Editing...

Molly and I are now well on the way with editing our film opening footage on Final Cut Express. Everything is going according to plan; we have plenty of footage and we are experimenting with different shot transitions. One particular shot transition that we have found works well is the additive dissolve which we have inserted between the jump from photo to flashback, this gives a dream-like affect which is the exact feeling we want to portray. We are also making a Bloopers video to show all of the shots that didn't make the final cut this will show how we have selected only the best footage to appear in our rough cut. This is a screen shot of Molly and I editing using Final Cut Express, it shows us editing the first flashback in the park.

This is a screen recording of Molly and I adding credits to the rough cut of our film opening using the 'Text' tool in Final Cut.

Reflection on filming...

Day 1:
I arrived at Molly's house in Bloxham at 12.30, and we got on straight away with Amelia's (our leading actress's) make up. We tried several different styles; from a natural day look to a glamorous party look, we took lots of photos to put in our Costume and Make up presentation. Then Dex (our leading actor) arrived and I took photos of our two protagonists in different costumes, we told them to bring a variety of their favourite clothes and we then chose our favourite outfits that we thought represented the characters we want to portray (a unique, quirky teen style). After this I phoned the cafe, Bread and Milk in Bloxham, to ask permission from their manager for us to film several scenes inside their premises. They said we were allowed however we couldn't film when they were busy (as the interior of the cafe is quite small), so we agreed that we would film later on in the afternoon.

We set off from Molly's house on our filming expedition quite quickly as we didn't want to be caught out by the unpredictable British weather (I did check the weather forecast before and it was meant to be dry). The cafe was our main filming destination however we stopped off on the way to film the 'first meeting' scene which occurred on a bench in front of some picturesque autumnal trees.  We had initially planned the 'woodland/park' scenes to be filmed in a park in Wroxton, however due to time constraints we decided it would be more efficient to film them in Bloxham (as the surroundings are pretty similar). This turned out to be a wise decision as we avoided wasting a massive amount of time travelling between locations. After filming the 'first meeting' scene, we then filmed the 'woodland' scene which involved Amelia jumping off a wall into Dex's arms and then walking hand in hand through an avenue of trees. This was one of my favourite shots as it really captures the romance in their relationship, the sun was also beginning to set so the light was beautiful, however we had to get a move on otherwise we would film the 'cafe' scene in the dark. While rushing through Bloxham to get to the cafe, we took some photos of the couple together and they also took some photos of each other, so we could put these in the scrapbook and it would look like it was from their point of view.

We arrived at Bread and Milk with enough time to film a quick pan shot of the cafe's exterior and also a shot of the couple walking in through the entrance. I then bought two hot chocolates for our actors to use as props while they chatted and we filmed the 'first date' scene. After we had finished this shot it was dark so we decided to meet up for a 2nd day of filming to get some more outside 'park' and inside 'scrapbook' shots.

Overall it was an incredibly successful day, this was due to our organisation as we had completed our call sheet and shot list so we knew exactly what we were doing. I was amazed at how smoothly the filming went, we got lots of good shots and I can't wait to start editing.

 Day 2:

I arrived at Molly's house at 11.00am and we started decorating the scrapbook, which is our main prop in the film opening. The first double page is baby photos of Dex and Amelia, which makes the whole concept seem more believable - as this adds a very personal touch. The next pages document their 'first meeting' (on the bench), their 'first date' (in the cafe), relaxing in the park (on the swings and walking in the trees), and relaxing at home (on the sofa). We used all of the photos that we took on the first day of filming and we also took some photos on the 2nd day of filming which we then quickly printed out and stuck in the scrapbook. After finishing decorating the scrapbook, we then went outside to the nearest park and filmed Amelia and Dex swinging on the swings, while taking some photos of them together. We then rushed back to print out the photos and stick them in the scrapbook with the last finishing touches.

We then filmed some shots of the couple relaxing in bed together and having a pillow fight; these went smoothly and were successful. After this we filmed our final and probably most important scene in our film opening, the one of Amelia finding her old scrapbook and looking through it. This is the first shot in our film opening and also the shots that are going to link the mini flashbacks - which makes the film opening into a continuous narration, so they have to be perfect.While Molly and I filmed this scene, Dex kindly used the flip camera to film us directing Amelia; this gives you a valuable insight into our filming techniques. The behind the scenes footage can be seen at the end of this post.

