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.