Evaluation

Creative Media Project Development and Realisation End of Semester

500-word Individual Self-Evaluation

Give a detailed critical analysis of the finished piece of work for this project, try to consider your work as a member of an audience and recognise what has worked well and what has not been as successful in your project. Try to be objective and weigh up the pros and cons focusing on the positive outcomes as well as the areas that have room for improvement. Reflect on what you would change if you could make the work again? (100 words)

Through the combination of sound and image, I feel that our finished project presents a full, rich sounding and melancholic atmosphere. The narrative elements of the soundscape help to imply at our theme, (blindness) and I feel this is greatly supported by the use of still imagery played in a formalist, three sequence approach. I feel that the audio carries more emotional and narrative weight than the images; not all are as interesting or composed well as others, which I feel detracts from the visual element of the film and puts more of a reliance and attention on the audio to be engaging.

Describe the process of making the work and your individual contribution. Did things work out differently from the way you had visualised them at the planning stage? What production issues did you encounter that caused problems during the creative process? (150 words)

There were many changes made to both the audio and visual elements of the film, however these were not negatives; in fact, they drove the film onto a better, clearer direction. I largely undertook work on the soundscape, recording, designing and mixing the audio. The foundation for the idea was largely the same from the beginning, simply requiring more recordings to create fuller layers of sound that carried both emotional and narrative impacts.  When it was at this stage, the required improvements were technical; better reduction of a static radio sound effect balanced by the increase of voiceover. The largest problem faced was in trying make the voiceover sound like it was coming from a radio. To achieve the desired effect, plug-ins were used and applied to the audio track. By selecting a preset option called ‘Transistor Radio’, this turned the voiceover into a static blending, slightly echoing audio.

It is important to write in detail about what you have learnt during the project both technically and creatively. Outline specific skills you have developed because of making the work and new methods or approaches you have experimented with. (150 words)

The creative and practical processes I have used for this project has increased my proficiency in using applications like Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer. My confidence has grown working as a sound designer and recordist, with a large array of skills now at my disposal. Sound mixing has been an area in which I have learnt much, using (on Pro Tools) pencil tools to add markers to points of audio which needs to be increased/decreased. Also switching the audio track from ‘waveform’ to ‘volume’ allowed me to check parts of audio that was ‘peaking’ or overlapping another sound that needed to be heard. On Avid, the ‘Colour effect’ tool was used to manipulate images. I could mix RGB levels, invert the image, and reduce saturation, creating a variety of differing colour tones and palates which I applied to the three individual sequences in the visuals for the film.

Reflect on how you worked as part of a team. Did all members contribute equally? What are your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to teamwork? How can you improve your teamwork skills? (100 words)

To utilise our individual strengths, we split the production of the film. My main role was as the sound recorder/designer and my partners was more of a focus of cinematography and editing. I do feel that my partner’s contribution was more in enthusiasm and verbal ideas than practical, however this was due to external scheduling conflicts and not a lack of interest. When able to work on the production, full attention and genuine creative interest was there, especially when working to deadline. To improve teamwork, better, constant communication and earlier planning on both individual’s parts is needed.