Shoot day reflection

We began setting up for our shoot on Monday during activities when Meadow and I went to Beatrice Webb taking all of the props that Meadow had sourced with us. This included books, fake skulls, a map, pots of pens, paints, a pestle and mortar, scalpel and plastic bags as well as the record player I borrowed from my sister. When we got there, we moved the desk into the middle of the room and arranged all the props on the table. However, we realised that the space was quite empty so we decided to go to the props storage cupboard which was a short two minute walk from Beatrice Webb. In the props cupboard we found a table, so that the male protagonist could have a separate area to make the poisonous berry mixture. This would fit in with our narrative, as the man would most likely want to make sure that his other belongings wouldn't be contaminated. We also found a coat stand which we used to fill the corner of the room. Setting up our props two days before the shoot helped us to save time on the day. Additionally, it allowed us to look around the storage room where the woman would be sitting which was filled with suitcases. This meant that we made a note that we would need to make time to clear out the suitcases on the day of the shoot.

On the day of the shoot, Meadow, Matthew and I met in the media classroom at 8:30 and waited for Mike and Luke to arrive. We then began packing up the mini van with camera equipment as well as our costumes for the actors and some beakers and test tubes that we had been lent by the biology department. It was about a ten minute journey to Beatrice Webb. Once we got there, we spent roughly an hour doing all our final preparation. This involved clearing out all the suitcases which we put in the entry of the house. We also brought some sheet green material with us which we cut into strips. We tied it around the coat hanger and connected it to the top of the wall at different angles to create dimension to the background of our shots and to create hints in the man's surroundings that there is something strange about his character. Our actors arrived at between around ten and half past ten, at which point we began shooting Ezra's section of the sequence, starting with the shot of him putting on the record player which we plan to make the first shot of the sequence. After shooting the majority of Ezra's section we headed back to school for a brief lunch break. After lunch, we went back to Beatrice Webb and started shooting all parts of the sequence which involved both Ezra and Susannah. We filmed a shoot in which Ezra holds up a fizzing beaker to the camera (the poisonous mixture) and then walks towards the door which he pushes open to reveal Susannah who is tied up. We created the fizzing in the beaker using vinegar and bicarbonate of soda but we had to test this out a few times to work out which quantities created the desired level of fizzing. In addition we encountered some difficulties tying Susannah to the chair using zip ties. as they wouldn't stay on. However, we solved this by duct taping the zip ties. so that they would stay on.

Having the funnel attached to her mouth and being tied to a chair meant that Susannah was quite uncomfortable so we couldn't spend too long on her shots. We allowed her to take regular breaks and ensured that she kept her energy levels up with tea and biscuits. When it was time to film more shots with her, we tied her to the chair again using zip ties and duct tape again. We filmed two shots that made it seem as if a belt was tied around her neck. In the first shot, Susannah held the belt around her neck herself, to make it seem as if it was tied around her neck without hurting her. Then in another shot, the belt was looped around her wrists and I held the belt at an angle out of the shot to make it seem as if it was tied to her neck. Although we are yet to watch the footage back, but it seemed as if it created quite an effective illusion. At this point, it was already around quarter to five and we had to start packing away so that we would have cleared everything away and returned the room to normal and left before the boarders returned after dinner. We started by removing the chair, funnel and zip ties from the storage cupboard and moving all the suitcases from the entry of the house back into the storage cupboard. Meadow cleared the props in the garden room and packed them into boxes whilst Matthew and I washed up the beakers and test tubes we had used. We then began loading all of the camera equipment, props, costumes and cardboard that we had used to board up the windows back into the mini van. This took around twenty minutes and we then took the journey back to school which took roughly ten minutes. We stopped by the bins and threw away all of the cardboard we had used to save us walking back and forth between the car park and the bins.

We used a Black Magic 4K mini URSA/USRA and used a variety of lenses to capture each shot. We also held up cardboard at different angles to create more light in some of our shots where necessary. Towards the end of the day, it got very dark so we used blue light to help create more light in our shots. Given that I missed the first two camera workshops, I had to observe quite a bit on the day of the shoot as I still didn't feel particularly confident using the cameras. However, since my primary role was director, I wasn't handling the camera as much as Meadow, whose role was Camera Operator. On the day, I learnt a number of techniques. For example, on Monday when we went to set up I learnt how to board up the windows. Then on the day, Luke gave me tips on how to tilt the camera which I put to use to film the shot of the man holding up the beaker to the camera before turning around and walking towards the door at which point the camera begins tilting. This is so that when the door is opened, Susannah's head is near the top of the shot. I also learnt the importance of the 180 degree rule when we shot dialogue sequences in groups a few weeks earlier. We also made sure to follow on-set protocol such as not watching any footage back, helping us to focus on filming. As the director, I also made sure to use the correct terminology on set. This included declaring "roll camera" and "action".

If we were to shoot again, I would film a wider variety of shots. I think there were times when we spent too long filming shots many times to make them perfect which meant that we were unable to film any stills of the table with all the man's belonging on it including paints, books, skulls, a map, pots full of pens and the record player. These were shots we had planned to take to help build the character of the man and to add some variety to her sequence. Additionally, we also didn't have time to film the close up shot of the liquid pouring into the funnel which is crucial to our opening sequence. However, Mike has assured us that if we edit the sequence together and think we still need these shots, he will allow us to spend a bit of time in the studio filming these. The location won't matter for these shots as they will all be close ups and will therefore blend into the sequence quite nicely. When it comes to editing, I'm excited to watch back the footage that we recorded, and see how we can edit it together in different ways to create an intriguing and suspenseful opening. Although it meant we struggled with time a bit, I think that taking our time on each shot allowed us to really focus on the composition of each shot, meaning that the quality of our footage should be up to the standard we had hoped for.