Pre-Production Report

Reflective Post

This post is going to reflect on each day of editing and filming, saying what happened for the production on that day, whether it went well or badly, and why.

Filming :

Day 1:

Day One was the first day of filming, and during this day, we recorded a 5 scenes, up to one of the racers hitting the wall. We didn't do all of the scenes, and one of these scenes was left out, to be done at a later date. 

Overall, we filmed all the scenes that we wanted to film that day, apart from one, which meant that we were slightly behind on the filming, but due to the scene left out being a short scene, it didn't affect the production too much. The day went well, with all the actors being devoted to getting the filming done, and though there was some distractions for the first scene, it was soon ironed out, and the filming was completed for the day.

Day 2 : 

On day two, we recorded up the teacher looking strangely at the two racers going through the college, which was about where we wanted to be for that day of recording. 

The day was less successful than the first one, because the area that we were filming in for this day was a heavily congested area with a lot of students in, making it hard for us to be able to record. The actors were also easily distracted during this day, making the production a little slower than it needed to be. 

Day 3 :

On day three, we finished all the recording that we needed to do for the DepicT short, including the extra shot that we had missed out of the first day. This day had more problems than the second day, just because we were recording in the reception, where students and people constantly come and go, and though it was a quiet day, there was still a lot of students going past.

Because of this, it took as much longer than it should have to get all the filming in that area that we needed done. None of the actors were distracted, but the amount of times we had to stop for people to get past slowed the production down greatly, causing us to start rushing the few last scenes. 

Editing :

Day 1 :

For the first day of editing, we managed to finish getting all the video clips on the timeline in Premiere Pro, making sure that we had all the correct clips, and that it was all in the correct order, as one scenes for the film was shot on a different day, so it had to be located and placed correctly.

Due to us running out of time on Day 2, some of our good video clips were placed in the "Excess Footage" folder, a folder dedicated to footage that wasn't planned for use, but might come in handy during the post-editing.

Day 2 : 

In the second day of editing, One of us was working on gathering royalty-free music for the film, as well as some sound effects to add to our production. While this was happening, the other person worked on finalising the clips on the timeline in the correct order, and then cutting down the music, due to the choice of music being 11 minutes long. This meant that we had to cut it down to get the correct part of the song that we wanted. 

Day 3 : 

Day 3 is when we finished the editing up, making sure that all of the sound effects were in the right place, and making sure that the music wasn't too loud compared to the sound effects. we also made sure that we had the opening credits allowing those watching to be able to know who was in the short film, and who was on the crew.

We also had to sort out some of the sound effects, because one of the audio clips had been changed to a different one, but luckily we found it before it was finally exported, as it would've ruined the whole film.

Problems :

One problem that we had was that one of our people that was in our group left half way during our production, so we had to change our plans in order to continue with the production. Another problem that we had was that we had to change our actual plans for the production. Because we planned to use office chairs in the original production , but due to the risk of a hazard being too high with what we planned to use them for, we had to change our plans.

Pre-Production for "The Race"

Shot List:
This is the list of shots that are going to be used in our film. Each of the shots has an explanation of what is going on in the scene, and the storyboard that we created later will be based off the information from this list.

Storyboard:

This is going to be used as a visual representation of what will happen during the film. We are aiming to make the film as close to the storyboard and shot list as possible, not straying from the original plan for the film.

The storyboard was all done by hand, meaning that I do not have a digital copy to post on here, however, I have the unfilled version to show what the storyboard would be like.

Location Recce Ideas/Photos:

We had to go survey the areas that we wanted to use, to make sure that it was what we were looking for, and get pictures of it so that we can easily find where we wanted to film. We decided to record the route that we wanted, because we don't want to use the whole block.

Location Recce Video  

(Because the file is so large, I am unable to download and upload on here, so I have provided a link.)

Location Release:

These are the forms that allow us to use the areas that we have selected for the movie. They have been signed by the people in charge of these areas, as well as us, so that we are responsible for any damage that we cause.

These files were done by hand, instead of digitally, because they required the signatures of those in charge of the areas we wished to film in.

Actor Release:

These are the files that allow the actors to be recorded and filmed. There is one for each actor in the film, and because they're all minors, it's also signed by their parents.

These files were done by hand, instead of digitally, because they required the signatures of the actors and their parents to allow them to be shown in film.

Budgeting:

This file gives information on the expenses of the film. Because it is being filmed in the college, we don't have any travelling costs, meaning that the props used at the total cost. Though some of the items that are on the list are going to be used, not all of them are going to be bought, and we're only practicing for later use. This also includes our costumes and props in the film.

Risk Assessment:

In order to make sure that our film is safe, and that we don't have major risk issues, we had to fill out a risk assessment, that would include all of the dangers that we might run into, and what we are actively trying to do so that none of the risks happen.

As you can see, it has been signed by the Line manager, with a risk of "Medium".

Because we haven't gone off site, we haven't been required to complete a police email, letting them know that we would be using props that could scare residents in a public location. 

Production Schedule:

In order to make sure that we knew what we were doing for each day, we created a production schedule with details on what would be happening on each day. It included all production dates, and was split into two categories - Filming or Editing. Each day also had a list of the items that we would require for that day, including which cast & crew were required for each.

The 90 second film final idea.

