Final Day of Filming

We finally finished filming which was a great feeling as we had all worked very hard for this project. All we need to completely finish the film is to edit it, which is Paddy's job but the rest of the group will assist him when we can.

More Props

Image 1

We have decided to change the storyline a bit by including Paddy's car in a crash scene. We are described Doug (Ben Sherlock) struggling to open the car door as he is supposed to be intoxicated at the time. When Ben enters the car Liam (Director/ Camera-Man) will be filming Ben from the back sit of the car. However as Ben is not licensed on Paddy's car nor can he drive we so we want Paddy as the stunt-double for the driving scene.

Image 2

 Since none of our actors are 18 or over we then had to get rid of the alcohol from the beer bottles and replace the contents with Appleaid because it was the closest colour and look to beer.

Bibliography:

Image 1: http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/owners-reviews/ford/fiesta/hatchback-2002/review/20120513094623/


 Image 2: http://www.gopedro.co.uk/shop1a/prestashop/off/beers-lagers/1420-stella-artois-8-pack-.html

Finding the Right Location

Image from http://onthewirral.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/ashton-park-west-kirby.html

Our group have been trying to find the perfect scene location for the film's flashback scenes. We mostly used Google Maps looking at nearby areas we could drive to to see whether or not it was the best location for our filming. When looking for location we wanted to find a place with little light, some forestation which is also near a road to film the car crash scene. One problem with location is the fact that the public always walking into shot so we have to start again; this has happened on numerous occasions before.

 

We found that Kings Drive was the best location to film as it was close for us to get to and it fit quite well with our filming plans. However the lighting was not adequate enough for our intended scenery plan. With this being the case we decided to film in Ashton Park as this location was quiet similar with its atmosphere, but it had the lighting we wanted.

When Ben and Paddy where in a free period in school on Monday 9th March they created another mood-board and animatics sequence to introduce new ideas to the storyline and help assist Liam (our Director/ Camera-Man) when shooting these new scenes.

Mood-Board created by Ben Sherlock and Patrick Brennan.

Animatics created by Ben Sherlock and Patrick Brennan.

My Practice with Make-Up

The group took part in a class activity where was all tried our hands at makeup. We were asked to make a cut or wound on a partner using Vaseline, Make-Up Clay and Colouring. My final work (shown below) was the attempt I took in trying to resemble a slit wrist. The rest of the group and our teacher applauded me in my work and then gave me the role of Make-Up Artist for the filming. I honestly found creating the skin and its layering to be quite easy, but I may have had and advantage as I also do Art and Design for another of my AS Level options. 

Ben again showing close-up of the wrist.

Ben Sherlock (our leading role) posing with slit wrist.

My Job

The group decided pick the classic white dress with drops of blood on. We believe the white represents the purity of Kristy's character which is ultimately contrasted with the blood stains. We created the fake blood by using red food colouring and just a little bit of tomato sauce, we found this to looking good and moderately realistic. Due to it being a very thin and liquid substance we had to wait a while in order for it to dry, this process took too long so we resorted in using a hairdryer. The main problem with this dress was that this would be the main piece of clothing Kristy would be wearing so if it was cold when we were filming she would be extremely cold. We also add some eye liner and foundation around her eyes to appear more hollow. As well as putting her hair into pony tails in a messy form.

Filming Postponed Again

So Kirsty is unwell today so we cannot film as she is key in today's filming session. After Paddy spoke to her, she said that she would be able to continue with filming later that week. Today weather was quiet cold so it sort of a blessing in disguise as some of the group, me for one, weren't really looking forward to filming today anyway. But we hope to get close to completion next time. (2/3/15)

Decisions with Editing

Yesterday our Camera-Man/ Director (Liam Edwards) and Editor (Patrick Brennan) explained to our lead role (Ben Sherlock) and I that they wanted add some themes/ moods via the use of 'Final Cut Pro' that were not achievable with just the camera. We as a group made the decisions together when adding or trimming parts of the footage. I believe Paddy has already started editing most of the shots that we have taken, this was helped by the use of two cameras giving different angles to increased the progress and pace of the production. At the moment it is looking really good and professional, and we are already looking for copyright free audio soundtracks to include in it.

