Choosing Footage...

During the process of filming, we took a variety of shots - some with dialogue, some without - that would help to portray our narrative effectively to the audience. We filmed them in a variety of different locations, and they all had their individual purpose in which would strengthen an enigma code for the audience, and would keep them intrigued in the plot, and in the characters. We amounted a lot of footage, and it did take us quite a while to decide what we would use in our piece, and which footage we would decide to cut, or not use at all. 

Of course, we had drafted a story board for our film, but as they were only drafts, and this was our first attempt at the production of a piece, our storyboard was very lengthy. It included a very large variety of shots because we were concerned that we might not have enough footage to put our opening sequence together, and that the footage we did have might not be enough to portray our narrative to the audience.

The editing process is absolutely vital, as this is where the film gets put together and made to catch the attention of the audience. Editing is able to change the whole mood of the piece, and is an incredibly powerful tool that is able to draw emotion from the audience. 

It was at the beginning of this process that we sat down as a group and watched through all the footage that we had filmed. On reflection, we found that some of the footage was not very good, whether it be because of the quality of the shot, or whether it be because the shot itself did not work out particularly successfully. We were able to rule these shots out immediately because we felt that they were not of a standard that we were happy to use in our piece. 

With the shots we were happy with, we discussed what ones we thought were the most important because they helped to tell our narrative the best. Once we had picked out the shots that we thought were key, such as the pan of Jazz’s body, we went back through the rest of the footage to pick some more shots that would compliment the ones that we had already chosen. All the while, we kept looking at our draft story board, as this was a basis line for us to follow to remind us what sort of footage we needed to use, including their juxtaposition. 

We found it hard to decide what footage we would use, as making sure that we effectively planted enigma codes and we established a clear narrative in 2 minutes of footage was a difficult task. It meant that we had to make sure that the shots we did pick fitted together to tell our narrative in the most clear way possible. It was essential that we established a narrative path in the opening, in order to keep the attention of the audience on the piece, and so that they knew what the film would be about due to the opening sequence. The opening sequence of a film is important as this is the immediate footage that the audience watch, and is responsible for grabbing their interest in the film, and to make them eager to watch the rest. 

We experimented with the shots we had chosen on the editing software we were using - Adobe Premier Pro - and swapped the order of them around until we were happy that they were in an appropriate place. After our first draft was created, we brainstormed what more footage we needed to tie in the narrative of our piece. It was here that we thought of the photo montage and went to film that. 

During out final edit, we added some of the new footage that we had filmed, and we also removed some of the footage that we had put in it during our first edit. We did this because we not only had to stick to a time of 2 minutes, but we felt that the shots we were adding helped to tie in the narrative more than a few of those that we had added the first time around. It was during this time that we also spotted a continuity error in one of our shots, so we had to remove this from our piece.

On reflection, I feel like we were right to film plenty of footage, as it meant we had plenty of choice of shots when it came to editing, and meant that we were able to evaluate what combination of shots told our narrative best. In my opinion, it was better to have plenty of excess footage, than not enough footage. If I were to complete a similar project again, I think I would look more closely at the story board in order to see what shots I thought would be best, and then I would shoot these shots to see if I was happy with them. As shot ideas are sometimes better than the actual shot, particularly due to a lack of professional equipment, I would go back to the story board if some were unsuccessful, and think of some more shot ideas, and then film them. I would attempt to make sure I had plenty of footage to be able to experiment with, but not as much excess footage as I had this time. This is because filming takes time, and the time we spent filming the footage that did not even feature, could have been spent doing something else, or at least a section of that time could have been.

Here are some shots that we did not feature in our final edit:

Being a Producer

Whilst making our thriller opening sequence, we all had our own specific roles in the process. However, of course, there were many aspects in which we had to work on together such as the story board and the script. As mentioned in a previous post, my specific role in the process was a producer. In our group, both Hannah and I were producers as this role came with the most jobs, so we could share them both between us. 

The job of producer for our film involved many things including organising filming times to make sure everyone could make it, deciding filming locations, keeping track of wardrobe and makeup to avoid continuity errors, etc. 

