Evaluation

To evaluate OUDF603, I would say it has been one of the toughest modules of my three years on the course. Thats not particularly down to because the aim I had set out for myself was too ambitious but because half way through the module I went through a bit of tough time in my personal life. To explain it briefly, I hit rick bottom so to speak! Although I have had a bit of a set back and had to apply for an extension during this project, I feel the rest of the project has run rather smoothly.

The major down fall of the process was that my initial idea, to create a documentary with three 15 minute sections to it: legal, illegal and gallery, didn't actually end up happening. This was down to bad judgment and organisation of questions. Once I had been to London to visit the Graffiti Life gallery and got bad to review my footage, I realised that I had asked completely the wrong questions compared to what I had planned to ask everyone else I was due to interview. The frustrating thing about this was that I could easily go back down to London and re-shoot with David and Rosie and I didn't really want to change the questions I has for other people because they seemed to be exactly what the documentary needed. The problem was that the question I had asked Graffiti Life where more to do with the company and not their opinions on graffiti its self. If I was to re-edit the documentary in the future, I think I would defiantly look at trying in some way to use the footage I have got from Graffiti Life as what the guys down there had to say, was very interesting and a different take on graffiti itself. Overall though I am pleased with the outcome of the documentary, I feel it is still a free thinking and not an opinionated documentary which is what I wasted to achieve from the beginning.

As I mentioned before my tough time that I went through really did effect me during this module, not just with the process but with time management. After all that came about and even before I realised I had received my extension, my time management for myself was rather good, I has a calendar all drawn up of what days I was doing what and it went rather well. The only issue was other people! Their where a fair few times where I would organise to either have a meeting with someone about he documentary or I would have actually arranged to go and interview someone for the documentary and they would just pull out last minute or they wouldn't return my calls and other attempts at contacting them. Luckly I feel I managed to get enough footage, as I still have a lot left over but still it was just adding to the stress tat I already had when people where just cancelling on me last minute.

Overall though I am very pleased with how I have turned this module around as at one point I felt like just giving up, but thanks to the support of my family, friends and people at university, I have been able to produce what I think is a good 10 minute documentary. I feel that even though the structure of it has changed from what I wanted it to be originally, it still delivers and open opinion on graffiti and leaves the viewer contemplating whether or not graffiti is actually vandalism or art.