Lighting

To utilise the natural lighting we filmed all the outdoor scenes in one afternoon so we could use the same light from the sun and it will look continuous in the edit. We also filmed one of the scenes in the evening when it was darker to reflect what was happening in the scene. In fact, we just used natural lighting in the whole of our short film as we did not need any props such as a lamp or torch and the indoor scenes were filmed during the day so we did not need the lights on.   

Filming Locations

We used many locations during the filming of our short film. For all of the indoor scenes we just used Adams house so the transition between each room would run smoothly and are able to edit them together. We decided to shoot one of the scenes in a pub because Oliver’s sister works there so we were able to use it for as long as possible. The forest, although the furthest location we travelled to is the most effective in reflecting the darkness of Alex. I strongly agree that we used a variety of different locations during the filming of our short film which will overall make the film more interesting to watch.   

Filming- Day 2

10:00am- For the first scene we had to find a pub garden for the location. Adam and I were in this scene.  The scene is of myself (Alex’s best friend) and Adam (Alex) sitting around a table having a heated conversation about his relationship with Mellissa. Oliver, whose scene it was, got us sitting opposite to each other and filmed over shoulder shots during our conversation. To make it easier, Oliver filmed all of my side of the conversation first, moved the camera and then filmed Adam’s side. This was a good idea as whenever the camera was filming me it was always in the same position. To make the pub scene more authentic we both had pints of lager and a table umbrella. Out of all the scenes in our short film, this scene definitely has the most dialogue.

11:00am- For the next scene we had to travel to meet Lorna and Marie who played Mellissa’s best friends. In this scene Alex has followed them both to their car so he could ask where Mellissa has been lately but it soon escalates into an argument. It was very sunny during this scene so the lighting was excellent but it was quite windy which affected the dialogue. However, we will sort this problem out when we edit the piece. Filming is unpredictable in a busy place so we decided to film down a quiet road so there were no problems. This was one of my scenes so I decided to add as many camera shot sizes in the scene as possible.

4:00pm- After having a break we met again a few hours later in the location of a forest to film another scene. We purposely chose to start filming at this time as it was getting darker, which emphasises the location (a dark forest) and reflects Alex’s thoughts and personality. This scene was very simple to film as there were no props involved and the only actor was Adam.

I believe that filming our short film has been a success and I am looking forward to editing it.   

Filming- Day 1

11:00am- Me, Oliver, Adam and his girlfriend Katrina met at Adam’s house. We decided to film the very last scene where you see Adam writing a letter to himself pretending that Katrina is writing it for him, in which you then see her murdered on the floor. This scene was especially difficult to film as we had to use various techniques so you could not completely see who was writing the letter as this was the big twist in our film. However, I believe we successfully pulled this off, and it looked very effective as I was filming it.

12:30pm- We then decided to film the time lapse scene. This consisted of us taking lots of shots of Adam in different positions on his sofa. We will then edit these shots together so they look like time has passed. This scene was very interesting to film as it was good to experiment with the camera as I have never used a technique like this before. However, we experienced problems whilst filming this scene as the camera’s batteries kept dying so we had to keep recharging them.

1:30pm- After much discussion we came up with the conclusion that the first letter scene should be next. This was one of my scenes and I was especially excited to film it as I had many creative ideas. Firstly, I took different shots of Adam’s face and hands to show that he was writing a letter to Melissa but prolonged you actually seeing his whole body. This scene involved many props such as lots of paper and envelopes and pieces of screwed up paper on the floor. I chose these items especially the screwed up paper as I believe that it effectively shows is anger and perfection to get the relationship right. I believe that this scene was the most successful out of my scenes and it will also look very effective when it is edited.

2:30pm- The last scene we shot was of Adam (Alex) delivering the letter to Melissa’s house. This scene also involved time lapses of various letters being posted into her door on different days. We showed this through the lighting, filming shots when it was light and some when it got a bit darker. I believe that this will look effective once edited.       

Group Meeting (Filming)

We decided to hold a group meeting to discuss ideas about filming techniques, when to film and locations. We have planned it so we will film on two different days. The inside scenes will be filmed on the first day in Adam’s house and the outside scenes will be filmed on the second day, in a pub garden and in a forest. We have planned it in this way so it would be easier for us and we will not have to keep travelling to different locations one after another.
In the meeting we also discussed filming techniques. We agreed that we were going to use every shot size at least once in the film and make it more interesting by using different camera movements effectively. I am glad that we held this meeting as we are all now clear on filming dates and where to meet.

Casting Decisions

Casting suitable actors is very important in any film as it allows the audience to relate to certain characters. We have a relatively small cast in our short film. In fact we only have 4 key characters to cast in the storyline. A man aged 20-30 for the main character, another man of the same age as his best friend, a women aged 18-22 playing the love interest and a women of the same age playing her best friend. Although it is a very small cast I believe that this will be more effective as it keeps everything simple and the audience are able to get to know each character in more detail, compared to a large cast where what you remember about each character is limited. We have also decided that we would play some of the characters ourselves as we all have the ability to act and it will save time and effort trying to find actors to be in our short film. Further discussion of casting decisions resulted in the names of the characters and the actors who will be playing them. I believe that our choice of actors is suitable for our short film as each actor looks around the same age as the intended ages of each character and the actors which are being used are close to members in the group so they are easy to get in contact with and are less likely to let us down. Overall, I am very happy with the characters and especially the actors chosen to play them.     

Distribution of our short film

     

We have decided that our Short film will be distributed through film festivals. This is because there are many film festivals around the world primarily to show thriller films. Film festivals are also very popular and are a good way to show case your talent or to express a cause through your film about everyday issues in life. Another way we will distribute our film in through the internet on such websites as http://www.youtube.com/. Youtube is one of the most popular websites in the world, so this is an effective way of our film being viewed. Statistics also show that middle age men spend a lot of time on the site so it would give us more chance of our target audience being able to watch our short film.