Today we needed to finish off filming. we had arranged to visit our 2 inside locations, Bath Abbey and St.Micheal's church. However we still had not got in contact with Charles Curnock from Bath abbey to discuss times, so i rang him up and he told me that my group could film between 9 and 10. It was already 9:30 so we rushed to the Abbey to film, however i got a phone call telling me that we had left the battery for our camera back at the college, so Liam and Oliver had to rush back and get it. By the time they got back we only had 15 minutes to film and the public were already starting to enter the hall. Because of this we could not get the shot we intended, therefore we had to make do by making it another running through shot, and decided to come back at 4 to continue filming when it was less busy. After getting the shots, we went St.Micheal's to continue filming.
We were told that only 3 of us were allowed to film upstairs due to lack of space, so Liam, Oliver and I decided that we would go. We had already planned our shot when we visited St.Micheal's so it did not take a lot of time, however the camera wasn't picking up the silhouettes if the surrounding buildings out the window, so we had to work out how to change from outside mode to inside mode half way through our shot. Once we had got our shot we decided to leave, however i saw an opportunity to get a good shot, so i took the camera back up on my own and shot it. I feel that this was a good idea, has I was taking advantage of the location, and i feel the shot will be useful when making our film. The only problem that we encountered today, was public in the Abbey, but the rest of the day was very productive and i feel we have enough footage to create our film.
Friday 11 December 2009
Tuesday 8 December 2009
Filming
4/12/09
Today was the first day of filming for our Gothic films. Firstly we had to learn how to use the cameras. Me and Oliver were the first to learn the basics of filming, but then Daniel and Liam also had a go so we could share the filming between us. I found it easy to pick up the camera skills such as using the iris to adjust the light let into the camera lens. Oliver then practiced running down the college stairs for a test. we repeated this a couple of times, giving Oliver tips on how to improve the filming. This wasn't as successful as we planned, as students kept wanting to walk up the stairs. This reflects one of the problems we could face in the real location. Once we showed Sara our test shot of running down the stairs, we were able to go to the real location to put the skills we learned into practice. One problem we encountered is that another filming group had arranged to film on Walcot street steps at the same time, so we had to be quick with filming so we didn't hold them up. however this wasn't a big issue as we got the shot we wanted after only a few shots. Secondly, we went to the walkway up to Pultney bridge. one of the problems we faced is that as its a public pathway, a lot of pedestrians walked into our shot, so we had to work around them. Another problem we encountered is that there was a safety buoy attached to the railings, so we had to avoid getting this into our shot. Originally, we had arranged to film in the Abbey, however we did not get in contact with them in time, so had to postpone this until the week after. We also decided that we would postpone the visit to st.Michael's church until the week after also. This meant we needed to find a new location to film, that would be covered in our filming agreement locations. We went to a church down the road from where we were, which we decided would be a good location to film. Going here slightly changed the outlook of how we wanted our film to look like, we decided the 'character' was being chased,which would add more of a horror element to our film. However it was getting dark and the camera was finding it hard to focus, so we decided to finish. Overall the day was very productive, as we finished both our outside shots, but also got a new location added in as well. the main problem encountered was the public, therefor we need to try and arrange to film in less busy times next week.
