The document discusses the filmmaker's pre-production process for their drama/murder mystery film. They decided to film at a friend's house to have flexibility and help from each other. They storyboarded and watched similar films to understand cinematography for the genre. Costumes were everyday clothes to seem relatable. They filmed most scenes in one night after practice runs and securing the tripod. Pre-production paperwork and planning helped filming go smoothly. Safety of the small cast/crew was a priority since filming privately.

1. Pre filming evaluation
The genre of my film was set to be a drama/ murder mystery, and
my and my friend decided to agree on similar genres so we could
shoot together and help each other out within the processes of our
films. We decided on shooting in the same single location, as our
films fit into the theme of this location. We decided on his house
whilst no one was in – this allowed us to be very flexible as well as
we could shoot what we wanted with the help of each other at all
times. Since the location was his house, we decided to have a small
reasonable cast that would fit and not be too stressful so we allowed
the thought of 3-4 people. This was also very beneficial as it meant it
would be less to account for on our risk assessment sheets and
health and safety. On the topic of this paperwork, both of our pre-
production paperwork (contributors release, location scouting,
copyright issues etc.) was done completely separately as even
though we filmed together and assisted each other, it was vital we
completed our own individual forms.
Before my film itself, I decided it was essential to get a proper feel
for the genre of thriller and mystery to see for myself what kind of
angles and cinematography I should be using to convey this genre. I
watched a lot of my favorite thriller and drama films/series, I
analyzed the sound effects, colors and shots they favorably used.
This really helped during my actual filming process as it gave me
inspiration and helped me to expand my knowledge on what I should
and shouldn’t be doing. This was not only important for my actual
filming, but was needed to help me make a more efficient pre
production and storyboard.
Considering props and costumes, since my cast is my friends I asked
if they could provide their own costumes and clothes. There was no
specific theme I needed to go for with clothes, I wanted them to
wear what they normally would in everyday life to make my film
seem as relatable and normal as possible – this would create more of

2. a real feel and more suspense to the audience because of it. For
props, I bought my own fake knife from a costume shop in the city
Centre. It was only £6 so it was nothing extortionate, but I felt it was
really needed to make an appearance in my film to add to those
murderous connotations. Things like knives and weaponry are very
common in drama and mystery genre films.
To edit my film, I used the program premiere pro as I felt like it was
more advanced than iMovie and I’d be able to work better and make
a more professional film on there. I added all of my clips from the SD
card onto my computer, sorted them in the premiere pro app and
started editing. I didn’t use any transitions on this film because in my
opinion that would take away the mystery aspect and the seriosity. I
desaturated the video clips that were meant to be the flashback, and
added a bit of a grungy blue tint to them. This was to convey the
difference between the different timed scenes and I really liked its
outcome.
We decided to try and film as much as we could in one night as we
were feeling inspired and ready to film. First of all, we set up the
camera. We had to let the camera battery charge for a small period of
time before setting it up so we could be sure the camera wouldn’t
turn off mid shooting. We first of all started by shooting the scenes
where the main character isn’t in a flashback; these are the scenes
from the beginning and the end of my film. I thought it would be
logical to film these at the same time as she would be in the same
mindset and wearing the same clothes etc.

3. This is a photo of the set-up of our camera. I used this video camera
and a tripod provided by the college to make sure my footage was
clear and up to professional standard and also not shaky unless I
wanted it to look like that for effect e.g. if the character is shaking and
frightened I could mimic that through the camera shots. I didn’t use
any professional or studio lighting as all my shots were filmed in a
house, and I wanted to use the standard lighting around us to make it
look as natural and normal as possible. I also didn’t record any of the
audio in the background so I didn’t use a mic; this is because I’m
adding a voice recording, music and small sound effects over the
whole film so there was no need for a mic. We ran through practice
scenes on the camera to get the hang of filming first and then finally
started shooting our first scenes.
The only problems that arose whilst filming the first few scenes was
that the tripod would sometimes slip down meaning the angle of the
camera would be lower therefor not giving me the shot I wanted.
However, we fixed this by securing the clips on the tripod. Because of
pre-production and the story boarding I done, it made the filming
process run a lot smoother as I already had that idea of what I wanted
to shoot in my head and I knew how it was going to look; we tweaked
the scenes a little bit due to some scenes looking better from
different places and more of what I had in mind, however a lot of my
film was very similar to the storyboard and prep. I think I utilized pre-
production to its full extent as my filming process ran very smoothly
and everything was in place.
I organized my cast and crew by asking them to fill out a personnel
sheet. This was a sheet that had their exact roles in the film, what
they’d be doing and it included their phone numbers and emails
incase we needed an emergency contact number. This was useful if
one of the members of cast couldn’t attend a filming day or meeting
one day, so it had importance. I also asked them to sign contributors
release form which showed physical proof they had agreed to the
contribution and production of my film. This also meant they had

4. signed to be okay with the release of my film on places like YouTube
etc. This was essential, as I needed to make sure my cast was
comfortable at all times and it overall helped my film run smoothly as
everything had been disclosed beforehand.
I needed overall a lot of resources to efficiently shoot my film. Some
of the most important resources I needed to manage, was things like
cameras, mics, tripods etc. To keep track of this I wrote out a
resource list, I included everything I had borrowed from the college
which I was able to pick up all in one go. I also used my friends SD
card to shoot my film so I didn’t need to budget that. Alongside my
resource list I had my budgeting list which only included my fake
knife. Both of these lists were important to keep track of what I had
that needed to be returned or that I needed to go and buy for my
film.
Throughout my pre-production I had to maintain everything in a
professional standard, the same way anyone shooting a proper
blockbuster film would. I filed all my paperwork consistently during
pre-production, kept track of all of it and uploaded it permanently
onto my blogger to show evidence I was doing everything consistently
and professionally. This would also be evidence my lecturer could
check to see if I am being consistent and doing everything right. All of
the paperwork I filed was provided by the college so it was easily
accessible, however I wrote my script on a program caked ‘Celtx’
online. This was so I could write it in the master scene script format,
so it would be like any normal script and would maintain that
professional standard. To monitor I was doing all this efficiently and
on time, I created a monitoring list so I could tick off what parts of
pre- production paper work I had completed; this was extremely
beneficial because it meant I was always on top of what I had and had
not done. If I did not do this, I could’ve easily missed something vital
out.

5. There was no point during filming when my cast and crew felt unsafe
or like they were in danger. Since we filmed at my friend’s house and
not in a public area, this cut down the risk immensely as we weren’t
interacting where the general public could intervene. I was in
complete control all the time of my cast’s safety and it was a big
priority to me. I factored in all of the possible risks that there could be
in a house, such as something that could trip them up, the use of a
real knife (which is why I used a fake knife) etc. I filled out all the risk
assessment forms during pre- production and had preparation,
meaning nothing could happen on the day of filming which could put
my cast at risk unless it was a personal problem. This ensured not only
my filming went smoothly, but also that my cast always felt
comfortable.
Generally, in the future when doing a pre-production there is nothing
I would necessarily change. Maybe I would like to explore with a
wider variety of locations, however I think considering my film and
pre-production, it helped massively and everything went incredibly
smoothly.