I chose the Paintings as Inspiration project as I was keen to work on and experience the world of film. I wanted to gain some first-hand experience of working on film in order to develop my practice in this specialism. I have found that the most important aspect of this project is the insight it has given me into film-making; I now have an understanding of the how the process develops from an initial idea to a final piece of work and I am now aware of the different roles involved in the process of creating a Film aswell as an understanding of what each person in the team is required to do. I now feel much more confident to work in other films in my spare time.
In addition to this, the project has been a great experience in working as part of a large team. In order to achieve the desired style and look for the film, it was fundamental to communicate well with the other team members and to exchange ideas often. This collaborative element was key to the success of the project and I have truly enjoyed working in a team.
However, this project also presented difficulties, as it meant relying on other people for important bits of information, which was at times difficult to obtain. Although challenging, this was an exercise in problem solving and developing alternative ways of working. I forced myself to this more generally; sourcing items in various colours to assure there was a choice of garments on the day as well as having a back up if anything happened on set.
Another challenge I faced was working within the small time-scale. Although this meant there were elements that I would like to have developed and strengthened had there been more time, it encouraged me to be more proactive and to gather ideas with speed. Furthermore, working with a small budget has really helped me to work more economically and to consider alternative ways of sourcing items at a low price.
The theoretical project has helped me to think on a wider basis, considering elements as such as storyline, back-story, script ideas and production design. I would like to develop characters in this way in future projects in order to create more wholesome and thought through designs. I would like to have developed this part of the project more had there been extra time and would have liked to have some additional costume ideas and sketches.
I have completed all of the aims of my learning agreement and feel that the outcome of my work for In The Hallway was successful and showed my understanding of costume design for film.
I also have been successful at sticking to my schedule this term, because of this I was able to be flexible with any unexpected issues. However, looking back through my schedule I’ve noticed that I may have not written it clearly enough for others to understand, as I haven’t always been specific about the particular jobs I would be doing. Written work is one of my weaknesses so I will focus on my dissertation over summer so that it doesn’t distract from the rest of my work in my final year.
Above all, this project has helped me to develop a new way of thinking and a new approach to my work. I now realise that inspiration can be taken from a wide range of sources, including paintings and other visual mediums, and will therefore look for alternative forms of inspirations in other projects. Additionally, the organizational side of the project, which required careful budgeting, documentation, updating my blog and information collecting, has forced me to think more methodically and meticulously.
