evaluation

Final Major Project Evaluation

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Over the course of the Final Major Project process, I feel that I have been able to learn and develop new skills, understand the importance of regularly having your work reviewed, and the key to formulating ideas, and producing them in a form of screenplay. When beginning this project, I was naïve and unaware of the skills and techniques needed to become a successful screenwriter, and whilst I am still learning, I now feel that I have a much greater understanding on Screenwriting, and the qualities and attributes needed to write a successful script.

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The Context section of my project was the beginning step of formulating my Final Major Product and was a part of my portfolio which allowed me to be creative in formulating ideas and gaining first-hand feedback from others. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on the course as a whole, and think about which elements I had most enjoyed, and which elements I thought I could develop further in. There were many aspects which I enjoyed, with some of which being filming, sound design, and script writing. Each medium of film interested me in different ways, and it gave me an opportunity to think about how I could continue to work on and develop each skill. When thinking about each medium, I needed to create a project background for each idea, which would allow me to have a brief synopsis of all three, allowing me to determine which idea I would like to move forward with. For my first idea, which was Scriptwriting, I thought about how I could use this medium to write my own Murder Mystery themed screenplay. For my second idea, which involved the medium of Colour Theory in film, I thought about how this could be used to strongly portray emotions, and how it could possibly act as the key element of the short film. Finally, for the third idea which looked at Sound Design, I was particularly keen to develop my Foley skills. For this idea, I would have filmed my own sequence of events, muted all audio which was captured by the camera, and then replace that with my own Foley sound effects. For each idea, I detailed a SWOT Analysis, which covered the possible strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of my ideas. This task gave me a clearer understanding of which avenue I might like to take, however, I wanted to gain some more feedback from others to gather their views and opinions on all three of my ideas. In order to do this, I created an online questionnaire which would detail each idea, and what it could involve. I asked those completing the survey to provide one strength and one weakness about each idea. Instead of just asking for which idea they preferred, I felt it would be more beneficial to me to gather as much information as I could in order to make an informed decision. Through the questionnaire, I was able to gather a wide range of feedback for each idea, with each individual explaining their thoughts and opinions. As well as gaining feedback from my peers, I also gathered some feedback from my lecturers, who explained how they thought each idea could be attempted. I included all of this feedback in my Context section so that it was clear to see that I was using the feedback to inform my choice of idea. Once I had reviewed each piece of feedback, I came to the conclusion that I would move forward with the Scriptwriting idea, which would be based around a Murder Mystery plot. I felt that this medium is the one in which I find the most enjoyable, and one of which I might like to pursue as a career. However, I also thought that this opportunity would allow me to build and develop my knowledge and skills of Screenwriting, which could prove beneficial to me going forward. Now that I had decided which idea I wanted to go ahead with, I needed to create a Project Proposal document which would give a brief synopsis of my idea, detail some of the aspects I wished to include, and what I aimed to achieve through completing the project. It also allowed me to think about some proposed research resources that I could use in the next stage of my project, whilst also allowing me to create a Project Timetable – a document that would clearly set out what tasks I would complete at certain stages of the process. The final part of the Context section was to create a Project Proposal Pitch. This was a short video which included slides that I had detailed sections of my project on each. I had to present this video to all of my lecturers, before getting the approval to move forward with the project. This completed the Context section of my portfolio, and I was now ready to begin researching my project.

