SKILLS First Edit - Rough Cut

First Edit - Rough Cut

 

 

After we had finished filming the indoor scenes and Billy and I had stayed to capture some sounds while it was quieter we met the rest of the group in the edit suite and transferred the footage to Billy's hard drive, we discussed when we would edit and I suggested that for the first rough edit where we would just be sifting through what clips we can use and roughly what order everything would be in we didn't need everyone there chipping in. I said I would really like to have a go at editing as I am not as confident on the new software and this is where we have a bit more room for mistakes as we would be changing a lot of it later on but gave me a chance to get to grips with the controls etc without getting on everyone's nerves and having the time to experiment.

 

Billy and I agreed to come in together and do this first cut. We came into university on a few occasions over the days after the second shooting day but numerous problems prevented us from transferring footage and accessing a computer. We managed to get in today and did this edit in one go. As we were working through the edit, we soon discovered that we may need to have an extra shooting day as parts of the film didn't flow as well as we had hoped. Thankfully, it was mainly the city scenes that were the problem and is just a case of reshooting a couple of things in my flat, for example more shots of Lucy struggling to write, as I had feared we might need more emphasis on.

 

I made some notes on what we need to shoot again and we posted the edit in our Facebook group and it received good feedback, the next step is to arrange the last bit of filming.

I am looking forward to further editing sessions and working with the rest of the group, and also learning more about the colour correction and other aspects of post production as I think we can experiment more with the element of colour. I think we shot emphasise the bright nature colours in Grindleford such as the orange leaves in the above shot and dull down the city shots.

SKILLS Filming Day Two - Indoor

Filming Day Two - Indoor

We had our second day of filming today, doing the indoor city scenes involving both characters but mostly Lucy. We planned to pick up the equipment and head to the train station to film a few shots including a sequence shot. From there we would head to my flat where we would film Lucy's scene and then on to Issy's house for Callum's, however when we got to mine we decided that we didn't need to use a separate location for Callum because all of his shots were very close up and didn't give anything away about his surroundings and so to save time we did it all at mine.


We intended to get shots of Lucy struggling to write and her being frustrated about her writers block, then she would discover the postcard and decide to go to Grindleford. I think we got the shots we needed however it will depend on how it looks after the first edit whether we will need more, maybe some shots of her in different places and positions around the flat to show time passing in between her trying to write rather than just in one place - although we got a long shot it might not look like she has been trying for as long as we are intending to show.

The shots of Callum were just close-ups of him writing the postcard he will put under her door and then him opening the book which will feature after the Grindleford sequence.

I tried to make the flat look a bit more like a writer lived there by asking the rest of the group for some books etc we could put on the shelves which Josh brought. Also, Issy and I wrote a few things on some sheets of paper to cover up my board with pictures on, and also to emphasise the fact that she was thinking of ideas and didn't know where to start, so we included lots of notes and mind maps and stuck them around.



While some of the team were filming shots I put together the book that Lucy has supposed to have written and that Callum buys later on in the film. We had a meeting yesterday and afterwards Billy, Amy and I went the edit suite so Billy could transfer the footage from our first filming day and Amy and I could create the postcard and the book cover to make the idea more realistic. So I used one of Josh's books that he brought and attached the makeshift cover to that, as well as the dedication page.

SKILLS Group Meeting

Group Meeting

The meeting today was to plan what we were going to do tomorrow for the city filming. After the meeting Billy, Amy and I stayed to create the book cover, the dedication and the postcard that Callum sends to Lucy.

Here is what we came up with;

DRAMA Filming - Day Three

Filming - Day Three

As I had previously mentioned I was unable to attend todays filming due to other arrangements I can't change but I hear it all went well despite having some issues with the female actress who pulled out at last minute but the group managed to secure someone else last minute.

 

DRAMA Meeting - Planning the final shoot

Meeting - Planning the final shoot

Today we planned our final shooting day. Unfortunately I will not be able to be there as I have already arranged to go home and it is the only time I can do so, and I am gutted I will miss the last day but it cannot be helped. We needed to set up half of the room again - pretty much just the area of the bed so putting the posters up again as Dylan's mum would sit with him on the bed and look to the glow in the dark stars and tell him what has happened, and then we need to film downstairs in the living room and kitchen and plan the three shot between Dylan, his mum and the police officer who comes to the house. I needed to get some props for the final shoot, this included a high vis jacket for the officer and some sort of flashing blue police light. 

