The document details the production and post-production process of a short horror film, including test footage, filming schedules, and challenges faced during filming, such as lighting and cat behavior. The editing process is also documented, showcasing multiple drafts and feedback received to refine the final product. Ultimately, the third iteration of the film was completed with positive feedback and no significant issues in the editing software.

1. Production+ Post-
Production diary

2. Thursday 14th
December:
Production
Today, I got some rough test footage of shots I will be
using in the short horror film. I did this so I knew what
would work best and to test all the equipment to ensure
to iron out the kinks of the equipment so then there
won’t be as many initial issues with it when I begin to
properly film. Furthermore, due to having a limited
amount of time with the camera operator, I had to
manage my time wisely and re arrange the dates for
my shooting schedule which I changed to the 15th, 18th
and lastly the 19th of December along with the 7th, 14th
and 19th of January. These were the only dates I had
available where I could film the short horror film.

3. Friday 15th
December:
Production
Today, I began filming the exterior shots which are the most
critical parts of the film as they are the most important scenes
(the nightmare sequences.) Straight away, there was an issue
with lighting as this is a disadvantage of doing this at night-time
although I believe this will benefit the product severely in the
long run as this will create a more immersive experience as
something that would happen in a nightmare. To combat the
darkness, I used lighting resources I had on me along with
turning my living room light on to try help gain some organic
light. In addition, I used the darkness to my advantage as this
allowed me to get some unique shots of the antagonist of the
film pacing around the protagonist.

4. Monday 18th
December:
Production
Today, I began working on the interior production as I
worked on trying to capture the moment the protagonist
wakes up from a nightmare. The primary issue I had with
this was trying to capture a high angle with the protagonist
lying in bed. Eventually, after lots of trial and error, I
managed to make it work and get several takes of the
protagonist waking up in a panic. Other than that, there
were no issues regarding filming. Moreover, I decided to
use some of the limited time I had to shoot excess footage
so then if any of my shots didn’t work as intended, I
wouldn’t have to worry about re shooting a ton of footage.
For example, with the lighting being dark, I took several
takes of this scene so then I know that I have several
iterations with them having the correct lighting.

5. Tuesday 19th
December:
Production
Today, I continued recording interior shots as I
focused on ensuring all the scenes with the
cat are done to a high standard. There were
several difficulties with recording today due to
the fact that the cat wasn’t being his usual
talkative self, so we had to retake the scenes
a multitude of times. Due to storage, we had
to delete the bloopers as there were so many
that my Sd card was filled to its maximum
volume.

6. Sunday 7th
January: Production
Today, I finished the initial shoots for the
interior footage as there were no
complications when filming. All I had left to
complete -so I could begin post-production-
is the exterior shots which will require
precise timing due to it having to be filmed
when it is dark outside.

7. Sunday 14th
January:
Production
Today, I completed all the filming for the short
horror film as there were no major
complications involved in the shooting other
than trying to figure out where to position the
lighting sources which took some trial and error.
Although the initial shoots are done, I have set
aside dates where I can re-shoot some of the
footage if it isn’t the quality standard I want to
achieve. In addition, I decided to experiment
with different camera angles such as a tracking
shot within one of my scenes however due to
the confined space, it didn’t work well with the
narrative being told therefore I decided to
immediately delete the take.

8. Friday 19th
January: Post-
Production
Today, I began editing my first draft for
the short film. There were no
complications during the editing process
however since I had to download all the
footage to my computer which was a
very slow process. I had to change some
of the dates I originally had planned due
to the schedule changing during
production. The days I decided I will be
editing are the 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th of
January along with the 1st and 2nd of
February.

9. Monday 22nd
January: Post-
Production
Today, I continued to edit the first
draft of the short horror film.
There were several
complications with my software
however I ensured I saved my
draft frequently so then I wouldn’t
lose all my work. Other than that,
there were no issues regarding
the editing process.

10. Tuesday 23rd January:
Post-Production
Today, I finished editing my first
draft for my short horror film and
processed the draft. There were
no issues regarding this so I
gathered feedback for my first
draft so then I can see what I
need to improve upon for my
next draft.

11. Wednesday 24th
January: Post-
Production
Today, I began editing the
second iteration of my short
horror film. I decided to re-
evaluate how I structured the plot
and story of it. Although I didn’t
get a lot of editing done, I re-
worked all my filming into a
slightly different arrangement to
make the story have a smoother
progression.

12. Thursday 25th January:
Post-Production
Today, I finished editing the second
iteration of my short horror film. There
weren’t any major complications while
editing other than trying to make it as
professional as possible along with
upholding the standard I have for this
project which proved to be difficult as I
was deliberating how to make the
opening credits.

13. Friday 26th January:
Production + Post-
Production
Today, I started off by gathering
feedback for my second iteration
of my short horror film. With this,
I decided to shoot some more
footage to make the ending more
seamless as that is one of the
main criticisms I received along
with the fact that it could be
longer.

14. Thursday 1st February:
Post-Production
Today, I began editing my third
iteration of my short horror film.
However, I had complications
with the software I am using
therefore I couldn’t complete the
third iteration of Frectum today.

15. Friday 2nd February:
Post-Production
Today, I finished my third iteration of
the short horror film and gathered
feedback for it. The feedback was
overwhelmingly positive therefore I
decided that this would be the final
iteration of ‘Frectum.’ There were no
issues regarding the software, nor
did I stumble across any issues
whilst editing.