Editing

Due to Paddy being the Editor and Liam being the Camera-Man and Director they undertook the challenge to edit and start creating the final video as well as an outtakes video. Here is Paddy's response towards the editing process:

"I'm really enjoying the editing on Final Cut Pro, it didn't take me long to pick up the skill set which allowed me to make some good cuts, I think I have defiantly improved from our last extract which we all made. There are some problems that others in the group didn't like the title card animation as it seemed out of place which in hindsight I agree with. Unfortunately the amount of clips we took means that our screenplay is too long reaching limits of 1 minute 45 seconds; the problem is that we haven't embedded Kristy's shots yet leaving us with 15 seconds to work with. I may have to make a decision to remove the head turn section as it is a bit out of place and comical. Unfortunately others in the grouped don't understand the value of a couple of seconds. However I am very happy with how it is looking so far."  (From Paddy's blog: http://patrickbrennan97.blogspot.co.uk/ )

Third Day of Filming

Image from (http://media.giphy.com/media/qerXDIdno0mQM/giphy.gif)



On the 21st January we were all excited to call it our final day of shooting. However the weather did not stay golden for us as the weather was too rainy and it continued to rain all of that day. As a group we decided to obviously keep the continuity of our film and so set the date for filming for another day.



Second Day of Filming

On the 20th January we were given time from school to do more filming, it started in disaster as we had left some major props at Paddy's house and we had cameras loosing battery fast, luckily Paddy managed to get these props as well as get some new batteries and we made some good progress as our male actor began to understand his role in the film and how serious the film was; we had some good takes and bad takes however it all worked out in the end, one more day of filming until we are finished.



First Day of Filming

We finally started to film for the first time and things did not quite go to plan to say the lease, as our actor wasn't taking it as serious as we would have hoped, (a classic case of the giggles). Also the cold temperatures were a bit brutal to work in and the group often got frustrated due to a lack of progress. I only hope we can get some better weather and more development in the filming.

Here is our Camera-Man/ Director (Liam Edwards) filming.

Preparation for Final Task: Location and Scenery

After finishing any necessary planning from in school we took it upon ourselves to go and look for suitable locations to film. We looked for potential camera shots and movements from all around the photoed area (as seen below). We tried to put our animatic piece into practice by searching for similar landscapes and scenery.  To remind and record our findings we took a series of pictures and have so arranged them below.

Preparation for Final Task: Story Board (Animatics)

This is the animatic part of our group's planning for the two minute sequence. Here I have tried to illustrate what we hope to film and try to achieve on the day of filming. From mine and Patrick's descriptions one can see our thoughts for each scene of the sequence and the actions being performed by the actors. As well as the camera shots we think would be good to shot for the creation of the sequence in the two minute window we have. Finally, some of the props that we will be using are included in the descriptions below. (Patrick Brennan and myself created this animatic piece).

Preparation for Final Task: Script Development

We as a group sat down and rewrote the script not just to improve our ideas but we all believed that the camera shots from the car would prove difficult to film. We also swapped the two main characters positions in sequence. This was because some felt more comfortable by performing in other roles to help the production of the film.

Preparation for Final Task: Mood Board

Mood Board

Above is the mood board my group and I created showing what we would like to incorporate in our film. We have included some possible locations for scene with potential camera angles and lighting. As well as makeup and costume, for makeup, we would prefer not to use too much so the film does not become silly. Now for costume we have a few thought of black or white or even purple shown above to differ from the conventional horror films, but I think we will end up choosing the white dress to make the blood more definable.

Planning for Final Task

After having completed our preliminary task, we are currently in the planning stages of producing our final product which will consist of a two-minute opening sequence. I shall be working with the same group I had collaborated with on a previous project: Benjamin Sherlock; Patrick Brennan; Liam Edwards. For this project we decided to put together a short horror sequence because we all have an admiration for the horror genre and we wanted to explore the genre even further as our last project involved the drama/thriller genres.

During the planning stages of our project, we came up with what would be required in terms of how our short was going to be made as well as how it would fit into the horror genre. Upon further development, we all submitted several ideas which can be viewed in the image below.

