Alice- Shoot 6: Dark Room 2, End and Penshaw

By far the busiest day of shooting was the day when the crew did 5 scenes, I was present for 3 as I had other commitments and also didn't want to over crowd the bathroom scenes as it was a very small room and also as it was relatively sensitive to shoot so minimum people seemed necessary. 

The first scene we shot was the second dark room section which was nothing short of madness, we had 10 minutes to shoot it, luckily it was only a couple of shots that consisted of a wide and then a closer in shot of Alice frantically clearing out her dark room. This went really well despite the lack of time, it was a rush, there is no denying that, and perhaps we could have really nailed the shots given more time, however, without someone having prior knowledge, there is no way at all that the shots seem rushed or poorly planned. Although, if they did seem rushed then this would only add to the scene anyway as she is in a mad rush to clear the evidence so it would help more than hinder.

The second segment we shot on that day was the final scene, which I will not spoil for you but I will say that we used a road just down from Penshaw monument which was mostly abandoned, although when we did recce's it seemed like it would be completely isolated but when it came to the actual shoot, some men parked behind Alice's car and left to do whatever it is they were doing. This was annoying as it somewhat takes from the isolated feel and the idea of the road being abandoned. The scene still works and I am a big fan of it, I just think that perhaps it would have been better had the second car not been there. With regards to the shots themselves, they were following shots behind or in front of Alice as she walked down the road, they took multiple attempts as any shot of that nature would take, but on the whole they are by no means bad and towards the end we were making some great shots.

The final shoot that I was involved with was at the top of Penshaw monument (well, not the very top, but the top of the hill) where we got some amazing, beautiful shots of Alice' dream. The sky was completely perfect for this, a blue sky with just a spatter of clouds looks very idillic and dream like which is spectacular for the scene. There was also a degree of freedom given to Liam on camera to be fluid and this is really great when we look back as the fluid camera movements really contrast the rest of the film as it feels peaceful and we can really feel that she is in a safe dream where everything is calm and tranquil. I really think that we hit the nail on the head with these shots and we were incredibly lucky with the setting. With regards to the other shoots from what I can tell they also went extremely well and they look fantastic when looking back.

Alice- Shoot 5: Street

The 5th shoot for Alice was a small section that took a couple of hours whereby we shot some scenes in the car whereby the antagonists are discussing what they should do with Alice and how long it should take to deal with her. This was a relatively simple shoot as it predominately involved Andrew driving his car around with the actors and the camera and sound operators squashed in so that we could get coverage of all three characters as they were driving around, this was fairly simple as it was very basic shooting and there were few lines so it was essentially a case of just doing the basics for everyone involved, the only real issue perhaps was keeping the camera steady as the car drove around.

The other thing we did on this shoot was get a shot of the front of Andrew's car with the three men in as it was driving around, we did this by opening Liam's boot and filming out of the back of the car. This was not an easy task to do safely but as I was in charge of health and safety I ensured that the camera was secured in the car and that everything was conducted properly, this meant that once this was ensured we could get a very nicely done shot that really adds to the scene. Personally I feel the framing could have been tighter but this is a preference thing and realistically it isn't such a huge deal and the shot is completely fine as is.

We also shot the post-party section whereby Ryan and Nathan come out of the party, drunk and drive off followed by Alice, this section should have been easy as it was just two men walking across a road and getting into a car, however, due to various issue, predominately sound from the wind we had to do around 10 takes, however this isn't a criticism, it couldn't be avoided and better to be perfectionist than have a 'this will do' attitude so while it was a little frustrating that we couldn't get the shot straight away, it was worth it realistically. All in all this shoot was very small and while it was short it did take longer than expected, but this is by no means an issue, we shot some quality stuff and it was worth the time spent.

Alice- Shoot 4: Car Park

This scene was in two halves, the interior car park and the exterior car park. The first of these was Alice's vantage point for taking photos for her job and the second was the section which she is taking photos of.

