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SFP26 - Reflective blog post on whole film
I can’t believe we’ve finished our short film! It‘s been so enjoyable and I’m so proud of how much work everyone in our group put in to make the final project come together. Jess’ original idea really excited me and it’s crazy to see it go from just an idea on paper to a full short film.
Looking at the film critically, I don’t think we concentrated on monitoring audio as much as we focused on everything else. There are parts of the film, such as the last scene, which have muffled audio as well as background noise like the wind. Furthermore, a tiny detail that I noticed was Sarah’s double eye-roll in the Wire scene which looks weird but perhaps only to us as we have watched it over and over again. Lastly, I just wish it could be a longer film! We had so much footage that had to be cut from the final film which is a shame as we spent full days filming.
In terms of positives, I particularly love the music that Amber found as it fits the beginning perfectly and she’s edited the video to match the beat perfectly. Also, I especially enjoy Sarah’s interview scenes as her character is so sarcastic and sassy. The acting overall from all three girls was great! Moreover, I’m so impressed with Amber’s editing skills. I saw the film at various stages of editing and it has come such a long way as Amber has a great eye for detail.
I’m incredibly happy with our film and have been so lucky to work with such a hard-working, creative group!
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SFP25 - Editing and Narration
First Cut - 28/11/2017
I went to see how Amber was making progress with the editing this morning and it looks great so far. We discussed the idea of potentially filming more cutaway shots, especially of Ellie’s room as she is the central character and those shots seem a slightly rushed. I reckon we need to go over camera movement and angle with these cutaways so that we can create a much stronger sense of the characters through their bedrooms. Also, Amber is going to edit the audio levels as some dialogue is slightly muffled. Along with diegetic sound, Amber suggested that we use music in the scenes that aren’t interviews but she needs to discuss this with Jess as she was as unsure about what genre of music to use. We’re also adding in music to the Wire toilet scene as we need to recreate how it would sound on the night out and not at 5pm when we filmed.
After editing a rough cut, Amber has suggested that we move the script around and put Lindsey’s interview before Ellie’s as Lindsey introduces the other two girls and it makes the narrative flow better. Lucy will be colour grading once Amber has finished which is exciting as it may completely change the tone of the film.
We’re currently finding a narrator for the film which is really important as it’s heavy dialogue and we want to get the clearest sound possible. Amber’s keen to get this narration done as it makes editing harder when she can’t match the pace to the voice of the narrator.
Second Cut - 01/12/2017
I sat with Amber again today to see how her editing is coming along. It looks great and the music that we’ve bought really fits the feel of the film. We definitely need to film some more filler shots around Hyde Park and of Brudenell Social Club which shouldn’t take very long. On Sunday night, we’re recording the narration which should be the final touch for the film to come together.
I’m really sad that we’ve had to cut out the Blue Rinse scene due to being over the 5 minute limit but Amber has said she’ll edit two versions and we’ll just submit the shorter one. I really love the dubbed sound of music that she’s put over the scene in Wire as I almost forgot that we filmed during the day, it sounds so realistic!
Final Cut before colour grading - 05/12/2017
Today was the final day of editing for Amber. The two of us booked out the camera and filmed a few filler shots around Hyde Park which really work in the title sequence. We’re so happy with the final result! The audio is a bit funny in places, especially in Ellie’s interview scene as Amber had to raise the audio levels so there’s static noise. It’s also a shame that we had to cut the pre drink scene down a lot as it wasn’t as strong as the other scenes and we had too much footage to keep to the 5 minutes maximum. However, we have brought the Blue Rinse scene back which I’m delighted about as I think the reaction shots are particularly good.
When watching it back with Amber, we were both slightly unsure about the male narration as we were used to hearing Amber’s voice as a temporary narration to help with editing. Despite this, I do think we will keep the male voice as it does sound more professional.
Example of Amber’s Edit Log
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SFP24 - Last Shooting Day
IT’S A WRAP!
We finished shooting today after getting some establishing shots around the Hyde Park area such as a panning shot of Hyde Park Picture House and zooms on road signs and Hyde Park Pub. It was freezing cold and I think we’re all pretty worn out by this point but it feels great to have finished shooting. I’ll be sitting down with Amber to look over a rough cut of the film once Jess has approved it.
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SFP23 - Tomorrow’s Shooting Schedule
Meg has picked up the equipment (Just the camera, batteries and memory cards!) so we’re ready to shoot tomorrow.
1pm - Meet outside local Sainsbury’s and get footage of Hyde Park Picture House
1.15pm - Film outside LS6 café, Crispy’s and Hyde Park Pub.
1.30pm - Film road sign and shots of the park.
2pm - PINT.
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SFP22 - Third Shooting Day
Early start this morning!
