Olivia reflects on her work experience day as a general assistant on a low budget film set. She’s produced a video showing her presentation - some pictures and text about the learning - and a short write-up to accompany it.
Explore the arts as a participant: Film Set Reflection (Bronze Part A)
- Film and Media
- Bronze
- Other
- Personal Reflections
Before assisting on the set of Mortem, I had no experience on a film set. I lacked knowledge and confidence and felt very apprehensive about helping the crew. My role was on set assistance in whatever the crew needed, including makeup touch ups, coffee runs, prop set up and wardrobe assistance.
From this experience I have gained many new skills, such as:
The importance of problem solving and adapting - while a film production is meticulously planned out and organised it can also be a quick changing environment, especially if something isn’t working right or at all you need to be able to adapt quickly and think on your feet. An example of this is when the location needed to be changed last minute and the crew had to source a new location, move all of the equipment and crew and adjust light and camera settings including makeup to match the new location.
The importance of a good nap - Film sets are a fast paced environment and the days of filming are long. Where you can it's important to find time to rest so you can continue to be as helpful as possible when on set.
How to work quickly and silently - when filming it is important to not only know how to do your job well but how to do it quickly and silently. Sometimes when actively filming planning for the next scene or take needs to begin and so assistants and crew will need to do this while filming is taking place and so they will need to be quick and silent.
How to work as a team & the importance of every role on a film set - I have worked as a team in various situations before, however, a film set is one large constantly moving system, everyone has a job that affects other jobs in the team. If one job is not done or done correctly it can cause problems with others affecting the chain and potentially holding up the production. Every role in the production of a film is important in the success of the film from the actors and director to the caterer.
Personally I feel as though I have grown in confidence from this experience, I now feel prepared to work on another film set and I have made connections with other professionals. I feel as though I work better as a team member and am prepared to adapt to any situation. In the future I would like to gain more confidence and take more responsibility in a leadership role in a film crew. I would like to learn the role of producer and build on my skills to suit this role.