Diary of Shooting - 25th November 2010

St Mary's Church

We started by shooting the scenes at the graveyard first. Our chosen location was St Marys Church in Shenfield which was chosen because of its locality to the school, as well as the fact it is surrounded by trees which makes it feel enclosed and isolated. We started by shooting all the extreme close ups of Renauds eyes, opening and closing several times, keeping in mind what we needed in relation to the storyboard. We also filmed over the shoulder shots of Renaud flicking through photos of him and Charli. The next shot was the slow pan that would reveal Renaud's location, we did this several times in order to make sure we had the perfect pan when it came to editing. We also included a shot that wasnt storyboarded, which was a low angle shot of the grave, with the spire in the background and Renaud walking off. We did this to add variety to the film and to make the scene more effective.

Street/Brentwood Station



We then drove to a street that would allow us to film a shot of Renaud walking. Having done that shot we moved onto the final location which was Brentwood station. We asked permission at the desk to film a short sequence on the platform which they agreed to. We set up the tripod in the approriate position and practicsed the shot several times in order for us to fully understand what was required. This shot was important as it is the final twist that leaves open the idea of Renaud committing suicide by jumping in front of a train. When the train was approaching we started filming and Renaud moved out of shot as we had practised. With this done we had completed filming all the neccessary footage that would be required.

Diary of Shooting - 19th November 2010

18th November - Shoeburyness

We arrived at the beach and took a look around the location. The weather that day was very foggy butwe decided this was OK as it made the couple feel more isolated and alone. We set up the tripod and consulted the storyboard and decided to shoot the long shot of the two walking along the beach. Once we were there we decided to place the tripod within the water slightly which also created a slight angle to the shot making it more interesting. As we were setting up filming some of the group were skipping stones and we decided to shoot a sequence of Charli and Renaud skipping stones which would add to their blossoming relationship. We then moved onto the shot of the two sitting down on a rock and admiring the view which we shot from both a low angle and high angle and would look at which shot would be most effective. Finally it was Jades idea to shoot a sequence hand held of Charli running and laughing with Renaud. Jade suggessted it was possible to edit the footage in a way that it would look like a amatuer video.

Diary of Shooting - 16th November 2010

16th November - South Weald

We arrived and made our way to the pre-determined location and decided to shoot the kiss scene first. After some initial discussion, we shot wide shot of Charli and Renaud in front of the lake, in order to capture the location effectively and then moved onto the kiss. We started by practicising shots of the kiss by directing Renaud and Charli into what we wanted from this particular shot. We managed to film both a close up and wide shot of the two kissing and then moved onto the other shots. We wanted to capture the surroundings of South Weald by placing the two on a hill, which would allow for a wide shot and would exemplify the location. We shot both a wide shot of the two walking towards the bench on the hill and then a over the shoulder shot the two on the bench, with the scenery as the backdrop. We decided that when we came to edit the footage we would decided on the order of each shot.

Diary of Shooting - 10/11th November

10th November - Costa Coffee



We arrived at Costa Coffee and set up the tripod and camera. Jade and Charli had already gone ahead to gain permission to film the scenes there. We started by shooting shots of Renaud sitting down with his coffee, and noticing Charli over the top of his book. We shot both an over the shoulder shot and mid shot and said that we would decided which shot looked best when editing. We then filmed shots of Charli sitting down, looking round the cafe and noticing Renaud herself. We concluded by filming a mid shot of Renaud smiling and walking over to Charli's table.

11th November - Renauds House

We started by discussing what we wanted from the scenes that we were going to film, which included shots of Renaud taking a hot drink to Charli in bed, and the two having an argument. We started by filming in the bedroom, with close ups of Charli's face, and mid shots of Renaud walking in with the coffee and noticing Charli. We finalised the scene here with a close up of Renaud and Charli on the bed.

We then moved downstairs into the living room to film the argument that the two have. This included a shot reverse shot of the two saying two lines of dialogue each. We filmed from a low angle and a high angle to help include a variety of shots in the film.

