Groupwork Improvement

 To be completely honest, there wasn't really any teamwork as we were paired up just before we were going to film and therefore had no time to discuss how we were going to do present it or build any team chemistry, which is potentially one of the main reasons why it was of a much lower standard. Our thriller was the complete opposite to this and I think our teamwork was absolutely phenomenal and I can't remember having an argument with any of the group. I thought that possibly the main reason for this was because we successfully delegated roles and responsibilities for us each to persue.

 This delegation meant everyone knew exactly what they were supposed to do and there were no arguments to be had. The only way this could have potentially have gone wrong would have been if someone hadn't done what they were set, which didn't happen. We all had the same idea for the basic idea of the plot and so any debates about it would be minor and always resolved quickly. I think personally my ability to work in a team improved dramatically and now with future similar excercises I will have a lot more confidence and will relish the challenge.

The Importance of Organisation

 Leading up to the filming of our thriller, we began to realise how important keeping ourselves organised really was. We knew wo only had one date in which to film so if anyone forgot any crucial props it would have a huge negative effect on our overal piece. This meant that we decided to begin storing all our props in school a few weeks before the actual shoot meaning it was almost impossible to forget something on the day. This was easy for me because we had decided to film our thriller in my boarding house, meaning my contribution to the props could be stored in my room and I could guarantee not letting my team down.

 For the prelim, no preparation was done at all, this was in massive contrast to the thriller. We literally had a template script to use and would ask someone to act for us literally 20 minutes before whereas this was done over a month in advance for the thriller. We also obviously had to think about where we were going to actually film our thriller and after looking at other possibilities we came to conclusion the Beatrice Webb House was the best. This was very time consuming and for the prelim, it was always going to be filmed in the studio so we didn't have to worry.

Spider-Man 3 Main Titles

After finishing the shoot, we went to the editing suite to see how the shots were and what we could potentially do with it to make it work. Initially learning how to use the software was difficult for us as none of us had much experience for in computer software. Having said this, after a couple of lesson of practice, we have got the hang of it. One of the ideas that we came up with was running the credited name along the lines of string. When we presented this idea to Adam he showed us that it was very similar to the opening title sequence of Spiderman 3. This was very encouragong to us as Kyle Cooper was someone that we studied earlier on the course and is renowned for being a very talented designer of motion picture title squences.

When we started we were also unsure of how long to keep the credited name on the screen. One of the media teachers, Matt, taught us a trick. He told us to say the line 3 times, for example, 'Written by Owen Carey-Evans x3' in our heads and this was the suitable time scale. We Have also developed skills such as fading the words in and out and using other devices such as movement to make the piece more interesting. We have also discussed the idea of using potential graphic or cartoons as well as shots from the filming. This is used in 'Catch Me If You Can' and I think could be very effective, depending on how professional we can ,make it look.

Shoot day write up

Due the shoot was delayed due to poor weather conditions when we were originally meant to film the shoot, it was rearranged for 2 weeks later. In some ways this gave us an advantage because it meant we had more time to prepare all of our props as we could store them at school. On the day we agreed to meet at 8:50 with all the props and gear for the shoot. When I woke up on the morning of the shoot I was excited on the morning I woke up at the prospect of filming as it wasn't something I had done yet. It was also helpful that we agreed to film it in my boarding house, this meant I was very familiar with the environment ans the room space in which we were using, making it quicker to set up. Before the shoot we were very well prepared in that we had all the props we needed, for example, string, bells, cans, milk cartons and a tent. Having said this, there was a bit of preparation that needed to be done, this including setting up the tent and washing out the cartons and cans to attach to the string, we then had to tie the string to the tent, and then connect it to different parts of the room. Whilst doing this we had to take many things into consideration, for example, we couldn't set up strings where it would be in the way of us when we were filming. The location of where we were shooting was Beatrice Webb House (one of the boarding houses at hurtwood). It was fairly convenient that we did the shoot whilst all the pupils were at school, this meant the house was fairly empty. The one thing that we did have to take into consideration were the staff who lived on the site and also the house workers such as cleaners etc. This meant when were creating the scene we had to bare this in mind, and keep clear passageways so they could continue doing their job. This also meant we had to be prepared for someone to walk through during a shot, meaning we would have to do it again. I feel that we managed to successfully to create the look of our concept, one example of a way we did this was we had to create a morning environment as the character had just woken up. We did this by using a blue gel over the light. Also to avoid excess light coming through due to the sun, we boarded up the windows with old pieces of broken wood. This worked in 2 ways because it did not only stop excess light from getting in but it also was a part of the story and added to the apocalyptic effect as if the character was frightened of some sort of attack from outside. We also had to think about our idea of tying the string to various parts of the room, I feel we did this well, using chair legs, door handles, the fireplace etc.

 I feel that on the day of the shoot we managed to divide the roles between our group very well, we all had a go at everything, for example filming. Having said this we did also use our strengths to our advantage. One example of this was there was a light with a blue gel which needed to be held outside shining in through the boarded windows, this role was rotated between me and Gil, the only other male member of the group. We did this because holding the camera can be quite strenuous on the arms. Mima and Francesca were very useful when it came to the preparation, for example tying the cans and cartons to the string in a way which made it look effective and realistic. The part of the day which I thought I did well was the filming despite not doing a lot of it. The reason I think this is because the piece of filming I did was very difficult as I had to be inside the tent holding the camera, giving a birds eye view of the actor, this was difficult to not distract him as we were in very close proximity. On the day we were lucky in that there weren't any major problems which needed solving, there were a few minor problems like the wooden boarders nearly fell over a few times but there was always someone who was close enough to rescue it. The shoot also went on for longer than we had planned in our schedule. We had planned to finish filming at lunch time but instead we had to return to Beatrice Webb after eating.

Overall, I feel that the shoot was a very successful day and everything went almost exactly to plan. Despite the fact I haven't seen the shots on a computer yet, it felt like we were definitely able to capture some good ones. One thing that I thought went extremely well was the fact that we were actually able to add ideas to the shoot that weren't in our original storyboards. On example of this was customising the speed in which the door handle twisted as the actor went to open the door. Another example of this was coming up with the idea of Adams finger movements as he was holding the axe. This was to show nervousness and to build tension. The one part of the filming which I potentially wished went better was the filming. Despite doing well under the conditions, none of us had a lot of experience of filming, this meant it would often take us a couple of takes before we got it right. The part of the day that I enjoyed the most was the camaraderie and teamwork that we all put in, I feel like everyone worked hard and all wanted to do well, and we knew that we all had to get along and work together for this to realistically happen. When we begin to edit I am looking forward to seeing how the shots look and which ones will be easily to edit and create into a complete piece. The main lesson that I learnt was to prepare largely before the shoot. If you do this is cuts out time that you have to waste setting the scene and making sure all the props are in order.

Filming Schedule

 

9.30 - 10.00 - unpacking props, costumes etc.
(Arriving and getting evrything organised)

10.00 - 11.00 - setting up all strings tent make up props etc. (Making the set and putting everything in place)

11.00 - 1.00 filming
(Filming the first few shots which the titles will be shown over and the shots in the tent)

1.00 - 2.00 Lunch

2.00 - 5.30 Filming
(Filming the shots of him getting out the tent, grabbing the axe, walking over the trap and approaching the door to hear the bang)

5.30 - 6.00 Packing up and clearing up
(Pack everything up and clean up)

Second story board

Second story board draft

This is our second draft of the storyboard, some ideas have been updated but we still need to add to them.

First story boarding

first story boarding

This is a quick first draft of our storyboard it has not been finished as we have changed our ideas on the structure of the sequence.