2nd editing session

Today we realised our opening sequence was too long and it's wasn't looking as clean and quick like we wanted it to be, so we cut it from being 3 minutes, 30 seconds to 2 minutes long which we were very happy with. By the end of the editing session we realised how better it looked. 

To achieve this we had to shorten lots of clips and get rid of ones we thought weren't that important. Shots that took to long, we cut them so that the action happened quicker... It was a question of cutting everything down and deleting a few, pointless shots rather than repositioning a load of shots. 

Here are some of the pictures from today's session: 

These two pictures we examples of shots we cut down. The first shot is of a keyhole and we didn't want to cut any of the key going in as it looked too good, however we cut the door opening and closing; we cut it where Adam opens the door, it then immediately goes to the inside of the 'basement'... It looked so much better as we wanted a feel of him closing it and going in quickly and mysteriously. Plus we used the sound effect of a door shutting to help with the understanding to the audience that he did shut the door behind him. 

The other picture is where Adam takes a while to place the tape in the camera, so we cut it so that he puts it in quicker as the main point of this shot is the sound of it going in as it sounds sharp, and we wanted this to come across quickly. 

1st editing session

Today we started our editing and it's been going really well...

We choose what clips we definitely wanted and then after this we fitted them all into order with close ups, wide shots etc. Once we positioned them where we wanted and gained a rough idea of the order of shots, we started cutting some clips so that we avoided noise that we didn't want, or because we wanted them to be shorter. Once we started cutting certain clips, we would it from the beginning to make the continuity was smooth and that it was clear and made sense. We still have a few editing sessions to do to completely finish our film.

Research into order of titles (3)

The opening title sequence for 'Shutter Island' begins with 'A film by Martin Scorses' which highlights the importance of the director and conveys that he is well knows for other films which he has directed. It is followed by the names of the producers and the writer of the screenplay. The name of the author of the novel is then referenced to credit their creative input into the film. Three main actors are mentioned which suggests that the films narrative is based on their three characters and that they are A-list actors. This is followed by the names of the editors and music directors. The last title in this sequence is the name of the film.

Research into order of titles (2)

This is the opening credits for 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'. This sequence begins with the names of the production and distribution companies (more than one) demonstrating that the film was co-produced. These names are then followed by the name of the producer. The next name mentioned is the the director (A David Fincher Film) suggesting that he is a big name in the Hollywood industry and he is then mentioned again at the end of the sequence which puts further emphasis on his importance. The title sequence only includes the names of two of the actors (Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara) before displaying the films title which suggests they are well known and a main aspect of the films appeal. It also shows that the films narrative is based around their two characters. After the title of the film, the sequence features the names of the other supporting actors of the film (10 actors) which implies that they are of importance to the movie and are crucial to the story line. This is followed by the name of the casting director, costume designer, editors, production designer etc. Towards the end of the piece the executive producers are referenced to show their investment in the film and the name of the author and publishing company for the book which the film is based on as they own the creative rights. The final two credits are the name of the screenplay writer and the director (for a second time).

Research into order of titles (1)

At 0:07 seconds, the credits introduce who produces the film, it then goes onto who stars in the film... It then eventually goes onto the costume designer, the director of photography, the editor, and what novel the film was based on. After this, it goes onto the executive producer and who the screenplay was by... Then who the music was composed by. It then says who the film was produced by, the production designers, who the film was directed by, and then lastly the title of the film.

Account of Shoot Day (17th January)

Today, my group did our shooting and this is what the set came out like... We were so happy!

 

The day before the shoot, Thursday, 15th Jan our group (me, Chris and Laura) were away on a theatre trip so our other member, Phoebe, took control and did the set - this we give her lots of credit for. The set took her about 1/2 hours to create. For this, she glued wallpaper onto 3 flats, and after this she painted it.

Phoebe really managed to capture the idea we wanted the set to look like! The dark colours helped with the lighting as they created a shadowy look. On camera, the set looked so real it was unbelievable - this really helped with the continuity of the film making it look smooth!

I woke up on Friday morning really excited for the shoot, as having planned it for so long it was finally time to film! When I got into college that morning it was nice to see the set for this first time and I think this got me really excited to actually see the final thing.

As the shoot was in college, preparing and getting ready to film was quite easy! We simply had to grab a camera and start shooting. First of all, when we headed to the coridoor, we had to set up the camera and position where we wanted to place the 'tube light' to go to help light up certain features in the coridoor to make it look effective. Then, we awaited for Adam's arrival as he had to get changed into his costume.

Overall, the shoot went really well! We managed to film extra shots that we thought might look quite nice - however, we did not completely follow our storyboard as when we were filming, we created some shots that would make the films continuity look smoother so that the story was easier to follow.

There was only one shot that we didn't film which was the light swinging when the man walked in. This was because we were uncertain that it might break the continuity.

