Over this past semester, I was involved in multiple roles as part the web series production. Primarily, I worked with Samantha, one of the writers, on our social media pages (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube). This involved posting promos such as videos, gifs and events in order to draw a larger audience for the series. For example, I edited the following trailer with help from the other media students.
We tried to come up imaginative ways to engage our audience. One of these ideas was a Buzzfeed personality quiz based on the characters in the series, which we created to help audiences identify with and better understand each of the characters. I worked with the writers on the quiz in order to make sure it reflected the characters as best it could.
Originally, our group decided we were each going to direct and edit one episode. Unfortunately, due to a lack of time and difficulties outside our control, we were only to complete the first three episodes. As I was going to direct and edit the final episode, I didn’t end up directing or editing any of the episodes. However, I was on set for all of our shoots and helped out as much as I could. On set, I often operated the camera or monitored the sound levels, as well as performing smaller jobs such as dressing the set or organising props.
If I had known we wouldn’t end up shooting the full five episodes, I may have offered to help out with editing more. I tended hang back a little because I didn’t want to take over someone else episode, but I would have enjoyed the chance to do some more directing or editing, and generally be able to have had a greater say in the creative decision made about the project. This is not to say that I don’t think I was given the opportunity to be involved in the project or that I didn’t work hard enough, only that had we been a bit more realistic about the amount of episodes we would be able to complete by the due date, we may have been able to share the roles around a little more.
In terms of the collaboration aspect of this studio, I think I’ve learnt a lot over this past semester. Working with the creative writing students was a really great experience. They were really aware of the production restraints we were under in terms of where we could film and what kind of things were and weren’t going to be possible to film. We often had meetings with the writers to discuss their ideas, as well as the overall story behind the series and the personalities of the characters as they developed throughout the writing process. It really felt like a collaboration because both the writers and the producers were willing to listen to one another and work together to create the best series we could.
I think as a group, perhaps some of communication could have been better. It can be difficult when working in such a large group to have everyone in the same place and the same time. However sometimes people would let us know whether or not they were going to be able to make a meeting, which made it much harder to make important decisions, such as how we wanted to distribute the episodes. Sometimes it was assumed someone would do a particular job, even when it hadn’t been discussed, which sometimes resulted in the job being done later than planned or not being completed at all. It also didn’t help that only one of our actors wasn’t already part of the group, as sometimes it was assumed she had been told about a shoot, meaning she found out later than she would have liked.
Our work would have been of a higher standard had some of our communication had been clearer and we had all been on the same page. For example, each of the episodes were directed by different people on different editing software. While it isn’t overly noticeable, the credit sequences in each episode look quite different. Perhaps if the editors had spoken to one another about how they planned to edit each of their episodes, we may have ended up with a similar look across the three episodes. While this is only a small detail, I think it demonstrates how communication could have been improved amongst our group members, as well as showing how a clearer vision for the series could have been outlined at the beginning of pre-production in order to make post-production a smoother process.
Most of the time, our group was good at adapting the plan to suit new situations. We had to alter deadlines multiple times, and everyone was willing to hear constructive feedback about the work they had already done before making changes to create something majority of the group was happy with. For example, after editing each episode, a rough cut would be sent to the group for feedback. There usually weren’t many changes that had to be made, but each of the editors were open to criticism and willing to discuss ideas with the rest of the group before making changes to the episode.
Overall I think this studio has really helped me to develop confidence when collaborating and working in a group. As I got to know the people working in my group, I began to feel more comfortable sharing my opinions and ideas about the project. If there was something I was concerned about or felt needed to be discussed, I didn’t hesitate to raise the issue. I feel we all worked in a professional manner, and that this helped the production to run as smoothly as possible. While the production wasn’t without it’s problems, everyone pulled their weight and worked together as best they could. As I mentioned earlier, we could have communicated better to ensure we were on the same page, and I think that that is the greatest lesson I will take away from this studio.