We were able to overcome this major issue as I had been talking with Mr Sheriff (Head of Media) about these problems we had come across and he explained to me that on the school field some holes were being dug for the foundations of the new pavilion. We had a discussion about the possibility of using these foundations as they grave we went to have a look and see for ourselves what in fact we were actually dealing with but the main problem we came up with was the continuity of where the grave was in relation to the rest of the footage. In order to use this scene we would have to take extra care in the angles in which we shot the footage as we did not want certain elements of the other mise en scene present in this location to be in the frame on the shot as this would look extremely unprofessional. So we decided as a group to go forward with shooting this location for the scene of our film but some more problems occurred as where the builders where digging on this construction site there were many health and safety issues in order for us to gain access to where we wanted to film the grave. We knew that the only way to gain permission to access the construction site was to speak with the Caretaker of the school Mr Piper. Peter knowing Mr Piper quite well went and asked for us to have authorization to access the construction site. He thankfully agreed but explained to us that he needed to stay with us during the time we were shooting so the builders knew why we were there.
On Friday 23th October we all as a group and Holly Brooks (as she was acting as the dead body) met up after school in the common room, on the last day before half term to start shooting the footage. Peter had already been home and changed into his costume and brought all the necessary parts of iconography with him into school, including the cardboard box, spades and shovels. Also he brought with him his camera (as we were using his camera instead of the schools as it was able to film footage in HD which extremely improved the picture quality and overall would have a great impact on our finished product) that had been charging all day, due to the camera being able to film in HD which was a great advantage for us there was also a disadvantage as the battery life of the camera did not last particularly long so we could not waste time filming. We kept reminding Joe in the process of filming that when moving the camera for the next shot or when he wasn’t filming and discussing camera shots and angles with ourselves that he should switch of the camera so that we got the maximum time available for shooting as possible.
So with everything prepared we all made our way from the sixth form common room across the school to meet Mr Piper. He wasn’t at his office at the time but we only had to wait about five minutes before he returned and the escorted us around the back of the school through the staff car park and then into the construction site. At the time the builders where still on site working so there where diggers and trucks moving around as well as men working. So where we decided to shoot the footage was at the furthest point possible from where they were working for health and safety reasons but also we did not want any diggers, trucks or builders in the frame of the camera shots. We could manage with them talking and the sound of the machines working as there was no dialogue in this scene so during the editing we could just mute the sound of the background noises.
During shooting we did have many problems that we had to overcome and decide as a group the best solution. Firstly we began we some high angle shots looking down at Holly that creates the sense of making the figure or object seem vulnerable or powerless, and we straight away came across our first setback as next to holy was a huge concrete post so we had to position the camera so that this concrete post was not in the frame of the camera whilst Joe was filming. Also whilst doing this we had to take extra care whilst walking around the hole which Holly was lying in as there was a vast amount of rumble and loose earth at the top and mud kept falling down on to her and when we attempted to stop it more just fell down so it was a no win situation. The worst part was when a piece of concrete fell because of a digger going past it made the ground shake slightly and almost hit Holly, because of this we wanted to finish the shooting the footage as quickly as possible as we did not want Holly to get injured after helping us with our production for nothing.
Also whilst shooting the footage I had to watch very thoroughly as Continuity became an issue about the location of Holly’s arm as between shots she kept moving it. So when the others ask me where was Holly’s arm in that last shot I had to remind them. In addition we had the problem of shadows and silhouettes as it was a very sunny day so whilst filming we had to position ourselves so that our shadows did not have any effect on the light in which the footage was being shot. Otherwise this would look extremely unprofessional.
The next shot which we had an issue with was a low angle shot looking up from where Holly lay to Peter the protagonist standing over her at the top of the grave holding a shovel and beginning to fill it in. We wanted to use this shot as it creates an affect where the character looks and gives the audience a feeling that he is powerful and menacing, which was exactly how the shot ending up giving the impression of to us and we all agreed that it was an extremely good shot of Peter. A famous example of when this shot is used, The Dark Knight Christopher Nolan uses extremely low angle shots to give the Joker a more powerful and menacing image to the audience in The Dark Knight, especially during the scene where the truck he was driving is flipped over and he gets out and starts shooting at Batman. In this scene, the angle actually goes from a normal medium close up and slowly moves into a low angle shot. But gives the audience a very clear and influential message about the Joker and therefore was a great decision by Christopher Nolan to go forward and use this shot. Anyway getting back to the problem we had which was whilst trying to get the camera angle in the correct position behind Peter there was a metal fence that surrounded the construction site and prevented people from entering it also in the frame of the shot the was a huge mound of soil which had been dug up for the foundations of the pavilion. We firstly we were able to get the mound of soil out of the frame of the shot by placing the cardboard box in such a position that it was no longer visible. But the fence was still a problem even though Joe had moved back as far as possible with the camera the fence was just still visible in the shot and the sun was shining directly towards us. We overcame this issue by digging a small amount of soil out of the hole and then placing the camera in the same position until finally the fence was out of the camera shot.
In total this days shooting took around two hours, we came across many problems but were able to overcome these working as a group. It took longer than expected for such a small amount of footage but the footage in which we were able to gain was of the best quality the use of camera angles and variety of shots was exquisite. The location was perfect for us as we did not need to travel anywhere also the mise en scene of the grave gave us a great image, we think it would have a immense impact towards how the audience would react and what effect it had on them. We were very pleased we the decision we made in shooting our production at this location and we hope that it will have a very positive impact on the finished product.
By Oliver Fitch
No comments:
Post a Comment