The document provides a summary of Joseph Haley's production process for his final major project (FMP). In week 1, Haley formulated initial ideas in a PowerPoint presentation which allowed for flexibility. In week 2, Haley conducted research by analyzing existing similar products and conducting audience surveys/interviews. For week 3, Haley experimented with different camera shots and After Effects but had issues with After Effects. In week 4, Haley focused on pre-production planning. For weeks 5-6, Haley produced a radio show by recording audio, editing it in Audition, and uploading it to SoundCloud. In weeks 7-8, Haley did a rough edit of his film footage in Premiere Pro

1. Production Reflection
Joseph Haley

2. Process (Week 1)- Initial ideas
This PowerPoint allowed us to formulate our ideas in a
cohesive and understandable way and because of the huge
amount of freedom that was allotted to what our FMP would
contain it was very important to ensure that the work is
cohesive. Giving us a whole week to write down different
aspects we wanted to focus on and making sure we explored
different ideas was very important in our creative process and
would surely instilled that we made the right choice of
production in the coming weeks. This power point was really
helpful because it allowed you to be able to put your ideas
onto the PowerPoint in the way that best suited you as a
person. Once all our ideas were written down we were able to
pick out more specifics needs for what we wanted for our
FMP, this included things such as specific genres of film. This
gave us a more clear idea in our heads of what we wanted.

3. Process (Week 2)- Research
What I did for the research is similar to what I've done in the past which is looking at
existing products that share similarities with the ideas that I had generated within my
initial plans. This information allowed me to be able to generate a general aesthetic for my
final product. More importantly I could dissect certain shots and decide the impact of said
shots; this allowed me to have some ideas for what I want to put within my own product.
This was a primary success when looking at the scene transitions in scenes and gave me a
good idea of the sort of transitions I want to introduce in my own product. I also did some
specific audience research through surveys and Interviews. The audience surveys were so
important because I need to make sure that the film interests them because that is how
you make it a success. When comparing this research to the research that I have
conducted in the past it has certainly become more detailed but more importantly more
specific to what I want to make for my product, I have definitely taken more care to
ensure that the audience opinion is very much taken on board as much as I could. Having
the research done to the level that it is at now is going to help significantly when I try to
streamline all the information and ensure the strength of the product in the end. I will
continue with my future research to make sure that the product suits the audience desires
for the product.
After my research I managed to complete my Proposal to the same high level of detail
contained within my research. The proposal included more detail with what sort of person
I am trying to attract with my chosen product, this was really helpful as the detail into the
inner psyche of the people will really help me funnel the idea and completely ensure that
it attracts that specific audience. The detail when it came to what tasks to do was really
helpful and it will keep me on time over the coming weeks as well as keep me up to speed
completing tasks as they go.

4. Process (Week 2)- proposal
Although my research was detailed and a
huge help for the end product I want to
make, In hindsight I focused too heavily on
the film aspect of my FMP and didn’t
conduct research on my other parts. I wish
that I had more information available for
the radio show going forward as I feel that
I will be less equipped to make it a success
in the future.
After my research I managed to complete
my Proposal to the same high level of
detail contained within my research. The
proposal included more detail with what
sort of person I am trying to attract with
my chosen product, this was really helpful
as the detail into the inner psyche of the
people will really help me funnel the idea
and completely ensure that it attracts that
specific audience. The detail when it came
to what tasks to do was really helpful and
it will keep me on time over the coming
weeks as well as keep me up to speed
completing tasks as they go.

5. Process (Week 3)- Experiments
This week consisted of production experiments which
was designed to give us an idea of what will work and
what won’t in the final product, I had decided that I
wanted to experiment with After Effects in my final
product. Unfortunately the experiment was a complete
disaster when it came to the experiments containing
After Effects software as I couldn’t get them to work
despite going through the tutorial several times.
The experiments with the different camera shots was a
definite success because it at least gave me some
content to look at. I was a huge fan of the David Fincher
shot that I tried as the first shot because it really did
work as way of captivating the audience. The other shot
that I experimented with was the use of shaky cam, I was
already apprehensive towards this idea as I have never
being a fan. After seeing it in my experiment I believe
that it can definitely work in certain films and certain
scenes but I don’t think that I will use it in my final
product. Firstly my final product will not be very action
based, but also I don’t believe that I am very good at
operating the camera for shaky cam. I finding it so shaky
when I do it to the point that I don’t even know what is
happening when I am filming it.

6. Process (Week 4)- Pre production and
planning
This week consisted of organising everything that was needed
to ensure that production went smoothly over the coming
weeks. These things include scripts, storyboards, location
scouting etc. This will help me have a smooth production
process over the coming weeks because everything is already
laid out for me meaning production should be fast and
effective as I know what I will be doing and when I will be
doing it. It was important that I did pre production to a strong
level because of the amount of work that is needed to be
done in production, I need to make sure that all parts of my
production are done to a high standard and I also need to
ensure that they all link. I did have issues with keeping to
schedule for this week because of the amount of work I
needed to do for it due to the fact that I was doing film. This
included a script ,shot list and the things listed at the
beginning. Having all of these aspects done was a huge boost
to my final product as my FMP will have continuity throughout
the film, radio and potentially the poster.

