Account of shoot day

J³ productions met at the designated location of the filming (my house) at 8:30 on the 24th of December. Once we were settled, I suggested to the group we make a systematic timetable of the day. This ensured us that productivity levels were high, where the filming would be fully completed during the course of the day. The timetable consisted of: the time spent filming each section of the storyboard, breaks, movement of equipment and set up spots i.e. lighting. Additional time was allocated for both re-filming specific shots (if necessary) or ‘on the day ideas’ such as camera shots. Luckily, due to the previous set up and run through experience (mentioned in an earlier blog post). Benefits were notified, such as less time wasting and quick set up. The previous preparation gave us greater confidence in which our aims would be achieved. The storyboard was the backbone of the whole day, as it gave us direction and order with the shots. It assisted us with visual compositions and comparison. Minor changes adjustments of the storyboard were improvised on the day. This included slightly different angles of the camera due to practical reasons. For example, the tripod provided us with restrictions due to its inconvenient base size compared to the width of some walls on the set. Ultimately, the genre of our title sequence (psychological/horror) was always a main focus point of mine as I wanted to guarantee that our target audiences expectations were satisfied. This involved creative thinking where I imagined the footage merged with mise-en-scne, editing, sound and lighting.

The arrangement of everything that appears in the framing such as actors, lighting, décor, props, and costume defines mise-en-scene. This detailed in depth reference is arguably one of the most difficult things to achieve in the film making industry. Firstly, in order to convey our ideas and thoughts the camera is the main focus in which everything comes together as ‘it’s the eyes of our audience’. The early storyboard shots consist of our protagonist flicking through his book, which consist of disturbing pictures of deaths of innocent women. In order for the audience to feel involved in this scene various ‘point of view’ shots were performed. This shot signifies personal elements in which the audience are involved in our characters secrets and lifestyle. Throughout this sequence, the audience never see the face of our main character. This creates intriguing components which support the genre providing it justice. Furthermore it keeps the audience engaged throughout. A tracking shot occurs where he hunts down where the ‘scream’ came from. This creates suspense as the unexpected works simultaneously with both pace and tone. Another interesting camera shot is the panning shots of the doors. This supported the tracking shot as it emphasis the protagonist intentions and movement. One creative additional shot which I thought of was recorded on the day. This consisted of a ‘close-up’ of a door handle closing, this drags on the fear of what is behind the door. The door handle signifies the potential loss of hope for who is behind it. However, it misleads the audience by the reality of it being his daughter. This was supported with an ‘over the shoulder shot’ which is followed by a ‘pan up’. Overall, as a group we agreed on everything filmed and all had the same creative strategies.

Our intentions of displaying our plot and genre were successfully reinforced by the costumes and props. The clear intentions were to display a character that lived a normal life. This concept would evidently make it relatable to our target audience. The main character wore simple clothes; one may where during a standard day. The other character had no make-up and hair buns to convey the realism and innocence a little girl would have. Due to lack of clothing provided, she only had a black bed vest. I would have rather her worn a pink pyjama t-shirt to make it clearer of age. I suggested to the other members that during editing we make this issue nuance so no questions were asked by our viewers. The only significant crop we had was the book we made. This was done at the beginning of the day. Where I collected pictures off the internet of dead women from crime scene and hair, and then cut and stuck them with the others into the purchased book. To create a visual effect we used tea bags and red pens to create a subtle tone that displays horror elements. Additionally, a black glove was used during the filming to identify to the audience it’s a personal item and doesn’t want to leave finger marks. These subtle props make the audience think actively with questioning and have a wider interpretation.

Casting choices was broken down simply into availability. One member of the groups father was the protagonist but luckily had characteristics which matched our requirements such as manly and tall. The other character was an issue of our as we struggled to find a little girl to play the daughter. So as a last resort we used my sister who unfortunately did not cover this area as she is a late teen. However, we improvised and did the best with what we had available. Minimal acting was required by both as for the main character his face was not seen throughout and the female had only one sentence from the script to recall.

The red filtered light was used to establish the genre immediately. Unfortunately, natural day light is out of our control so I yet again informed the others that extra editing techniques will need to be performed to establish the continuity of lighting.

  

Here I am testing the red filtered light affect on the camera. This was inspired by 'One hour photo' as it produces a disturbed setting. Ultimately this looked extremely satisfying on camera and will be used in the actual filming.

Diegetic sound was extremely important to execute during each recording. This included the book slam which connotes the frustration the character felt from the disruption. The hyperbolic nature of the book being closed, emphasis his anger and passion for the content of what is in it. The door handle closing was recorded several times to produce the most convenient perfected exaggerated tone to reinforce the scary affects. The only verbal audio, “Dad, I had a nightmare” was recorded by a separate microphone for quality purposes, which would be later installed during editing.

My role varied throughout the intense day. In the first few shots I was directing and making last decisions in order for our genre to be notified. This included delegating which was an enjoyable position which i was very comfortable in doing. I felt confident in my choice making and felt my peers respected and agreed with me. The roles alternated throughout the day. I then took part in angling the red filtered light which was difficult as this prop was heavy and required a steady hand. I then filmed shots of the last bedroom scene in which I was very comfortable in perusing as id practised several times previously. I was very accepting over the orders provided to me. For example, I was ordered to re-shoot the pan up ceiling shot repeatedly for comparative shots.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with James and Justin as they were cooperative and supporting throughout. We were all dependant on one another and worked quickly with minimal disagreements. Everything was productive and smooth. The alternating roles were very balanced.

The only changes I would have made were the female character to have been younger. I truly believe the mise-en-scne encapsulated the effects originally set out to achieve. All aims and targets were completed an no re-filming occurred on other days due to the success we encountered on the day. I felt proud of what we achieved that day as all the planning came together.