Oxford International Film Festival (OXIFF) Evaluation:

1. Opening Paragraph: What you have been asked to do (your

evaluation of the brief)?

What type and genre of film am I able to create?

From the 'Production Brief', I have learnt that - for my entry into the film festival -
we can either create a twenty to thirty minute Short Film or a three to five
minute 'Stop-Motion Animation' containing a completely original narrative idea.
Additionally, the finished film must not suggest or contain any drug use as well
as any unnecessary or excessive bad/offensive language.

What does my Pre-Production Plan need to contain?

Before any filming can begin, we 'MUST' first complete our Pre-Production
Planning. In this, we need to produce/create:

A full 'Research Project' on our idea,

a 'Script' (including the 'Narrative Structure' and 'Character

Profiles' we will develop further in our production),

a 'Storyboard' created from the Narrative that we have created,

'Location Recces' for 'ALL' locations used when filming (Every

Location must be scouted 'BEFORE' production starts)

and all 'Clearances' that might be needed to film in particular locations.

Will all of the completed productions be entered into the film festival
('Oxford International Film Festival')?
After all of the films have been completed, the College ('The Henley College') will
submit the top three productions created by everyone on the course. The best
three films, that are entered, will then have a chance of winning the 'Student
Film' Category at the festival.

2. What you decided to do and why?

For my entry into the Oxford International Film Festival (OXIFF), I decided
to produce a Stop-Motion Animation using Plasticine, a material that my
Research proved would suit the Target Audience I was aiming for. The
basic plot idea that I had was about a character who was preparing a
Picnic at the beginning of summer however, once he has completed his
preparation, he realises that it has started to rain.

3. How you planned it:

Before I could begin the Animating Process, I had to first Research and
Plan all of the aspects of my production. Within the Research, I had to
make sure that I looked into areas such as my potential Target Audience
and where my production would be aired if it was officially released. I also
had to research into things like the conventional techniques that are used
in similar productions that are also target towards children as well as the
limitations that I may come across with a limited budget and range of
equipment available. After finishing the research, I had to create a script
 that would tell me exactly how I needed to animate the character in each
of the scenes.

4. Do you think you research the topic enough? What would

you add in your next research assignment? (Did you use
your own words, analyse the information, and present it
professionally?)
In my opinion, I think that I did perform enough research into my chosen
topic, before I started to produce the animation. For instance, I made sure
that I thoroughly researched into each of the questions that we were
given; as well as this I also created a full Research Booklet on areas such
as my chosen Genre, Target Audience and the differences between Short
Films and Stop-Motion Animations. On the other hand, when it came to
filming my production, I realised that I was not going to be able to make
my character perform a Human-Like Walk as his legs were very thick and
didnt have any knee joints. The consequence of this was that, to make my
character move across the set, I had to animate him shuffling rather than
bending his knees to make him walk. Had I researched this aspect further,
then I would have potentially come across this problem earlier allowing
me enough time to create a solution.

5. Do you feel from your planning, that you were ready

and equipped to shoot, or did you shoot too early? In
hindsight, should you have planned better?
Yes, in my opinion, I was most definitely equipped to start shooting when I
did as I had made sure that along with of the Pre-Production Work, I
made all of the Plasticine Models beforehand. However, in hindsight, one
thing that I should have been more prepared for was the sheer amount of
time it would take to both create all of the objects and then animate them
for each shot/scene that was in the script.

6. During the filming stage discuss the issues you faced and
how you overcame them:
One the main issues that I came across when filming my production was
the amount of time that it took me to finish it, as I struggled to meet the
final deadline. Another problem that I came across was that the character
that I had created wasnt able to walk easily, as the legs that I had given
him were very thick and didnt have any knee joints. The consequence of
this was that, to make my character move across the set, I had to animate
him shuffling rather than bending his knees to make him walk. Had I
researched this aspect further, then I would have potentially come across
this problem earlier allowing me enough time to create a solution.

7. Discuss both the Mise-En-Scene that you used and how

your lighting looked in your production and how you would
fix it next time:
To light my scenes, I placed two different lamps, that I diffused using
grease proof paper - to the right and left of the set. As I was only filming
my animation in one set, I did not have to change any of the lights or their
diffusers throughout the entire time that I filmed. In addition, to make sure
that the lighting in each shot (between every frame) was consistent and
smooth, I set my camera to Manual Shooting Mode where I was able to
 select the aperture and shutter speed that gave my animation the
aesthetic look I wanted.

8. Analyse the sounds that you used, did they fit with your
production?
As I chose to create a Stop-Motion Animation, rather than a Short Film, I
therefore had to create/add all of the Foley Sounds and additional music
myself during the editing process. For instance, I decided to add a piece of
music to both the start and the end of my production during the opening
and closing of the animation. As the end of my production showed that the
character does not get to go on his picnic, I made sure that the section of
music that I placed there sounded slightly sadder than the part that I used
in the opening. Additionally, the majority of the sounds that I used were
downloaded online from a Sound Effects Website called: Freesound.

9. Was the camera work up to professional standard - please explain

your arguments with visual images?
Yes, in my opinion, my camera work up was definitely up to a professional
standard as during all of the camera angles and movements that I made, I
managed to keep the camera stable and free of any stutter or shake.

10. Did the narrative suit the genre? How?

Yes, in my opinion, the narrative that I wrote for my Stop-Motion
Animation definitely fitted with the genre of my production as I intended
and aimed for both of them to suit my target audience which was children.

11. What new skills did you learn (filming / lighting / editing?)
The main new skill that I learnt during this project was animating with my
chosen material type: Plasticine. Previously, when I have completed
Stop-Motion Animation Projects, I have used a range of different
materials other than Plasticine to produce my productions (such as Lego
and other toy products that I easily to manipulate and move). As
animating with Plasticine was completely new to me, I had to quickly
learn new techniques and skills in order to maintain the quality of my
production to a similar level, or even higher, than that of my previous
productions.

12. Did you submit your work on time? Why not and what will
you do next time to make sure you do?
No, I did not. The main reason why I did not submit my work on time was
how much time I underestimated the creation of everything involved in the
production would take. For instance, it took a much longer time than I had
expected to simply build the set before I could even begin to start
animating my characters. In addition, the actual animating process took
much longer than expected as well, as I was also learning how to do it
using a material that was unfamiliar to me within this style of animation.
On the other hand, the one thing that I did complete on time during the
production process was all of the planning and pre-production stages
before I begun to start filming the actually production itself.