Production, aka hell. Production for me may have been one of the most stressful times of my life thus far. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat… maybe I’m being a little dramatic. But it truly was hard. I’m writing this on the day I finished editing the short film and I cannot believe I can say that. Whilst this whole experience has been hard, I am so unbelievably proud I got through it and have come out the other side with a completed film. I know now that any other assignments other teachers fling at me, I will be able to do it.

My main issue with the production stage was the unknown. Will my actors show up? Will the footage still be on my SD card tomorrow? A lesson I’ve learnt from this is to have faith and to have done the organisational work to back it up.

There were things that inhibited me from truly leaning into my role as director during shooting and has possibly meant that my artistic vision was not fully realised. But I’m not going to name names. As my first time directing, I am going to be proud of myself and what I have made.

I am proud of the relationships I built with the actors on the shoots. By creating a safe and welcoming space I was able to direct the actors to get the acting I needed for the scene. I am particularly proud of the acting Charlotte (Sarah) did and am very grateful that she decided to be a part of it all.

I found it difficult to communicate my desired camera angles and movements to Christina because we were both new to cameras in general. To get around this, I would physically show Christina how I wanted to shoot a scene as showing is sometimes easier that telling. I am happy with how this went and I feel that we achieved this to the best of our shared ability.

In my next short film I know I will definitely be less stressed due to my recent knowledge of how short films, specifically the production of short films work. I also now understand the importance of a good support structure. Be that the crew, cast, friends or family.