Unit 4D: Preproduction Review

 Logistics 

Once I had finalised the idea for my short horror film, I briefly bullet pointed the story out including some detail of camerawork and editing techniques. This was so I had a starting point for my script instead of working from a blank slate, and also helped to visualise the film and allowed me to come up with some more specifics I could include in the script. From there I created the script, and after I came up with a shot list so I could go into more detail on specific shots so when the production takes place I know exactly what to film and in order. I took recce shots of locations and costumes, and to give me some inspiration for this I made a Pinterest board of settings from existing horror films to gain an understanding of the genre, and what I already had in mind for the costumes and props. 

After I finished writing my synopsis, I took some tests shots of some of the locations and testing out the editing techniques I planned to use in post production. This included reediting and making different versions of the title sequence I had created previously, to fill in some of the gaps of shots I couldn't film because of lockdown restrictions.

To organise my project, I made sure that the aspect I was working on was full complete and checked over before moving onto the next stage, to help ensure my work is the best quality and nothing was left unfinished. I kept up to date with my production my keeping a production log, in which I would make a log what I had been working on each week, and what I aimed to get finished by the next. This allowed me to see how much work I had got done and if I was on track, and to see how much progress I'd made. If I noticed I hadn't done as much as I had in other weeks, I could recognise this and put more time into my project so the amount of effort I put into it remained consistent. I also kept a checklist of what needed to be completed in terms of pre-production so I could manage my time more efficiently, and this allowed me to plan my time during school and my own time to make sure I could get everything finished by deadlines that were set.

During this project, there were many unexpected changes that came along with the Covid-19 pandemic. I had to adapt to the rules of lockdown by changing some of the locations and actors so that I would be able to film my short film. This included having a set of backup actors of people in my household just incase lockdown restrictions meant that I couldn't film with my original actors. There were also issues facing resources as lockdown meant learning from home, so I could not access the schools equipment, such as the mics and lighting I would've needed. To overcome this, I looked online for some rental companies and tried to plan out timings of when I could film to solve issues with lighting. 

Health and safety rules mainly include those of my actors and making sure their safety is a priority. For this, I made a risk assessment to make sure I could consider potential risks, how to prevent them, and what to do if they occurred, which is included on my preproduction page. I was planning to have a meeting with all of the actors involved to go through the script and make sure they understood the entire plot of the film, however I couldn't do this in person due to lockdown restrictions, so instead I organised a group chat in which I could contact all the members of the production team and answer any questions they had and go over my plans for the production.  In terms of legal issues, I considered the locations I planned to film in to see if I had permission to film. I did this by checking the council website and seeing if it was public property. In terms of actors, I asked them to fill out a consent form to make sure they were happy with what I wanted to film and I also made sure they had the right to withdraw if they no longer wanted to take part in the project.

Overall, I think I planned the project quite well despite their being changes that were out of my control. It did take longer than I initially predicted it would take to plan, but this was due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown rules that followed, which was unexpected.

Finance 

Most of the financial costs come from the equipment I need to film,  a lot of which I already own. To film, I have a Canon 200D DSLR camera and 2 lenses, and a tripod. Other equipment I need is lighting, a stabiliser and a mic, all of which can be borrowed from school, so there is no cost for filming equipment. The actors are all volunteers so there is also no cost regarding these. A few props would need to be bought or rented, which would be fairly cheap, but for the costumes they are regular outfits that have been preplanned, so there is no added cost for this. Due to lockdown, I may have been unable tp use Final Cut Pro, which is the editing software used in school, so I made sure that I had a backup software, which I chose iMovie or Premiere Pro, so ensure I could continue post production work when I had finished. Because I already had these installed, it meant that I would not have to pay for any editing software, which reduced the finance of the overall production.

Creative process

When I was first presented with this project, I was unsure where to start and how to come up with ideas and plots for the film. To help inspire me, I watched examples of horror films and short films that I could potentially take ideas from. After watching the short films Viscous, 3:36 and The Jigsaw I concluded that I would create a psychological horror, as personally I find them to be more interesting and scary in the way they trick and play with your mind. Other films I enjoy that I took inspiration from are Creep and The Shining. I particularly like 80s horror films as I like the mise-en-scene and their overall appearance, so I decided to incorporate this into my short film by using 80s inspired costumes for my characters and the setting of the bedroom has some elements linked to the 80s horror genre. 

From there I created a few plots that I could develop into a short film, and then finalised one. As it is a psychological horror, I wanted to include a spiritual element to it. I researched different spiritual connections and found the theory that is twin flames, which is a relationship where two people are perfect matches as a result of shared pain or difficulty. They often find ways of communicating with each other before they meet without realising. I took this idea and added a twist to make it fit into the horror genre, so they share the same pain when the character is being kidnapped. 

Project management 

There are many ways I effectively managed my project and made sure it was organised. For example, I kept a production log so I could track my progress and to see how much work I'd completed. 

Other ways I managed my project are the organisation of files and making sure all my work is in the right place and can be easily accessed.

I made sure my contributors were aware of everything that was going on with my project so they were kept up to date, and making sure they were available when I needed them to be.