[Epilogue] FINAL MAJOR PROJECT - UNIT 8 EVALUATION

My original plan for my final major project was to create a Mockumentary inspired by The Office starring my Art Foundation class, and set entirely within the rooms that we work. It would at its core be a comedy, much of the humour being inspired by things that have happened since we started Foundation this year. This was prepared for by creating a 10 minute documentary which documented mine and my friends time at the Sci-Fi Weekender with the intention to present a contrarian view of the event - showing the more mundane behind the scenes events rather than the celebrities, cosplayers and game shows. I produced a script which went through a number of iterations, which was then read through and approved by the rest of the cast. This concept was eventually changed to a documentary (using entirely unscripted footage), and later on, adjusted again.

After changing to a documentary, I altered my idea again, as what I planned on making before lacked the element that felt like something that I would produce - making the concept more in-line with what I have produced in the past and my interests. My new concept was set in the aftermath of a vial outbreak, with the video detailing the events that followed and taking the viewer on a journey towards finding out who was behind the outbreak.

I think it is beneficial that I set out to do one thing with what I filmed and ended up with something that has an entirely different tone - as this is the basis of the humour behind the video, which is the irony of what the footage is capturing, and what it is eventually distorted to represent. In this sense, I do achieve one of my goals which was "presenting events that have occurred throughout the year in a comedic manner", which I have done in a more unique manner, by changing the context of my footage and approaching it from a more creative and personal direction which has challenged my video editing skills more-so that a Mockumentary would have. This film has forced me to expand on something that I only scratched the surface of in my learning resource, which is using screen capture in my videos. While I am experienced in recording gameplay, it was a challenge to work out how to use Microsoft Word and Pinnacle Studios effects to create the typing effect seen in my final video, which is another way in which I have been able to achieve one of my aims stated in my Unit 7, as I stated that "I have been developing my video editing skills, creating a variety of videos, and I wish to develop this further". The style of editing made the final product more of a development of my A2 Art Coursework video rather than the documentary recorded at the Sci-Fi Weekender, however the visuals presented are more of an amalgamation of the two, with this video being a more cinematic experience with improved pacing which is broken up by the short typing sequences.

A way in which I could have developed my final piece is to put some more focus on the footage recorded of my art class, as currently it is intercut with scenes from films such as Cloverfield and [REC] which I have heavily distorted by adjusting the contrast, saturation and clarity of the clips. Using more footage of my art class would have brought the focus more into my own work, as, while the video is entirely edited by me, many of the visuals are not. Perhaps I could also have recreated specific scenes from those films for use in my own, by directing people around - linking it more-so into my initial Mockumentary idea, which would have helped me to achieve one of my goals discussed in my Unit 7, which was to create "my own take on the mockumentary genre".

Given the opportunity to do this final project again, I would keep my other interests and previous work in mind, and use that as a springboard out of my comfort zone, rather than finding an entirely new concept and reaching for that with little preparation for something of that theme. Had I done this from the start, I could have still been able to film some scripted sequences that would make it into the final cut, inspired by footage from other films that were intercut with the footage of my art class.

Seeing the final product, I'm happy with the results of my final major project, but also pleased I was able to work on a Mockumentary, as the script writing process was in itself a learning experience. The process to get here was a one that allowed me to work on a lot of different ideas and concepts, which were then refined by the long decision making process that encompassed this unit of the course, resulting in something that has a piece of everything that I worked on before. There were some situations in which I could have benefitted from having my final concept set in stone earlier in the course, which would have allowed me to be a bit more creative with the final product, however without that process before I likely would not have the end result that I have now.