Project: Working with the Editor

The editor of our project is Abi Lunney. She was originally the cinematographer, however due to a family emergency she was unable to make it to the shoot and thus switched roles with Ryan. Due to Abi having more family commitments and the closure of the Apple suites during the Easter holidays, it was decided that I would edit the film's rough cut as I was the only one with the footage and we had been relying on use of the Apple suites for Abi to be able to edit. We also had a very limited timeframe, so the plan was for Abi to then work on perfecting the cuts and beginning to apply colour correction and other effects.

However, when we returned to university, my Premiere project would not open on the university Macs, as their version of Premiere was outdated. Therefore, Abi had to re-edit the film from scratch. This unfortunately delayed the whole post-production process. Fortunately, she had my rough cut as a reference to work from, and so she did not require too many notes from me regarding what I wanted from the edit. Here is the rough cut edit that I produced over Easter:

Additional notes I gave to Abi:

• Colour correct the kitchen scenes so the lighting errors are not so obvious
• Colour correct the bedroom scene so that it is more of a bright but soft pink
• Experiment with effects to make the dream sequence more surreal
• Add titles and credits

Project: Film shoot

Over the weekend, we shot our film at my home in Teversal. I had not managed to get any sleep on Friday night due to stress, so naturally I was very tired on Saturday. I overcame this and powered through the day based on adrenaline, which I am thankful for as it stopped me from panicking too much throughout the day.

A lot went right for us over the weekend. We filmed the scenes with Libby and her mother on Saturday, and the scene with her grandma on Sunday. I was relieved that we were forced into doing a two day shoot as we initially had planned to wrap in a single day. Had this gone ahead, the results would likely have been disastrous as by the time Sarah left the set we were all exhausted from a long day of intensive filming. The actresses were all wonderful to work with and the team worked well together. Transport also ran smoothly, and all of the equipment we used was working fine. In terms of technical execution, we could not have asked for a better shooting weekend - there was nothing unexpected that could not be fixed.

Naturally, some things did go wrong. We had to cut a lot of shots out of Sarah's scenes as she was working on a limited schedule, and had we had more time with her I feel we could have really experimented with lighting to find what worked in the space - it had lots of glass, so natural light was an issue. Another problem with the location was its high ceilings, which generated acoustics that were inescapable by the sound recordist and his Zoom H4N and rifle mic. After we had broken for lunch, with less than an hour until Sarah had to leave, we realised that the battery for the camera had died and the spare that Jake had brought did not fit the model of camera we were using (a Canon 600D). We rectified this by putting the battery on charge for a few minutes and doing some rehearsals with the actresses (which was helpful, considering I had to rewrite the last scene). Naturally, it would have been more convenient if we had simply been able to replace the battery, and next time I will definitely make sure we have backups to avoid a similar situation. We did use our initiative with regards to memory, however - we only had one SD card, which I emptied onto my harddrive in between shots to ensure it would not fill up. This helped us greatly as we knew the files were saved externally and would not be lost.

I adapted to directing well, I believe, considering I had never directed actors before. I owe this in part to the actresses being so easy to work with and willing to do anything I ask of them. I especially appreciated this as I feel I can sometimes come across as quite demanding, though I did consciously try to be considerate with my requests so as to keep things running smoothly. When I realised we were running off-schedule, it was me that decided to cut the shots, and so I went through the shotlists marking off shots that were not absolutely necessary. This helped a lot as it allowed us to see clearly which shots were essential for us to capture before our actresses had to leave.

We also experienced difficulty when filming upstairs in the bedroom. There was simply not enough space for the cameras to get the kind of shots we wanted - for example, a close up of grandma's face. To work around this, we ended up pulling the bed away from the wall and shooting through a gap in the headboard, which worked well. Another issue we had upstairs was that the drape did not look good and kept falling down, and so we simply cut it from the shot.

We were missing quite a few shots by the end of the weekend, but ultimately everything ran quite smoothly. I was disappointed, however, to realise that some of the shots were out of focus and Jake had struggled with the strong acoustics of the kitchen (which he could do nothing about), and was left feeling quite disheartened by the whole thing. I am hoping that I begin to appreciate the film more once it has been edited. Attached are some production skills of me directing on the day.

Project: Creating graphic elements

There were some very specific graphics that I wanted to be included into my film. In order for them to visually adhere to my creative vision, as well as to simply ensure that they contained all the information that they needed, I decided to create these myself. Fortunately, I am experienced with graphic design.

