Colour Grading My Film

Colour grading is an overlooked element of film making. I wanted to grade my film in order to make it more visually appealing to the audience.

I originally wanted to use a warm orange pallet, however, once editing I found that a cold blue pallet was more effective, as it reflected the post apocalyptic mood of the film.

 I used the 'vsco' filters on adobe lightroom in order to give the piece a more vintage style, so that the still, tripod shots would resemble old fashioned post cards.

Evidence of directing

Here is a video showing an example of me directing the actors in my film. This is a process vital to the sequence as it allows for a higher quality product as the actors can give a better performance.

On this particular shoot, I had to direct the actors multiple times when they were holding the cameras for the video diary sequence.

Risk Assessment for Second Phase of Filming

Here is the risk assessment for the second phase of filming. I have learned from my previous set of filming on location that a risk assessment is vital as it allows you to plan effectively how to keep your cast and equipment safe, meaning that filming can be more efficient.

Second Phase of Shooting: Shot List

I have made this shot list as I have learned from the previous wave of filming that a shot list is one of the most important and reliable ways of keeping organised whilst shooting on location.

How I Synchronised the Audio For My Film.

I recorded the audio for my film through a shotgun microphone, mounted through a boom, which recorded into a separate audio recorder. This meant that I needed to synchronise the audio to the video in premiere pro.

There are many techniques I have learned through working on a film set which made this process easier.

The first in which is to start recording the audio, then say 'sound speed' into the mic,
Then start recording the visuals,
At this point, say the scene and take of which you are filming (making it easier to navigate in post production)
The most important part here is to make a 'clap' sound (either from a clapper or just clapping hands) - This allows you to use the spike in the audio waveform to sync the audio to the picture.

This can be seen from the red bar on the bottom image

Short Film First Draft

Here is the first draft of my short film.

Since it is the first draft, there are many items which need fixing, such as the title and the audio for the last shot.

I will be showing this draft to a focus group in order to get feedback, which should help me create a more successful final product.

Overcoming a problem with my audio.

One issue I faced was that the microphone I used only recorded into one channel, meaning the sound only came out of one headphone - so I looked at tutorials on how to overcome this.

I copied the two stereo tracks into a new 'multi-track file'. I then deleted the empty track, and copied and pasted the track containing the successful audio.

Costume Change

After Caius' character dies, I wanted to show the two other characters to be dressed in black. This was because I wanted to show the audience how much the three cared for each other, as well as represent them as respectful.

Costume (Before + After)

 Here are the  before and after costumes of my cast, as you can see they are all in hiking gear - this is to aid the verisimilitude of my piece, the audience will believe that the film takes place in some kind of reality, as the characters look appropriate for the setting.

As mentioned on a previous blog post, I wanted to have Caius (in the first photos) to have the largest bag, as it suggests that his character 'Tim' is the most tense throughout the film as we see him as over prepared.

Evaluation of First Phase Of Shooting

The first phase of shooting consisted of spending two days on location in Porthallow Cornwall.

I believe the shoot went really well, as we gathered 75% of the total footage for the film.

I spent lots of time checking the visuals and audio to check things such as: shots being out of focus, the boom being in shot, and crackles in the audio.

The shoot was intensive, as it involved working days lasting from 8am-6pm. However I would then spend the evenings backing up the footage and checking it rigorously.

Regardless of the long days, the cast and I stayed happy throughout the shoot, and the positive atmosphere enabled us to capture everything successfully.

(bags of gravel to weigh down the tripod)

Readthrough

We arrived on location around 7pm, so I spent the evening with the cast running through the script.

This was great as I got lots of feedback from them (who all study A-level drama) as to how we can all make the piece flow together more through changing lines in the script.

It was also a great opportunity to consolidate the image of the film into their heads, this meeting allowed them to connect with the piece and know how to perform.

Location Shots

Here are some of the location shots for the first part of my filming, which will span over the course of 2 days. I aim to shoot about 2 thirds of my film in this time.