Though today was going ti be a long day, this was in part due to the fact that our actress couldn't come on set till 6.15, so we had a substantial amount of time in the afternoon to get pick ups and have a break.
On all past shoots I've found that the final day of filming is often the hardest, simply because everyone is pretty tired and with the end in sight, people begin to lose a bit of focus, meaning that often these final days can end up being the longest. To try and avoid this on this shoot, I just wanted to morale high so was being relly positive and optimistic, bought snacks for everyone to keep them energised and happy and emphasised that after lunch, there was only a small amount to film before we could have a long break.
The shoot itself ran pretty smoothly though there was quite a bit of clumsiness, with some people repeatedly tripping over lights, which obviously took up time as they needed to be reset.
We had enough time to do all the pick ups that we wanted and so then went to the sound studio next door to set it up for when Claire arrived. Because this was the last thing to do, it meant that I could let Henry, Joeley and Ben Brown leave.
This was our last day in the studio and we all came in the next morning to dismantle and clear the set. This was surprising quick and we were done before lunch.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Thursday, 27 February 2014
shoot day 3
With the set 2 now fuly dressed, we had a lot to shoot; most of the shots in the film are from this view point. Our final shot was the following day and I wanted us to have enough time to do pick ups, so to do this, there was a lot to fit in on Sundays shoot. As we had already done a week on long days first building the set, and now filming, I was aware that the crew would be feeling pretty tired. The night before I spoke to them about how much there was to do and that it was important that they got a good rest.
I had scheduled in a lot of breaks and wanted people to get a good lunch; I didn't want everyone to get weary and bogged down with the pressure of getting everything done on time so I thought that doing so would keep energy levels high but also reduce tension and give people are chance to have a breather.
As it happened, the shoot went pretty smoothly. Though everyone was clearly a bit tired, all worked hard to get through everything. Ben decided that he wanted to cut out a few shots, which meant we could get back a bit of time and we did finish earlier than scheduled.
I had scheduled in a lot of breaks and wanted people to get a good lunch; I didn't want everyone to get weary and bogged down with the pressure of getting everything done on time so I thought that doing so would keep energy levels high but also reduce tension and give people are chance to have a breather.
As it happened, the shoot went pretty smoothly. Though everyone was clearly a bit tired, all worked hard to get through everything. Ben decided that he wanted to cut out a few shots, which meant we could get back a bit of time and we did finish earlier than scheduled.
shoot day 2
Todays shoot didn't run as smoothly as yesterday. It was intended to be a short day, and at the end of it, we would stay behind to change over the set.
We were changing over the set so that it would look like the other side of the red room, so when edited together would give the impression we were shooting in a four walled room.
However, Ben wanted to change what we were shooting and add some pick ups from the day before so I had to jiggle the schedule around. As we had lost a bit of time, I spoke to crew to let them know and so that everyone knew where were at, and all could help out to make back time.
We pulled this off so managed to finish pretty much as scheduled, which I was pleased about because it meant that we could let Nathan leave on time.
Changing over the set took longer than expected ; we had to fit in the flat that featured the door and get the paint to match up, so the divides between the flat didn't stand out, and would give the appearance of a flat wall. We covered the divide with tape and paint over it but this still didn't cover up the divide. Grace suggested that we hang the two pieces of red fabric over it ( they also didn't look quite right in the corners of the walls, as we had planned). This worked pretty well, so we stuck with this.
We were changing over the set so that it would look like the other side of the red room, so when edited together would give the impression we were shooting in a four walled room.
However, Ben wanted to change what we were shooting and add some pick ups from the day before so I had to jiggle the schedule around. As we had lost a bit of time, I spoke to crew to let them know and so that everyone knew where were at, and all could help out to make back time.
We pulled this off so managed to finish pretty much as scheduled, which I was pleased about because it meant that we could let Nathan leave on time.
Changing over the set took longer than expected ; we had to fit in the flat that featured the door and get the paint to match up, so the divides between the flat didn't stand out, and would give the appearance of a flat wall. We covered the divide with tape and paint over it but this still didn't cover up the divide. Grace suggested that we hang the two pieces of red fabric over it ( they also didn't look quite right in the corners of the walls, as we had planned). This worked pretty well, so we stuck with this.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Monday, 24 February 2014
The Cook, The Thief, The Wife and Her Lover
having seen the finished set, it really reminds me of Peter Greenaways ' the cook, the thief, the wife and her lover'
Our set has theatrical feel to it and the luxurious colours and dark woods seem similar to that in Greenaway's film. When I said this to Joeley, she said that this was one of the films that had inspired her.
building the set
As we are really pushed for time building the set, all the crew are helping out and a couple of our friends too.
