A production diary of 'Planning and Making a Film'
Over the course of the year, I will be posting my experiences of 'Planning and Making a Film' to aide other aspiring film makers.
This 'diary' will document each experience of film making, placing major importance on the reflective process.
Currently reading BA (hons) Creative Writing at the prestigious Bath Spa University. In my spare time I write short stories and journalism, but also enjoy film-making.
I have written for Total Guitar and The Bath Chronicle and am due to work on The Times and The Mail on Sunday book review sections during Summer 2010, in the hope of one day doing it full time .
Last year I worked as a Producer on the student drama, Liquid Soap which has won a Royal Television Society award.
Voyeur's première: the chance to bask in the success of completing the film
Okay, so the evening didn't go according to plan, and our film was shown a total of three times due to technical problems- after the initial gut feeling, it turned out to be quite amusing, even though I knew the theatre had forfeited any chance of us winning anything. Though, I am so proud of what we- two amateur film-makers have achieved, and the evening went on in good spirit, with some great film techniques on offer. My favourite camera angle of the evening was The Interview's motion through the prison corridor at the beginning - fantastic.
I have taken so much from this module, I can now:
Work efficiently towards a schedule
Write a script with more conviction than before
Manage people with empathy and tact
Appreciate the technical aspects of shooting a film- equipment and planning-risk assessments, casting and so on.
I am now looking forward to taking the skills I have learnt into next years creative film modules!
After the rehearsal on the evening before the shoot weekend, I knew we had chosen the right actors- they all knew each other well and had acted together many times. What began to worry me though, was the limited time we had for our two-man production team [plus another member who hasn't shown great commitment] to carry out the task ahead. The importance of having a well devised shooting schedule and to refer to it closely had never been more prominent to the success or failure of Voyeur.
We started the shoot early Saturday morning, with the most energetic and time consuming scene first- the fight. This began with a scare- the boom mic wasn't receiving any sound, which for about half an hour, dampened spirits. After Craig's persistence, we were up and running, but our combat knife had broken during the rehearsals in between fixing the mic- so a new one had to be bought. This scene is set at night, so we bought black plastic bags to cover up the windows, which worked well as it allowed little shards of light through, but not too much. The scene was shot in good time, and the choice to allow the actors to be free with how they pursued the acting of the fight scene really paid off, the directing of Craig and the improvisation from the actors really worked well together.
As we made our way into Bath city centre for the next couple of scenes, the real hard work began. We had the extra obstacle of the general public and had a lot of equipment to carry-wish I had bought a car now! Time was very precious as I aimed to shoot the park scene in the warmth of the twilight sun [the golden hour] and get all the other shots done before then too.
The weekend passed with a small amount of glitches and it has been a fantastic experience to work with a dedicated and enthusiastic team of actors.
Post-production
The most time consuming task of the whole project-the edit. At first we spent a couple of hours here-and-there editing and researching music and sound effects, but then we realised that it wasn't proving beneficial. We began spending whole days in the editing suite which proved to carry the progression much better.
I would say that using a broadcast monitor over the weekend of the shoot would have saved a lot of time in the edit and colour correction process, because it would have shown up a more accurate image on screen. But without a car, it was a near impossibility to make use of one, which was a shame.
With no budget to spend, a major time consumer of the edit was finding the appropriate music for the mood I wanted to create. There are many pieces of music to use on the Internet but a large quantity isn't free to use .
I would have liked to spend a little more time searching for music, but I think Craig and I have done well in finding the music we have done.
In the last blog, I set myself a target as Producer- be in an organised position with regards to sorting out locations and actors. Since my blog post last month, a lot has happened. I organised my first ever casting and rehearsals, which took place last Wednesday and I have been in close communication with the Bath Film Office to push forward the applications, which have demanded many detailed risk assessments. I have now cast my actors, which I am very excited about as they are very easy to work with and are very talented.
The auditions: As soon as we began this project back in early January, it became a major priority of mine to cast actors in good time. Back in year one of my degree, I was unable to make a film because we ran out of time, and that was a real disappointment. This time I wanted to succeed in casting actors, and carry it out officially, instead of just hiring friends.
A couple of weeks prior to the auditions, I was invited to attend a showcase of third year performing arts films at Bath Spa University. This event allowed me to head-hunt possible actors to fit the characters of Voyeur, the actors that I noted on the evening turned out to be the actors I have cast, so this was a great opportunity for the efficiency of the planning stages of the film.
