Reflective Analysis

Reflective analysis for Work Ethic

The first main point is the change of film. I was originally making an action film in the style of the films from the Grindhouse Double Feature by Robert Rodriguez and Quinten Tarantino called Armageddon Pain. I shot the majority of it and got most of it edited but I uploaded some of the shots as images and the previous location being used was no longer available to re-shoot the missing shots. This is where I moved from that original project to Work Ethic, a film about struggling hiphop artists.

There were several problems I encountered while making Work Ethic. Firstly, I had to change the location from a friends house to an abandoned hospital. At first I saw this as a negative change but when I saw the new location it seemed perfect. It had graffiti over the walls which is suitable for the hiphop theme, and it gave it a more “underground” feel, which is the current status of the characters in the film.

Another problem due to the change in location was that one of my actors couldn't make it as the new location was quite far away so I had to step in as an actor. The original actor was a friend of mine who is a talented freestyle rapper so I had to step in for quite a hard role but I feel I achieved the best I could, considering that the location change wasn't until two days before shooting.

The choice of locations for the opening sequence was also due to graffiti as it is a big part of hiphop culture so I felt I had to include as many local location I knew which fitted the criteria. This opening sequence is the sequence I am most happy with as I feel it was cut really well and the music and mise-en-scene really express the feel of the film and convey the hiphop theme.

Overall I am happy with Work Ethic considering the switch from making Armageddon Pain, the last minute location swap and the last minute actor swap. I feel I could of done better with more time but considering the circumstances I feel that it has gone very well and I am pleased with the overall outcome.