We began by dismantling the current set and then stripping the wallpaper off the walls to get them in the best state possible to apply the paint. Before we painted the walls, the boys helped assemble the set in accordance with Joeley's plan. We then applied new layers of wallpaper , but these had to dry so we had to stop after this.
The next day, we began applying the first layers of paint. Painting was our biggest concern because we wanted to use a number of different shades and have a few layers but we needed to factor in time for the paint to dry. While this was happening, myself and Emma Tackney (who came in to help out for the day) began painting the door , while the Bens working on building the skirting boards.
Joeley spent most of her time off set, getting the last of the props or items for set design.
One of the things she got was a big piece of black fabric which we tacked to the floor, to make the ground on the set. She also got two larger pieces of red fabric, but these were smaller than we had thought they would be. They were originally going to be hanging in the corners of the set but this didnt look great, mainly because they were pretty small. Grace suggested that we hang them either side of the door, everyone agreed this looked better so we did that.
The next task was to fit the door handle. The original handle looked naff and stood out against the lux feel of the set we had put together. Ben Brown spent along time trying to fit a new handle in - it proved more difficult than expected.
We began by dismantling the current set and then stripping the wallpaper off the walls to get them in the best state possible to apply the paint. Before we painted the walls, the boys helped assemble the set in accordance with Joeley's plan. We then applied new layers of wallpaper , but these had to dry so we had to stop after this.
The next day, we began applying the first layers of paint. Painting was our biggest concern because we wanted to use a number of different shades and have a few layers but we needed to factor in time for the paint to dry. While this was happening, myself and Emma Tackney (who came in to help out for the day) began painting the door , while the Bens working on building the skirting boards.
Joeley spent most of her time off set, getting the last of the props or items for set design.
One of the things she got was a big piece of black fabric which we tacked to the floor, to make the ground on the set. She also got two larger pieces of red fabric, but these were smaller than we had thought they would be. They were originally going to be hanging in the corners of the set but this didnt look great, mainly because they were pretty small. Grace suggested that we hang them either side of the door, everyone agreed this looked better so we did that.
The next task was to fit the door handle. The original handle looked naff and stood out against the lux feel of the set we had put together. Ben Brown spent along time trying to fit a new handle in - it proved more difficult than expected.
Saturday, 22 February 2014
shoot day 1
The first day of shoot just involved Nathan. As I wanted to schedule in time for pick ups or anything that needed to be reshot, the first few days are long ones. Starting at 10, we had a good morning. Everything was running on time and everyone was in good spirits and excited to get things going.
After lunch, things slowed down. There was a shot that involved the camera tilting up from the floor to the table and small chest. The guys spent a long time trying get this right, and because we were even a bit ahead, this was fine. However, it got to the point where I had to pull Ben aside and ask him how important this shot was. So long had been spent on trying to get it that we went from being ahead of schedule, to behind. As it was a long day anyway, I was conscious not to keep everyone or our actor any longer than necessary. Ben decided that we should cut the shot, so we quickly moved on.
As well as keeping the shoot on time, I helped set up lighting throughout the day to help the guys move from shot to shot as efficiently as possible.
After lunch, things slowed down. There was a shot that involved the camera tilting up from the floor to the table and small chest. The guys spent a long time trying get this right, and because we were even a bit ahead, this was fine. However, it got to the point where I had to pull Ben aside and ask him how important this shot was. So long had been spent on trying to get it that we went from being ahead of schedule, to behind. As it was a long day anyway, I was conscious not to keep everyone or our actor any longer than necessary. Ben decided that we should cut the shot, so we quickly moved on.
As well as keeping the shoot on time, I helped set up lighting throughout the day to help the guys move from shot to shot as efficiently as possible.
Thursday, 13 February 2014
finding props
Joeley has had some diffulity in trying to get hold of some of the props for the film, and as we are running close to the beginning of production, I have said that I'll help her source some of them. The main thing that she is having trouble gettting is a large fan, one large enough to create the effect of wind.
I first looked into the possibility of loaning one from a company, but there aren't any based in Sheffield so this seems pretty unrealistic, as even if a company would loan one, we would have to pay for postage etc.
My biggest hope is the theatres in Sheffield. I've emailed them to see if they have any spare. As a lot of them are based really close to uni, I"m hoping that we will just be able to pick one up.
I first looked into the possibility of loaning one from a company, but there aren't any based in Sheffield so this seems pretty unrealistic, as even if a company would loan one, we would have to pay for postage etc.
My biggest hope is the theatres in Sheffield. I've emailed them to see if they have any spare. As a lot of them are based really close to uni, I"m hoping that we will just be able to pick one up.
Monday, 10 February 2014
booking the set
Booking the set has been tricky, mainly because it has been block booked for CPR students, so we have to work around their schedule. Its looking like the only time that we will have available to use it is 17th-26th Feb. After this the CPR students will be using it and rearranging and re decorating the flats. This in turn means that we won't be able to do any reshoots as our set will no longer exist..