In total, we filmed from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, so we managed to spend a fair amount of time getting the shots we wanted. Originally we presumed we would be finished at 1:00/2:00 pm.

We stuck to our plan of what parts/times of the day we wanted to film certain things. We filmed the coridoor scene in the downstairs coridoor in college in the morning around 9:00 am - 10:30/11:00 am. Then we went on to the set after this and filmed the 'basement' bit in the studio. We had a half an hour lunch break at 12:30 pm in between this time.

Each of us managed to have a go at filming, holding the mic, giving instructions/being director - we were constantly changing roles! I managed to film a really good bit from underneath the tripod for the camera which I was really chuffed with. Also, being director made it really easy to start understanding the concept of the order needed.

I think that look of the set was a big part of what went well in the whole process of this. It looked so good on camera and it was exactly what I hoped the set would look like! I personally think that nothing went wrong on the day - we got good shots and we got every vital shot! I enjoyed filming in the set more because it was fun and I thought I got more involved in this part. I think that Phoebe was the main filmer, especially in the coridoor scene.

I'm really excited to see the smoothness of going from the coridoor to the studio set in the editing! We filmed it well, so I can't wait to see the final image of what it looks like put together!

Time Schedule for shoot

SHOOTING SCHEDULE – “THE CAMERA MAN”

·        08.45am meet at studio

·        09.00am set up in the Hurtwood basement, filming walking up to the door and    unlocking it

 (SHOTS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

·        11.00am set up in the studio, setting up the camera and on the computer at his desk

(SHOTS 1-46)

·        3.00pm finish shoot, pack up camera/props

Narrative Action (clear-up)

·      Man walks towards door

·      Man holds up key and unlocks door

·      See key coming towards us through the lock

·      Man walks through door and closes it

·      When the man walks in the room he looks at the bags on the floor ready to be set up, he packs them up and leaves them in the same position each time so this is a poignant shot

·      The man then opens the zip of the tripod bag

·      He then takes the tripod out of the bag

·      The tripod opens up, the camera is shooting upwards from below the tripod and the legs are clicked into place

·      He then extends the top of the tripod legs and clicks them into place again

·      The man then walks around the tripod to check everything is in place

·      He then adds the handle on to the tripod and twists it into place

·      After the tripod is set up he makes sure the camera hold is straight so places the ball in the center of the yellow circle

·      Once the tripod is set up he opens the box containing the camera

·      We see the handles of the camera box clicked into place

·      He takes the camera out and puts it onto the tripod, clicking it in to place

·      He then moves to his desk in his room to open some documents on his lap

·      He replies to some emails and then opens a recording application

·      There are many folders on his desk named FOLDER 1, 2, 3, the camera pans across these folders as if it is his P.O.V trying to find the correct folder

·      He attaches the cable to the USB in the laptop which is attached to the camera, this means that whatever he films on the camera will go straight to his laptop

·      Once the laptop and camera are connected he then puts the battery into the camera and also puts the memory card in

·      The camera is turned on

·      The camera lens opens, ECU of lens

·      ECU of man pressing the record button

·      There is a P.O.V shot of the screen turning from standby to record

·      Blackout and title in bold saying ‘THE CAMERAMAN’

Cast List:

	Name: Adam Grant Who: Media Teacher Contact: adam.grant@hurtwood.net Height: 5ft8 Shoe size: 8 Costume size: large Figure: Well built
	Name: James Hartman Who: Drama and Psychology teacher Contact: james.hartman@hurtwood.net Height: 5ft9 Shoe size: 9 Costume size: large Figure: Well built
	Name: Neil Palmer Who: Record producer Contact: neil.palmer@jfpuk.com Height: 5ft9 Shoe size:  8 Costume size: large Figure: Well built

These were all the original possibilities. We used Adam in the end.

Prop/Equipment List:

Prop list: 

•   Key

•   Folders

•   Clock

•   Pens

•   Cigarettes

•   Lighter

•   Discs

•    Batteries

•   Voice recorder

•   Camera bag with zip 

•   Camera

•   Tripod

•   Camera box

Equipment list: 

•   Camera bag with zip 

•   Camera

•   Tripod

•   Camera box

Costume List for the 'Camera Man':

1. Brown/black boots - chunky with laces (possibly doc martins)
2. Black jeans
3. Black/brown mid length coat (possibly a trench coat)
4. Watch
5. Black gloves (maybe)
6. Grey/black/dark-ish T-shirt

This was only a brief description of what we wanted him to look like, but this is the basics of what he would wear. 

The 'Camera Man' (character analysis)

The camera Man:

He has captured a young girl who is the daughter of his old friend that didn't help him years ago in his time of need. The Camera Man now seeks revenge by filming clips of the girl and sending them to the father to threaten him. 

In the sequence, the Camera Man sets up his camera. He is getting ready to film the young girl.