Filming - successful one!

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After Friday having to be stopped due to the weather we rescheduled for Sunday afternoon. Again we had to change the day to Monday as our actors were unable to do it and the weather wasnt great.
On Monday the 29th we actually filmed and it went well. I made sure before hand the everything was right with the tripod doing many test shots and checking the framing on the camera with the story boards and Sadie the director.
I made sure we had either 2 or 3 shots of each to make sure the Nina as the editor had many options to pick from which would allow the clip to look as good as possible. Luckly the actors were very co-operative to do the scene over and over to make sure it was perfect with mise-en-scene and the camera angles.
I think compared to the other film we had alot more motivation to make sure this one was perfect to correct our many mistakes which happened last time. Me and Sadie worked alot better together checking every angle was right from the framing and the straightness of the film. Also with the use of the tripod their was no problem of it being shaky as it kept the camera steady throughout.
The main problem we had was making sure it was straight as we were filming on the sandy part of the beach leading to it in some cases being on a slope. But we made sure everything was straight before filming by moving the tripod or if necessary moving where the beach is alot flatter. Compared to the last actors which we had although they were good the chemistry wasnt enough to make the film believeable the actors in this clip worked well with eachother which added to the conventions required. It was also alot easier to direct and work with.
To make sure the risk of sand damaging the camera i made sure the tape was in the camera at my house so no sand could get in. Also the weather wasnt too windy so there was no risk of that problem happening.

As a group we decided to have no dialect throughout the whole clip so we used music from a copyright free cd in the libary. To make sure it didn't look like a music video we added the atmospheric noises of the sea as a mix with the track.

We used 54 seconds of track 7 - Crimson Joy by Jim Dooley. We mixed the atmospheric sound of the sea by unlinking it from the clips and lowering the volume so its only a slight addition to the music, which made the clip more realistic and natural.

Main Task - Filming first attempts

We decided to film on Sunday 21st as the weather report said sunny. After a huge panic to find the actors in time as the ones we planned before hand we unable we finally had Allie and Nina's friend Jenny who agreed to help us out.
We all met on the beach and it took a while to be able to actually start filming due to trying to find a spot where there weren't lots of people but enough room for the whole clip.
Once we located where it was best to film we began and realised that the connector for the camera and tripod wasn't in the camera case or on the tripod so had to do the whole thing hand held.
As I have the role of the camera women I decided to do it anyway as we planned everything and thought as long as I keep it steady as possible the clip should look okay. Sadly the outcome of the film wasn't to the best of my ability with it being out of focus and in some cases on a slant, as well as it being too shaky from me not having a steady hand and the weather being very sandy. With this being a huge problem as the rest of the group and myself wasn't happy with the outcome we decided to re - film the clip with the use of the tripod making sure the framing was correct and overcome the shakiness.
We decided to re film on the date on Friday 26th and began filming. After 20 minutes into the filming process the weather turned bad and started raining very heavy stopping us from continuing due to the risk of the camera being damaged.

Main Task - Planning

When given the main exercise and that I was in the same group as the preliminary task we went straight into the initial idea blast. We began with the idea of having a psychological horror and found it difficult to find location for filming and the research to get the conventions and ideology correct for that certain genre and idea we had. So while we still had time we decided to change to do a film with the genre of romance like the notebook and P.S I love you.
Once our ideas were clear we decided on the roles within the group and thought that this time it would be good to change from what our roles were in the preliminary task and decided on, me as the camera women, Sadie as the director and Nina as the editor, with us all happy with the roles allocated we started on the rest of the planning needed before filming.
For our opening sequence we decided on having no dialogue just music playing to add to the emotion we are trying to portray to the audience. So prevent from having a problem we went to the Libary and got the non copy right music to find an appropriate song. We ended up with 3 songs and thought once filmed would add to the final production deciding on a certain one so its the right tempo.
To get the correct conventions and ideoly we have researched 3 clips in particular which all have a clip based on a beach with a similar romantic features in some way; The Notebook, Grease opening sequence and My sisters keeper. We researched how each one used and changed within the mise en scene, editing, sound and camera work to have the right ideology.


After we watched the clips and researched them we created story board and detailed script dual form.













Compared to the preliminary task I have found this one a lot more harder to get the correct conventions right as it is such an open task where as the preliminary task had a certain points that had to be contained in the clip. Its also hard to be able to do a good piece in the amount of time we have and not be too under or above 2 minutes. With the preliminary task we filmed inside which was less overall planning needed as we didn't have as many required points, for the main task we decided have had a lot more planning to consider such as the date of filming due to the weather.
Before filming we had to complete risk assessments so we are covered if anything happens to one of the actors, group or equipment (camera and tripod). Compared to the preliminary task we have had a lot more higher risks which we have overcome; filming on the beach, sand damage in the camera which was overcome by putting the tape in away from the beach so there is no risk it being damaged, as well as wrapping clingfilm around the loose parts protecting it.















With the main task i personally intend my performance by having better detailed research into the tasks by looking at a wide range of videos and writing about the conventions which we can develop into our clip. Arrange actors and make sure they are able to attend the date we decide to film as well as spending the amount of time we need them to. I also want to be able to film well including the Pacific camera angles which needs to be included so the right conventions are shown and used.