The final product wasn't too far from our original ideas. The plan was to make a simple film of a conversation taking place at a restaurant, and that was more or less what we ended up with. If anything the film actually ended up a bit more stripped back than we originally intended. We talked about a couple of shots of the couple entering and exiting the restaurant, which we ended up deciding against, as we thought the concept of keeping a realistic timeline throughout the film would make the conversation more convincing. We believe we have accomplished this. We also had some thoughts about including different shots of food on the table, but we had a hard time tying this in with the themes and the symbolism of the film. As a result, the film became more realistic, uncut and stripped. A benefit of this is that the characters become more relatable, but a downside is that there is a risk that the film becomes too static and loses the audience’s attention. Overall, we found the realistic tone suited the film better.
With such a simple and dialogue-driven film, we thought of the acting as well as the substance of the conversation as crucial elements. As such, the actors were carefully picked out for the film and the directing of the day of production was key to the quality of the film. Throughout the making of the script, the production day and the editing processes we wanted the story to feel natural and not like a winner/loser story. While we may have watched the film one too many times to make an accurate assessment of whether or not we accomplished the task, we think that the story feels more grounded and that none of the characters end up in a superior position. This was further supported by our second feedback session, where we received a positive response to the dynamic of the characters. The film also came across as less surreal than we at some point had talked about. We discussed the idea of food being such an important and integral part of the social world of the film as an absurdist one, but as we wrote the script, it became more downplayed. We often had to prioritize the natural and realistic tone of the conversation in order to make the characters as sympathetic as possible.
Of course it also fundamentally satisfies the brief in that the film is about a relationship. Furthermore, the relationship which we portrayed is one which is not usually explored in popular culture. While we think that the message is conveyed clearly enough, we have also become open to the interpretation of the viewer. We now see the universal themes of breaking out of one's comfort zone and trying new things out of love for one's relationship and one's partner with more clarity.
This conclusion was partly drawn after our first feedback session. As noted earlier, at one point in the film the waiter is seen briefly writing down the order “1. Open Relationship”. Few people seemed to notice this, but we felt that extending the screen time of the notepad or drawing more explicit attention to it would undermine the artistic value of the film. This makes the action more of an 'easter egg' conveying the specifics of the themes in the film rather than an important scene for conveying the universal themes of the film. This is similar to how we incorporated the theme into the title of the film. The title Open Menu combines the theme of polyamory with the symbol of food and restaurants. In our example: You have the freedom to choose whatever you want - even trying out more dishes.
We also tried to incorporate a bit of humour into the film, and although we thought it worked fine, we didn't quite get the reactions that we wanted at the feedback session. We thought this was mostly due to the inconsistent sound levels. Afterwards, we went back to change the sound levels in an attempt to make the comedic lines hit even harder. We believe this is something we ended up accomplishing, and that the comedy ended up softening some of the serious atmosphere that came across at some points during the conversation, making for a more engaging watch. As the film's creators, the final cut feels mostly like the product of many working hours and artistic decisions. It’s the result of our engagement with the course. The film also feels like its own thing, partially separated from our thoughts about it. Throughout the production, the film reflected the different stages of our artistic ideas. It existed in the exact way we wanted it to. Now it’s something to experience on its own terms. It's a combination of feeling relief and feeling “demoted” from creator to viewer.
In our first lecture, we were reminded of the two key competencies of the course. The first; to master and understand the entire working process of a short audiovisual production from concept development to the launch of the final product, and the second; to collaborate under time pressure in complicated production processes. Looking back on the process, from the initial brainstorming sessions to the showcasing of our final cut, we believe we have gained these competencies. We developed a crew and drew up a code of ethics to ensure our working process was efficient. Through discussing multiple ideas for a short film, and trialling these ideas in early assignments, we distilled a complex relationship into a simple scene and translated the idea into a screenplay. After careful planning and preparation, keeping in mind when best to establish deadlines for each production phase, we brought our film to life.
As we have stated, we feel that a thought-through production schedule is vital for collaborating under time pressure. Despite this preparation, some unforeseen challenges did plague our film production. We believe that the effect of these additional issues was mitigated not only by our planning but also by fostering a crew that felt comfortable working together and eager to bring our vision to fruition.
It can be difficult at times to distance oneself from an artistic project, but through systematic reflection on each part of the production, we have gained the necessary insights to view our film as a site of learning. This learning has granted us practical skills in the sense of developing a story and working with equipment, as well as interpersonal skills in relation to working within a crew and navigating a film set. Finally, working towards a common artistic goal requires compromise and an open mindset, and these are skills we will bring forward to future work.