Editing Process

My filming has now finally been successfully completed and I have now reached the editing process of my task. I have Premier Pro CS6 downloaded onto my computer and home which gives me the chance to edit at all times with no problem. I am finding that my clips are so far creating a seamless flow of action.

I have a plan of how I am going to edit together my sequences, I will be creating a montage in which will show time passing as my character is 'looking for a story.' I will do this by cross dissolving the shots of a clock.
                                                                                               

Location Change

I have experienced some problems with filming, including when I can film and where I can do it. I have also had issues with my actors not being available when I wish to film. Due to these problems, I have decided that for my benefit it would be much easier to film at home where I am guaranteed to have a place to film. Also, I will be acting in my film so I can definitely film when I'd like to.

I will be using a bedroom in my house, and in order to make it look more like an office I will clear out anything you wouldn't find in an office; e.g. drawers etc which will not be a problem. I need to make sure everything I use in the mise-en-scene is relevant to an office scenario. 

I will need:

To move a table into the room to use as a desk

A laptop 

Pieces of paper scattered around the table

Pens/Pencils etc

I have successfully rented out all of the equipment I need from the media department and all of my equipment at home is ready to go for me to film over the weekend. 

Filming Process and Challenges

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.

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.

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)

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.

Preliminary Task

This is my final edit of my preliminary task. I hope you enjoy it!