Filming Complete :D

We have finally finished the filming of our sequence. This second session of filming was a lot quicker as there were no outside shots; we had previously filmed all the smoking shots, outside. we had estimated that this would take about an hour and a half and this was more than adequate. Both Ade and I  feel very satisfied with the shots filmed and  very excited to start editing the project. At times it was a bit difficult to motivate and control the actors as enthusiasm sometimes got the better of them :D , However they were very co-operative and respectful and they did exactly what Ade and I wanted them to do within each shot. the chemistry between the two actors was outstanding, and the casting was perfect. We plan to make the start of this film in black and white to emphasis a bleak and grim atmosphere. we achieved the lighting effect with just the one lamp , giving us great dramatic shadows. Everything including costumes fitted well within  the desired retrospective time period of the 1960s. We tried to use a variety of shots including shoulder shots, high/low and angle shots and very mild panning.

filming ( part 2)

during activities, we started to film our thriller. we have done all of the smoking shots, so now we only have to film the rest of the inside shots, which hopefully won't take as long. we only had a few minor difficulties. a student who wanted to help us claimed that we didn't have to follow the story board and tried to change the lighting and feel . for this reason we may have to let him go, as we feel it is very important that we FOLLOW THE STORYBOARD. we were also short on a few props , so i will need to go aquire them, before they are required for the shot. other than that we are on track and we are on our way to finishing the filming. we plan to finish at the end of thursdays activities. as we need to finish by half term as ade leaves for nigeria on friday.

Filming Day ( pre filimg)

today is the day when we start to film our thriller. we have the props all together. we've created the signed warning people that filming is in progress. we have printed permission slips and scripts for each cast member. the smoking problem has been resolved by filming the smoking shots outside and non smoking filiming and action inside. we shall commence filing during school acftivities at around 4 oclock . day lighting will not be a problem  as some of the windows will be covered to set the darkness. it won't be a problem as there will be sufficient natural light.

Locations

Today I went and had a look around school campas, to find the place that Ade and I are going to film the thriller. The sort of place that we desire to film is a place that is isolated, creepy and dark and can be visually interpreted as a hide out. I have found several decent places that are sheds, buildings and even a garage. It may seem like alot of choices but we have to consider the availability of the areas within our set filming time on tuesday. these are the areas below....

Props/Setting

This weekend I have been acquiring some of the props needed for our thriller intro. As Ade cannot go outside school premises as he boards full time, It was my duty to go out and buy any props needed. we had previously worked our way through the storyline and decided that we required the following: a gun, cigars, a suave fedora hat, a lamp, a white carnation flower, 2 suits and fake blood. so far we have obtained the anglepoise lamp, the carnation flower,  and the gun. for legal reasons we cannot use a real gun , therefore i decided to spray paint a toy gun in black and chrome so it looked like a real one.

at the moment, we currently searching for fake blood, the fedora hat, the cigarsn and suits. places to investigate are oxfam shops for suits, joke/toy/costume shops for fake blood failng that ketchup will have to do. at the moment i'm twisting arms for a loan of a fedora hat. the deadline for props is saturday ( hopefully) as that is when we plan to start filming.
for our location we hope to find a warehouse or garage as the setting is quite dark and isolated and possibly on school premises. other venues will explored through personal contacts

Preliminary task video

We Have finished the preliminary task, i was mostly responsible for the filming but directed some of the acting. We edited it all on final cut Pro and exported the footage onto to a video file. for filming it was very easy to set up the positioning of camera and cast, however it was diffcult to determine whether the panning and positioning was correct. it was also difficult if we wanted a close up because the zoom on the camera was limited in range. therefore if we wanted an extreme close up we would have to physically move the camera and tripod. when it comes to filming the actual project, i want to mark with tape the areas of where i want the camera to be positioned , for different shots. This way all of the shot types desired to be the same will be at least similar to each other if not exactly the same.

Goodfellas

Today I watched the movie GoodFellas (1990) by Martin Scorsese starring Ray Liota, Robert De Nero and Jon Pesci. I thought it was a great film full of eye popping moments, but i did not see it so much as a thriller because i thought the story structure was more drama. I thought this beacuse It was told in 1st/3rd person narrative and the story status went rising from equallibrium  declining to disequallibrium half way through, for instance when Henry loses the last of his expensive cocaine which was flushed by his wife, leaving him broke. Like a thriller there were thrilling moments e.g when Devito shoots Spider in the leg (by accident) , then after Spider recovers from the hospital,  totally unexpectedly, Devito shoots him again and kills him ( this time deliberately). However these thrilling moments don't pose as a particularly long dilema and don't progress as the scene movie proceeds. Not extended , but done and finished with. I felt the music was used more in a lifestyle natural way, there was hardly any cinematic music used to emphasise tension. as it was based on a true story this made the film more amusing. I would say this movie is thrilling but not thrilling enough to be a thriller film. Though it has its thrilling moments , its more of a all round film , giving characterisation and doesn't follow the 31 functions of a typical story.

StoryBoard Finish/ Preliminary Task

Today in conjuction with Ade, we have finished the storyboard for our thriller intro. It took us a few hours as we had to construct it carefully to ensure that the story had a logical order and the camera shots were identifiable. Our main concerns were that we had to chose the right camera shots and sequencing in order to create the tension and climax within the desired atmosphere we had visuallised for our film. This week we are starting the preliminary task of filiming a short sequence and we have been given the details of the shots, including the range of shots to be covered. The storyboard for the preliminary task is complete and now we need to film it and then edit it. Afterwards Ade and I will be able to commence the shooting of our project. To keep us on track with the project and to make sure that we had considered all aspects of the project from costumes , casting to soundtrack, I designed a plan with tick boxes and deadlines to ensure a logical order in our planning and preparation , this plan also included deadlines and the overall objectives.