SCENE 1
Cast
Tim Stewart - Ed Allenby
Tess Connolly - Skevy Stylia
Crew
Producer - Melissa
Director - Alex
DoP - Katie
Runner - Aidan Robinson-Jones
Sound assistant - Alix Mottershead
On-set dresser - Harriet Gadd
Props
- Photos of Skevy
- Frames
- Printer
- Diploma
- UBS stick
- Macbook
- Doctors bag
We decided to have some photos of Skevy for Tim to pick up as if he was thinking about his successful older sister. We needed to get the photos from Skevy so she sent them over to us before the shoot day and we put them in frames, ready for Harriet to place them in the living room of the house wherever Alex wants them. In the script read through I asked Skevy if she had any impressive photos and gave the example of being on top of a mountain. Funnily enough, Skevy actually had a photo on top of a mountain from when she was abroad, and fortunately enough for us she allowed us to use it in the film, along with a graduation photo and another one in another country. Once the shoot day was complete we gave her the photos as we wouldn't use them again, and because they're of her it make sense to return them.
We need a printer for Tim to print his fake diploma off, the printer doesn't have to work as we will add in sound effects for the believability of the scene. Alex had a wireless printer so he brought it with him and we sat the laptop on top of it. The fake diploma was an idea from the beginning of the project, then it got faded out before Alex brought it back again in the most recent script. I had created the fake diploma at the beginning and fortunately kept it so we were able to use the same one. I just had to change some features on it which have developed over the course of the project (blog post Props and Costume Shopping List). The diploma looked really effective as it was a good copy of a real one, apart from the big spelling mistake - VETT. I had one of these printed ready for the shoot day.
Costume
This shoot date consisted of us filming the first scene of the story, which means it will be the first time the audience see the characters and their costumes. Tim is wearing the scrubs and hoodie as he hasn't got any blood stains on them yet, this comes later in the story. Tess is wearing her smart clothing as she is getting ready ready for work. This includes the same clothes she was wearing at the pub, but without the coat as we were filming inside. We were fortunate enough to have all normal costumes for the characters as I'm sure they appreciated that in the cold weather.
Location
Initially in the pre-production unit, we weren't sure if we able to use this house due to an ongoing extension. In the photos in our pre-production package, the room is full of boxes and not suitable for filming. However, I was confident that the room we wanted to use would be empty by the time we came to the production period, and I was correct. This meant that I didn't have to find an alternative location as this house was ideal for our film. In previous script drafts, the idea was for Tim to look as if he had just jumped through the window, which is why we wanted a living room with a large window like this one. However, on the shoot day he just crept through the living room doors on the right side of the photo below. This was easier to film, but it did mean that waiting for this house to be ready wasn't essential. Nevertheless, it is well-kept and tidy which fits with Tess' character, as I explained in the pre-production package.
Similarly to the house in Margate, it was ideal to film and eat at the same place. Cooking food for the cast and crew meant that we didn't have to spend more money on the budget, and it was just as good as eating out.
Creative control
Similarly to the previous shoot days, I had a copy of the simplified shot list to tick off each shot. By doing this I was able to make sure we stayed on track with the shot list that Katie had created prior to filming. I did this to make sure the original vision for the film was carried through, and on top of this we managed to capture some more coverage as well. I initially found this out in previous research into the creative role of producer on set, and I believe it has helped me fulfil the requirement of my job role well. We had a successful shoot day for scene 1 which was down to me putting my research into practice.
 |
| Shot list for scene 1 |
 |
| Production schedule for shoot day 5 |
What went well
- This was the shoot where we needed to break the vase. As detailed in the risk assessment we broke one vase separately and safely for individual pieces of china to be placed on the floor. This went well and we managed to get big fragments of china which will be easier to see on the camera, rather than small parts. This was also safer as bigger fragments were seen easier by the cast and crew when we shot the broken china.
- To shoot the actual vase falling off the table, we softened the blow by placing cushions underneath it. This way Tim was actually able to knock the vase off the table like it was explained in the script, rather than try to capture loads of shots from different angles to make it look like it was knocked off.
- We only had the one scene to shoot so it would have been difficult to not be on schedule, however, we started and finished on time, so in that sense we were on schedule throughout the day.
