MAJOR PROJECT: Preparation for Shoot Week (18th-22nd)

Costume

In terms of costume, I had to ensure each cast member brought the correct clothes for each shoot day. For the characters for Tess and Sheila, as we haven't filmed with them yet, it was a case of simply reminding them of what clothes they needed to bring. For Tess, this was smart clothing which she said she had and was happy to wear for us. Tess is in two scenes, however, for her clothing the only change is that she will be wearing a coat at the pub over her smart clothing. Therefore, her clothing was relatively easy. Sheila's clothing was also easy, we told her to bring anything she wanted that she would wear on a regular day. I informed her that I would be buying her a light pink cardigan as this will get fake blood on it, and obviously we don't want to get her own clothes dirty. Sheila is also in two scenes, similar to Tess, however, we simply just need her to change into another set of clothes she may wear on a regular day. The pink cardigan is just for the day when Luke visits her house in Margate (Monday 18th)

The characters for Tim and Luke were more difficult as we have already filmed them. As I didn't schedule the shoot days in order, which is quite normal for real film productions, I had to sit down and work out which costumes they would need, in terms of the clothing they had worn in the previous scenes at the Owl Academy. I worked out their costume schedule as:

Monday
Tim - scrubs and black hoodie

Luke - grey hoodie, green top, green coat, black jeans & black vans (same as 7th Feb shoot day)

Tuesday
Tim - green/grey trousers, blue top, blue hoodie (same as 6th Feb shoot day)

Luke - light blue jeans, red hoodie & white top (same as 6th Feb shoot day)

Thursday
Tim - scrubs, black hoodie, mask

Friday
Tim - black hoodie and scrubs
Luke - grey hoodie, green top, green coat, black jeans & black vans (same as 7th Feb shoot day)

I brought two of each pieces of clothing we were providing so we had a clean item and an item ready to get dirty, for rehearsal and reshoot purposes. Therefore, Tim has two black zipped hoodies, Luke has two light grey hoodies and Sheila has two light pink cardigans.

Props

To ensure I had all the correct props organised I made an updated list of the props needed from the final script (Draft 8). I made an initial list in the Pre-Production unit, however, as the scripts have changed so have the props. The props below are being provided by me and Alex and a couple have been brought with our budget.

Scene 1 - Tess’s house (Thursday 21st)
- scrubs
- mask
- photos of skevy
- frames
- printer
- diploma
- usb stick
- bring mac
- smart bag
- doctors bag

Scene 2 - House with the drive (Friday 22nd)
- doctors bag
- van
- van keys
- fake drugs for glove compartment

Scene 4 - Road in Margate (Monday 18th)
- screwdrivers (philips & flathead)
- vet van
- stethoscope
- latex gloves
- syringe
- scalpel
- fake blood
- fake cat
- something to run over

Scene 5 - Sheila’s house (Monday 18th)
- bin bag and carpet
- tissues

Scene 6 - driving away from Sheila’s house (Monday 18th)
- fake cat
- vet van

Scene 12 - inside the Bell Inn (Tuesday 19th)
- pint glasses of drink
- bloody tissues
- fake blood
- black eye makeup
- doctors bag
- vet van

Food

As a result of the cold weather and the fact that we are filming outside on the 18th February (shoot day 3), 19th February (shoot day 4) and 22nd February (shoot day 6), I felt that it was best to organise warm cooked meals. Due to not being near any cooking facilities at the Kent Owl Academy, we had to eat at the local Beefeater for both days. As a result of this, I don't want to take the cast and crew out for many more meals due to wanting to give them healthy choices. On Tuesday 19th February, we are filming at the Bell Inn pub where I have budgeted and arranged us to eat lunch there. However, the other three shoot days, we are filming at houses which means that we can cook food. Especially as our two main characters, Tim and Luke are with us for the majority of these days, I didn't want to take them out everyday as this can become very unhealthy and we want them energetic for our shoot days, and their food will play a part in this. It would also cost us a lot more on the budget to take everyone out every day, therefore, I only sorted the meals out for days when we had no other choice. 

From the audition forms that the cast filled out when we first met them I found out about specific dietary requirements. The only one that was stated was vegetarian which made the meal plans slightly easier. I also contacted the additional crew to find out if they had any specific dietary requirements so I could cater for each person appropriately. 

I set out a meal plan and sent it on to the cast and crew to give them an idea on what I was thinking for food for the following week, then I was able to make any amendments and update everyone on the food situation.

Meal plan:

Meal plan for shoot week

I roughly calculated the time in which it would take to cook the food on the Monday, Thursday and Friday so I could check that it would fit in for when I scheduled our lunch breaks on the shooting schedule. As Katie, Alex and I need to keep to our job roles throughout the whole of production, we cannot spend time preparing the meals. As a result of this, on the Monday I asked my mum to help out with the food. This works well as we are eating at my house, she knows the kitchen and I wouldn't need to get someone who didn't know where everything was. This could also prevent a cooking hazard as the person who is cooking the food knows what they are doing in their own house. The beef lasagne wouldn't take long to cook, but the jacket potato would take slightly longer. In order to keep to the schedule and to eat at 13:00, I have arranged with my mum to put the jacket potatoes in for 11:00. This is slightly longer than what they need but these can be kept warm in the oven at the end if we have finished earlier or later than we expect. 

