Production Roles - Miss Miller

Production Roles

It is important that people are allocated specific roles when creating a film as this allows the individuals to focus on their role, putting in the best possible efforts. This improves the film as each role is getting the amount of attention and dedication it needs. Also, having allocated roles leaves less stress on external people as they do not have to worry about jobs that are already covered. The main roles in which are necessary to be allocated for creating a film are Producers, Directors, Actors, Directors of Photography, Music Producers, Screenplay Writers, MES Co-ordinators and Editors.

We decided the allocation of different roles through the strengths of each individual. We each were allocated roles we were comfortable with and feel could succeed and bring a lot to the sequence in which we are making. 

The role of the Producer was allocated to Alfie Harris. We found that Alfie is very organised, not just personally but with organising other people and situations in general. He was comfortable in having this role and believed that he would be the best person for the job from his experience from taking Media at GCSE. He has ensured that all elements of our film are correct for example the setting, and he has made sure that everything has gone smoothly and on time. Filming is made easier having Alfie as the Producer as it relieves the pressure from me and Danny as this role is covered and we don't feel the need to worry about it. Also it keeps filming easy and quick to do as everything is already ready and organised before we have filmed. As a producer, Alfie was good in his role and there isn't any errors that we could improve him on for the future.

The Director has been allocated to Danny Wheeler. This is because Danny has a clear view of what we want to specifically do and create in each scene and so, we have found this the best job for him. With this clear vision, we are confident that Danny has ensured that each scene will have created the atmosphere we intend to create and the actors are positioned correctly in order to create the most conventional and successful opening thriller sequence possible. Danny having the role of the Director makes filming a lot more easier for the rest of us as, his clear vision makes filming quick and easy as well as successful. Therefore, this also helps save time and allows us more time for editing and further filming if needed. Some shots however, had to be re-filmed due to the time of day in which we were filming and the shots resulted in being too dark. Therefore, next time the producer will make sure that this isn't a possible problem as a different time of day will be chosen.

All of us, (Amy Sowerby, Danny Wheeler and Alfie Harris) are the Actors in our sequence. We chose ourselves for the actors as it would make filming easy from the way we can be certain and dependant on for filming at all times. This saves having to pressure someone to be available to film at times others may not be able to, so having us all available ensures that filming can get done quickly. Furthermore, we all understand each character and know how we want them to be portrayed on-screen, so knowing this allows us to develop our character to what we intend more easily as we understand the background of each character. 

The Director's of Photography are Danny Wheeler and Alfie Harris. We decided for this role to be allocated to them as they have a passion for photography and filming. Furthermore, as I am in the majority of the shots, it would make sense for the other group members to film. Their job is to film the whole sequence, ensuring that we are getting the shots we want. To get the certain angles and shots that we want, having two people makes it easier and more achievable as some shots may be difficult for a person alone to film, a high angle shot for example. Danny and Alfie also work well together, so it was certain that the filming would be completed to a good standard and to the best of their ability. Because of the success of the shots, there wouldn't be anything to improve on. As a group, we were happy with how the shots turned out and so choosing Danny and Alfie for the Director's of Photography was a good decision.

I have been allocated the role of the Music Producer. This is because we found that I had a general knowledge of music from studying it at GCSE and also for A Level. Having worked with different genres and styles of music, finding music for a thriller may not be too difficult. For my role, I have found different sound effects and soundtracks that will compliment the scenes within our film. I have then presented them to the other group members and discussed which sounds would work best, creating the most impact and being most conventional to the thriller genre. Having this role will be easier for filming and editing as it relieves the stress for other group members to feel the need to have to look for different uses of sound. It allows other members to focus more deeply on their own roles and make them as successful as possible. As well as this, if we notice a shot may not create tension, knowing that sound will be under it relieves the pressure of creating a sound-filled shot.

Danny Wheeler was allocated the role of the Screenplay Writer. He has a passion for English and is a creative writer, so we believed that this role would suit him more than any of us. Danny also seemed confident that this role would suit him and that he would make a good job of the role too. He has written the script for the sequence, even though there isn't much dialogue, what he has created adds to the suspense that we want our audience to feel. From having this, it creates a stronger sequence that is more conventional to the thriller genre, making our sequence also more successful. This makes filming a lot more easier as it is clear what the actors need to say and do, creating a lack of time wasting.

The MES (Mise-en-scene) Coordinator was allocated to Alfie Harris. He was allocated this role from the wide variation of ideas in which he presented to the group on the different elements within mise-en-scene. We believed that as a group we favoured his ideas and the innovative aspects of them and so believed that Alfie having this particular role would be suitable. Alfie has therefore made decisions on costume, hair and makeup for example as well as the other elements of mise-en-scene. Him having this role makes it easier to film as it is organised what should and shouldn't be in shot and what certain elements should look like.

The Editor role has been allocated to myself. I enjoy editing and have had past experience from editing sequences for Media in GCSE. Because of this, I am more familiar and knowing of how to work Final Cut Pro therefore making it a lot quicker and easier for our group to edit. Furthermore, editing can be done successfully from the awareness of the editing programme and the creative nature within them. Having an individual for the editor makes it easier to edit as it is less time consuming for other group members as they can focus on their other allocated roles. It makes editing easier as it allows focus and concentration solely on this role allowing successful editing to take place and therefore a successful thriller sequence to be created. Also, it makes editing easier and quicker due to the fact that not all group members may be available all at once and so having one person edit means that people do not have to be waited on.

Each person was successful in their allocated role as each individual was allocated an even number of roles so that stress is not brought upon one main individual. However, some filming was not successful as our shots were filmed at a later time of day resulting in shots that are too dark and even editing was unable to amend this. Therefore, the director should have thought about this and analysed the issues that may arise. This is however, the only fault that has risen to us as a group and so, having the particular individuals chosen for the specific roles has proven to be a decision well-made. If we were to do this again, the roles would have the same people doing them as this has been a successful result with as few errors as possible.