Major Project Production Unit - Evaluation

Introduction

Over the course of this unit, I set out to take the pre-production package that I have worked on and fully develop this into a fully finished film. Still taking on my 3 roles as writer, producer and director, I would continue to work on all of these throughout the whole of this unit right to the end. In terms of pre-production work through this unit, I continued to develop on pieces of work that I had built up from the pre-production package. This includes refining things like the budget, costume, casting and call sheets as well as location scouting, contacting and liaising, blocking and script read-throughs whilst ensuring I incorporated research throughout to make the work as professional as I possibly could. In production, I took all of my work that I had put into place from pre-production and applied it to my days on shoot ensuring I was organised and that I was directing to the highest possible standard of my ability, paying particular attention to directing the camera and all the shot movements as well as also working with the actors on their blocking and overall performance. In post-production, I particularly focused on working closely with the editor making sure I was being constructive and getting the project to come across the way I had envisioned it. Having input in the post-production stage allowed me to have a lot of influence on how the project looked right to the end and enabled me to keep fulfilling my role through all three stages of production.


Pre-Production

Since I had already worked on the pre-production package, and myself and Andreya both decided that we wanted to bring this forward and make the project for our final major production, I already had a good strong start to where I was heading with this project. The package was a good ground to start on and had a lot of detail and vision captured into it so this put me in a really great position. I continued to work on the script having meetings with Simon to try and enhance it even more. Continuing to add to the script helped it develop until I was at a stage where I felt it was in the best position I could get it in. Although there were not huge changes, the little changes helped to refine it more and made a big difference in how it all came together in the end.

 Budgeting was something that I continued to work on. I had a rough budget spreadsheet that had worked out a lot of our costings in the pre-production package. Since this worked out well, was clear and easy to use, I continued to use this spreadsheet throughout this whole unit. I ensured that we were keeping track of costings when it came to buying costume and paying for locations, props and equipment as well as making sure we were getting the best out of all the areas whilst sticking within reason to what we set out to spend. We went out and brought a money tin and drew some of the cash out keeping it locked away. In there I kept envelopes and a sheet so that if either of us took out any money we could sign it out and know where it was spent. When something was spent I made sure we both kept receipts so that we could log it and keep track of everything.

In term of the schedule, I ensured I worked to the time table I had organised from the pre-production unit as this laid out all of our times from pre-production, production and post-production with the addition of personally set deadlines to keep us on track and to make sure the project would be handed in on time. I also carried out extra research in this unit and I managed to enhance the production schedule I had made previously making it more detailed and easier to follow with timings, colour coding and location dates added in as and when I knew them. This schedule would help myself, the crew and the cast understand what was happening on each day and kept everyone organised. It contained information like what time the cast and crew should arrive at our base, how long the actress was in hair and make up, travel time to and from the location, lunches and what scenes we were filming from the script throughout the day.

I had done a lot of work on call sheets before this unit so this was great that I had a good template to work off. Throughout this unit, locations kept changing and there was a few that had not been confirmed so I made sure it was a priority to keep up with the process adjusting them as things changed and making new ones when a location was 100% confirmed. They included the name of where we were filming, the address, what everyone's call time was and every person who was involved for that day.  These would always be sent out to the cast and crew involved in plenty of time so they could understand the day.  Schedules were also added on the end of these call sheets with a breakdown of what was happening at what time. This was done to ensure everyone knew what was expected from the day including, what scenes were being shot and where we should all be at what point in the day.

Although in the pre-production package I had detailed where we were going to film, not all locations had been confirmed and some places had dropped out. I ensured throughout the whole of pre-production on this unit that I worked really hard on securing the right locations for the film. I continued to research different places, kept in contact with boroughs, property owners and commercial business teams as well as negotiated prices and times to ensure everything worked with the budget, script visuals and shoot day lengths that had been developed. I also ensured that the locations all matched eachother, especially when it came to the properties to ensure that it all looked like one house. Another side of this part was all the paperwork side. I ensured that all the permissions had been secured including no objecting to filming permits and contracts from the business owners we used to ensure everything was done professionally and that there would be no issues when filming.

In terms of crew and casting, some things had changed from the pre-production package. One of the cast members had dropped out so I had to make sure I found another person from both a producer and directors point of view ensuring the actress would be suitable for the vision I had as well as keeping in contact and ensuring communication was constant to keep them interested and excited about doing the project. I also ensured that I communicated well with all the crew keeping them organised and knowing who would work well on our shoot. I hired outside crew of people I knew who was currently working in film production degrees to benefit having the extra help on set with set dressing and filming behind the scenes. With Claudia, I worked very closely with her throughout the whole of pre-production as she was the main actress and a key point to our film. I held regular meeting with her and did a table reading as well as costume fittings and hair and makeup trials to ensure she really looked the part and played the character well.

The costume was something that I had mapped out really well in the pre-production package and this is something I had very clearly and visually in my head. I continued to work closely with this and went to buy the costume ensuring the budget was being thought about but also making sure the pieces worked for the film itself. From choosing a bright blue dress to the PVC mac coat, a lot of thought and research went into the costume to ensure it would look the best it could possibly be and reflect the character and story. I also done a lot of research into hair and makeup looks prior to the testing days to ensure everything looked professional and was tested thoroughly making sure it would all come together well in the final film.

Props are something else I looked a lot into although another member of the production team would organise this to dress the sets on a shoot, as a producer and director I wanted to make sure I got the right props. I wanted the film to have a strong theme of roses as through research this symbolises love and desire which I feel represents the emotions of the main character to the lifestyle she wants to have. I brought roses before most of the shoot days to incorporate them into the sets. I also brought gold cutlery, an iron, a suitcase, a wine glass and name badges.

