Direction's unit: DVD Cover

Here is the DVD cover i made for the film. I am over the moon because this was my first time using photoshop and i taught myself how to use it thanks to the help of youtube videos.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: A Journey Through Love

Here is my Final version of the short film 'A Journey Through Love'.




Stay safe,

Helen

Directions: Intro 2 & outro test

I came up with another simple idea for the intro and outro for the a journey through love series. This one was more neutral as some people in the groups take on love was not fitting with the hearts and lovey dovey aspect of the other test. This idea was filming falling flower petals dropping into water. i thought that this would be quite a nice way of having it shown and in slow motion it might look pretty cool. I went out and filmed a couple of different shots and then edited it together as a rough cut.  I'm really pleased with the final outcome and even though were not using this its given me a good idea about shots and footage for something else.

Here is the rough cut:

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: Alternative ending

Here is the Alternative ending for the film. It is the first rough cut i made to send to the composer before reshooting the original ending. I feel now i have seen both ending i much prefer the other ending and feel it works so much better. There is no sound on this version as it is the rough cut.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: Reflection

Now that my project is finished i am really proud of what i have achieved.

I started this unit looking at the script and really not sure where to go with it. The lack of dialogue frightened me but looking back that lack of dialogue was actually what helped me decide to create a silent film. I had no experience in silent films and i really had to research the subject a lot in order to make sure that the film would be as good as it good be. I think the research has really paid of as i have a better understanding of what goes into those films and the history of them.

Auditioning actors was a massive step for me as i have never done anything like that before but again i think this was a good decision as i feel the actors i chose were perfect for the roles and really went out of their way to make sure the project was a success. It really was a team effort.

I am pleased i got the opportunity to really direct this piece as my last project i had to act and therefore impacted on the quality of the footage as i was unable to help set up the shot, this time i was involved in every bit of the process and i think this is reflected in the footage being to a higher standard than before.

One of the issues with my film was that as i changed the ending back to the original after the first shoot, the size of the package is a little small. This is something i need to think about in the future and hopefully that will make my film more believable. Continuity is key.

Another thing for me to think about is choice of location. If i had used sound on my film it would have been very hard to get good audio as the locations outside were very exposed and busy at times. Just something to think about for the future.

Things i need to work on are making sure i don't take on too much work. It was a massive stress after i finished work experience as i felt i had fallen behind with my project however as i had done all the research and planning before hand i hadn't actually. I feel although the work experience was a great and invaluable experience if i am to do this again i would plan it better so it doesn't take a week out of my unit. Another issue i had was camera battery. This wads my own fault as i did not keep the camera plugged in during the hotel shoot and instead ran off battery. This meant the battery ran out later in the day and the shoot had to finish early.

Overall i think this unit was a success and i have created a piece i can be really proud of. It is the first time i have ever made a short film and i think i have made something unique and really put my own style on it.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions Unit: Smoke effect

On the shoot i spoke to Chris about a way of making a smoke effect so we can see a persons breathe in the cold air. He knew a way and said he would help me with it. 

Here is a video of how it works:

Chris did a great job and it looked great in colour but because of all the effects and black and white filters on the shot we just couldn't find a way to get it to show up.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: Brainstorming with composer

After talking to my composer today and listening to what he has already done i am really excited for the final piece. He has created something that really captures the characters movements well and is also quite funny. Im really pleased. we talked about making a few edits such as a different type of music when craig enters, something a little more to do with his entrance. The other pointer i had was making the music a little bit more layered so he played me a couple of instruments and we picked out the ones that would go well.

This is the first time I've trusted another person with a big part of my film so after todays talk i know that i made a good choice and that it will be a great bit of music.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions Unit: Intro1 test

I thought of an intro idea for the start of the journey through love films. It was a simple stop motion idea of a beating heart. I was planning on making a rough cut idea for the group to see as i never feel very confident in explaining ideas. While at the studios i saw colleen and mentioned this idea to her and we got talking about other stop motion ideas. She told me to go ahead with the rough cut and then show it to the others as a possible starting point.

When i began drawing i decided to make it a little bit more interesting by having people and balloons tell a short story about love.

This is what i came up with:

The music is royalty free from youtube.

Im not the best artist in the world but for a simple starting point I'm quite pleased with the outcome.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions Unit: Editing

I was well prepared to edit this time as i had already looked at a few of the effects and decided i would use a vignette, black and white filter and projector effect. Once i applied these effects to my film it really gave it a bit more authenticity and i was really pleased.

