For my final major project I made a short film, I chose to make a short film as wanted to push myself

to see how good of a production I could make, I felt that a short film would be the best way to do
this as it enabled me to use the most creativity, when making this production I experimented with
new techniques that I have never used before like have two narratives. In this production I worked
by myself so that I could create something in the exact way that I envisioned it, I have found out
throughout this year that when you work in pairs or groups you often experience many creative
differences and end up having to compromise on certain aspects to keep everyone happy, this often
results in the production not being as good as it could have been which is why I decided to work on
my own. My roles in creating this production were producer, director, cameraman, editor and every
other role apart from being an actor, when it came to the actors in my productions I used my friends
who were more than willing to help me.

The genre of my production was a gang drama, when

making it I tried my best to make this clear by showing
certain characters as gang member from how they dress
and act, I did research on gangs before filming so that I
could get it right, it was clearly effective as the feedback
that I received on my survey showed that 100% of
people agreed that it fitted into the genre.

My production contained a variety of different content, I researched different gang initiations and
found a variety of different ways that are used, most of them where far to brutal for me to use in my
production so I simplified it, a majority of them required the person to kill someone in some
gruesome way so I decided to make the gang initiation process in my
production to shoot someone so that it would still be realistic but not
as graphic. I also decided that I did not want the character to join a
gang straight away as it would not fit in with my narrative so had him
be manipulated by another gang member by having him commit some
smaller crimes before asking him to kill someone, this enabled me to
show how the characters change throughout the story which made
them more realistic. The results from my survey found that most
people thought that the content was suitable for my production and
they found it entertaining to watch, there was one person who
disagreed with this but they did not give a reason why.

When making my production I wanted to keep the style simple so that

the narrative would be clear, it fitted well with the genre of my
production. The feedback on my survey told me that people liked the
style as it allowed them to see how the characters changed, this is why I
incorporated having two narratives, one with each friend from the
argument at the start, and this allowed you to see the difference
between the two as one got involved in the gang.
The narrative in my production received good feedback on my
survey, people said that they found it entertaining and
interesting because it looked at the genre in a different way.
People also said they liked how you could see how the conflict
effected both characters. This is good because I originally
planned that the message of this short film was to be about the
benefits of skateboarding and the audience seems to
understand that the message of the film is not about joining a
gang but it is about friendship. The feedback also tells me that
people like my ideas as I feel that I have now made a big
improvement in my film making career as I am able to create
my own narratives that people find interesting and entertaining
to watch we proves that I am an effective storyteller and able to
create much higher quality productions than I could before.

In my production the characters where a very important part of the

story, it was important that they were represented in the right way so
that the message of the short was clear. I think that I did a good job at
presenting the characters in the right way, you can see how the main
character, Jake, changes throughout the production and I also believe
that the gang leader, Davey, was clear presented as a mysterious yet
intimidating character.

I used a variety of different techniques in my production, I experimented with using different camera
angles to capture emotions and also to present characters in different ways, I effectively used a
tracking shot which I have never used before but I planned to try an use it when I was researching
directors and found out it was Martin Scorsese’s signature. As well as this I made use of the
techniques that I researched, firstly I used parallel editing for my introduction by showing two
characters leaving their homes and skating to the skate park, I also used it later on in the production
when the same two characters where having a phone call and I
cut between each person talking in different locations, my
feedback told me that people liked these uses of parallel editing
which shows I used the technique effectively. However I did not
make a good use of b-roll which was the other technique that I
research, I used a small amount but did not use it to its full
potential. My camera work could have been better when
working on my production, although all of the short are well
framed they are not all in focus and some shots are over
exposed, I tried my best to reduce these when editing but it did
not completely get rid of it. People talked about this in my
feedback but they also said that they like the use of multiple
different camera angles.
My production is aesthetically pleasing due to the variation in
camera angles and good framing it was let down by the over
exposure and poor focus although I tried to fix it, it was not
successful. I used colour correction to make the colours more
vibrant and to tint scenes certain colours to portray different
emotions, in my feedback I was told that my colour correction
was not good which tell me that I may have over saturated
some of the clips or over tinted them. The aesthetic was also
let down by the continuity, in opening scene the one of the
characters changed shoes and had a bag is some shot but not
in others, there were other instances of characters having
slight changes in clothes but they are less noticeable, although
it is only a small thing but it makes the production seem less
professional.