Blocking was something that I had not really done before. I had done rough sketches but nothing to the extent that I did for this project. After researching how to do them to a professional standard, I conducted my own for every scene and every shot to help me when it came to the production process. My main focus was paying particular attention to where the camera was in each shot, the movement of the camera in each shot as well as where the actors were going to stand and move to in relation to this.

A test shoot for the camera equipment was something else I was involved with in the pre-production stages. Allowing Drey to test the camera quality was a great opportunity for me to try out some of the shot ideas I had in my shotlist. We tried different movements tracking forwards, backwards and side to side as well as trying a range of shot types like close-ups, wides and mid shots in both light and dark areas. After this was shot I was able to review all of the footage and edit together my own little test shoot film to look at the style and see if I could make them dramatic and cinematic.

What Went Well And Did Not Go So Well In Pre Production?

I feel that there were a lot of things that were successful in this project. I was able to come up with something that was really different, unique and visual and then apply all things necessary in terms of research and all the paperwork to get everything into place. I worked really hard on this project in pre-production to ensure that everything was done professionally and thoroughly to make everything come together when it came to the other two stages. I was originally a little nervous about taking on three roles but I felt I dealt with them all really well making sure I managed my time to pay focus to all the roles. Understandably I focused a lot more on the producer side in pre-production  as I felt there wasn't much to change script wise although if there were changes I ensured to keep the script up to date but when there needed to be a particular focus on something I made sure I dedicated my time to get all aspects done when I needed to. I particularly feel that I managed the location side of things well. I really wanted this film to look exactly how I imagined it when I was writing the script and I knew the locations were really important to get right. I got rejection after rejection but I persevered and kept emailing different locations as well as keeping in mind the style that I need for the film. When a property owner came back to me with more questions, I was very enthusiastic and professional in the way I spoke as well as making sure I went down to meet each person individually so they could meet me and I could double check the suitability of the location for the shoot. Once this was confirmed I kept in contact and signed all the necessary documents to ensure that I could film at the locations. I'm really happy with how I dealt with this aspect and feel it was really successful with the film.

I also felt I planned the costume really well making sure the character looked as authentic to the script as possible. This really elevated the character and made her believable to the situation she was in as well as making the story work well. Choosing a bright blue dress so she stood out in London gave the exact effect I wanted and this was all thanks to good planning and careful consideration. Also, the cleaner outfit at the end looked really good as it was authentic and she looked like the role she was supposed to be. Thanks to a lot of research in the pre-production stages I was able to choose this outfit well and it worked out well in the film.

I felt I dealt with paperwork really well. Getting everything organised, doing my research and making sure everything was in place and done professionally really helped later on. I was able to plan effectively and to a high standard which meant the production of the film was a lot easier and smoother to manage.

I felt that in pre-production the one thing that did not go as well was the budgeting. Although I started off really well and had planned everything, things costed a bit more than expected when it came to the actual production. I managed to cut costs as best as I could in a lot of areas, got a lot of locations for free or lower than the starting price and shopped cheaper for costumes but keeping their elegance. I logged everything and kept up to date with the budget sheet but there were two things that cost a lot more than expected and that was the equipment and the music. The equipment was really expensive to hire but we got it down as cheap as we possibly could but I wanted to make sure we used it as it gave the quality I needed. Also doing a reshoot bumped the price up another £200 to shoot for just one day which was unexpected but needed. Overall I feel I planned the budget to a good degree but I should have allowed a lot more for reshoots and unexpected costs.

The other thing that didn't go as well was planning the shoot days early in the schedule. Although everything went fine in the end and we made sure we made up for it by working to a fine cut in the edit straight away, a lot of our shoot days were later than I wanted them to be. This was mainly because of the locations I was trying to get. I was working with locations that just took a lot more time and effort to sort out but I am really glad I went for this option rather than settle for somewhere I was not as keen on.

Finally, the other thing I could have improved was my time management at Stonewall Park. This was a really tight shoot day as originally we had agreed on two days here but the owner at the last minute cut down to one day. This meant I was really restricted for time and I was very ambitious with my shooting schedule. Although most of the scenes were done and looked great, the end scene was rushed and did not look as good. Also, there were some camera issues that meant the footage was not coming out the way I wanted it to so I knew this was going to have to be re-shot to match the standard of the rest of the film. I was pleased I did a reshoot tho as it meant the whole scene was elevated and it fitted better with the film.


Production

I had done a lot of work in the pre production stages of this unit so this really helped me when it came to production and the shoot days. Having organised all the days well and doing a lot of planning to ensure the creativity was met, this really helped shoot days to flow well and I could really focus on being a director and getting the shots done to the best of my ability.

The voice over day went really well. I had put all the poetry out of the script and onto a single piece of paper which made it easier for our actress Claudia to read as well as taking the initiative to have a lesson with Fergus the technician on how all the mixer worked and to make sure I was going to record the best sound as I possibly could. I directed Claudia throughout the process getting her to do a range of accents and re-running the same lines two or three times to help with tone and pace.

Bradbourne House was a fantastic location to shoot at. We got there and all the cast and crew arrived on time. There was one issue at the start of the day where the hair and make up artist did not turn up but I thought out of the box and Claudia did a great job with her hair and makeup with my direction. Bradbourne house was a beautiful house that allowed me to get shots of big staterooms and elegant decor. I was able to follow my shot list and schedule as well as blocking to ensure I was getting all the shots I needed to get. I also made sure I got plenty of coverage to help when it came to the edit.

