Filming | Production

When it came to planning a few dates to film I chose the second weekend of November. Specifically I chose Friday 6th, Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th.

I decided to film with Jamie (Clare) on Friday afternoon, Dan (Steven) on Saturday and Jamie (Clare) again on Sunday.
I also had Nisserin's help on Saturday and Sunday. She helped move the equipment around the locations used and she also controlled the boom mic when the actors had dialogue. Having Nisserin there was very useful, and I realise how important it is to have a crew when filming.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to film with both actors together as Dan couldn't make the Sunday which is when I was intending to do the filming. So to overcome this I made sure to pick shot sizes that would make it look like they were together in the fine cut after editing.

Friday afternoon:

I filmed with Jamie in my sisters bedroom to create the flashback within the first 2 minutes of my short film. I filmed a few cut away shots, such as stacked books, photo frames and boy band print outs, before she came over. I did this so when we had finished shooting I could get the camera ready for the next day. I also did this to get the levels of the brightness and the colour correct so I didn't have to edit it too drastically. The filming went well with Jamie and I managed to film all the shots I wanted for that scene.

Saturday:

I filmed with Dan in the woods to create the present day and in my brother's bedroom to create the second flashback in the first 2 minutes of my short film. We started outside on Fairview Avenue to create the 'montage' of Steven getting to the woods. Within every shot we moved closer to the woods to create the 'montage' type scenes, and eventually we made our way into the woods. I was hoping that the ground in the woods would be dry and covered with leaves and twigs. Realistically, however, the ground was very muddy and slippery at times, but it was covered with leaves which I was pleased about.

Once we had finished in the woods we made our way to my house so I could film Dan in my brothers bedroom. Before filming I made sure to get the colour and brightness at the right level, and I made sure the shot was focused well. After I had finished filming with Dan I decided to film some cut away shots, such as the football shirts on the wall and the messy clothes on the bed, to create the atmosphere of the scene.

Sunday: I filmed with Jamie again but in the woods this time to create the present day. We started outside on Maidstone Road to create the 'montage' of Clare getting to the woods. Within every shot we moved closer to the woods. When in the woods I decided to film some extra audio clips of Clare crying and walking on the leaves. This is useful as I can add these in when editing and it will help create a better atmosphere.

Overall the filming went really well and I am very happy with the outcome of the footage.