About two weeks ago, I began filming. My props and setting was almost ideal; I used a classroom in college, the one flaw was the whiteboard in the room which made it look more like a classroom than an office so I needed to try my best to avoid catching it in my shots. Then after filming about half of my overall shots, I uploaded them on to Adobe Premier Pro to begin editing; this is where my first problem occured and it became apparant that I had a problem with my camera. This is because the quality of all of my shots were very low, grainy and very pixelated. Unfortunately, I knew that I could not use this in my main task and that I would have to film it all again.
However, I immediately solved this problem by renting out a Canon DSLR 500D camera from the media department. I practiced shots to ensure that the quality would be good and clear and thankfully it was! The next day I started to film again.
The first time I filmed I did not have a script which was a problem as I had to think as I went along about what my actors would have to say next which was very inefficient for them and myself. In order to ensure this did not happen my second time, I made a script with the shot angles next to them to avoid confusion. Again, I filmed about half of my film and I have found it difficult to find anymore filming time due to the absence of my actors. Despite this, they were very easy to direct and remained very professional- they brought in their own costumes which they thought would be appropriate to their roles including shirts and ties etc. I made sure my actors were in the same positions in each shot I filmed to avoid any continuity errors.
The only problems I found after filming a second time was an issue with framing and mise-en-scene, in some of my shots you could see the whiteboard (mentioned earlier). I used long shots which were not suitable because of this and the room looked very much like a classroom instead of an office which was my main worry. In order to resolve this problem I will need to re-film these shots perhaps from different angles to avoid any of these errors which will not be a problem. On a positive note, the rest of the shots I filmed were clear and of good quality. I imported them onto Premier Pro and editing them together which was successful as the shots were very seamless.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Monday, 11 March 2013
Costume and Props
For my main task, I will need a selection of different props and costumes for my actors:
Costume:
My female character will need to wear a white shirt and black trousers in order to fully achieve the role of a Journalist.
My male character will need to wear something similar: a shirt and black trousers, for the same reason.
Props:
A newspaper- I have made this newspaper myself. The front page of the newspaper reads: "Journalist admits fake drug gang story", which is about the female character. I will film the character reading the newspaper in despair.
Coffee cups - for the audience to work out that the female Journalist is tired and needs caffeine to keep her going.
Lots of paperwork and pens - to suggest disorganisation of the female.
Costume:
My female character will need to wear a white shirt and black trousers in order to fully achieve the role of a Journalist.
My male character will need to wear something similar: a shirt and black trousers, for the same reason.
Props:
A newspaper- I have made this newspaper myself. The front page of the newspaper reads: "Journalist admits fake drug gang story", which is about the female character. I will film the character reading the newspaper in despair.
Coffee cups - for the audience to work out that the female Journalist is tired and needs caffeine to keep her going.
Lots of paperwork and pens - to suggest disorganisation of the female.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Production Meeting
In class, we had a meeting in which we could discuss each other's productions and what we had left to do. We made a list of what we still needed to complete for our coursework.
During this meeting, I thought of some more ideas that I could use in my film. For example, to show that my main character is a journalist, I will take an establishing shot of a news shop in town called 'The News', this is a good idea because I was unsure of how I could show the audience who the characters are supposed to be.
I already have a good idea of what I want my characters to wear (blazers, shirts etc), however I need to check that my actors have these clothes available to them, otherwise I will have to provide them myself.
I need to ensure that my character of the struggling journalist looks tired, I will use make up to get this effect- brown eye shadow under the eyes to make them look baggy.
I also need to create a storyboard for my film with all the shot types so when I come to filming I will not be stuck or confused.
And lastly, I need to make sure I have all of my props together for when I film. I need to print off my newspaper in the size of A3. I will also will need to bring in some things from homes to create the feel of an office, such as a desk lamp, post it notes, folders and paper work and a coffee mug (again to suggest that my journalist is feeling tired)
During this meeting, I thought of some more ideas that I could use in my film. For example, to show that my main character is a journalist, I will take an establishing shot of a news shop in town called 'The News', this is a good idea because I was unsure of how I could show the audience who the characters are supposed to be.
I already have a good idea of what I want my characters to wear (blazers, shirts etc), however I need to check that my actors have these clothes available to them, otherwise I will have to provide them myself.
I need to ensure that my character of the struggling journalist looks tired, I will use make up to get this effect- brown eye shadow under the eyes to make them look baggy.
I also need to create a storyboard for my film with all the shot types so when I come to filming I will not be stuck or confused.
And lastly, I need to make sure I have all of my props together for when I film. I need to print off my newspaper in the size of A3. I will also will need to bring in some things from homes to create the feel of an office, such as a desk lamp, post it notes, folders and paper work and a coffee mug (again to suggest that my journalist is feeling tired)
Monday, 25 February 2013
Recce
I will be filming in two different locations and I will have to consider potential issues that come with these locations.
Classroom: (Interior)
-I will need to ensure that the classroom I am using looks like an office. I will only shoot computers/desks to get an office feel, and avoid filming whiteboards etc.
-I will need to make sure that there is no one else using the classroom and consider its availability and if it is perhaps timetabled.