I used a central location to hold the auditions- The Velo Lounge. This provided Craig and I with the chance to invite the actors that I 'spotted', and further observe their abilities as performers, but it was also about how easy it was to relate to them as people.
Locations: As is to be expected with the bureaucratic nature of applying for permission to film in a public place, it has taken longer than expected. We are close to the deadline for the production folder to be handed in and still, there has been no official confirmation. I know that it will be passed in time, as everything has been done to aide a smooth running, but it is a worry considering what happened with my film in first year.
All in all, the production is all coming together, we have one last script rehearsal on Friday, the day before the shoot and then that is us ready. In the meantime, it's one last push to get the production folder complete.
If you are considering using Bath for your next film, the web link below offers all the contact information you need:
The Christmas break is over and the long anticipated production of the next film has begun. I harnessed the help of good friend and fellow P.M.F member, Craig Simmonds with directing, with myself being elected as Producer. Craig directed the film before Christmas successfully and is the co-founder of Craig and Harry Music Videos,[http://craigandharry.co.uk/]which is developing rapidly on Youtube.
We have altered The Photographer script to make it more sinister and relevant to today's society, focussing on projecting the theme of peoples obsession with celebrities and that of becoming one. With the rapid popularity of the promiscuous website,chatroulette.com, which allows people to show what they want on their web-cams to other users, this illustrates people will go to any lengths to have their moment of fame, which makes our script/film very relevant.
At first, Craig and I began to write the script together, which didn't prove to be very efficient as one of us would be sat there doing nothing whilst to other wrote their part. We quickly counteracted this and I volunteered to finish off the draft.
In this vital stage of production, where my job as Producer is at its most demanding, I have been sending out casting calls and researching locations, whilst Craig has been viewing films from the psycho-thriller genre to get some tips on camera angles and narrative. This proactive manner during pre-production will save us a lot of hassle when the production weekend arrives in March. I want the best locations this time, and want the actors to be cast appropriately and be as passionate as Craig and I, and this obviously takes a lot of time and dedication to organise.
We have called the film, Voyeur, because of the close links that the film has with Peeping Tom, the 1960's thriller. The voyeuristic elements of each film consists of a character's obsession with using a camera to capture somebody's reaction or emotion: In Peeping Tom's case, filming his killings for self gratification. Voyeur strays along the same line, but the camera acts to project it out to other viewers and provide fame to the character who forged the plan- in this case, Claudia.
There is still lots of work to do, and hopefully the next time you read this blog, I will have a greater idea of the locations and actors I wish to use.
Here is a link to a clip of the controversial thriller, Peeping Tom (1960)- this spelled the end of the director's career because of its vulgarity, but today the film is recognised as a cult classic:
The weekend's shoot only took up one day out of the two, as the director, David Fine was happy with the footage we filmed on the Saturday.
We all arrived at the Artswork Lab to capture the footage on the Monday, with the frustrating news that some of it was missing. Further to that, because we were working to a rough shooting script, there were many shots that weren't even filmed to begin with, that were vital to piece the film together.
We took to re-shooting the lost film sequences- the weather was completely different than the weekend, making the film look mismatched on screen, which was annoying but we all persevered.
The pick-up shots didn't go very smoothly as we were stressed and running out of time. I believed that continuity was very important to the film and suggested that a character's arm should appear at the right side of the lens and not the left [to continue from a previous shot], unfortunately the director believed otherwise and the stress of the day took it's toll on both of us. I don't regret having enough passion for the success of the film and speaking up though as it was later discovered that there were continuity problems.
Setting up camp back at the Artswork Lab, we began to search for music and edit the footage. With the limited time available, we were unable to harness the help from the Bath Spa University music department. Instead we had to search the internet for music that could be used for free; this proved to be a difficult task as the director had a different vision for the message he wanted the film to project, and much of the music on the internet wasn't free to use.
The experience of making Pointless Materialism allowed me to appreciate what skills I need to develop to produce the next film, but also, it showed me the importance of script meetings, rehearsals, a good shooting script and appropriately cast actors.
• This post provides a description of how the weekend of filming went, including reflection:
The first film of the level 5 course- Pointless Materialism is a re-write of the Shoes script. We decided to keep the script simple, remaining with the same premise. At first, reading through David's script I did think it was very short. Further to this, the decision to shoot without a completed shot-list made my job as cameraman difficult- I felt out of the loop on the day and less efficient.
