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Production Diary

Production diary content

Pre-Production.

In pre-production my two main roles were in the art department and working on the script. During the weeks close to the shoot weekend, In the Art department we where deciding on costumes and makeup as well as creating the props, our main prop being the Incubus headset. Jack Mcgilvary and Alejandro Martin where responsible for making the headset based on a design I drew up. I also designed a band poster for our made up band “Diabolik” that featured in the background of the bedroom. A lot of our decisions where informed by the mood board I made in which we compiled our ideas and from there refined them to decide all the elements of our film from colour pallet, lighting, costumes and props (Link here too board) https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14BvpWz9-syGkKyRkkPy-f-CBJy18DzKhf4gf_0PoXD0/edit?usp=sharing

  

In the writing department during the weeks running up to the weekend of filming, we had to compile all our ideas from various meeting into a final script. There was a lot of complications in the story that we had to overcome and it was tight however we finished the script just in time for rehearsals. The main problem we faced was in making sure there was an emphasis on the relationship between our two characters and that the device didn’t overshadow the core themes of the story.

Shoot days

Our shoot spanned two days over a single weekend and each day was 12 hours long (8am to 8pm)

First day.

On the first day we shot the party scene and the two dream sequences. My primary role on this day was as an extra in the party scene.

  

The party scene was the first one we shot and took up the majority of the day. Before shooting I had to get into costume and makeup for my role as an extra. Sophia Radovic and Andrea Lino where responsible for costumes and makeup and I think they did a very good job, despite my unintentional efforts to smudge the neon eyeliner that we all had on. After that we got to shooting the scene which was a very long process with a lot of changes made to framing and lighting. Most of the takes we did where full runs through the script but shooting only one angle of the scene, meaning even when I was not on camera I had to maintain professionalism and stay in character. Issy Franklin was the director for this scene and her direction was very useful and I was never confused on what was expected of me for each take.

That scene took about half the day. After that we moved on too Charlie’s (George Levy) dream. During this and Sam’s (Noah Tozer) dream I was preparing the bedroom set for filming the next day. It had already all been set out but there where a couple of changes we needed to make in order to make the set, which was built in the Christchurch studios office, look authentic and like a teenagers room.

Second Day.

On the second day we shot the two scenes taking place in the bedroom as well as the advert for the Incubus 3000. The production design team where also adding some final touches to the graphics featured in the advert.

      

I didn’t have a designated role on this day however I helped out with using the behind the scenes documentary camera capturing footage for the BTS Doc. I also helped out Jack Mcgilvary when he was creating the special effects, however he did the majority of the work. The first scene we shot was the bedroom scene which took the majority of the day. After that we did the advert scene which was relatively easy. The main challenge we faced during that day was in the lighting and camera work in the bedroom scene and as a result there where a couple of changes we needed to make to the script in order for that scene to work. My final job of that day was to strike the sets, dismantling them and putting them back to what they where before.

   

Challenges on set.

We faced a couple of challenges during the shoot however most of them we overcame. Our primary challenge was in shooting the sets we had made. All the scenes in our film where filmed at Christchurch studios, meaning we where limited in how we could shoot each scene. We also struggled with lighting each scene however our professional cinematographer Louie Blystad was very good at solving lighting problems and I believe that the lighting for all the scenes was good. However some of these challenges we had more difficulty solving. One good example was a shot we wanted at the end of the film where we wanted to end on a shot of the band photo, however we where finding it difficult to decide where to put the photos in our set and weather the cut to the photos would be jarring. Eventually we had to change it and have the camera shift focus from the two boys in the front to the pictures in the background. Another problem we faced was the wiring in the incubus headset being temperamental. One occasion I was moving the power pack for the flashing lights on the helmet and a wire came loose. Louie Blystad however was able to fix it relatively easy however later the lights started playing up again and we had to tape the power pack down because of a wire that if moved would turn the lights off. A less technical but still as important challenge we faced was in dealing with fatigue and tiredness especially on the second day. There where a couple of occasions where we could have been quicker in getting footage however as the day went on everyone became more aware and we got things done quicker. Other than that our shoot went well.

 

Working with the crew.

As a team I believe we all worked together very well. Everyone kept very professional and everyone took there roles seriously. The communication between different teams was especially solid and there where never any times where anyone slipped up other than when calling sound/camera rolling, which everyone got used to very quickly.

 

Conclusion 

I think that our shoot went very well and we got all the footage we needed to make our film. I think the only thing we could have improved on was getting footage quicker as on a couple of occasions we went passed the allotted time we had for filming each scene, leaving us to rush a little. I think the most valuable thing I have learnt was On Set Etiquette and the hierarchy of the set, I learnt to listen the Director and the 1st AD as well as helping out any other department I was asked too. I also learnt about the time it takes to get footage and the discipline required by actors and extras to perform at there best each take. Finally I learnt that being on set can be tedious especially when you don’t have an active role in shooting, and that it is key to avoid boredom and that the best way to do this is to help in preparing whatever is needed for the next scene. I think if I where to improve on something it would have been to offer help to other departments when I didn’t have a job, and also to ask question about the camera and lighting because that was something I would like to learn more about, but just watching them has taught me a lot.

Comments

  1. Sarah Belfield

    Well done Louis, this is an excellent record of your roles in the production process. Its great to hear how your film-making understanding and skills developed through the Academy. You were a great asset to the development, script team and art department. It was great to work with you and your ideas. Your diary is practical evidence towards learning outcomes 1 to 4. You have ACHIEVED ALL CRITERIA FOR THE QUALIFICATION to a very high standard. Well done.

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