Production diaries

8
Production Diaries

Transcript of Production diaries

Page 1: Production diaries

Production Diaries

Page 2: Production diaries

Thursday 7th October Within our first day of production we

decided to do several dress rehearsals, the reason for this is because we wanted to ensure that all the actors were fully prepared and felt comfortable with the screenplay, it also meant that when we started to film properly we wouldn’t have to keep stopping and starting. As we went into rehearsals we wanted to focus on the stage directions for the actors, and how we wanted them to react to certain parts of the script so the actors could make it a more convincing storyline. This also meant that when we went into filming it would be done more smoothly and we wouldn't have to keep stopping to make sure someone laughed at the appropriate time.

Page 3: Production diaries

Friday 8th October The second day of production we

decided to a couple of rushes with the actors reading their scripts, just so they could become comfortable before we went into filing. The reason that we done this was because we attempted to start filming however the actors looked uncomfortable in front of the camera and they were always looking at us behind the camera for assurance however, this made it look unnatural which is why we decided to do some rushes.

Page 4: Production diaries

Monday 13th OctoberOne of the hardest things about filming was the organisation of it, we previously made a production plan (in our development stage of our filming) which showed a schedule of the actors, we decided to schedule when people were busy and could not attend the filming as it was easier to see what filming we could actually do with the actors presented. In the development of our film we first casted Brandon as our main actor playing Cameron however, the schedule was clashing too much which was one of the addition factors to why we casted Zach instead. We were able to start filming scene two which required myself and the two main actors. I decided to be apart of the actual film as i wanted to contribute to all aspects of the projects. The filming went well as there were only three of us and Alannis filming it was easy to organise, we decided the best way to film was keep the camera in one spot to get the real essence of the characters sitting on the wall in conversation and to also get the feeling of being the ‘fourth wall’ and feeling a part of the group. We decided to do several run through of the mid shot because when we go into editing we want to ensure that there is continuity within the film, as they are in one spot it would be noticeable if any changes were made of if someone was sitting in the same spot.

Once we knew we had several successful run-throughs we discussed what we needed to do next time in filming, to do this we uploaded the footage that we had to assess whether certain things needed change, there were moments where the actors mumbled on the script due to forgetting their lines, so we decided to change the script slightly just to make it flow easily. We also decided that we will need to move the camera in order to show an adversity in camera angles and to show the emotion of the character because as it is a short a film we need to ensure that the audience are enticed with the main character being Molly, we wrote down things that needed to be changed.

Page 5: Production diaries

Tuesday 14th OctoberToday, we were able to get all the actors together to film the final scene, myself, Alannis and Sadie decided to that i would only be in two scenes so i was able to contribute towards the filming with scene 3, each of us had a scene each that we would be leader to however all contributing equally. One part of filming everyone was to ensure that everyone was fully prepared and organised to get filming done effectively as what we could. Scene three was probably the longest scene as it was the scene that had the ‘twist’ in so we wanted to ensure this was done effectively as possible as this helps the audience make sense of the storyline. To start of with we decided to film a part of the script at a time as i felt that it would be better to edit with rather than doing long takes as mistakes would be easily met. Today wasnt as successful as what i would liked it to have been which i believe was because i struggled to communicate my ideas to the actors for them to do in addition to this, one of the actors struggled to remember his lines. So, we probably spent around four hours filming as to an opposed two from yesterday, but i do need to take into consideration that there were a lot of people to organise which is why i wrote a check list for the next time for filming scene three.

The first thing on my list was “to make sure actors feel comfortable with the script and their lines” what i meant by this is because most of the takes that we took consisted of several mistakes from the actors reading their script which could be because we didn’t rehearse as much as what we probably should of which then lead to the next point being “to discuss with actors before going into filming rather than waiting till after” i felt that after today the actors seemed confused with what they needed to regarding their body language and direction so i think next time we film scene we would to need to discuss with the characters beforehand so they are happy and understand with what they need to do.

 

Page 6: Production diaries

Wednesday 15th OctoberToday was the second day filming scene three, i felt like today went much better then yesterday because i felt that everyone as much more prepared and i asked the actors to read through scene three that evening which they did. In addition to this i spoke to the actors before taking footage just to make clear what we needed them to do to convince the audience into believing the storyline. Here is an image of myself discussing the script with the actors and discussing what would we need them to do, this made the filming process a lot more efficient as we were able to get things done more quickly. Throughout all the filming we tried to ensure that we were following the storyboard we drew up but much like scene two we decided to film a mid shot of the whole group to make editing easier for continuity. We managed to successfully shoot the mid shots for scene three and we discussed what was going to happen next time which was to focus on the other camera shots to follow some of the aspects of the storyboard, such as the two shots and close-ups.

Page 7: Production diaries

Friday 17th October Today, we started to film scene one, the reason we left this

till last to start filming was because this was one of the days where the other actors were busy so rather than filming scene one that only needed two actors on a day where everyone was free it would have been a waste of time. Scene one was relatively easy to film as it was the shortest scene however, it was probably the most important scene regarding the main character Molly to be able to express her emotion and is a good opportunity to really entice the audience. Much like the other scenes we decided to keep the camera in the same position to make sure there is continuity in the film and editing, we also had enough time to try different shots and angles to see which ones worked although we knew what we wanted from the storyboard we created but we wanted to ensure that they were the most effective shot as it may look different on the camera.

Page 8: Production diaries

20th, 21st, 22nd OctoberI decided to wait till the filming was over to conduct the production diaries over these days and the reason for this was because we done the same tasks over these days for example, the other days of filming we wrote notes on other things that we would need to on these three days, we decided to use these days to work on the different shots especially the close ups of certain characters, the reason we decided to do these on different days was because we didn’t want to lose the continuity in the editing because we needed the camera to stay in the same spot so it was easier to edit.