The two items I required were the website Libby visits during the opening scene and the cookbook page. I made both of these images in Adobe Photoshop CC this afternoon. I drew inspiration mainly from codes and conventions associated with mediumship websites and cookbooks, rather than from any particular reference. I was pleased with how these came out, as I feel that a lot of student films can be let down by poorly made props like these. I was glad that I managed to create both items without encountering any problems, and I attribute this largely to the length of time I have used Photoshop for, rather than me being particularly skilled. The main thing I wish I had done differently would be the inclusion of an address bar at the top of the website image to add realism, although due to full-screen browsing modes this is not really an issue and can be explained away. 

In the future, I would like to explore my abilities in this field further. It may not be directly related to film, but I enjoyed making these elements and would like to include more in future projects.

A mock-up of 'Madame Stefani's Psychic Services' website made in Photoshop CC

A mock-up of a recipe from a cookbook made in Photoshop CC

Project: Working with the Cinematographer

Creating the shotlist is usually the responsibility of the cinematographer, however there was a need for our cinematographer and editor to switch roles fairly late into the project. To alleviate the newly acquired work load both parties would suffer, I decided to take the initative and write the shotlist myself. This was beneficial on my behalf, as I had not had much luck when trying to create storyboards to help the cinematographer understand what the film should look like. My drawing skills were simply too poor to actually be of any use in terms of representing the vision I had. As Ryan was not familiar with cinemtaography anyway, it was already arranged that I would assist him on-set. For this reason, I decided it made more sense to simply create a detailed shotlist that explains exactly what needed to be captured, rather than complicate Ryan's job with a poor storyboard. I intend on spending time over Summer working on my drawing skills, as I found it very frustrating that I could not properly represent what I wanted to during the storyboarding phase.

These shot lists are primarily to be used as inspiration for Ryan, as I would like him to experiment with cinematography using my vision as a guideline. I tried to be very detailed as Ryan had expressed concern with being cinematographer, and I will be on-hand during the shoot 

Development: Script

Unfortunately, Lauren has been unable to secure a supermarket for the final scene of the film. This is not her fault, we have tried everywhere in the area and it seems as though supermarkets simply are not interested in allowing us to film there, as we have been rejected by each one in turn. Debbie suggested we try some of the privately owned ones, and so we explored some whilst we were prop and costume shopping. They were simply not nice enough for my vision - the film is intended to be visually very clean and fresh, and these stores did not fit this bill. They were also very small which could pose an issue in terms of equipment. 

As a result, I had to rewrite the last scene. This was very upsetting for me as I really do not like having to change my ideas, and by this point I already felt as though I had sacrificed enough of my integrity on this project. Nevertheless, I accepted the responsibility and rewrote the scene as best I could. I paid particular attention to make the dialogue between Libby and Helen as similar to the conversation shared in the supermarket as possible. This was not done so much for artistic purposes as it was for the actors' benefit. I did not want them to have to re-learn completely new lines with short notice, as I felt this would affect their performance negatively. I feel this was the right decision to make as the director ultimately, but it did not make me feel any better about the situation. The project seems to be going downhill but I am trying to maintain faith. I am sure if we all persevere it will work out alright.

Attached is the revised version of the script, including the modifications suggested during our acting workshop. The decided title of the piece is officially: "THE SECRET INGREDIENT". 

Development: Actors

Lauren and I went to Chesterfield to scout a potential lead actress from a child's drama class. We found Chelsea Sherridan, who immediately caught our eye as someone who looked like the Libby we imagined in our heads - or rather, who we imagined would if she was wearing the correct costume. We left her with a copy of the script for a while and went to go and get something to drink. When we returned, she acted out some of the scenes for us, and we knew that she would be perfect for the role. Her lines were sometimes 'over-acted', but I figured that I could direct this out of her on-set and took the risk. 

Lauren also managed to find us two actresses to play Helen and Grandma. Helen will be played by Sarah Wynne Kordas, a stage manager from Chesterfield, who she was introduced to at the drama school where we found Libby. Grandma will be played by Mary Newey, who is a theatre director and an amateur actress from Sheffield. Mary was found through an Over 50s acting society. 

I am very pleased with the look of Chelsea and Sarah, however I had hoped that the grandma would have looked a little older. That said, we had little choice as our proposed shooting weekend grew closer and we had received no other interest in the role. Ultimately this issue was more due to personal taste and I doubt many others will share my opinion, so I decided to avoid being stubborn or demanding for the sake of the film. I was pleased with myself, as I am beginning to overcome my perfectionist tendencies in situations that threaten the overall outcome. 

Sarah, Chelsea and Mary, who will be playing Helen, Libby and Grandma (respectively)

Now that our actors have been confirmed, we have a firmly set weekend over which we intend to shoot the project, which will consist of SATURDAY 12TH - SUNDAY 13TH OF APRIL.