Final Evaluation
Objective Assessment:
For this module, I set myself the task of making a profile film about a person that works in my field. After thinking of initial ideas for a while, I eventually chose to make my profile film about Danny Stanton, a dirt jumper and trail builder that worked at Bradford Hollow. I planned to make this idea my main plan for the module as the place Danny worked at is rather local.
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Creative Process:
In early 2024, he moved to New Zealand to continue his work around that country, so that meant we had to communicate online. We did this via Instagram, and we planned for Danny to send me audio responses to the questions I have asked him to answer, as hosting an online interview would be very difficult with our different time zones. I planned to start filming b-roll after I have written the script, but I could not do that without the audio responses from Danny, but just in case, I recorded various b-roll shots of the Hollow to hope they would fit with Danny’s answers correctly. After several weeks of preparation, Danny sent me the narrated answers to the questions. Though I recorded footage of various shots of the Hollow, most of the it fit in with the script with Danny’s answers.
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Technical Execution:
After writing the script, some parts of the b-roll I have recorded would not fit in correctly in the final edit. After discussing with Danny if I could use some of the footage he has recorded on his YouTube channel, he politely agreed. I planned to use the footage he recorded of himself working in the Hollow as it shows how he built and maintained the park during his time in the United Kingdom. When I used his footage in my product, I made sure to put watermarks in with Danny’s footage, linking the viewer back to the original video that Danny made and uploaded to his YouTube channel, “Danny Digs”. I also linked his YouTube channel as well as his Instagram account in the credits section of the profile film.
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Collaboration and Team Dynamics:
When me and Danny were discussing ideas for my profile film, he recommended that I get information and evidence from other dirt jumpers that he worked with at the Hollow. After I contacted multiple of them via Instagram, none of them replied with any material I could use in the final product. There were some difficulties with me and Danny’s communication; as we live in very different parts of the world, our time zones were causing moderate delays between our responses to each other.
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Adaptability and Learning:
I can’t say I have learnt much during this module, but if I had to say if I had learnt anything during the development of this profile film, I could say I have gained more experience with camera work and shot composition. I have also gained insight into what it is like to collaborate with other people with working on a project, especially when it comes to collaborating with people online to get certain tasks done.
Successes and Challenges:
Though the production of the final output of this module could be better, the production process of the profile film overall went well enough. When recording the b-roll of the Hollow for the profile film, the park was completely empty, allowing me to get some exceptional shots of the park in its undisturbed state. The emptiness also allowed me to pick up the sounds of the forest the park was built in, adding more peace and tranquility to what would normally be a hectic place filled with dirt jumpers.
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Final Thoughts and Future Recommendations:
If I were to detail the experience I have had with this module and the production process of the profile film, I would say that it did not feel too stressful with managing this module, as well as the final output. If I would take anything I have learnt from the experience I have had during my time working in this module into any of my future projects that I may work on, I would take the knowledge I have learned from filming outside and take from it my understanding of composition and apply it into the framing and layout of the shots in any future project that is in the form of a moving image product, such as a movie or any kind of animation. I will also take the experience I have had with collaborating directly with another person on a project and apply it to any future projects I may orchestrate that may be ambitious enough to require the collaborative efforts of several people to get completed.