The Structure of the Personality Evaluation

I believe that my final piece, entitled 'The Structure of the Personality', was fairly successful in showing what I had originally intended, and that the three characters within the text fit into the roles of the Id, Ego and Superego fairly well, however there are some elements of the video I think could have been greatly improved, such as the acting on the behalf of the ego. Granted this was his first time acting in anything scripted, so it was completely different to what he was used to, however there were frequent occasions where he would forget or improvise lines, so in the final cut there were occasions where the line used differs from what was intended in the script, so I feel like some of the definition that he is the ego and not just following everything the Id tells him to is lost. Also, he fond some difficulty in getting into the mind frame of his character, so therefore found it difficult to portray emotions. However, I feel that this lack of emotion works with the narrative, as he has essentially created two alternate personas in his mind, through which he portrays his emotions, however the standard passive audience may not decode this meaning from the text. Also, some people who have since viewed the text have stated that the 'Ego' also acts as an Id, through the fact that he ultimately kills the alternate personas within the narrative, however I wanted to show that in the text he slips more and more into the Id's mindset, as his sanity is slipping away. I feel like some of the definition of his character as an ego was lost through misreading lines and also through the lack of emotion within the actor/character. Ultimately, I believe that with more time I could have re-shot some of these scenes, such as when the Id convinces the Ego to commit the murder, in order to make the scene seem like more of an argument, however due to restricting constraints I was unable to do so, as it was incredibly difficult to get all of the actors together, due to working and college etc. I also feel like this filming experience has aided myself in becoming more demanding in my actors, so therefore if I were to shoot this or another project again I would definitely make sure that everything is done to the initial standards I had anticipated, even if it requires casting another actor. Regardless of the Ego's portrayal in the film, I was incredibly surprised by the talent from the Id, as it was also his first time acting, and he was initially reluctant to get into the main speaking role, as he is a fairly timid person naturally, however I believe he really came out of his shell and did a spectacular job in the text, except for when he had to die on screen, which was shot multiple times. The superego also performed immensely well, as he is quite an emotive person and memorised his lines well, so could clearly portray this role, however I had anticipated him being a successful actor from the offset of the production, as he has acted in mine and his own pieces before. The main thing I am pleased with is some of the camerawork and cinematography in the text, such as the long take tracking shot in the party scene, the low angle two shot of the Id and Ego talking in the party, and the extreme close up of the bloody knife at the end of the piece. I am also happy with the editing, as I feel like it came together smoothly in the end, and even simple things like adjusting the levels of the sound, like when they go outside at the party and the music quietens down.
I am, however, increasingly annoyed in myself due to the fact that I did not use a professional microphone for the dialogue, due to the fact that I had forgotten to borrow some of the valuable equipment needed when setting up the microphone, i.e. the audio jack lead, and only discovered this whilst setting up for the party scene in the one chance I had, so therefore audio quality was greatly reduced by this fact and sometimes the wind would render it difficult to hear the characters, so I will definitely make sure I am better prepared in future. Also, I would definitely have preferred a larger turnout for the party scene, as in the text the party seems very dismal, however this is the justification for the Id taking drugs. It was difficult to find people who were willing to help out with the production, and some people were only convinced by free alcohol, which was enlightening as to who is really there fore me when I need them. Some of the extras were also at times uncooperative, as they would not listen to direct orders, however I could not afford to lose a single member of the cast as numbers were already low.
Whilst producing the text I had to constantly consider character placement, due to the fact that I wanted to clearly portray each of their respective roles. In the scene where the Id and Superego are first introduced, they come into shot from either side of the frame in order to represent the two sides of his personality, also called the angel and devil on the Id's shoulders. After the Ego kisses the girl and she walks out, there is a shot with the Ego in the foreground, as he is the overwhelming part of the personality, then the Superego is the second most prominent character in the psyche therefore I had him in the mid-ground, then the Id comes in last, as he lies in the subconscious part of the psyche so is essentially a background voice, so when there is a tracking shot, he is at the rear of the trio in order to represent his subconscious nature. When they are in the car, the Id is placed as the driver, due to the fact that his reckless nature makes him stealing a car and speeding off into the distance more realistic. The Ego is placed in the front seat, as he is the conscious part of the psyche, whereas the subconscious Superego is placed in the back seat. This placement is actually inspired by one of the texts I studied, Ferris Beuller's Day Off. When the Ego kills the other two, he is placed in the middle of the frame in order to reiterate that he is the main character and main aspect of the persona.
Overall, I am rather pleased with the final outcome of the piece, however I believe with more practice I could have produced a far superior text, not only on my behalf but on the behalf of the actors. Better preparation would have also caused a better text overall, and would have significantly increased audio quality.