- At the beginning of the scene, Tim is in the dark while going through Tess' living room drawers, before she enters the room and puts the light on. At one point during another take, we accidentally left the light on when we were starting the scene from the beginning. Alix pointed this out and if it wasn't for her we might not have realised until Tess came in and tried to switch the light on, and then we would have wasted a take and time. Another point Alix picked up on was the way the flowers were positions in the vase each time we picked the vase up from the floor and repeated the take. Again, if she wasn't there we may not have noticed this until the edit, compromising the quality of the scene.
What didn't go so well
- We hadn't practised breaking the vase prior to this shoot day, or how we were going to shoot it. This means that we spent a little bit of time deciding how to knock the vase off, where it's going to land and softening the blow. If I had considered this beforehand, we could have practised different methods in which to safely knock the vase off, saving time on the shoot day.
- Prior to the shoot day, I only printed out one diploma. When we were in the middle of doing all the takes and getting our coverage, I realised how creased the diploma was getting from the amount of times Tim was taking it out of the printer, and then Tess was snatching it from him. I hadn't considered the amount of takes we were obviously going to do at the time of printing the diploma out. Reflecting on the day has made me realise that I should have printed more than one, and then we could have rehearsed with one and then got a new one for the real takes, and Harriet could have then changed over to a new diploma every now and then.
- In order to soften the blow of the vase falling off the table, we put cushions down on the floor for the vase to land on. This worked really well, however after this we realised that the cushions were in the previous shots and we had just moved them out of place for the vase. To work around this, we had to look back at the takes to see which order the cushions were originally placed. Although this was solved in the end, it was a hinderance and took some more time away from us to film.
What did I learn
- I have learnt to consider the amount of takes we will be capturing in case I need more than one item. I will now need to play around with this in the edit to show the diploma less often to make the creases less visible. An idea that comes to mind is cutting down the shot of Tim retrieving the diploma from the printer so we only see him snatch it out, rather than watch the creased diploma sat in the printer. The quicker I can make the scene the better, and in addition to this, both Tim and Tess are being quite rough with the paper anyway, as Tim snatches it from the printer and Tess snatches it from Tim's hands. As a result of this, you would expect to see a couple of creases on it. It would be a bigger problem if they were being extremely careful with the paper, and then when the audience saw it is was really creased. I will play around with this in the edit.
- As mentioned previously, Alix brought up a couple of ideas which improved the continuity of the scene. Apart from the obvious reason that crew are there to help create a film, I learnt that they are also a good way of bringing ideas into the production. Apart from Katie, Alex and myself, the other members of crew were new to our project and they brought a fresh mind into the production. We were concentrating on getting the shots filmed and if we didn't have Alix there we may not have noticed the light switch or positioning of the flowers.
SHOOT DAY 6 - Road & drive- As mentioned previously, Alix brought up a couple of ideas which improved the continuity of the scene. Apart from the obvious reason that crew are there to help create a film, I learnt that they are also a good way of bringing ideas into the production. Apart from Katie, Alex and myself, the other members of crew were new to our project and they brought a fresh mind into the production. We were concentrating on getting the shots filmed and if we didn't have Alix there we may not have noticed the light switch or positioning of the flowers.
SCENE 2
Scene 2 consists of Tim meeting Luke and the van for the first time. This was a relatively easy shoot, being just the one scene we needed to film that day. However as we were on the road, I followed my risk assessment carefully and we had a runner watching for traffic.
Cast
Tim Stewart - Ed Allenby
Luke Lucas - Daniel Hemsley
Crew
Producer - Melissa
Director - Alex
DoP - Katie
Runner - Aidan Robinson-Jones
Sound assistant - Alix Mottershead
On-set dresser - Harriet Gadd
Photographer - Gina Riley
Props
- Vet Van & keys
- Fake drugs for glove compartment (paracetamol, oregano)
The van is a very important part of the production period as it is featured in the majority of the scenes. Alex will be driving it to the shoot day so there is no risk of not having it with us. In the script, Tim finds drugs in the glove compartment which leads onto an ongoing joke about Luke's uncle, Pete. To create these, we brought paracetamol and used washing powder for the white substance, and used oregano for the fake green substances. I previously researched into different herbs to see which one would give the most believable look, and oregano was the one that matched the most.