The morning scenes went really well apart from the fact that there were cars and lots of people about so we had to be careful with framing the shot as the scene is set at around 4am. We got great footage of the girls outside the house as our establishing shot.
In the afternoon, we shot the pre-drinks scene which we changed location for. Originally it was to be filmed at Jess’ house but she was unavailable to shoot so we went to Amber’s house and filmed in her basement. Amber took over the role of director for the day and it was really interesting to work together to create Jess’ vision on screen. I had to work out camera set up and angles on the spot due to the last minute change in location but this worked fine and it worked better for being spontaneous. The girls are such good actresses so we didn’t need many takes before they got it perfect.
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SFP21 - Third Shooting Day Timetable
8.30am - Meet at Lily’s house to film walking home scene and outside house establishing shots.
9.30am - Finish morning filming.
1.30pm - Cast and crew meet at Amber’s house to film pre-drinks scene in basement (We’ve decided to change location to Amber‘s rather than Jess‘ living room as Jess is working so it‘s easier to get access to Amber‘s house)
3.30pm - Wrap up and thank cast as this is the last day of shooting with actors.
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SFP20 - Second Shooting Day
Today was so successful - we all feel incredibly relieved as these were the hardest scenes to film due to the public locations.
We started off in Blue Rinse, filming the girls on their shopping trip with some great shots using the big mirror. There were random members of the public in the room while we were filming which I hope adds to the mockumentary feel. We also had to turn the music right down in the shop as it was really loud and we couldn’t actually hear the dialogue being spoken.
We then crossed over the road (Handy locations right next to each other!) and filmed downstairs in Wire toilets. This worked so well as a location as we had to use the ring light when running after Ellie in the dark corridor and it really feels like grainy nightclub footage. This was probably my most enjoyable scene to film as I had to work with a small space and come up with interesting shots in the toilet cubicle. We also added in an element of crew presence by firstly having my hand visibly pushing the door open after Ellie slams it and secondly, me asking her on camera if she’s okay as she‘s crying.
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SFP19 - Second Shooting Day Timetable
Tuesday 21st
1pm – meet on campus with equipment, Drive to Blue Rinse
1:10pm-3pm – Meet cast and film shopping scene at blue rinse
3pm-5pm – film at wire
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SFP18 - First Shooting Day
We’ve had a really successful day shooting the interview scenes. We started at Lucy’s house, filming Lindsey’s scene before going to Liv’s house to film Ellie’s interview. This second shoot was particularly good as the set decoration really made the scene and Anna, who plays Ellie’s character, is a brilliant actress. Finally, we finished at Jess’ house and filmed Sarah’s interview.
We had a few stressful moments when we thought the memory cards hadn’t formatted properly but luckily Amber managed to offload the right clips before we filmed the second scene so we knew they were fine. After an exhausting day, we’re all ready for a well deserved rest!
Tomorrow, we’re meeting at 1pm to film at Blue Rinse and Wire Club which should be really fun as we’ll be filming in outside locations with all three of the girls.
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SFP17 - Day Before First Shoot - Timetable and Final Research
Monday 20th November:
9am – Pick up equipment at University and drive to Lucy’s house
10:30am – set up all equipment and interview scene at Lucy’s house (Lindsey’s interview)
1pm – Finish first shoot and drive to next location - Liv’s house (Ellie’s interview)
5:30pm – Drive to and film at Jess’s house (Sarah’s interview)
Final Research:
For my final bit of research before shooting, I wanted to get inspiration from a cinematographer known for documentary. I watched Through The Lens: Wolfgang Held as he discusses using documentary cameras and techniques. He mentions the use of a single camera, stating ‘To me, the movement, the way one camera catches a scene, is where the cinematic style comes in’ (2013, 3:11- 3:17).
It’s so interesting that he had to shoot with the camera inside his coat, using a long lens, during the filming of Children Underground as the police didn’t want them capturing footage on the streets. This really adds to the realism and style of the film. I found this interview really inspiring for my own filming!
Craft Truck. 2013. Through the Lens - Season 1, Episode 7. [Online]. [Accessed 19 November 2017]. Available from: http://www.crafttruck.com/through-the-lens/through-the-lens-s01e07-wolfgang-held-full-episode/
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SFP14 - Cinematographer Research 2
I looked at a couple of extra TV programmes to help with inspiration for the mockumentary. First, I watched Come Fly with Me (2010), a mockumentary comedy series, starring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The characters in this show have very strong personalities which are seen before they even start speaking. This shows how important it is for our actors to practice and really get to know their individual roles.
I noticed straight away that the use of a shaky camera and awkward zooming really adds to the naturalistic feel. Also, filming a long shot of characters who are quite far away either walking towards or away from the camera is common. The camera operator is often walking alongside the characters as they move and have conversations, which makes it seem as if you’re a part of their world.
