Resit - Filming Diary

Date: Wednesday 10th November 2010
Actors: All
Time: 12:30 - 4:00 PM

We aimed to film everything today and this was successful! We filmed our shot of Annie and Chris walking in the park first and we took this shot about 5 times so we could decide which one we thought looked the best when it came to editing. We used a long shot to show the wide open space they are in, which connotes how happy they are.

When we got to our filming destination, Field House, we put out set together and sorted out the costume for Katie and Annie. As we had time constraints and also due to the cold weather we aimed to complete each shot quickly. The first shot we took was the wide shot of our trees and this was to set the scene of our film. We were aware of the sun being bright so we were using as many techniques as possible to block the sunlight out. For this shot we opened an umbrella to hold over the camera to shield the sun rays from the lens, because the sun will not achieve the horror element correctly.

The next shot we took was the low angle shot in front of the candle. The aim of this is to have the flame in front of Katie's face to achieve the sinister look we want. The problem we faced with this shot was every time we attempted to light a match for the candle, the wind blew and we lost the flame. We tried to shield the flame using our hands and also using an umbrella to also keep out the sun. We were attempting a focus pull on the flame, so this was something else we were trying to create with the camera, but were unsuccessful. We decided it looked good as it was without the focus pull. We took this shot 3 times so again we could see which was the best shot when we edit.

The next shot we took was the extreme close up of the pictures we pined to the tree. We used a panning dutch angle to create the effect that someone is looking at them. The problem we kept encountering was the noise so we took this shot twice, to make sure.

The next shot we took was the high angle shot of Katie's monologue whilst holding a picture of her and Chris. We took this several times, again to have a varied amount of shots, but also to have it perfect. A problem we encountered was holding the camera steady here, as it was a high angled shot we wouldn't be able to use a tripod. We had to make sure all our set was perfect here because you can see the entire space within this shot.

The next shot we took here was the over the shoulder shot of Katie holding the picture. When editing this will be a jump cut. Here is where we want Katie to burn the picure. The main problem we had with this was because of this wind, it was hard for Jenni to light the match, as it would always blow out before she got it to the picture. We also had to make sure we had a watering can ready for when we wanted to stop the flame. We had to be careful of the flame beause the ground was damp and it was a hazard we had to consider carefully. We kept the flame going for as long as possible so we could cut the clip to the exact moment we wanted as we didn't want to take the shot twice due to the difficulty and also the fire hazard.

The next shot we took was where Katie follows Annie. We took this shot several times and from several different angles to make sure the knife was clear for the audience to see. As the light was shining on the blade of the knife, it was making it hard for the camera to pick up and make it clear. Because we attempted lots of different shots, we could easily pick the one we thought looked the most effective with the knife. We tried the knife in different positions, including holding it higher, as well as by her side. Also different angles of the actors. Ones we attempted was Annie walking away from the camera with Katie behind with the knife down, then the same one with the knife higher. Then we attempted Annie walking towards the camera with Katie appearing from some trees, again with different knife positions.

The next shot we took was of Katie humming as she dragged the body, ultimately trying to pretend she hasn't commited the crime. This wasn't as successful as we planned so we may cut the sound out and use a voice over or a sound effect instead. The shot following this was of Katie dragging Annie's feet. We tried this several different ways, again. Firstly, we attempted Sophie pulling her own body backwards but this sometimes didn't work, and sometimes it did, so by catching every attempt on camera we can see which looks best. We also tried with Jenni actually dragging Sophie so we could see if this worked any easier. We will see which shot looks the best when we edit.

The final shot we took twice. It was of Katie leaving Annie's body and walking towards the camera. We wanted this to look really sinister and leaving the feeling the something else will happen. The first shot didn't look as we wished it to, so we took it again trying different positions and expressions on Katie's face to see which was the most effective.

Overall, we were extremely pleased with the co-operation of our cast and the way our filming went during the day.