Cutting A Man:

As an already huge fan of hospital dramas I was instantly nervous yet thrilled to see his location and how he dressed the set. Once I found out he was shooting in an actual University Practice Ward it started more ideas in my head for my films and Will Alcock (director) kindly helped me with any information he had to ensure I contacted the right people in the future.

However, not only did Will help me in that aspect he also talked through certain parts and the process of his film. One area which I remembered for any of my future hospital related films would be to make sure the equipment, props and costumes are correct for the final shoot, due to the fact we didn't have the right surgical outfit for the actor and had to improvise with the given scrubs on set as well as spending time trying to figure out the heart rate machines and using them efficiently. 



In The Plague of Shadows:

As my first time on a period drama I was a little bit excited to see the aspects of the film and how the details work together. I was very impressed with the old Victorian manor house building combined with the old hand held lanterns, as well as the costumes and how well it all worked to give that Victorian period feeling. 



Kart:

Alex Kingham taught me the detail and thought process that goes in to getting continuity correct, as well as details of the characters. For example, working on the red vs blue concept, Alex had to make sure the scalextric cars, t-shirts, old brothers vehicles, Go-Karting suits and helmets all to be the correct colours. Another important detail I picked up from him was continuity! Getting the characters on the right side and positioning to help match the action on screen and help the edit flow, therefore giving less of a chance for the audience to notice they are watching a short film.



A Money Machine:

Whilst working under the authority of the Director of Photography (DOP), Dean Andrew Batty, I gained many skills of lighting, especially the power of LEDs. Both the strength of the light they can project and how useful they are and can be. The main areas I noticed their most importance was when initially shooting at Millennium Point in Birmingham. Although we had a lot of available lights from floor lighting and lamp posts we still had to be very precise to continue the look and feel of the surrounding, as well as creating the right mood for the scene and to illustrate the characters and their personalities when on screen*. The other time I realised about the LED lights was when in Fat Cats Bar on the final shoot night when we were mixing gels on all available lights for two wall lights and covering every LED light we had with filters/gels in order to achieve a multi-coloured nightclub feel. ​​



Oddball:

I think the main thing I loved about Paul's story was that it was simplistic and a popular concept, yet he added small twists on it like the scrap yard meeting, the 'alternative' character styles and other intuitive thoughts to make it his own, such as props. In order to get that quirky style from his characters he thought about the costumes*, location to represent their personalities as well as the vintage camera and radio illustrating that vintage/preppy style.

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​Overall Experience:

Every minute of working with students from the year above has been an eye-opener. Have learned a huge amount when it comes to filmmaker, had great fun and made some amazing friends and contacts! Am thankful for every single person for giving me the opportunities.





*Refer to directors/film page for more information.