Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes:

During our shoot there were things that went well, problems we encountered and what we did to solve them.

We found that our shoot went well because we were able to manage our time and complete all the shots. We also managed to get extra shots to add to the thriller. I was extremely happy of how the shots came out on camera and the how the mise-en-scene elements looked on screen. I was also happy that we were able to get a macro-lens and film the extreme close-ups of the eye.

Despite of the positive aspects to the shoot we did encountered some problems.

•   Just before filming, Mia, the actress was called for a theatre rehearsal and we lost her for 1 hour, in this time we took advantage of the time without her and took the detailed shots of the bathroom. 

This was a basic outlined schedule of who was available and at what time we could shoot the actors scenes. This helped in setting and managing our time so that we could use time effectively. 

•  Another problem we encountered was that the make-up artist we were going to hire was fully booked, so we scouted around school for someone who could do the dead girls make-up; luckily, we found Sasha Ward Smith who is excellent in special effects make-up.

This is a photo of Mia before make-up

Mia with the make-up on

•  The shot of tightening the corset required for the camera to be behind her this provided an obstacle for the person pulling the corset. So we had to have one person either side of her, pulling the string of the corset.

Corset being tightened  

•  During the shoot, because it was in a boarding house we had people coming through the hallway and accidentally interrupting shots and making noise. This caused us to place ‘DO NOT DISTURB!’  signs around the hallway.

One of the biggest logistical problems we encountered was the shot of the hair in the sink with the mud. We had to get an almost birds eye shot of Mia’s hair, however she had to be in front of the sink so the camera couldn’t fit. We resolved it be extending tripod to it’s max height, then Mia knelt underneath the camera inside the frame of the tripod. This meant that the camera was not obstructed and we could get a clear shot of the sink and her hair.

 Mud on nails

Mud being applied to feet

The night before the shoot, we talked with the actors to make sure they new which costumes and make-up they were bringing for the shoot. On the morning of the shoot, we met up with the cast and crew to make sure all we had all the camera’s and equipment. We discovered that we were missing the fedora hat of Mike the actor, to resolve this I went to the Theatre department where I managed to get a black fedora hat.

We made sure we had all the props, such as the record player, jar of hair and make-up. We also tidied the room and clean the floor, by vacuuming. A lot of cupboards and drawers had to be moved  to another room and the coats hanging behind the door were moved as well. The beds had to be moved so they would be parallel to the wall to give us enough space to move the camera and lights and allow for maximum space in the small room. We also went flower picking to fill the flower pots, we looked for dried, wilted flowers to give the impression of the old atmosphere.

What took the longest time at the start of the shoot, was to set up the camera and lights in the bathroom. Due to the natural blue light coming from the bathroom window, we needed time to achieve the right balance of colours on the camera, in order to give the right cold and slightly blue colour we wanted. Additionally, because of the cramped space of the bathroom we had to carefully set up the equipment in order to fit everything in. Another problem we encountered was to have the right extension cables to reach the bathroom from the room.

One of the biggest problems we encountered as a group, was the logistics of the mud in Mia’s  hair. Although, we had a shot list, we had to re-arrange the order of the shots so that Mia’s hair had the mud in it last. We also we had to be careful not to get the dress dirty.

 Mud in hair

I really enjoyed filming the scenes with the make-up because it looked great on camera. I was very happy that we were able to get the macro-lenses to film the really close eye shots, because it was extremely pleasing to see something that you envisioned finally appear on screen. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience of filming our idea and the ability to create a professional looking film from it.

Setting up the mantle before the shoot

I think our group worked very well together, both Olly and Naomi, worked on the technical side and operated the equipment such as the camera and microphone. Whilst, Natasha and I directed the shoot, set up the room and made sure each shot looked like what we were going for. During the shoot everyone, had something to do whether it was to direct, grab props or set-up the room. In conclusion, I believe we worked really well as a team and our individual talents were helpful in contributing to the overall success of our shoot.