I used my creativity as much as I could when making my

production, I put a lot of thought into the narrative and script by
using my research to make the story and characters seem more
authentic and believable. I also carefully thought about the angles
and framing of the shots I used in each scene as I now have a
better understanding of their purpose and what they represent.
When editing I tried to apply the skills that I have developed
throughout this year, example of these are cutting to the beat
and parallel editing, due to my widened skill set I was able to be
more creative when editing as I am capable of doing far more. In
the feedback from my survey I found that people though I was
very creative as I came up with an original story and told it in an
entertaining way which tell me that I am starting to become a
good film maker.

My production had many good elements to it, one thing that I am proud of is how well the
conversations flow, due to the way I edited them they flow smoothly and seem very natural as you
cannot tell that it was recorded one line at a time, this is particularly true for the opening
conversation between the two friends at the skate park and also the phone call between the two
friends where I made an effective use of parallel editing. Another aspect of my production that I
think is good is the camera angles, I framed each shot well and used the right shots at the right
times, for example the lines near the start that the friends fall out over I used extreme close ups that
focused on their faces to capture their emotions. I believe that I told the story well and it was clear
to understand due to the fact that you can see how the character change and develop throughout
the production, also the separate scenes with different characters provides context and explains
what is going on to the audience if it was not already clear enough. I was also pleased with how the
edit turned out, the use of cutting to the beat throughout made the whole production more pleasing
to watch and the use of parallel editing during the phone call was effective as it allowed the
audience to see the emotions of both character on the call.
My production also had elements that needed to be improved. Although the camera work was good
with the framing and angles it was poor when it came to the focusing and exposure, this is not true
for all of the shots but there are multiple shots which are over exposed and are so bright that you
almost can’t see what is going on, I tried to fix this by reducing the expose when editing but it didn’t
work that well as the clip was already ruined. There are also shot that are not focused correctly.
Another aspect of my production that could have been improved was the colour grading, I was told
that it was poor in my feedback and when reviewing it I agree with them, some scenes are over
saturated and others are heavily tinted either orange or blue, I increased the saturation to make the
colours more vibrant and I tinted the scene different colours to represent different emotions but I
over did it as it is far too obvious what I have done. The continuity between scenes was another
weak point in my production, in scenes that were supposed to be happening on the same day but
were filmed on different days some of the characters would slightly change clothes, for example
when they leave the park and go to the shop one of the characters changes from wearing grey
tracksuit bottoms to wearing jeans, the rest of the outfit remains the same so it is not a hugely
noticeable change but it ruins the aesthetic of the production. Lastly my production had scenes
where the actors broke character, they can be seen smiling or you can hear people laughing in the
background, an example of this is the final shot of the production when the character is holding a
gun and smiling although it is supposed to be a very serious scene.

When I come to making my next production there are somethings that I would do differently, firstly I
would take more time when filming to ensure that all shots are perfect, this would mean that I
would not have shots that are over exposed and out of focus, it would also mean I would have time
to re shoot scene where the actors break character, in order to do this I need to have better time
management as when I was making this production I spent too long on the research and pre-
production work so I had less time to film which is why it was rushed and did not turn out as well as
it could have. By having better time management I would also be able to be more organised when
filming which would help me to prevent issues with the continuity as I would be able to plan when I
need the actors to wear what clothes better which mould make my production seem more
professional. I also need to work on my colour grading as it was not very effective in this production,
I will practise using it when making other productions and also do practice shoots before filming
productions so that I can get the colours right for how I want it in that production.
In my production I took inspiration from the short films that I researched earlier on, in the short
‘Amani’ I liked the way that the audience could see how the main character changed and developed
throughout the production, and I tried to implement this in my production. In the short they did it
through the costumes and the way that the character acted, this is also what I used in my
production, at the start of ‘Amani’ the character wears his school uniform but as you seem him
change he starts to wear more gang like clothes, in my production the character starts out dressed
like a skater by wearing baggy chinos and a hoodie/ tee shirt but later on when he is more involved
in the gang he wears jeans and a sports jacket like gangs typically do.