The last scene was slightly rushed as Amelia had to leave quickly; this was a slight problem as we wanted to make sure we had perfected the most imperative scene. After Amelia had left we looked back at the footage and decided it was not as good quality as we would have liked - it was quite shaky footage as they were hand held shots. So Molly and I used our intuitive and filmed the scene again but with me in the place of Amelia, as it was only an over the shoulder shot that we wanted to redo (so you wouldn't see her face) and I have the same hair colour as Amelia so we look quite similar. However we need to check this shot properly to see if it was successful. After I had left Molly experimented with different ways of filming the scrapbook pages, so we will choose the best shots during the editing process - at least we have a variety of shots to choose the highest quality and most believable one.

Overall the 2nd day of filming was successful too, despite being pushed for time at the end. I am really happy with how the filming process went as I now feel confident with filming and setting up all of the camera equipment. There were no major disasters as we had planned our time thoroughly, however this experience made me realise how challenging directing is - everything has to be carefully considered and organised, which is rather exhausting. Directors also rely hugely on their actors; so Molly and I were lucky to have two cooperative and hard working actors. My first experience of  filming went really well, so I am looking forward to editing the footage and creating our film opening.

  
Here is a 'behind the scenes' film of Molly and I filming some important shots in Molly's bedroom...

Shot List...

Creating this shot list meant that Molly and I were much more organised when we were filming as we were able to keep track of the shots we had already filmed. It also meant that all the shots we'd taken were of a high quality as we always watched the footage after we had recorded it to check it was of a good standard. Molly and I shared the role of camera operator so we both got a chance to film; if one of us was filming then the other would be directing or taking photos. I believe this is impotant as we both got to experience the different roles invloved with the filming process.

Call Sheet...

A call sheet is highly important during the filming process as it helps you to organise every aspect of the day's filming. The sheet includes the date and times that we started filming, the actors involved, the location, the storyboard numbers, the props used and any reminders. This sheet is imperative for directors who have a large number of actors in their film, so they know exactly when and where their actors will be so filming can run smoothly without any unnecessary waiting for actors to arrive.

Scrapbook Ideas...

Our plan for the scrapbook is to buy a plain scrapbook and then decorate and fill it with photos of Katy and Luke, this will be from Katy's perspective. On the first few pages of the scrapbook will be baby photos of Luke and Katy, over the next two pages will be photos of when the couple first met, then over the next two pages will be photos of the couple on their first date, next will be photos of the couple relaxing together e.g. sat on swings in the park, walking through a park, sat on the sofa, in the garden, and on Luke's motorbike.

We will decorate these pages in the typical teenage girl style (which both Molly and I have plenty of experience of doing and have seen many examples) thus making sure it looks like Katy has made it herself. Aswell as having photos of the couple together we will also leave gaps on various pages to insert the film footage during the editing process. We will pan the camera across the scrapbook pages, making sure the viewer is able to see all of the photos before zooming into the still footage and then the footage will begin; this will give the effect of a flashback. After the flashback has ended we will cut back to Katy flicking through the scrapbook and zoom into another piece of footage on a different page; thus depicting her memories of their relationship triggered by her finding the scrapbook. We will also leave some gaps on the pages of the scrapbook for the credits to go, which we will add to the film opening during the editing process. The main title of the film, 'The Story Of Us' will be edited on to the front cover of the scrapbook and the camera will zoom into this at the end of the film opening to lead into the main narrative of the film.

 

Molly and I have done plenty of product market research by looking at different types of layouts of scrapbook pages on Google images. We have decided that a typical indie/girlie style would appeal to our target audience, so we are going to include lots of colour, lettering, different shapes and love hearts, this will portray Katy's love for Luke. Here are a few of our favourite examples of scrapbook layouts that have inspired our decision.

The scrapbook is our main prop so we have spent a lot of time and effort (and money!) in making it look perfect. As it must not only echo the style of our main female protagonist, but it's also our unique tool in documenting the couple's relationship, which is basically the essence of our film opening. Molly and I have bought a plain brown ring binded scrapbook and spent an afternoon decorating it with photos that we had taken of the characters while we were filming and also the actors baby photos that we had taken a copy of (as we thought this would add a nice personal touch). Here are some photos of Molly and I hard at work doing some scrapbook decorating...

Here is a video of Molly and I creating the scrapbook before filming...

Costume & Make up...

 These are photos of our lead actress, Amelia Walker, with the make up we want her to wear during our film opening. Before we started filming Molly, Amelia and I, experimented with make up techniques as we believe make up and costume can portray a huge amount about the character's personality.

The first image depicts Amelia wearing her 'first date' make up. The red lipstick adds a glamorous, feminine edge to her appearance while the eyeliner and mascara are subtle but still makes her eyes stand out. We wanted her make up to be sophisticated and pretty as they will be filmed at a cafe.

