Changes we have made

Actors

Originally we asked Reece, Jack, Nathan and Jake but due to other commitments there wasn’t a day in which we could film that suited all of us, except Jack. This was very unfortunate and left me and my group devastated. However, we knew that quick decisions had to take place therefore we managed to get another 3 boys to play the roles. The boys included:

·         Jack Marshall

·         Paul Taylor

·         Joe Brown

·         Conor Cooke

The number of actors

Initially we planned to have 4 boys in the group but now we have decided that we may have to cut the number down to 3, this depends on whether we have time next week to film Joe Brown. However, it is not a massive problem if we do not have time to film him it just means that our plans of having the screen cut into four sections, each showing a different boy receiving the text message, would not be able to be used anymore.

The use of an over shoulder shot

At first we used an over shoulder shot in each footage of the boys receiving the text, we decided to use this as it would reveal the text message saying ‘Meet at Car Park @ 2:00pm’. When we attempted to do this shot type in the reshoot, the text was blurry therefore we have decided to reveal the text in the first scene when Rick is typing it. 

How the opening sequence begins

When me and Jake watched the footage back from the reshoot we thought that the action started to quickly, as though there was no build up to it. Therefore we have decided to begin with an establishing shot of the house then a shot of the front of the car, the back of the car then back to an establishing shot in which we would see Jake being dragged out the house by Rick.

Problems with shooting schedules

As I have previously stated I and my group arranged to continue reshooting on Friday 7^th March but due to unfortunate bad weather we were unable to film. This is because the weather from the original reshoot is nice and the lighting is bright and if we did shoot on Friday the weather and lighting would be totally different making it look like the boys haven’t received to text message at the same time.

Due to this problem we then decided to continue reshooting on Monday 10^th March. However, for the first scene we need Mark’s car but he was unfortunately working therefore we were unable to reshoot parts of the first scene. Following on from this we then had much discussion and decided to ask the actors (the 4 boys) whether they could possibly make time on that night for us to reshoot their part, but due to other commitments they were unable to do this. This is obviously understandable. 

Shot list

Scene one (in order)

·         An establishing shot of the house

·         A long shot of the front of the car

·         A side on view of the car

·         Back to an establishing shot – this time we see Rick dragging Jake out the house, opening the boot and putting Jake inside of it

·         A long shot of Rick getting his phone out of his pocket

·         A mid shot of him typing on his phone

·         Zoom in to a close up of the phone (but not revealing text) – side on view

·         Cuts to close up of bag on Jake’s head then close up of his bound hands and lastly a close up of his bound feet

·         A long shot of Rick beginning to shut boot (from front of car)

·         Cut to a long shot of Rick fully shutting the boot (front back of car)

Scene three

Although this is not my scene, I decided to create a list of shot types that I thought would look effective when the car is arriving to the car park.

·         A long shot of the car arriving

·         A close up of the registration plate

·         A close up of the rear view mirror showing the driver’s eyes

·         A long shot of the front of the car turning the corner 

Journal (8)

Today I and Jake viewed the footage we filmed on Monday. We both agreed that the footage we got was a lot better than what we got from our first shoot, for example we got many more close up shots rather than just always using long and mid shots. Another positive of the re-shoot was the costume of Rick. When comparing the two outfits from each shoot it was clear that the re-shoot’s outfit was more appropriate, which my teacher also made comment on.

However, even though I have highlighted a few strengths, it is clear that work is still needed to be done on the footage filmed at Sophie’s house. For example, we begin shooting Rick sending the text using a long shot from behind him then the next footage is a zoom in to the phone from a side view of Rick. This is a limitation as there is no continuity therefore me and Jake decided that there needs to be a clip where the camera moves around Rick (from the behind shot to the side view shot). Furthermore, another weakness is our opening sequence starts straight away therefore I and Jake have decided to shoot a few shots, for example establishing shots and mid shots, that can be used before we see Rick sending the text. Additionally this would make it more dramatic as the audience will question why we are at this house.
We hope to meet Jess and Sophie to get them up to date and tell them our new ideas.