I'm not too worried because I know that we will be able to get things done, but this does had pressure and means that when on set I have to make sure that each shoot runs like clock work. It also means that when scheduling, I need to account for time to do pick ups as I want to finish the shoot with more footage than we need. Doing so would mean that we can avoid being in a situation where we need to do a reshoot.
Another concern I have is actually building the set. I'm going to speak with Joeley about how long she thinks it will take to do, as we need to be able to build it and dress it before we shoot, and I think that this could be really time consuming .
I'm not too worried because I know that we will be able to get things done, but this does had pressure and means that when on set I have to make sure that each shoot runs like clock work. It also means that when scheduling, I need to account for time to do pick ups as I want to finish the shoot with more footage than we need. Doing so would mean that we can avoid being in a situation where we need to do a reshoot.
Another concern I have is actually building the set. I'm going to speak with Joeley about how long she thinks it will take to do, as we need to be able to build it and dress it before we shoot, and I think that this could be really time consuming .
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
meeting with Joeley/budget
I had a meeting with Joeley today to discuss how things were progressing with the art direction and set preparations. I've been aware that she has an enormous task and seeing how stressed she was while making Passing last semester, I was conscious to make sure that she had the support she needed.
She seemed fairly positive in the meeting, turning down any offers for help. We discussed what she had planned for set how she was getting on in finding the cheapest way for doing this, as well as actually purchasing props and arts/crafts materials and tools.
She seemed to have everything under control and had found a few good places to rent /borrow second hand furniture at a good price. Her main concern was the cost of paint. I suggested places such as B & M or Wilkinsons as B & Q would be a lot more expensive.
This led to discussing the budget, which was something I was concerned to get sorted asap. I had an idea in my head as to how much I would have liked each of use to pay (about £30) but this was nothing concrete as I wanted to hear from Joeley how much things cost and looked like they were going to cost. Joeley thought that it would be a bit more expensive than that, but not too much. We came to the max total of £250, meaning we would all pay £41. This is a lot of money, and I don;t think its fair to ask people to pay something that I'm not prepared to pay, so I told Joeley that I wanted her to get it as cheap as possible.
As to how things were going to be payed for in the first instance, Joeley and Ben had agreed to pay as they both had the money to do so. I told Joeley to hold on to the reciepts for now, to avoid any mix ups or reciepts being lost. At the end of the production, all the crew would then give me the money which I would distribute to both Ben and Joeley. This is what we did last semester, and it worked out well so we thought there was no need to change.
She seemed fairly positive in the meeting, turning down any offers for help. We discussed what she had planned for set how she was getting on in finding the cheapest way for doing this, as well as actually purchasing props and arts/crafts materials and tools.
She seemed to have everything under control and had found a few good places to rent /borrow second hand furniture at a good price. Her main concern was the cost of paint. I suggested places such as B & M or Wilkinsons as B & Q would be a lot more expensive.
This led to discussing the budget, which was something I was concerned to get sorted asap. I had an idea in my head as to how much I would have liked each of use to pay (about £30) but this was nothing concrete as I wanted to hear from Joeley how much things cost and looked like they were going to cost. Joeley thought that it would be a bit more expensive than that, but not too much. We came to the max total of £250, meaning we would all pay £41. This is a lot of money, and I don;t think its fair to ask people to pay something that I'm not prepared to pay, so I told Joeley that I wanted her to get it as cheap as possible.
As to how things were going to be payed for in the first instance, Joeley and Ben had agreed to pay as they both had the money to do so. I told Joeley to hold on to the reciepts for now, to avoid any mix ups or reciepts being lost. At the end of the production, all the crew would then give me the money which I would distribute to both Ben and Joeley. This is what we did last semester, and it worked out well so we thought there was no need to change.
Tuesday, 4 February 2014
difficulties in casting
I'm really struggling with casting this film. With a fair few people showing interest, only two have confirmed an audition, and as said previously, theses are definitely not our first choice. I have emailed different acting studios and schools within Sheffield and further afield, but still am struggling to get interest in the film. I had a tutorial with Chrissie, who pointed out that the lack of dialogue could be a big reason for this.
Everyone in the crew is asking round to see if they have any friends or friends of friends who might be interested, however, I think that we might have to stay with the two people who auditioned. Its also getting to point where we are so close to production that I feel that we can't postpone letting them know any later, firstly because it would be unfair to them but also because the longer we leave it the less time we have for rehearsals.
Everyone in the crew is asking round to see if they have any friends or friends of friends who might be interested, however, I think that we might have to stay with the two people who auditioned. Its also getting to point where we are so close to production that I feel that we can't postpone letting them know any later, firstly because it would be unfair to them but also because the longer we leave it the less time we have for rehearsals.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)