Use of music in our Romantic Tragedy

With the limited ammount of music avaliable due to copyright issues our music selection was made more difficult. We could not search directly for artists or songs we knew because we did not know these details about copyright free music. As a group we searched for different features our music had to have the most important of which were "sad" and "slow paced". We found the music required and we are very happy with what we have as we feel it will help create the correct moods and emotions for the audience

Research of music in the romantic tragedy genre

The romantic tragedy genre is heavily on reliant on music to create moods in moments where the main couple are not having a conversation. More importantly they are used in montages. The romantic comedy genre typically covers a long period of time as to realistically portray the development and length of a real relationship. This is so because the main way the romantic side of the genre is shown and deemed effective is the realism and the authenticity of a relationship. No one will believe that two people have fallen in love over a two week span. So with this said the montage is a good way of portraying long periods of time without dominating the bulk of the feature film. This applies equally in a short film as you have even less time to show development of a relationship. Equally music can help create the tragic side of the genre. With certain music over certain events even the most difficult audience can be made to feel the emotion you wish them to.

Having researched the romantic tragedy '500 Days of Summer' I have discovered things about the music that they use in the genre of romantic comedy. The genre of the music used for this film would come under the umbrella of the Alternative genre. Songs are mostly slow paced and are often sung by female singers. This is because the slow pace allows for feelings and tensions to rise as is needed, also The most prominent instrument is the acoustic guitar as it is slow paced and meloncolie like the majority of the music used in '500 Days of Summer'. Something I have noticed is that none of the songs used in this particular instance are not popular songs in terms of chart position and CD/download sales. They are typically songs performed by underground or indie artists.

How we plan to use Editing

As a group working on our previous coursework, and studying and analysing many films and TV dramas we know the importance of editing in order to make a film successful. Continuity editing is present throughout as it is the most common form of editing in film making today. As our film cuts between the present and past scenes, we used black fades to help distinguish when the change in time and setting is taking place. In several of our shots you also see the main male protagonist close his eyes and so the black fade also helps to reinforce him remembering past moments and to aid the transition.

For one particular scene involving an argument we used a shot reverse shot to help make the communication and dialogue between the two characters more effective and interesting. The quick cutting and fast paced dialogue helps to create a visually interesting scene for the audience and aids the pace of the film. We also use a match on action cut when the couple are seen in each other’s arms at South Weald, as well as directly after they have kissed, all of which make for a seamless final edit and a smooth cut for the audience.

Editing is important in maintaining the pace of the film. A famous example of how effective editing can be in dictating the pace of a film is the opening scene in Saving Private Ryan. Michael Kahn who won the Academy Award for Best Editing for his work on Saving Private Ryan, successfully integrates both long cuts as well as quick cuts to help re create the tension and atmosphere of the particular scene. A very effective part of this scene is when Kahn fades out all the diegetic sound as Tom Hanks looks hopelessly at the soldiers around him.

Risk Assessment Form

Shooting Schedule

Script

Story Boards

How we plan to use Cinematography

Cinematography is an important part of any film, short or not, and can make a film visually interesting and engaging or static and boring. Due to this we decided to look closely at how Cinematography can be used effectively in order to enhance our film. We knew that some our locations would be visually stimulating and interesting for the audience and wanted to capitalise on that by using a variety of long shots and wide shots to expose the scenery around our central characters. This is in particular reference to scenes at South Weald Park and Shoeburyness which are large, interesting and dynamic landscapes and needed to be properly exposed.

We also knew that in order for the emotion of our protagonists to be captured, in particular Renaud in the graveyard scene, we would have to use close ups of his face in order to understand his emotional state as there is no dialogue in this scene. Also this is shown with a close up of Renaud in the bedroom, and through his non verbal communication the audience can clearly understand the mental state of that character.


After working the previous year on making an opening to a thriller film, we also knew the effectiveness of low and high angle shots in determining the importance of a character. We also knew that it these high and low angle shots, as well as
tracking shots that make a film much more interesting and engaging because the audience is always stimulated by different angles and shots. We decided that when opportunity allowed, we would shoot with high and low angles, as well as other shots in order to maintain the audiences interest.