Location Research- Chiswick

Today, I went to the location that we had decided we will film for the Test Shoot and Final Film. I decided to take a few shots and see how the space and whether there is enough space to use within our film.

Bus Stop (used for shots 8)

Shot 8

This is the shot when Hallie and Calire get off the bus and go their seperate ways. This shot could be shot from a number of different angles, for example, we could take it from a low angle shot from the wall behind the bus stop, or a high angle shot from the top. Or even from the inside the bus if it were possible. The potential issues with filming at this bus stop is because of the fact it's where the bus line terminates the public acess is quite high. As there is New Chiswick Pool across the road, Cavendish Primary School at the end of the road and an estate behind it. Also there is a possible risk of getting run over as there is a road right in front. However, if we schedule our filming around that we should be able to film the shots we need quite quickly and without any problems.

Graveyard In Background (used for shot 9)

This would be the shot when Hallie would cross the road. This shot is a little complicated as the brown wall in the background is the cemetery that we will be shoiting in is just about visable. However, it is not clear that the wall is a cemetery. So to conteract the problem, we may have to change the distance of the shot, for example, we could use a medium shot. I chose to taake the photo like this because I wanted to see what kind of angle we could get and what kind of problems we would face when it comes to shooting.

Entrance To Graveyard (used for shot 10)

The entrance to this cemetery is quite simple and easily acessible, which is exactly why I chose to use it in our film. Also, it is clearly viable inside and not used by the public often so it won't cause any problems to our filming. I like the fact that you can see into it which also creates a different randge of views and shot types we can use. It also looks quite old but the simplicity of it helps to add a small amount of moden to it.

Long Shot In Cemetery (used for shots 14, possibly 16,17 and 13) 

 This shot would be where we see Claire advancing across the graveyard and she spots Hallie at the grave of James. I think that this would be useful as we could then use editiing to show Claire advancing across the graveyard. I think ther is a lot that we could with the sky in the background as well. I think the murcky Grey colour helps to build an atmosphere. Again, there are a lot of things that we can do with terms of shots and editing. 

Lanes For Point-Of-View Shot (used for shot 12)

 

These two photos are possibly the lanes for which we may use for Hallie's POV shots as she makes her way to James' headstone. I took two different paths as I have not decided which one we can use. The one on the left I'm more drawn to as there is a lot more light and the surrodning area is more spacious. I think that the right photo would change the atmosphre and we may have to use editing and change the saturation. But I think the less we have to require editing in the picture, the better. Also because, the shots we'll be filming on are going to be POVs, we're going to need a lot of space. Therefore, I think that best lane to use is the lane on the right.

Possible Headstones (used for shots 15,16,17,18,19,21,22,23,24)

These are possible heastones that we may use for James' grave. Originally, we felt using a headstone with a weathered look would be more useful and may possibly show the audience that James' died a long while ago. However, we realised that the headstones cannot look too old as we have set the film in the present and decided that it would be best to convey that he died at least a year ago.

Settings and Locations- Brentford

These are the locations in Brentford that we will be filming in:

Inside Brentford Tower Block-

Scenes: 2

This shot will be diagonal as the girl would be exiting the lift. This is slightly different to the storyboard as there is only one lift on either sides with the stairs next to it. We thought either the girl (Hallie) would come down the stairs or out of the lift. The shot could also be taken from a high angle from the top of the stairs. The lighting for this is good because the shot will be clear however, we would have to be careful that the lights don't shine to brightly (as shown in the picture) during filming therefore this is also where the text shoot will take place.

Inside Brentford Tower Blocks

Scenes: 3

Inside Brentford Tower Blocks

Scenes: 3

This is the corridor of the tower block where Hallie will be exiting the tower block. This shows Hallie beginning her normal day. We thought to zoom in to the right side window as we see her walk away. The lighting for this is good because of the lights on the ceiling and a little light coming from the windows. We would have to ensure the reflection of the camera is not seen through the tiles (from the lights) so the angle would have to be straight.

Outside Brentford Tower Blocks

Scenes: 4

We will be zooming into the path above the car park as this is not practical from the other end which is what was planned originally (from the last picture) however it is not clear from there.