Today was the first day of filming for our Gothic films. Firstly we had to learn how to use the cameras. Me and Oliver were the first to learn the basics of filming, but then Daniel and Liam also had a go so we could share the filming between us. I found it easy to pick up the camera skills such as using the iris to adjust the light let into the camera lens. Oliver then practiced running down the college stairs for a test. we repeated this a couple of times, giving Oliver tips on how to improve the filming. This wasn't as successful as we planned, as students kept wanting to walk up the stairs. This reflects one of the problems we could face in the real location. Once we showed Sara our test shot of running down the stairs, we were able to go to the real location to put the skills we learned into practice. One problem we encountered is that another filming group had arranged to film on Walcot street steps at the same time, so we had to be quick with filming so we didn't hold them up. however this wasn't a big issue as we got the shot we wanted after only a few shots. Secondly, we went to the walkway up to Pultney bridge. one of the problems we faced is that as its a public pathway, a lot of pedestrians walked into our shot, so we had to work around them. Another problem we encountered is that there was a safety buoy attached to the railings, so we had to avoid getting this into our shot. Originally, we had arranged to film in the Abbey, however we did not get in contact with them in time, so had to postpone this until the week after. We also decided that we would postpone the visit to st.Michael's church until the week after also. This meant we needed to find a new location to film, that would be covered in our filming agreement locations. We went to a church down the road from where we were, which we decided would be a good location to film. Going here slightly changed the outlook of how we wanted our film to look like, we decided the 'character' was being chased,which would add more of a horror element to our film. However it was getting dark and the camera was finding it hard to focus, so we decided to finish. Overall the day was very productive, as we finished both our outside shots, but also got a new location added in as well. the main problem encountered was the public, therefor we need to try and arrange to film in less busy times next week.
Friday 20 November 2009
Locations
We had to find some locations round Bath to use for our film.
Before we did this we had to be assigned roles for the project
Faii was assigned the role of director, Daniel is in charge of props, and Liam is the Chief Editor.I was assigned the role of Team leader and Co-Camera operator with Oliver.
We then went out to try and find locations. WE had already decided that we would use some steps on Walcot Street because the stairs give an eerie feel. The problem we may come accross whilst filming here is pedestrians and cars which will not fit in with the Gothic theme. We will overcome this by looking around before we start filming for possible distractions. We then walked past St.Micheal's church and decided inside the church would be interesting as it is different to the obvious landmarks. We asked the owner if it would be alright if we went up to the top tower, and she was happy to let us film between 9am-10am on the 4th of December. We then walked up some steps to get a good view of Pultney bridge, we decided to use this in our film the give a creepy and decayed atmosphere. For our final shot we wanted to use the Abbey, however we decided to film this at the beginning of the day as it would have less people walking into our shots.
We took pictures an short clips of the locations we wanted to use, which we could also use in our film.
Before we did this we had to be assigned roles for the project
Faii was assigned the role of director, Daniel is in charge of props, and Liam is the Chief Editor.I was assigned the role of Team leader and Co-Camera operator with Oliver.
We then went out to try and find locations. WE had already decided that we would use some steps on Walcot Street because the stairs give an eerie feel. The problem we may come accross whilst filming here is pedestrians and cars which will not fit in with the Gothic theme. We will overcome this by looking around before we start filming for possible distractions. We then walked past St.Micheal's church and decided inside the church would be interesting as it is different to the obvious landmarks. We asked the owner if it would be alright if we went up to the top tower, and she was happy to let us film between 9am-10am on the 4th of December. We then walked up some steps to get a good view of Pultney bridge, we decided to use this in our film the give a creepy and decayed atmosphere. For our final shot we wanted to use the Abbey, however we decided to film this at the beginning of the day as it would have less people walking into our shots.
We took pictures an short clips of the locations we wanted to use, which we could also use in our film.
Friday 13 November 2009
6/11/09
Today we had Sarah from Suited and Booted come to talk to us about our next project. Suited and booted are a production company that work with young people. She was going to help his create a short film to portray the Gothic side of the city of bath. The films would be between 90 seconds and 3 minutes long, and the best 2 would be put on the website for the bath film office, hopefully resulting in an interest to film in bath by a film company. We were then visited by 2 members of the bath film office, who came to tell us what they were looking for as our target audience. Bath film office assist film makers when filming in bath, and promote the area. We were then put into our film groups and brainstormed our ideas. We found it hard to think of a story line straight away unlike the other groups in the class. However we thought of a basic idea for our film and ideas of the locations we would like to use. I came up with a few locations and a few starting points for the film, and briefly discussed my ideas on how we would film in certain locations and what angles we would use.
