First Shoot!

We had our first real shoot yesterday!! I loved the test one, therefore I was really looking forward to this one! Because we wanted to shoot when it was a little darker, we arranged to meet at 12. Firstly we planned the script and implemented it into our storyboard; we then did a quick shooting list and then began filming. However, we only got through the bedroom, landing and living room shots - we didn't anticipate that some of the shots would take as long as they did [ARRGGGHHHH THE FEET!]. The footage was really good; the dark setting was really effective and I am extremely pleased with our progress. Now we have to plan for our kitchen and conversation on the phone shots, which we will be shooting next week. We also need to start gathering some poppies [we need LOADS!], and start designing our newspaper headlines. Got a busy week ahead, lots to do I'm sure; looking forward to it though! If the rest of our sessions are as good as yesterday's one then we're all set! Check the group blog for photos and things of that nature...

Test Shoot Sequence

After watching our edited Test Sequence, we realised that we're going to have to change quite a few things. Watching the opening footage was very useful because it meant that we were able to see what worked well, and what didn't work so well. It gave us a good insight into what our final sequence might look like and we now also know what to expect in terms of the process itself (planning, shooting and editing e.t.c.).

I am extremely glad we were able to test shoot so successfully. Even though we need to make some adjustments (details of which can be found on our group blog), our overall product was pretty good, which is always a positive sign!

TEST SHOOT!

Today we did our test shoot! Everyone arrived promptly (ahem BEN!) and we got to work straight away. We started wth my idea first, with Tanya and I taking it in turns to film the different shots in the storyboard while Ben acted in pretty much all of them. We next tried capturing some footage for Tanya's idea but soon came across a difficulty when we realised the garage was too cluttered to use...so we decided to go ahead with my idea; we knew we could film it easily and it would definitely be effective. We're on the way to developing the idea further (a new storyboard, detiled expansion of the killer's motive, extra dialogue in new scenes, etc)

I really enjoyed shooting today; it was a great new experience for me as I really got a feel for what an actual production day would be like. Though we did come across a few hiccups (like finding out we couldn't use the garage etc); but I guess that's what a test shoot is for!

...At least we weren't out in the cold all day :)

DILEMMA!!

We came across a bit of a problem when planning for our test shoot - we didn't have a fixed location. We didn't think that any of our houses suited my idea so we decided to give up on it and follow Tanya's one through; so we started planning the location for that [we thought the school would be a good place]. However, at the end of the day, we had a meeting with Ms. Blackborow who told us that we could not shoot at school because we didn't have permission and also it would be really hard to disguise a classroom. We realised that we were just creating more problems by discarding our original idea to test shoot both stories so we agreed to revisit our initial plan. I got permission to shoot at my house, so that is where we will be filming on Monday between the hours of 10 and 6.

I will be posting a few shots of my house onto the group blog shortly.

Groupwork - Ideas

During our first lesson as a group, Tanya, Ben and I mind-mapped possible story ideas. As keen Thriller / Horror fans, we decided to stick to this genre because we feel that it has very specific generic signifiers and we know we can produce something very exciting, yet effective. In our mind-map we identified some of the notable conventions seen in Thrillers and Horrors such as:

• Typical themes (e.g. Revenge, Obsession, Murder, Fear e.t.c.)
• Key iconography
• Dark lighting -create gloomy, tense atmosphere
  
• Typical locations
  
• Typical characters/character roles (e.g. Killer, Victim)
• Use of canted angles, zooms and jump cuts - create sense of disorientation, fear, paranoia
• Alternating the pace of cuts to create and build tension

By the end of our first session we had produced a few ideas. However, only two seemed to be the most practical and we intend to develop these further:

• The ''Rose Killer'' idea - day in the life of the notorious killer, except we don't know it is him until the end

• ''Obsession'' idea - based on an obsessive man who killed his girlfriend out of his love-fueled fixation on her

We agreed to hold the first of our group meetings, in order to discuss these ideas, and any others that may come up. The summary of which, can be seen on our group blog.

GROUPWORK BEGINS!!

Last week, we got told which groups we would be in to produce our 2 minute opening sequence for a film. I was really pleased to find out that I would be working with Ben and Tanya, as I know they are very skilled and creative individuals; I know we will be able to work together extremely well and I really look forward to contributing and taking part in this awesome project!

...Let the games begin!!

Preliminary Exercise