Having done no filmmaking of any kind for over a year, this exercise reminded me of the many factors that go into creating a shot that is both visually appealing and effective. I have never been on top of the technical aspects of media production by any stretch of the imagination, I do however pride myself on my creative ideas and approaches towards any project I have been a part of. I felt that the shots my partner and I achieved were compositionally effective, however severely overexposed coupled with a lot of unwelcome lens flare. It reminded me to be more aware of the lens’ position in relation to light sources (in this case the sun) and how it affects the exposure of the shot. I had also never taken notice of when a recording is started and how that can have an affect on the shot itself, I have always thought of filmmaking as knowing exactly what you want and controlling all the aspects until you get it. However, this can either not always be achieved or if it can be achieved it may yield inferior results to something more candid. There are many times in life and specifically filmmaking where you didn’t know you wanted something until you were given it. This small exercise sparked a series of thought processes for me that resulted in my approach to filmmaking as a whole being altered quite drastically. I now see filmmaking more as setting a scene and allowing it to unfold, capturing what’s taking place in this moment you’ve created, rather than maintaining strategic control over every aspect of it and trying to force it to fit your strict idea of how it should be.