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The second part of my portfolio was the Research section. This part of the portfolio would allow me to conduct any relevant, in-depth research, for my project idea. However, before completing any research activities, I needed to form a Research Plan, which would clearly set out what I wanted to research, what form of research I would use, and how it would help me in my project. When it came to creating my Research Plan, I decided that I would research four main topics – Scriptwriting, Character Development, Target Audience, and Skills and Techniques. Once I had determined what subjects I wanted to research, I now had to specifically detail what I wanted to find out. Under each topic, I wrote several research questions that I could answer which would give me some more information about each subject and hopefully improve my knowledge and skills. After completing my research plan, I then spoke in some more depth about my Research Questions and how they would help me in my project. I felt that, by doing this, I had given myself a starting point for my research, having previously being unsure at where I would begin. I felt that a good starting point of my research would be to discover the ‘Requirements of a Script Writer’. As I was taking on the role of a script writer for this project, it was essentials that I understood the key aspects and attributes needed to achieve this successfully. Through some initial research, I uncovered that one of the main skills needed was to be able to formulate and develop an interesting idea. At this point in the project, I had formulated a ‘shell’ of my idea, and now needed to conduct research which would allow me to develop and build on that idea. Furthermore, through this research, I was able to understand the importance of having a clear vision of your plot in your head, which would allow you to structure your work with a beginning, middle and end. Even though I was working on this project alone, I was able to research the importance of being flexible and open when scriptwriting with a group of creatives. I also identified that the role of a Scriptwriter is primarily a Pre-Production job, however, many screenplay writers go on to produce or direct their own work. Although I would not be producing my final script, it was interesting to discover the different roles that a script writer can progress to.

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Now that I had a greater understanding of the requirements needed to be a successful script writer, I was ready to move onto the Subject/Topic Research section, where I would refer back to my Research Questions to help me conduct the relevant research. The first thing that I researched for this section was, ‘What are the main aspects needed to create a Murder Mystery script?’.  For this Secondary research task, I used websites such as StudioBinder, to discover which elements were needed to make a successful script; several of which were that it was essential to have a strong plot, intriguing characters, and the theme of suspense which persists throughout the entire script. Through completing this research, it encouraged me to think deeper about the topic, allowing me to ask some further research questions from it. As I had previously discovered, one of the main keys to creating a successful Murder Mystery is to have interesting and entertaining characters, therefore, I felt it was necessary to conduct some research on Character Development. Once again, I used a Secondary research method for this question when studying an article from StudioBinder. It was at this point of my research that I was able to learn more about Character Development as a whole and discover the meaning behind Dynamic and Flat characters. I had previously not encountered either of these character types so feel that this part of my research was beneficial, and that I was able to learn something new from it. Once I had learnt about these types of characters, I began to think about how they might relate to my own work, and what types of characters I would like to use. I concluded that most of my characters would be Dynamic, as they would constantly be changing thoughts and emotions throughout. I also discovered that, as a writer, it is important to be aware of your characters beliefs and motives from the beginning, ensuring that they all have a reason to be a suspect for the murder and whether they will act as a lead, supporting or minor character. These were all points that I would need to consider when it come to creating my own characters. For the final part of my Subject/Topic research, I chose to watch the existing media product, Knives Out; a classic Murder Mystery film. When speaking with my peers and lecturers, they suggested that I watched this film as it combined the important elements of a Murder Mystery, whilst also including aspects of comedy – something that I was keen to incorporate in my own work. After watching the film, I detailed what aspects I liked, and how I could possibly replicate them in my own work, in a unique way. One of the main aspects of Knives Out that particularly stood out to me, was that the victim was revealed in the opening moment of the film. This is something that I hadn’t thought of doing, however, through conducting this research, it encouraged me to think in further depth about how I would attempt to portray certain moments in the script. The interview scenes also captured my attention, as they were shot in such a unique way, alternating between the suspects. This scene kept me particularly engaged, and so I would attempt to do the same in my own work to ensure that the viewer was kept interested. Overall, the film, Knives Out, really helped me to gain a better understanding of the Murder Mystery genre, and fuelled my imagination when it came to developing my own ideas.