The first of these was done really well and thoroughly but it did seem to be a bit rushed as first we were waiting for enough dark so that the two sections matched up and then we were short on time because of when the carpark was closing, which was beyond our control. That being said like I said it was done thoroughly, the only thing was that it was not as thought out on set, which isn't necessarily a  bad thing as it meant that we had to rely on gut feeling and had very little time to potentially overthink shots or to experiment, it was refined and concise but still yielded solid results.

The second half of this shoot went much easier in the sense that we had literally all night to shoot it, we had one time constraint and that was sunlight which meant in theory we could have kept shooting up to around 6 am, luckily we didn't have to do that. There was no sound in this scene which was extremely useful because it meant that we could use the generator and set up a red head to light the three men for there close-ups. However, we didn't use this straight away so it meant we did shoot everything twice both with and without the light but this isn't a big issue as I am a big believer in over shooting to a degree for coverage. Another successful film shoot despite being pushed for time, we got everything done and to a high standard. This really is shaping up to be a very special film.

Alice- Shoot 3: Party

Here it is people, the crown jewel of Alice, and that is precisely what it turned out to be, a fantastic experience for so many reasons and I genuinely believe we pulled off a scene/shot that will be celebrated at our university for a long time to come.

First came the prep which started at one, we set up all of the lights and moved the furniture to optimise the space and to make it look like a party. Then we actors started to arrive we did practise run throughs to ensure the actors could be comfortable with where they would be going and there timings etc so that the scene could be fluid and natural so that the camera felt like it was a natural part of the scene, otherwise regardless of the camera work the scene wouldn't work.

 Then at around 6 we started to shoot some takes of the scene, though it was not yet dark outside it was starting to get that way and we felt that it would be too big of a waste of time to not start shooting and on top of this, Beth could probably make it look like night time with a colour grade so it made sense to start shooting. The first few takes to me felt a little wooden and didn't seem to flow, but this could be expected with such a complex scene as it would take some practise and repetition to get into the groove of the scene.

When we eventually did start getting into the groove and flow of shooting the scene, boy did it work. The reason for the success of this scene I feel is because it was organic, this was essentially a controlled party and as such this felt real on camera. For me there was more to this than the performances of the actors (though they were important and fantastic) the scene is great because the extra work feels genuine and the performances aren't really performances at all, even when we did silent takes it still felt as though people were at a genuine party which I can only assume we achieved by giving it a good atmosphere that people enjoyed being a part of. I could really talk for hours about this shoot but at the end of the day its ambition and execution speak for themselves.

Alice- Shoot 2: Dark Room 1

This was the second scene for Alice where she is developing some of the photos she has done for the job she is doing, Mark walks in and the two have a confrontation as he finds one she was trying to hide. As this takes place in a literal dark room lighting the scene proved to be difficult and the camera operator decided to shoot off of an ISO 800 which I believe to be too high and when we have watched the footage back it has a degree of grain to it which may prove hard to get rid of but I admit I have no knowledge of how that would be done.

The above image quality issues are mainly due to youtube as this is a screenshot, I can assure you the actual footage looks much better. This was very similar to the first shoot in that we had time to get a lot of coverage, however, this time it was in the form of many different shots instead of many different takes, this meant we had a lot of coverage to work with which would no doubt be massively helpful come the edit time. My main issue with this shoot was that I lament the fact we never did a lighting test, only a location recce, this undoubtedly lead to the lighting issues we experienced.

One thing that may prove to be an issue was that Gary didn't seem from where I was to follow any set path as he was playing a drunken character it seemed that his path and movements would vary from take to take, this may not be true but if it is then it may cause some continuity errors in the edit, however we do have some shots that don't have him in that we could easily cut to to mask this. Other than this I felt the performance from both was great and I really felt as though they flowed naturally and had a bit of genuine tension between them from being in there characters. All in all another quality film shoot that yielded good results.

Alice- Shoot 1: Opening Scene

This was the first shoot for Alice and quite fittingly it is also the scene that starts the film off. In this as I have explained in previous posts, the scene shows Alice setting up her job with Mark but the only  sight we get of Mark is him walking past the camera which we can tell nothing about him from. In this scene we needed to make it feel authentic by having a bar man and a waitress, so I suited up and became the barman, I quite enjoyed the role although in hindsight perhaps not the best idea because it meant I was forever stopping the between takes to ask how the take was to write in my production logs but this wasn't a huge issue it just felt as though at times people were getting a little annoyed at me for asking all the time or taking longer than they would have liked but realistically it needed doing so they would just have to deal with it.

