Production Diary: Feedback

A few weeks ago I received feedback on the rough-cut of my short film. I was told that it was shot well and edited smoothly, but the plot was very confusing and complicated, and that I should work to make it more understandable to the audience.

I took this in, and went back to editing. I added narration in key parts of the film where the situation would need to be contextualised, giving the protagonist an inner-monologue to explain huis thoughts and what was happening in the story to the audience. I also completely re-arranged the plot, so that it was still non-linear, but was told in a way that was less confusing. The film now goes from present to future and back again, rather than future to past to future to past, which is much more hard to follow for people who have not read the script or made the story.

Upon a second screening, I received much more positive feedback, being told that it was much more understandable now, and was how a short film should be re-edited to be improved. I am much happier with this result, and my coursework is near finished, as I plan now to polish the sound design and fix any issues with it, and maybe add some non-diegetic, compiled music for the start of the film to create a more ambient, less silent setting.