Video Production
email: efransen99@gmail.com
Project
For my senior project, I wrote, directed, and edited a short film. I am passionate about stories and I think film is a great way to tell them. I have learned a lot about story telling as a communication student. Both on the page and visually with a camera. I have also learned how to be a lead on a project and work with others. As a director it is important to be able to communicate your vision to your cast and crew. This short film shows my skills as both a writer and a director. My short film, It’s a Toss Up, reflects the journey it takes to make your own decisions and be confident in your choices. The main character Haley is an indecisive young woman, who one day finds a magic coin that always leads her to the right choice. However, she soon finds that relying on the coin is keeping her away from her best friend. It starts to control her life. She works to find a way to break free and make her own choices; good or bad.
Pre-Production
Before filming starts you need an idea. I wanted to have a story that I could tell well in a concise amount of time. I find that writing with the end in mind helps the whole process of writing. I know where I want the story to end up and what arc I want my characters to have. The main character Haley is painfully indecisive, so her arc would be her learning to make her own decisions. The magic coin seems to be a solution to her problem, but really she just pushes off her anxiety and gives up her will to the coin. The coin provides a push for her character to realize that she is capable.
After a couple of re-wrights it was ready. Then it was a matter of going over shots and making a shot-list.
There were a lot of shots to be done so I worked with my director of photography to figure out what shots to do and when. We broke it up by location.
Then we were ready to film.
Production
Filming the project proved to be the biggest challenge. On set is when you realize that the vision in your head is different then what you can accomplish at that point. There are also sometimes unforeseen problems. I am so grateful for my dedicated cast and crew who helped me find solutions to these problems. I learned how to be flexible. This is where communication plays the biggest role. Coordinating with actor’s and crew’s schedules. I also tried to make sure I had a clear goal for what I wanted to accomplish for that film day. I wanted to respect the time of my cast and crew and not waste their time.
The other thing I learned from being a director is prioritizing. At times there are a lot of questions and concerns brought to my attention at the same time during film days. It’s important to take them one at a time. Also to be respectful to the suggestions and questions from others. I was also able to make a better film because of it. Instead of getting overwhelmed I figured out what was most needed at that time.
Post-Production
Editing is one of my favorite parts of a production. You get to see it all come together. We edited while we filmed and I found it helped me see problems with filming that we were able to catch early on. We were able to re-shoot some scenes and fix aspects of the story I didn’t catch before. I used Da Vinci resolve as my editing program. I named my files and then began on the rough cut. It took trial and error to get the pacing down. Then I worked on color. I worked closely with my audio engineer to get the sound right. I created a title and end credit sequence, and the film was ready.
The Final Film
Here is the final product. I learned a lot while working on this project. I was able to stretchy my skills and even develop new ones. I enjoy filmmaking as a narrative device because it combines visuals and sounds to tell a story. I found myself relating to Haley at times as I had to be decisive to get to the final product. That is part of being the lead on a project. I found that being passionate about your work helps you find people who are passionate too. I look forward to making more films in the future. Thank you to all my cast and crew.