Creating this final project was a bit of a challenge, but it was fun to experiment with all the different techniques and effects I learned while over the course of the quarter. The biggest thing I learned with this project was time management, and how important it is to production to make a schedule and to stick to it as best as possible. I tried to plan out everyday I filmed, and made sure to reserve my camera way in advance. I think this method is what allowed me to have a successful project, and to get everything in the film that I wanted.
I also found that the sooner I got the footage out of my camera and onto a larger the screen, the easier it was for me to evaluate what I needed to fix or what needed to be added/removed. This was especially useful for all of my split screens. Every time I filmed a scene that would require a split screen, I would immediately throw it into Final Cut Pro so that I could evaluate whether or not the shot worked, and if not I could then make a more efficient game plan from there.
I didn't really have any major production hiccups, the time-lapse was probably what caused the most grief. I filmed three different time-lapses of the sun setting, but unfortunately every day I tried it was cloudy. I also struggled with what speed to film the time-lapse at. I ended up having something that worked, but I wasn't really happy with it; I also am unsure if it even works in the film, a cross dissolve or fade to black might be a better display of time passing for my film.
There are a couple of things I want to go back in and fix. One of the critiques I got was the soundtrack, it's a little too over the top for the film so I want to keep looking around for a soundtrack that better suits the tone. I also would like to go in and re-evaluate the editing, without the music some of the feedback I got was that it was a little slow pace wise.
Overall I learned a lot in this course, but most of all I enjoyed learning more about the history of visual effects and cinematography. I look forward to applying what I have learned in this class to future projects and my 3D work.