We have finished filming the film! Yesterday was the last hour that we could film in so this was the deadline, we managed to get some really good shots in, as this was the last filming session we tried to get a lot of different types of shots, to make it look good!! All that is left to do now is to get the editing part of the film, which may take quite a lot of time, but the end product should look pretty good!
Today in class we couldn’t film any of our scenes; this was because one of the actors (Connor) was off but also as we couldn’t use the same props (the black jacket) which would not be good continuity.
As Connor was off, this meant that Tristan, Shona Isla and I had to do the editing which went quite well, considering that we hadn’t had much experience doing this! I think it went well as we all gave different ideas which helped to make the opening look much better, which also gives a better feeling of film–noir. As we were editing we added in the flash effect which helped us with the continuity of the scene, we used it to get the cut more accurate so it would go much better.
As we put all the clips together we began to see that we hadn’t done some shots, so therefore we are going to have to film these shots next week and edit them also. It was good as I learned quite a bit on how to use the editing program (Sony Vegas) which is good in case Connor is off again! We made a list of what we are going to have to do so that the next time we are filming we know what to do.
Today we filmed another scene. As Shona Isla was back we were able to do a scene with her in it, so we did the scene with her leaving the room, with the gun, jacket and gloves on.
To begin with i filmed her getting her gloves on, we used an over the shoulder shot so the audience could see exactly what she was doing, as it was in a clear view. We then filmed her opening the draw and taking out the gun and getting ready to use it, we used a very high angle shot, so the gun was in clear view, i then slowly zoomed into the gun.
The next part Shona Isla had an idea, this was when she pulled her coat over, it would then cover the camera and then this would be a transition into the next scene. We then had a lot of fun on the next scene because Tristan and Connor had the job of trying to teach Shona Isla how to walk like a boy, which was a lot harder than we thought!!! We then finally got it and we filmed the scene with her walking out of the door.
As we need to do more establishing shots we are using the corridors. We used a low angle shot and filmed Shona Isla’s legs walking by and cut it to her walking the whole length of the corridor. This shot is good because the lighting is quite dark, which is contributing to film noir, also Shona Isla’s costume as she is all in black then she stands out in the light that we have.
Today was really fun and we got some good shots done. We have a lot of ideas for the next time we film. The next time we are hoping to film the conversation between Shona Isla and Connor, this is going to be a little bit tricky but i think it will be good and look cool!!!
Today, we had to choose what part of our opening we were going to film; as Shona Isla wasn’t here today we had to find a scene which doesn’t have her in it. So we decided to do the very first scene of the office. We began by setting up the pictures on the wall to look like all the targets; we used small and large pictures and circled the target. We then began to change the lighting, as we didn’t want it to bright because it didn’t look as good when it was darker; we took a few shots of the same thing just to be on the safe side. After this we thought that since we had time then we would film Connor running out of the door with the briefcase. On this shoot we tried a lot of different camera shots to see it from different perspectives, this gives the audience a better view of what is happening to the character and gives them a good view to see what he is doing at all times. Whilst filming we shot a lot of close ups, this is to show the audience certain important things and to keep them entertained, so close up shots were Connors face, his hand opening the briefcase and the pictures on the wall. Today went well I think because we were all coming up with different ideas whilst filming, this helped to make it look much better. Tomorrow we will be looking to shoot another scene with more camera angles and shots which should look good if we use some different ones.
Today in class we were told that the opening credits that we had filmed had been out of focus a little and the camera was shaky, so to fix this we had to film it again, we got all our equipment out and placed the camera on the tripod and filmed it, I think it went much better as the camera was in focus and it was on a steady tripod!!!
Then we started to film one of the scenes which was the office scene at the end, we went into the English base, which is the perfect place as it is dark and looks like an office. When were filming we tried to use as many different camera shots such as close up on Shona Isla’s face and her foot twitching, medium close up and extreme close up on the phone but you cannot see all of Shona Isla’s face to keep the audience wondering, a medium shot so that we got the important parts of the set included and all the important props, and just one of Shona Isla picking up the phone with a point of view shot. We also changed the lighting; we used a reflector to reflect the light onto important props and Shona Isla. We also changed the lighting when Shona Isla picks up the phone, as it is a feeling of realisation. We filmed everything that we needed for the end scene in the time we had and we were all pleased with what we got but we need to check what it looks like on the big computer. It will be good to see how everything turns out!
I think that our group worked well together, Shona Isla was good at acting! As Tristan is the director he had to help and tell everyone what they had to do which he did very well. Connor was good at helping with the lighting and getting all the props. I also really enjoyed working with the camera; it will be good to see how everything turns out.
Today was the first lesson of production! All the work that we had done for our pre-production was going to get used now! So to begin with as a group we made a check list of what we should do today, this was so we knew what we had to do and we got much more done. So, firstly we had to get a camera for the pictures that were going to be used on the board, Shona Isla then edited them on the computer to make them black and white. We put the names of the suspects in the pictures and we used serif text, this can connote feelings of the devil – something bad! As Shona Isla was doing that Tristan, Connor and I made the credits to our opening scene. We got black card as a background and then got a light to put over the card, it was still a little dark to give the feeling of film noir, this also gives the feeling of the unknown and the dark sidethat people have. When I was filming the light it would slowly move across the writing to look like a spotlight, we would leave the text on screen enough for the audience to read it and then Connor slowly blew it off the screen, it looked cool! We managed to get the credits done except for one thing, the name of the film, which we still need to come up with. We also made a props list. I have to bring in a cup and an ashtray to sit on the desk. Shona Isla needs to bring in the coat. Tristan is going to make fake blood! Connor is bringing in the gun, there are more props but I will post them up on the blog when I know who is taking them in.