Evaluation

Introduce the project and theme in your own words

For my Final Major Project, I have created a Documentary on the Caterham 7 for those that are and aren't aware of it. To prove and show that is more than just a car. 

List five strengths and five weaknesses in your final product

Strengths

Colourful and Bright

Clear audio

Engaging

Informative

Well shot

Weaknesses

Duration

Video Quality

History Accuracy

Nerd Friendly Approach

Mix Sections up

I have taken my weaknesses on board and made a few adjustments towards the older ones which were the duration of which I made when I was editing my fix. This made my film only get cut down by 6 seconds and I know that that is not a lot but there are valuable information and valuable shots to the whole film in every shot. This is proven by the voice overs which carried on throughout the whole film which are the main pivot of the film and so removing any part of what was said in these voice-overs would have changed my film for the worse and so made the film a lot worse in general and I couldn't risk that especially since it was information and not just me talking irrelevantly. I have also taken on board the nerd-friendly approach comment which was because this is a lot of information so perhaps I could have just had a little fewer statistics and information as I could see that if that is not what you are watching this film for then it could get tiresome and disengaging making the film bad to that viewer. I agree that I could have mixed the sections up a little as well as this would have given it a more dynamic range of viewpoint but I didn't do that as it would affect the whole planning and storyboard greatly and make it effectively useless which would be a very bad thing indeed, so I didn't do it. I think that the only section worth revisiting would be the history as well since that was a long section but the stand up was spread out and so was the voice-overs. Speaking of History, I gather that some of the information I said about the origin of Colin Chapman was false and some people have been offended by that but what I found was what the internet says and what came up in my research so this is why I used it.

What was the main idea? Can you describe it? Can you reference any influences here? (artists, directors, animators, brands etc.)

The main idea of the film was to showcase to people about a car that is very rare of which not many people have heard of before so I wanted to show this to them. Not just that but the fact it is the price of a standard road car as well can only be another reason why this car has to be talked about. A few people in the film didn't agree as they said it hadn't slipped under the radar and that it is more of a niche. I couldn't agree more but the problem with that is that it is rare and also niche.

Influences, on the other hand, Gavin Whitehead has directed Top Gear and the Grand Tour and has played a big part in my development ever since my case study of him and so the shows have been a big influence as mentioned various times throughout my project. The reason for this is because they are professional car shows and so they are very much what I want to aim for. I wanted a higher standard and this was the best I could think of, that I had already seen and looked up to. There are others on Youtube and such but the individual way that Top Gear and the Grand Tour show is what I wanted to aim for specifically. I love the filters they use as they bring the best out of the car as it highlights the car and not the background and that is what my film is about. I love the fact that they do voice-overs and stand up as well as that. The reason being is that you can connect with the film more, if you have a voice over or a stand up then you will see the passion they gave for the car they are reviewing and so allows you to connect with them and it allows you to connect to the film which is exactly what I want as it makes it better. I also am a big fan of the film Rush by Ron Howard and even though this hasn't been frequently mentioned it has played a part of this process with the shots used in the back of my mind. You really get to know the car in the show's reviews and it helps you get a great understanding of it and so does that film.

Another inspiration for me would be in the previous year (Media Level 2) when some other students did a Documentary and then got Distinctions for it, that is what I want to achieve and so I know that Level 3 is a big step up but I feel that this really helps me believe it is possible and so I wanted to do a Documentary on Caterham's anyway and therefore I did it.

What experiments and exploration did you do (what happens if)? How did it affect your development?

For experimentation, I had a go at concept art very early to try and determine the shape and direction in which the project was going, I found this very useful as it showed me a lot as to what I would need to do in the future and what I will be getting into later on. I also had a massive realisation of what I will be doing later on in this project because I thought I would fly through the concept art and so the time played a big part. I think that was a successful way of showing me what I will need to do.