After feedback and help from our teacher, I and Jake have created a shot list for our scenes. 

Shooting schedule (3)

Monday 3^rd March

Time	Day/ night Exterior/ interior	Shot description/ summary	Location	Characters
3:45 – 4:00	Me, Jess and Jake arrived at Sophie’s and discussed what the plan for the next few hours were
4:05 – 4:25	Me, Jess and Sophie did Jake’s makeup
4:30 – 5:20 Scene 1	Day Exterior	Jake in the boot of the car and we see Rick sending the text (using a mid shot), then zooms to an over shoulder shot to see the phone, zooms out to a long shot of Rick shutting the boot. We also varied the angles at which we shot this from.	Sophie’s house	Rick (now played by Brian Edwards) Jake
5:30 – 6:00 Scene 4	Day Exterior	We see Rick aggressively pull a black bag off Jake’s head (mid shot) then we used a close up of Jake talking into the camera.	Sophie’s house	Rick Jake
6:00 – 6:10	Discussion about the next shoot day went ahead

Journal (7)

The re-shoot

As I have previously stated me and my group have decided to re-shoot the majority of our footage therefore we came to an agreement that we should spilt the shooting days up, for example complete all footage that is needed to be done at Sophie’s house on Monday 3^rd March and complete all footage that is needed to be done at Timperley astro, the Hare and Hounds pub and a local shop on Friday 7^th March as they are all in the same surroundings.

After speaking to the group about my idea of the costume of ‘Rick’ and how I thought that the clothing in the first shoot wasn’t appropriate, we came to the decision that instead of Sophie’s dad, my dad would be more suited for the role.

The day before this shoot I searched my house for props and makeup that would help in this shoot and also help my fellow group members. I managed to find duct tape which I thought could be used to tape Jake mouth and his hands and feet together, I brought the bag which was used in the last shoot and finally black eye liner which could be used for making Jake look bruised and a red felt tip which would look good for the blood/scratch effect. It is clear all these things came in handy when doing the makeup, as seen below.

When we watched our first shoot footage, as a group we made a list of every mistake we made in each scene, this was to ensure that these mistakes weren’t made again.

Another decision we made as a group was to do each and every clip a number of times and at different angles, this was to make certain that if one shot was wrong, for example if one of us accidently spoke, we would have another shot to use instead. Furthermore we decided to vary out shot types a lot more than what we did, for example we used a close up shot of Jake’s face and many zooms.

I believe that we worked a lot better as a group this time around than what we did. Sophie took the role of using the camera, I took the role of creating new ideas about angle shots/ shot types and ordering Jake and my dad (Brian) what to wear, Jess helped me with the shot types and also focused on makeup (which she got help from me and Sophie also) and lastly Jake played the role of ‘Jake’ (the person in the boot) in which I think he did extraordinarily well, which I’m sure my group will agree with. By working as a group we found that this shooting day was more productive.

On Thursday 6^th March we planned to edit the footage that we have re-shot but due to a school trip Sophie and Jess aren’t going to be here therefore me and Jake have decided to begin editing the best we can and feedback what we have created to Sophie and Jess when they are back.

The next shooting day will be on Friday in which we hope to finish shooting fully. 

Research on costume for the reshoot

As I have stated in a previous post, the costume of ‘Rick’ (the character who send the text) was not suitable as his jumper was a dark green colour in which advertised a roofing company. Furthermore he was also wearing white trainers when in fact I aimed for him to be wearing black clothing head to toe.

The reason that I wanted ‘Rick’ to be wearing all black is because he is meant to be represented as a thug type character to the audience, who has a dark side to him which would be symbolised by the black clothing.

Gloves – showing he wants to try and hide his identity (no fingerprints to trace him) 

Metal toe boots – shows his aggression

Black coat 

Black Jumper – plain

 

Black combat pants