On Monday 13th December, our group continued filming for our short film. The location was again group member James Moss’ house. One problem had arisen a few days before, as co-star George Austin told the group he would not be available for shooting on that day. Though this was disappointing, the group proceeded, intending to collect specific shots only involving the patient.
Arriving on location just after 10:00 am, the group unpacked and began getting to work. We all agreed that our main task for today was to get the opening sequence finished and ready to upload when we got to back to school. This particular sequence is very important in the context of our film, so we knew getting it right was a must. The scene was going to be shot in the bathroom, which we had decided fitted the storyboard and original ideas nicely. Some problems arose before shooting could begin, however. Main actor David Huxford needed to be in the bath for this scene, but had not brought a change of clothes. James is a very different size to David so he was not able to allow him to borrow and clothes. David decided to go ahead with the scene, even though it would prove inconvenient for him later on. Another problem we had was with a very important piece of iconography – the radio. The radio is important as it leads to the reveal of the twist at the end of our film, so we knew that without it, the whole film was in jeopardy. After searching the house for a radio, or anything that looked remotely like one, two group members decided to go back to school and borrow one (fortunately the school was only a couple of minutes drive away). Upon returning they had found a radio and had also brought along a spare tape for the camera – a decision that would prove vital later on in the day. Of course, it was just our luck that as we were preparing the scene, James found a radio that was perfect for the scene and the whole tone of our film. Finally with the scene prepared, David got into the bath, we placed the radio on the ledge of the bath, and began filming.
The intended shot was a steady cam pan following the wire of the radio from the plug, to the radio itself, passing the patient’s lifeless body along the way. When coming up with this scene, the group knew it would be hard to complete but agreed that if we managed to pull it off it would look fantastic. What we didn’t account for was the way we were going to film it. Because the plug socket was on the floor, no tripod or tracking device would sink that low, meaning that we had to film handheld. Taylor, James and David Waters each had many tries tracking the wire, and some were successful but the group still had a feeling they could have been better. We tried putting the camera on a swivel chair with wheels and moving the chair but the noise of the wheels was too loud and the chair wasn’t as smooth as we would have liked. After changing angles slightly, the group became happier with the shot and believed we could edit it into something special.
Another important shot that needed to be completed was the ‘backwards clock’ shot. While storyboarding, the idea came up about seeing a clock ticking backwards, to give the film an eerie and supernatural tone. Though potentially a simple shot, we took time in preparing it as the clock needed to be straight and in a good area of the room. We also agreed that the camera should be in line with the clock and zoomed in very near. After positioning the camera, the group pressed record and left the camera to its own devices, as much footage had to be recorded to get the full effect of the hands ticking backwards. This gap allowed us to rest and think about what other footage needed to be recorded later.
After allowing the camera to record a significant amount of footage of the clock, we set about planning for the next scene, which was intended to be the scene where the patient can’t get his clothes as smart as we would like and begins to get agitated. Two more problems occurred though, as at first the group couldn’t decide on where to film this particular scene. One argument was that James’ house was basically too nice and wouldn’t be the kind of place where someone with mental problems and inner demons would live. Another argument was that the shots weren’t interesting enough and needed to be edited before we shot. Before those arguments could be resolved however, David Huxford was too wet from the bathroom scene to film anymore in the right clothes. The clothes are obviously important as continuity must be achieved, and with his dampness, filming had to abandoned until another day.
Fortunately, not many shots remain to be filmed and we are nearing completion. The group has agreed to film yet again on Wednesday 15th December, this time with co-star George Austin as well, giving us time to film the dressing scene, a further scene with the two characters and carry out any more shots we may have missed last time or feel need to be re-shot. Hopefully, Wednesday will be our final day of filming and we can then get around to editing the shots into our final product.
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