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Introduction

In this blog I will exploring what I’ve experienced and learnt during my time on this course. Firstly, I will be highlighting the key aspects of my study and filmmaking practice throughout the first two years and how that has led me to where I am now, in my third and final year. Next, I will talk about any relevant work experience I have undertaken, including jobs I have had where the skills I have learnt from them can be transferred to industry jobs. I will also explain my hopes of where my work experience could take me and what I could gain from it. In addition to this, I will talk about my involvement in creative enterprise week and describe how that week was extremely beneficial to me and the opportunities it has given me. Lastly, I will outline what my plans after graduation are as well as and my future.

Key Aspects of Study/Filmmaking Practice

First Year The modules I studied in my first year at university were ‘Introduction to TV Studio Production’, ‘Fundamentals of Filmmaking’, ‘Post Production’ and ‘CINE 1109’ which was mostly about scriptwriting. Despite studying Film and TV Production at college for two years prior to this course, ‘Introduction to TV Studio Production’ was unlike anything I had experienced before. It was a rather intense and fast paced module as we were learning how to put together a live TV show in such a short space of time. In the first term I was intimidated by the roles on offer and decided to only be a guest on the first show we made. Looking back, I do regret that now and would have preferred to have taken this opportunity to practice one of the roles in the gallery. In the second term I was one of the camera operators for our live music show ‘Maximum Volume’ where we showcased up and coming artists. I was primarily on camera two and I recall being rather nervous about filming as the shots we were using incorporated movement. This differed from the first term where the shots were just static.

In the first term of ‘Fundamentals of Filmmaking’ I had to write a portfolio that highlighted my research process, professional working practices of production work and the ability to analyse and evaluate group working practices. To be able to complete this work we had to create a one-minute documentary. For our documentary we interviewed London based photographer Jamie Drew and we called it ‘An Interview with Jamie Drew’. For this project, I was the editor as editing was something I really enjoyed whilst at college and I wanted to pursue it further. However, as these projects were combined, I remember struggling to highlight the research process from an editor’s point of view as their job doesn’t really begin until after filming and I was writing that portfolio during filming.

In the second term we were given scripts and had the opportunity to create a film using said script. My group decided we liked the script tilted ‘Dogface’, so we created a film about a girl whose relationship had fallen apart after an accident had left her face with scars. On this project I was the producer, so it was down to me to find the actors, locations, scheduling, budgeting etc. Doing this project helped me realise that I did not like producing and I would have been happier being the editor. ‘Dogface’ was a challenge for us as we decided we wanted to create the bedroom in the studios at university. We made this decision because our film was set in the 90s and we thought the best way to capture the 90s aesthetic would have been to build the set ourselves. Looking back, we probably could’ve used all of our props in an existing bedroom instead of building one from scratch. It was a challenge because none of us had built a set before, nor had we used the lights in the studio we were filming in. Despite this, making this film helped me understand how important researching things such as lighting is. We knew how to do a three point lighting setup using the dado kits, but not using studio lights, which we should have learnt before using them.

Using the footage from both ‘An Interview with Jamie Drew’ and ‘Dogface’, I completed coursework one and two for the ‘Post Production’ module. Coursework one was about the editing the interview and it was a piece of work that I was very proud of considering it was the first film I had made at university. 

Coursework two was about discussing a specific part of editing for ‘Dogface’. I chose to talk about colour grading as it was something that was fairly new to me at the time, so I wanted to show how I graded the film and why.

Lastly, I discovered that I enjoyed the scriptwriting aspect of ‘CINE 1109’ more than I was expecting. Before doing this module, I had never written a proper script despite studying Film and TV Production for two years. I had only made shot lists before this, and the films I had made previously were mostly unscripted or had no dialogue. Although the script I wrote for this module could have been better, I was still learning, and I still enjoyed doing it. Being able to write my own script and learning the basics of scriptwriting on this module definitely helped me decide to pick ‘Writing for the Screen’ as my second-year option, which in turn, made me enjoy scriptwriting even more.

Second Year As I previously mentioned, I decided to pick ‘Writing for the Screen’ as my option in this year. I felt that it was somewhat an easy decision for me to make as I did not enjoy ‘Introduction to TV Studio Production’ as it was a very intense environment and scriptwriting was a skill I wanted to develop further. In the first term of this module we had to produce a 1000 word essay analysing a script for a film or TV show of our choice. I chose to analyse part of the script for the film “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006). Doing this essay really helped me understand the format of a script, screenplay conventions and how to write dialogue. In the second term we had to produce a web series outline and proposal. Our web series was titled ‘The 25 Club’ where every man dies on his 25th birthday. The web series had twelve episodes all together which mean we all got to write three episodes each. Whilst writing these episodes was challenging, it was refreshing being able to write whatever we wanted without the restrictions that usually come with writing a film such as casting, or budgeting, as were not actually making the series. I also found the readings on this course extremely helpful, not only for this module, but for what I am doing now too. I found The Writer’s Journey (Vogler, 2007) extremely helpful when writing a script. In his book he explains there are eight ‘common and useful archetypes’ (Vogler, p. 26 2007) and that seven of them are ‘emanations of the hero’(Vogler, p.25 2007). Keeping these archetypes in mind meant writing the different kinds of characters with motives and reason became easier to understand.