In my production the character changes throughout the production at the very beginning when he is
with his friend he is very friendly and laid back, this is shown by the fact that he is skating and having
a good time with his mate, as he starts to hang out with the gang member it is clear that he feels
uneasy and does not want to do the stuff that he asks him to do but as he spends more time with
him he does not hesitate to do what is asked of him and seems willing to do it. Similarly at the
beginning of ‘Amani’ he is at home praying with his parents and can be seen carrying a violin to
school which is very unlike a gang member but as he starts to hang out with the people at his new
school he starts to act more like them and do the thing that they do like rob people.

I very much liked the way which both of the short films that I research where made, I thought that
they were filmed well so I tried to re-create some of the shots that would apply to my production as
some elements of both stories similar to my production. Firstly one of the shots that I re-created was
from the end of ‘Deep it’, it was the shot of the knife laying in the bin, I liked this shot because it
showed that the characters has now left that part of their life behind and they are done with it. I
applied this to my production by recreating the shot with one of the characters putting his
skateboard in the bin as I wanted to show that he had given up skating and left that part of his life
behind, including his friends.
Another shot that I liked was from ‘Amani’ when he has a gun and is checking out how he looks with
it in the mirror, the shot is a close up of his face with the gun obscuring some of the view, I liked this
shot because it was the turning point in the short film where the character goes from being a school
boy who gets in trouble to becoming a dangerous gang member, his parents also kick him out after
this which further shows that he has now changed to a completely different person. I recreated this
shot at the end of my production as this was the point where I wanted the character to be
completely different as he is choosing between killing his new friend or his old friend.

Lastly I really liked the way which the argument between the two friends was shown at the end of
‘Deep it’, the way in which it was filmed changed as the tension increased. At the beginning of the
argument wider shots are used that show both characters so you can see how they both react to the
conversation.

When the argument becomes more heated and both parties become very angry close up on each of
the characters faces are used as it captures their emotions and also makes the scene feel a lot more
intense so it helps to build the tension of the scene.
My production is similar to both of the short films that I researched in the way that they all have a
message behind them but mine is different in that way that my production does not have an
extremely clear message like the other two. In ‘Amani’ the message is ‘don’t get involved with gangs’
and this is shown clearly by the fact that there are serious consequences for the character from
joining a gang and in ‘Deep it’ the message is ‘don’t carry knives’ which is shown clearly by the
horrific story that the character tell about what happened when he carried a knife. In my production
the message is not as clear because it is not what the story revolves around, the message for my
production is ‘stick by those who care about you because they want what is best for you and people
who don’t care about you will use you’. I also tried to show the positive impact of skateboarding and
how it keeps people out of trouble, I did this by showing that the character who quit became
involved with a gang which meant he committed many crimes whereas the character who continued
to skate stayed out of trouble and still had friends who cared about him.

Now that I have finished making my final production for my first year a collage I feel that I am far
more suited to work in the media industry than I was before, I feel this way due to that fact that I
now have far more experience than I did before. This project was the first time I made an entire
production by myself which means that I have experienced every aspect of making a production so I
now know my strengths and weaknesses as well as what parts of the process I enjoy the most. I
discovered when working on this project that analysing videos is one of my greatest strengths as I
am able to break down each shot and understand what has been done and why, this is a skill that I
have developed over this past year as when I first started I found this difficult to do and I could not
see everything that had been done and I certainly did not understand why it had been done. I also
learnt from the feedback that I received that I am a good script writer as I am capable of coming up
with creative and entertaining narratives, this was a skill I did not know that I possessed until doing
this final project. I also learnt that I am good at framing camera shots but my overall camera work
needs to be improved on as some shots where over exposed or out of focus, this is a new skill for me
as I have not done a lot of camera work this year but I now know it is something that could be one of
my greatest strengths if I work on it more next year. Over this past year and on this final project I
have decided that editing is my favourite part of the whole production process as it is when I am
able to be the most creative and it is when you see the vision that you have for the project come
together which I find very satisfying and rewarding.