When I was searching for the jacket it crossed my mind that all of the jackets would just look like a builder had appeared at the door as the group didn't want me to get any sort of a policeman's hat, and we didn't have a badge either so I felt like the audience would just be confused. I suggested to Ellie that we just ask the actor to wear a suit, as if a family member had died and a member of the police came to tell the family, I would of thought they would send somebody higher in the ranks than just a uniformed officer. 

Also, I think the man in the suit would look more daunting to Dylan and give the ominous effect of what was to come rather than a bright yellow jacket. As for the light, I searched Ebay but they were all very expensive and I was conscious not to spend more than we needed to - considering the film is supposed to be virtually no budget anyway. I had a light in the flat that didn't flash but could be different colours and suggested we just use that and wave card in from of it, as the light itself wouldn't be shown just the coloured effect on Dylan's face.

SKILLS Joint Sound Session (Green Screen)

Joint Sound Session (Green Screen)

Today we had a joint session with Darryl's sound group, we were given a script that we would use to set up a shot using the green screen and focusing on lighting.

The scene was set in a disused building so we needed to recreate what looked like pools of light. Mark set up the lights for the set, the lights were facing away from the action with a shiny screen facing it so the light would spread and it wouldn't come out as green on the camera.

There were two parts to the set, one near the camera where Josh would walk into the shot from the left and stand on his mark, and another further back where he would walk up to Tyrese and have a short conversation, so another pocket of light was created in this area too.

The sound group were split into capturing the footsteps and the dialogue for each character. Mark told us that it was okay for them to get closer to the action and actually appear in shot as in post production it is possible to cut them out of the shot.

We had to leave the session early as we had arranged to do our first day of filming and had to leave to pick up the equipment and meet with the actors.

We also set up a working light in the corner of the set - this is useful for other members of the crew to use to check equipment etc and is something that is used in the industry.
 

SKILLS Filming Day One - Grindleford

Filming Day One - Grindleford

Today was our first shoot in Grindleford and we were working with two actors and wanted to make sure we filmed all the shots we needed so we didn't have to come back to do more.

We intended to film an array of shots where Lucy was walking and exploring the setting as well as writing and making notes, with Callum in the background following her and watching her. We decided to focus a lot on each person's individual point of view and we brought three cameras with us - one for each actor and one to capture both of them together in wider shots. We mixed it up a bit giving each other opportunities to get the shots we all felt we needed and would work, after all it is better to come back with more footage than we need than not enough. We experimented with different angles and using the tripod and not. A lot of the handheld shots emphasise the fact that someone is watching, as if the camera view is exactly what Callum would be seeing.

I wanted to focus more on Callum's view and worked with him to get some over the shoulder shots from behind trees and tracking him walking with the camera focus shifting between him and the foreground.

As well as this, one scene in particular I wanted to get right was where Callum falls and Lucy turns around to see there is nobody there. We had to find an appropriate place for not only it to look realistic but that was safe as we didn't intend on actually showing him fall, but wanted to imply it and use editing to create the desired effect. We shot him in the surrounding area to show the audience where he was, and then a tracking shot of him running, then a close-up on his feet coming into shot and looking like he has slipped and then getting a shot of Lucy close-up while she turns to see where the noise has come from, and then using the wider angle again to show her in the space looking around but Callum not in the shot to show he has fallen. The idea was that he was running to get a closer look at the same time as he is reaching into his bag, then he looses his footing and slips, and he doesn't cry out because he is unconscious, but Lucy doesn't see him as he has fell down a small verge. I look forward to putting that sequence together in the edit and hope it works as I envisaged it.

SKILLS Group Meeting

Group Meeting

We had a group meeting today to plan what were we going to film tomorrow in Grindleford. We had our actors sorted and they were available and we planned what equipment we would need and roughly what shots we were going to get.

We decided to use dslr cameras, and booked two out and I brought mine. We also got the sound equipment for Billy to use and a tripod for the longer shots that needed to be steadier.

DRAMA Filming - Day Two

Filming - Day Two

We had a long day of filming today outside in four different locations. We needed to get all the shots of when Dylan leaves his house and imagines himself doing raining exercises so he can go to space.