7. Process (Day 1)- Production
My first day of production was
unfortunately lacking in production
because I had gone behind schedule and
was finishing off my pre-production. This
consisted entirely of me finishing off my
radio transcript which was needed to be
done before I could begin work on the
radio show. I wish that I had completed
all my pre production work at the end of
last week to keep on schedule when it
came to what I had put in my Proposal
but I decided it was better that I put the
production on hiatus for the first day to
make sure that all my pre production was
at a standard high enough for me to
believe that I could do the production at
the correct standard for me. I didn’t want
to begin my radio production because I
didn’t feel comfortable with doing things
on the spot. By the end of the day I
managed to get my transcript completed
and was ready to do the recording
tomorrow.

8. Process (Day 2)- Production
Today began the first day where I properly got
started on my production. I borrowed a sound
recorder from college, found a quiet location in an
empty room on the first floor and then brought my
friend who was going to play the radio host within
the script. I decided instead of just talking back
and forth as if this was a real conversation that
firstly my friend would say his lines and each line
being a separate recording. I did this a
precautionary measure because I didn't want to
have to start again every time that someone made
a mistake. Once my friend finished all of his side of
the script I could let him go back to do his own
production work. I then did my side of the
conversation acting as the creator of the show
David. Although I am quite a confident person
when it comes to everyday conversation, I haven’t
got what you would call a radio voice. This is why I
decided to be David the creator because David as a
character is just a writer and wouldn’t necessarily
be good at talking on the radio. Also my friend
who played the radio host has aspirations of being
a voice actor so I knew that the role best suited
him. Overall I felt confident when it came to the
radio because I knew that I had plenty of time to
make sure that it was at a strong level before I had
to begin production on my filming.

9. Process (Day 3-4)- ProductionAfter I completed the recording the day previous I
opened up Audition and imported all the media files
on. I was apprehensive when using Audition at first
because I had never used the software before. I had
been told by other people who had used it that it was
similar to Premiere Pro which I had plenty of previous
experience using in the previous projects throughout
the year. These two days were spent by me primarily
combing through the audio files and creating a multi-
track session which acted as a rough timeline which
followed the script and had all our dialogue in the
right place. At this point I wasn’t meddling with any
audio and was only putting the lines together in a
chronological order. Once I had finished putting
together a rough timeline I listened to the whole
thing and was seeing the issues with the audio and
what I would need to do next week. I unfortunately
uncovered some issues when it came to the audio:
Firstly the whole thing was spoken a bit slow and I
needed to find a way to make the whole piece move a
bit quicker, secondly there was crackling with some of
the audio as something had gone too close to the
microphone, thirdly the audio of the radio hosts first
2 pages of dialogue were quiet in one ear but really
loud in the other ear which was due to my friend
holding the recorder on its side, and lastly there was
no music at the beginning of the piece to get it all
going. These were all issues that needed to be dealt
with by the end of the next two days of production or
I would be really be behind schedule.

10. Process (Day 5)- Production
I had spent the weekend completing my filming for the short film. My first
priority at the start of the week was getting all the video files off the SD card
and on to the USB pen to make sure I didn’t lose it. I then ensured that all
the filming equipment I had borrowed at the weekend had been returned
to the college and then got started on production. I decided that I would
rather get the radio production finished before starting work on the film
because I didn’t want to confuse myself by starting two separate pieces of
production at the same time.
The first two days of this week were all for me to ensure that I fixed the four
issues that had cropped up with my radio mixtape I had put together last
week. On the first day I did the simple fix first; I went on YouTube found a
version of the song Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin and converted it to
an mp3 file which I then put on the multitrack waveform on its own
separate track. I then went to the end of the song and cut to the end
segment of the song to make it seem like the song had been on and the
listener had just tuned into the radio as the song was ending. I then cut it
again and out the final part in its own track row and then gradually faded
the music out as the host talked over it. Although a quick change this was
extremely effective for me because it made the radio piece flow much more
fluidly because it gave the appearance that this is a real radio channel which
you have just tuned into and tune out of at the end.
The second change I made today was sorting out the radio host audio issues
throughout the first 2 pages of the transcript. To do this I moved all of the
dialogue that suffered from this issue and put it all in a separate track row. I
then went to the left hand side of the row where there are two circles
which you can turn left or right. One of them affects the overall level of the
audio in that row and the other affects which ear you hear more of the
audio from. I turned this to the right so you would hear more from the right
by 50. This means that you will hear it 50% louder from the right ear than
from the left ear but because the right ear was significantly quieter it
levelled out the sound. This improvement was important to both me and
the production. It was important to the production because it made the
whole thing sound less amateur and gave off the impression of a real radio
show; and secondly it filled me with confidence because I managed to find
an unorthodox solution with software that I wasn’t comfortable with.
Overall this change gave me a huge boost in confidence and a belief that I
could tackle any issue that came in production now.

