Looking at the finished product even if it’s not the complete film which I hoped for I am still pleased at how it turned out. The whole pre-production and filming has taught me a lot. I went out to explore possible places and cafes to film. Part of it was getting to know Melbourne since I am still new here. I had to make a few contacts to film at certain locations such as the State library and café for permission. There were locations that needed two weeks’ notice such as filming in the train or any train station. I did not have the time to wait for their reply thus I took out the scene and created a new one. In the process of filming I had to take a few scenes out and add in new ones that were still able to convey the message that I want my audience to know about the character.
Filming took place over a few days and each day the outcome of the footages is different from what I have planned. As I mentioned before in one of the post, the scenes did not have the right mood because of the sun. It was too bright and I had overexposed scenes. On the last day of filming I had to change the direction of my story by just focusing on one aspect that truly brings out the emotion the character feels to the audience. It was hard to let go that I was unable to complete the film. However, I learned that when a scene does not appear right even after a few times reshooting, it means that I have to change the way I approach it. I must always be open to new ideas and direction when encountering such problems.
Besides the process of making it, the beginning of the idea was to create a docu-drama by using film techniques from both genres. It was an approach that I have not done before thus it was very new to me. I wanted to do something different than doing fiction or non-fiction as its own. I wanted to collaborate both techniques together. The whole film process had its ups and downs but it was a learning journey to break the rules. If a certain thing doesn’t work out, there’s always another way to it.