During this shoot we had a relatively simple set up that gave astounding results, the lighting and aesthetic were beautiful and this basic set up meant that we could shoot many takes of the same thing in relatively small amounts of time which meant we could make sure we really nailed the scene, and nail it is exactly what we did, having watched back the footage, Charlotte gives an excellent performance and everything is timed perfectly and looks fantastic. 

We filmed around 20-30 takes of this scene from 4 'angles' there are the two images that represent two angles then we did each of these two from two different tables to see which gave the most attractive background, this gave us the four angles. The beauty of this scene is that only one performance really matters, Charlotte's, as long as Gary got it right at least once we could use his audio and the same goes for Sarah as the waitress, although the scene will work better if they can use the audio that matches the take because that way it will feel more natural but I have the upmost confidence that Beth would be able to make it feel natural anyway as she is a fantastic editor.

Alice- Art Cafe test

This was a test shoot for the opening scene of Alice which is one shot of the protagonist (Alice) setting up the deal to photograph the antagonists for money. This shot is in a bar and just shows her during a conversation while she is talking to Mark who isn't shown in the scene.

Firstly we set up the zoom lens to compress the background this meant that we got a really blurred background with a pin sharp foreground so that the subject was in focus in front of a nicely lit of background that gave the illusion of a working bar. We will add extras of a waitress and bar man into the final scene so that this also adds to the feel of it being a shady deal in a bar. Next we added some lights to the scene and to the background so that we could light the subject and to add some flair to the background so the shot just looked nicer.

The lanterns and fairy lights in this scene really add to the aesthetic, however I do feel for the real shoot we should wait for it to be darker and we should compress that background further so that it is even more blurred as there is a little too much definition in my opinion. The lighting on the face however is quite nice and I think it highlights Brad quite well. I also think that the iso could be pulled down to 100 to darken it a bit as to me this doesn't feel like night time in a bar.
On the whole though this will be a nice shot and I am glad we are putting in this practise now to nail the shot and make these pleasing visuals now before the real shoot.

Glide Cam test 3 With lighting

This is a blog post about the third glide cam test again in my flat, this time however, we knew that the camera work was fine, this time it was simply about making sure that the lighting looked good and we could light it to be stylised but to also look like a party. We did this with 4 lights lights (3 red heads and 1 cool lamp). We had two red heads in my room, one facing the corridor and one pointing out of the window to light the path outside, then we had a redhead in the bathroom to further light the corridor and we had a cool light in the living room to light up that space.

As this is a big shoot we enlisted some extra help in the form of Andrew, Beth and Ethan, the other two had gone home at this point but Andrew was in this picture holding me. As you can see the green filter on the cool light gave a nice glow to the scene which when we fill it with people and potentially get some party lights it will really bring out the scene and give it a party aesthetic that we want from it.

The cool light itself was a bit of a pain to put a gel on as it is very wide and the gels are A4 sized, as a result we had to add two next to each other, luckily we had two greens which were the same. We originally tried blue on this but felt that it made the scene too cold and didn't light it very strongly whereas green was much more effective.

Of the lights this one was my favourite, it gave a really strong colour and a kind of UV effect which very much strongly emphasises our party vibe but it also is very neon which I for one love, especially within the context of this film as it is very neon and vibrant and this light is perfect for that look.

 

The other internal light was the red that lit the hallway and blended into the blue from the bathroom light very nicely and created a soft purple middle ground which I think looked fantastic, although there are no photos it can be seen on the video of the footage we took. There were a few issues with this lighting set up but on the whole it lit the scene fantastically and created a very vibrant neon party atmosphere and that is all before the acting and the music is added, this to me shows we are off to a flying start.

