Introduction
Our graduate film, Phantom, was an overall success as we were able to complete the film with the directors intended vision despite the hardships and adversities COVID-19 caused us. Due to everyone’s contribution to the project by putting in maximum effort into their respective roles enabled the film to come together in the end.
Because of COVID-19, most of our lectures and seminars took place online via zoom calls which also meant most of the communication was done via WhatsApp. The lack of face-to-face interaction impacted the communication as we had to wait for someone to reply in the group chat and if they don’t reply in sufficient time then they’d get a complaint to our person group tutor. This wasn’t good as people had work or was busy doing other things so sending a communication issues complaint sends the wrong message to our tutor. If our organisation was improved for example, by setting up zoom call meetings so everyone is updated with the latest information and what tasks need to be done. Once this was implemented, the road was less bumpy and smoother.
Synopsis
Phantom is an experimental psychological horror. It takes inspiration from anime horror like Tokyo Ghoul as well as 20th-century avant-garde filmmaking techniques, an example being the works of Maya Deren. The film will be presented in grainy black and white.
My role
My role for Phantom was lead editor. This role was exciting for me as editing is not my strongest suit so being put in the position to learn and enhance my skills was a great experience for me. Also considering the role for this film required advanced colour grading and visual effects skills. This was challenging for me for multiple reasons. One being my limited experience with visuals and two being the insufficient time which kindly was extended by 2 weeks. The initially deadline would have caused me to rush meaning a overall lesser product in the end. Because vfx isn’t my strongest skill, I reached out to a couple vfx artists on our course who taught me how to achieve the skill. I also watched various online tutorials to assist me with it too. My group was an instrumental help as communicating with them on a regular basis enabled me a find said vfx artists. Due to the limited time to edit, I had to set out weekly tasks to ensure I would not fall behind. For example, week 1 the task would be to have a first assembly together, week 2 the task would be to lock in the colour grade etc. One issue I faced was exporting times via Adobe Premiere Pro which took up to 10 hours some time. This is most likely due to the extremely large 4K video files and extensive colour grading effects. As a result, the director and I attended university in hopes of reducing the export times by using the super-fast computers there. It was also important both me and the director to edit together so that we could realise her vision more efficiently rather than her sending notes after every draft.
What went well
Despite the limitations due to covid and budget, I believe we were still able to pull off our vision for the film. With the help of the fantastic equipment provided by the university and everyone financial contribution to the film, we were able to fully realise the shots, locations, food, props, costume and more. For example, our Indiegogo campaign failed to raise enough funds for the film so each member of the group equally contributed so filming could go ahead. I believe our campaign failed because not every member of the group promoted the campaign enough.
As a group we always thought contingency plans. Just in case one plan falls through or one person doesn’t show up, we have a backup. We ensured every member of the group knew how to operate the basics of each equipment, so they know how to use it in case someone is unable to attend. For example, despite being editor, I was on set every day and assisted with the sound and lighting. On the last shoot day, our assisted camera called in sick, however, we had a 2nd AC on set as backup.
What could have gone better
Upon reflection, I believe our communication and organisation could have been much better as there was a lot of miss communication and disorganization on both pre-production and production. For example, the correct parking location was not displayed on the call sheet which resulted in lateness and the shoot being delayed. Another was not securing the right license so that we could light a candle inside the studio. The permission we had didn’t give us the right and it was also on the wrong day. Lastly, the shoot overran which tends to happen on many shoots but could have been avoided if we were informed about the closing time of the university. This resulted in the last few shots being rushed thus impacting the film’s quality and our grade. With better organisation and communication, we could have saved much more time and experienced litter to no confusion ultimately resulting in a better film.
Bibliography
Youtube.com. 2021. Before you continue to YouTube. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc5NyfJBZBg&t=4s> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
Youtube.com. 2021. Tokyo Ghoul. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aMOurgDB-o> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
Instagram. 2021. Phantom Instagram Page. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/phantom.film.uk/> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
Indiegogo. 2021. Phantom Film. [online] Available at: <https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/phantom-film?fbclid=IwAR24AfzUQa4PtdiumYR7A_um1I8TCBI0zuudR2LYVojnzJzDU3pa3YE5Rh4#/> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
Youtube.com. 2021. Vfx. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb2bbfiNBXA> [Accessed 14 June 2021].
