finalising

Finalising a film is always such a stressful process. I begin asking myself; “Have I done enough?”, “Does this reach the criteria?”. I do tend to have a lack of confidence when I know people create such amazing videos. A process I followed was making sure all my audio volume was high enough to hear but not high enough to be too loud. I ensured all my visuals were in line with voice overs and sound tracks. I rewatched it about 100 times.

A challenge I faced was my ending. Something I realised through creating my documentary was that I was following the 3 act structure combined with a day in the life. I was deciding whether to have a positive ending which showed an idea of “a light at the end of the tunnel” or keeping it this emotional film. Through collecting a variety of archival footage of my own, I decided to proceed with a positive ending. That although I feel this sense of loneliness, it is important to remember that I am surrounded by positive things in my life.

I wanted to show my vulnerability through my film which can be caught through my voice audio. Something I found successful was the way in which I recorded myself. When I recorded myself from a script it sounded off key and didn’t fit my film. So I began freely talking and saw that it shaped the way my film was perceived to others.

Small touches like making sure my animations with titles were title safe and fit in the screen were important aspects to consider. The week 12 module and checklist allowed myself to look over my film and ensure I have done all these elements correctly (thanks kim!). This was another thing I learnt. Documentaries, and even films altogether have such small, fine details that are considered when they are being made. As someone who is just a beginner, I found it extremely helpful having these resources to make sure my film is the highest quality possible.