Written reflection

I hope my work lives up to the studio’s expectations in terms of plotting and editing. Although this is a low-budget film, clever or intriguing plotting can take the whole film beyond its worth. And the quality of the editing determines the upper and lower limits of the whole film, so I spent a lot of time adjusting the rhythm of the editing.

Although this was a near zero budget film, my equipment was my iphone12, and the actor was my girlfriend. The funding was only $50. If more could have been spent on the picture, the equipment and the people, the quality of the film would have been further improved.

On the other hand, the biggest trouble I have with the creative process is that I am both a director and an actor. I must use accurate fixed shots to ensure that my images match my expectations. In addition, I had to communicate my script and ideas to the actors in advance, which I found to be the most problematic thing about the whole process. Firstly, even a professional actor can’t fully understand what the director is really thinking, let alone a vegetarian actor who doesn’t even have a strong sense of acting or camera work. You need to try and communicate repeatedly to get the picture to meet half of your expectations (I guess). I have learnt on reflection that you have to let the actor fully understand your ideas and the plot before shooting to ensure the shoot goes smoothly, otherwise it’s a waste of each other’s time.

I had the general framework of the story at the beginning of the course, but when I wrote it down, I realized that the script left a lot to be desired. I also experienced the pain of writing a script – never being satisfied, always feeling that something was wrong, and even wondering if my work would suck. I must thank my girlfriend who gave me positive feedback so that I could stop obsessing over my script, which I ended up completing in about two weeks. The next step was to purchase the filming equipment and I purchased a retractable phone mount to ensure my fixed shots were accurate. The next step was filming, which I expected to complete within a week. The final step was editing, which is my strong point, so I wasn’t too worried about it. I found a free background music online and edited my footage to the beat of the music. The final step was to review my film to see if there were any flaws in the video footage and editing rhythm, if the music and sound effects were too big or too small, if there were any errors in the subtitles, etc.

To conclude, I am not particularly happy with my short film, it is not my best level or work. But I have still grown and learnt new things from this film making and I have gained some creative experience for myself. In my next film I will avoid the mistakes I made on this shoot and use low budget filmmaking techniques to keep the budget down.