Production | Cast Feedback

In order to better evaluate how well we worked throughout the project, we decided to create a survey to send out to the cast members so that we could get their insight into how well we performed from the casting process to the end of production. They are professionals and have worked on a number of projects, from other student films to corporate work, stage plays and more, so their feedback will be useful for us to reflect on the project as a whole. This was largely for the benefit of myself and Melissa, as Katie's role was focused more on the technical running of the production than with the cast.

We came up with the following questions:

• Direction
• How would you rate the casting process? Please explain your answer.
• Did you feel your input into the script and direction was taken into consideration?
• Did you know what you were supposed to be doing in every scene?
• Any other feedback on the direction of the project?
• Organisation
• How would you rate the organisation of the project? Please explain your answer.
• Do you feel like you were kept in the loop?
• Were you kept up-to-date and informed on the schedule throughout the production process? (Casting to production to post-production)
• Did you feel looked after on set? Please explain your answer.
• How would you rate the food available on set?
• Any comments on the food?
• How did you find the reimbursement process?
• Any other feedback on the organisation of the project?
• General Feedback
• Did you enjoy working on VET-MAN? Please explain your answer.
• Any general comments on the project as a whole?

We sent this out to our six cast members and received very positive feedback, on the whole. Some of the comments that apply to my role include:

• The original post on Mandy was very clear in explaining what the project was and what was wanted from the character.
• In the audition room Alex and Melissa were very welcoming and happy to answer any questions I had.
• I was given redirection and the opportunity to play the scenes in different ways, which, as an actor, is very helpful and showed me that they were willing to work with me to find the best version of my character.
• Any queries I had regarding the direction of the scene were always answered, and I was allowed to try out different variations to find out which worked best; within the time constraints.
• On one occasion there was an ADR session which was not properly prepared for, but we were able to use the session for voiceover and improv work instead, which was a brand new and exciting experience for me in the end.
• There was always a friendly, jovial atmosphere on set, and we always were taken care of regarding food, drinks and other facilities.
• Sometimes creative differences and disagreement arose between members of the crew, but this was always resolved quickly.
• The one thing that could have sped up proceedings would have been a more concrete list of shots that the crew could refer to in order to know exactly what we were doing and when, without the need for debate on set.
• Everyone in the cast and crew were friendly, professional, open to feedback and working towards the same goal of making a great film.
• I never felt over worked or under appreciated, and I always felt taken care of.

I feel these comments are fair and I agree with them. We did use a shot list for every shoot day, however we did face some hurdles, especially time constraints, that meant I would gloss over the shot list on a few occasions. I do not feel this impacted on the final product too much, but I can appreciate that this may cause confusion for cast and crew members. This feedback is very useful to us as it gives us an external view of how we performed our roles during the shoot days.