2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Monday 13th October
One 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.
5. Tuesday 14th October
Today, 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.
6. Wednesday 15th October
Today 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.
7. 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.
8. 20th, 21st, 22nd October
I 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.
