Evaluation

Now that the filming and editing is over, we looked at the our film as a whole and you see that the filming quality gradually becomes better. In the first and second scenes my group weren't very skilled and we were still practising. Eventually our skills developed and we were able to shoot quality shots. Looking back at myself working on this module, I feel as if I could have had more input into the group work. I feel as if my input was very minimal. I could have told my team that I will take over whatever piece of work that need to be done. I have learnt from this that I need to be more of a team player and stop relying on others to do the work.

Editing

Editing was quite difficult because we some colour correction problems. Some parts of the film was either to green, yellow or blue. We tried to adjust this on Premiere Pro using the Fast Colour Correction tool. It showed a colour wheel where we could adjust the colours in a part of of a film.

We also encountered a problem with the sound in scene. The day that we were filming it was very windy and you can barely hear the speech. We did try to reduce the wind as much as possible but it i still unclear. To overcome this problem, we could have used the a boom mic or a clip on mic. This will be able to pick up any sound better rather than relying on the microphone on the camera. We also werent able to add credits to the end of our film because we weren't taught how to do it and After Effects wouldn't allow one of my team members to import a file with more than one component. 

Fifth Filming Session

Filming the last scene we had split it into two sessions. In the first part we had another problem with equipment today because the release plate that so we had to use the method of putting the camera on our shoulders. In this scene we had to film a rugby match. So there was a lot of movement throughout the scene. In the second part of filming the last scene we problems with the sound because on that day it was very windy. Here are a couple of pictures of us filming the first part of scene 5.

Fourth Filming Session

This was one of the most fun filming session because we were thoroughly entertained with what the characters in the film had to do. In this scene we focused on getting different shots, such as extreme close ups, close ups, mid shots and long shots.

Third Filming session

We had trouble filming this scene because our initial location wasn't up to the standards we needed it to be in. So we had to change the location. However changing the location would mean the consistency between scene 2 and 3 wouldn't match. So that we would mean we would have to film it in a way that looks like we hadn't changed the house that Jake had walked into in scene 2. Continuity is very important in filming because the audience will be confused on why certain details are different. Also this helps the audience to understand and comprehend the action happening on the screen.

Second Filming Sesion

We met up at the Pavillion in Parkwood to continue with our filming progress. During this scene we had to film our main character Jake walking from his rugby training to his home. Whilst filming this scene we had to take into consideration the 180 degrees rule. We always had to stay on the left hand side of Jake. This is so the audience wouldn't be confused. The 180 degrees rule to a way of showing the relationship between two characters and this keeps the characters grounded compositionally on a particular side of the screen or frame. 

First editing session

We had our first editing session during our Wednesday seminar, and we had looked at all the clips we had for the first scene and deleted clips that we didn't need. After we had done that we opened up Premiere Pro and started putting our skills into use. We cut different sections from different clips to make up the first scene.

First filming session

On Tuesday 18th of March my group had our first filming session. We all met in Parkwood and made our way to the Pavillion to use the field as our location for our film. We did come across a few problems for example:

• We didn't have release plate.
• The tripod was stiff so we couldn't get certain angles properly.
• The ground wasn't levelled so the tripod wasn't steady.
• It was also very cold and because we were shivering the camera would shake slightly. 

Besides the problems we had encountered, we were still motivated to get the scene done. 

Call Sheets

On Thursday 12th of March my group had a meeting where we went through the call sheets that we had created and filled them. We had a different one each scene. This helped everyone that was working on that particular scene where and when things are. For example on our call sheet we put where the nearest hospital, the nearest fire extinguisher and what time lunch is. Also on these call sheets we have put the names of the actors that will be on set on that day and time. This is an image of all the call sheets for each scene.

 

Thoughts on our short film

During the process of developing our movie I started to think that the log line for my group's short film wasn't exactly related to our film any more. The reason being because we all had many ideas and the film started to change throughout. We started off by having the idea of making a motivational film about believing yourself then it eventually changed to making the main character who was a rugby player, always came second in things he does and then he becomes first and he was ecstatic about it. He wanted to tell his girlfriend straight away however his girlfriend is always the type of person that always comes first in everything that she does. So the relationship between the girlfriend and the boyfriend is quite tense and puts a strain on their relationship. Now the story that we want to film is similar to the previous idea however now the girlfriend is worried about her boyfriend's future in what he wants to do.

Script Writing

Yvienne and I stayed in in the Jennison's building from 2pm until 2am working on the script for our film. The experience of script writing wasn't so hard. We looked at different examples on the BBC website to help us understand what kind of information we had to include in the script and also we used it as guideline. We also used the storyboard to give us a general idea of what each of the characters should say within each scene.

Character Profiles

On Monday 2nd March my group got together and did some character profiles for the members that were auditioning for a certain character. We had state our names, age and what character we will be auditioning for.  

The Blind Side (2009) Official Trailer - Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw Movi...

