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Unit 2 - Arts Leadership Project

In this unit, I have planned and carried out an arts project related to the post-production of filmmaking. In terms of leadership, I oversaw all post-production decisions and creative liberties from the planning stage to teaching the participants how to edit and producing the final film.

• part a + b - project plan

• part c + d - evidence of doing the project

• part e - final report on the project

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Project Overview and Plan

For my Arts Leadership project, I have decided to contribute to a short film within a collective. During pre-production and shooting. I will take part and contribute during the initial creative meeting during pre-production, as well as play an acting role when we shoot, however, I will lead the post-production, dictating the creative liberties in terms of editing. I will teach my fellow filmmakers (Tabitha, who leads pre-production, and Dean, who leads production) how to edit. I will teach them through conducting a workshop on editing. I have experience with editing, particularly on iMovie, so I am confident with teaching others how to us it. I will then merge the footage together, then distribute the final film.

To distribute this film, I will upload it onto YouTube, as well as showcase it to our Silver Arts Award cohort. I will also promote it on my social media for more people to access.

In brief, the aim is to edit and finalise a short film, whilst teaching others how to edit on iMovie. The outcome will be a short film for our class and friends to enjoy, with the writing, directing, and editing cohesively playing positive roles towards that.

Since I am conducting an editing workshop, here is the risk assessment concerning that specific event:

Issues I may face and weekly plan:
Since post-production is the last stage of filmmaking, there is a high chance that the earlier stages could take longer than expected, therefore lessening the time available to edit. Another problem that can be anticipated is ensuring the footage is both accessible and ready to work with. I will overcome the issues by negotiating and communicating with Tabitha and Dean on their stages of production and where that leaves me.

Below is the week-by-week plan on post-production, including deadlines and the actual date completed:

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Project Log and Evidence

iMovie Editing Workshop with Dean and Tabitha, 18-06-2021
During a free period in the library, I taught Dean and Tabitha the basics of iMovie, including how to merge clips together and add sound. Here is what they had to say about my leadership and teaching:

"Learning how to navigate iMovie with Alyanna and Dean was an enjoyable experience, we didn't meet any immediate problems, and Alyanna's leadership and teaching was clear and effective, with everything being well communicated."-Tabitha

"Alyanna's editing mentoring provided me a simple yet effective system of editing as she provided a high level of communication to the group."-Dean

Reflection: From this, I have developed the leadership skill of communication and motivation which was applied when instructing Tabitha and Dean what to do and engaging them with navigating the software.

Stage One, 21-06-2021 to 27-06-2021
Having taught the pair how to edit on iMovie, I shared an email on what footage they have to edit with screenshots of the script alongside to assist their editing. I also set up a shared iCloud album so that all of the raw footage is easily accessible and in one place. This can be seen below.

Tabitha and Dean were required to edit one short scene each, which they managed easily, although they expressed the need for extra help and an extended deadline, particularly since the software was still new to them. Throughout this process, we communicated well in our groupchat on what creative decisions ought to be made. By the end of that week, not only did their knowledge of iMovie and editing fortify, but the scenes they produced were succinct and polished.

Reflection: Evidently, the deadline was extended but, as a leader, I negotiated and understood what Tabitha and Dean needed in order for their edited scenes to be perfected. Negotiation, communication, and organisation skills were displayed throughout this stage.

Stage Two, 28-06-2021 to 30-06-2021
This stage entailed another scene edited each by Tabitha and Dean, and was a much faster process, meeting the expected deadline. The pair have become very familiar with the software now. Dean has even edited the scene that was supposed to be edited next week – he is ahead in the process, but that, by all means, does not indicate that Tabitha is behind. The two have solid understanding of editing in iMovie, all that is left to do now is Tabitha’s last scene. From there, I will merge and finalise the film so that it can be uploaded and distributed.

Reflection: The communication at school and online has continued throughout, further exemplifying skills of effective communication, organisation, and negotiation. I am yet to bump into any problems, and the editing process is moving quickly and smoothly, hitting the deadlines set.

Stage Three, 01-07-2021 to 05-07-2021
This is the final stage of the editing process. With Dean's scenes all completed, Tabitha used this stage to finalise her scenes, requiring much one-to-one communication between the pair of us. From there, all the edited scenes were sent to me to merge together. However, I did underestimate the time it would take to do this, especially since I met technological difficulty with the shared album, as some footage was difficult to find on it. Postponing the deadline was a necessary decision to make since the film was finalised to the highest quality possible. All there is left to do it upload and distribute the film.

