As per usual here is my very honest (and probably too lengthy) evaluation of this particular production! Over the past few weeks I've learnt so much about working in the film industry and how the roles of everyone in the cast and crew tie in with each other to produce a film. It's been so interesting seeing how the group have worked together and created a more professional working experience, from the beginning of the idea to the finalisation of the shoot. However I have made several notes throughout about my own experience of being a first assistant director, and how I can improve myself for future work. 

Choosing My Role

It took us a little while to decide on everyone's role, due to people not being present and focussing on  making sure the idea was finalised first. I was kind of confused about which role I wanted, initially thinking maybe producer as an editor (which at the moment I feel most confident with) wasn't required until next semester. However as Julia has good experience of producing from past work, she was the obvious choice for the role and I felt she would make a very good producer for the shoot. I feel like in future I should put myself out a bit more, and not be as worried about asking to do a specific role that I am curious about or want to do. 

My Role Experience

I've mentioned before in a previous post that I think I may have not fully understood the role of 1st AD before the shoot as I didn't realise just how bossy and loud the position required me to be, even though I had a rough idea of the jobs that had to be done by the role. I am generally a very shy, quiet person, and I found this exceedingly difficult to become confident enough to be loud on set. I had to push myself a lot to try and break out of this as I know it's something that I need to and am gradually overcoming, however this is something I couldn't just change overnight (or dramatically in time for the shoot) and needs a lot more time and work. A lot of the time people don't really understand this and it's not an excuse, but it is very hard to get out of, I swear! As a result I was very anxious and nervous a lot of the time, and I think I worried about not being good enough for the role too much and should have focussed on just getting on with the job instead, as worrying never helps! I found that the experience of being 1st AD could be frustrating for me, as by the time it came to actually working on the set I knew exactly what I had to do and understood how to communicate with actors etc, however my general un-confidence held me back a bit from carrying through with this and I was slightly disheartened. At times I found myself getting lost in amongst louder voices on set, which shouldn't happen as 1st AD and I think at certain points I could have had more control. However I found that I was a very good listener, and if any cast or crew had problems I was very good at picking these up and helping or reporting it back to the director when I could not assist. This then allowed the director to focus on other things instead. I also think I was good at advising the director and generally communicating with him when he needed a second opinion. I enjoyed being able to watch the actor's live performance as due to my previous acting experience as I felt I could relate and easily spot things I liked and disliked to feed back to Thomas (director). I also made an extra effort for people who weren't helping out as much to try and get them to come in as I thought that if it was emphasised how much they were needed on set, this would motivate and inspire them to assist with everything to the best of their abilities. Anything asked of me from the director, I would carry through with as best as I could. In my opinion Thomas is amazing at directing people and knows exactly what he wants from the shoot, but I think he is used to working more by himself at doing this (or with Rob) so it was harder for him to share responsibilities with me. However I feel this was my fault for not stepping up to him enough and allowing him to let me take more charge on set. Apart from this I feel we communicated well, and shared opinions both on and off set. I really enjoyed being able to have an input with him into important decisions. I feel like it would have been helpful to have more of a second AD though to help me with many of the tasks, however Shahid who was originally 2nd AD had been changed to camera operator as the rest of the crew felt there was no need for one. While speaking with Anne on the day of the shoot, she also suggested that there should have been a 2nd AD to help out, as there was a lot on my shoulders to look after. Maybe if this had have been the case I would have been less stressed about the whole situation. It was a lot of fun being able to contribute more whenever I could, such as helping with building the set - something I've never done before. I think the entire experience was good, despite not being 100% comfortable, as I was able to learn so much about my role, as well as everyone else's, and I think it has helped my confidence a little with speaking out a bit more and being in charge. It's taught me a lot about myself as well, such as the fact I need to be more authoritative and push myself more. 

General experience

I was so inspired seeing everyone working together, and seeing people's strengths come out in new areas. It was such a good atmosphere throughout the entire production process, especially at times when we completed a big task, such as the flooring after having so much trouble with it! I think we all bonded with each other as well, and quite a few of us have been speaking more with people who aren't in our immediate friendship group. It was different to get a feel of a professional working environment, as before we've only been in smaller teams of about four, and I now have more of an idea what it's actually like to be on a set. I overall really enjoyed the entire production, despite my critical response to how I performed, and had so much fun seeing it all come together.

Main Points I've Learnt