The second image depicts Amelia in her 'relaxed' make up. She's only wearing eye liner and mascara to make her eyes stand out, yet it still looks natural as this will be the scene when the couple are relaxing in bed.

The third and final image is Amelia wearing her 'park' make up. She's wearing eye liner, make up, blusher and lip gloss; all in a subtle, natural colour to enhance her features while not being too over the top for walking in the park.

This is a video showing our actors, Dex and Amelia, wearing their costumes for the cafe, park, and bedroom scenes.

Costume Research

Costume Inspiration

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Storyboard...

Location Scouting...

Cafe:
One of our main locations is going to be a cafe; it will need to be attractive, easy to get to and fit in with the 'countryside' theme as the couple will be walking around a country village. We have looked at several locations and our favourite is 'Bread and Milk', a cafe and deli in Bloxham. It has a classic farmhouse-esque interior and exterior with a quirky style which links in with the style we want our film opening to convey, it is also in the same village as Molly's house which makes it easy to get to, as we are using Molly's house as one of our main locations.

 The only problem that we may encounter is the interior of the cafe is small so we may be pushed for space - especially as we have a lot of camera equipment. We have overcome this disadvantage by phoning the manager of the cafe and asking for permission to film before we arrived at the location. The manager said we would be allowed to film, however it would have to be during a non busy time of day as we may get in the way of the customers. So we are planning to film at that location during the late afternoon; thus avoiding getting in the way and also allowing us to have more freedom within the cafe. However we must make sure we don't film too late in the afternoon as we don't want it to get too dark; so we must either bring a bright white light or time our filming schedule so that we don't get caught out by the light.

We have gone on a location scouting trip to source locations, so we've visited the cafe and have planned where the couple are going to sit. They will sit at a table right in front of the main window so there will be plenty of natural light pouring through the window (depending on the weather) and we will use props of hot chocolate on the table to set the atmosphere of the scene.
Here are a few photos of the cafe that the couple's first date will be filmed at...

Park:

 For the outside shots in the park I envisage them to be in a picturesque countryside location with lots of trees in autumnal colours to evoke the time of year. I think this is important because romantic films are usually set in the summer, so our film opening goes against the stereotypical season for this genre, which I think is good as its a unique interpretation. The village of Bloxham is perfect for this countryside location as it has plenty of trees, parks, and charming stone cottages; thus suggesting the characters of our film opening are of a middle to upper class as is so often represented in the television and film industry. This is the archetypal representation we are aiming for the characters in our film opening. I have taken a few photos of the style that I want to portray through the shots...



This is how I imagine the bench location to look in the 'first meeting' scene.



Props...

Props for our film opening

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Risk Assessment Form...

Due to the fact that we are going to be filming in various locations with expensive camera equipment, we must consider the safety of the equipment as well as the safety of our actors and also the safety of ourselves. Therefore I have filled out a risk assessment form that highlights all of the potential hazards that we could face while filming. I have also taken into account any safety precautions that we could put in place to minimise any danger; this has definitely made us more aware of hazards. We will follow the safety guidelines and we will also be extra careful when filming to make sure none of the people involved with the filming process get injured or non of the equipment gets damaged.

The Treatment Sheet...

I have filled out this sheet just to give a brief outline of our film opening sequence. The sheet includes information on; the main storyline of the sequence, how we want the audience to feel when watching our opening, the structure of the opening, the main roles of the characters, the locations, the mise en scene, the style of camera work and also the type of editing. This sheet is a useful resource to refer to through out the film making process to remind us of our initial ideas; however we may want to make alterations later on during the editing process. Overall this sheet has helped us to get our ideas down on paper; thus making us discuss and critically analyse our concept.

Film Concept Feedback...

This is feedback from our target audience on our film opening concept; we filmed them sharing their opinions. This has been incredibly helpful as we can take into consideration the improvements they have suggested, and we can then make alterations to our main concept. This will then make our film opening more appealing to our target audience.

Our film inspiration...

This is a Taylor Swift music video of her song 'The Story of us' which we found on YouTube. The whole concept of her song has inspired the plot of our imagined whole film and it has proved invaluable in helping us create our film opening. It tells the story of a doomed teenage relationship; although this contrasts with our happy relationship film opening - the plan for the whole film would be to show the 'ups and downs' of Katy and Luke's relationship as we want it to seem as realistic as possible.

Film Opening Concept...

This is a PowerPoint presentation that Molly and I have created to present our film opening idea to our class, it includes a lot of detail on everything from our lighting and sound to the locations and the actors.

Film Opening Concept

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