Alex Mitchell profile

Communication skills

Communication

Overall, the communication between group members was great, but this was mostly due to our friendship before the choosing of our group. I often tried to speak with the rest of the group in small meetings to discuss what each of us would do and any updates on our production. However we had the disadvantage that one of our group members, Nicole, was not in the same class as me, Natasha and Shelly. I tried to give new ideas expressed my thoughts on things so that i could have my own input as well as alternatives if the whole group did not agree on the same idea.

We have a group chat on Facebook messenger that i use whee i want to ask questions on things i am uncertain about. I also use it to clarify our schedules, gather any information and help each other out when needed.

There were often times where i wouldn't follow new updates on the blog properly which would result in me not knowing all developments that had occurred and need to havr it explained later.

Furthermore as i had previously worked with Nicole and Shelly during the AS coursework, I had the advantage of knowing how all three of us worked together and each others strengths and weaknesses. There were often times where there was a lack of communication between me and the rest of the group such as when information hadn't been passed correctly which lead to a few misunderstandings, but was able to be easily cleared when we had group discussions.

Moreover there has always been a lack of communication when it came to the holidays as Nicole and Shelly are in Hong Kong and me and Natasha live very far apart in England, I was not able to actively meet with any one and the group chat often wasn't useful due to the 12 hour time difference.

Organisation

Organisation

My organisation was definately one of my weaknesses, however throughout the A2 coursework process, i have improved in relation to reaching deadlines, completing tasks etc. At the beginning i relyed on the others often when it came to tasks like creating shooting schedules while i was in charge

props and costumes as i had left it too late.

I am now able to work efficiently; not leaving it last minute or staying up late to finish something. Despite not holding responsibility for scheduling film shoots, the actresses, equiptment and transport, i have learnt through watching the others in my group on how, when and where to arrange transport, to make sure schedules match up and that everyone is availiable at the right times/days. I was ontime for all shoots and so we all started on time, except when there were technical difficulties. We stood by our schedules and followed them, only diverting when it came to the order in which we filmed our footage.

Organisation of transport was important for our group as by having three boarding student in the group, it made it difficult for me to leave for shoots as i had to aquire permissions for me to leave as well organise the type of transport provided by school or Taxis.

Creativity

Creativity

I feel that i am able to create and make interesting ideas regarding the narrative or even technical element such as slightly different angles/movements/ shots than the norm. Having some creative input is very useful as it helps to make sure that you understand the reasoning behind each decision and can be mentioned in research. I am also good at providing alternatives when our groups cannot agree on a single concept. There were times where i asked to alter certain scenes such as the last shot where the maid gasps, i suggested the idea of blowing out the candle, to make the shot end in darknes, while making a 'whoo' sound to connote an unnatural presence but also to make the scene have more impact. This then led to also using it in the refilm of when the maid first hears the banging on the basement door - although there was no audible sound, we made the candles flicker to have the same effect.

Technical skills

Technical skills

Thorugh out the days of filming, i was able to take part in a range of different aspects, which has allowed me to further practice using the equiptment. For the majority of the filming, i was incharge of the sound; using the H4N, Boom pole and shot gun mic. I feel that i have definetely improved in regard to my skills in recording sound. This is becuase i am now able to record while keeping distance, volume and unwanted noise in mind during the recording. Similarly, i have been put in charge of the lighting, when the others were preoccupied. This only let me to practice how to effectively keep the lighting consistant, move with the camera to keep spotlight as well as using the reflector.

I was also in charge of the mise-en-scene, costumes and all props that were to be used during the film. This taught me how important the mise-en-scene was in relation to conveying the connotations that we wanted the audience to receive such as the time period from the candles and costumes, the unnatural worship of satan by the LOTH and connotations regarding disequilibriums. We wanted to acheive in creating the mise-en-scene and iconography as close to how it would have looked during the 1900's in relation to our budget and limitations. we wanted the producction to look realistic and have the cinematic aesthetic the is linked with 'period' set productions. In addition to this, we also wanted to acheice a cinematic aesthetic thst would appeal to our primary target audience as a real world product.

I believe that we were successful at protraying the time period due to the props and costume but also the location and the house itself held a structural period aesthetic due to its conventional dark wooden walls, red carpets etc. However i believe that we failed now and then to keep it consistent as signs of the 21st century were seen now and then. e.g. the some types of furniture (chairs/table/doors) wasnt conventioanl for the time period, and similar with items in the background that we either missed or couldnt change e.g the light switches on the walls that we couldnt move so we covered it often with cloth or masking tape if unavailable.