This is a trailer movie that is based on a true story of Leigh Anne and Sean Tuhoy who take in an homeless teenage African-American Michael "Big Mike" Oher. This film helped me to understand that this teenage boy had to go through to get to where he is now. All he had to do was believe in himself and have support and love from people that cared about him.

Storyboarding

As a group we came together to come up with a storyboard of what we want to happen in our movie. Each one of us had different ideas that we wanted to happen in each scene. But we were able to come to conclusion of which was best for us. We had five scenes in total. The storyboard is a document that we as a group will refer back to, to tell us what happens in each scene as we are writing the script and filming.

Premiere Pro Workshop

This is was very first time ever working with Premiere Pro and I must say that it was very simple to use. We were taught how to cut out pieces from different clips and also we were taught how to adjust the colours and the sounds. We were told that it is important to know how to adjust the colour and the sound because we want everything to look natural. Also in some parts of the clips the sound may be louder than another clip. This workshop will allow the people in my group and myself how to edit our films professionally and in confidence without feeling like we don't know what we are doing.

Filming section of Treatment

This is just key points of what we would be doing during our filming sessions:

Zoom to capture the facial expressions of characters.

Over the shoulder shoulders will used to show the two people talking to each other

We would also be having our 2 main characters sitting at a dinner table so we would have to set up cameras that will be surrounding the characters and making sure that each character will be on the same side.

The aim of our story will be to motivate our audience into believing themselves and don’t let other push you down and always go for your dreams but you also have to be realistic about them too.

There would be non-diegetic music

The location of the filming will be in a house and on a rugby field. The reason why we have chosen to film at these two locations is because the main character (Jake) is a rugby player and also whilst they are having dinner they would be in a house.

Whilst making this film we want achiever getting the grittiness of Jake (lead role) working hard whilst training. We would try to achieve by him practising attacking an opponent or defending and capturing his facial expression by using an extreme close up shots. The reason why we want capture this scene is because we want the audience to see that nothing will stop him from achieving his goal and that he would keep persevering.

We would also have a flash back scene where we fade out of the current scene and fade in an event that happened previously. To show this we could have the flashback in black and white so the audience will be aware as this is a past event not the present.

Atonement (2007) - Official Trailer

The film is about a little girl named Briony that mistakenly reported a family friend named Robbie of a crime he did not commit and he sent to prison and after to the army. Later on as the little was growing she was never able to forgive herself for telling lies to the police and she made it her mission to apologise to her older sister Cecilia and Robbie, which as her sister's boyfriend. As she was doing this, Briony also had a passion for writing so she decided to write a book based on what happened in her life however instead of putting an unhappy ending she concluded it with a happy one because she believed that as the rightful ending that the story was supposed to have.

Whilst watching this movie I thought that this will help my group to include a twist into our film because this will capture the audiences attention and make them want to watch the film until the end. This movie had a twist off showing the movie in the past tense and this made the audience think that it was the reality but actually it was Briony telling the story of what happened in the past.

My section of the treatment - Filming

In my section of the treatment I will be talking about the the different angles that we would be using whilst filming and talking about why we would be using them. This will help us to understand what we have to do and help generate even more ideas on how to approach a certain emotion.

Plot Twist

As a group we came across the question of adding in a plot twist of having our two main characters (Jake and Naomi) having a argument at the dinner table. This causes tension between the two characters and also the audience as well. The reason being is because we would want to show the love between Jake (lead role) and Naomi (girlfriend of lead role) this will make the audience instantly love their relationship and eventually their relationship could be close to ending. This will be a unpredictable event and make the audience wondering what will happen next. 

Logline

"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up" - Babe Ruth

Second Meeting

I must say that the second meeting that my group had last week was very successful. We were able to develop our film idea further. Our idea has developed to do being about a guy being a boxer and he has always been Mr. Third but at one point he becomes Mr. Second. The guy is happy that he is able to achieve as great as that because he has finally beat someone that used to be higher than he was. We also came up with the idea that in one scene of our film it will show a the guy a sitting at a dinner table eating dinner with his girlfriend. However his girlfriend is the type of person that always comes first in everything. The guy is then ready to tell his girlfriend that he has improved in boxing but just before he can say anything, his girlfriend says that she has become manager of a company she works or something along those lines. So within the relationship there is tension between the two because they are also competing against each other. This has a major effect on the guy. His self esteem and ego has just shattered because his very own girlfriend was able to beat him.

Late Post - First Meeting

So my group have had their first meeting and got to know who we all were. Coming up with an idea for this project was quite idea as none of us knew where to start. Until one member decided we should do a short film about sports. I wasn't too keen on this idea because I didn't think that this idea will make our viewers watch. I felt like our idea needed more work and some sort of twist. The members in my group were very helpful because of them knew some actors. So I feel that maybe just maybe our group will have a chance in making a good film if we did more research and developed our idea further.