Alice- Recce, Dark Room

Today we went on a recce into the university dark room which the photography students use, we found that they aren't really using this room for their current module and as such we should be free to shoot in there when we need to provided we give them prior notice. This therefore makes this location ideal for me as producer because I can easily organise the shoot and also it will be easy to get permission for what is essentially a prime location for what we need.

Firstly the visuals are fantastic, this isn't something I should worry too much about as producer but I can safely say that by delivering this location to Brad I am fulfilling my role well because I am giving him a location which fits his directorial vision and as such the film will benefit hugely from this.

There is a slight issue that the location is a little too dark, not hugely as we want it to be quite dark and brooding, but there is some need for us to bring in lighting, this too is no problem though because there are plugs situated in ideal locations around the room which will serve us well in doing this. This does however mean that we will need to return to do lighting tests and such to make sure that the visuals are maintained but we up the practicality of shooting. One way that was suggested was using a cool light as this can adjust the intensity level so will give us a lot of control.

From a producers point of view, the main issues with this room are working in low lighting conditions people could have trouble moving safely without tripping or other such issues. Another issue is the chemicals in use in this room, though we aren't using them ourselves, being in proximity to them is still a risk which needs to be addressed, but I will cover all of this in the risk assessments.

On the whole I am happy with this location there are only a few minor issues, such as we need to shoot to make it look smaller than it is as it is quite a big space. Also there is the issue that it very much looks professional and that multiple people use it at once when we are trying to create an air of amateurishness, although she is a professional Alice does everything from her home and as such we want it to look like a home set up but neither of these issues are unsolvable and we have a greta location in this.

Photo credits: Liam Robson

Glide Cam test 2

This a post highlighting the follow up glide cam test we conducted this time on location in my flat, this is where the actual scene will be filmed. For this test we didn't take any lighting or sound and went during the day whereas the actual shoot will be at night or late evening. This test was purely for logistics of the shoot, to navigate the spaces and get a vague idea of how it would look and from here we can develop the finer details of the shoot.

The first tests we did were with the monopod, this is a really easy piece of equipment to set up, it is simply a case of attaching the camera to a stick which you then move the camera with, however, this produced somewhat shaky shots and as such we knew that we could reduce this by using the glide cam, as this gives a much steadier shot, not completely stable but definitely good enough for what we are wanting.

We did a few tests with the monopod but none seemed to be at the level we wanted so we moved on to using the glide cam and saw instant results, then once the camera was nailed down technique wise me, Brad and Liam were able to discuss some of the subtle movements we could do in the scene, such as a quick side pan to the man which Alice throws off of her. Then by the final test we had something that very much looked like it was becoming a polished shot which when lit and filled with extras will be a really strong shot.
For reference purposes here is the footage which we took on that practise shoot:

glide cam test 1

For both productions it is likely that the glide cam will need to be used, in fact it will definitely used in Alice as there is a scene with a approximately 2 minute tracking shot which cant really be filmed in any other way on our budget. While the glide cam can produce some fantastic camera work, it is a pain to set up as you have to balance the weight and position to suit the camera you are using and to balance the counter weight. This took Liam a long time to do but eventually he got there.

So, once Liam had it set up he did some practise work following me up the stairs to the printer, from here he then moved to new angles but without cutting to make the shot more dynamic. We then went back downstairs and watched back the footage and looked for improvement and how it could be bettered. He then recalibrate the weights to try and get it to run smoother and we went again.

After a few attempts Liam really had it nailed and we could both confidently say that he could then use the glide cam for the actual shoot when it comes to it. One thing that is worth mentioning is that I personally didn't get a hands on experience with the Glide cam but having watched Liam and been a part of his practise as the subject I have gained some knowledge on how to work it. From here it is likely that me and my camera operator (Ethan) will go on to do practices of our own as neither of us have used the glide cam.

Alice- Flat Recce

When writing the script for Alice, Brad had a party scene in mind that is made up of one long tracking who that encompasses the whole scene in one go. This scene was written with my flat in mind and as such it was no issue for me to do a recce, however, a recce needed doing all the same so I did that and this is my response to said recce.