Costume
As we are filming the second scene, we are still at the beginning of the story of VET-MAN. Therefore, the costume is the same as shoot day 5. Scrubs and hoodie for Tim, and grey hoodie, green top and jeans for Luke.
Location
The location that I picked in the pre-production package was ideal, purely because of the open drive that we could park the car on. We also had full access to the drive for the day up until the actual shoot day. The owners informed us of a maintenance man arriving at some point to fix their back gate. This was located behind the van parked on the drive. Initially, this seemed like an inconvenience, however, we soon realised that the owners and the maintenance man would be quite flexible and they were still happy with us to use the drive. When the maintenance main arrived, we were almost finished with the take we were currently shooting, and he was happy to wait for us to finish. Unfortunately, he needed the drive to get closer to the broken gate. This was a good opportunity for us to have our lunch break and then when we returned we hoped he was finished.
He wasn't finished when we returned, however, fortunately we had finished shooting the shots that were set outside the van and we only had the inside shots left to do. This required a similar background behind the characters, due to this we received permission to park the van on another drive which had a similar surrounding to the first drive.
The runner stood on the opposite side of the road, as shown in my risk assessment, giving himself the best view of the whole road. Similarly to the previous shoot days, he informed us when a vehicle was moving down the road, and we paused filming. We reconvened when the vehicle had stopped or left the road.
Creative control
Once again, I prepared myself with a copy of the shot list to ensure we captured all the shots we needed, along with a copy of the production schedule to make sure we didn't overrun. I made sure that the original vision for the project was properly realised, and that we had a smooth production throughout the day, as suggested by Levinson in my previous research. I was successful within my role of checking off shots as we had a successful shoot day with more than enough coverage for me to work with in the edit.
Throughout all shoot days including this one, I have essentially taken on the "role of ringleader, seeing to it that all the elements come together as planned (Martin, 2013). As we managed to capture all shots needed throughout the filming period, I believe I have followed this research through in my creative producing on each day.
 |
| Shot list for scene 2 |
 |
| Production schedule for shoot day 6 |
Fortunately, on the shoot day we finished earlier than scheduled and had enough time to take the photos for the poster. We wrapped early enough to take our time with the photos which was unexpected and idea. I think this was caused by going for a lunch break earlier due to the maintenance man arriving, and when we returned we only had the inside van shots to get.
What went well
- We finished this shoot day earlier than scheduled, after this we returned to the house we met at and took some photos for the poster. As explained previously, this was an ideal time to do this as we had the two main characters who we wanted on the poster and because we finished filming early we also didn't overrun on the schedule.
- The shoot went well in general, the weather stayed bright and sunny for us as I predicted in blog post Preparation for Shoot Week (18th-22nd). Although we had a few members of public around while filming, they didn't interrupt us which I was thankful for as would have added to the reason as to why we finished earlier than scheduled and were able to take the poster photos.
- All in all, the shoot was relatively quick and simple which was a good way to wrap up filming for VET-MAN.
- I believe I kept to the risk assessment well and kept crew and cast safe at all times.
What didn't go so well
- When we changed the positioning of the van to the second drive, we had a few lighting issues as we were in a different path of the sun. Nevertheless, we reviewed the footage from the first drive and found that the sunlight didn't look too different which meant it was an ideal location to finish our filming.
- As we were filming outside we had the odd car drive past us, however this is inevitable when filming in a public place.
What did I learn
- Although we weren't informed about the maintenance man until the day, the owners would have known about the gate being fixed a couple of days before the shoot day at least. As a result of this, I have learnt that it may be worth contacting the locations the day before we are due to film to cover for scenarios like this one. The only locations I had to contact for this project was The Kent Owl Academy, The Bell Inn and the homeowners to this drive. The other locations came from myself and Katie, or were public spaces. I had contacted all three locations prior to filming, however, this wasn't the day before, only a couple of days before. This has taught me that next time it may be beneficial to contact the locations the day before. If I had done this, ideally the homeowners would have known about the gate and could have warned me. Subsequently, I then could have tweaked the filming day slightly so we started filming earlier or later to work around the time in which the maintenance man was due. I will keep this in mind for any time in the future when I may have to contact locations.
No comments:
Post a Comment