We had a slight change with one of our cast members the weekend before our shoot week. She was only available for the Monday morning rather than all day due to an important appointment. This still suited us rather than changing the shoot day due to the amount of people helping us on our shoot. We just have to make sure we get all her scenes done first as well as we can. When I was arranging this with our cast member, I realised that she would need to leave before we break for lunch. Due to her getting the train straight to London from Margate for the appointment, I decided to ask her if she wanted me to get her a sandwich, crisps and other bits of food for her train journey. I apologised that it wouldn't be a hot meal but it was something. She was so grateful for me thinking of her even though she was only going to be with us for a short amount of time and she told me what type of lunch she would prefer. I will be able to keep it fresh in the fridge rather than if she had brought it herself to the shoot, so it made sense for me to get it ready for her. We are very grateful for her coming to Margate for the short period of time, so it's the least I could do, but I appreciated the gratification she showed. 

On the Thursday we are filming at Katie's house so I let her buy the food that she wanted cooked at hers. On this filming day, one of our cast members is vegetarian, along with Katie but apart from these two, every other cast and crew member are meat eaters. As a result of the vegetarian cast member, I reminded Katie of this dietary requirement so she catered more than herself being vegetarian. Katie decided to do pizzas, one meat and one veggie, and as an alternative, a vegetable pasta bake which was actually vegan. We had a runner cooking the food so myself, Katie and Alex and the other crew members could focus on our own job roles.

On the Friday we have Katie's mum to help us out, and again as we are filming at her house she will know what she is doing in her own kitchen. As a result of this, Katie, Alex and I are able to concentrate on our own job roles rather than worrying about preparing the meals. I explained to her that we are thinking of getting a take away as it is the last day of filming. Katie's mum explained to me that the choices we have in Longfield are pizza, Chinese, Indian or fish and chips. Due to having pizza on the day before, and I felt as if Chinese and Indian weren't quite appropriate for the situation, I decided to go for fish and chips. The fish and chip shop does a variety of foods, such as sausages, burgers and of course, fish. If people just fancy chips instead, then they can just have them. Due to the shop being a 3 minute drive from Katie's, I felt that this was easiest due to time. As it's not far, we can eat quicker and get back to filming quicker.

Letter for residents

Due to the nature of the dog hit scene, I wanted to inform the residents of St Mary's Avenue about what we were doing. I have already informed the house in which we will ideally be filming in front of, but I wanted to inform the rest of the road as we will be using fake blood and we may be on the road for whole morning and possibly into early afternoon. To do this I created a letter to post through each door on the road, informing the residents on what we would be doing. I left my personal email for them to contact if they had any questions. I posted this letter through the door the week before the shoot day, giving them time to contact me.

Letter for residents

Extra's consent form

Due to filming at The Bell Inn before it opens / just as it's opened, we run the risk of not having anyone in the background. As a result of the pub scene being set in the afternoon, it would be inevitable that there would be people in the pub enjoying their evening. Due to this, we have invited friends and family to be extras in the pub. We thought that this is easier than hiring professional actors as the extras just need to sit in the pub and talk to each other. These roles aren't speaking roles, therefore, we felt this was best in terms of practicality and ease. As the extras are friends and family, they will be more likely to want to help us out, and be willing to transport themselves to the location. Even if they just want to see what we've been up to. 

Although, the extras are friends and family, I have created a extra's consent form for them to sign. This can be used for security for the shots for our film because "actor who doesn’t sign a release might later ask you not to use the footage" (Maggie, 2013) if they don't like the way they're portrayed or decide that they don't like the nature of the film they are involved in. As a result of having the extra's sign the consent form means that they have signed and agreed for us to use the shots with them featured in, even if they change their mind.

I researched further into consent forms and how to act when facing the extra's with the forms:

"First and foremost, you must HAVE all the necessary forms. You also must BRING them to every shoot. You must ask nicely for people to sign! Last but not least… always try to get forms signed up front!" (Maggie, 2013)

I will take this advice on during the shoot day at the Bell Inn. I will ensure that every extra signs the forms when they arrive, and I will make sure I am polite when asking. We will only need the extra's for the one day so I shouldn't need to bring the forms to any other shoot days, however I will keep them in my car on each shoot day so I have them on me just in case.

Extra's consent form

I will bring additional forms for extra members of public who may enter the pub while we are still filming. Therefore, if they agree to be in the background of our film, I can get their signature on the form and then we will be able to use the footage no matter what. 