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After conducting my Subject/Topic Research, I now had to move on to the Target Audience Research section. For this part of my research, I mainly wanted to carry out Primary Research tasks, as I felt that this would be the most beneficial option as it would allow me to gather feedback which was based on my own idea. For my first task, I wanted to determine who my Target Audience were and what common demographics they shared. In order to find this out, I created a questionnaire which I shared with a variety of different people. This survey was not specifically based on my idea, but instead, asked questions relating to the Murder Mystery topic. Some of these questions included, ‘Do you like Murder Mystery films?’, ‘How many Murder Mystery films have you watched?’ and ‘Do you prefer films that have predictable endings, or twists and turns throughout?’. After sending the questionnaire out, I was fortunate enough to gain a wide response from multiple people, sharing their views and opinions. Most of the answers acted in favour of my idea, and I broke down each question further to discuss and uncover the results I had received. By doing this, it gave me a clear idea of what my Target Audience might like to see from my script, encouraging me to think about how I might attempt to include different aspects. I also shared the questionnaire on a social media platform, Filmmakers Forum, where I was able to gain some more responses. Overall, I found this Primary Research task to be extremely helpful in determining my Target Audience – I now had a sharper idea about who I was writing for, and what content they would be interested in seeing. Now that I had identified my Target Audience, I wanted to gain their opinions on Character Development. Referring back to my Research Plan, I knew that I wanted to use a questionnaire to gain my audiences feedback on the subject, therefore, I once again formulated another survey which had questions that were tailored around Murder Mystery characters. Some of which included, ‘What age characters do you enjoy watching?’, ‘Do you enjoy films that have single protagonists and antagonists, or groups of each?’, and ‘When watching a film, do you enjoy seeing conflict between characters?’. Once again, I was pleased to receive a variety of responses, allowing me to think about what attributes to include in my characters, and how they would relate to the viewer. When completing this task, I realised the importance of Target Audience feedback as it would help to ensure that you are creating an appropriate piece of work that they will enjoy.

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The next part of my portfolio was the Skills and Techniques Research section – an important part of my research which would allow me to learn more about the skills needed to write a successful script. After having previously watched the film, Knives Out, for my Subject/Topic Research, I thought that it would be beneficial to now read through the script version. This would give me a clear understanding of how scripts are translated for screen, allowing me to make a literal and visual comparison. When reading through the screenplay, there were several points that I was able to immediately recognise, however, there were also others that I had not yet seen before which I was keen to learn more about. Some of these included, Voice Overs (V.O), Off-Screen (O.S) and lines of Dual Dialogue. These techniques particularly stood out to me, as they were unique script aspects that I was keen to experiment with in my own script. This immediately made me start to think about how I could use each technique in an appropriate way. This is the point where I first had the idea of having the victim speak a voice over at the beginning of the script, over a shot of his dead body. I now felt that I was starting to build and develop my skills, making me feel more confident in moving forward with my work. After reading through the Knives Out script, I was interested to learn more about the writer, Rian Johnson, so decided I would do some further research around him and learn about what attributes he has a writer. Through doing this, I was able to discover some of his common techniques and skills that he uses in his work to make it unique to him. I found this task extremely helpful as it allowed me to learn new skills and techniques that I hadn’t previously heard of, and I was now able to include these in my own work. Furthermore, I completed some more Primary Skills and Techniques research when reading a section of the book, ‘The TV Studio Production Handbook’. When reading part of this book, I was able to learn about some techniques that can help with idea formulating. Whilst I had already formulated my basic idea, I now needed to formulate ideas for different scenes in my script, therefore, this task helped me in informing me of creative ways to do so. I also read some other Screenwriting books as part of my research to develop my skills and techniques knowledge.

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For the final main part of my research, I had to create several Pre-Production documents which would be placed in the Production Research section. After writing a brief introduction of my project, I needed to create a Logline and Synopsis for my FMP. Once I had written those, I now needed to detail a Treatment for my project. This would include a more in-depth breakdown of my project idea, as well as what would happen at the beginning, middle, and end of the script. It was at this point of my project that I was able to clearly set out the entire plot, making me aware of the structure of my story. Following on from this, I also had to create a Production Schedule which would set out what tasks I would need to complete at which date. Moving forward from this point, my main priority was to work on and experiment with a number of draft scripts, before creating my Final Draft. For most tasks, I allowed myself a duration of 3 days to complete it, however, I had hoped that I would be able to keep up with the schedule, and better still, to work slightly ahead, allowing me more time to ensure that all of my work was to an industry standard. It was also essential that I created a Health and Safety Plan, as well as a Contingence Plan. Although I wouldn’t actually be filming my final script, I still needed to ensure that I had identified any possible problems and thought of ways that they could be resolved. After completing my Pre-Production Documents, I now had the opportunity to begin working on my Character Biographies. In this section, I would think about each character, their personalities and attributes, and their possible motive for killing the victim. I found this task very enjoyable, as it allowed me to be creative, whilst also referring back to the Character Development questionnaire that I had completed as part of my Target Audience Research.