London was a little more difficult as we were filming in public spaces that were very crowded but with all my prior planning I was able to remain calm and keep everyone else focused on what we were doing. I lead the cast and crew really well and we ended up with fantastic shots and plenty of coverage. Being souly focused on my role really helped me to ensure Claudias acting performance was really good as well as making the shots visually beautiful and cinematic like I wanted them to.

Stonewall Park was a very tight scheduled day as we were originally meant to have two days there but the owner cut it down to one. This meant that I had to work really hard and efficiently to get everything done in time. I was put under a lot of pressure but I feel I delivered really well. I focused on all the scenes that we needed as advice from Simon was to make sure that I was getting everything I could at that location that I couldn't get anywhere else. I decided to make this my focus and worked really hard on getting the shots that would work really well for here.

The Who'd A Thought It was a reshoot and due to scheduling conflicts, we only had the afternoon to film here. I felt this went well and an afternoon was all we needed as we had gone through the motions of the scene before although I carried out more rehearsal time with the actresses as I knew this scene was really important performance wise. I worked hard on matching the shots with what we had done previously and I feel everything went really well with what I set out to do.

Bradbourne exterior was a little difficult due to Claudia not feeling well and the weather being dark and grey which was not the aesthetic I was going for but I managed to work outside of the box, stick to my blocking and go with the weather to get more dramatic and darker shots than originally planned which worked just as well. I was able to direct Claudia well as this was a little more complex as the style of it was a bit more abstract but I explained well and got the performance that I wanted. I also used a range of different shots including low angles and distant wide shots which really contrast to the types of shots I had managed to get already.

What Went Well And Did Not Go So Well In Production?

My directing when it came to the actual shoot days I feel went really well. I was able to direct with confidence and I knew exactly what I was doing thanks to all my planning. After doing some research in the pre-production stages about directing techniques I feel this really added to the way I directed a scene and it really contributed to the process as a whole. Everyone who was on set, both cast and crew said they felt supported and that I had a really clear vision of what I wanted throughout the entire process. I kept calm in stressful situations and was able to think outside the box when problems arrived which really helped to keep everyone on board and focused. It was really great to have this feedback and allowed me to keep going to a high standard. An example of this was when the Hair and Makeup woman did not arrive on the set. I was able to keep calm and come up with an alternative that really helped everything keep moving. I also felt my ability to keep on producing alongside my directing worked really well as well. I was able to keep the project moving along and really focus on the next thing whilst also managing to switch my main focus to directing when I was on set. The one thing that did not go so well in production was the time management at Stonewall park. Since I had to push everything into one day it meant we had to rush the ending and this affected the whole of the end scene making us have to plan a re shoot.

Post Production

Going from the production phase, I was able to assist a lot as my role of director in the final editing process. I worked closely with the editor drey to make sure she was understanding my vision of how I want it to be shown as well as suggesting shot changes and trimming clips to help all of the process flow well. As this is not a straight forward format for a film, sometimes my vision could be a little complicated in how I wanted certain scenes to be told so sitting with the editor throughout the whole process really benefitted us both in getting the end result. I also chose a lot of the music as I felt this I could really help and contribute to the edit. I would do a lot of research into all the different music tracks making sure they all complimented each other as well as the scenes they would be put with. Once I had worked out what pieces worked well I passed them on to the editor where she was able to put them with the scenes. I would be reviewing a lot of the work that was done and suggesting changes to improve certain scenes which I feel added a lot to the final outcome of the film. Overall I am really happy with the way I approached the post-production process and I am pleased I was able to work well through all three stages of production.

What Worked Well And What Didn't Work So Well In Post Production?

Post Production was a really nice process for me. Working so closely with the editor really helped me to express my vision and create something that still related to what I had envisioned but was still able to let the editor do their job also. I felt I approached the situation really well and was still very much involved in the post-production process but I don't feel I took away from Andrea's role and she was very much the editor. I also feel I choose really good music for the film. It fitted the piece really well and it all flowed together as well as complimenting what was being shown. Each scene has its own track but they all sound like they could be from the same composer. I also felt they matched the moods right like the dreamy sounds against the darker moods. What did not go so well in this stage was realising how much of a perfectionist I am. The edit became very time consuming and I would notice the littlest mistakes and wanted them changed. Although I did this very professionally and was polite about the changes, I still was getting fustrated at myself as it was not hitting the mark of where I wanted it to be but with time and perseverance as well as remaining calm paid off in the end and I could see the film getting to the standard I wanted it to be at.

Overall I am really proud of the way I have acted throughout this whole unit. I feel from start to finish I have created a piece that is unique and different but at the same time beautiful and intriguing. It tells a great story that really keeps the viewer interested and on edge towards the end. I feel this film shows my skills to a high level from pre-production planning right through to directing on set and then helping achieve the final film. I am so pleased that I have managed to apply myself over three roles to get this final result and I have learnt more than I could have ever imagined over the course of this project.

Major Project Production Unit - Assisting The Colour Grade

We had a masterclass with Nathan Caws who is a colour grader from Ignition creative. He was telling us about the work he had done as well as how he thinks about certain shots and what he does to achieve the final look. This was really interesting and although Andreya is doing most of the colour grading I still wanted to take an interesting in how the transformation works. I also felt that if I wanted a few things changed with the colour grade I would have more of an insight to how its done. One really interesting point that he made was that a colour grade is not just ot make a film look nice, it has got to suit what the content is. For example a film set in space would be graded differently to a period drama and this would be graded differently to a horror. They all have individual looks and its generally followed by most genres. I originally thought that films chose a colour scheme that they liked and felt looked nice but actually its about making sure the film looks right for the type of film it is.

