Szymon Sudol Sudol 1

Mrs.Lazarski

Video Production 3

8 January 2024

Self Reflection Paper

My initial idea for the film festival project was to be an informational news story-like

documentary that mainly followed events in Ukraine over the past two years. Over time, it

became more of a critique of the Russian government’s internal and external policies while

remaining somewhat faithful to the original focus. The finished video discusses the historical

context behind today’s events and the developing tensions in Europe because of them.

I wrote a research and opinionated script during pre-production, choosing three main

points to focus on while speaking. There were many visual ideas I had planned out, but nearly all

of them didn’t pan out due to a lack of passion for the class in general (just being honest).

Interviews were also supposed to be included, but it turned out to be unnecessary for the concept

I was going for. Overall, many things were lacking during pre-production, which, if I were

genuinely engaged in creating video projects, I’d probably do effectively, given what I believe

I’m capable of in the field.

Production is when one turns their script into footage, gathering plans for clips/shoots

necessary for the final edit. Again, for the reasons mentioned above, my voice-over footage was

essential and filmed in one night, lacking any variety in camera angles or separate graphics.

Perhaps if I had more time outside work from other classes and working out after school every

day, I’d reserve some of it for the project, which I viewed as a lower priority. However, my

gathering of b-roll clips for context went quite well, in my opinion, with all of the clips gathered

somehow connecting to the commentary in the final edit.

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Post-production is about putting all your pieces together, mostly in editing. Outside the

video, I love the poster I made, utilizing Cyrillic letters instead of Latin ones, along with the euro

symbol in the title. I find the doc’s title sequence engaging and well-synced with the background

music, with the drop emphasizing “EUROPOLITYK.” On a basic level, I think the edit is well

put together for the source material I had, with none of the transitions feeling out of place or the

dialogue being too cut off. The project landed at around six and a half minutes, with the footage

split evenly between a close-up of the narrator and a b-roll.

While I wasn’t thrilled by any parts of the production process, I mostly enjoyed creating

the poster and composing two bare-bones melodies that can be slightly heard in the background

throughout the video. These are two aspects apart from shooting footage and timeless editing that

I enjoy doing outside school, with graphic design and, more recently, music production being

things I am interested in. Another part that went smoother for me was the research behind the

script. It revolved around world politics, something I read or watch about daily.

Effort during this time was the most significant downside when it came to the outcome of

the documentary, with a lack of effort apparent in the engagement of visuals, lack of intriguing

content, and creative writing. Although I had many great ideas in my head and would probably

be able to execute them effectively, I chose to do them only because of laziness or timing

surrounding other necessities. The only natural strengths of the project are relatively smooth

editing (the process I found tedious) and keeping good file management during it. I’m confident

that I could turn out with a decent product on the editing end in whatever source material I'm

given. As for improving the issue of engagement with the field, there isn’t much I can do other

than put up with the fact that if I don’t put in some effort, grades will ultimately drop, which is
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sadly one of the few motivations I have in parts of video production other than pure

cinematography/photography.

EUROPOLITYK is a barebones project, containing decent commentary and an

acceptable amount of engagement, but it is far from what could have come out of the original

concept. However, I still see it as a good fit for the documentary genre and the target audience of

those unfamiliar with European affairs. Overall, the video gets its main points across to those

who watch it, especially when providing specific examples from the past couple of years of

Russia’s influence on culture, economy, etc.