So I finished The Little Life of Eve Snow and now this post is all about the evaluation.
What went well?
I found the process of filming to be a lot easier and more fun as I had more freedom to film what I want. The process of editing took less time than expected and the outcome of the piece of work seems a lot better than the last project I did.
What problems did you encounter in pre-production and how did you solve them?
There was a couple problems I found but they weren't anything major. The first was the fact I couldn't film as many shots as I hope to as it was only me and my sister filming. I was limited for some shots as I was supposed to have someone else come over and be my right hand man for the day but unfortunately they dropped out at the last minute and couldn't make it. One shot in particular that I wanted to get was for the camera to follow Alex as she entered the room and made her way to the table - I couldn't do this because it would look as if she would be talking to some furniture (not what I had in mind). However, all I had to do was follow her with the camera to a certain point before the table would get in the shot. Then I followed this shot with a medium close up of me sat at the table so it looks as if she was talking to me the entire time. There was audio problem that followed this but more on that later on down the post.
The next problem was that there was limited space in my location so other shots I wanted to get couldn't be done because the tripod wouldn't fit into some spaces. To overcome this problem I just had to limit the type of shots I could use in my project and I think it turned out alright.
What problems did you face in post production?
Ironically enough, there is a few bits of continuity errors despite the fact that was the one error we had to avoid. However, they're nothing major that would ruin the video. One in particular was the props I used. The two of us had cups of tea to drink from. However, I though the easiest way to get fake sick in my mouth was to drink it from a mug. So I changed the cups without thinking anything of it. So the cups change from one design to another. I also encountered a couple more errors just in that shot. We had already tried to film me throwing up but I didn't go to plan so we cleaned it up which lead to us having a wet table - again, at the time I thought nothing of it. Another error in the same shot is of me and the way I move in that scene. At first I lean back before it moves to a close up of me looking uncomfortable and cuts out to the next shot just as I bring my hand to my mouth. However, back to the two shot both my hands are on the table again.
Another problem was when Alex first entered the house. When filming this was quite rushed so I didn't bother using a tripod and went handheld instead. The shot itself is steady but I filmed the shot several times and edited the ones which I thought were good. During the scene where she enters it looks like the camera jumps because I was holding it at slightly different angles when she entered the house each time - but liked I said, none of these problems were major.
The only other problem worth mentioning is when Alex is speaking to me in the first shot when she enters the room and then when it changes to the medium close up of me, she's changed her tone and it sounds a bit odd. Other than that, there aren't any significant audio problems.
What have you learned since your last project?
I've goten to grips with the editing software and I find that playing with audio is a lot easier now. Editing pieces together and adding effects is a piece of cake too. Next time I know that to avoid any huge continuity errors I should film several cutaways as they work a treat in some situations. I added one in on the tap dripping as there was a problem with the way Alex was sat at the table before going into her close up. I simply added in a cutaway to mask this problem.
Until next time,
Toni