Today we had Sarah from Suited and Booted come to talk to us about our next project. Suited and booted are a production company that work with young people. She was going to help his create a short film to portray the Gothic side of the city of bath. The films would be between 90 seconds and 3 minutes long, and the best 2 would be put on the website for the bath film office, hopefully resulting in an interest to film in bath by a film company. We were then visited by 2 members of the bath film office, who came to tell us what they were looking for as our target audience. Bath film office assist film makers when filming in bath, and promote the area. We were then put into our film groups and brainstormed our ideas. We found it hard to think of a story line straight away unlike the other groups in the class. However we thought of a basic idea for our film and ideas of the locations we would like to use. I came up with a few locations and a few starting points for the film, and briefly discussed my ideas on how we would film in certain locations and what angles we would use.
Friday 16 October 2009
Evaluation
How have you worked at different stages?
I think I worked well at all the different stages in the process of making a film. I came up with the main idea for our film and played a big part in planning, from creating the storyboard to choosing locations. However I don't feel I did well with filming, as I was put in charge of the camera and I had never used it before. I think it helped having a plan with a basic plot of the film split into stages because otherwise we would have had to improvise too much and the story wouldn't have made sense.
What problems and successes did you experience and what are the strengths and weaknesses?
In this project our aim was to convey the aftermath of a 'storm'; we decided this would be a fight. We started by brainstorming ideas, this didn't turn out very well as we couldn't think of many ideas. We decided to chose the first one we came up with.
We then created a story board with our 10 shot plans. We did not stick to this so i had to re-do my storyboard, as it was hard to stick to it on the day. We also wrote down locations and times of our filming which we did not stick to, as our original place for filming had no passers by to act, so finding a new place with actors stalled time so we did not stick to our time sheet. When filming, we realised the camera we used did not have a black and white function. we needed this to portray a CCTV shot, so in our film it is hard to understand. we also wanted to use in-camera effects to show the audience when the shot was a flashback, but couldn't so the film is confusing to watch. I think another weakness for our film was the acting, as it was not serious enough and did not match the plot.
What influenced your work?
As we were given a title, 'after the storm', we were very limited as to what we could do, so this influenced our work. We were also only allowed 10 shots in our film, so we worked the film around that.
What have you learnt?I have learned about all the different camera angles and shots. I have also learned how to work a camera, and how to get the film uploaded onto a computer. Next I would like to learn how to edit a film as I feel this would have improved our work as we could use the effects we needed.
I think I worked well at all the different stages in the process of making a film. I came up with the main idea for our film and played a big part in planning, from creating the storyboard to choosing locations. However I don't feel I did well with filming, as I was put in charge of the camera and I had never used it before. I think it helped having a plan with a basic plot of the film split into stages because otherwise we would have had to improvise too much and the story wouldn't have made sense.
What problems and successes did you experience and what are the strengths and weaknesses?
In this project our aim was to convey the aftermath of a 'storm'; we decided this would be a fight. We started by brainstorming ideas, this didn't turn out very well as we couldn't think of many ideas. We decided to chose the first one we came up with.
We then created a story board with our 10 shot plans. We did not stick to this so i had to re-do my storyboard, as it was hard to stick to it on the day. We also wrote down locations and times of our filming which we did not stick to, as our original place for filming had no passers by to act, so finding a new place with actors stalled time so we did not stick to our time sheet. When filming, we realised the camera we used did not have a black and white function. we needed this to portray a CCTV shot, so in our film it is hard to understand. we also wanted to use in-camera effects to show the audience when the shot was a flashback, but couldn't so the film is confusing to watch. I think another weakness for our film was the acting, as it was not serious enough and did not match the plot.
What influenced your work?
As we were given a title, 'after the storm', we were very limited as to what we could do, so this influenced our work. We were also only allowed 10 shots in our film, so we worked the film around that.
What have you learnt?I have learned about all the different camera angles and shots. I have also learned how to work a camera, and how to get the film uploaded onto a computer. Next I would like to learn how to edit a film as I feel this would have improved our work as we could use the effects we needed.
Saturday 10 October 2009
Filming
Following the previous weeks planning, it was time to shoot our film.