Reflection: Leadership skills such as problem solving and technological expertise were developed during the stage, having met problems with the shared folder and footage. Moreover, I managed to moved the deadline reasonably, and communicated this reorganisation with the group effectively and honestly, which they understood and supported.

Distributing the film, 07-07-2021
Whilst I was absent from school, I instructed my partners to upload the film, as well as collect feedback and audience reactions. I ensured they also collected insight on the editing specifically as well as the film as a whole.

The film can be accessed here

I have collected a variety of comments and reviews from peers on the films itself, as well as from the participants (Tabitha and Dean) on my leadership.

Report, 07-07-2021
The project is finished, all edited and distributed. Whilst I am proud of the progress we have made and glad to see that all the hard work has paid off, it's sad to let a project go. Having collected feedback from peers and participants, I was able to write my report, in which I evaluated the project, including the development of my leadership skills and the overall achievements.

This report can be read here

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Final Report

For my Arts Leadership project, I lead the post-production elements of a short film, including the editing and distribution of the film. Within this, I took charge of all creative liberties, and taught Tabitha and Dean how to edit, with them editing 1/4 of the film each. This included a workshop of ,e teaching them the basics of iMovie, a editing software, as well as having having communication with them over the course of four weeks, sending edited footage to and from. In the end, I edited the other 1/2 of the footage, merging all the scenes together.

Each stage of the process entailed different leadership skills. Throughout, effective communication, negotiation, organisation, and time management was integral, particularly with the editing workshop and the group communication concerning the editing, both in real life and on the groupchat. During the editing process specifically, the skills of problem solving, creativity, and technological expertise were developed.

The project plan was easy to follow, however, much reorganisation has occurred in terms of deadlines and stage-by-stage goals. This was not a massively detrimental issue since each goal was achieved. The overall achievements and successes of the leadership project included teaching the participants the basics of editing, therefore laying a solid foundation for their editing, as well as completing the film by the deadline, and gaining a positive reaction from the audience.

Audience feedback highlighted how the film and editing successfully made people laugh, however, the creative decisions with the storyline and delivery from the actors were what made the film lose its impact. From this feedback, I learnt that translating our aims and intentions cannot always be consistent throughout the filmmaking process, and regular peer feedback during all stages of the production are necessary - it is an incorrect assumption that the audience will understand everything on the screen.

Participant feedback highlighted the concise clarity of our communication and the direction of our teamwork. But, evidently, the participants experienced some difficulty with the deadlines and stage-by-stage expectations but in place, and this made me realise that I should've considered our other priorities and engagements during the planning process, working around this. This was negotiated throughout, extending deadlines when required. However, time management would have been a skill more easily develop if I considered when we had exams or schoolwork, for example. Moreover, pre-production and shooting lasted longer than anticipated, which massively impacted how much time was available to edit the footage together, which is another factor that effected time and punctuality. This was all overcome by effective teamwork and regular communication; not once was either of us left in the dark or at a different level of understanding than the other.

Besides that, problems surrounding the process were mainly technology based, with the shared iCloud folder often having storage issues or footage disappearing randomly. Tabitha, who was the leader of production, was able to send whatever footage necessary, so this problem was easily overcome by direct communication and teamwork to find what we needed.

I think the entire process of making a short film in a collective was more of a learning experience than something to gain overt praise, and I understand that the film’s evident shortcomings, such as lack of clarity, were not areas that post-production could necessarily help. As the leader of editing and distribution, I did what I could in that regard to communicate the film’s intention of being comedic. The process taught me, less about filmmaking and editing, since the project only required the foundation knowledge I had, rather about teamwork. I learnt that teamwork is founded on effective and regular communication, and that, even if you are in a leadership position, it is important to separate that barrier between leader and participants. By integrating yourself into the team, the project will be a much more pleasant experience due to that level of co-dependency and equal effort.

Were I to lead the post-production of a short film made in a collective again, I would probably ask for peer feedback throughout the process in order to ensure the aims and intentions of the film were successfully translated. Moreover, I would organise any shared folders of footage in a more easily navigable way.

To conclude, I enjoyed myself leading post-production. Communicating with likeminded people passionate about filmmaking was a joyous experience, and all the mistakes we made throughout, especially concerning the storyline and audience impact, were necessary in order to learn. The project has further solidified my interest within film and teamwork, I usually focus my attention on pre-production and production, which entails screenwriting and cinematography (as seen in Unit 1), but it was interesting to extend my love for cinema in an area which I have basic knowledge on.