The second programme I analysed was Ja’mie: Private School Girl (2013), an Australian comedy which stars male comedian Chris Lilley. I noted that during interview scenes, shot types change quickly from wide to medium back to wide again, to highlight a particular part of the dialogue. Also, the camera operator stands slightly behind doorframes, much like in The Office (2001), which creates the feel that we are watching a scene play out naturally. The characters don’t know we’re there or are acting like they don’t know! Moreover, a particularly interesting part that I noticed was where the dialogue continues from one shot to the next (Ja’mie: Private School Girl, 2013, 2:57-3:02). It’s a possibility that we could use this technique at the end of scene 3.2 (Pre-drinks) when Ellie announces ‘That’s it, I’m not going!’.
Dailymotion. 2010. Come Fly With Me, Season 1, Episode 1. [Online]. [Accessed 13th November 2017]. Available from: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkv5fr
Ja’mie: Private School Girl (Media). 2013. Ja'mie: Private School Girl - Best Moments. [Online]. [Accessed 13th November 2017]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDLxNnQQiwU
The Office UK, Episode 1, Downsize. 2001. BBC. 9 July.
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SFP13 - Lighting
For our interviews, we will be using three point lighting and practical lighting such as fairy-lights and lamps.
When filming in Wire club, we’ll be using a small ring-light, although it won’t be attached to the camera.
There’s a couple of things we need to remember:
- Keep lighting controlled so you don’t get shadows on walls from actors.
- Don’t light walls directly. Instead bounce a powerful light from ceiling or an off camera source. Perhaps add window light to add a realistic/natural vibe.
I watched a filmmaking lighting lesson (2009) on YouTube to refresh my knowledge on lighting and how to light a set with just two750 watt lights and a practical. It’s important to experiment with the position, angle and strength of the lights to find the best possible option.
LightsFilmSchool. 2009. How to light a small set with only 2 lights. [Online]. [Accessed 13th November 2017]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sVukg6eXc
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SFP12 - Updated Shot List
Today we had a meeting to discuss final details for shooting next week. I’ve updated the shot list and put in dates for each scene that needs shooting. We have our actors/locations sorted and Meg (Producer) is currently booking all the equipment so it feels like we’ve got everything underway!
Shot List - The Real Housewives of Hyde Park
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SFP11 - More Blocking
I blocked the rest of the scenes so that we can be prepared for the shooting week. Nearer the time, we need to work out where the sound/boom pole will be positioned and what practical lighting will be used along with the three-point lighting set up.
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SFP10 - Further Research
I had a look at a couple of articles to help further research for my role as Cinematographer/Camera Operator.
In the first article, Jonny Elwyn (2017) provides top tips for camera operators from an editor’s point of view. As I have past experience with editing footage, it can be incredibly frustrating when you have a load of unusable shots or people talking over good clips. The tips that I found particularly helpful were: ‘Shoot for the edit’, ‘Always roll’, ‘Metadata matters’ and ‘Hold your shots’. Elwyn highlights that shooting for the edit requires ‘an establishing wide, an interesting reveal, close ups, movement’. He further suggests that always rolling and holding shots for longer than they need to be is a good way of getting extra bits of footage. ‘re-focuses, lens whacking, snippets of background audio’ are all useful to the editor. Finally, making sure that ‘the reel names and timecode on your camera are set correctly’ is important as the more information supplied to the editor, the better.
The second article that I came across was Weinman’s Why Mockumentary Works (2013). Firstly, he discusses that despite not using laughter cues and having a lack of music, mockumentaries manage to create comedic scenes by immersing the viewer in the world of the story. He suggests that this type of film ‘allows for a rougher, less polished visual style than a show that strives to be cinematic’ as it ‘aims to look like it was shot on the fly’ and ‘places the emphasis on the performances and jokes’. This is an interesting aspect for me, the deliberate stylistic choice to make the film look slightly shaky and spontaneous which goes against what I’ve learnt about cinematic filming. Moreover, there is no fourth wall present in the mockumentary, thus they ‘allow for aside glances to the camera’...which ‘make us feel like we’re in the room with the characters’. I’m really excited to play around with this in camera and get some funny reaction shots.
Elwyn, J. 2017. 11 things video editors wish they could say to camera operators and DOPs. [Online]. [Accessed 09/11/2017]. Available from: http://www.redsharknews.com/production/item/1919-11-things-video-editors-wish-they-could-say-to-camera-operators-and-dops
Weinman, J. 2013. Why Mockumentary Works. [Online]. [Accessed 09/11/2017]. Available from: http://www.macleans.ca/culture/television/why-mockumentary-works/
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