Outside Brentford Tower Blocks

Scenes: 4

Outside Brentford Tower Blocks

Scenes: 5

Brentford Bus Stop
Scenes: 6-7

We chose these locations as it is practical for us to film there, as it is close, safe and looks like a normal neighbour hood with flats/other buildings, and other conventions/ mise en scene such as parks, pathways and scenery. This is where the first half of the flasback will take place. The filming for all these shots/scenes would have to be done on the same day around the same time because the lighting would be natural which would depend on the weather. We wouldn't be able to have it rain in one scene and not another as this would make it seem like a different day and it would not look correct/ unprofessional. 

Character Casting- Final

The Main Characters:

These are the actors who will be playing the main characters in the actual film- Practically Strangers.



Hallie/Girl 1: Rhian Vidler
She will look like a normal stereotypical 18 year old. This will be played by Rhian Vidler as she is near the age therefore she plays a convincing role and helps the audience to see the age of the characters actually are which already give a bit of background knowledge to the audience of their personality this would be through stereotypcial ways such as carrying a handbag/shoulder bag, wearing make up, hair out and the fact that she will be carrying roses throughout the film (as women are normally associated with flowers).

We chose Rhian because she was available to film with us as she also lives close to our filming locations. We also thought that she looks sutiable for the role as a normal British character.


*Picture of Payal*

Claire/Girl 2: Payal Jaiprakash
I will be playing the role of Hallie during Test Shoot, this was just to see what each shot looks like. The main reason for this is because there was no one available when we could film and I am also near the age of 18 which will suit the character. My hair will be out and I will carry the a handbag to make a more convincing character. Throughout the film, I will be using a prop of a card.

*Picture of Adam*

James (for the picture on the card): Adam
He will be wearing a normal school shirt (perhaps uniform) to show he is young, and the actor playing the part is also young which helps emphasise this and  would help determine that the male in the film is the girl's boyfriend not husband. The way he stands in the picture with the girl will also show the audience a bit about themselves (stereotypical couple who love each other). 

We thought Adam would suit this role because he looks like a normal young British student, who would also suit the main character (Hallie/Rhian). He would also be available whilst we were shooting as he also lives near our filming location.

Character Casting

Today, we have started to discuss about who we may be casting in our short film. The first obstacle that we faced was scheduling. We found that because of the time that we have been given for the shoot, it may be harder to obtain the permission of people that we had first thought that we would want to cast. So, we are currently battling through the process of we should cast ourselves or try and find actors. We have decided that we will cast ourselves for the duration of the cinematography planning (test shoot). Until we can find actors that we deem suitable for the characters that we have created.

Finally, the most challenging obstacle we were faced with, was the casting of 'James', the dead character in our story. Although, we only need a picture of him and one of the main characters, Claire, we found that we do not know anyone of the suitable age of that which will fit the age of James'.  

Animatic

I chose to do an animatic as it will helps us to understand how we can use editing in our film. I think that it helps with the length that we need to each shot and when it comes to filming. Also I am going to add the voiceover from the script which will help us to know exactly what we have to record and how it will work with each shot. Which will then help to know whether we need to add shot or take them out.

Animatic (Animation Version)

I created the animatic through Adobe Flash Professional. This is a moving version of the storyboard through an animatic.

The shots are indicated in the left hand corner of each picture.

(Please click on the picture to see the animation)



This helped us to see how the film would look through moving images. 

Storyboard- First Draft

This is the first draft of our storyboard for our short film- Practically Strangers:

Note: Girl 1 is Hallie
           Girl 2 is Claire
           Boy is James

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

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Page 5

Page 6 
                       


Page 7
                        


Page 8
                     




This is the first draft of the storyboard with the different shots. We mainly use a voice-over throughout the film apart from some on set dialogues. This is because we would not be able to hear the dialogue because of various sounds in the background such as the transport at the bus stop.

A difficult shot will be the point of view shot as the roses will have to be in view therefore the camera has to be directly behind the character. 
Another difficult shot would be getting of the bus and walking in different directions as there could be other people getting off the bus as well so we may not get a clear shot.

This storyboard would be suitable for our film because it shows all the main shows that will be needed although there could be a few more added such as more close ups to show expressions. 

The first shots of Girl 1 walking shows her journey beginning as we see her going to the grave.

We did not put any shots in a bus as this would be hard to film as there would be other people in the bus and they would be looking at the camera.