(Vogler, 2007)

Another module I studied this year that I felt was beneficial was ‘Production Practices’. Across the two terms we created the films ‘50PHI3’  and ‘Swipe Right’. I was the editor and co-writer on both of these projects as I wanted to use what I’d been learning in ‘Writing for the Screen’ to use. Whilst ‘50PHI3’ was more fun to write and film, ‘Swipe Right’ was the more demanding and challenging film out of the two.

To make the film innovative we decided to make it interactive by letting the audience pick who the protagonist goes on date with. This was unlike anything we had made before and due to the interactivity, it made both writing the film and editing it rather difficult. Due to the multiple directions the story could go in, it took a lot of planning and it resulted in many scripts and many edits. Although it was quite exciting that we managed to accomplish an interactive film, I think the story suffered as we were so focused on the interactivity. This module taught me how important continuity is and when you become stuck with developing your film, revert back to the origin of the story to ensure you do not forget what it is about. In this clip below, you can see how we incorporated the interactivity towards the end of the clip.

Third Year In the past two years I have expanded my skillset thoroughly. Specifically, in editing and scriptwriting as they are the two skills that I am most passionate about in terms of filmmaking. I feel as though my last two years on this course has really helped me understand which aspects of filmmaking I enjoy and do not enjoy. I have attempted camera operating, producing, editing, scriptwriting, production designing and lighting, and although that is not every part of filmmaking, I feel as though I have tried a fair share of roles. Now I am preparing to film my graduate project, for which I am directing a sitcom. I have never directed before, especially in a TV studio setting but I am feeling confident about it due to the directing workshops I have been attending this year as well as the recent TV studio workshops we have been having.

Work Experience

I am yet to complete any relevant work experience for this course. I attempted to accomplish this during the summer, but it became difficult for me as I moved back home briefly where opportunities in the industry are scarce. However, I have been in contact with an editor who used to work at Grey Advertising, and he believes that he will be able to get me some work experience at that company in March 2020. We have been talking since January 2020 but due to his busy schedule and deadlines, it may take him some time to set something up. I feel as though this opportunity will be hugely beneficial for me to see editors working on advertisements and promotional videos in a real life setting. As I have mentioned, editing is what I am most passionate about so for me there would be nothing more exciting for me to be a part of. Despite not having relevant work experience I do have a part time job at a bar. Working here has given me transferable skills such as working under pressure, dealing with rude customers, working as a part of a group and it has built up my communication skills as well as my confidence. Although working in the industry and working in a bar may differ greatly, my experience working at the bar will still be beneficial to me when looking for jobs and even working in the industry.

Creative Enterprise Week

I attempted to make the most of this week by applying for the interviews on offer and attending every talk that was held. The first lecture I attended was the live client briefs. We heard from #OneLess, IBEX Earth and Helping Rhinos. Although they sounded very interesting, especially the Helping Rhinos campaign, due to many of us focusing on our graduate projects, the pitches did not go ahead. I do have plans to contact Simon Jones, the CEO of Helping Rhinos in the near future however, to see if I can edit some of the footage he has to make content for his website. His charity affected me the most so I would like to do something to help.

The next talk during creative enterprise week was from Perspective Pictures. They explained who they were, and I was extremely impressed with their talk and their presentation. I enjoyed the promotional content they had produced, and they informed us toward the end of their talk that they were seeking students to interview for a couple of jobs. One of the jobs they were looking to have filled was a video editor, so I decided to put myself down for an interview. Despite being very nervous before the interview, they soon got back in contact to inform me that they would like to see more of my work and set up a future interview which I was very excited about. Similarly, the Edinburgh TV Festival sounded really fun and an amazing opportunity to me, so I interviewed with them too. They also got back in touch with me recently and informed me that they would like to fast track me to one of their Network assessment days. The applications are not open right now so I just need to wait until they do and I will apply.

Future Plans

I have discovered that over the past few years, that what was originally passion for film and TV production, has dwindled. Due to this I have been considering other career paths to research further when I graduate such as teaching. However, although I may not be as passionate about film and TV production as I once was, it is still a career that I’m interested in, therefore I will try and work in the industry first before venturing out and exploring teaching. I’m intrigued to see where my interviews for Perspective Pictures and the Edinburgh TV Festival will take me. Myself and my group also have plans to submit out graduate project to the Edinburgh TV Festival. Furthermore, I’m excited to see if any opportunities arise from the work experience I have set up or if it can put me in contact with some useful people. My ultimate goal is to work in a trailer house, specifically Intermission Film.

(Intermission Film, 2020)

(Intermission Film, 2020)

As they are a prestigious editing company, I do understand that I would need to improve my editing skills greatly as well as gaining far more industry experience. However, they occasionally post internships which I often keep an eye out for. Although I stated that I’m not as passionate about film and TV production as I once was, I still adore editing and I hope that my future career can be based around it.

Bibliography:

Intermission Film. (2020). [online] Available at: https://www.intermissionfilm.com/all [Accessed 13 Feb. 2020].

Vogler, C. (2007). The Writer's Journey. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Production, pp.25, 26.