The Industry and me…

I’m aware knowing what career path you want is unpredictable and you can change your mind at any point, however after studying the course I feel very passionate and driven to become a successful producer within the industry. How do I know I can be a good producer? Learning at university has allowed me to demonstrate skills that will help me be the best producer I can be. I now have clear visions for the projects I’m creating. Fleur de Lys and Haircuts4homeless were both made from the concept I had imagined, I thoroughly assessed the audience and adapted the style to cater for both. For example, Fleur De Lys was a video for not only the footballers on the team but their family and potential funders. Thus, I ensured the video was full of representation of a fun and passionate club, through fun atmospheric shots, that would please the football family while highlighting how amazing the club was for future investors.

With Haircuts4Homless being such a sensitive and emotional topic I had to ensure the style was completely different to Fleur de Lys. Haircut4homeless shots were more cinematic to portray the raw emotion of contributors but also consisted of inspiring shots to highlight the happiness the charity brings to vulnerable individuals. If you reflect on both projects, they're both very similar however visually they are completely different. Both projects were made for non-profitable organisations and shared a similar message of community and helping others. Due to stark differences in topics I had to execute different tones and atmospheres to receive the correct reaction from the viewers. This is a skill that has allowed me to look at projects and know how to perceive them correctly in the right style, something that will benefit me when producing real projects in the future.

I understand after university I won’t magically become a producer, I will have to work my way up the career ladder. With this, a role that I plan to perfect within the industry is the production manager. This is the role I will be working as before I can produce, therefore I need to be good at it. A crucial requirement to be a successful production manager is ensuring all stages of production are running smoothly while having great communication and leadership skills

In reflection to the Fleur de Lys project, there could’ve been more time spent with the editor during the post production stages, by shadowing the work that was being completed. The editor on the project did voice her lack of guidance from the director and myself at some points. Throughout all production stages, the crew worked very hard as a team, therefore when entering post-production there was a stark change from teamwork to individual editing, I feel myself and the producer should’ve been more present.

Not wanting to make any crew member feel isolated or disowned in the future, on the Haircuts4Homeless project I ensured myself and the director was present during post production a lot more. I checked in frequently to see how the editor was doing and was always giving my criticisms and praises during rough cut edits. I made a weekly meeting with the editor to ensure workload wasnt too much and to give updates on deadlines etc. Comparing my producing skills of both projects, I believe I was more communicative and present through all production stages. I feel this will help me massively when working within the industry as I now know how essential communication is when wanting production stages to run smoothly.