My main task as production assistant was to take detailed notes during every meeting. I also comment my notes on individuals Shotgrid posts along with sending a master document (pictured) of notes to the director/producer.
The most efficent way to organize the notes is by crew member; this helps both the crew and I in the long term. It's great for me to just look at individuals Shotgrid activity and post notes from there and easier for individuals to go back and review their critiques.
One additional section of notes I have added which helps a lot is a general notes section. This is a great place for updates on textures, common issues & their resolutions, and upcoming important dates.
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The big takeaway I got from note taking was how crucial it is to view shots as individual projetcts rather an animated clip that magically appears at its deadline.
As a learning exercise for myself, I made my own shot list to refer to.
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This personal exercise helped me become familiar with the basic format of shot lists along with important vocabulary.
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I had this list printed and hung on my wall so I always had a physical reference of what all animation was finalized. It was great to see the more 'final' that filled the 'status' column throughout the quarter!
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The big takeaway I got from creating a shot list is how important this list can be for all roles in situations you least expect. While I could not instantly memorize what the number and sequence was for every shot, I was able to quickly answer this thanks to the sheet! Eventually I did get to the point where I could name shots and sequences off the top of my head!
One unique format of note taking I had also done for this short film was the notes for the sound design. While I am familair with writing a spotting log, this unique format catered more towards the format of our films notes format; especially since this short was just under five minutes in length and all notes were more about the sound effects rather than the score. This format gave a clear idea of what the director wanted from our sound team.
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I made sure to cite links to sounds of inspiration for certain sounds in our film. Also for conveinence, I made sure to bold the sound effects that had been brought up in each sequence section.