Review of our Opening Sequence Shoot Day

 Overall, our test shoot went really well. We had a few small problems we had to sort out, but we are all happy with how we worked as a team, how the actors worked and how all our organisation came together. as a team, how the actors worked and how all our organisation came together.  

We began our preparation with the day before. We began arranging props and gathering materials from around school. Some of these probs included tables, chairs, tablecloths, hammers and various other props. We realised on the Sunday we didn’t have as much fake blood as we hoped, so we bought some extra on Amazon with next day delivery which arrived in time. We also made sure our story boards and shot list were up to scratch and ready to go as a guideline for our shoot. Then on the Monday we emailed all our cast to remind them of costumes and timings for the following shoot day. In one the emails to Hannah we asked if she could bring in a few backup dresses as the one we had brought in was quite small and could be too revealing. We wanted a dress that she would feel comfortable in and be able to focus purely on the acting and not feel self-conscious. We also had the make the decision of what t-shirt our main character Ted was going to wear. After seeing both white and black we decided to choose the white t-shirt as it would stand out more under his leather jacket.

Then on Monday morning we began setting up the ‘club’ before the actors arrived. We moved screens, set up lights and placed chairs, empty alcohol bottles and glasses around the set. We then got Hannah to try on the different dresses and decided on a long green dress she brought in. After that, I did Raffie and Hannah’s makeup (blood) while Saskia and Danny set up the camera equipment, so we didn’t waste time.   

What went well in our shoot was our set and lighting. The LED light tunnels we used were especially effective. We managed to create nice shadows of different light colours on Hannahs face especially. Our set looked quite realistic. We used the backwall of the studio, which was light blue bright work, but it actually looked like the back wall of a club. The various props we had organised the day before came in handy when adding tiny details such as wine bottles, glasses and chairs tipped over to make it look like a fight had just taken place.  

When we began filming, we used our story board as a guide, but we did not stick to it as much as we thought. After talking through the sequence, we began having more ideas, we still used the same concept but changed some shots and ideas within the story. We added more bodies and weapons to make our opening sequence more action full and entertaining. We also added some contrasting shots like a slow backwards track at the start and then later, fast pans or cuts. We needed to adjust the shutter depending on how fast the movement in the shot was. On the few shots I helped Saskia on the camera, while she panned, I did a focus pull so that everything from the start of the pan to the end was in focus, this was the first time I had done this, but with a little bit of advice from Matt it went really well. 

The camera workshops we did with Matt were extremely useful when it came to setting up the camera, recording in focus, adjusting settings such as iso and exposure. Matt also talked to us about being organised and productive. As the director I would yell ‘stand by’ ‘roll camera’ (rolling) ‘action.’ These ques were really good for everyone to be ready. Before filming we were a bit worried because Hannah is one of our good friends, and we didn’t want to get distracted by casting her in our opening sequence. But when we were in the studio, we all worked collaboratively and professionally, we didn’t get distracted as we all knew this was our course work and is important.   

I think as the director I did my job well and got involved as much as possible. I tried to keep everyone on task and ensure the continuity of the sequence was kept. I hope that everyone had enjoyable time while also working hard and focusing on the sequence.  

We came across the problem of how to make our stunts realistic. We didn’t research how to create hits and action look realistic. So, on the shoot day we had to choreograph a fight between Ted and Mike. This took a little bit of time; it would have been better if we did this in our organisation so on the day, we could have just told the actors their fight (movements). If I were to do another opening sequence, I would make sure I had an idea of how I would want the movement or action to look.  

My favourite part of the day was seeing all our organisation and vision come together, overall, we are happy with how our shoot day went and I enjoyed working behind the camera and having the ability to be creative and try different ideas out.  

I'm excited for when it comes to editing our sequence and seeing our final product. I’m aware of the challenges of editing which may occur, such as finding the right soundtrack and creating the foley sounds, we may also struggle to make the opening sequence flow.  

 

While we had free moments on our shoot day, we took some behind the scenes videos. 

Here is a behind scenes video I edited.