A) Give your overall response:
In 2 or 3 paragraphs, write about your overall experience making and screening this film: Did you achieve what you set out to do? What are you proud of? What did not work as expected and why? What did you learn? 

The week leading up to this film was a nightmare wrapped in a dirty diaper. I couldn’t get a location or any actors, I was drowning in homework and late assignments, and on top of all that, I lost a job, was failing a class, and was told I wasn’t fulfilling my calling at church properly and needed to be replaced. It was a SUCKY week. All of that pain and struggle melted away when I was on set. I had such a fun time redecorating my room to become an office, bonding with my actors, and meeting the kind people who allowed us to shoot the rest of our film in their home. I really love creating art with other driven people, and low-to-no-budget sets are one of the best places to do this. While there are so many things that went wrong while filming this piece (sound didn’t work properly at many points, I didn’t secure the location I wanted for the office area, the camera malfunctioned to the point where we had to replace it, everything ran late), I think the effort was worth it. I’m still in good contact with my crew and actors and they all have expressed interest in working together again. 

Although this film didn’t fulfill the vision I had for it (as is true for most film students, they rarely do), I think I still made something I’m proud of. Ryan did a great job getting some incredible shots despite space constraints that made it really difficult to get good angles, and the makeup job that Kallon, my makeup artist, did was freaking amazing. My actors, Taylor and Ruthy, were so much fun to work with and they did a great job, too. I think the things I didn’t achieve that I’m sad about is the true depth of space that I wanted in the office. My room – the one we used for the film – is so tiny that there was no way we were going to get the depth I wanted when the ghost reveals herself. I also couldn’t find a set of stairs that matched what I was looking for. I was hoping for stairs that came partially out into the room with railing on both sides, which would allow us to create a sort of cage effect with limited space. Despite all of this, I think what we managed to make was both fun and interesting. I’ll get to the point where I can afford to get the locations and props I want and people to remind me where I wanted to put them someday, but for now, for this class being what it is and for being a poor, sad college student, I think we made something we can be happy about.

Something I’ve learned from this experience is that I hate wearing all the hats. I love directing and I love writing, and if it’s my own piece I don’t mind editing, but everything else is a huge hassle for me. Locations? Forget about it. Casting? I’ll make decisions, but I hate posting the call. I REALLY hate having to do all the set dressing myself, as well. I like having multiple crew members who have artistic visions themselves who can pitch in and make the work lighter. Having my makeup artist on set – who also helped with set dressing – has helped me to realize how much better it is to include multiple people and their varying ideas. It brings diversity and intrigue into a set, especially when they’re given boundaries to work within. After this shoot was completed, my actress Ruthy completely unprompted took on the role of producer since she liked what we made so much, and she submitted it to a local screening festival thing and (to my surprise) it actually got accepted. Having a driven person involved with this shoot who wants to do things like that makes things so much easier and so much more fun. It drives a film to greatness when the film’s premise itself might not be that great. 

B) Based on the class discussion and your honest evaluation, briefly but specifically respond to the following:
In one sentence, what idea, emotion and/or theme, specifically, did you want to communicate?  

Every entertained desire has a consequence – sometimes more severe than we anticipate.

Were you successful? How? Why? Why not?     

I think I was partially successful. My story wasn’t entirely clear to everyone who watched it, which I anticipated and honestly didn’t mind. It lands somewhere in the horror genre so ambiguity isn’t always bad; sometimes the pieces will come together clearly and sometimes you have to figure it out for yourself. I’m not sure that it really worked for this piece (there are a few shots I should have added), but if people liked it I don’t entirely mind. 

How, specifically, did you try to communicate this idea, emotion, theme?      

I tried to show this by establishing a clear connection between the bloody feet on the screen and his wife’s bloody feet, but I don’t think anyone connected the dots that the guy he ordered the feet pics from murdered his wife in order to send those to him. His addiction cost his wife her life, but only a few people seemed to connect those dots. 
 

What did you learn about storytelling?

I learned that dialogue in storytelling is sometimes really important, especially when you lose the location that would help you to tell this story more efficiently. I wrote BAD dialogue and it really showed. 
 

What did you learn about working with actors and getting performance?

I loved working with these actors. They asked some really great questions when I asked for something different in their performance which was great because it felt like a true collaboration instead of a power struggle. I also learned, though, that I don’t like giving my own version of a performance. Of course I know how I would do it myself, but I don’t want them to do what I would do. I want my actors as artists to give me THEIR best work, not mine. 
 

What did you learn about blocking the camera and actors?                                                         

Camera can only do what the space allows it to do. You can’t make deep space where there is none to be found. It was really difficult to do that in the office space because the room was so small and it turned out really cramped and uninteresting. Blocking actors went great; they actually had some great ideas about where they could be that made blocking really easy. There were only a few times when I had to redirect Taylor on where to sit or stand that would make more sense.
 

Refer to your Director’s Plan. What specific visual elements and cinematics did you choose to use and what were the rules for their use? Where you successful in the use of that rule?