R+P Post 20: Reflections so far/looking ahead

The test shoot and rough edit definitely did their job for my group because they perfectly highlighted what was working and what needed to be scrapped or adapted for the opening to fulfil its purpose and be entertaining. I agree with all of the feedback we have received from our teachers and friends, and I think that if we continue to work hard we will be able to implement the right changes and make a really good film opening.

R+P Post 19: Our rough cut

We edited our rough cut over three days both together as a group and individually.

Our edit schedule

The main issue with our rough edit that we and the technician picked out, was our sound levels and a few continuity errors that were down to poorly shot footage. These should be fairly easy to fix as we now know to be extra careful when filming certain sequences to avoid errors and with the extra time allocated for the main edit the sound levels shouldn't be an issue.
The rough cut also highlighted how we underestimated how long some actions would actually take to do and that when shooting we need to be a lot stricter with our timings to ensure that we don't go over the specified 2mins for the opening. 

R+P Post 18: Our test shoot

We completed a test shoot, carrying it out in the same way as we would the real one, to be able to fully see if our idea would work and any changes that would be need to be made.

Page 1 of our test shootboard

Overall, I think that the test shoot went well even though we did deviate slightly from the original plan. We changed the order in which we filmed some of the shots, for example we did all of the bedroom ones before those that were outside although we had planned to do this the other way around. We changed this because we realised that the actress would have to apply and remove her makeup too many times if we did it the original way. The order change really didn't make much of a difference though and we were still able to get everything done in time, most of which, when looked back on, we were very happy with. 

The test shoot very obviously highlighted for our group what went well and what we need to change for the final version and therefore has completely done its job.

Examples of shots I was happy with include:

I particularly liked this shot because visually, with the framing and colours, I think that it looks interesting and would capture the audience's attention in the 'getting ready' sequence. It also starts to give the audience an idea of the character's personality and traits as she confidently puts on her makeup.

I also liked this shot because the high angle and pan again makes the shot visually interesting whilst also adding another creepy element as the audience is following the completely unaware character's progress through the house.



The shots that have been highlighted as problems include the entire red herring sequence at the end as it is too confusing and contains a continuity error.

This sequence was supposed to build suspense and create tension but due to its confusing nature, it falls flat in achieving this.
For the actual shoot we have decided that we are going to change this part and keep both characters on the pavement and have the runner coming up behind her, perhaps even with some hand held camera work to emulate the stalker POV shots and build tension even more.

Clip showing the continuity error in our last two shots.

After we had finished the test shoot and put all the footage together, as a group we sat down and discussed areas for improvement before getting feedback from both of our teachers, the technician and other media students.

All of the pointers, from the staff, our friends and ourselves were then collected into a word document and can be seen below.

The feedback we got was very helpful and I think that if we can implement the changes our film opening could be really good.

R+P Post 17: Our editing arrangements

For the test edit, we decided to use our free periods to edit which gave all three of us roughly equal amounts of time working and meant that each of us got time to be solely in charge of the edit before discussing with the group, in our meetings, what we had done and what was still left to do.

Our Schedule

These arrangements worked very well for us and we met our deadline, so we will probably keep them the same for the first week of the main edit.

R+P Post 16: Casting, costumes, hair and make-up

We planned in detail exactly what each actor would need to be wearing and their makeup to ensure that they realistically could be the character that they were portraying.

Below is the table of our final decisions on costume and makeup.

Tyra also wore a sophisticated night dress for the first two shots in our opening which can be seen below.

The test shoot was actually very helpful for us in terms of finalising costumes because we realised during it that Tyra's costume for Shania wouldn't work as it wasn't professional enough and that the jogger needed to be wearing proper athletic gear.

Test Shoot Costume

Main Shoot Costume

These changes really helped to make our characters believable and, especially in the case of Shania, ensured that an audience could believe in her as a real person and therefore empathise with her and the problems she faces throughout the film.

R+P Post 15: Our filming location, set design and props

To ensure that our set looked believable as a hard working, organised lawyer's house, it was important that we dressed the rooms to reflect these aspects of her personality. My house was chosen as the location because the kitchen has wide French doors that are easy to see into and make the stalker POV shots possible.

Below are the top down plans of the rooms that we planned to film in along with a table detailing how they will be changed to fit our intended character representations. 

Kitchen Top Down Plan

Bedroom Top Down Plan

Please click the table below to enlarge.

R+P Post 14: Our filming arrangements

So that we all knew what we were going to be doing and that there was no confusion and unnecessary stress, it was important that we made concrete plans to stick to for the shoot day.

We ensured this by each having a copy of the necessary details such location, timing, props needed and equipment release forms all of which can be seen below.

The test shoot filming arrangements

The arrangements we made were:

• Shoot time - 9:00 - 4:00
• Location - my house
• One actor - who we messaged all the details to the week before and reminded the day before

We also created a shootboard using pictures from our storyboard to ensure that we got everything we needed on the day ad to keep us organised. Before making the final document we sat down as a group and decided which shots had similar set ups and so should be shot together, any extra master shots we wanted to put in and roughly how long each shot would take to complete.

Out shootboard included:

• the timings for each shot
• the shot number
• a picture of the actual shot
• framing and camera movement
• actors
• props
• crew roles

Below is a prezi showing the pages of our shootboard