When this project started I was luckily appointed my chosen role as director of the film which is arguably one of if not the most important role in the production. During the planning process I unfortunately had a family crisis which spun my head to say the least. I was also trying to arrange my own production outside of uni at this time which looking at now was probably not the best idea. It became clear very quickly that I was juggling too much and couldn't properly focus on being the director of the group as it would be selfish to ruin the production for everyone else just because I wasn't all there mentally. Thankfully Nina took a very brave step up and said she'd be happy to direct the film, meaning I would slip into her previous role of 1st AD.
Becoming 1st AD for this project was probably one of the better things I've done creatively in my career as a film maker so far. Not only was it a chance to stop stressing over the director role but it gave me a chance to understand a role that I would have never taken on in the past. I found it very interesting reading up on my role and what my responsibilities would be on and off of set. In the planning stage of the film I would have to put my hands up and say that I didn't do the best job with paperwork, mainly as I'd never had to handle this responsibility. Having said this, after going to other members in my group for help I now understand how I am meant to sort the pre production when taking on the 1st AD role in the future.
When it came to the shoot dates I felt like I really wanted to step up and show everyone how much the shoot meant to me after not doing so well in the pre production stage. I knew that during the shoot I'd have to spend a lot of time with Nina, keeping her up to date on how we were doing with the schedule if we were ahead or behind for time. It was also my responsibility to check on the actors to make sure they were satisfied and refreshed at all times. Generally it was my job to make sure everyone on set was happy and calm so the production could run as smoothly as possible.
Whilst the production was underway I spent a lot of my time bouncing between Jodie, our producer and Nina, our director. Myself and Jodie each had a copy of the call sheet with us at all times and would both write down the time when we started to shoot a different shot so we could compare the times with the call sheet to determine how ahead or behind schedule we were.
I feel as though I did a good job at my role as 1st AD. Taking into consideration I'd never done this role before or didn't know anything about it in general, I feel as though I did it justice. Personally I feel like the key to doing this role properly was to be thorough with my communication, I had to make sure that everyone was on the same page at all times meaning I had to go up to people individually and tell them about changes made. Sometimes I had to be the centre of attention when making an announcement regarding breaks or for matters that concerned the whole team meaning that I had to stand in the centre of the room and use a loud voice to gain everyone's attention. This was a very useful skill to obtain from this project as usually I wouldn't have the courage to project my voice to the whole crew but after doing it in this studio shoot I feel like I wouldn't have a problem doing it again in the future. This whole experience has been really eye opening as its shown me the closest thing to what it's like to be on a professional set and how much pressure comes with it. I feel like this set build has definitely helped me grow as a film maker and has made me respect everyone's individual roles so much more than before. I'd like to thank everyone involved in the project for making it such an enjoyable experience for the few weeks we were building and filming. I'd also like to show my appreciation to Chris who helped us all massively in the actual building of the set and whom without we wouldn't have a set that looked as good as it did.
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