We were placed into groups and had to decide on what idea we wanted to go with after we put our three previous ideas together. This allowed us to have options for what we wanted to do, but also discuss and change what we wanted to do, if we didn't like any of the ideas.
One of our ideas was "Patient Zero". This idea was that someone became ill due to their surroundings, and started a zombie apocalypse. This would be very difficult to achieve, with all of the music, and the amount of people required to show that it was a apocalypse, instead of a small contained outbreak.
Another of our ideas was the "Dream World", where someone goes to sleep, and they have odd dreams which would be funny to view. The problem with this would be that we don't have major editing skills, so we would struggle to make it how it would need to be, as well as there isn't an idyllic location around that we could use.

Our final idea, and the one that we are going along with, is two people racing around, with an element of surprise. This would be easy to do, as we could do it around the college, and it doesn't require much resources, as we won't be actually using cars.

"The Race", as we plan to call it (Not Finalized), will be filmed around the college, as two students race around on office chairs, racing each other to the finish line, and being pushed along by some other students. During this piece, we are going to have a duck as a reward, and what the students are racing for.

We are going to be filming two starts. One is going to give a little back story, with two people having a feud, and then deciding to race to sort it out. The other is going to be a blank screen at the start, with some music coming in, before it changes to the start of the race, and they race begins.
The blank screen start is going to have motion shots, showing off the two people putting on some sunglasses, as well as making it look like a proper race, before it then pans out and you see that it is two office chairs that are going around college.
The argument start is going to have them argue, because whipping on some sunglasses in an exaggerated manner, before then getting two steering wheels, while two people push chairs under them, and start the race.
The reason that we are filming two to see which one will fit best with the rest of the scenes, instead of one being off and not working with the rest of the film.

The race is going to go around the college campus, and there is going to be multiple corners that they are going round, and one corner where one of the racers spins out of at a corner, and goes through some boxes, before trying to get back onto the chair, and continuing the race.
When they are close to the finish line, they are basically side by side, before one of them manages to get a head start, and crosses the line first, and runs to get the duck.
Once the person grabs the duck, he gets down on one knee, and holds it up in the air, showing the world it's glory. During this scene, a ray of light comes down onto the duck, ending the short film.

90 Second Film Idea.

One thing that I think worked well during the DepicT shorts that I watched is the comedic factor that they all included. some were over the top with odd ideas , and others were subtle, but they all had a a comedic value. I think the comedic factor works well with shorts because there doesn't have to be a big story behind it. Because it could be a comical idea, there is many opportunities for people to create something funny, that is also original.

The Idea:
My idea is to do something that people will be able to laugh at with ease, that will also not require a lot of special effects, which we don't have access to.

My idea is based off someone trying to think of an idea for a depicT short film, before giving up and heading off to bed. Once there, the person enters the dream states, where a lot of odd ideas bounce through his head,

The film will start off with a conversation. This conversation will be between two people, trying to get some idea that would work well for the short that they are trying to create forever.

He then goes off to bed, falling asleep, and it transitions into a odd reality, where things are really weird, and don't make sense. The person understands what is going on, and tries to manipulate it to see what he can learn, and get any ideas for the short film that he is creating.

There wouldn't be able to be a lot of backstory for each of these realities, so there would have to be something that would be catastrophic enough to make the person try and jump out of the area, before waking up and thinking that he may of had an idea, which turned out to be terrible, and the other person just face-palms.

DepicT - What films intrigued me.

We were given the task of finding three different films that had been entered into the DepicT 90 second film competition and sat what we liked about them. These could be any of the films that had been entered into the competition, whether they won the prize or not.

(All Videos that are on this blog have been embedded from YouTube, and are most likely uploaded by someone other than the original owner.)


The End:


              
This depict was made by Tim Clayton and Rob Crowther.

The short movie is about a a globe that controls the earth. The man is going about his normal life where he then moves the globe, realizing that the globe is the earth. He starts to freak out and reaches for a cigarette and lighter, and accidentally knocking over the globe, causing 'the end'.

I really like how this film progresses, with him realizing what is going on, checking if it's actually the cause, and then getting stressed when he realizes.  It also has a really good ending, with the audience clearly understanding what happened for the ending, and how it links back to the title. It is also a very original idea, and captures the audience.


Loose Ends:


                 

"Loose ends" is about two agents waiting in a field for an alien, and one asking questions about the whole situation and why they have done things the way they have. e.g. Turning away from the landing point. It ends with the alien coming down, getting shot because it has gone "too far" and then them walking off.

I liked this one because the conversation that they are having seems rather serious, with a hint of comedy in it, but the whole atmosphere changes once the alien comes down and gets shot. It used some establishing shots and other shots to make sure that it wasn't just one scene of two men talking for the whole thing. The scene is fairly empty, with only a car with headlights on.

Cool Unicorn Bruv:


              
"Cool Unicorn Bruv" starts off with a man trying to sell a bike, naming all of the features that it has to try and sell it. A man with a unicorn then comes up, with the buyer being interested in the unicorn, and moving attention of the man selling the bike to the unicorn, asking questions such as "Can it fly?". The seller of the bike eventually has enough, and so he send the man with the unicorn away, expecting the the buyer to still want the bike, who then just walks away, with no interest. As each are walking off, the unicorn fires off a rainbow from it's horn, with the comment of the seller.

I really like this because of how silly it is, but they act like it's completely normal and that everything is fine. It is also a fantasy idea, the unicorn, placed into reality, in a normal situation which could happen easily in every day life.