Heading into the weekend, the producer [and team] hadn't finalised a schedule and there hadn't been any formal script meetings or rehearsals: Actor's appeared 'wooden', with no chemistry and an ill-understanding of what the character's that they were playing were like. Taking this in mind, as the weekend of the shoot progressed, we were faced with various problems (with the amount of time that scenes were taking to film) which may have been intercepted with a greater commitment to organising script meetings, casting, and rehearsals. Considering the poor organisational aspects of the weekend and the weeks leading up to it, the team did well in coming together and fighting off the horrendous weather conditions.
Matty’s Café was the first location on the rainy, Saturday morning. Although the café were very obliging, in hindsight, this location didn't fit in with the type of coffee shop that the character would visit or work in. I don’t think it was believable for Claire to work in a ‘greasy spoon’ café as the actor played her in a way that made her seem like a bit of a ‘spoilt brat,’ but we made great use of what we had- an open space to film. Matt Dearden, the producer, did incredibly well in fighting for the Co-operative supermarket as a location though. This location was a great time saver as it didn’t just provide us with a checkout to film on, but also a ‘manager’s office’- and a great outtake as well. Be aware though that applying to film in a supermarket takes a lot of admin, risk assessments and a persuasive demeanour- be prepared to be accused of spying from other competition.
All in all, the casting of the movie worked out fairly well considering no casting calls were sent. The placing of the mature actor as the shop manager was a great achievement and so too was the casting of Claire. It is a shame that the casted Mother of Claire wasn’t as believable, which couldn’t be helped as that role was assigned on the day of filming. Furthermore, the casting of ‘the posh woman’ could have been of an older woman instead of a fellow student.
Considering this was the first film of the year, it went relatively well. But most importantly, this opportunity has provided me with a list of what not to do when I produce my next film in the spring of 2010.
A few simple reminders:
•Organise casting way in advance
•Gel the team together along with the actors by calling script meetings and rehearsals
•Finalise locations way before the shooting weekend
•Thrive for eye pleasing locations
Teach yourself the basics of how to operate a Sony HDV Z1
This video is really useful, it talks about shot transitions:
The second video illustrates how best to use the advance controls:
Mixtape is directed by Luke Snellin from Essex. Being only 24 years old, he is a relatively young shorts film director/writer. Naively, I was under the impression that Snellin worked independently on the project, but in fact he belongs to a small film production company in London. The production company, LUT MED!A recognises itself as being, ‘a hardworking, straight talking, dynamic organisation.’ Their ways of working have definitely paid of as the awards and nominations have been flooding in.
Mixtape won the Virgin Shorts 2009 competition, which generated £30000 for the company's next film. It has also been nominated for the forthcoming Orange BAFTA Awards 2010 for best short film; not bad for a small production company.
The success of the short film could be down to having the young actor, Bill Milner as the main character who also starred in the blockbuster, Son of Rambow; whereas I do believe that there is more to it than that. The framework takes the theme of love and friendship as a catalyst and relates it to the emotional attachment of music and how that can draw two people together- something that most can relate to.
Would the screenplay work as an affective piece by carrying the love story with adults? I don’t believe it would. Luke has done very well with his casting; there is a certain innocence and purity that the boy creates in his fondness for the young girl, which stands to be refreshing when compared to other contemporary films that touch on the same theme [the 'red titles']. The story is eloquently told by the use of the tape adding an authentic romantic element that a CD would fail to achieve. The tape consists entirely of his Dads collection of 1970's music. The short is skillful in allowing the audience to relate to the young boy so strongly with the running time being only two minutes. I realised that the trick was to relate to what the audience may have experienced in their childhood; everyone has made a Mixtape for someone they love or something similar and there has been a point when you have been into your parents’ music. I took the qualities of the films ability to reach out to the audience and tried to implement it into my film.
The well established actor, Kevin Spacey was on the judges’ panel and he commented about the short listed films: "I was once again hugely impressed with the quality and diversity of the 12 short-listed films in this year's Virgin Media Shorts competition. It's great to see so much new talent."
Mixtape was Luke’s second short film, but the production company he works with are responsible for many other projects including commercials and music videos. In 2009 Snellin also made a short about young boy whose bullied life forced him to think about what it would be like to fly, it is titled Patrick.