After the Survey, I realised my target audience and I realised how much I will need to mature the film and not make jokes and take it seriously. My voice in the voiceovers and my tone in the stand up shows that development. I definitely took the fact that they would be 51-55-year-old Caterham enthusiasts and I had to get the facts right otherwise they wouldn't enjoy the film. This is because they are so devoted to loving the car and they want to give it the best and most truthful light possible.

In another part of my exploration, I had looked up practical skills I will have to learn in order to make it easier for myself on location and this way I would have to learn the equipment that I hadn't used before and just learning how to get the best out of it in general once I had learned it. I think this is the best thing I did apart from primary and secondary research because it proved so useful on location when I was there and it played a big part in my film. One of the best videos was the one on the reflector as I had never used that before and I knew to use the white side rather than the gold side because of reflection in the shadow. The other video I watched was the one on how to film a car. I had never filmed a car before so this was useful, to got to know the best angle and best ways to show off a cars best features, for example, to always film the rim facing towards the camera, this was key and I did it many times. I had this in my mind the whole time I was shooting, all of the videos were extremely useful.

Find a similar type of media - place it next to your own - what comparisons/differences can you identify?

These are all comparison photo's I have taken from Top Gear and my film. They are all planned far back even though not previously showed. I think I have almost got it spot on in the fact that they are all the spitting image of one another in the way they are shot and in the concept of the idea by the camera. Especially on the shot of the car on the road, this is a very accurate representation of what I wanted to achieve as their shots are very similar in the fact that the car is the main subject and it has also been filtered to highlight the colour of the cars and not the background, the other fact that the car is the centre of the frame. The wheel arch shots are almost the same as well as they are both moving shots when the video plays. The low angle helps you widen your knowledge of the car through knowing the shape and design. It is clear that Top Gear is my inspiration as these next to each other are virtually the same shot and so it is accurate to the representation. The one thing that isn't similar, however, is the stand-up, these shots are different as he is talking more about the aerodynamics of the car but I am talking about the history and my opinion. I wish I had done this as it would have made all of these shots match and it would have been more accurate. 

What were the key areas of development in this product? - use your daily/weekly reflections to help you with this

In my regular reflections at the end of every brief, you can tell how my confidence has grown for this project and so had my enthusiasm. I have shown lots of signs of worry for some areas but later, I went back and fixed them. I have constantly been coming up with new and generally more and more ideas which have helped my progression so much. This has been very useful to me also, going back and watching these vlogs to see what I did in that particular part of my brief. The vlogs have also been showing a consistent pace in development which is how I progressed through this whole project. I have also become more comfortable behind a camera because of it. I made various promises to myself in these vlogs talking about doing more work and working from home, this has all been done and even though I have worked hard at college on this project I have worked harder at home because working at home for me is easier as there are generally more original thoughts going through my head at this point because it is only me in that room and no one else giving me ideas. The one thing that has been bad about these vlogs is the fact I didn't do them frequently enough. I wish I had done more of them because they are so useful. I feel as if there is more to be had through these in general as I couldn't get it all out in 7-8 minutes and so spreading these ideas and thoughts out and saying it through making more and spreading them out would have been great.

The other key area of my development was through my project plan, this was very useful to me as I was constantly looking back over it and getting the things I said I'd do that week, done. This was a very useful thing to have as it helped me to get myself back on track every morning and get work done effectively as it would allow me to pick up where I left off quickly. I wanted to make this a great project and any great project requires sufficient planning, especially in the film industry. I was organised last year and I learned that that had been very useful and an efficient way of getting projects done, so I step it up this year and created a massive spreadsheet that I ticked things off of when I did them if they weren't done already from the planning a long time ago. This also gave me new ideas and time to create. I found that I wasn't pressured and all of my time was actually planned to perfection as I felt very comfortable with it. I wish I had more time to do this project as this has been so fun, and that would never have been possible without my project plan as I definitely used the timetable to get things done efficiently. 