After the master class each group had a meeting with Nathan to see what suggestions he could make about improving the films. When we went in he watched through our film and made notes. He then went through a couple of scenes and explaned a few things that could be improved by using Davinci Colour Resolve software. On one scene the windows were a little bit over exposed and he walked through with us about keying around the window and adjusting the light behind it. He also showed us how to track a subject and then draw a vignette around them. This enabled the subject to be highlighted away from the background and then adjusted to make them stand out more. All of this feedback was really insightful and I learnt a lot about colour grading works.

Over the next few weeks, Drey worked really hard on colour grading each scene. After each scene she would then let me have a watch and I would then tell her what I felt could do with bringing down or up a bit as well as checking to see if skin tones matched. Drey would continue to work on each scene and right at the end I did an overall look of the whole film. She made a few adjustments to little things I noticed but overall the colour grading went really well. I made sure I was present when it came to giving feedback but also ensured Drey had most of the creative control when colour grading. Im really happy with how it all looks and feel its elevated the film even further.

Major Project Production Unit - Assisting The Edit 4

Now that we have got feedback from both Beth and Simon, we once again worked on trying to get the end scene looking as good as it can be. We both looked at experimenting with it in different ways. We first of all tried to make the scene more fast paced however this didnt really work as the shots didnt really work together and the film did not flow quite right. I then suggested about putting the shot of Sophie at the dressing table in for longer to help transition into the final scene better. This really helped and made the ending seem less rushed as it gave a more gradual build.

I next had a look after the dialogue part. As it stood it felt like the dialogue happened and then she just walked over and went to hit Karen with the iron. I felt there needed to be a transision that felt connected to the film as a whole. I was thinking of a few ways we could do it but the strongest possiblity was to add an extra bit of voice over at the end that signified everything before that scene was her reveling in what she could have but hasnt got. I also felt the voiceover could help disconnect dreaming from reality. I managed to get Claudia back to the voice over recording room to do a few different lines for us. After this we over laid them in the edit and worked out what fitted best. We finally settled on the line "a time never more perfect... to stop dreaming". This line worked really well as it did everything I wanted it to do. It helped make it clear to the audience that now was reality and before was just dreams and hopefulness but it also helped transition into the final scene better.

I then suggested about putting some flashbacks in which Drey put into the edit. This worked well giving a little overview of what we have seen in the film and reinforcing that she was wishing and dreaming. I then had an idea to put in flashes from the part where Sophie was fantasising about Killing Lorna overlayed with the fact that this time she was doing it for real. This I felt worked really well and also connected the film even more. I also changed the music for the ending which helped it flow better and made the scene more exciting to watch being more dramatic and helping it build to its pinnicle point at the end. Overall I feel the edit is a really great as we borth poured so much time and effort into it. We spent a lot of time perfecting it as much as we could and making sure the story was clear and that the twist was understandable. I am very pleased with how the film has turned out and I cant wait to see what the grade looks like on it.

Major Project Production Unit - Feedback From Beth and Simon

Its really great that we were able to get some important feedback today from both Beth and Simon as we are at the point where all the film is on the timeline and at a fine cut. Although the ending needed tightening, I felt this was the first time that they could see it as a whole and see if it all comes together well. We had scheduled to have a tutorial with Beth in the afternoon and see Simon after but unfortunatly the computers were down due to an IT issue and we were not able to access the edit. Myself and Andreya both spoke to Beth and explained our situation as we would still of loved to get her feedback. She understood that it was a situation we could not help and she would still be willing to give feedback if we sent her a link through Simon to review it and send us an email back.

Once the computers were back up we sent Simon a link to the edit. The following day myself and Andreya recieved an email which had both Simon and Beths feedback on it. You can see the email below:

This feedback was really helpful for us to move forward with the edit. I feel Simons comments about the audio are exactly what we need to focus on to make sure everything is up to standard. Beths comments about the grade are something that we plan to do when the edit is finished so this is something that I will ensure we focus on once its done. Both of them mention the ending which is what we both expected. They explained that the ending feels a little bit rushed and that I needed some different music. It also could be experiemented with more with different shots and angles to make it work well with the other scenes. Myself and Andreya will work on this to make sure we get it looking as good as it can be.

Major Project Production Unit - Research And Blocking

Blocking was something that was very important to me. I knew some of the scenes would be quite complex with what I wanted to do. I first of all decided to do some research looking at how blocking can be done effectively. When looking at articles I came across one on a website called New York Film Academy. This explained that there are 5 stages to blocking effectively.

1. Determine where the actors are going to be

2. Work out the lighting

3. Rehearse the blocking

4. Make Adjustments 

5. Shoot the scene

It also explained that its good to know where you are placing the camera to make sure the action is captured in the best possible way. Since Andreya is focusing on the lighting as it helps to coinside with camera settings and the way a scene looks, I decided my soul focus should be on how the rooms and locations are laid out as well as where the actors are, where they are heading, and where the camera is pointing/ moving. To give me a better idea on how this is done, I looked into some images from professional film shoots to make sure my blocking would be as affective as possible. You can see some of them below: 

From these I have produced my own plans. When I was certain we were filming at a location and after I had done a recce, I was able to produce the plans more accurately to each room. I used my shotlist and worked out where the actresses and cameras were for each scene. Ive selected some extracts from the plan so you can see what I have done. 

