- Was my project successful?
For what it was, yes I think it was successful. I did not set out to create a Hollywood level film, that would be very unrealistic. The perfectionist i me had to convince myself of this over and over again. I didn't try to cram an immense plot in that short time frame, resulting in a complicated and rushed film. So instead I set out to make something three minutes long that used context clues and broken dialog to give the audience a vague idea of a bigger plot, leaving the rest up to imagination. I was proud of what I produced, definitely a far higher standard of production for me. I was able to apply what I learnt about cameras, microphones, script writing, and directing over the last few months all into 'Malfeasance".
- What feedback did you receive from your peers?
What my peer had to say:
"Wow that was so epic, it's a shame about the noise of The Weir but that's just a problem with the location, the rest of it was epic, I loved the use of extreme close ups and the music, also the story was really good!" - Tom Arthur, 19 (YouTube)
- What would you change/do differently?
I would definitely try to improve the audio next time. The weir is far to overpowering most of the film. I thought I had the right microphone set up but maybe Lavalieres would of been a better choice over directional microphones. Or I could of overdubbed all the dialog.
- How will you improve for your next project?
I will use more interesting camera set-ups and movements in my next film. Like crane and tracking shots. Also I will get better audio and costumes.
- What did you enjoy/not enjoy?
What I Enjoyed - Directing, I love directing! Getting to film in such a beautiful location. Also I enjoyed every aspect of editing the film as I find it fun and incredibly relaxing.
What I Didn't Enjoy - My cast letting me down. They all forgot their costumes which I thought, really broke the characters. Jillian is supposed to be a hugely successful and influential politician, but is wearing ripped jeans, and our private detective is wearing a t-shirt under his blazer, instead of a shirt and tie.
- How effective was your production team?
At times they were very productive, and we were able to get a lot of filming done quite quickly. But at other times they completely switched off and no matter how frustrated I got or how much I begged they wouldn't cooperate.
- How effective was your planning in terms of execution?
Pre Production was definitely the most important part of the filmmaking process. It was critical that every aspect of the production is thought out and psychoanalysed Doing that saved us a lot of time and money. It also made the filmmaking process as smooth and hassle-free as possible. On the day of filming, besides them not having their costumes, everyone had their scripts and knew their lines and what they had to do, and where they had to do it.