Another great area of development was my research. In my research, I was able to find out everything I needed to know who this film was for which proved to help massively moving forward, done by my survey. I was showed what areas I need to focus on the most and what is going to need to get done on this project for it to agree with my audience, and now at this stage this is what I had in mind the whole time and that was what was in my best interests meaning that I did exactly what the survey asked for. This proves it to be helpful and one of my most valuable areas of development. I feel the other thing that helped a lot with keeping the film good was remembering last year's big show where we showcased our products on a massive projector screen. It was here that I realised my film wasn't the best that it could have been and not as good as I thought it was. It helped massively this year having learned from that and now keeping the big screen in mind was a wary part of my editing process. I knew that my film had to be not good but great and my shots had to be timed well and play a part in the film and not just random ineffective shots that mean nothing. I had to make my film the best possible so I had the video quality in mind as well, as much as I tried with this, it didn't work as I had that as one of my weaknesses.

What was it like when you showed your product to friends and peers - how did that make you feel?

 I have always been proud of this project as it has had so much of my time, heart and soul went into it. I was ready for heavy feedback and to be open-minded when doing so but there was little criticism. I was in three words, proud, excited and intrigued. The reason for this was the fact I had worked hard on it and so I couldn't wait for people to see it as I was so proud. I think that the project is long and so hard to stay with throughout times in both the stages of the brief and the film itself. When everyone watched it they were also proud of me and they enjoyed it a lot as they all congratulated me at the end of the film. I was eager to find their opinion and what could be improved and so I gathered a lot of feedback and it was mostly positive, the only bad feedback was from this one individual from the Caterham FaceBook group I have been in as he stated that some of the history was not accurate enough which is why I put it as one of my weaknesses. I was insulted by the way he phrased it as he was ripping into my project and told me that he had stopped watching because of it. I have now taken that under consideration and while everyone else from the group was backing me up and supporting me, I was busy reflecting on this and I couldn't find those in particular things he was stating online which were about Colin Chapman's air force background and he is right so I am not pleased with myself for that as my research wasn't heavily extended enough. This has proven my history to not be as accurate as possible for the new Caterham views which means that I haven't put as many correct facts in there as possible. I am still happy with the history but it isn't as good as it could be. I have had good and bad feedback, however, since I have still remained with a good project and people don't notice that apart from the hardcore Caterham owner viewers so I hate the fact I got that sentence wrong but apart from that I have created something quite special that has earned 400+ views from this date. I have noticed that my film does include this factual incorrection and it does take the value of the film down a bit but it doesn't make it terrible. The other 16 minutes are still quite good but yes, this does hang on me as a problem. So in my fix, I didn't rerecord it but I had another complaint about the duration so I clipped the hanging bits of shots off so I cut down 6 seconds. This has helped the duration without changing the story too much and so I am happy with this cut. I hope I can make these adjustments in advance in the future to realise that I can do these sorts of things making the film quote good first time around.

What could you change about the work produced to improve and develop it?

If I had had more time with this project I would have obviously produced something much better because nothing is ever perfect and so I could have used more time in each assignment to improve and have more of an extensively researched film and a better film all-round because I would have had more time to shoot and more time to think about the research and plan it. I would have loved to do more research on Gavin Whitehead and binge-watched his work all the way through to have a better understanding of his work. This would have made my FMP stronger as it would have allowed me to be more careful with the project. I think this because of the nature of it being a documentary and requiring a lot of research and facts. I would definitely change the time length of the film and now I have a better understanding of how long shots last, I can take that into account next time to know what I feel I should have known a long time ago which was about how long they last. I would make my films shorter and plan according to that making it an overall more exciting film to watch in the shorter time. Perhaps 9 minutes would be more appropriate as this would enable me to be able to make a quickfire and fast-paced film for a fast-paced car. 9 minutes is more accurate to Top Gear and The Grand Tour's reviews as well so that would make this a better well-rounded representation of the show. I would have loved to have a slow-mo shot which is what Gavin Whitehead does and it would have looked particularly impressive in my film. The fact of actually having one would have upscaled the value of my film. The best way to represent good car filmmaking is through a slow-mo shot but I, unfortunately, didn't do one because I hadn't thought of it at the time of my shot list. I am angry with myself over that since it would have looked very impressive but I am still happy with how it turned out even though I would have put that shot in the showboating section and done exactly that with my skills.