11. Process (Day 6)- Production
Today was the last day that I wanted to spend on the radio
production before moving on to my film. During today I had to finish
the other tasked that I had set to myself at the end of the previous
week.
The first issue I had to solve was trying to make the whole thing flow
a little bit quicker. When looking at the audio tracks I realised that
there was a lot of empty sections of the audio where both myself
and my friend were taking pauses when saying our lines. These
pauses came mainly in the middle of a line where there might be a
full stop and slowed down the whole thing. I used the cut tool within
Audition and carefully took out portions of the waveform where
there was no audio and then stitched the two segments back
together again. Through doing this process I managed to take off
nearly 30 seconds of the runtime and all it did was make the whole
thing flow a little bit quicker and a little bit better.
The final thing that I needed to improve to finish my radio show was
remove the crackling that was apparent within certain sections of the
mix. For the slight ones I used a similar trick to what I did with the
issue that I had with the sound in the previous day. The crackling only
ever lasted for a very short amount of time. I used the cut tool to cut
a segment out, I then put that segment on a previous track row and
then made it louder in the ear that the crackling wasn’t in which
allowed me to cut the crackling out for that single moment and then
transition back into the regular waveform. The rest of the crackling
after I had done this was too bad so I managed to get my friend to
re-record some of the audio that he had done, with these now put in
place all the four issues I brought up last week were sorted. These
two changes were what made the radio show such an effective
supplementary piece to the film. I do worry that I have spent too
much time on completing my audio as perhaps I will regret not
spending more time on my film.

12. Process (Day 7-8)- Production
Just before I moved on to the film I decided to stay true to my
idea of an advertising campaign and quickly released the radio
transcript. I exported the multiform as an mp3 file and then
uploaded it onto Sound cloud making it public so people could
listen to it.
I then moved onto the main piece of my production the film. I
started by importing all the files I had saved earlier in the week
and putting them into a Premiere Pro file. I was looking
forward to this part of production more because of my
previous experience with the software. Going into this with
more belief certainly helped with my enthusiasm for the FMP.
Like I had done with the radio show I spent most of the next
two days creating a rough edit of the film. This became harder
than I thought it would be because of the amount of shots that
I had done whilst filming. This wasn’t an artistic choice because
originally I wanted to use as little shots as possible, however
the actors didn’t feel comfortable enough with their lines and
therefore we had to lots of shots to compensate for this. This
made even putting together a rough edit a nightmare because
a lot of the scenes didn’t feel like they cut seamlessly and a lot
of the editing looked a bit choppy. Unfortunately the actors I
used were not available for any reshoots and so I had to just
stick with hat I had and make it work. After the two days I
eventually got a rough edit together and began to look at what
I need to make this better. At this point I was worried about
how my film was going to turn out but knew that if I focus on
the primary issues first It will end up coming together a lot
better.

13. Process (Day 9)- Production
Things within production got even more
difficult as I was ill for a couple of days this
week which put me behind schedule but I
just continued with my film and addressed
the main concerns with the edit.
I firstly added music to the opening shot of
the film
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOrxw
qvfD2E), I took it from YouTube ensuring it
was copyright free and then converted it to
mp3. I then added it as a track and cut it
down to the same length of the opening
shot until it then cuts to the title, I then used
the audio transition exponential fade to fade
the music out. This was done because at this
point in time the opening shot had sound
from the camera and all you could hear was
me walking clumsily toward Esau which
completely detracted from the experience.

14. Process (Day 9)- Production
I spent the rest of the day tightening the editing up,
for example in the scene where Esau shouts out in
anger. I wanted it to cut to the wide shot I had filmed,
I did this by unkinking the audio and video and then
after that I cut the video track where I wanted to and
then added the wide shot scene in the gap that was
left. Little changes like this helped dramatically in
making the film flow more smoothly; this was the
point I was at now where most of the changes were
little ones to help the film flow better. My worries
with the amount of different shots that were made
had subsided as the editing process continued.
Another way that I tightened up the editing was in the
scene transition where Esau goes from outside the
barn to back inside. In my original edit this segment
didn’t quite look as good as I wanted it to and that
was because I hadn’t cut at the right place meaning
that the shot didn’t contain a complete frame swipe.
So I re-edited this segment and made sure that the
frame swipe was complete and so the whole shot
looked like one scene.

15. Process (Day 10)- Production
By the final day of production I had made all the
little improvements to my film and I focused on
getting the whole thing exported and put onto
YouTube. I exported the timeline and made sure it
was under YouTube 720p. After about 10 minutes
it was ready to be put onto YouTube which took
another 5 minutes before it was ready to be
published.
Now that I have finished my FMP production I feel
relieved that the whole thing turned out so well
considering the disasters that occurred with my
experiments. I feel that both my film and radio
piece came out looking and sounding professional.
I am also happy with my level of determination
and attention to detail to make sure that both
were finished to the absolute best that they could
have been and that is a skill that I am sure will
help me to succeed in any future projects that I
will participate in.
My only desire is that I was able to finish my
advertising campaign with a poster as I feel like
that would have completely finished the campaign
and given it a more complete amount of variety.