Shooting day Reflection

 Our production team was shooting on March 10^th. In order to make the day go smoothly, we did lots of preparations before the day. So firstly, we brought all of our props and costumes to school, and let our actors – Meadow and Mike, to try on their costumes which can make sure these all look good and suit for them.

Then, we redecorated the T-shirts and the battle axe with the blood makeups. Because we borrowed this prop from Tulleys Farm, so it looked old in some places. To make it look more realistic, we used bright and dull fake bloods to cover up it. And we cut slits with scissors on the T-shirt and add some fake bloods which make it looks more survivor vibe. From the perspective of the costume, there is already the conventions of a typical action thriller atmosphere. In addition, I bought four same T-shits as we have a plot that the main character rip off the sleeve of her T-shirt. So we used one of the T-shirt as a tester to make sure we can rip off the cloth.

Before the shooting day, we checked all the props and costumes, and take the copy of the shot list and storyboard in case we need to use it on the shooting day. Furthermore, we discussed the processes roughly together which I think is really important to help the day goes smoothly. On the shooting day, all of us arrived at 8:30 to get ready. Gi brought the costumes to Meadow for changing, Max and I collected all the props and equipments and brought them to the bus. We used the Black magic 4K mini URSA Camera, the radio microphone, the tripod and the light tube. We left the school around 9 which means there will be plenty of time for the shooting.

 

When we arrived Tulleys farm, we went to the first location – the junkyard immediately. We used the skills we learned in our camera workshops to set up all the equipments and also use the radio microphone. All three of us did our roles, Max was mainly be the camera operator; Gi guided the actor and showed her the actions and facial expressions; I took care of the actor’s makeup and all the props. In addition, Gi and I alternate between recording the behind the scenes videos and the boom operator. During our shooting process, we remembered the 180 degree rule we learned in the workshop, we make sure to set up the camera in the correct angles. We shotted in the correct orders, the wide shot, the mid shot and then the close up shot. We changed some of our original plot according to the conditions and settings in the location. We took some extra shots which can help with editing. After checking we’ve got all the footage we need in the first location, we went to the second location – the shed. We tried many new techniques there. We planned the actions of the two characters and designed two long shots. Rather than using the wide, mid and close up shots, we shot the whole action in one go which is around 30 seconds in the first one and around 50 seconds in the second one. This is a big challenge for us, all of us tried and practiced twice. So we can make sure there is a perfect footage at last. Because of the environment, the best scene is on the right side, so we need to go backwards while film it. When one person is shooting, the other two need to take care of the pathway as there were many rocks and props. It's very difficult and easy to fall while walk backwards quickly and shot at the same time, but with our cooperation everyone did it very smoothly. In the second long shot, we used the car inside the shed. So we shouted a long shot by surround the car. And through the the windows, we can see the girl’s facial expressions and also the biker while he comes in. This is my favourite shot. 

 

But in fact, not everything went perfect on the shooting day, we have also experienced some unexpected accidents and problems. On our way to Tulleys Farm our bus was broken, our plan had to be changed as we need to wait for a new bus to drive us to the location. But luckily, everyone’s mood was not affected by the accident, we decided to do the makeup and also have a very early lunch while we were waiting. So we can save the time, and start shooting when we got there. We did all the makeups and preparation works on the way, so we finished early on that day. During shooting, the part we spent the most time is when the girl rip off the sleeve. It is really hard to rip off the sleeve very quick. So we used scissor to cut the sleeve from behind and make the camera down to make sure the scissor cuts can’t be seen in the frame. We tried several times, finally we did a close up on her hand and then move to her facial expression. I think it works really well at last. Furthermore, the lighting in our opening title sequence are mostly comes from the natural sunlight. But for the second location, we need to shot inside. So we put the light bulb in the car which can make the setting lighter. But while the main character moves around the shed, the lighting is dark which make the facial expression really unclear. Then we thought that we could opening another door to make more sunlight comes in. So when the camera turns to the direction that can’t see the doors, another person will help to open the door. The cooperation is really important as it might cause the wrong continuity if the door opens too early. Our group cooperate very well, and all of us did the roles and each of us experienced how to do a handheld shot and a long shot.

 

The only thing I would definitely improve and be more careful is the continuity. In the first part of our shooting, the girl is searching for tools and put them in her bag. However, the bag we brought had a very bad quality, so it broke in the middle of shooting. Then we decided to add this to the plot line, so the girl found out the bag is broken and she left the bag while she runs away. So it can show why she doesn’t have her bag in the rest of the film. But we didn’t make it very clear to the actor, so she accidentally grab her bad with her when she runs away. It might be a problem for the continuity. And we found it out too late, so we don’t have the chance the fixed it. I think we can might crop the screen a bit or move the the close up shots while editing this part, so it might be possible to ignore her taking the bag by editing. This is the point I worried the most for the editing process. Furthermore, I am very exciting to see all the footages in the editing suite especially the long shots as we all like twice.

 

Overall, I am very happy with our progress on the shooting day. We worked really well and we finished all the footages around 2 and half hours. Also we all took part in and tried many skills like long shot, tilt, pan, handheld and establishing shot. Moreover, we had two very talented actors which express the facial expressions and actions perfectly. I learned a lot and have more experience through this practical, so I will be more confident for the next project.