That's a wrap!

Day 4 Maggie May’s part 2.

So the day began by getting all the equipment from one location to another. We arrived at Maggie May’s at twelve which is when we had arranged to be able to get into the location. As with all of our shots we ere scheduled in a way that mean we knew exactly what we were meant to be doing and when. As soon as we got into the location we got the actor ready and set up the lighting and the shots.

The reason we had chosen to do these particular shots today was because out of the five set in the bar they required the most set ups. As with one of them we had to get mike dressed up in his drag out fit. This included costume and makeup sp obviously required a little more set up than the other scenes where he is in his school uniform. Once the set and actor’s were dressed the filming went relatively quickly. There were quite a few set ups t do with this scene. Mainly because we had to do a lot of extreme close ups of the drag costume. And also during this it was nessaccary to chance the lighting. We wanted to put in the colour filters to add a kind of ‘cabaret’ effect. Another colour the purpose serves is with the red and greens it creates an almost sickly tome which is good for this scenes as the dad is throwing up at the end. It also adds an interesting visual element.  After this we then had to set up the shot of the Dad throwing up. This also included getting just some sound of Tom wrenching. In the original script we had seen the Dad throwing up but this I felt was a logistical nightmare so we decided to just use the sound on a blackout screen This was definitely a better decision as leaving it to the audiences imagination is definitely better than having a shot of Mike covered in tinned carrots, that would have just looked cheap. I think it would have also undermined the quality of the film.

The next scene we filmed was where the Dad reacts badly. This again required quite a few set ups. We had to first film the dad which involved a different lighting set up as once again we had to use filters. We had a red light to represent the anger. Also we had had a shot of a canted tilt. This had to be allowed for in the schedule as it took a little longer to shoot that the other static set ups. Also we had to allow for the smashing of the glass and the clean up of that.

We also had to do a little ADR as we had some major wound issue last week when we were shooting.

Once again I have t say how pleased I am at how the day went. We seem to work really well as a team and we got everything shot on time and in an organised fashion.

And that’s a wrap!

Shoot day 3

Soot day 3

Today we shot the scenes that are set in the Bedroom. Jack being caught dancing and singing in front of the Mirror and Jack being thrown out of home. We did get everything shot, but maybe not in the most efficient way. The time constrictions of today were pretty much non-existant and we did not have all that much to shoot. We planned to start at eleven however due to issues outside of our control we didn’t actually get started until around twelve.

When we got started we got the first thing we had to do was dress the set. Because so little of the room is seen in shot we had to dress accordingly. In order to make the room seem convincingly like a stereotypically gay teenage boy’s room. The only thing in the frame was mike and the reflection in the mirror. We had Lucy’s massive, pink Audrey Hepburn poster. We stuck this up on the wall behind mike so that it reflected in the mirror. We also put up some fairy lights and a really cheesy valentines card. Because there was so little of the room actually in shot the room didn’t need much dressing. I think what we did still gives an effective look to the room.

We shot the part where Jack is doing his Britney impression in the Mirror. This is an important part of the film and we decided to use a tilt up to a reveal of the Dad being stood behind. Also we needed to get several close ups of the Dad’s reactions to this. Tom gave us some great faces to work with.

After this we had to shoot the rather more serious scenes of Jack being thrown out of the house. We started with the set up of the suitcase being filled in a rushed manner. These were pretty simple to shoot. We also had to record some voice work from tom, of angry shouting to put over the scenes where George is imaging that he could be kicked out. While this was being done, to save time Ben and I went out get a couple of Shots of outside of the house.

When we had done this we had to shoot where Jack gets kicked out. We had to get him made up with bruise makeup and fake blood. We also then had to get the shots of the door slamming in Jack’s face and him walking up the street. We decided to do this at several different frame rates so we had the option of using slow motion in the edit.

Overall it was another successful shoot where we got everything we needed and were able to do this in a manner that was not stressed or rushed. I think that this is the best way to work as when there is stress there is the tendency to become forgetful and also for friction to arise between people. This is something I want to avoid as it makes for an atmosphere that is counter productive. So far we have all gotten on well and worked together as a tem in an effective manner. 

Gallery shoot

Gallery shoot.

Well, the weather is against us. But after all we are in the north of England in April, it is to be expected. We have ended up shooting the Jack and George scenes in the Graves gallery. This was a last minute change to the plan so it was not as well planned out as I would have liked. The shot lists had to be re done and therefore the original schedule was no longer applicable. Therefore we had to rework it, in order to get everything shot as we only had 10-3 which are the gallery’s opening hours.

So we began at ten o’clock not wanting to lose any time. While the rest of the crew were getting ready to shoot and getting the actors ready and briefed on the changes to the shot list and what they would have to do, I sorted out the admin. Making sure we were covered legally, getting a location agreement form signed by Chris, the gallery’s representative that I had bee in contact with. Also we had to make sure none of the pictures in the gallery that we were shooting in were under copyright. None of them were but if they had been we would have obviously had to plan around avoiding getting these on camera.

When the shoot started we managed to get on quite quickly. We didn’t need t use the lights to begin with as the skylights, and lighting in the gallery looked good on camera with out us adding any. All it needed was a reflector at some points. However when it came to the close-ups we needed to use a Kino as the shot looked a little dark. As we were unable to stick all the cables to the floor, in order to avoid a health and safety nightmare I stood over the cable making sure that no members of the public tripped over it. I had allowed for this in the risk assessment.

The fact that once again we had planned well all be it rather hastily meant that we got all the shots we needed. Ro my mind there is nothing worse than getting to edit and finding out you are missing shots from a location you might not be able to reshoot in with in the time frame. Also if we had to reshoot it would be cutting it fine with postproduction time.

In general I’m very happy with the results of this shoot. The Gallery looks good on film and I think that in Place of the park it works well. I’d have preferred the park, but there is nothing t be done about that. The gallery had a lot to offer us in terms of aesthetics. The shot went well also considering the fact at how quickly we had to change plans. The rushes look good and we worked effectively as a team on the shoot. Once again I’m happy with how everyone worked. Also I’m very confident at how well the project is progressing.