While conducting my research, I found out about a filming notice. A filming notice "allows you to skip all the paperwork when you're in a public place" (Maggie, 2013), such as in a supermarket or coffee shop. By placing a filming notice on a wall in the public location, it essentially states that filming is being conducted here and if someone walks into frame they are agreeing to be in the film. A filming notice may also be beneficial for when we film at The Bell Inn. I could place one on each door that allows the public to enter the pub. Therefore, it is somewhere where it'll be seen and it's subsequently easier than getting people to sign extra's consent forms. However, I must remember that these forms are only applicable for people who are solely seen in the film by passing in the background. If we want a particular person in shot, they'll need to sign an extra's consent form or an artist contract.

Filming notice

I made sure to make the heading of this form big and bold for the public to see. By stating 'Important - PLEASE READ', should persuade people to take a note of the letter. I also stated what to do if a member of the public doesn't want to be seen on the camera - notifying a crew or staff member and then we can do our best to not get them seen on the camera. We want to cater for everyone while we are there and not become an inconvenience to anyone, especially within the pub that the landlord has willingly let us use for our film. We want to make sure his customers are happy while we are there.

Location release form

Location release forms can be beneficial if you want to film on location and "you need to get permission to shoot from the owner" (Rocket Lawyer, n/d). These can help "secure the site" (Rocket Lawyer, n/d) so that filming is allowed to happen at the particular location. The owner of a private location may seem like they are happy to participate in the production of a film, however "without the proper legal documents, you have no power when it comes to release and usage" (Motion Arrary, 2015). This may become very difficult if after everything is shot, the location owner decides they don't want to be a part of the film.

I have already contacted The Bell Inn, and we have conducted a test shoot there as well. The pub landlord seems really keen and I can't imagine that he will change his mind after we've visited a few times and even for a test shoot. However, this isn't certain. As a result of this, I felt that I should create a location release form in which the landlord can sign to agree that we can use his premise in our film. Sometimes, the location may drop out due to the nature of the film. They may decide that they don't want their premises to be a part of a film that they don't agree with. As we will be representing the idea of someone getting punched at the pub, they may decide that they don't want that particular activity being portrayed on their site, even though we won't actually being seeing the punch. We will just see Tim outside with a black eye and bloody nose. Everything must be taken into consideration.

I didn't give one of these to the staff at The Kent Owl Academy because Alex knows the owner and we were guaranteed the access to film wherever we wanted on site. Due to the owner being close with Alex's family, I felt comfortable knowing that they wouldn't go back on their word. However, I don't know the Bell Inn landlord, I have only approached him for this project, therefore, he may be more likely to go change his mind due to the reason as to why I have created this form. As they've had film crews at the pub before, this shouldn't be a new experience for them, however, signing a release form is the safest option for our project as nothing is certain.

Location release form

Weather

Thinking ahead to the weather, I checked the forecast for the next week. Our shoot week starts in 3 days, therefore, I feel that this is the best day to check and it will be more accurate than if I checked a few weeks ago. Weather is an important factor which could impact on our filming if it's bad. It would also mean that I may have to reschedule shoot days if it does rain. Due to the importance of the weather, I looked at the Met Office, which I believe is the most accurate weather forecast. From past experiences, I have found the Met Office to be more up-to-date than the BBC and ITV weather channels. Additionally, my brother works as a window cleaner, therefore, his career depends on the weather each day. He uses the Met Office to plan his jobs, as a result of this, I believe that I am using the most accurate weather website to predict the weather for our shoot days. 

I will keep checking the weather over the next 3 days in case it changes, but as we have had good weather over this past week, I like to think it will continue into the next week.

Looking at the Met Office, my thoughts are confirmed and the weather is looking very good for our shoot days. Surprisingly good as we are only in February. It is still looking quite cold, even though it's sunny on most days. As a result of this, I will remind the cast and crew to bring coats and warm clothes for filming outside.

Weather forecast for 18th-22nd

Reflection

- I found that noting down each aspect of our shoot days to make sure I have thought of everything very beneficial. 

- I believe that each one of the forms I have created will help us in production. I want to treat everyone equally, even members of public who are around the pub on the 19th Feb. It wouldn't be fair to let them walk in if they didn't want to be shown on camera. In addition to this, it wouldn't be fair to film down St. Mary's Avenue without the residents knowing about it. Due to this, I can imagine that the forms will come in really helpful. 

- Making a meal plan prior to filming will allow the cast and crew to see what we are planning on doing for food. By doing this, they will be able to contact me if they aren't sure on some of the meals, or have a dietary requirement that they forgot to write about on the audition form when we initially met them. 

- I am hopeful that the weather will stay as predicted and that we will have a successful shoot week. I have printed the shot list and production schedule, ready to revise for the shoot days to ensure we get all the footage we need. 

References:

- Maggie. (2013). Why Do Release Forms Matter? Available: http://stillmotionblog.com/why-release-form/. Last accessed 13th Feb 2019.

- Rocket Lawyer. (n/d). Location Release basics. Available: https://www.rocketlawyer.com/document/location-release.rl#/. Last accessed 13th Feb 2019.

- Motion Array. (2015). Talent & Location Releases: When & What Do You Need?. Available: https://motionarray.com/blog/talent-location-releases-when-what-do-you-need. Last accessed 13th Feb 2019.