Going for a take, PROFESSIONALLY

Today I started the BFI Film Academy Course in Cambridge and I have blogged everything I have learned so far on my other blog for my Arts Award however I thought I'd add this to this blog because it's something really useful to me immediately and something I should memorise pretty quickly

1. 1st AD checks camera and sound "Camera and sound set?"
2. Camera and sound say "Set" if all is good.
3. 1st AD asks if actors are ready
4. 1st AD asks for silence on set
5. 1st AD asks for Clapper Loader to move into frame
6. Clapper Loader moves clapper in front of actors eyes.
7. 1st AD shouts "turnover camera and sound"
8. Camera say "Rolling" and sound say "Speed"
9. 1st AD says "Mark it" and Clapper Loader marks it
10. 1st AD checks camera and sound "Camera and sound set?"
11. Camera and sound say "Set" if all is good.
12. Director shouts "Action"
13. Scene happens and at the end director shouts "Cut"
14. Camera and sound stop rolling.

Here Comes The Sun (Final Video)

I am directing this show which will be on the 12th and 13th of September however since the last time I did photos, I have had to recast two cast members. We took all of the photos on the same day and I edited them all together along with this song which is what the play is named after.

From Afar

This is the copyright free version of my film, I did make another version with the song From Afar by Vance Joy and I applied to get rights to use that song however I have not heard back from them so for now I have to use this song.

I edited it using Adobe Premier Pro.

I made the flashbacks in black and white to make it clear that time has passed. To add to this effect I asked my leading actor to shave his face before filming the flashbacks so his beard in real time shows that time has passed since their breakup. I used a lot of match on action to reflect the confusion of the male. We also filmed the two characters meeting again at sunset adding a soft glow to the footage reflecting the feeling of love and relief between the two. The tracking shots were difficult to film as I did not have a truck or anything to make the footage smoother. I was walking at speed with the actor filming as we went and so I used fast paced editing between these shots to cover for the shaky footage. To differentiate between the character's flashback and real time I added a flash transition to the start and end of each flashback along with a sound effect I found on freesound.org.

From Afar poster

I decided to make a poster for my short film and so I used the shot that I think represents the protagonists feelings towards the lead female. I kept the video filter the same and used a handwriting font as though the character himself wrote it.

'From Afar' screenshots

I have now finished my final edit of my short film 'From Afar'. I have yet to hear back from the publishers of the song by Vance Joy to see if I can use it in my production and then I can potentially publish it for my entry into the British Film Academy's BFI course.

Here Comes The Sun (Preview)

I am directing a play which will be performed in a few weeks time. It is about teenagers with cancer and specifically follows three teenagers from diagnosis to cure. I am making a slideshow to show at the end of the play of the three characters remaining friends and two of them dating. I have used a mixture of photo and video and so far I have picked some of my best shots and compiled a 'preview' of what the whole thing aims to look like.

 

Filming: Day One

Today I filmed the beginning of the film complete with the tracking shots of my lead. We filmed through Hitchin and Letchworth in the rain which added to the mood of the lead male.

Storyboards for my first short film

I drew these in pencil so it is difficult to see but I have storyboarded my first short film. I came up with the idea a while ago it's just been difficult to get down on paper. I now have all the equipment I need to make it I just need to find locations and actors.

Music video idea

After thinking long and hard about what should be in this music video, I spoke to the band who said they wanted it to be more about the band themselves so I thought we could film backstage preparation and gigs as well as shots of the band rehearsals. They then sent me this video as a sort of basis as to what they want, obviously this music video is by a band in a different genre of music but I think the idea can be transferred between music genres.