The prospect of a group project to create an exhibition of all our works was an intimidating, if not entirely terrifying, one at first. My mind ran through every conceivable worst-case scenario, struggling to find a route in which my input in such a project wouldn’t lead to disaster. However, the more we learned and understood surrounding the project, the more excited I became. Our group is already very tight-knit and radiates a sense of community. In that sense, the possibility to work and collaborate with every single one of them was something that I was eager to do, as well as work on something that would enhance my skills.
For a long time, and even still to this day, I have found myself unsure of exactly what aspect of the film industry I want to find myself in. I love writing creatively, so writing around film would be something I would adore – but, would it be enough for me? I love being in and around sets, seeing how each film frame is designed and crafted. However, I cannot say I support my own technical skills enough to be an integral cog in the machine. Yet, when the prospect of a major production role within the exhibition became apparent, I found myself eager to snatch at my chance. A wealth of ideas swirled around my mind as to how I believed the exhibition could and, in my head, should look. Across this course, I have learned that my relationship with film is one connected with visual splendour. Aesthetically experimental filmmakers have always appealed to me – ones that find unique and fresh ways to film the simplest of shots, and so I hoped to use this production role to create a visually intriguing exhibition. While I was still unsure of how my practical ability would allow these ideas to become physically visualised, I knew I did not want to let them slip away. Once we figured out who would be team leader of the production team, who ended up being Ryan, I was pleased that he, myself and the rest of the production team all shared similar ideas – and that each of us were willing to listen to everyone else’s. The fact that we are all such a close group only helped with this also, as there was a mutual respect between us all that has made it a warm and friendly working environment.
Once the theme for the exhibition became more apparent, with our title being ‘Through the Reel’ and our wider idea emphasising ideas of growth and community, it gave us more to work with in terms of how we wanted to visualise the exhibition. For instance, we decided to create a group podcast that would reflect our three years on the course and act as an insight into what studying BA Cinema has been like. This was a podcast that I created questions and discussion points for and also ended up hosting. This was a very rewarding experience, as I learned even more about my fellow students, and we created a harmonious balance between the four of us, which led to a very entertaining podcast that I feel reflects the themes of the wider exhibition. We also created interviews for each student on our course, allowing us to get to know more about them and allowing them to reflect upon their time on the course – and so, in this sense, our aim to create a visualised feeling of communal growth is so far a rousing success!
Where the major role in production has allowed me to play to my creative thinking strengths, my minor role in management has allowed me to offer some critical thinking alongside it. Having this role has allowed me to act as a voice between the production and management teams, maintaining a dialogue to ensure things are ticking along at a steady rate. This too has been rewarding, partly due to it allowing me to work alongside some close friends on the course with whom I created my first group assignment back in my first year – which cyclically wraps much of this course in a nice bow. As someone who often finds themselves introverted, jumping outside my comfort zone to perform such a role that involves consistent communication has been rewarding and perhaps helped to provide me with some newfound confidence that was nonexistent beforehand.
As it turns out, my initial reservations have been proven to be dumbfounded. This project has so far been incredibly rewarding, not only in that I have developed and harnessed new skills and have learnt new things about myself and my abilities, but also that continuing to work closely with my good friends has been a delight. Our exhibition wants to reflect our communal growth, and I hope that this is evident not only in our work, but also within our friendships with one another. My roles in production and management have helped me to refine and sharpen my tools, some that hadn’t been in my hand until the beginning of this module. And, with my adoration for performing the practical side of the production work, maybe this module has helped me to find just where I want to find myself working in film.
Eddie's Film Escapades 