For the idea formation and development stage of the pre-production, I found this to be a rather difficult task due to the fact that I struggle to come up with creative and memorable narratives. However, after quite a long time I came up with a half decent idea, which I developed into a good script. I do not feel that it is massively superior to any other narrative, but I was happy with. So I think that in the future I would make sure that I received help for the development of my ideas to get some fresh ideas for it. The idea came from inspirations such as: personal experiences, theatre productions and family reasons. This is the reason I wanted to make such an intense drama about mental illnesses, as it is very important to me personally.

I found the planning and organising of the film very easy. This is mostly because I am quite an organised person, so it comes very naturally to me. Although some of the connections fell through originally – such as the original location idea – I had prepared for the issues and so I had a backup for all the issues. I had already chosen my actors because when I was writing the script, I realised that these people fit the character roles perfectly. I also feel that aspects such as the production file were complete to a fairly high standard and made sure that everything is completely organised.

There were a few issues with the camera side of the film. Knowing that I would be shooting in low light conditions, I decided against using the EX3 because it does not cope very well. So I opted for using my DSLR, which in hindsight was not a good idea due to the quality. I found that because of the low lighting conditions, there was a lot of grain in the shots which also made it very difficult to focus, making some of the shots look a little soft, even though they weren’t, plus my camera man handled the situation very well. Next time I will ensure that I use a better camera to get the effect required.

Being as the sound was a key aspect for my film, I felt that it worked terrifically. The sound we picked up on the shoot was perfectly shot and crisp and fits in with the themes of the film. Although I initially didn’t want any background music, I tried using some during the edit and it worked very well, so I kept it in. The first piece I thought of was ‘Moonlight Sonata’ by Beethoven, but due to copyright restrictions, it was do-able, but very difficult, so I opted for a similar piece that was completely copyright free. I also added a cello track which was massively reverberated to make it sound eerie and harsh on the ear, fitting with themes throughout the film.

The lighting for my film, was incredibly basic, because due to the small spaces and complex scripting, I opted for a single light set up, which involved a dangling orange light bulb and a single 300w light in the corner added extra light to the room. This meant that that although it made the camerawork very hard, there were a lot of harsh lighting effects and eccentric shadows, which also added extra effect to the film. Howver, next time I think I would make sure that there was more light (For the camera) and then use effects in the post-production to add these effects afterwards as this would make things a lot simpler.

Directing and Producing is one of my favourite aspects of the film making process. It enables me to take control of my film and make sure that it comes out perfectly. I felt that I was quite good at my job role. I made sure that everyone felt comfortable on the shoot, made sure that everyone was comfortable with everything that they were doing (especially the actors) and I made sure that everyone was thoroughly catered for, having made a substantial meal for the cast and crew. However, because of the small space and the fact that one of the actors only had a small role, there were a lot of people sitting around off set, so in future I will make sure that they are properly looked after or not called until the appropriate time.

The editing was the most complicated aspect of this project. Because of the nature of the film, the editing would need to be fast, energetic, yet twisted and jerky to account for the subject matter. I had a lot of issues initially with finding space to do the editing as all of the post production suites were booked out, meaning I was unable to edit for quite a while. In future I will make sure that I book some editing space well in advance to ensure that I get enough time editing. However, I feel that some of the effects and the cutting of the shots are well put together and I am happy with the outcome from the post production, even if I have had to cut a lot of shots due to not fitting, etc…

So overall I am very happy with the outcome of my film and even though there have been a number of hurdles along the way, I feel that I have overcome them quite well and made sure that my film could be the best it possibly could.