Pre-Production
The overall pre-production process went smoothly other than a couple of hiccups here and there with changes in crew roles. However, myself and crew members were in constant communication in making sure all paperwork was done in time before our planned shooting dates. Being the Cinematographer, I was able to meet with our director three times a week in order to correlate on both the shot list and storyboard.
To start with, we went with the same story that we had based our film trailer on the last trimester, while adding new plot twists and some minor changes to the story and characters.
When coming up with the final draft of the story, I met with our scriptwriter after he had finished our first draft, and we worked together as I gave my thoughts and he gave his, coming up with the final draft, despite having only two meetings to finalize the final draft, it was a lengthy process where we spent the entire day at SAE working on it. Later on, we were finally able to prepare all the paperwork necessary to start shooting.
This being my first time being the Cinematographer for a film, I really enjoyed the new experience and preparation as I get to become a little more seasoned in that important aspect of filmmaking. Preparing the shot list, storyboard, the constant research in cinematography and operating a camera have all helped me in feeling more confident going into the production stage of the film, I would book out the screen screen with my group so that we could practice certain shots with the black magic camera that we decided to use in order to make the production go smoothly and not having to waste time by second-guessing anything.
Given the short notice crew member/director that our group had obtained, it was a challenge to really familiarize him with our story and script on such short notice as it’s very important for the director to be fully immersed in every detail and aspect of story and characters in order to fully bring the characters to life on the day of shooting, and after a couple of weeks of classes and meetings the director was able to know the script just as well as myself and the scriptwriter.
As we got closer to shooting our films, we had a session on EP scheduling where we learnt the proper way of scheduling a day of shooting using a very convenient program, as we took time during class to all agree on an efficient schedule. Looking back, I believe we could have shortened the days and added an extra day of shooting to get the most efficient work from everyone on set by keeping our energy levels high, this could perhaps be an adjustment for next trimesters documentary film.
Despite having decent communication throughout, it still could have been more frequent as at times certain crew members were not present on group chats or meetings while others were, so I believe better communication in getting all group members to be present at once weather it be for an online chat or in person will be a priority heading into future productions. Having to do two roles myself, that of Cinematographer and Editor, I clearly see the correlation between both roles and how they intertwine more than ever before. However When putting together the shot list, they must be separated in my mind in order to create a cohesive and efficient shot list. At first, I would write down the shot list in the way I would like the film to be edited it which resulted in very long shot lists that would have been a hassle to film. After advice from my lecturer I was able to understand how a scene can consist of as little as three shots, and in the post production process I would still manage to make it look like there were more just by alternating frequently.
I also had to work with the director on the storyboards, which was a little bit of a challenge at first as firstly neither of us really knew how to draw well, and we were not exactly sure of the detail that had to go into the description of each scene. After some clarification from our lecturer, we were able to do the best we could and develop a storyboard not just for the sake of paperwork, but for it to actually help us during our shoot.
I was working closely with the producer in terms of our location scouting, we had many issues and setbacks in terms of location as it first we were going to use our previous directors villa, however due to it’s distance away from the rest of the crew and actors, it was not convenient. We then considered an Air B&B or asking our friends around university. It came close to our scheduled day of shooting until we had asked animation student Arash if we could film at his house which had a very convenient location and he agreed.
When it came to our casting, I was not able to make it due to obligations such as internships had informed the rest of my group. The producer and director let me know that it was fine seeing that I was the DOP and editor and was not fully required to be there. Looking back on that, I will make sure to be present for any future castings as I would also like to give my own suggestions to the crew, despite me not being the one making the final call as DOP and editor.
When raising money for our film we decided to go for a bake sale. We got a variety of homemade snacks and displayed them near the SAE reception. Our bake sale went better than we thought and we were able to raise 700 dirhams which was more than enough for transport and food for the whole crew, as well as the props that we needed. We initially had planned a second bake sale for another day, however, after making our calculations we came to realize that we had enough to support any transport, food, and props that we would need for two days of filming.
With all the call sheets, forms, scheduling, actors, equipment and props in place, we were ready to shoot our short film and were all looking forward to creating a great film. Personally I was looking forward to filming with the vision of certain edits in mind. Overall despite struggles within the crew and other situations our of our control, it all worked out and we managed to get everything in place.
When looking back at the entire pre-production process, I believe we could have been much more patient when it came to selecting our actors for the film. This trimester has given us the lesson that performance is very important when it comes to evoking the type of emotion that you are looking for to the viewers, and that post production cannot save poor performances, it can only enhance the settings and vibe. As well as the value of pre-production work, the more work put into pre-production the much easier and smoother it becomes in the production and even post-production stages.