Bradbourne House:

With bradbourne house, this was the first location that I was filming in so in order for it to go smoothly I had to make sure my blocking was all planned out. One of the more complex shots was for the opening scene where Sophie is walking through the house. She walked through 3 different rooms and ended up by a piano. I wanted to try and do this all in one take to show her journey through the grandness of her house. Starting from the hallway, she walks forwards through a corridor, into the large open grand entrance room and then turning left into the piano room. It took some time and planning but I worked out the best way to do this with the camera in front of her. The camera would track backwards through both the first rooms and then turn into the piano room whilst backing into the corner to let her come past and stop at the piano. This was really complex but doing the blocking diagrams really helped me to understand how its going to work and helped me to explain to Andreya and Claudia where I wanted them to be. You can see a copy of this shot below as well as another shot in the piano room.

London:

The London scenes were a bit different in terms of blocking. I wanted to get so many different shots but I could not allow for the public that would be around us. I had to block as if it was an empty place but think carefully about what may be too difficult or potentially dangerous like crossing roads. following my shotlists I was able to plan effectively and it gave me a clear guide to all of the shots I needed to get and the overall movement of both Claudia and the camera.

Stonewall Park:

Stonewall park had a lot of scenes to block for. These ones took the most time as there were so many objects to allow for in each room but drawing them I felt was really important as I could plan paths around them. One scene in particular that I feel really helped to block was the dinning room scene. When going on a location recce I realised there were a lot of mirrors in this room. Drawing out the room and looking at where the mirrors were, I could find out what was going to work in terms of shot types and angles. I could tell that putting the camera to the right of side of the room would work a lot better than the left side of the room as you would see the camera in the mirrors. Another scene that I found interesting to block was the corridor walking scene. I found it very useful to block going from one floor to another as it was something I could not see when just looking at it. Blocking these scenes meant I could be on both floors looking at how the shots will move. 

Who'd A Thought It: 

This location was interesting to block for as I had to try and find a way of utilising a smaller space to what we had shot in all the other locations. In one of the scenes there was also 2 characters interacting with eachother with dialogue and a lot of movement all in one shot. The blocking for this scene really helped me to understand the whole scene knowing where the characters come in, where both of them are going and where the camera is and the movement of it.

Overall I feel that blocking has been a huge learning curve for me. I really understand how much help it can be to map out everything in a scene before you get to a shoot. Understanding where the actors are, where they are going and whats in the room really helped me to know where to put the camera and make sure I am capturing all the action in the right places.  

Major Project Production Unit - Assisting The Edit 3

Now that we have shot all of our scenes we could both start to see the film coming together as a whole. Now that I have chosen new music for the edit I can really visualise the film as one piece. Changing the music was a really good decision as I feel it has really taken the project up a level sounding professional and linking all the scenes together really well.

Over the past couple of weeks, Myself and Andreya watched the film several times and made tweaks and adjustments to try and tighten the edit as much as possible. We have also worked on a new scene that we re-shot at The Who'd A Thought It. This scene was the part at the end of the film that really resolved everything. I felt that this scene had to be really strong or the whole point of the story would not work. Drey laid out all the clips from the scene on the timeline and cut them together to get a rough idea of how the scene looked against the whole film. I was so relieved when I saw it to see that It did work really well although it would need a lot of work to get it working as best as it could. I worked with Andreya on getting the flow right especially from previous scenes as this scene was so different. Its still not quite there yet but hopefully the feedback with Simon and Beth can help us to make sure it gets to the point it needs to be at. 

When looking at all the previous scenes, I would watch the whole thing through and then suggest to Drey how we can tighten everything up a little bit more. I helped with trimming a few scenes down as well as re cutting a bit at the end of the garden scene to flow more with the music and fit better. I also made a few shot changes in Picadilly to help with some continuity issues like seeing her walking one way in one shot followed by her walking in the opposite direction in another which really looked strange. I then helped suggest to Drey about tightening the voiceover. It was coming in where it need to be but I felt it a few of them needed to hit at different points. Moving these around a little bit helped to really impact what she was saying against the visuals that were on screen. 

I watched the whole thing through again and I realised there was one part of the film that really did not work. This is the scene where Fiona is hiding in the wardrobe and Karen is laying on the floor dead. I feel this scene was taking a way from the film. It was almost like it was not needed and did not even need to be there. It was adding complications that I feel people would be confused by and was the weakest point in the film. I asked Drey to cut the scene completely and we then re watched to see the difference. The film worked much better with out the scene being in there. It allowed the film to flow well and get rid of any unnecessary complications that had no real effect on the overall story. Im really pleased I decided to cut this and feel it really has benefited the film as a whole.

Major Project Production Unit - Shoot Day: The Who'd A Thought It

Since this is a reshoot I already had a good idea of how I am going to do the scenes that we needed to shoot this day. I had sent call sheets to everyone a few days before to ensure that everyone knew what time to arrive as well as a schedule break down of what we were doing on the day. Being producer, I also had to ensure there were no schedule conflicts and that the date coincided with everyones availability.

Since this was an afternoon shoot, this allowed my self and Andreya to go down to the location in the morning and set up in the room we are using. We arrived at 8am and set up all the equipment ensuring everything was working and in place. I also wanted to use the track for these scenes to continue with fludity and movement of shots. Once everything was set up I went through my blocking and shot list to ensure I knew what I was doing in each scene and that the lighting all worked. I had a few issues with mirrors and this was meant to be an upstairs bedroom however the room was on the ground floor so I had to ensure there were no shots showing outside which took some minor reconfigurations. Happy with how everything was looking, we decided to break for lunch and then pick up Claudia our actress and take her back to my house. Its there she would be able to do her hair and make up and then get changed into her costume before heading to the shoot.

