Depict Evaluation

What was the task?

The task that I got given was to produce a 90 second film that can be uploaded to the Depict website. The depict website is an annual video producing contest where anyone around the world can create a short film and upload it to their website where the owners of the website will pick out a winner. We got put into small groups of 3-4 randomly to help create this short film and had 4 weeks to complete everything including the editing.

What was your idea?

During the planning process for our Depict short film everyone inside my group created a mind map of their ideas and then we shared each idea to everyone inside my group. The final idea we all agreed on was of having a random person inside the college find out hes invisible to their classmates, stressing over it the protagonist would of eventually went onto the internet and searched for the problem finding the problem to fix himself from being invisible.

What planning documentation / process did you have to complete and how much input did you have?

During the whole process of creating the short film i felt like i 'pulled my own weight' as i was able to complete a storyboard which took my group a week and was incomplete by the time i came back, and also helped my group with other small tedious things during the planning process. When it came to filming not on schedule my group didn't arrive to many lessons leaving it to me being there trying to finish incomplete work that my piers couldn't do. I switched with the guy holding the shotgun microphone during the filming as he felt more comfortable with the camera, then i was left alone to edit the film. However, i did leave for the last 2 lessons due to going on holiday in another country but i finished all the work that i was assigned to do.

Did your finished work reflect the planning you had completed?

No, it did not. When it came to filming the short film it was so rushed that we only used a few shots from the storyboard so when it came to me editing the depict film it didn't make much sense near the end of the film and had many errors in the film (i.e. people covering the camera, off focused camera). When it came to the teacher seeing our attempt of bringing this mess together we had to re-shoot shots so the film would make sense.

What changes did you make from your planning?

We stuck to the idea and the outcome from the planning however, we didn't use any of the shots we discussed/drew out when planning for the film. By the end of filming we had not even half the shots we originally had from the storyboard leaving half the shots during editing being very stale/boring as they had to be dragged on to get it to 90 seconds.

What do you think is the most successful aspect of the project?

 1) This shot was taken after we editing and found out we need to shoot more film so the film could make more sense. It shows the protagonist trying to join the conversation however, the others cant see him leaving it to being a 1:1 conversation.

2) I found this shot successful because it was the only time we had a very smooth/continuous shot. The shot before was of the protagonist running down the hallways of the college witnessing hes invisible to everyone and then rushes back into one of the rooms where he logs on researching his problem

What would you change or do differently if you were to undertake the task again?

If i was able to retake this film i would change everything, from the story to when we were shooting the depict film. However, if i had to stick to the current idea we used i would change:

1) I would change this shot because it has many problems, how unfocused this shot was is the main problem, you can barely make out what the protagonist is doing and also how wide this shot was. It should have been more zoomed in as it shows of unnecessary background footage.

2) I would change this shot because it shows off the camera man zooming it/messing around with the camera as it shakes throughout the shot. Also during editing it should have a slight zoom effect in post production as it feels very dragged out.

What did you enjoy the most about this project?

Through all the many bad things that came out during the planning/filming of this depict film i enjoyed working with the equipment, trying out new things, learning new things from editing to planning that you have to sign so many forms/letters.