Also, I would have changed the storyboard and revisited the history at a later time as well since it is one big chunk. I feel as if it could currently be too much information at once making this a more boring stage in the film which is what I was trying to avoid. I attempted to keep audiences induced by using an older style filter and making it completely different tot he rest of the film but I think perhaps this could have been revisited and made more exciting this way. The general aspect of having to go through History excites some but bores others so a compromise was needed. I made this the best possible but I agree that revisiting would be a wise option.

I don't think this is the best way to improve my film but I still could have done it. I wish I had more shots of the car on the road since that shot was really nice but this particular shot would have been from a different angle, maybe higher or lower to give the shot depth and contrast. I tried that with the filters on the other shot but it isn't the same without this one as it is in the same place. It wouldn't have drastically changed my film but it would have definitely helped it.

Review your statement of intent - what changed, what developments did you make, did you manage to complete everything you set out to?

No, I didn't manage to achieve everything I wanted to in my film. I didn't make the history as accurate as possible and I didn't find the work experience that would have helped my filming skills in time. The best way I could have done this was much much earlier but that was before I started the FMP and I didn't know that it would be required so early. I wish I had done this course from Jeremy Humphries (Skills 2 film) as I would have had a much nicer shot film which would have made it so much better overall and given it more accuracy to Top Gear and The Grand Tour as it would look professional. I also wish that I had referenced Lowflying magazine as this was one of the main reasons for making this Documentary and I think that there was an opportunity to do that in the stand-up part.

The reasons that do make me want to say that I did make everything happen is the fact that I got everything done according to my project plan on time and the film to me was great. Although there are some hiccups which deteriorate the value it still isn't that bad of a piece. I am proud of my film and my brief and generally everything I have produced but there are somethings I wish I had done which haven't been done that would have made this a lot better as previously said. I don't like the fact that some of the quality is bad and some of the history is wrong but it is escapable since it isn't that bad of a mistake they just wish that I had gone into more detail and just solely shot in 1080p quality. My inspiration never changed I just stop getting inspired by other FMP's from the previous year getting Distinctions and I just started focussing on the more important matters at hand which are the likes of Top Gear and the Grand Tour. Yes, the other documentary was important but that didn't affect my filming style it was personal motivation. My edit changed as well when I cut out the hanging around in the shots so that means the edit changed which helped me lots. I like the fact I changed that and added extra credits as well as making the audio better. That was not something originally required to do but it was something I felt was needed. The best part about that is the fact I have proved myself nothing is perfect and even something that I didn't feel needed doing originally, needed doing and was improved upon. Nothing much else changed since I had a plan and I stuck to it so apart from fixing my edit nothing was different apart from developing my idea which were things such as planning and pre-production, I mostly did my brief to how I wanted to from the start and apart from those differences in the film I wish I had done, it was successfully carried out.

Reflect on your pitch to the client; how did you feel about it before? Did it go better or worse than you expected? what was the feedback from the client/lecturer? what do you think you could improve next time?

The feedback I received from my lecturer was to get real with myself and to also be careful of planning. Also getting information for the Documentary was mentioned and proved to be key in the end because it played such a huge part in my film and has helped it become what it is. I took this information on board and was extremely careful with my planning and made the film organised and made the whole brief flow for me personally better. So after the pitch ended I immediately went back an begin my project plan which allowed me to be more precise in future days on my project plan development. I spent a lot of time on it and I was very careful about the dates which was good because it wokred.