Shooting Diaries 4

On the last day of filming we only had to film the scene where Alex sits down at a park bench hoping that Melissa will meet him. We met up the park at 1pm and all we needed was the people within the group as no other actors were needed, only Adam. In this scene there are a number of different camera shots and movements. This is one of the most interesting scenes in terms of camera techniques as it uses a different range of them. The shots varied from close ups to extreme long shots and the camera movements included forward tracks to pans.  Overall I think the filming was very successful and we did not encounter any major problems. The filming took four days to complete and was very enjoyable.  

Shooting Diaries 3

On the third day we decided to film the scene where Alex meets up with his best mate at the pub. We met at Adams house at 12am and Adam drove us down the pub we were going to be filming at. I got the two actors sitting at the bench opposite each other a recorded the scene twice from opposite sides of the bench. I used consistent over the shoulder shots in this scene as it was showing a conversation taking place. I also chose to film it from either side twice so the camera would be in the same position. I also used other shots like a two shot from the side of the bench and a few slight dominant shots as well. The only problems we had when filming this scene was the actors forgetting some of their lines so we had to do a few more takes than expected.

After we finished this scene we went back to Adams house to film the scene where Alex is on a social network looking up Melissa. This scene did not take very long to film as all we needed was an over the shoulder shot of Adam on the computer. We also included shots like an ECU of Adams hand using the mouse and shots of his eyes and face. We also filmed what was being done on screen as well but it did not look that good on camera.    

Shooting Diaries 2

On the second day of filming with decided to film one of the friend’s scenes with it being the one where Alex tries to get some information off Melissa’s friends. This scene involved two other actors and we all decided to meet at Adams house at 10am. We decided to film this scene outside Adams house as we used his car for the part where he is waiting for Melissa’s friends. When they appear the dialogue starts and we used a number of over the shoulder shots to show this. We also used close ups and a panning shot as well. We did have one minor problem when filming this scene though and it was the fact that it was a bit windy which made the dialogue slightly harder to hear.

After we finished this scene we went into Adams house and recorded the phone messages for the first scene. Adam had the script in front of him and he simply acted out the lines into the phone. After this we used the camera to film the phone messages on the answering machine.    

Shooting Diaries 1

On the first day of filming we decided to shoot all the scenes that were going to be filmed in Adam’s house. We decided to meet up at Adam’s house at 11am with everybody who was need for the scenes. This was the three of us in the group and Adam’s girlfriend.

The first scene we decided to film was the scene where it is revealed that Alex has murdered Melissa. Also in this scene is Alex writing a letter to himself pretending that Melissa is writing it for him, this will be before you see that Melissa is actually dead. The use of the camera in this scene was worked very cleverly with us restricted the audiences view in order to not reveal the death of Melissa.

The second scene of the day that was filmed was the scene where Alex is lying around on his sofa in different positions in order to show time is passing. We decided to take a lot of these shots so when it came to the editing we could choose the most effective ones. When editing, we will also use a number of fades to show this time lapse. After we filmed this scene we decided to have a little break.

After we had a break we decided to film one of the letter scenes which was the one with Alex writing the letter. When filming this scene we yet again used a number of camera techniques to restrict the audiences view. This was the first scene where we needed to use of props with letters and screwed up pieces of paper that Alex throws which shows he is not writing it correctly.

The scene that we decided to film last was the other letter scene where Alex goes to post the letter to Melissa’s house. This was one of my scenes and I started the scene off with an ECU of Alex’s hand holding a letter saying “My one and only, Melissa” on it. The next part is Alex walking up to the house and posting the letter. After he posts the letter we filmed another time lapse scene from inside the house where you see all the letters come through the letter box with junk mail as well to make it more realistic. Every shot that was filmed for this part we put more and more letters down each time.     

Planning Schedule

In terms of shooting our film we have held a meeting and discussed when would be best to get the filming done. We have taken into consideration that we have a half term coming up and decided that it would be best to get all the filming done in that holiday. Everybody in the group has got what they need in order to shoot the film; this includes scripts, storyboards, props, actor availability and the equipment that will be given to us before we break up. As we have a week off this will give us plenty of time to film all of the parts we need. In this meeting we also discussed who is going to be available on which days and arrange a schedule. As a group we agreed that we should allow the whole week Monday-Friday to be filming days. However, we may not need all of these days but will try and use the time efficiently.

Presentation of selected locations

As a group we have made a final decision on what locations will be used in the film. We have come to a decision that the writing letter, posting letter, and the dead scene will be filmed at Adam’s house. For the other scenes with have also concluded that we will use a pub garden for the scene with Alex and his best mate. We have also been given permission to use the garden as my sister works there and asked the owner if we could use it for filming.

The other location we have agreed on will be at a local park where we will be filming the scene where Alex is waiting and hoping for Melissa to turn up. The park is also nearby so there will not be any problem with getting there. Overall, all of the locations are close and easily accessible so if we need to re-shoot then we can do this without any problems.

Sound Ideas

In our film we have decided to not have a specific soundtrack throughout the film as we do not think it will be suitable. Instead we have chosen to do something different and unique to challenge the conventions of a typical psychological thriller. We decided as a group to play the phone messages that Melissa receives from Alex in the opening few scenes of the film. We believe as a group that these messages being played will be a lot better than music as the dialogue will make the whole atmosphere creepy.  

Props

There are not many props going to be used in our film but the most significant ones being the pint glasses for the pub scene with Alex’s mate. The use of these pint glasses gives a more mature and grown up theme to the film. Also it was important to show pint glasses at a pub garden to make the film look more realistic. Other significant props that will be used are a bundle of envelopes which will be in the letter scene. These envelopes will show the handwritten letters that Alex is writing to send to Melissa and you will see these being posted through her door. In this scene will be other props such as a load of junk mail which will be seen by the door for the part when the fades occur to show time has passed. This will also make the film seem more real as everybody receives junk mail through their letterbox. Another significant prop will be the use of a mobile phone which will be Alex’s, there will be use of consistent shots involving the mobile phone to emphasise how desperate he is to get in contact with her. I believe the use of these props will make the film more realistic in terms of the context of the film.