The reason I was a producer was that I like to organise things and make schedules, etc. This meant I was fitting for the role of producer as it involved a lot of time management and organisation. Additionally, I have an eye for detail so I was able to keep track on props, wardrobe and makeup to avoid any continuity errors efficiently, and I made lists to keep track of clothing items.

A difficulty I ran into whilst in the role was coordinating everyone so that they could all film at the same time. Due to our busy schedules with schools, and other activities, finding times that we were all free proved to be a challenge. We overcame this problem by rearranging some plans of ours so that we had time periods in which we were all free to film.

Overall, I found that being a producer was a really enjoyable experience and is a role that I would like to have again. I had no previous experience with producing, but found that I adapted to the job very easily. 

Photo Collage

During the editing process, we felt that we needed a film sequence to put before our titles that would link in with our narrative to help give the audience an idea of the characters and their situation. We took inspiration from other thrillers that we have watched, particularly ‘The Missing’, which we spoke about in the previous post. Therefore, we decided we would create a photo collage to reflect the relationship between Josh, Hannah and Jazz, and to show their friendship. This was easy to create for us as we are close friends outside of our media group, and as a result we have a large bank of photos with us in together. 

To make this collage, we searched through our photos on our computers, social medias and on our phones to find ones that we thought would best showcase our friendships. We printed them out, cut them out and then had to find a suitable surface that we could make the collage on. We decided that Josh’s sideboard would be the best surface as it is it a plain colour, flat, and we could easily stick the photos to it without damaging it. We experimented with the positioning of the photos until we found an arrangement that we were happy with before we started filming.

 We tested a range of shots to showcase the photo collage, however, we decided that a slow pan looked the best, with the camera zooming in and out on a select few photos that we decided were of key importance to show the relationship between the characters. An example of this is the photo of Josh and Jasmine (me) at prom, which is shown later on in the film when it is featured in the frame that Josh picks up and lays face down. 

Throughout the time that the shots of the montage are playing, the music featured will be ‘Jealousy’ by Frankie Miller. This is because the audience will be able to relate the photos to the relationships between the characters and that the jealousy must be due to a love triangle within their friendship. Additionally, the titles will feature during this montage.

Prop list

In our film, we have a series of props that we need to use. Some of the props are part of the iconography of our film and help to shape the narrative.

The props we need to use are:

• Tablets 
• Phone
• Photo frame
• Ring 
• Ring box
• Printed photos
• Glasses

1st Draft of Our Film

This is the first edit of our thriller opening sequence.

Filming Locations

As part of our filming process, we had to decide on what locations we would be filming our shots in. We needed to film all of our shots in/around a house, so, we discussed all of houses and which we thought would be the best for filming purposes. In the end, we decided that Josh’s house was not only the best for filming purposes, but was also the most conveniently located, as we could all get there easily, and it was only a 15 minute walk from school for when we needed to film after school. 

In Josh’s house, we filmed in 3 separate locations. We filmed in the downstairs hallway, the garage and in the garden.

The scene we filmed in the hallway was the argument scene between Hannah and Josh. This is also where we filmed the photo collage on a separate occasion. We filmed this in the hallway because we felt that this would be an appropriate and sensible location for the argument to happen. The hallway was also spacious which allowed for ease with filming.

The shots we shot in the garage were all the ones of Jazz’s (my) body. We decided we would film this in the garage as the lighting was very eerie, and everything was very grey. We felt this would add to the eerie-ness of the shots, and we felt that if we were to film it indoors, the colourful decor might take away from the intended atmosphere of the shots.

In the garden, we shot the low angle shot of Hannah and Josh walking out of the garage, the close up of the garage door slamming, the 360° pan of Jazz (me) and the medium shot of Josh. We felt that the garden was the correct location to the 360° pan which zooms into my eye, and zooms out of Josh’s eye into a medium shot of Josh, for a few reasons. The first reason is that the garden was somewhere we could easily film the 360° shot as there was plenty of room. Another reason that we decided to film this shot in the garden is that we felt like it linked the shots in the house and the garage together, and that it gave the audience an idea of the setting of the film.

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Roles within the group...

For any film to be successful, the crew working on it must be dedicated, and they must have assigned roles. This ensures that each person has their own area of expertise to focus on and prevents any confusion in responsibilities.