Once we got to the shoot I went through all of the blocking with Claudia showing her where I wanted to stand at certain points as well as where the camera will be on each shot and the type of performance I wanted her to deliver. This took a little bit of time as I wanted to ensure she was completly confident in what she was doing. After this, Karen and Fiona, our other actresses, arrived at the shoot and I was able to do the same with them. I also went through some rehearsal scenes with them all as these were shots where they were going to be interacting with eachother so I felt it was important that they got that right.

After the rhearsals, we were ready to begin shooting. The first scene we did was the wardrobe scene. This is where Fiona was hiding in the wardrobe and claudia discovers her. I wanted these scenes to be long and drawn out to build tension so I used the track and dolly to slowly move forwards towards the wardrobe as you hear fiona crying. This I feel worked really well. Next we shot Claudia walking towards the wardrobe with the iron. I feel this works really well and I wanted to focus on claudia expression as you heard the crying in the background. She looks unphased and quite happy which really heightens a different side of her character and makes her look psychotic. We ran through this scene a couple of times with a few different angles as I wanted to ensure we had enough to work with in the edit in terms of cuts. Once this was done we then filmed the scenes where Karen was dead on the floor. I was a little bit unsure about how this bit looked. Although I specificallly did not want there to be blood as this is meant to be a dream sequence, it felt staged and unnatural with Karen laying on the floor but I feel with the right editing the scene could work. I wanted a few takes and different types of movements to ensure we had the best chance with making the shot work. We then moved onto the scenes where Sophie comes in and hits Lorna over the head with an iron. I decided to go with what we had done last time as after reviewing the shots, I feel it works really well. Claudia would approach Karen slowly before leaping towards her and prentending to strike. I then wanted  different shot where Sophie hits Lorna so I made it low angle pointing upwards and quite tight replacing karen with pillows so that when Sophie strikes it looks like shes hitting Karen but she isnt. My goal is to get the right cut between the shots in the edit so it looks authentic and realistic.

Finally we moved onto the dialogue scene. This was the most challenging as I wanted the performances to be spot on and not cheesy. I wanted to do over the shoulder shots as well as a close up of Claudia, a close up of Karen, mid shots of them individually as well as a long shot of them both. I decided to get this scene as good as I could get. I would run the whole scene atleast 6 times for each shot to enable the flow and motion between shots to be right. This took up a lot of time and it was really tight towards the end but overall I am really happy with how these turned out.

Overall I am pleased with this reshoot. After seeing the footage I am really glad we did this. I feel the shots are a lot more elevated compared to the last ones and the whole scene flows really well. The room decor is a lot brighter, cleaner and more elegant than the last but It also matched with the other locations so in the edit it should all come together as one house. Im really pleased with how this all went and I cant wait to see how it all fits in the edit.

Major Project Production Unit - The Who'd A Thought It Call Sheet And Schedule

Just like the other shoot days, I find call sheets really important for everyone to know what they are doing on the day. Making these and sending them out have been a key part of making the shoot day go smoothley running on time as well as letting people know what time they have to be ready by, where they have got to get to, and what is expected from them on the day. I decided to do the same for the reshoot as although we have acted the scene out before, its in a new location and at different times so I felt it was important to give an updated version. You can see a copy of the call sheet below: 

Major Project Production Unit - Location Recce: The Who'd A Thought It

At Stonewall Park, we shot a scene were Lorna is killed with the iron and the dialogue scene towards the end of the scene. We had some camera issues here and the shots did not turn out as I had hoped for. There was grain and the audio did not sound great. I felt in order to keep the standard up with the rest of the film, it is really important that we redo this scene. I was not happy with the decor of the bedroom at Stonewall park either so I felt it was important that we shot somewhere that was glamours and would tie in with the elegant theme of the film and what I feel Lorna's bedroom would look like.

I began to research online and look at places in Kent that could convey this look as well as matching the other locations we filmed at to ensure it all looks like one place. I emailed Chilston park hotel, Barham Court and a few other places but no one was getting back to me. I suddenly remembered that there was a place called 'The Who'd A Thought It' that I had heard about and had seen on TV and was known for being extravagant and luxurious looking. I looked on their website and some of the rooms I felt would be perfect for what I am trying to achieve. I sent the owner an email to which he replied with interest in helping us and to give him a call. I phoned him and explained what we was filming and what we needed it for. I explained we were students on a very tight budget to which he said he would do it for free. I then asked if I could come and have a look at the place which he agreed to go and see later on that afternoon.

Myself and Andrea arrived and met the owner as she showed us around the suites he could offer us. The first one was called The Ace Of Spades Suite. This room was a lovely size but was really dark which I feel would be a problem for us to work with lighting issues. The room was also a little too much and I feel would not fit in with the other places we had filmed at. There were also a lot of mirrors which could complicate things with the scene we were trying to film. 

The next room we looked at was the Coliseum Suite. This room was brighter and more colourful but was really over the top for the style we was going for. Although I want it to be luxurious and grand, this room felt a little bit too much and would not connect with the other scenes well. I also feel that Lorna's bedroom would not look in this way and she wouldn't choose the decor. There was also a huge picture of the Rome Coliseum which wouldn't have looked right. 

We were finally shown a room called The Roederer Cristal Suite. This room was perfect and I felt would really work with the film. It had a glamours decor but was a lot more understated than the other rooms. The room had a lot of space which would work for me blocking wise as well as neutral colours that would match the other locations. It also had a large chandelier in the middle which added a nice touch. 

