Call Sheet and Risk Assessement - 09/01/16

TWGSB Media Studies Film Production

Call Sheet & Shot list

Date: 9/01/16       Location: Southborough Common

Meeting Time: 2:30pm        Group: 4      

Crew & Cast Contact details:

Harvey Simmons

_____________________         Phone:07710 820383

Dan Clark

_____________________         Phone:07972 405717

Ed Chambers

_____________________         Phone:07583 417108

Props & Equipment                               crew responsible

1 Nikon D5200 SLR Camera                        Harvey Simmons, Ed Chambers, Dan Clark

2 Nikon Coolpix L810                            Harvey Simmons, Ed Chambers, Dan Clark

3 Tripod                                        Harvey Simmons, Ed Chambers, Dan Clark

4 Torches on phone                              Harvey Simmons, Ed Chambers, Dan Clark

Location	Shot number (on storyboard)	Cast	Technical notes
Southborough Common	7	Dan Clark – Ed Chambers	Track used for smooth shot
Southborough Common	9	Lotte Simmons	Track used for smooth shot
Southborough Common	8	Dan Clark	Medium Long shot still frame
Southborough Common	11		Close Up of scenery
Southborough Common	10	Dan Clark	Over the shoulder shot using tripod

TWGSB Media Studies Film Production

Risk Assessment

You need to consider all the potential risks at each location shoot and outline how you will work to prevent any accident or injury to you, your cast or the equipment.

Location	What is the hazard? Think about road safety, filming at night, potential damage to equipment	Who/what might be harmed and why? Think about who needs to be aware of the risk	How will you reduce the risk? What steps will you take to ensure that the risk is lowered?	Signed Approved by JF, CF, KJ
Southborough Common	Slippery ground	Filming equipment could be damaged or injuries could be sustained.	Suitable footwear, always look where you are walking.
Southborough Common	Unstable, uneven and hard terrain – rocks, metal pegs etc.	Dan had to run and roll in some shots, could be at risk at falling over.	Checked the area before acting.

StoryBoard and Animatic

Group: Preliminary Task

For this preliminary task we had to film an example of dialogue while conforming to the 180 degree rule. Because of the time restraints we simply filmed the Preliminary inside of our schools cafeteria, using a table as a prop for the characters to sit around during the dialogue. We used a tripod to ensure the shots were not shaky, something we thought was particularly important when filming dialogue/ using the 180 degree rule. We decided to add a black and white filter to the preliminary as we believed it fitted the content of the short/ the theme in the dialogue of an illegal trade. Due to time constraints we didn't have enough time to place a soundtrack over the preliminary, however we believe the shots in the short alone are still fairly effective without a soundtrack.

EC: Institunional Context - Session 9 (Anderson, 2001)

 

 

Production:

• It was director Brad Anderson's first horror film (he had previously directed two romantic comedies)
• The majority of the principle photography was shot in a small section of the Danvers State Asylum
• The rest of the Asylum location was deemed 'too unsafe' for filming
• All of the props used in filming were found inside the Asylum according to David Caruso (the lead role)
• I was one of the first films to be shot in 24p HD digital video

Distribution:

• It had an estimated budget of around $1,500,000
• It had a total gross profit of $378,176

• The film had a low budget for marketing, and so it's only official visual advertisements were the three posters/covers made for display outside cinemas
• The lack of advertising made for a failure to meet profit requirements at the box office

Task 16: Group - Pitch

Our pitch presentation (Prezi):

 

Feedback:

• Good concept
• Easy to produce
• The foreshadowing of events was a nice feature
• The found footage style was a good idea
• Camera, editing and sound had been considered to a good extent
• A few select shot ideas were good
• The dress was iconic
• Childish actions were iconic also
• The conventions and iconography were clear
• The accessibility of the location is a good aspect
• The trees can be used to look sinister

Clarifications:

• The friends are filming because the woods are rumoured to be haunted, and they want to show everyone that they were in there, and if they saw anything they would have proof
• The friends go off trail to take a shortcut, as they are walking to a party
• The handi-cam is only used for the shots of the two friends, and only when the frame is in the point of view of their camera (the same style as found footage)
• The plot will be made believable through dialogue clarifications
• We will go to the location (a recce has already been performed) and film some shots at different times of day - with different light levels - and pick what time we think is the best to film at
• If we decide to shoot at night, then some night vision shots will most likely be used
• The killing of the two friends will be in a ritualistic manner

EC: Production log - Wilderness Woods

My role in the group/what I did:

• Actor (antagonist)
• Participated in completion of recce, and shot ideas
• Brought props (bullets, balaclava)
• Brought costume (trench coat)
• Made sure the group completed the shots on the checklist

What I learned from the experience:

• You never have as much time as you think filming
• Always shoot a scene twice in case of error
• Constantly think of continuity when filming
• Consider a variety of angles
• Consider a variety of shots by use of equipment (e.g. tracks for a tracking shot)
• Decide a plot before filming

What I was most pleased with:

• Creativity in our shots
• Visual quality of the film
• When as a group we all agreed on a certain shot

What challenges we overcame:

• Uneven terrain - tripod
• Wind - sound removal in editing
• Lack of planning - multiple shots to select in editing

What didn't work as well:

• A variety of shots (mainly panning and static shots)
• Minor continuity errors

How this experience has influenced production:

• We found that the slasher/supernatural combination for the antagonist was easy to shoot yet effective, so we are considering doing that type of genre
• Woodlands create tension easily due to their iconography in horror films, so we have ideas based around woodland areas

HS - Production Log - Wilderness Woods

My role in the group:
-While filming, my main role in the group was to operate the camera. I filmed the majority of the clips and also helped to direct some.
- I believe I helped to choose some of the main locations we used.
-During post-production, all members of the group participated in the editing, my main role was to upload and format all of the video clips, however I also helped to cut and edit some of the shots. (e.g. the soundtrack)

What did i learn:
-I learnt to use some filming equipment I hadn't used before, for example the track.
-I learnt how to edit footage more effectively, and improved my editing skills on Premiere
- I learnt how filming for a whole day can only leave you with only a little bit of footage, so it is always better to film more and delete footage that isn't good enough later on.

What i was pleased with:
- The close-up shot we have of the bullets came out very nicely, as well as a few other shots.
- We constructed a fairly effective and convincing narrative.

Challenges we overcame:
- We had to compete with other groups for locations, but we managed to do this with effective time management.
- The weather and conditions weren't the best, as it rained a few times when we were in the woods, however we used the trees as cover and a raincoat to prevent the camera from getting wet.

What didn't work so well:
-Some of out shots are very shaky, this made the film look less professional.
- The wind noise in some of our shots is very bad.
- Some of the shots seem very rushed and needed to be re-shot but we did not have time.

How has this influenced our production:
-The location of woodland was very effective in the short, therefore we have considered filming out final piece inside of a similar setting
-We may re-create some of the more effective aspects of some of the shots in our short, for example, using the macro lens for extreme close-ups.