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For the very last part of the Research section of my portfolio, I had to evaluate all of my findings. For each section of the Research, including Subject/Topic, Target Audience, Skills and Techniques, and Production, I reflected and spoke about what I had learnt through conducting the research, and how it would help me in creating my final product. When completing previous projects, I had not always realised the importance of Research, however, throughout this process, I have come to understand how much it can help you and your work develop and progress. I found the entire Research section of the project to be very enjoyable, and without a doubt, believe that it will have helped to influence my Final Major Product.

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The next part of my portfolio was the Practical Skills section. It was this part of portfolio where I was able to practise my skills and techniques that I had previously learnt and create a number of draft scripts. When previously speaking with my lecturers, they had suggested that I write quite a few draft scripts before submitting my final script for experimental purposes. For my first draft, I was focussed on trying to include as many new techniques that I had learnt as possible. Whilst I knew that my script was currently too short to overload it with different techniques, it gave me a chance to experiment and discover whether I was using them in the correct way. Some of the techniques that I included were Voice Over, Off Screen, and Dual Dialogue. After speaking with my lecturer, they gave me some very useful feedback, and I was able to make the appropriate changes in my second and third drafts. For the second draft, I primarily focussed on how I could move the narrative forward, whereas, for the third draft, I focussed on how I could incorporate comedy into my script. I gathered some more feedback for each draft and continued to make the necessary changes. I now understand the importance of writing several scripts, as it allows you to continuously review your work and make any changes or adjustments to improve your script. It allowed me to identify the mistakes I might have made, and learn from them moving forward, correcting them in the following drafts. Overall, when writing my drafts, I feel that I was able to experiment and practise my skills, whilst also creating an intriguing plot and exciting characters.

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For the final part of my portfolio, I needed to finalise my Final Major Product. After writing a few more drafts and continuously gaining feedback from my lecturer, I now felt ready to work on my Final Script. By now, I had already written the majority of my script, and I now had to ensure that everything was edited and formatted correctly. After having previously struggled to format my script to an industry standard, I discovered the application, Celltx. I used Celltx to format my final script, ensuring that each line of dialogue, action, and descriptions were placed in the correct position on the page. I had to ensure that I had made any final adjustments that my lecturer had suggested and that the narrative as a whole was well presented. Once I was pleased with my final script, I exported it and uploaded it to my WIX portfolio.

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When reflecting on the project as a whole, I feel that I have been able to successfully create an end project in which I am proud of. Throughout the process, I have been able to develop my skills and techniques, learn more about the scriptwriting industry, and build confidence in my own writing. At the beginning of the project, I chose the Scriptwriting medium not only because it was the one in which I found the most enjoyable, but because I also wanted to challenge myself. I was keen to further my knowledge and learn new skills and felt that this topic would allow me to do so. Although I enjoy creating short films, and experimenting different mediums of filmmaking, I wanted to challenge myself to learn something new. Personally, I feel that one of the main strengths of my Final Major Product is that I have been able to incorporate the themes of Murder Mystery and Comedy, like I had anticipated, whilst also demonstrating my newly learnt scriptwriting skills. When reflecting on my final piece of work, a weakness that I identified was that I had hoped it might have been longer in length, allowing me to experiment with different scenes. Although my script has a basic structure, I feel that I have been able to demonstrate my abilities and will continue to practise my skills in the future. My weekly Reflective Logs helped me to continuously ensure that I was on track to achieving my end goal. I was able to reflect on the week that had past, and look forward to the week ahead, planning which tasks I would complete moving forward. When reviewing my Project Proposal which I set out at the start of the process, I feel that I have been able to successfully achieve my aims, and create a piece of work that demonstrates and showcases my skills.