TRANSITION; PROJECT EVALUATION

Now that it has come to the end of the transition unit, I will critically analyse the project, detailing what went well and what could have been improved. At the start of the unit I was happy to begin and get started, I decided I wanted to pursue being a producer on the project because I had already been a 'VT Producer' on the previous project and I enjoyed that role a lot, I resonate well with a role that is about organisation and preparedness so I wanted to continue that. The only other role I would have liked to pursue would be a writer, I enjoy writing scripts and coming up with new creative ideas, therefore also in this project I was key in choosing the scenes from Riverdale, the Netflix Original Show that we were recreating, as well as drafting a script for it.

Herne Bay Clocktower - Exterior Location Shots

Firstly, I think that we were really successful within our project because of our time keeping. When we started the project at the end of March/beginning of February, I, as the producer, spoke to the group and said that we should set a filming date instantly because it would aid us in the pre-production. We set the preliminary date as the 1st of May, this would then mean that myself and Sonia, would be able to finalise locations and cast a lot easier. It also meant that Sonia and Laura, the director and DoP of the project, could begin work on shot lists and storyboards ready for our filming days. Setting a preliminary deadline of filming, even if it does eventually change, was really good for us in order to be organised and prepared, as the producer I have to make sure I am organised and for me, knowing my dates and deadlines is part of that.

Exterior Shots

My first involvement within the project was creating the script. It was a long process because we ended up changing our scene. First off, we wanted to recreate the opening 2-3 minutes of the very first episode of Riverdale, obviously due to logistical reasons, we had to take parts out that we wouldn't be able to film (for example a police boat sweeping the river). When I began writing the script I felt like we had lost the drama of the scene through what we had cut, it no longer felt like what we intended and was more of a locational shoot. I spoke to the group and told them that I thought we should change the scene in some way, in order to bring in more aspects of drama, so myself, Laura and Katie rematched episode one to find another scene to include. We really liked the scene of main characters Jughead and Archie meeting late night in the diner and talking, it contained a lot of drama because of the topic of their conversation. After choosing that scene, I had an idea of how we could use this scene to combine it with the opening we originally intended to do, thus making it quite different from the original. I rewrote the script in this way and the group really liked it, so we went forward with that. I think it was imperative we changed the scenes in the way that we did otherwise our piece would have really lacked the drama and suspense that I think we did create.

This unit, I think has been the best for team work and everyone pulling together, and I think this shows within the final product. We all worked really well together and although we all had our each individual roles, we all allowed each other to give opinions and help out with other aspects. For example on day 2 of shooting in the diner, we were quite thrown by the lighting as we didn't get a chance to recce it, and some of the shoots the DoP had intended to shoot didn't end up working because of that. Myself and Katie pitched in by suggesting some shots that we thought would work.

Exterior Shots

Something that I have learnt throughout these different units, is too always have a back up plan for in case something or someone drops out or something else changes. As the producer I was in charge of finding the perfect locations for our shoot. Whilst I still think some of the locations for the exterior shots could have been better, I tried my best to find the best locations in the amount of time we had. I applied for permissions to film at two locations, for our exterior shots through the Kent Film Office. I had to send off applications forms and then liaise with the owners of each location to answer any questions they may have about the shoot. About a week before filming, one of locations wouldn't answer the phone, though they emailed to say we could film we hadn't had any more confirmation about dates etc and so we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to film there unless they got in contact. Luckily we had a back up plan in the form of the second location that I had applied for. Having this back up plan already in place really took the stress out the situation, it mean't that the lack of contact we were receiving from our initial location didn't matter.

Whilst filming and editing across the project we had two main issues. Firstly we struggled to create the 'dream like' atmospheric shoots that we intended and pitched. The exterior shots that we used originally, as Simon told us after a tutorial, were boring and there was nothing interesting ab
out them. Knowing this we had to reshoot in order to try and give it the more atmospheric look we wanted. We discussed as a group and decided to head up to Herne Bay to film some shots, we have all been there before and we were sure wed be able to get some interesting shots to look at. The shots that we managed to get from Herne Bay, such as close ups of a Clocktower and a memorial, really lifted our piece and gave it a more 'dream like' feel. Perhaps with more time we could have found some even better locations but I think we did the best we could in the time we had. Secondly, the other issue we had was some sound on day two of filming in the diner. The clip mics that we had were not working and so we had to use a boom pole to record the sound, this mean't that we had some background fuzzy noise in the edit. Katie as the editor did her best to try and remove as much of this as possible.

Website Photos

Something that was different within the Transition unit, was creating a website. With each unit we are used to putting in some research but have never made a website before for it to all be published. I took the lead in creating the website as it is something I have never done before and I wanted to give it a try. I used Wix Website Editor, I began by creating the logo using the headings on the site, I found two different headings that I think went really well with each other. Once everyone had sent over the information to go onto the website, I pasted it onto individual 'Producer', 'Director', 'Editor' and 'Director of Photography' pages. I struggled most with finding the correct background images to fit the pages as i wanted to make the website as professional and visually pleasing as possible. I think if i was to do something like this again i would be more aware of it from the start of the project and perhaps take as many pictures as possible throughout shooting days that could have been part of it.


Overall, I think the transition unit went really well. I enjoyed being a producer and taking up the roles such as location scouting, script writing and editing, creating schedules, call sheets and finally making sure that the script was followed correctly on the days of filming. I felt within this project that  I could apply some of the experiences I had from previous units, such as having back up locations and working better within a team. I would say that I enjoyed this project most and felt a lot more confident about filming and editing something that would be a great final product. Being a producer is still something I really enjoyed, whilst I also really enjoy writing and hope to write my own piece, being a producer is definitely something I would like to pursue and i'm really happy with how everything came out.

Final Cut of Riverdale Recreation;