Reflection - Post production

We have encountered so many problems during both post film and filming that it became very frustrating. It was frustrating because all these problems can be easily avoided if we had planned better and filmed correctly the first time. We filmed scenes over and over again and there were times when we weren’t sure if the footage we shot would fit with the film. I believe that if we had spent more time planning instead of just filming, then we would have avoided LOTS of problems. A major problem I had when using Garageband was that something the files would not open. This was very, very annoying because I hated seeing all my hard work just disappear! I was very lucky that I had exported several of my works in Garageband to mp3 files. I still don’t understand why the files wouldn’t open but it doesn’t bother me anymore since I re-did and improved the original pieces. The last problem that I encountered was a few group related issues. I created a few pieces of music but I would have preferred to do it with the edited film so I could get the timing of certain areas right. However, Elena and I solved this problem by coming in during the holidays. Elena finished editing and I created the music based on the edited film. This turned out to be a really good idea because the film turned out brilliant and the music really suited the film!

Since I wasn’t in charge of the editing, I’m not sure whether the pre-production or postproduction planning helped Elena. I do remember her saying that she was glad she had made due dates when she wanted to have something done by but that’s all I know.

The time management for my group has not been the best. At first, we were not organised at all! Everything was rushed and the film just looked crap. When we did it the second time and went over everything in more depth and more carefully, the film turned out pretty good. However, I believe we would not be as stressed if we had been way more organised and gotten most of the filming right the first time. Elena managed to get all the editing done and because of all her hard work, the film turned out really well! I thought my part (music) turned out amazing and I believe that I had suitably managed my time well. After all the problems we had with time management during the filming process, I worked extra hard and made sure that I had planned in great depth to avoid any time management problems.

After looking at my blog and comparing it to other blogs, I think that I did more work then others but then there were some that I didn’t do more work then. I did reflections however I did them at the end of each stage (pre-filming, post filming, etc.). However, Elena and I have provided heaps of evidence of our planning, filming process and our thoughts during the entire project. In my next unit of work, I really want to improve on my blog and I am aiming to try and at least write a reflection at the end of each week.

During the entire project, I discovered several skills that I didn’t know I had. I discovered that I wasn’t too bad at filming and I could use the camera very well. At first, I was very concerned that I wouldn’t be able to use the camera but it turns out I can use it quite well. The other skill I discovered that I had was I could use Final Cut very well. A hobby of mine is to edit film and add music to it. At first I thought Final Cut would be a lot harder since I use Sony Vegas but it turns out that both programs are very similar to each other so I found using Final Cut quite easy. I also learnt new skills and techniques in Garageband. I managed to teach myself how to use the loops and how to string the audio together to make flow better. I mainly had to rely on my ears to see whether or not the music/audio suited the scene and the film. That was all the skills I discovered during the project.

Overall, I am very happy with the final result of our film! We put a lot of effort into this movie and we managed to over come so many problems. After watching films done by other students, I think that ours turned out to be the best one and it looked professional to a certain extent. I am so happy with how our film turned out and I am so proud of our group's achievement!