-Ensure that there is enough light, but not too bright.
-Noise from other students outside/next door may be a problem, I will have to consider whether I could control it or not.
-Make sure I have full permission from a teacher to use that specific room.
Old building: (Exterior)
I will only be filming outside briefly but there could be possible problems;
-I will have to film on a day where the weather is quite gloomy, to create tension and to set a darker feel.
-There cannot be any noise from traffic, which could be a potential problem in the location I will be filming.
-I will also need to make sure that I have somebody to take me to the place, which is convenient as it is by my Dad's work, who could take me there/back.
Risks and how I need to deal with them:
-I will need to consider that it may be raining when I film which would be a risk of damage to the camera so in order to eradicate this risk I will just take an umbrella so the camera and tripod are covered.
Classroom: (Interior)
-I will need to ensure that the classroom I am using looks like an office. I will only shoot computers/desks to get an office feel, and avoid filming whiteboards etc.
-I will need to make sure that there is no one else using the classroom and consider its availability and if it is perhaps timetabled.
-Ensure that there is enough light, but not too bright.
-Noise from other students outside/next door may be a problem, I will have to consider whether I could control it or not.
-Make sure I have full permission from a teacher to use that specific room.
Old building: (Exterior)
I will only be filming outside briefly but there could be possible problems;
-I will have to film on a day where the weather is quite gloomy, to create tension and to set a darker feel.
-There cannot be any noise from traffic, which could be a potential problem in the location I will be filming.
-I will also need to make sure that I have somebody to take me to the place, which is convenient as it is by my Dad's work, who could take me there/back.
Risks and how I need to deal with them:
-I will need to consider that it may be raining when I film which would be a risk of damage to the camera so in order to eradicate this risk I will just take an umbrella so the camera and tripod are covered.
Tuesday, 19 February 2013
Preliminary Task Evaluation
I really enjoyed creating my preliminary task, yet it was still quite daunting in the sense that I had all control of the camera and the editing, and the directing of my actors that I definitely wasn't used to! Before making my short film, I felt uneasy with the idea of having a camera that was not mine and having to produce something from it; I am not very good with technology, so I thought I was destined for the worst! However, with some practice, I got there and my confidence went from virtually non existent to quite high.
I encountered some problems with making my film. My first problem was the filming time. I had set myself the task of filming during our 1 hour and 30 minutes Media Studies slot and I found that I was rushing myself to quite the extent. If I had allowed myself more time and perhaps filmed outside of college, it would of given me much more time and I would have been able to fully perfect my mistakes. Another problem that arose from this was my actors; I had issues with their attendance so I was unable to film when I planned because they were not in college that day. Also, I had to ensure that my actors wore the same clothes every Media session to avoid all possible continuity errors.
To improve next time, I will definitely make some form of a decent plan to follow. This is because when filming I had a very basic plan and I frequently lost my train of thought and had to rely on my memory to tell me what I should do next, this was not efficient at all.
There were things that went well during filming too. As I filmed at college, it gave me the opportunity to ask my teacher if I had any problems with the camera or any other equipment, which came in very handy and was a huge benefit! I found editing all of my footage together very challenging because it was difficult to ensure it all looked seamless, however it surprisingly did not take me very long to do and I am happy that my film flows well, I cannot spot any continuity errors, which was what I was most afraid of finding.
Overall, I feel I have done very well in making my film and I am feeling much more confident in filming in the future.
I encountered some problems with making my film. My first problem was the filming time. I had set myself the task of filming during our 1 hour and 30 minutes Media Studies slot and I found that I was rushing myself to quite the extent. If I had allowed myself more time and perhaps filmed outside of college, it would of given me much more time and I would have been able to fully perfect my mistakes. Another problem that arose from this was my actors; I had issues with their attendance so I was unable to film when I planned because they were not in college that day. Also, I had to ensure that my actors wore the same clothes every Media session to avoid all possible continuity errors.
To improve next time, I will definitely make some form of a decent plan to follow. This is because when filming I had a very basic plan and I frequently lost my train of thought and had to rely on my memory to tell me what I should do next, this was not efficient at all.
There were things that went well during filming too. As I filmed at college, it gave me the opportunity to ask my teacher if I had any problems with the camera or any other equipment, which came in very handy and was a huge benefit! I found editing all of my footage together very challenging because it was difficult to ensure it all looked seamless, however it surprisingly did not take me very long to do and I am happy that my film flows well, I cannot spot any continuity errors, which was what I was most afraid of finding.
Overall, I feel I have done very well in making my film and I am feeling much more confident in filming in the future.
Premises
One of our early stages of film planning was to create some premises, which is a one sentence summary of my film.
1- A supernatural thriller in which a journalist uncovers the truth of an abandoned factory.
2- A disgraced journalist tries to redeem himself by covering the story of the mysterious abandoned factory.
3- A journalist tries to prove himself as a writer by covering the story of a factory, facing all sorts of danger on the way.
I prefer my second premise as opposed to the other two because it lets out all of the appropriate information without giving too much away which I feel is important. It is also the only one that actually explains the journalist's situation.
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