Choices Filming Day 2 (12/11/10)

Today we met in bath at 9: 30 at Wetherspoons, where we had breakfast as a crew and discussed the previous days shoot and plans for today's. The first scene we shot was a short scene, where Dan shows Greg he can teleport. This didnt take to long and soon we moved on to film the next scene (where dan see's Olivia down the ally). The original place we had planned to film turned out to be to busy and soon after arriving we decided it was not suitable. A few shops opened out in to the ally and it would have been a nightmare trying to keep the continuity consistant with pedestrians/shoppers constantly walking through out 'set'. Also as Ed had not heard back from the Bath Film Office we didnt know weather we should film in a location we didnt have permission to. And also our main character had to go for an hour to help another group with there film, so we would have been pushed for time anyway.

So we instead decided to go to the Wier with the idea of filming under the bridge on the river. But shortly after arriving we saw a good looking ally way under GG's Steakhouse. Dani went inside to ask if it would be okay to film there, and as she did the owner came out and asked me what we were up to. So i told him and he was happy to let us use it, and to sign a release form, which was great as we were yet to be granted permission to film anywhere else. As our 'Dan' was not yet back we made a start by gathering the CU's and any shots we could of the other characters, to make the most of our time on location. After getting all the shots we could without Dan present, we took a short break to wait for him.



Once he was back we met him and headed for the location. We had already told the owner we would be back later on, so he was expecting us, but when we arrived he asked us how long we were going to be because he had to leave. So we quickly filmed all the shots with the ally in the frame, so he could lock up the gates and leave. By this time it was begining to rain and this conflicted with the earlier shots we had filmed. So we did our best to keep the actors and equipment dry (as you can see in the image below) but after a while there wasnt really much we could do. However we finished the shoot anyway and gathered all the shots we needed. I just hope that the change in weather is not to apparent in the edit, which im hoping it wownt be as it was overcast all day. So atleast the lighting will be similar from shot to shot.




The plan was to then walk to Dans house to film the remaining 2 scenes. But due to the heavy rain and having to carry all the eqipment, the group decided to get a bus there. I didnt have any money so i would have had to walk there, so everyone was happy to do the remaining scenes without me. Although i said if they needed any help they could ring me, and id go there if there were any problems. But in a way im glad i wasnt going to be there because i feel like ive had a strong input through out the filming so far, and this way itll be good to see how everyone handles there roles without me there. And i think they will do well, everyones taken on there roles very well and really adapted to working as part of a team. Im also looking forward to editing a couple of scenes that i didnt witness being filmed, as i think this will improve my editing skills, and be more like a proffesional editors role.

Choices Filming Day 1 (11/11/10)

Today we met at 10AM at newton park to get started filming our version of Choices. Dani did a great job of sorting out the cast and equipment and by 10:30 we were started. Originally i was meant to be directing for todays session, but when i arrived i found out Hope was here, so i filled in sound recording as Ed wasnt available until the afternoon. I also helped with directing/ and setting up shots.

Unfortunatly the Sony Z1 was only available until friday and we had scheduled to film over the weekend, so we instead chose to use a Sony 3cmos which is of a similar spec, and is available to use for the whole of our production, this prevents having to use a different camera for different scenes.

I enjoyed doing sound for a few scenes and found it interesting seeing the production from a different view point. For one of the scenes we shot outside i thought it would be nice to use a high zoom from a long distance to create a real depth of feel in the frame. The only problem with this was that once we set up the shot, the boom mic lead wasnt long enough to reach the subjects! so i got as close as i could without getting in the frame. And just incase the sound wasnt strong enough i then asked the actors to record there lines a few times to the camera, so i then have some dialogue to fall- back on if i have to dub it in the edit.

We then had a couple of hours break, due to the fact we had to wait until 4PM to use Mike Johnston's office to film. This was because the office contains private/confidential documents so we had to be supervised while shooting. ALthough mikes current office was not the one we were intending to film in, so we asked and he kindly sorted out the other room for us. We completed the scene a little later than we had planned but we managed to get all the shots we needed, plus some extra shots we improvised on set, that i look forward to playing around with in the edit. We are next meeting tomorrow at 9:30 to film the scenes in town, so hopefully the weather will be kind to us!

Choice's Roles

I am happy with my group for the choices script, after the first few meetings its clear that everyone wants to do well and are coming up with good ideas. Weve spoken about the script and decided that we want to end it with a bit more of a twist. So instead of both Greg and Dan getting stuck in the class room at the end, we are going to have dan escape without Greg, by using his power through a closet door. i think this will work well because through out the film we see Dan being pushed around by greg and never really standing up to him, so i want to make the ending show that Dan has the courage to stand up to him and NOT be a loser. I think this will also make the audience connect more with Dan and respect him, but also empathyse his position with Greg and understand why its such a big thing for him to stand up to him.

Dan is going to rewrite the script with this ending, and Kay is going to do casting. For the production Ed is going to take on the role of sound, David is going to be the camera man, and Dani is going to be the producer. I originally wanted to Direct the film, but after finding out Hope wanted to aswell, i decided to let her as she hasn't done it before, and instead i will just help with the over all production as ive had alot more experience with the practical side of things than anyone else, and am comfortable with any of the roles. My main role is going to be editing, which i am happy with as i think this is going to be an entertaining production and im eager to see how our script comes together.

Were planning to film on the thursday due to some of the actors/crews availablity, instead of the saturday. So we will aim to shoot all of the scenes at the uni then, this is also when weve been able to book Mike's office. Friday we will do all scenes in town and the scene at Dans house. And if all goes to plan we wownt have to film after that. Although we have scheduled to shoot on sunday just incase we miss anything, or cant fit it all in to friday.