The first aspect that Brad wanted was the long alleyway outside that she walks down as approaching the party. This is sparsely lit and with the shot being one take we cannot adjust the camera to compensate and thus we must fix this issue with the usage of lighting. The best way I can see to do this is to put a red head in my room and shine it out onto the path, that way the path will be lit up and wont look unnaturally lit up.

Then there is the courtyard type area, this will be littered with extras to make the party look full and vibrant, as the scene is almost made or broken on the feel of it and if it looks empty and not like an actual party then the scene falls flat and falls apart. The lighting of this area wont be an issue as there is a strong security light which will light the space fine and is a white light so it looks quite good as opposed to an orange one which would look awful. Another issue with this is that it is a large space so it may be difficult to look full but we have a fairly large amount of extras who have said they will come along so I am hopeful that this will not be a problem at all.

Then there is the kitchen and living room area, this has the opposite issue to the courtyard in the sense that it is a relatively small space and as such it will be an issue for it to not be overcrowded but have enough people that the scene makes sense in the context of the bad guys not noticing Alice straight away. With regards to lighting, we wont ever see the kitchen and as such we can use the plugs there and put up a light to light the living room and it wont be an issue to hide at all. There will also have to be some moving of furniture for this scene to maximise the space so that we can comfortably move everyone around and give the scene an organic party feeling. Although, this is partly achieved with the sound within the scene which is down to the sound designer.

The last section to think about is the corridor leading  to the rear exit of the flat. In this section Alice pulls a man to her to cover herself from her pursuers, after she does they walk past and the camera turns to see her leave. Lighting this scene shouldn't be too problematic as there are three rooms (including my own) which we can put lights in to shine out and light the corridor. The main issue here is that there isn't much room for the camera, actors and the sound op to turn around and move fluidly around each other. However, the key point is that there is room so with practise this is no problem, they will be able to move around each other no problem. This then concludes the recce for my flat, which will be used in the party scene of the film and it should be relatively easy to get permission for as I live there.

Jib Test 1

This is a post to document the test that we ddi using the jib for both of the productions I am working on, however, as producer for Alice this was more useful for me from my directorial stand point on Inheritance.

Firstly there was the construction of it which was fairly easy although it was not as easy at it should have been for us. To clarify what I mean by this, what I mean is that, it is easy to put up for us now that we have practised but had we not then it would have been a nightmare on set. For this practise we couldn't actually attach a camera to the jib due to the fact that it requires the slider head which was booked out, instead we just went without and practised the movement.

We also found that during its set up one of the pieces required for it to work was missing so myself and Liam had to go to a local DIY store to find a replacement, luckily we did and this meant that the construction of the jib could continue. Once we managed to get it up we realised we didn't have much space to work with and as such should have perhaps done the test somewhere else, although this didn't prove to be a major problem as we could still do it.

Once we had it up and working we practised Brad's shot that he wishes to use in Alice which has the character walking through a moment as the camera raises behind her. This wasn't simple at first but after a few tests with no camera, no monitor and no actress we managed to get the camera movement fluid and smooth meaning we now know that the shot can be done.

The above picture is a place holder as I was working the jib and no one took a picture but after that we practised my opening shot for Inheritance with a pretend Cross instead of panning down nothing. The shot itself is a jib shot which pans down Ralph's cross which is a big stone cross, this is a hard shot to do as not only do you have to pan down the cross, you also have to adjust the angle of the camera to make it sty level, this was not an easy task but with the four of us working on it we got something like what we will want for the final product and as such I am confident now that we can pull the shot off for real.

That's all for now, the next test we did was the glide cam, that post will be up in the very near future.

Live 2- Introduction

This is the obligatory introduction post for my latest Module, Live Production Module 2. In this module I will be involved in the creation of 2 films which will the be added to festival circuits and awards ceremonies both nationally and internationally so there is a lot that needs to go into this module to make the films to be at that high standard, but I am sure I can rise to the task.

The films themselves are, firstly, Inheritance, a film which I wrote and am directing with basically the same crew as Brush Stroke, as a result I am very much looking forward to making this as it is something I feel very passionately about.

The second film is Alice, a film which has been written by Brad and I will be producing, this is a very contrasting film to my own so it is interesting to see how the two will come out.