In light of this, we decided that we needed to allocate roles within our group to make production a little easier for us.

Despite us having our individual production roles within the group, we will obviously be working on aspects of the production together - e.g, the script and the story board. This is because these are elements of production that without doubt need all of our inputs and ideas in order to make them the best they can possibly be.

The group roles we decided are as follows:

Director:

Caitlin Elward

Producers: 

Hannah Martin

Jasmine Greene

Editor: 

Josh East

Music Permission

As the music we decided to use in our film were not our original pieces (we did not create them), we had to attempt to get permission from the owners of the tracks to use them in our piece due to copyright issues. 

As ‘G321 - Thriller Opening Music’ was uploaded on Youtube, we figured that it would be easy to get in contact with the uploader. Josh asked in the comments section of the video if we could use the track for our thriller film, and the uploader replied within a few days saying that they were happy for us to use the track.

Getting permission for the second piece of music proved to be a lot more tricky, as every point of contact we tried, we did not get a reply. This was unfortunate, however, we are hoping to hear back at some point. Until then, if any issues occur when our piece is uploaded to YouTube, we have proof that we have tried a number of ways, and we will state in the description that we take no credit for the song, and that the copyright belongs to the artist, Frankie Miller.

2nd Day of Filming

On our second day of filming, we decided we would film the shots of Jazz’s (my) body in the garage. Whilst preparing to film the shots, we encountered an issue that we had not considered - how should I lie to make it look realistic? The only solution was, of course, to experiment with me lying on the floor in different positions, and for the other members of my group to judge what they thought looked most feasible. 

Postion 1

This was the first position that I laid in, and Josh, Hannah and Caitlin thought that it did not realistic at all. This is because the chances of my arms falling naturally like that would be incredibly slim. I agreed with them, as to me, it felt very staged lying in that particular way.

Position 2

This was that we initially chose, but on reflection, we decided that ,in fact, my hand would be unlikely to naturally fall onto my stomach. Therefore, for this reason, we altered this position slightly to make it seem that little bit less staged.

Position 3

This is the position that we decided was most realistic, and it also felt a lot more natural to me. We achieved this more natural looking positionally Hannah picking up my arms and my legs, and dropping them, to see where they fell naturally. We felt that this worked well. Here is a time lapse of that:

The Tablets…

When Hannah was placing the tablets in my hand, we also had the same problem, in that it looked too staged where they were placed. To rectify that, Hannah simply dropped the tablets into my hand, to see where they fell naturally.

First Day of Filming

 Filming Details:

Location: Josh’s House - Pencoed

Date: Friday 6th January 

Start Time: 9:30am

Here is a photo I took of my other group members before we started filming.

Today was our first day of filming and it went very well. We spent the day testing out a variety of shots to see what we thought would make our film interesting. In the process, we discovered some shots that were unsuitable, and we added some extra shots that we had the idea of as we were filming. 

A large part of today’s filming tasks was to test out different intensities of lighting to see which we thought would be most suitable for our film. To test the lighting, I lay on the floor in the garden throughout the day, including midday and early evening. 

Something we noticed is that due to the time of year, it got dark very fast outside. This meant that we would have to act quickly if we were to film outside. The photos above were taken only an hour apart, one at 4pm and one at 5pm, which proves our theory, and means that we will have to be wary of continuity in lighting conditions. Additionally, we will also have to be cautious of weather conditions, as today the weather conditions were clear and sunny. If it was cloudy or raining, then it might be darker earlier. 

This photo was taken at 4pm in Josh's garden

This photo was taken at 5pm in Josh's garden

Altogether, we decided that we preferred the lighting in the photo that was taken at 5pm, as it was darker, and we felt that it made the shot more sinister and eerie. This dark lighting is also stereotypical of thriller films. However, we found that filming in the garage at just after 5pm was too dark, as you could not see me enough, which meant that this timing was unsuitable to film in the garage, and that we would have to do it earlier.

Cast

The cast of our film is as follows:

Name: Hannah Martin
Character: Hannah

Name: Josh East
Character: Josh

Name: Jasmine Greene
Character: Jasmine