Preliminary Task - Poster

Preliminary Task - Video

Final Video

Preliminary Task - Filming

The filming process

Me and Katie both split the role of director and camera worker. We got a lot of nicely framed shots with some fancy tilts, pans and tracking shots. However after filming we realised we made a major error in the filming, being that I didn't record most of the shots properly. When I was pressing the button to record the film I actually paused the filming, and ended up with a lot of recording of what happened inbetween the actual shots we wanted. We did however get most of the shots we needed and some tricky editing pretty much saved the film. However some of the shots we lost would of been a welcome addition to the film.

A mistake this big however ensures it will never happen again.

Preliminary Task - Team Work

The original concept of the film was my idea and together I feel we worked well transforming and growing that into our original idea. However I think it did feel we only did it because we didn't really come up with anything else, the brainstorm was pretty poor. Post production was fairly smooth progress to begin with the script and storyboard was done in a joint effort. Communication could of probably been improved a bit but throughout we improved on that so that was not a problem. 

Sharing the responsibilities organising the shoot was not so smooth as we could not film on the original planned date as one of the actors Katie got dropped out, and then the following week we could not film again because both the female actors couldn't do it yet again but it has made me learn that actors aren't that reliable. 

Preliminary Task - Camera Skills

Multi Camera Setup

A multi camera setup is where you film one scene with multiple cameras, to get lots of different angles of the same thing filmed at once. This is helpful for editing, continuity and saves a lot of time. It is especially good for filming a conversation between two people, using the 180 degrees rule.

Using a Tripod

Using a tripod is extremely useful and in most cases necessary to produce professional looking takes. They are stable and can handle pans, tilts, angled shots and such with ease. I will be using tripods and two cameras when filming my preliminary task.

Here is a clip which demonstrates how useful a multi camera setup actually is. Watch the transitions between shots and see how smooth they are. 

Preliminary Task - Our Idea

Our class was split up into teams of two and I was put with Katie Tangl. We have been asked to make another minute long film. The specifications of the film is that it has to include atleast two characters, one of which opens a door, walks through a room and sits down to talk to someone else. It has to show skills of the 180 degrees rule.

The pre production deadline is 18th November, the Production time slot is the 21st Nov - 30th Nov. Post Production would be the week following.

Inital Ideas

We really like the idea of someone trying to contact the dead, a recently deceased lover. We played around with the idea and eventually came up with the plot of a man trying to talk to his girlfriend, but he is actually a ghost and is powerless and can't talk to her.

I have worries this will be too similar to the sixth sense, but this will be themed and styled very differently. I am confident this is not an issue.

Preliminary Task - Production Schedule

Nevermore

Production Schedule

RX Date: Friday 25^th November 2011

Cast Contact Details

Ryan Smith..................... 07958312025

Emma Burke..................... 07817169599

Crew Contact Details

Charlie Sharp..................... 07894522916

Katie Tangl..................... 07706112600

Location

The Conference Room, Sawtry Community College

3:30 – 4:30

Preliminary Task - Shot List

SHOT LIST

Nevermore

By Charlie Sharp and Katie Tangl

Draft 2 18/11/11

Scene 1 – INT. Kitchen
Shot Number	Shot Description
1	Mid shot, Roger walking up to the door
2	Extreme close up, hand opening door
3	Over the shoulder, Roger walking to Mellissa
4	Medium close up Roger talking
5	Medium close up Melissa talking
6	Long shot Melissa standing up
7	Camera tilt up, Roger getting up
8	Close Up Rogers face and drink, focus pull
9	Extreme close up glass of water
10	Close up Roger shocked face
11	2 mid shot Roger and Melissa
12	Over the shoulder Roger and order of service
13	Close up order of service
14	Close up Roger shocked face
15	Midshot pan Amanda through door
16	Mid shot Melissa talking to Amanda
17	Mid shot Amanda reply
18	Long shot Roger fade to white
19	White screen, Roger V.O.

Preliminary Task - Location Photographs

Recce Pictures

The kitchen!

 The glass of water

Recce Checklist

My Recce Checklist 

What is the location?

What is the address?

What is the name of your contact?

Have you taken photographs?

If not, why?

Who owns the land/property?

Is it easy to get to?

Do you need a permit?

Will the crew cause a disruption?

What the the potential health and safety risks?

Doe sit have restroom facilities?

Is there good parking?

Is the interior sound satisfactory?

Is the exterior sound satisfactory?

Is there plenty of outlets?

Are the neighbours film friendly?

Do you have confirmation/permission?

Is there enough natural light?

Research - Director

The director is the one responsible for overseeing and controlling creative aspects of a film under the producer. They will often direct the film into their certain vision, guiding the looks, emotion and decide what the audience gains from the experience. They will decide the majority of camera angles, lens effects and lighting with the help of the crew. They turn the script into a shot by shot sequence.


They will also coordinate the actors moves and lines appropriately. They are usually very creative people with a confident vision of the production and be very familiar with all aspects of production, including the technical side.


'There are the main creative force in the making of films, television, plays and shows' 

Directors do not work a regular work week. During the making of a movie, a film director may begin work in the early ours of the morning and work late into the night. Television directors may start even earlier. The work is strenuous and requires a great deal of time and dedication. Directors may be unemployed for long periods. However, the opening of the production can offer a great deal of satisfaction.



'Directors are part manager, part artist'

The Chase Task

Our first task set was to produce a chase scene. We were given one hour to film it and limited time to edit it together. It was to be roughly a minute long. My team consisted of me, Alex Duthie, Tom Hughes and Danny Duckworth.

Pre Production

First of all we chose our roles. I volunteered to be the Director and the team was happy with that so I was the director. Alex and Tom both were both confident from the start they wanted to be actors so they were our two actors, the chaser and the runner. Alex was the runner and Tom was the chaser. Danny was then happy to be the camera man and had some experience of filming before.

We also had a quick brainstorm session to decide a rough plot, script and some parts of the chase sequence. We decided to make it a bit of a comedy but also make it fast paced and entertaining. We all worked well as a team doing this and there were no disagreements. We then made a very short production schedule. We also decided on a good soundtrack to use, being 'Duel of Fates' from Star Wars, The Phantom Menace.

Production

We knew we had very little time to film so we tried to get as many shots right first time as we could. If there was a dodgy shot, we would agree to do it again and sometimes I told the team to do the same shot but slightly differently, so we could choose the best one. The lack of time stressed us out a bit and we very rushed, but I kept calm and knew we would finish just in time. We finished with a few minutes to go and then we went back and filmed another shot again. We didn't encounter many problems, but one big problem was one of our shots had a mirror in which we didn't foresee as we did not check out the location beforehand, which would clearly show the cameraman, so we changed the shot around a bit.

Post Production


We tried to edit the shots together as smooth as possible and changed it around a lot to fit the soundtrack well. The two actors edited it together and I had a little experience editing so I helped edit it together as well.

All in all I feel we worked very well as a team and was very happy with our performance working under pressure. I feel the team roles were well suited to our abilities. Below is our finished product.