When we began Level 5 Integrated Project at the beginning of semester two I was very sure that I didn't want a repeat of Integrated Project at Level 4. During the first year module I found myself in a group with 4 other people, none of which were from Visual Effects and therefore we ended up working on a project that was in no way related to film or visual effects. This meant that I had very little to do in this project and although I tried to help as much as I could, there wasn't very much I could contribute creatively. This meant that at the end of the semester, although I received a good grade for the module, I had nothing to put in my show reel. So this year I was determined not to let the same things happen again.
I decided that I would talk to my fellow visual effects students and see what their views were on the project. They agreed with me in that they had little to contribute last year and that they wanted to create something they could have a bigger hand in and be proud of at the end of this semester. We therefore decided to ask Colin if we could work together as 5 visual effects students to make something really strong in our area. I was really pleased when Colin agreed to let us work together because I was sure that we could produce something really good with all of our skills in film and visual effects.
I decided that I would talk to my fellow visual effects students and see what their views were on the project. They agreed with me in that they had little to contribute last year and that they wanted to create something they could have a bigger hand in and be proud of at the end of this semester. We therefore decided to ask Colin if we could work together as 5 visual effects students to make something really strong in our area. I was really pleased when Colin agreed to let us work together because I was sure that we could produce something really good with all of our skills in film and visual effects.
Once the group was established it was clear quite quickly who would take on different roles within the group. We all recognise that each of us has strengths and weaknesses and we were happy to let others take the lead in certain areas which they strived in. I was named team leader as I am the most organised in the group. I also wanted to be involved in the editing of the videos as this is my strength. The other group members voiced which areas they wanted to be involved in and we drew up a document with all our roles on. I think that the roles we initially picked for ourselves held out well throughout the project and that everyone stuck to the areas they had volunteered to do.
However there were some changes occasionally, if one group member was unable to fulfil their role at a particular time. For example Bradley was supposed to be the director on the film shoot, but he was unable to make the first shoot due to family commitments, so Ross took over and became the director. This was a really good point about our group dynamic, we were all more than willing to help another group member out if they were struggling. I think this made us a strong team.
Although unfortunately not all group members were as committed as others, as Jason did not contribute much to the project at all, whether that be in physical content or ideas and thoughts in the meetings (which he didn't always attend). He was given the task of creating the idents for the beginning of the cooking videos as he is interested in typography and has strong skills in this area. In the end he did produce some good work and the idents looked really good, it was just a shame that he didn't want to add more to the project.
If I was to look back at the project and change things that would make our group dynamics better, I wouldn't necessarily change how things worked within the group, but I wouldn't definitely change how the group worked with the MCP. When we were told we would be getting a manager of creative processes for this project, no one really understood what it was about, myself included. I understood that the idea of the module was to make it as realistic as possible, but I thought that when there are five people working on a project together, having one extra person to have to relay information back and forth from would be nothing but hassle and would slow the progress of the project down. At the beginning of the project I thought that my first thoughts were correct. The tasks that we were told the MCP would be doing at that time were not being done and this was hindering our project development. For example the MCP was going to ask us for information so they could produce a task list and timeline chart. However this was not done and I ended up having to do it so that we could see how long we would have to complete every aspect of the project.
We also struggled with communication with the MCP. It was established within the group at the beginning of the project that I would liaise with the client as we thought one person would be easier than different people speaking with the client. Then about halfway through the project, just before filming I received an email from the client telling me she had been contacted by our MCP who was giving her incorrect information. I could see no reason for this as the MCP was up to date with the project as he was a member of our Facebook group where all progress was recorded. However I apologised to the client and spoke to our MCP, who apologised and realised he had made a mistake.
After this things were a lot smoother and easier between the group and the manager. We became better at giving him the information he needed and he was better at managing from a distance and supporting us rather than confusing us! I think that throughout this module both us as a group and the MCP have learned things about working with a group and a manager and if we were to do the project again, we would all be a lot better at communicating and working together for the best results for everyone, instead of feeling as though we were hassling the other.
Our final piece had exceeded my expectations. It took me a while to get my head around our concept and exactly what materials we were producing, but what we have produced is what we intended and more. I don't think any of the group would have said that we would produce 6 good quality, informative cooking videos of around 4 minutes in length each. I am really proud of the videos and will be glad to add them to my show reel to show people in the future. I think the fact that this was the first time we had shot on a real location, in a kitchen of all places and we have managed to produce something professional looking is something myself and Nisha in particular can be proud of, as we were both camera operators and editors. The advertising material we have produced to go with the videos is icing on the cake in my opinion. A new menu, posters to advertise the café bar and the videos and little flags to put in the food or out and about are quick pieces of work that bring the whole project together nicely.
I think if we were to do this project again, the only thing we would change is perhaps to try and shoot the videos a little bit earlier, to give us more time to edit them and avoid the pressure, but in the end, it's all about the pressure!
I think all of the group members are hoping that the Showroom Cinema and café bar are pleased and impressed with what we have produced and hopefully they will be used to advertise Simon's new menu and in the end, help to make the café bar a real success.
