Hajar El Abbouchi

Mrs. Lazarski

Video Production 3 Period 3-5(A)

8 January 2024

Hajar’s Self-Reflection

My initial concept was about a girl with writer's block worrying about her grade and

overcoming it at the end with the help of her friends. I think I stayed in the same course but with

minor changes, as I initially wanted it to be fast-paced and filled with anxiety, but it was pretty

slow. I changed some dialogue compared to my script if I needed to change it. The overall theme

and concept of the story stayed the same. I also added more shots because I filmed extra scenes

previously.

During my Pre-Production Phase, I was figuring out how to start my film. I didn't have an

idea, but I just wrote until I had inspiration and a concept of what I wanted to do. My film barely

had any dialogue, so I added scenes where the character texts her friends, but that's also the

charm of the whole thing: being able to interpret how the characters feel through actions. I barely

had any shots listed on my script, but I could imagine what I wanted to do. It was a bit difficult

for me to write my ideas onto paper as I sometimes have too many and need to simplify them.

Initially, I was trying to figure out how to acquire the setting I wanted; if I did the

pre-production at school, it would be simple, but sometimes, doing what's simpler doesn't mean

it'll be easy or good. So, after a few days of waiting to receive feedback from my actor, I decided

it was better to set up a day after school to go to their house and film it myself. I brought my

camera, which I was going to use, but the SD card was corrupted, and I spent minutes trying to
figure out what was wrong. Finally, I decided to use my phone instead since it was the 2nd best

thing I had. I had no problem when it came to filming in Garret Mountain because I had

everything I needed to film.

During the post-production phase, I realized one of my scenes had no audio, so I had to

find individual audio to create the sound effects of one of the characters walking. While editing, I

also noticed that doing the text graphics was complicated. I overcame that with the dedication to

complete any project. What went well was the way each scene was placed because it felt smooth;

you understood what was going on if you watched the video. And it took me only a little time to

finish my video, just as I planned.

My favorite part of the pre-production process was the editing. I enjoyed finding the

audio for my film, especially for the beginning and end of my movie. I also enjoyed adding the

effects to my edit. Editing added all my clips together to create a story. And the relief of finishing

my work and looking back on my film gave me a sense of accomplishment.

One of my strengths is that I'm quick with my work, but at the same time, that was also

my weakness. I rush my work to finish it, which results in many errors when I rewatch my short

film multiple times. I would like to improve them by taking my time and using the three months

I had. One of my strengths was to make this seemingly unoriginal idea my kind of film. There's a

lot I would've done better, especially when filming, but I'm glad I could see what I needed to

improve on.

It's effective for my target audience, teenagers or anyone who has gone through this

experience. During my class's watch party, I heard many classmates speak about how they have

related to what my character is going through. It didn't fully translate as I wanted regarding the

fear and feeling for the character, but I could show relatability like I wanted to. I couldn't fully
show the fear because I didn't have the time to film every little detail like I should've. The genre

fits just as I wanted to because it is realistic in a sense and easy to understand, as almost

everyone has, at one point in their life, felt this way.