After speaking with the owner Joe, I have decided to go with the Cristal suite as I feel it fits the film best. Although its subject to availability being allowed to film in there as long as its not booked out, I feel this room will work really well. 

Major Project Production Unit: Music Selection Update

After looking at the original pieces I picked for the music in the edit, something was not quite working. Although the music seemed to fit to each individual scene, I felt it could be a lot more consistant all together. I also feel the music is to much and depletes the visuals slightly rather than compliments them. I decided to revisit the music and have a look deeper into what I could do. I thought about hiring a composer to score the film but I feel this would take a lot of time to do. I then had a look into music licensing to see if there were any that I could use rather than using royalty free. Although Royalty Free works, I want something a bit more higher quality that would really take the score to the next level. After researching different music sites like audio jungle and hook sounds, I came across a site called Artlist io.

Artlist io had loads of music that was really great quality and had pieces that were professional and sounded what I felt the project needed. I am specifically looking for a classical, cinematic vibe that coinsides with elegance and beauty and this website was perfect for that. The site was £150 for a years subscription so it meant paying more money into the project but I feel since the music is so important, its worth paying the money to really elevate the film.

I went through a lot of music and downloaded each track that I feel could work for the film. As I listened to them I was envisioning each scene to see if it would fit. When downloaded I would send them over to Drey and she would place them in the edit so I could have a look and see if it works how I would like it to. Some pieces were soft and slow which worked well at the begining of the film and then there were more dramatic pieces that work really well for when the film changes to a more darker scene. Although the tracks were different in terms of tone, the style was very much the same and I feel this is helping the film to be more consistant and flow better than it did with the original pieces.

Major Project Production Unit - Assisting The Edit 2

After our last edit review session with Simon it was really clear that the shoot days had to be to the same standard as the scenes we had already done. Since we have filmed new scenes, Andreya sorted them into folders, named all the clips and put them into bins on the edit. The next part was to then see how the footage looks amongst the previous shoot days. I am really happy with how the footage looks. It is clear and bold but also keeping in theme with the cinematic style. All of the footage appears to work well with what we have of the film so far. Since we had worked well getting the other 2 scenes to a fine cut we felt the next thing to do was to start doing the same thing with the new scenes we had shot. We first worked on the scenes we shot a Stonewall Park as this was the biggest bulk of what we have done. Again Andreya would edit the clips together finely and I would help to get the clips flowing right and make smaller adjustments to it. This worked really well and we kept editing until we were both happy with it. We looked at the scenes with Sophie in the living room, the dining room, hallways and in the bath.

In the living room scene, this was only one shot of her drinking a glass of wine. I got a variety of coverage for this but a lot of the close-ups looked a little bit grainy so we decided to go for the wide shot and stay on it. Although it was not quite what I had planned, When Drey edited it together it actually worked nicely rather than an overkill of different shots. I also asked her to put a shot in the middle of the scene as it needed something to break it up. We put the shot of a corridor cut away from Bradbourne house integrating the two locations together which worked really well. It also gave a really nice pace and flow to it going from one shot to a cutaway and then back to the original shot.

In the dining room scene, we again had plenty of coverage to work with but some of the shots you could see us in the mirror. This room was particularly hard with mirrors. I had even blocked out this scene knowing where the mirrors were but we still could not avoid them in every shot. Thankfully there was enough coverage to work with and drey was able to cut around it. When she finished I changed a couple of shots around and helped make the clips flow a little better from the close up of where she picks up the knife to the wide but this was a small fussy thing that I noticed. Overall this scene looked really nice and I am pleased with the way drey had edited it together.

The hallway scenes were again quite straight forward to edit. I gave Drey some music to lay alongside the clips in the edit which helped get the flow and pace right from the offset. The music changes to more slow and ominous which gives a great sense that things have turned darker. I explained to Drey that I wanted the cutting in this scene longer and more drawn out which she did really well to the music. After reviewing it I made minor adjustments to the clip lengths and changed a few shots from wide to close up and the whole thing stitched together really well.

We finally worked on the scene where Claudia is in the bath. There was not as much coverage of this scene but we had enough to work with. The shots were all really clear, in focus and had all the right movement so I am really pleased with this. I felt that when she was in the bath with her eyes closed she could be dreaming about her journey so far and where she has been. I asked Drey to put some flashback shots in of some of the previous scenes. This worked really well and adds to the scene helping it to flow a bit better than just the three shots that we had.

Finally, the last scene we edited was the garden scene that we had shot back at Bradbourne House. This was quite a difficult scene to work with as it was very complex in my head to how I wanted it shown. Although it was one section of the film, it had a lot of different moments in it that all added to the scene as a whole. There is the archways scene, the spinning scene, the bridge and the rose drop. Although I wanted them all shown separately in the sequence at first, I then imagined them all to be intertwined with each other cutting back and forth quite quickly towards the end. This was quite difficult to explain and it took a few attempts to get the pace going how I wanted it to. Also, some of the footage looked quite overexposed but I feel the colour grade will help this towards the end. The music for this piece was also really difficult to find as I want it to have a beautiful sounding score but also dreamlike and sombre at the same time. I will continue looking until I find the right piece.

Overall I have really enjoyed directing the editing process so far. We have got a great system where Drey will edit clips together and I can help refine and change a few things to a place of how I feel the story should be told.