Here are some screen shots of my editing:

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: Reshoot

After showing simon the rough cut he thought the story wasn't easy to understand and said i should go back and film the original ending. I explained about the problem with the hotel and he said that you couldn't really tell it was a hotel room and it could also be his flat. This meant i could use a room in my house to reshoot the ending. I decided i would go and film the whole home scenes again so there wouldn't be a continuity issue and luckily the actor understood and would be available for today so we went and reshot the end. Hayley was available for camera work and i took out a lighting kit and  wide lens to see if i could get some interesting shots. I also used a PMW camera which i wasn't to happy with because i wasn't confident with using them but after fergus gave me a quick recap on it. Now i feel really happy with that camera and the depth of field on it is a lot nicer than the one i used before, We managed to get a few nice shots and all the footage was useable.

Here are the photos of the location:

I am so pleased i decided to do this as this was my original idea and i feel it was the strongest one. It goes to show you shouldn't alter an ending to suit others. you have to be happy with it yourself.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions Unit: Filming Day 2

Today i filmed the final few scenes for the film. Both Tony and James worked well together and responded well to the feedback i gave them. The shoot ran smoothly and we had enough time to reshoot all the walking scenes as the weather was a lot better today. Chris was on camera and he really brought something different in his approach. He's very technical and thinks about things i have no idea about. It was great to have him on set. There were no problems with the camera today but the streets were a lot busier so we had to frame each shot carefully to avoid continuity issues.

Overall i am pleased with the footage we got and will be editing it to send a rough cut to the composer tonight and tomorrow and then i shall show simon.

Here are some production stills:

Stay safe,

Helen

Directors Unit: Filming Day 1

Today i filmed in the hotel and a few of the walking scenes. Unfortunately due to the weather we weren't able to finish all the scenes i wanted too and the battery on the camera died.
At the hotel we were unable to shoot the blow up doll scene so i had come up with an alternative ending just incase. This ending was that in the package Paul find a pregnancy test, we the audience never see the result and can only go from Paul's expressions. I wasn't happy with this ending but felt that there wasn't much i could do as the hotel were unwilling for the original scene to be shot.
Hannah was on camera today and really helped me to think about crossing the line and coverage. Tony, The actor playing Paul, was brilliant he really went above and beyond and brought plenty of props that he thought would be useful for the scene and an array of clothing options. His acting was spot on, he never went too far with the facial expressions and i really feel he's captured Paul perfectly.

Looking over the footage, there is a slight black mark on the lens in the corner of some of the shots, I'm hoping that as I'm putting a few effects on them such as vignette it will help cover this and make it look aged.

Here are some of the production shots:

On sunday we will be shooting the meeting scene and the remaining of shots of the walking scenes.

Im excited to see it all come together.

Stay safe,

Helen

Work Experience: Sport Relief's Top Dog

I was lucky to get the opportunity to work as a Production Runner on Sport Relief's Top Dog. I was placed in the Wardrobe department and got to work with 2 lovely people called Lynda Wood and Suzie Bradley who ran the department.
Some of my jobs in the wardrobe department was to help set up the clothes for the contestants, listen out and respond on the head set for anything wardrobe related, iron and wash the clothes, make sure the contestants are all wearing the correct clothes before they go on set... and plenty more. I always found something to do. On my first day Lynda even gave me my own roller brush to get rid of the dog fur of the contestants. I really felt like part of the team!

One of my highlights of the run was teaching the host Gabby Roslin, to speak Welsh for a link on the show. I got to go down to the rehearsals and help her with the pronouncing of the word and then she asked if i would write it down phonetically for her so she could learn it for the record.
Another of my highlights was when i was left in charge of wardrobe on my own due to an emergency. I got to dress the contestants myself and go through all the usual procedures that Suzie does before sending them back to their dressing rooms. I was thrilled that they trusted me enough to leave me do the job.

I learnt so much from the show and i am so grateful for the opportunity.

Stay safe,

Helen

Directions unit: Crew

I have chosen my crew for my shoot.

Hannah, Chris and Hayley from my auditions will all work as Camera Operators depending on availability and if they are in the scene. Having worked with Hayley and Hannah before on filming i know they will help my footage be to a high standard. Having seen Chris's own work i am confident that we will get the footage to a high standard and they will all provide me with useful in sites and their own ideas.


Stay safe,

Helen

Directions Unit: Budget

My budget for this film is under £50.

I managed to get the hotel for free which saved myself plenty of money.

The only expenses i thought of were the blow up doll and food for the cast and crew.

Budget (Rough Estimates):

Blow up Doll: £10

Food shoot 1: £15

Food shoot 2: £25

Im hoping to keep within this budget and I'm hopeful of doing so as a lot of places for food offer NHS or Student deals and i will try and use this where possible. For the Blow up doll i will look on ebay & amazon for one and see if i can get a good deal.

Stay safe,

Helen