Production Process - Week 5

Production Process

Week 5, Video Task

To me, design thinking is the process of generating ideas for a design concept. 

In the first video (https://youtu.be/gHGN6hs2gZY), ‘What is Design Thinking? An Overview’, Jonathan explains that design thinking is a philosophy and a set of tools to help us solve problems creatively. This can be used if a company is trying to create something new or when a company or team is trying to solve a complex problem. 

I had learned that there are 5 steps to this process. The first step is empathising. This is about knowing and understanding the people or business we are trying to design the product for. In the video we are asked what is their problem?’ and ‘what do these people do?’. These questions allow us to build a persona and fully understand who we are designing for.

Step two talks about defining. This breaks down everything in step one where we have to ask ‘what are the users needs’ and ‘what are the insights we use’. This shows us what sort of information we are able to use and identify what the problem is. 

In step three, Jonathan explains what to ideate means. This combines the first two steps and develops a solution and an idea. This is essentially where all the brainstorming happens and ideas start generating.

Step four is the prototype. This takes all the ideas and breaks them down into potential ideas that will then be developed into realistic products. These products are for testing and are still in the process of being made.

In turn, step five is the testing phase. Tests are usually done with real people and a target audience that was made during step one. The point of this step is to allow real people and users to use the product and then give feedback on it to help finalise and modify the product or service. 

I learned that reusing all of these steps is very helpful for a successful product or service. 

In the remaining videos, I found them really inspiring since I do have a small passion for film and film studies.

In the first video of the remaining videos (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5EoMcoUI2Q&t=161s), Jon-Michael Booth talks us through the process of film production. 

Here I learned that production is a lot more than just finding a couple of actors and start shooting. There are three steps in production, pre-production, production and post-production. There is a sacrifice made in pre-production in terms of money since there will be no profit until there is a final product which could take months or even years. 

The next video (https://youtu.be/0hPFlGiAwEM), Rob speaks about the stages of production in more depth and gives us life examples. Pre-production is so important since it’s the initial process of getting the film or show started. It involves writing a script, finding actors to play the part, finding a location and so much more. 

I have realised that each process of production takes just as long as each other. There is so much that needs to be done at each stage. For instance, in the production stage is where all the shooting happens, this could take months trying to get perfect scenes. While in the post-production stage, all the editing, changes and fixes are made which could also in turn take months since it is taking all of the footage and breaking it down.

In the final video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-K_XbCLtVk&feature=emb_title), Griffin shares the four essential ingredients in documentary filmmaking. This was a very interesting video to watch since a documentary doesn’t normally have a script and there usually isn’t a time frame of the shooting process.

The four steps I learned were interview, voiceover, b-roll and natural sound break. I thought these steps were really important and useful for a successful documentary. Griffin’s use of examples helped me understand what he was trying to say. 

From what I have gathered, a documentary is raw but put together in a professional way which is what I personally enjoy about documentaries.

I think that in my project, I will be coming back to these techniques and tips. I will most likely be acknowledging and using some of these to help my group project.

stock photo from google