Major Project Production Unit - Shoot Day: Bradbourne House Exterior And Fire Scene

Previously I had scheduled to shoot the exterior scenes on a second day at Stonewall Park however the owner of the property had changed her mind when we got there and explained that she would now only be letting us shoot for one day. This raised a new problem as I needed somewhere to film the garden scenes. I did some research into locations that I could use and emailed some people about the potential of us filming on their land. Several did not reply but I did manage to get a response off of The Bearsted Woodland Trust. They requested a phone call and I spoke on the phone to the chairman about what I was planning to do and what I needed to film. He gave us permission to film there as long as we were respectful of other people and were not in anyone's way. Once the phone call had ended, I suddenly realised there was an avenue I hadn't tried. I felt that although the park would work, it wouldn't look as authentic as an estate or property grounds. I decided to email Bradbourne House where we had filmed previously and asked them if it would be ok to pop down and film a few scenes in their grounds for a few hours. I got a phone call from someone who was part of there team who explained that since we were very professional last time we were there that they were willing to let us use their grounds for free for the afternoon. I quickly updated everyone as I feel this will match a few previous exterior shots we got and I felt it would be a lot more authentic for the film's setting. Everyone was on board and I made sure everyone knew what they were doing and at what time I needed them as well as letting The Bearsted Woodland Trust know that I appreciated their offer but I, unfortunately, was no longer in need of the location.

On the day of the shoot, I picked up Claudia and we made our way to the barn so that we could do hair and makeup. I also had a chance to sit down with her so I could go over the blocking and explain what I wanted from her. This really helped as we both felt comfortable knowing exactly what we were doing. Once this was done we then made our way to Bradbourne house and began setting up the equipment. We first off headed over to the fruit garden. I had originally imagined this scene to be with bright flourishing flowers around her but because of the time were filming it was not the season for this. Having been on a location recce beforehand I knew there were dramatic looking archways in this area so I decided that visually this would really stand out with Sophie walking through them contrasting with the fresh rose that she would be holding. We set up here and started shooting the first shot. I wanted this to be a long shot from several angles with the glide like motion that the gimble has been giving us on previous shoots. I first shot from the front all the way along the arches and redid this from the back and sides in many shot types such as mid shots, long shots and close-ups so that there would be lots of coverage to cut within the edit. I worked with Claudia on her performance in the way she was walking through the archways with pace and elegance as well as her expression being more brighter. I wanted to convey the dream-like nature of the seen but also a sense that she has been longing for this life. I also wanted her to look like she has discovered paradise and she is living it. I feel like I really achieved this despite the lack of flowers and the grey skies.

The next shot was the rose drop. In this shot I wanted it to really symbolise that the beauty has fallen and signified that something delicate and wonderful that she is holding onto is all an illusion and will disappear from her. It also represents her thought changes as she becomes very aware that the beauty she is trying to create for herself is not actually hers as she lets go. I felt the best way to do this shot would be from a low angle pointing upwards. Doing this would make her look big and powerful of where she feels she stands but then we see the rose fall from her hands heading towards the ground. I then got a shot low to the ground so that we can see the rose hitting the floor. I feel both these shots look really great and have worked how I want them to.

After this, we then moved onto the spinning scenes. For these shots I wanted her standing in a large open space to signify the vast land that she owns and how she revels in it. I felt since the audience has seen Bradbourne House as the exterior before, It would be great to get a shot of the house in the background to reinforce her whereabouts and that this is the same house that the story is set in. I decided to shoot in a large space on the side of the house by the lake as this ticked all the boxes for what I was trying to achieve. The first shot we did was of Claudia in the distance spinning and myself and Andreya starting from afar and slowly gliding towards her. I wanted to get this shot as it marries with the other shots I have been getting but also draws the viewer in slowly towards her. It also shows the fast space around her but also keeping a fluid motion. Once I got this shot I got several other mid-shots and close-ups as I want this to be a little more dramatic on the cutting for the edit. All the shots are also in slow motion to give the sense of beauty a fluidity but also making the scene dramatic which is what I want.

The final shots that I got were then on the bridge crossing over the lake in the grounds. I felt this bridge would be great to film on as it shows her crossing the waters that are constantly running underneath. Although calm, they are still present and very much there. This symbolizes her current situation. I also felt it was a really nice shot with the house again in the background and shows her exploring the grounds that she feels like she has. Once this shot was done I called a wrap on the day and decided to pack the equipment up. Claudia was very cold and was not feeling too well today so she held out really well and I ensured in between takes that a warm dressing gown was there so she did not keep getting too cold.

Later on that evening I decided we should shoot the fire scene in my garden. I had originally planned for Claudia to be in these scenes but as she was not feeling well I felt we could manage doing them without her. I had to make sure I emphasised the bags burning from the scene before then it would have the purpose that I intended it to have. Being fire, this meant I had to make sure we were being very safe in something potentially dangerous. We both wore fire proof gloves, stood well back when filming and also had a hose near by incase the fire got too much. We lit the fire in a fire pit with sand in the bottom and made sure it was all self contained with no overhanging trees. Once the fire was going, Drey would start recording and I would drop a bag on with the gloves and then stand back. For all the close up shots, Andreya used the zoom on the camera to prevent getting too close. I wanted a variety of shots here so I made sure we did the same thing four times with four different bags and as mentioned asked Andreya to use the zoom to get close ups. I was worried about the footage looking grainy as we were shooting in the dark but we used the roto light and the LED light to make sure we could get the footage looking as good as possible. Overall the shots came out really well and I am pleased with how these came out. 

Im very happy with how today went. I feel the shots came out really well and everyone worked hard to achieve the shots that I wanted to get. Although I would have loved the weather to be sunny and flowers to be flourishing, I still made good desicions to make things work like shoting under interesting archways, shooting with the house in the background and making the fire scenes focus all about the bags burning.