The After Action Report

Back in the day when I used to shoot with a crew; we started doing something called an "After Action Report".

It's a phrase coined by the military to describe reviewing missions after they were complete. What went right, what went wrong, and thoughts for how to improve.

I think this is a helluva good idea. Particularly when you've just completed your final edit and review, your all alone, and your brain is in a fault finding mode since you've been scrutinizing your entire film to find any solvable mistakes (and discovering many that are unsolvable along the way).

I am absolutely terrible at celebrating my work; but this is still doable for me.

What went well? My actors were solid across the board. My dialogue was decent. We had reasonable hours for our shoot days. I don't think we went over budget.

What sucked? Green screen is way to difficult, even with modern editing. I spent too much on some software. I did not do a full story board and regret it. Also the footage from my backup camera looks too different from my a cam.

But here is the win, and it's easy to forget it: The film is done. SELF HARM (as it is now titled) is heading out into the world. I have gained skill and knowledge, and hopefully; in the future I will make completely different mistakes.

Time for a week off, and then staring all over again.

Thanks for reading.

E