We needed to come up with a good title for our project; something somewhat original as well as being synonymous with the horror genre. Notable examples of classic horror titles include: Psycho (1960); Jaws (1975); A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984); Saw (2004) etc.

We decided to name our horror short "The Woods Have Ears" as the majority of the video would take place in a wooded area and would also serve as a tribute to the 1977 Wes Craven classic The Hills Have Eyes. Although I personally did not care much for the chosen title, the majority of the group were in favour of "Ears", therefore the title stuck.



Having come up with a concept for our film we developed a mood board that consisted of lighting; props; filming locations; costumes; camera angles etc. (This can be seen in the image above.) As for the narrative of our short, it will focus on a young man walking through the woods one day who suddenly finds himself being haunted by a the ghost of a young girl.props; filming locations; costume; camera angles etc.

Below is the first draft of our script:

Following a group discussion concerning how we were going to film certain parts of the video, we ultimately came to the conclusion that we would have to limit our options when we would come to filming the opening sequence. 

Estimated Timeline of Project for the Next Five Months

This is an overview of what our group intends to have completed by each date towards finishing our final task. Each date on the timeline here represents the deadline we have set ourselves to complete each task.

To Be Completed By November 30th 2014

• Initial ideas for the two minute clip (genre, plot, title)
• Story Boards and Animatics
• Mood Board

To Be Completed By December 16th 2014

• Location Scouting
• Actors cast in each role
• Date set for filming to commence
• Decided on title

To Be Completed By November 30th 2014

• Starting ideas and basic plan for the two minute clip
• Story Boards and Animatics
• Mood Board

To Be Completed By December 16th 2014

• Location
• Actors and their role established
• Date set for filming to begin
• Title of clip to discuss and establish

To Be Completed By December 31st 2014

• Script Complete
• Costume, props and makeup found/ bought
• Filming commences

To Be Completed By January 16th 2015

• Filming (midway)
• Close to wrapping the filming up

To Be Completed By January 31st 2015

• All Filming Complete
• Record to be put on to the hard drive of computer
• Editing process to commence

To Be Completed By February 28th 2015

• Editing Complete
• Sound imputed to clip
• 2 minute clip uploaded
• Clip embedded onto Blogger.com

Preliminary Task (Group Project)

Script

Ben Sherlock wrote the script for our group's project, an interrogation scene.

"In the scene, a grizzled detective named Frank McCready is interrogating a pedophile named Alan Smith who has kidnapped a young girl, Tabitha. We wanted the main tension to come from Frank's desperation to find out where this girl is. The audience is led to believe it is because of his passion for upholding the law, but the twist ending reveals it is because Tabitha is his daughter. We chose this subject matter as a group, and we handled it this way because we thought the action and the intensity would present more opportunities to use interesting camera angles, and it did. Also, we thought some gritty realism would add to the scene's cinematic integrity." - Ben Sherlock (1)

 When the group were filming the task there was a lot of dialogue that was not originally on the script, as when it was spoken seem as what would be said in that type of situation. We agreed, also to tone down some of the violence in the scene, this was to make it more suitable, but we are pleased we decided to go with this direction as we thought it to make the character of Frank (Ben Sherlock) more likeable, and as the main protagonist, he's someone the audience should like and support. We think these changes hugely improved the scene and the project as it gave it an improvisational quality.

Direction

This sketch shows the camera movements we plan on using, and how we will position the camera around the set. There is a key in the top-right corner to show that the red line shows the movements of the Frank McCready's (Ben) character, the black dot to show where the camera will be placed, and the blue line shows which direction the camera will move in. These angles support the actions as written in the script, and so we think this will improve the look of the scene to flow with what is happening on-screen. Alan (Paddy) is revealed to be in green, but he has no movement as he stays seated for the whole scene. The angles are numbered so the Editor (also Paddy) knows what order to put them in during the editing process.

Storyboard

This is our group's storyboard, detailing each camera angle in the scene, which will be an very useful when coming to filming and the editing process. It gives us a visual representation of what the scene should ideally look like, this will also make the process easier to work, instead of all of us having to remember and/or improvise again, this would be much harder and more time consuming.

 Bibliography

(1) http://bensherlock.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-max=2014-10-23T04:27:00-07:00&max-results=7&start=37&by-date=false