with the resources I had. I decided to go for an ambiguous trailer, with supporting narration (by myself) and music by 'Myuuji' on YouTube (which I received permission to use).
Filming + Editing Negatives
I do think there were a couple of obstacles in the way of achieving the best assessment possible for this task, one of which is distance. I currently live at home in Crawley, ~50 miles from the Maidstone Studios, therefore I rely on train services to get me to and from university, these can be unreliable and strikes tend to occur, preventing me from coming in. There's also the issue of transporting filming equipment such as camera bags, microphones and tripods. Considering the value of the equipment I am hesitant to take equipment on board trains and through Victoria station with me. Regardless of this however, we managed to work around it and I got lifts to and from the studios in order to transport equipment.
The filming itself went smoothly, fortunately for this shoot I wasn't actually interesting in filming on such a large scale that it required me to contact local authorities to inform them of our plans to film, along with the Kent Film Office within the county of Kent. If I'm entirely honest I found the idea of that quite intimidating, however I'm aware this is industry-standard practice and I have to get used to it. For editing I'm happy with the way the film turned out in most areas, however in retrospect, I feel that the title cards used in the middle of the trailer break the immersion somewhat, I focused too much on applying an entrance animation and a gaussian blur effect, rather than actually make it flow withe the trailer. The other criticism I would have would be my narration, perhaps I'm biased towards since I don't like hearing myself in that way, however I felt that by having someone else do the narration would've been much better.
Conclusion
To close, I feel that over the course of my first three months here, I have developed both my practical skills with cameras, including knowledge I can use to operate them in a real world scenario. Furthermore, my expertise in premiere pro and prelude have grown exponentially thanks to the workshops held by Fergus at the campus, and of course the practical activities we've done editing together various different footage, the scriptwriting lectures from Steve Coombes have also widened my perspective when viewing media in general, really giving me a grasp of what goes into writing television screenplays and film as a whole - irrespective of this, I feel that the most important development this term has been within myself, my confidence has skyrocketed and that for me is the best thing I can take away from this experience for sure.
In terms of scriptwriting I have learnt how to use scriptwriting software such as FinalDraft and Celtx, allowing me to easily create industry-grade screenplays, correctly formatted and with confidence. Through our frequent lectures with established scriptwriter Steve Coombes, I was able to pick up on a large amount of techniques that are used within film and television that one may not pick up on simply by viewing it, e.g. How specific certain stage directions are and the ways in which an actor/actress could adapt them into their own persona/portrayal of a character. I personally found it interesting that despite going into the scriptwriting side of the task with no interest in it whatsoever, keeping an open mind allowed me to see the appeal in weaving stories and building characters with real emotions, experiences and personalities.
Furthermore developing this blog has been much more interesting that I initially expected. It's nice being able to go back through it month by month and see what my current state of mind and focus was at that time. Similarly it also allows me to express myself a bit more in the way I customise the aesthetic and format.
I will now break down the positives and negatives regarding both the scriptwriting & the 2 minute film side of the course:
Scriptwriting Positives
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| Steve Coombes, professional British scriptwriter. |
Scriptwriting Negatives
While I do appreciate the work that goes into scriptwriting, and the troubles they have to deal with in their day to day careers, I still don't think it's the particular route I'm looking to go down within this industry. Because of that there were certain parts of it that I found challenging - upon meeting with Steve Coombes for a one on one feedback session, he informed me of several flaws I didn't even think of. I chalk this up to novice mistakes, however I still did my utmost to iron them out and rearrange the script for the final re-write. Also, there were certain occasions where I wouldn't be sure of the type of formatting to use for specific actions, for example, there is a point within my script where two people are conversing over the phone and the camera crosscuts between them in their respective locations, I wasn't and still (as of writing this) am not sure how that would be displayed on a script... so I simply opted to put it down as a 'Shot' at the beginning of the scene in which the conversation begins to take place.
I think perhaps with a bit more guidance and more importantly time, I would be able to get a much better grasp on certain aspects of scriptwriting and the ways in which to write characters with depth and meaning.
Filming + Editing Positives
We were given the option of creating either a 2 minute trailer for our script, or the opening 2 minutes - I chose to do the trailer. The main reason I chose to do a trailer was I felt like the opening 2 minutes of script wouldn't necessarily be that entertaining, and so I could do much more with a trailer, thus allowing me to show aspects of the narrative un-chronologically. Looking back on the trailer that I produced, I'm actually very happy with it. By no means do I consider it perfect (see negatives below) but I do think for a first task attempt, it's as good as I could get with the resources I had. I decided to go for an ambiguous trailer, with supporting narration (by myself) and music by 'Myuuji' on YouTube (which I received permission to use).
Filming + Editing Negatives
The filming itself went smoothly, fortunately for this shoot I wasn't actually interesting in filming on such a large scale that it required me to contact local authorities to inform them of our plans to film, along with the Kent Film Office within the county of Kent. If I'm entirely honest I found the idea of that quite intimidating, however I'm aware this is industry-standard practice and I have to get used to it. For editing I'm happy with the way the film turned out in most areas, however in retrospect, I feel that the title cards used in the middle of the trailer break the immersion somewhat, I focused too much on applying an entrance animation and a gaussian blur effect, rather than actually make it flow withe the trailer. The other criticism I would have would be my narration, perhaps I'm biased towards since I don't like hearing myself in that way, however I felt that by having someone else do the narration would've been much better.
Conclusion
To close, I feel that over the course of my first three months here, I have developed both my practical skills with cameras, including knowledge I can use to operate them in a real world scenario. Furthermore, my expertise in premiere pro and prelude have grown exponentially thanks to the workshops held by Fergus at the campus, and of course the practical activities we've done editing together various different footage, the scriptwriting lectures from Steve Coombes have also widened my perspective when viewing media in general, really giving me a grasp of what goes into writing television screenplays and film as a whole - irrespective of this, I feel that the most important development this term has been within myself, my confidence has skyrocketed and that for me is the best thing I can take away from this experience for sure.
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