First we had to decide the location of each of our 10 shots, which consisted of lots of different locations around the town.
However when we went out to shoot we decided to change our locations, and situated all our shots around a small part of the college. This not only made it easier to find actors to be in our film, but also gave the audience a sense of navigation as it was set in a recognisable location.
As part of the challenge, we were not allowed to delete any scenes that we shot, which meant we had to get the shot perfect first time. this made it very important to plan the shot carefully before shooting. however it also gave an effective outcome as the shakiness of the camera gave the feel of tension.
Overall i feel that the filming went well and the outcome was strong for our first time creating a short film.
First we had to decide the location of each of our 10 shots, which consisted of lots of different locations around the town.
However when we went out to shoot we decided to change our locations, and situated all our shots around a small part of the college. This not only made it easier to find actors to be in our film, but also gave the audience a sense of navigation as it was set in a recognisable location.
As part of the challenge, we were not allowed to delete any scenes that we shot, which meant we had to get the shot perfect first time. this made it very important to plan the shot carefully before shooting. however it also gave an effective outcome as the shakiness of the camera gave the feel of tension.
Overall i feel that the filming went well and the outcome was strong for our first time creating a short film.
Short film from Charlie on Vimeo.
Friday 9 October 2009
Planning for short film
We were assigned groups of 3, and needed to plan a 10 shot film entitled 'after the storm' to shoot the following week. we started by creating a mind map of ideas that we could link to 'after the storm' and chose the idea that our film would be the aftermath of a fight. Other ideas we had included a literal storm and a divorce.
we then decided to plan out the content of our 10 shots by creating a story board. This included the basic story, the camera angles and shots and the conversation, which we decided to keep to a minimum to add effect.
we then decided to plan out the content of our 10 shots by creating a story board. This included the basic story, the camera angles and shots and the conversation, which we decided to keep to a minimum to add effect.
Friday 25 September 2009
Fear from Robin Whenary on Vimeo.
This short film was made by a media student to create a sense of tension. It is about A young man returns home in the dark and is unnerved by a sound and trys to understand the source.
It begins with an eye level shot from inside a car, this makes the audience wonder where the car is going. The man then gets out the car and the car drives away, this creates a good use of light as the headlighs of the car fade out as the car moves further away from the camera.The camera angles used create a personal feel, such as the use of close up shots of certin objects to show where the character is looking, and also close up shot of the characters face to show the characters emotion and . The lack of sound also creates suspense as the audience can only hear him breathing. I like the use of black and white when filming as it gives an eerie feel. There are shots in the film where the camera is under the bed or from behind a door which creates the feel that something is watching the man.
I like this film as it uses lot of different camera angles to create tension and does so well. I also like the story line of the film as it is basic and yet uses lots of techniques to make it interesting.
Weather
18th September 2009
I had to create a short film of 3 different scenes portraying different types of weather. The 3 shots had to include a long shot, and medium shot, and a close up shot. The first shot was of Jadine shivering in winter clothes. This was my close up shot.This worked well as it gave the effect that she was cold, and you could see her emotion. The second shot was a long shot of Abi walking away with an umbrella to portray rain. This did not work very well as the weather on the day of filming was sunny so the effect of rain was not given. The last shot was a medium shot of the sun shining through the trees to show the sun. This shot worked well as the leaves were blowing calmly to give the effect of a Summer breeze. The sun shining through the leaves have the tree a silhouette.
I had to create a short film of 3 different scenes portraying different types of weather. The 3 shots had to include a long shot, and medium shot, and a close up shot. The first shot was of Jadine shivering in winter clothes. This was my close up shot.This worked well as it gave the effect that she was cold, and you could see her emotion. The second shot was a long shot of Abi walking away with an umbrella to portray rain. This did not work very well as the weather on the day of filming was sunny so the effect of rain was not given. The last shot was a medium shot of the sun shining through the trees to show the sun. This shot worked well as the leaves were blowing calmly to give the effect of a Summer breeze. The sun shining through the leaves have the tree a silhouette.
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