Concept Development

DC: Editing- Progress

Steps taken in lesson:

• Placed shots in timeline/ cut the shots down
• Put the shots in order/ edited in order to establish continuity with other shots
• Colour graded some shots in order to establish continuity (with other colour graded shots)
• Placed diegetic SFX/ non- diegetic Soundtrack (found on www.freesound.org) over footage onto the audio timeline/ edited volume and balance
• Began to cut in various places to alter the cutting rate
• Edited the lightness/ contrast
• Began to work on titles

Challenges:

• Matching the light, contrast and colour grading to the other shots was fairly challenging due to the slightly different lighting that the shots were filmed in (one shot was filmed earlier in the day/ was brighter)
• Mistake made regarding the audio timeline, lack of organisation led to some tracks being moved over each other (easily fixed by re-organising the audio timeline)

What I need to do next:

• The titles have to be finished/ dragged into the video timeline
• Some colour grading/ lightness and contrast still necessary in order to make all of the shots fit in/ establish continuity
• Some found SFX still has to be placed onto the audio timeline
• Some shots have not been edited into the short yet

DC: Reflection on Shoot

Date of shoot: 9/01/2016 and 10/01/2016
Location: Southborough Common

We focused on the running/chase scenes as we believed that they are the most effective shots at creating tension and provide the backbone for the short, as they contribute to the plot of the short and give it elements of action as well.

My individual contribution in the shoot was to act (as I play the main protagonist in the short) and directing some of the shots we filmed (this included the placement of the camera, framing and coming up with the events in some of the shots)

We brought our storyboard with us too the shoot to ensure we followed it. For the most part we did follow the storyboard/ the framing, however a couple of shots proved impossible due to the changes in the location after our reccy (for example the river that the protagonist jumps over in the storyboard had dried up on the day of the shoot, however we replaced this with a shot that was slightly different but contained similar events)

I believe that the shoot went well and our shots came out the way we wanted them too after a few takes for each shot. I think that our framing/ use of equipment was particularly effective (for example the use of a track)

The challenges of the shoot included the fact that the ground was very muddy/ wet at the location, this meant that some of the running shots were hard to film as i kept slipping on the ground, often ruining the shot. This also meant that some of the equipment we used got covered in mud, sometimes effecting the use of them (e.g. mud in the tripod meant that the hinges on the legs stuck/ mud on the track meant that the camera didn't move along it very smoothly)
Another challenge was the lighting at the location. We wanted to shoot at dusk as we believed this would provide the right lighting/ atmosphere for our short, while we managed to film the majority of shots at dusk it grew dark very quickly and was pitch black not long after we arrived, because of this we had to shoot the next day, leading to a change in the lighting in some of our shots

The shoot has shown me that we should arrive earlier in order to assure all of the footage recorded is usable (not pitch black), it has also shown me that we should bring a towel/cloth to clean any equipment that gets dirty during the shoot as opposed to after it as the dirt does make a difference to the shot quality.

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